Opinion:
¶ “Abandoning Cheap Cars Could Be A Serious Blunder For Automakers” • Chevrolet will no longer build the Bolt and Bolt EUV. They aren’t the greatest EVs, but they are basically the cheapest EVs that check all of the boxes for usability. This is an important industry-wide issue, as auto makers want to produce more expensive cars. [CleanTechnica]
Chevy Bolt (Kevauto, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Six Innovations That Can Help Feed The World” • The global population has increased from 7 billion to 8 billion in the past 12 years, and the UN projects it will reach around 10.4 billion people in the 2080s. That’s a lot of extra mouths to feed. At the same time, the climate crisis means food will become more scarce, more expensive, and less nutritious. [CNN]
World:
¶ “Swiss Village Of Brienz Told To Flee Imminent Monster Rockslide” • Residents of the tiny Swiss village of Brienz have to pack their bags and leave immediately. Two million cubic metres of rock from the mountain above them is set to come loose and crash down to the valley in the next few days. This is becauase of permafrost melting due to global warming. [BCC]
Brienz (ETH Library, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
¶ “Climate Driven Heat Waves Break Records In Asia And Europe” • A historic heat wave is sweeping across two continents, threatening vulnerable populations and setting off severe storms and flooding. Temps hit a record 111°F in Vietnam. Records were broken in Spain, which recorded the hottest and driest April since record-keeping began. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Water Scarcity Keeps Legislators And Private Companies Finding New Solutions” • As the planet warms and populations grow, the UN expects a 40% shortfall in the world’s water supply just seven years from now. Partnerships and cooperation are essential to realize the human right to water, and sometimes they form in unusual places. [CleanTechnica]
Not enough water (Chester Ho, Unsplash)
¶ “BYD Silently Reduces BEV Prices In Colombia” • Colombia’s vehicle market in general was subjected to the effect of a very high devaluation in 2021 and 2022. As a result, automakers have had to constantly increase prices for the last two years. But the trend is starting to be reversed. BYD hasn’t announced anything, but its prices are declining. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Renewables And Hydro Now Account For Over 40% Of India’s Installed Power Capacity” • The total installed power generation capacity in India reached 416 GW, with renewables accounting for 125 GW (30%) and hydro 47 GW (11%), according to a report by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water’s Centre for Energy Finance. [pv magazine India]
Wind energy (Athena, Pexels)
¶ “World BEV Sales Now 12% Of World Auto Sales” • Global plugin vehicle registrations were up 28% in March 2023 from March 2022. There were 1,097,000 registrations, making it the second best month ever for plugin electric vehicles, only behind December 2022. Plugless hybrids also passed the 1 million mark in March, rising to 1,004,000 units. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Sarawak Energy Will No Longer Construct Coal-Fired Plants To Generate Electricity And Moves Toward Renewable Energy” • Sarawak Energy Berhad chairman Datuk Amar Hamed Sepawi said that the Malaysian state will no longer construct coal-fired plants to generate power in the future as it moves to take up renewable energy. [Malay Mail]
Dam in Sarawak (Gem Lyn, Unsplash)
¶ “South Africa Grapples With Load Shedding Crisis As Calls For Renewable Energy Solutions Grow Louder” • Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned power utility company, has announced an increase in load shedding from stage five to stage six. The decision comes after more of the company’s aging coal-fired power plants broke down. [SolarQuarter]
¶ “British Wind Outperforms Gas In Q1 2023” • Britain’s wind turbines generated more electricity than gas-fired power stations for the first time in Q1 2023, new data released by Drax Electric Insights has found. Almost a third (32.4%) of Britain’s electricity was supplied from wind power during the first quarter of 2023, outpacing gas which delivered 31.7%. [reNews]
Wind turbines (Master Wen, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “Five Community Solar Projects Are Coming To Disadvantaged Communities In California” • Nearly ten years ago in California, an assembly bill was enacted to direct the California PUC to develop alternatives designed to increase adoption of renewable generation in disadvantaged communities. Here are five projects coming online. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “The EV Battery Supply Chain Explained” • S&P Global Mobility forecasts EV sales in the US could reach 40% of total passenger car sales by 2030, and more optimistic projections foresee EV sales surpassing 50% by 2030. To meet this increasing demand for EVs, we will need to strengthen the global EV battery supply chain. [CleanTechnica]
Proterra factory (Proterra image)
¶ “AT&T Enters Into A Contract With DSD Renewables For 15.5 MW Of Community Solar Power In New York” • AT&T has signed an agreement with DSD Renewables to serve as an anchor tenant subscriber for a five-project community solar portfolio in Upstate New York, offtaking 15.5 MW of the larger 24.1 MW portfolio. [Sustainable Brands]
¶ “NRC Issues A License For Holtec To Store Nuclear Waste In New Mexico, State Officials Respond” • The US NRC issued Holtec International a license allowing the company to construct and operate a facility in New Mexico to store nuclear waste from power plants across the country. A state bill has been introduced to block the project. [NM Political Report]
Have an admirably effervescent day.
geoharvey 