Science and Technology:
¶ “Robots Are Trained To Help Revive Coral Reefs” • Coral reefs are sensitive to heat and acidification. As the oceans have grown warmer and more acidic, corals have become prone to disease and death. Startup Coral Maker hopes that a partnership with San Francisco-based software firm Autodesk will produce robots that can help humans restore reefs. [BBC]
Developing robots to restore coral (Autodesk image)
¶ “High Levels Of Particulate Air Pollution Associated With Increased Breast Cancer Incidence” • Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that women living in an area with high levels of particulate air pollution have increased rates of breast cancer. The study is one of the largest to look at the relationship of particulates and breast cancer. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Heat Pumps Up To Three Times More Efficient In Cold” • A study from Oxford University and the Regulatory Assistance Project used data from seven field studies. It shows that heat pumps are two to three times as efficient as combustion or resistive electric heating technology, even in temperatures approaching -30°C (-22ºF). [CleanTechnica]
Helsinki in winter (Tapio Haaja, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Thousands Feared Dead As Flooding Sweeps Libya” • After a powerful storm triggered ruinous flooding in Libya, thousands of people are feared dead. The head of the east Libyan government, which is not recognised internationally, said that deaths exceed 2,000 and thousands of people are missing. Storm Daniel made its landfall on Sunday. [BBC]
¶ “Sun Cable Plan To Bring Solar Power To Singapore Is Back On” • Sun Cable, formerly known as PowerLink, is an ambitious idea that involves sending solar power via an undersea cable 4,200 km (2,610 miles) from Darwin, Australia, to Singapore. Delays in approvals and disagreements held the project up. Now it is under way again. [CleanTechnica]
Cable route – Please click on the image to enlarge it.
¶ “Malaysia’s Gentari Aims To Operate Up To Eight Gigawatts Of Renewable Energy In Australia By 2030” • Gentari, the clean energy unit of Malaysian oil and gas giant Petronas, aims to operate as much as 8 GW of renewables in Australia by 2030, a goal that would make it one of the largest electricity suppliers by then, if achieved. [The Guardian]
¶ “’Seismic Shift:’ Energy Crisis Helped Wind And Solar Stretch Cost Advantage Over Fossil Fuels” • In 2010, the cost of solar PV was eight times as high as the cheapest source of fossil fuels, with a levelised cost of energy of 44.5¢/kWh. An IRENA report says the LCOE of PVs fell to 4.9¢/kWh in 2022, making it 29% cheaper than the cheapest fossil fuel option. [Renew Economy]
Solar array on a farm (NextTracker image)
¶ “Renewable Electricity Imports From Indonesia” • The Energy Market Authority of Singapore granted Conditional Approvals to five projects to allow imports of a total of 2 GW of low-carbon electricity from Indonesia into Singapore. These projects mark a significant step toward Singapore’s goal of importing 4 GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035. [SolarQuarter]
¶ “Minister Ryan Announces Energy Cooperation Agreements With United Kingdom” • Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, signed two Memorandums of Understanding with Claire Coutinho, the UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, increasing cooperation between the countries. [Government of Ireland]
Wind turbines in Ireland (David Dixon, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
¶ “What, No Nuclear? Vestager Promotes Hydrogen In Race To Head EU’s Bank” • Top EU official Margrethe Vestager name-checked wind, solar, and hydrogen as forms of renewable energy that should get funding from the European Investment Bank, which she hopes to lead after stepping down from her role as Europe’s top antitrust enforcer. [POLITICO.EU]
US:
¶ “Number Of Billion-Dollar Weather Disasters In US Blows Through Annual Record With Four Months Left In The Year” • With four months left in the year, the US has had 23 disasters that each cost at least $1 billion, NOAA data shows, surpassing the previous record of 22 events in 2020. Together, 2023’s disasters have done $57.6 billion in damages. [CNN]
Hurricane (Pixabay, Pexels)
¶ “Study Says Tesla Poised To Disrupt Insurance Market Just As It Did The Auto Market” • Tesla’s EVs have already disrupted global automotive markets. Now, a study from MarketWatch suggests that the company’s pioneering use of advanced telematics in assigning insurance risk may disrupt the insurance industry just as much. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Record US Small-Scale Solar Capacity Added In 2022” • The Energy Information Administration estimates that the US added a record 6.4 GW of small-scale solar capacity in 2022. Capacity grew from 7.3 GW in 2014, the first year of estimates, to 39.5 GW in 2022. Small-scale solar makes up about one-third of the total solar capacity in the US. [CleanTechnica]
Rooftop solar system (Vivint Solar image)
¶ “BOEM Completes Environmental Analysis For Proposed Wind Project Offshore New York” • The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has completed its environmental review of the proposed Empire Wind Farm Project off New York. The project is a step toward the US goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore windpower capacity by 2030. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “BlueWave Gains $91 Million to Support Agrivoltaic Solar Development” • BlueWave received $91 million in financing for long-term ownership and management of its growing solar portfolio, including five agrivoltaic projects in Massachusetts. The B Corp will use the land for both solar development and agricultural use. [Environment+Energy Leader]
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