Science and Technology:
¶ “Novel UK Spacecraft Maps Heat Variations Across Earth” • A novel UK satellite has returned its first pictures of heat variations across the surface of the Earth. HotSat-1 can trace hot and cold features as small as 3.5 meters. In the initial imagery, a Chicago train is observed moving through the night and the flame fronts of Canadian wildfires are mapped. [BBC]
Car parks in Las Vegas (Satellite Vu image)
¶ “Non-Native Plants Are Expanding Their Range To Higher Latitudes Due To Climate Change” • Climate change is affecting the distribution of plants and animals around the world. As the planet warms, some species are shifting their ranges to higher latitudes or altitudes, according to a study in the journal Science Advances. [Nature World News]
¶ “Wright Electric Targets 1,000 Wh/Kg Batteries For Electric Aircraft” • Wright Electric plans to make an electric airplane that can carry 100 paying passengers on short flights of an hour by 2027. In a press release , it said its focus has changed from fuel cells to lighter, more powerful batteries with a pack energy density of 1,000 Wh/kg. [CleanTechnica]
Wright Electric battery (Wright Electric image)
World:
¶ “E-Fuels Would Emit ‘Five Times As Much As Electric Cars’ If EU Criteria Weakened” • All new cars sold in the EU from 2035 must emit zero CO₂ emissions, but the bloc is set to exempt cars that run on synthetic fuel. The EU Commission says that only carbon-neutral e-fuels can qualify. The oil industry wants that criterion weakened. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “UK EV Share At 23.4%” • September saw the UK EV share at 23.4% of the auto market, up from 22.4% year on year. Battery EV sales grew in volume by 19% YOY, slightly less growth than the overall market. Overall auto volume was 272,610 units, up 21% YOY, but still far below pre-2020 norms. Tesla was the UK’s most popular battery EV brand. [CleanTechnica]
White Tesla (Matt Weissinger, Pexels)
¶ “180 MW Of Solar PV To Anchor HDF’s First Green Hydrogen Project In Kenya” • HDF Energy, a developer of large-scale green hydrogen infrastructure and manufacturer of high-power fuel cells, recently announced the start of development studies, the next step on the path to install the first green hydrogen power plant in Kenya. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Octopus Buys 1,000-MWh BESS Project To Back Renewable Energy PPAs In Queensland, Australia” • Octopus Investments Australia has acquired Blackstone BESS, a 500-MW, 1,000-MWh project in Queensland. Octopus said the BESS will be used for power purchase agreements for “firmed blocks of energy” from by windpower and solar PVs. [Energy-Storage.News]
Stanwell Clean Energy Hub (Queensland government image)
¶ “Chile’s $2 Billion Energy Storage Boost” • Chile is on track to become the largest energy storage market in the Americas. The US expects to deploy 10 GW of energy storage by the end of 2023, but Chile’s energy storage ambitions and massive lithium supply have given it a pathway to becoming number one in the near future. [Oil Price]
¶ “Western Australia Seeks Stakeholder Input To Guide Major Grid Expansion” • The government of Western Australian is calling for input from industry to help drive major transmission network expansion in the South West Interconnected System as the state powers towards a large-scale, high-renewable grid of the future. [pv magazine Australia]
Solar array in WA (Western Power image)
¶ “Bute Energy wins WPP Investment” • Wales Pension Partnership will jointly invest alongside CIP Bute Energy’s portfolio of renewable energy projects across Wales. The investment comes to £68 million. Bute Energy’s Energy Parks and electricity grid projects are expected to attract up to £3 billion of direct investment into Wales. [reNews]
¶ “Germany Restarts Coal-Fired Generation To Support Winter Power Supply” • German officials approved a plan to bring some shuttered coal-fired power plants online to help avoid energy shortages this winter. Cabinet members said they support putting on-reserve lignite-fired power plants back online from now until the end of March 2024. [POWER Magazine]
Lignite mine (Wim van ‘t Einde, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “New Mexico Signs Final Order To Renew Permit At US Nuclear Waste Repository” • New Mexico environmental regulators finalized a 10-year permit extension at the nation’s only underground nuclear waste repository. They say it will increase oversight and safeguards while prioritizing the cleanup of Cold War-era waste. [ABC News]
¶ “Offshore Wind Stakeholders Fan The Fires Of Hope Despite Setbacks” • Bad news hit the US offshore wind industry this week. Nevertheless, glimmers of hope remain among the ashes. States along the Atlantic coast are re-calibrating their plans, and a new single-blade floating wind turbine could change the economic profile of offshore wind. [CleanTechnica]
Single-blade turbine design (TouchWind image)
¶ “Peak Energy Plans Sodium-Ion Grid-Scale Battery Storage Revolution” • Grid-scale storage batteries have been relying on lithium-ion batteries, Nickel Manganese Cobalt to begin with and Lithium Iron Phosphate more recently. Peak Energy believes it has the ability to make sodium-ion batteries that outperform both at half the cost. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Dominion Proposes Additional Solar Projects in Virginia” • Dominion Energy Inc’s D announced that it has proposed more than a dozen additional solar projects for Virginia customers. If approved, these would produce 772 MW of carbon-free electric energy, which at full capacity could power about 200,000 homes in Virginia. [Yahoo Finance]
Have an uncompromisingly enjoyable day.
geoharvey 