Opinion:
¶ “The Inflation Reduction Act Is Making America Great Again!” • People have been wringing their hands and bemoaning the fate of America’s once great industrial empire for decades. They refer to America’s industrial heartland as the “Rust Belt.” The Inflation Reduction Act has changed all that, and manufacturing in the US is roaring back. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Gigafactory Nevada (Smnt, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Nuclear Power Is No Silver Bullet To Wean Us From Fossil Fuels” • A growing chorus in Washington says weaning the US off killer fossil fuels means relying heavily on new nuclear power plants. We have compelling reasons to drop that silver bullet thinking about nuclear power. Among them are high cost and lack of reliability. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Did Climate Change Cause Canada’s Wildfires?” • Attributing a particular fire or spate of fires to climate change is difficult. But historical datasets and complex statistical models have made it possible for researchers to show the impact of rising greenhouse gas emissions on heatwaves around the world by making them more likely or severe. [BBC]
Smoky sky in Toronto (Sikander Iqbal, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
¶ “Volkswagen Claims Dry Battery Process Will Save Hundreds Of Dollars Per Car” • Volkswagen intends to bring a new dry coating process for EV batteries into large-scale production, according to Der Spiegel. Dry coating reduces consumption of energy in the production of battery cells by 30%, which could lower the cost of EVs. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “The Planet’s Coldest, Saltiest Ocean Waters Are Heating Up And Shrinking, Report Finds” • Antarctic deep ocean water is heating up and shrinking, with consequences for climate change and deep ocean ecosystems that could be far-reaching, according to a report published by the British Antarctic Survey. The study took place in the Weddell Sea. [CNN]
Weddell Sea (66 north, Unsplash)
¶ “Strong Euro 7 Emissions Standards Will Deliver Better Air Quality In European Cities” • Research shows that if robust Euro 7 air pollution rules are adopted, NO₂ pollution from road transport will be reduced by around 50% by 2035. The research debunks one of the car industry’s major claims opposing the tightening of air pollution rules. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Europe Turns To Pork Fat For Aviation Biofuel” • A number of EU subsidies meant to encourage the use of sustainably-sourced biofuels for transportation have had unintended consequences, a report says. They’ve doubled demand for biodiesel sourced from rendered animal fats, with some unanticipated ecological knock-on effects. [CleanTechnica]
Pig (Steve Smith, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “PM’s Vision For A Renewable Energy Superpower Nation” • Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged Australia to grasp the opportunity to become a renewable energy superpower. He warned that Australia could not afford to wait, watch, and react to the clean energy transformation or rely on breakthroughs in technology. [MSN]
¶ “$19 Billion For Energy Transition In Queensland Budget As It Pushes State Ownership, Milks Coal” • Queensland’s government has allocated A$19 billion ($12.9 billion) to deliver on its energy transition plan, with a focus on public ownership of energy assets. Queensland’s flush financial position was enabled by an increase in coal royalties. [pv magazine Australia]
City of Gold Coast, Queensland (City of Gold Coast, Unsplash)
¶ “Fossil Fuels Now Account For Less Than Half Of China’s Power Capacity” • In 2021, China set a goal for renewable capacity, by which it means wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear, to exceed fossil fuel capacity by 2025. Those capacity resources now make up 50.9% of the country’s power capacity, Reuters reports. China hit its goal two years early. [Yale E360]
¶ “SSEN Transmission To Invest £10 Billion In UK Grid” • SSEN Transmission announced a £10 billion program of investment into the network across the north of Scotland. This will play a key role in enabling connection of up to 11 GW of new offshore wind capacity through ScotWind projects, enough to power more than 10 million homes. [reNews]
Power lines (Andrey Metelev, Unsplash)
¶ “Fukushima Operator Starts Tests Before Releasing Treated Radioactive Wastewater” • TEPCO, the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, began tests on newly constructed facilities for discharging treated radioactive wastewater into the sea. The plan is strongly opposed by local fishing communities and neighboring countries. [The Manila Times]
US:
¶ “Last Week’s Haze May Be Just The Beginning Of A New ‘Summer Of Smoke’” • What we saw unfold along the Eastern Seaboard last week was surreal. But just because the smoke has mostly cleared for now doesn’t mean those apocalyptic scenes won’t be back. Canada’s fire season is just getting going, this could be a summer of smoke. [CNN]
Haze (Alaric Duan, Unsplash)
¶ “Beverly Hilton And Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills Announce New Thermal Energy Storage System” • The Beverly Hilton and The Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotels announced the launch of their new ice-based thermal energy storage system from Nostromo Energy. Nostromo installed a 1.4-MWh energy storage system to serve both hotels. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Duke Energy To Sell Some Renewable Energy Assets For $2.8 Billion” • Duke Energy agreed to sell its unregulated Commercial Renewables business to Brookfield Renewable, a wind and solar power asset operator. Duke said it intends to grow its other wind and solar business with plans to incorporate more than 30 GW of regulated capacity in the next 12 years. [Oil Price]
Have an amazingly gratifying day.
geoharvey 
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