Opinion:
¶ “Rishi Sunak’s Obscene Disregard For The Climate Will Damn Him Once He’s Flung From Power” • Ostensibly, Rishi Sunak is committed to the ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and the 2035 carbon-free electricity target. But underneath those commitments, he is doing everything he can to put himself on the side of those who oppose net-zero. [iNews]
Old hot rod (Pixy.org, CC0)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Desiccants Allow Air Conditioners To Work Smarter, Not Harder” • Desiccants that remove moisture from the air may be important for cooling our homes and businesses in the future. Several companies are working on ways to dry air out before cooling it. They estimate this could cut the need for electricity for cooling by 50% to 80%. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Amazon Deforestation At Six-Year Low In Brazil After 66% Plunge In July” • Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 66% last month compared to July 2022 and is now at its lowest rate in six years, according to preliminary data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research. Surveillance has increased and perpetrators are being fined. [CNN]
Amazon rainforest (Ivars Utināns, Unsplash)
¶ “Parts Of South America Are Sweltering Under A ‘Fierce’ Heatwave – And It’s The Middle Of Winter” • Southern Cone countries including Chile and Argentina are having summer-like conditions as a heat wave pushed temperatures higher than 38°C (100°F) in places. This is winter. One climatologist said the event is “rewriting all climatic books.” [CNN]
¶ “‘Dither And Delay’ Of UK Government On Electric Vehicles Risks Investment Essential To Transport Decarbonisation” • The UK government’s “dither and delay” moves relating to the zero emissions car and van mandate could risk billions of pounds worth of private investment going into the UK charging network, Transport & Environment said. [CleanTechnica]
Charging an EV (Siemens image)
¶ “Calls To Drill Below The Earth At Grangegorman To Source Geothermal Energy” • Greenhouse gas emissions that come from Technological University Dublin in Grangegorman could be halved by drilling boreholes into the ground on the campus and harvesting the geothermal energy that has been confirmed to be available there. [RTE]
¶ “Lithium Processing Pilot Plant In WA’s Pilbara To Bring Benefits To Community, Traditional Owners” • A Pilbara miner is trying to harness renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions from the lithium it produces. Pilbara Minerals announced a final investment decision for a joint-venture pilot facility with Calix Limited, an environmental technology company. [ABC]
Rendering of the Lithium plant (Pilbara Minerals)
¶ “Kenya Is Harnessing Sun’s Potential As Next Frontier In Its Renewable Energy Sector” • Kenya has seen a significant surge in solar power generation that experts hail as a game-changer for the East African country. Its abundant sunshine can potentially revolutionize its energy sector in terms of cost-effectiveness and scalability. [The North Africa Post]
¶ “EU Must Address Wasted Green Energy And Negative Prices, Solar Industry Warns” • The EU needs to address curtailment wasting solar energy and negative prices. A major concern for the industry is that solar power is increasingly being cut off from the grid in times of low demand, sometimes in favour of heavily-polluting coal power production. [edie]
Solar panels (Nuno Marques, Unsplash)
¶ “IAEA Finds No Explosives On Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Roofs” • The UN nuclear watchdog said it found no mines or explosives on the roofs of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The IAEA was only given access to the roofs of the reactor buildings and their turbine halls after a monthlong wait. [MSN]
US:
¶ “Offshore Wind Resources Could Meet 25% Of US Demand” • The US has one of the best offshore wind resources in the world, a new report from UC Berkeley, Energy Innovation, and Grid Lab finds. With good near-term policy actions, those resources could account for up to a quarter of US electricity generation in less than 30 years. [CleanTechnica]
Return to base (Arnold Price, CC BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Batteries Now Can Replace Old Power Plants” • Most of the oldest fossil fuel power plants in the US are near or in cities, making it more urgent – and more difficult – to shut them down. Now, with the changes in rules announced by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, it will be much easier to replace them with battery storage. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Flow Battery Code Is Starting To Crack: Red State Edition” • Georgia is now the proud home of its first ever utility-scale flow battery. The new battery will serve as a model for similar projects all over the country, even though Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is one of 19 Republican governors who signed up their states to the “Anti-ESG Alliance.” [CleanTechnica]
Flow battery (Stryten Energy image)
¶ “Four New Offshore Wind Power Projects Proposed For New Jersey Shore; Two Would Be Far Out To Sea” • Wind power developers have proposed four new projects for sites off the New Jersey Shore. The proposed projects would more than double the number of wind farms to be built off the state’s coast if they are approved by regulators. [ABC News]
¶ “Duke Energy Unveils Kentucky’s Largest Utility-Scale Rooftop Solar Site At Amazon Air Hub” • Kentucky’s largest rooftop solar array operates over 5,600 PV panels on the 800,000-square-foot Amazon Air Hub rooftop. This Duke Energy facility will feed up to 2 MW of solar power directly onto the electric grid, enough to power about 400 homes. [CSRwire]
Have a categorically constructive day.
geoharvey 
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