Opinion:
¶ “It’s Time For Virginia To Plan Its Next Offshore Wind Farm” • Virginia’s first commercial offshore wind farm is on track to start construction next year and to be fully operational in 2026. It will be the largest offshore wind farm in the US. It took ten years to come to this point. We need to move faster, and that means planning new facilities now. [Virginia Mercury]
Offshore wind turbines (Bob Brewer, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “The Cork That Doesn’t Go Into Wine Bottles” • Cork has uses ranging from place mats to flooring and has been harvested sustainably since ancient Roman times. Because cork bark can be harvested every 20 years from long-lived cork oak trees, Europe has cork forests that support wildlife species found nowhere else. Cork is a great insulator. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Is Your Petrol Car Killing Your Pets?” • Many studies have been done to demonstrate the health consequences of breathing in the fumes from internal combustion engines, and yet some people still resist the call to move across to a battery electric vehicle. But what if your car was killing your fur baby? Or, at least, damaging its health? [CleanTechnica]
Fur baby (Tran Mau Tri Tam, Unsplash)
¶ “Green Steel In The News Again” • The UK-based think tank Rethink Energy produced its Green Steel Revisit: Myth or Reality report declaring that a time will come when the steel sector will be able to produce sustainable green steel at a cheaper price than by using traditional coal-based methods. The steel sector will no longer be hard to abate. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “The 2023 BYD Qin Plus EV Shows How Far BEVs Have Come Over The Last Decade” • In some cases, battery EVs are priced lower than comparable ICE cars. Let’s look at the world’s largest auto market, focusing on one of the traditional leaders in the sedan market, the Toyota Corolla, and compare it with a similar BEV sedan, the BYD Qin Plus EV. [CleanTechnica]
BYD Qin Plus EV
¶ “High Oil Prices Fueling Middle East’s Renewable Energy Boom” • Oil prices have soared to multi-year highs, largely aided by strong post-Covid-19 demand, surprise OPEC+ cuts and the disruption caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The windfall allows some Gulf Arab states to diversify their oil-reliant economies in very big ways. [The Tide News Online]
¶ “Tesla To Build New Megapack Battery Factory In China” • Tesla is planning to expand its business in China with a new battery factory to be built in Shanghai. The new facility is to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually, with a total capacity equivalent to 40 GWh. The batteries produced in Shanghai will be sold globally. [Oil Price]
Shanghai (Edward He, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Dominican Republic Is Installing 17 Renewable Energy Plants” • The Dominican Republic has 17 large renewable energy plants under construction. Six will enter operation before the beginning of next semester, and eight by the end of this year. The country will meet the goal of covering 25% of the national demand with renewables by 2025. [Dominican Today]
¶ “Globally, 40% Installed Power Comes From Renewable Sources: Report” • The International Renewable Energy Agency, in its World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023, said that in the global space, 40% of power is generated from renewable resources. Last year, of the new power capacity across the world, 83% was based on renewable resources. [BW Businessworld]
Hydropower (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)
¶ “Habeck Before The End Of The Nuclear Power Plant: ‘We Will Have 80% Renewable Energies By 2030.’” • Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) said the forthcoming nuclear phase-out in Germany cannot be reversed. He said that new construction of nuclear power plants has always presented itself as an economic fiasco. [California18]
US:
¶ “EPA Preparing To Release Strict Vehicle Emissions Rules” • The US EPA is preparing to release strict new proposed federal emissions standards for light-duty vehicles that would move the US car market decisively toward EVs over the next decade. The rules would ensure that 64% to 67% of all new-car sales in the US would be EVs by 2032. [CNN]
Charging Tesla (alex, Unsplash)
¶ “US Forest Service Grant Gives City Of Prineville’s Planned Biomass Power Project $1 Million Boost” • The city of Prineville, Oregon, got a $1 million boost from the US Forest Service for its plans with Crook County to build a 25-MW renewable energy biomass plant. Officials say will speed forest restoration projects while reducing wildfire risk. [KTVZ]
¶ “Seneca Solar Seeks Equitable Solutions For The Climate Crisis” • Seneca Solar, a climate consultancy and solar developer wholly owned by the Seneca Nation, is expanding its strategic partnership with Alternative Energy Development Group to advance renewable energy developed and controlled by Native communities. [Triple Pundit]
Have a gracefully blissful day.
geoharvey 
Leave a Reply