Opinion and Review:
¶ “US Needs To Protect Its Farmworkers From ‘Danger Season’” • The US has a $1.264 trillion food and farm economy, yet the Union of Concerned Scientists found the federal agencies that focus on agriculture and health invested an average of only $16.2 million dollars per year in farm worker health research projects in 2019 through 2022. [CleanTechnica]
Field worker (Tim Mossholder, Unsplash)
¶ “CleanTechnica Tested: The EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max Solar Generator” • Following on the heels of a successful lineup of portable power stations and solar panels, EcoFlow has introduced the DELTA 2 Max portable power station. This two kilowatt-hour unit packs a punch with its ability to push out nearly 2,800 watts of continuous AC power output. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Ukraine’s Green Recovery To Kick Global Decarbonization Into High Gear” • The law of unintended consequences is on overtime for Russia, after its invasion of Ukraine. Now Ukraine is launching a green recovery plan that aims to decarbonize Europe along with its own economy, with Russia left holding the fossil fuel bag. [CleanTechnica]
Field in Ukraine (Rodion Kutsaiev, Unsplash)
¶ “Neoen And Tesla Will Install A 197-MW, 788-MWh Battery In Western Australia” • To help soak up the vast amount of solar power available during the day, the Australian Energy Market Operator approved a proposal by Neoen to install a 197-MW battery near the town of Collie in Western Australia with a 4-hour discharge time. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Ilmatar Secures Land For 350-MW Swedish Solar Farm” • The Nordic developer Ilmatar secured land for a proposed 350-MW solar farm in Grums, in central Sweden. Ilmatar has signed a fifty year lease agreement with landowners in Grums, Värmland for the solar far to be built on 300 to 400 hectares of leased land. It will be one of the largest in Sweden. [reNews]
Solar farm (Ilmatar image)
¶ “NSW Energy Minister Orders Inquiry Into Renewable Energy Transmission Lines Going Underground” • A New South Wales parliamentary committee has been given nine weeks to conduct an inquiry into the feasibility of undergrounding high-voltage transmission lines, as the state pushes ahead with renewable energy transition projects. [ABC]
US:
¶ “Biden Administration Looks To Reinstate Protections For Endangered Species Curbed By Trump” • A proposal to restore the strength of the Endangered Species Act was announced by the Biden administration. It would repeal certain Trump-era rules that weakened protection. The proposal would reinstate a “base level of protection” for species. [CNN]
Monarch butterfly (Kenneth Dwain Harrelson, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Thousands Of Americans Are Leaving Homes In Flood-Risk Areas. But Where Are They Going?” • For over four decades, the US government has paid cities and states to move homeowners away from areas that are at high risk of severe flooding. A study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters provides new data about the buyouts. [CNN]
¶ “Tesla Tells EPA To Tighten Heavy-Duty Truck Emissions Standards: ‘The Time For Doing So Is Now’” • Tesla is pushing the US EPA to finalize significantly stricter heavy-duty emissions limits than proposed in April. Tesla insists that medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are being electrified much faster than had been previously thought possible. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Truck (Courtesy of Tesla)
¶ “Reduced Wind Generation Puts Texas Power System To The Test” • ERCOT, the Texas power grid operator urged businesses and homes to conserve electricity for the season’s first heat wave. Power prices topped $2,500/MWh in the state’s day-ahead market on expectations that demand would reach record levels, ERCOT said. [Market Screener]
¶ “Enel Starts Up 200-MW Illinois Wind Farm” • Enel North America has begun operations at the 200-MW Alta Farms wind farm in DeWitt County, Illinois. The project supports Meta’s DeKalb Data Center through a long-term power purchase agreement for 125-MW. Enel invested over $345 million and began construction in 2021. [reNews]
Wind turbine (Enel image)
¶ “Long Awaited Power Line Project Breaks Ground, Bringing Renewables To A Fossil Fuel Community” • Federal and state officials broke ground on a 732-mile transmission project in Wyoming. The power line is to transfer electricity from the 3,000-MW, 600 turbine Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project. [Wyoming Public Media]
¶ “Solar And Wind Generated More Electricity Than Coal For Record 5 Months” • US Solar and wind power hit a new record this year, generating more power than coal for the first five months of the year, according to preliminary data from the US EIA. It’s the first time that wind and solar have out-produced coal for that time. [CBS News]
Wind turbines (Anna Jiménez Calaf, Unsplash)
¶ “Clearing The Path For Renewable Geothermal Project Development” • What is stopping clean geothermal energy from rapid expansion? Instead of focusing on technical roadblocks, NREL researchers examined the nontechnical barriers that can also dramatically impact geothermal project timelines, budgets, and approvals. [NREL]
¶ “Plan To Discharge Water Into Hudson River From Closed Nuclear Plant Sparks Uproar” • Sitting on the Hudson River, the Indian Point nuclear plant repeatedly attracted controversy during its time. Two years after its shutdown, it still is, with plans to release 1.3 million gallons of water with traces of radioactive tritium into the river. [Olean Times Herald]
Have a pleasantly perfect day.
geoharvey 