Opinion:
¶ “Georgia’s Plant Vogtle Is A $35 Billion Boondoggle. We Need New And Better Solutions For A Carbon-Free Grid” • Georgia’s Plant Vogtle began construction in 2009 as part of an effort to revive the nuclear industry, but things have not gone well. As enthusiasm builds once again for nuclear in the US, this is the wrong direction for the US to take. [Utility Dive]
Vogtle units 3 and 4 (Georgia Power, public domain)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Argonne National Lab Creates Lithium-Ion Batteries That Work In The Cold” • People who live in cold climates and drive EVs know the lithium-ion batteries in their car don’t work as well in freezing temperatures. They don’t charge as fast and they don’t go as far. Argonne National Laboratory says it may have the answer to that problem. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “The World’s Largest Lakes Are Shrinking Dramatically, And Scientists Say They Have Figured Out Why” • More than half of the world’s largest lakes and reservoirs have lost significant amounts of water over the last three decades, according to a new study, which pins the blame largely on climate change and excessive water use. [CNN]
Great Salt Lake (Brent Pace, Unsplash)
¶ “Costs Of New Nuclear Need Addressing, Wood Mackenzie Says” • In a new report, Wood Mackenzie says that high costs are “arguably the biggest impediment to a nuclear renaissance.” According to its estimates, conventional nuclear power currently has a levelised cost of electricity “at least four times that of wind and solar.” [World Nuclear News]
World:
¶ “The MG4 Is Now The Most Affordable Electric Vehicle In Australia” • With its low price, MG4 has had some outstanding sales figures so far in the UK. Now Australia is getting the MG4 too, as MG Australia unveiled three versions of the MG4 to be offered down under. These are the Excite, the Essence, and the Long Range model. [CleanTechnica]
MG4 (MG image)
¶ “At Least Nine Killed By Heavy Flooding In Italy, As River Levels Continue To Rise” • After months of drought that dried out the land in Emilia Romagna, reducing its capacity to absorb water, torrential rains came, killing at least nine people by heavy flooding and mudslides. Scientists have linked both drought and flooding to climate change. [CNN]
¶ “Raja Bhoj Airport Achieves Carbon Neutrality With Renewable Energy” • Raja Bhoj Airport in Bhopal has set an example by becoming one of the few airports in India to operate solely on renewable energy. This achievement has propelled the airport to Level 2+ Carbon Accreditation, as recognised by the Airports Council International. [Construction World]
Raja Bhoj Airport (Doctorchickencolslw, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
¶ “Masdar Is On Track To Become One Of The World’s Largest Renewable Energy Companies” • Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) announced that it has nearly doubled its clean energy capacity and CO₂ displacement in just two years and is on track to fulfil its ambition of becoming one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies by 2030. [menafn]
US:
¶ “Maryland Cooks Up Green Hydrogen Scheme To Kill Diesel Buses” • The largest self-sustaining bus depot in the US is coming to Maryland, featuring solar arrays and on-site green hydrogen production. That may not sound too exciting if you can afford to buy the latest shiny new EV, but it is exciting for underserved communities in the area. [CleanTechnica]
New bus depot in Maryland (Courtesy of AlphaStruxure)
¶ “Vermont Legislature Pushes For End To Polluting Heating Equipment” • Vermont’s boilers, furnaces, kerosene heaters, and wood stoves produce 36% of the state’s total emissions, according to recent findings by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. The Vermont legislature has passed the Affordable Heat Act (S.5) bill to reduce those emissions. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Electric Work Vans Are ‘Almost Free’” • Electric work trucks may not be sexy like a Mercedes EQS or an Audi Q6 e-tron, but with super-low operating costs they can pay for themselves, or nearly so, which is what anyone in business wants to hear. And they have other advantages, such as having electric power for operating power tools. [CleanTechnica]
Ford electric van (Courtesy of Ford)
¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Advances SunZia Southwest Transmission Project” • The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management announced a Record of Decision for the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project, which is to transport up to 4,500 MW of primarily renewable energy from New Mexico to Arizona and California. [US Department of the Interior]
¶ “Meta To Power Idaho Data Center With 200-MW rPlus Solar Project” • In its quest to power all of its data centers by renewable energy, social media company Meta has moved into Idaho. Meta turned to a Salt Lake City-based project developer to construct a 200-MW solar project that could become the largest utility solar project in Idaho. [pv magazine USA]
Solar panels (rPlus Energies image)
¶ “Colorado Is Poised To Set The Nation’s First Standards For Green Hydrogen. Will The Federal Government Follow Suit?” • Some Environmental groups see a hidden risk with “green” hydrogen, because we must be sure it is not powered by fossil fuels. Colorado is about to address that issue, and there is hope the US will do the same. [Colorado Public Radio]
¶ “Oklo Plans Two Plants In Southern Ohio” • Oklo and the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative signed an agreement for land to host two of its advanced reactor plants in Southern Ohio. Oklo says the power plants will provide up to 30 MW of electric power and 50 MW of heating. Its first reactor is in Idaho and is to be finished by 2026. [World Nuclear News]
Have a significantly copacetic day.
geoharvey 
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