Opinion:
¶ “Not Enough Wind In Australia’s Grid” • As of October 2022, there were 94 operational wind farms in Australia, totaling 9,234 MW in capacity. But the country needs more wind to balance the grid and add power at night to reduce use of gas. Why encourage wind in this sunny continent? Because wind plus trasmission is cheaper than solar plus storage. [CleanTechnica]
Waubra Wind Farm (Ed Dunens, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Does Elon Musk Truly Not Know About Formula E?” • “I have definitely come to see that Elon Musk doesn’t know much about a lot of things and yet is keen to put his opinions out there to hundreds of millions of followers as if they were sound and solid.” He suggested that there should be an EV equivalent of Formula 1. There already is. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Reduce Emissions? Fine, But We Need To Do Much, Much More Than That” • The Climate Change Authority, an Australian federal government body, began a recent report by saying: “Time has run out to avoid dangerous climate change by reducing emissions alone.” Limiting warming to 1.5°C is possible only if we find a way to draw down atmospheric CO₂. [The New Daily]
Forest (John Towner, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Four Things For Solar Installers To Communicate To Hotels About Energy Storage Systems” • Following the 2003 Northeast Blackout, it became mandatory for hotels to have backup power. The hotel industry can be lucrative for energy storage systems installers. Here are some ways to let the industry’s buyers know about the benefits. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Canadian Province Of Alberta Declares Wildfire Emergency” • Alberta has declared a state of emergency after wildfires spread across the western Canadian province, driving nearly 25,000 people from their homes. Faced with more than 100 wildfires, Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith called the situation in the province “unprecedented.” [BBC]
Wildfire in Alberta (Government of Alberta)
¶ “’Mad Panic’ As Russia Evacuates Town Near Zaporizhzhia Plant” • Russia has sparked a “mad panic” as it evacuates a town near the contested Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, an official in Ukraine said. After Russia told people to leave eighteen settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region, there were five-hour waits as thousands of cars clogged roads. [BBC]
¶ “Evoy And Hurtigruten Expeditions Collaborate To Electrify Tender Boats In Norway” • Evoy is delivering powerful 100% electric motor systems for fast and powerful boats between 20 and 50 ft. Evoy showed once again that the electrification of the marine industry is ripe for expansion, as it announced a joint effort with Norway’s Hurtigruten. [CleanTechnica]
Electric boat (Courtesy of Evoy and Hurtigruten)
¶ “BYD And Geely Continue To Lead The Way In Israel BEV Sales” • BYD and Geely continue to lead the way in Israel’s battery EV market. In April, BYD sold 1,377 units, most of which were the BYD Atto 3. The BYD Tang and the Han are now also available in Israel and they each registered some decent numbers there for the month. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Germany Commits To Fund Kenya’s Transition To Renewable Energy” • Germany committed to offer financial and technical support to enable Kenya to meet its target of achieving 100% transition to renewable energy by 2030. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lauded Kenya for its strong leadership and investments in geothermal energy. [Kenya News Agency]
Kilimanjaro (Sergey Pesterev, Unsplash)
¶ “Australia’s Record Summer Of Rooftop Solar” • Australia may be cooling down as winter approaches, but the nation is still basking from the glow of the recent record summer of solar, in which small-scale rooftop PV supplied more electricity than brown coal. In the summer of 2022-2023, rooftop solar provided a record 14% of Australia’s energy needs. [EcoGeneration]
¶ “As Torres Strait Islands Face A ‘Climate Crisis’, There Are Calls For The Government To ‘See For Themselves’” • Aunty McRose has been a climate campaigner for more than three decades, a cause that she has pushed towards governments, the private sector, and even at the UN. She said seven of the Torres Strait Islands are inundated, including her own. [SBS]
Thursday Island (Feral Arts, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
US:
¶ “Installing EV Chargers Is A Booming Business For Electricians” • Electricians are still in high demand for traditional needs, but growth in residential EV charger installations is exponential as more and more EVs are produced and taken to the road. A report from Minnesota indicates it’s becoming a steady stream of work for some electricians. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Climate Change Is Bad For Everyone. But This Is Where It’s Expected To Be Worst In The US” • “There are no winners in a world where climate change gets worse,” said Alex Kamins, director of regional economics at Moody’s Analytics and author of a recent study on climate risks in the US. But different places face different risks from climate change. [USA Today]
Cameron Parish, Louisiana (Steve Hillebrand, USFW)
¶ “In The Southeast, Where Big Utilities Rule, Calls For A Real Power Market Persist” • After ratepayers in South Carolina were saddled with billions in costs for nuclear reactors that were never built, the state legislature commissioned a report. It showed that a range of electric market and transmission reforms would bring benefits for customers. [Georgia Recorder]
¶ “This Startup Aims To Decarbonize Ocean Shipping By ‘Converting Ammonia To Power’” • Amogy, a New York-based startup, is looking to solve some of the technological hurdles behind deploying ammonia as a climate solution. In its latest Series B-1 funding round, Amogy raised $139 million from backers. [Yahoo Finance]
Have a grandly cordial day.
geoharvey 