Opinion:
¶ “Autonomous Long Haul Trucking Is Key To Real Emissions Reductions” • The long haul autonomous trucking dream is a bit difficult to translate to reality. What’s the equation that will take their large size and the heavy weight of batteries to move heavy cargoes long distances? Where is the necessary fast charging infrastructure coming from? [CleanTechnica]
Autonomous truck (Torc image)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Researchers Using AI To Aid Disaster Response And Recovery” • At the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, researchers are advancing AI and exploring its ability to accelerate scientific discovery, deepen our understanding of complex issues, and improve overall operations and emergency response. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Britain Approves Huge, Controversial Oil And Gas Field In The North Sea” • The UK government approved development of a huge oil and gas field in the North Sea, sealing its commitment to keep producing fossil fuels for decades. The Rosebank field, northwest of Shetland, has the potential to produce 500 million barrels of oil. [CNN]
Offshore oil rig (Zachary Theodore, Unsplash)
¶ “Coal Makes A Quiet Resurgence In The Clean Energy Era” • As momentum is shifting toward clean energy, and big banks like Goldman Sachs have pledged to divest from the dirty energy source, reports that coal power is dying appear to be premature. Smaller funds have popped up to fill the void in coal investing, so coal has some unexpected staying power. [CNN]
¶ “EU Truck Industry Could Lose 11% Of Sales To Tesla And BYD” • European truckmakers could lose 11% of the EU market to international electric rivals by 2035, Boston Consulting Group said in a study commissioned by Transport & Environment. BCG finds EU demand for zero-emission trucks will surge to 55% of sales by 2030, as prices fall. [CleanTechnica]
BYD electric trucks (Courtesy of BYD)
¶ “26% Of New Cars In France Now Plugin Cars” • Plugin vehicles continue to rise in France, with last month’s plugin registrations ending at 29,184 units, divided between 19,657 battery EVs (17% share of the overall auto market) and 9,527 plugin hybrids (8% of the market). The former jumped 60% year over year, while the latter were up by 55%. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Oslo To Replace Almost All Diesel Buses With Electric Buses By Year’s End” • Norway makes no apology for its seeking to electrify its transportation sector as quickly as possible. Its clean transportation initiative includes the public sector, as Oslo and other Norwegian cities covert their public transportation systems to electric buses. [CleanTechnica]
Buses in Oslo (Eirik Skarstein, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Indian Solar Power Market Size To Increase By $273.82 Billion Between 2022 And 2027” • The Indian Solar Power Market size is expected to grow by $273.82 billion, accelerating at a CAGR of 34.24% during the forecast period, according to Technavio. The increasing investments in renewable energy are notably driving the solar power market in India. [Yahoo Finance]
¶ “Saudi Arabia Forms Joint Venture With Greece To Link Power Grids” • Saudi Arabia has signed a deal with Greece to establish a jointly-owned company to link up the two countries’ power grids with the goal of supplying Europe with clean energy, according to Reuters. Greece’s energy mix is 40% renewable, and the country is seeking to boost this. [Oil Price]
USNS Zeus (T-ARC 7) cable layer (USN, public domain)
¶ “Greenpeace Warns Over Safety Of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant” • International regulators are not able to monitor safety at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant properly, a critical dossier compiled by Greenpeace says. The dossier, which is being sent to western governments, says too few inspectors are facing too many restrictions. [The Guardian]
US:
¶ “Projects Could Power 18 Million US Homes With Offshore Wind Energy” • The US offshore wind energy development pipeline reached a potential generating capacity of 52,687 MW at the end of May 2023, according to a NREL analysis. If fully developed, these projects could power over 18 million American homes. [CleanTechnica]
Offshore wind farm (Mitchell Orr, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “JD Power Report Indicates Some States Will Lag Far Behind Others On EV Adoption” • A recent report from JD Power makes it pretty clear that the transition to EVs will not be as simple as we had hoped. Instead of climbing one hill in the US, it’s going to be more like climbing fifty different hills simultaneously. We will climb some faster than others. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Renewable Power Helped The US Survive Hottest Summer Ever” • This summer, the US endured the two warmest months ever recorded, yet the system held. Despite years of messages trying to raise doubts about whether renewables have a place in grid reliability, there’s no doubt now that wind and solar power and battery storage held their own. [NRDC]
Solar worker (Ken Oltmann, CoServ)
¶ “City Council Reviews Report On Ways To Achieve 100% Renewable Energy In Ann Arbor” • The Ann Arbor City Council convened for a work session to discuss a study by a team led by 5 Lakes Energy on ways the city of Ann Arbor can meet its 100% renewable energy goal. The council requested a feasibility study last September. [The Michigan Daily]
¶ “USDA Sees Record Demand to Advance Clean Energy in Rural America Through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda” • US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA received record demand for funding to advance affordable and reliable clean energy in rural America under the Inflation Reduction Act. [USDA]
Have a grandly tranquil day.
geoharvey 