Science and Technology:
¶ “CATL Announces New Battery With Improved Cold Weather Performance” • CATL is the world’s largest manufacturer of batteries. The company announced this week that it has developed new materials for lithium-ion batteries that will dramatically improve charging efficiency for electric cars, especially in extreme cold. [CleanTechnica]
CATL building (CATL image)
World:
¶ “North Korea Calls On International Community To Stop Japan’s Release Of Treated Fukushima Wastewater” • In a statement, reported by state media outlet KCNA, North Korea has called upon the international community to stop Japan from releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean. [CNN]
¶ “Global Heat In ‘Uncharted Territory’ As Scientists Warn 2023 Could Be The Hottest Year On Record” • The world is blasting through climate records as scientists sound the alarm: The likelihood is growing that 2023 could be the hottest year on record, and the climate crisis could be altering our weather in ways they don’t yet understand. [CNN]
Sunset (Jason Blackeye, Unsplash)
¶ “Stellantis Introduces STLA Medium EV Platform” • Stellantis released details about its STLA Medium platform, which it says will become the basis for many of the battery electric models it plans to introduce in the next few years. The company’s goal is for all the cars it sells in Europe and half of those sold in North America to be battery EVs by 2030. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “BYD Will Produce Electric And Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles In Camaçari, Brazil” • BYD has announced that it has finalised an agreement to land in Bahia and will build three factories at once in the Camaçari complex, 50 km from Salvador. This initial investment will be around an investment of more than 3 billion Brazillian reals ($620 million). [CleanTechnica]
BYD cars (Courtesy of BYD)
¶ “EVs Are At 24.6% Share In Germany – Tesla Model Y Third Overall” • June saw plugin EVs at 24.6% share in Germany, down from 26.0% year on year. Full electrics grew their share at a decent rate, up from 14.4% to 18.9%, the share of plugin hybrids halved, however, after incentives were cut. Overall auto sales were 280,047 units, up 24.7% YOY. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Reduced Eskom Load-Shedding Is Here To Stay, Electricity Minister Assures” • Speaking to reporters, the South African electricity minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said improvements in the amount of load shedding are due to increased energy availability factor and the fact that Eskom has needed to burn less coal. [MyBroadband]
Johannesburg (tebogo losaba, Unsplash)
¶ “Molten Salt Melt Starts For Huge 700 MW DEWA CSP Project” • Herlogas, in colaboration with Shanghai Electric, has melted 340,000 tons of salt for a molten-salt thermal energy storage system. The salt is in fourteen tanks at DEWA’s 700-MW NOOR I project in Dubai. The project is the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world. [SolarPACES]
¶ “Town in Japan Hopes New Wind Turbines Generate Tourism” • Three massive offshore wind turbines, which were recently erected off the coast of Nyuzen, Toyama Prefecture, have been attracting attention from interested locals and visitors alike. Town officials hope to turn the green energy generators into a new tourist attraction. [The Japan News]
Tulips and cherry blossoms (aoi tulip, Unsplash)
¶ “Egypt Sets Sights On Renewables With $5 Billion Wind Farm Deal With Scatec” • In Egypt, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy signed a $5 billion deal with Norwegian utility Scatec to develop a 5-GW wind farm in southern Egypt. The project is expected to create 8,000 jobs, hiring many people who are among Egypt’s poorest. [Scoop Empire]
¶ “1 GW In 1 Quarter: India’s Wind Energy Capacity Addition Sees Unprecedented Jump” • India’s installations of wind energy capacity have seen an unprecedented jump in the first quarter of the current fiscal as projects totalling 1.13 GW were installed in the country. This is more than the installations achieved annually for the last six years. [PSU Watch]
Wind farm (Johanna Montoya, Unsplash)
¶ “Renewable Energy Projects Approved In Odisha” • The Energy Department of the Indian state of Odisha approved proposals for two solar power projects of 50 MW each and a wind project of 50 MW. A bio-methane project for generating power from the methane gas produced by fermentation of municipal waste was also approved. [The New Indian Express]
US:
¶ “$130 Million For Seven Transportation Projects On Federal and Tribal Lands As Part Of President Biden’s Investing In America Agenda” • The Federal Highway Administration announced $130.5 million in federal grants for seven projects under its Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Transportation Projects Program. [CleanTechnica]
Proterra electric bus (Proterra image)
¶ “Green Hydrogen Hullabaloo Swamps The Opposition” • Lawmakers in Texas have been trying to hit the brakes on clean power, but the hits just keep on coming. The latest development is that two leading energy firms, Entergy and ENGIE, have joined forces to hit the state with a 350-MW green hydrogen project that could grow to 1 GW by 2030. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “SWEPCO Gets Approval For $2.2 Billion In Solar And Wind Power” • Southwestern Electric Power Co of Shreveport received regulatory approval to proceed with a “fuel-free power plan” and buy nearly a gigawatt of wind and solar generation to be built by Invenergy LLC of Chicago. SWEPCO serves about 125,000 customers in western Arkansas. [KFSM]
Have a particularly inspiring day.
geoharvey 