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Opinion:

¶ “What Is COP28 In Dubai And Why Is It Important?” • COP28 is the 28th annual UN Conference of the Parties meeting on climate change. It is a venue where governments will discuss how to limit and prepare for the future climate change. The “parties” of COP28 are countries that signed up to the original UN climate agreement of 1992. [BBC]

Representatives at COP28 (USDA, public domain)

¶ “CCS, CDR, DAC – The Dangerous Lies Behind Those Carbon Management Schemes” • We are told, “Trust us,” by people we know have been lying to us for fifty years. They want us to think their carbon management plans are a done deal, when in fact they are just pie in the sky blandishments with no possibility of living up to their promise. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Highview, Ørsted Seek To Unlock More Value From Wind” • Highview Power and Ørsted completed a joint investigation into the benefits of combining long-term energy storage and offshore wind. They showed that combining offshore wind with Liquid Air Energy Storage has value for reducing wind curtailment for a more flexible zero carbon grid. [reNews]

Offshore wind turbines (Shaun Dakin, Unsplash)

¶ “Wärtsilä Is Putting Out Grid-Scale Battery Fires Before They Start” • Wärtsilä recently completed rigorous fire safety testing of its GridSolv Quantum energy storage system, and the enormous scope and scale of the test program set a new standard for grid-level fire safety testing. They did this despite the fact that their batteries have never caught fire. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Labour Vows To ‘Rewire Britain’ As Pylon Plans Spark Row In Tory Party” • Labour is promising to “rewire Britain”, making its case to rural areas that it will connect farmers and businesses to the National Grid at record speed. Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak faces a battle over electricity pylons with some urging him to pull the plug on crucial grid infrastructure. [The Guardian]

Pylons (Casey Horner, Unsplash)

¶ “27% Of New Cars In France Now Plugin Electric Cars!” • Plugin vehicle sales continue to rise in France, with last month’s plugin vehicle registrations ending at 40,379 units, divided between 25,473 BEVs (17% overall market share) and 14,906 PHEVs (10% market share). The former jumped 51% year over year, while the latter were up by 34%. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “‘One Of The World’s Largest’: Battery Farm To Be The First Project Funded By Victoria’s Resurrected Electricity Agency” • A battery farm that can power 200,000 homes was announced as the first project funded by the Victorian government’s State Electricity Commission. The project’s 600 MW of capacity will be in three battery components. [The Guardian]

Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub (Equis Australia image)

¶ “Clean Energy Council Notes Decline In Australian Renewable Energy Investment” • Utility-scale renewables in Australia are in dire straits. A Clean Energy Council report says 2023 looks to be “the worst [year] for large-scale renewable energy investment” since it began tracking data in 2017. Announcements have come out, but little else. [PV Magazine]

US:

¶ “GOP Bill Would Pull Farmland Tax Credits From Farmers Hosting Solar Power Installations” • Farm fields with solar PVs would no longer qualify for state tax credits under a Republican bill. GOP lawmakers claim it’s about protecting farmland from “nonsense” renewable projects, and Wisconsin should pursue nuclear energy instead. [Wisconsin Public Radio]

Solar farm in Wisconsin (Wikideas1, public domain)

¶ “’Ghost Forests’ Threaten New Jersey’s Water, Ecosystem” • Acres of “ghost forests” have been popping up in southern New Jersey, as an increase of saltwater in the soil has been killing what remains of the Atlantic white cedar trees that populate the area. Climate change events and logging created a situation where the soil lost its fresh water, experts say. [ABC News]

¶ “Coal Mine Is Shedding Jobs Ahead Of A Power Plant’s Coal-To-Gas Conversion” • A Wyoming coal mine plans to lay off 19 workers, because the power plant it supplies fuel to is converting to gas. It is the latest of thousands of jobs lost in the US coal industry in recent years. The workers at the Black Butte Mine will lose their jobs in mid-December. [ABC News]

Coal mine (Dominik Vanyi, Unsplash)

¶ “A $30 Billion Meltdown In Clean Energy Puts Biden’s Climate Goals At Risk” •No one expected the transition from fossil fuels to be easy. But a year after President Joe Biden’s climate law promised billions of dollars for America’s switch to clean energy, some of the nation’s most ambitious renewable power projects have been shelved. [MSN]

¶ “Fervo Energy Revs Up Its First Geothermal Generating Station” • Fervo Energy is using the horizontal drilling perfected by the oil and gas industry to access regions where it is hot enough to make superheated steam for generating electricity. The drilling can be expensive, but once a heat source is tapped, free energy can be had for years. [CleanTechnica]

Project Red (Courtesy of Fervo Energy)

¶ “US Discovers Lithium Bonanza For EV Batteries Right In Its Own Backyard” • The DOE released the results of an analysis of Salton Sea lithium resources by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Direct Lithium Extraction technology could lead to production of more than 3,400 kilotons of lithium, enough for over 375 million EV batteries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Will Keeping California’s Last Nuclear Power Plant Open Raise Your Utility Bill In San Diego?” • The price tag to keep Diablo Canyon open is a matter of debate. That’s important because costs to extend the plant’s operations would be passed onto all customers of power companies regulated by the Public Utilities commission. [San Diego Union-Tribune]

Have a remarkably cozy day.

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Opinion:

¶ “The Corruption At The Heart Of COP28 Revealed” • COP28 is perhaps the world’s last chance to avoid a climate catastrophe. Yet reports indicate it may be little more than a dog and pony show, a fake conference intended to convince the rubes that serious action is being taken while secret deals are being made behind the curtain. [CleanTechnica]

COP 28 (Climate Justice Alliance image)

¶ “Empowering Electrification – Overcoming Grid Limitations with Battery Solutions” • “Electrify Everything” is the biggest cleantech call to action in the world these days. When it was a new and just slightly used phrase, it was catchy, but it didn’t seem ready to become the predominant climate call to action. But this is absolutely what is needed. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Wave Devouring Propulsion: A Revolutionary Technology For Green Maritime Sustainability” • Academics from Cranfield University working on the concept of using wave energy for propulsion designed a method of achieving greater thrust from the power of the waves by harnessing submerged flapping foils on a vessel. [CleanTechnica]

Ship (Borderpolar Photographer, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Groundbreaking Transatlantic Flight Using Greener Fuel Lands” • The first transatlantic flight by a large passenger plane powered only by alternative fuels has landed. Operated by Virgin Atlantic, it flew from London’s Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport. It would be challenging for similar commercial flights to happen because of lack of fuel. [BBC]

¶ “Coal Power, Traffic, Waste Burning A Toxic Smog Cocktail In Indonesia’s Jakarta” • Pollution is causing a rise in respiratory illnesses and deaths in Java, experts say. Smog in Jakarta comes from coal-fired plants, vehicle exhaust, industries, and trash burning. Many residents of the city are demanding that the government take action. [ABC News]

Jakarta (Afif Ramdhasuma, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “New Scheme Uses Rooftop Solar, Grid Renewables To Reduce Social Housing Power Bills” • Residents of Melbourne’s social housing will see their power bills cut by as much as $400 per year thanks to a new partnership which will use onsite solar PV and renewable energy from the grid for power at the social housing apartment complexes. [One Step Off The Grid]

¶ “Beam Global Is Ramping Up Rollout Of Its Off-Grid Solar-Powered EV Charging Infrastructure” • Beam Global came into being because a charging station can have big enough power needs that new power lines have to be put in, even where utility power are nearby. It can be cheaper to put in a battery system for a solar-powered charging station. [CleanTechnica]

EV Charging (Beam Global image)

¶ “Renewables Data Underline Need For Federal Government Measures” • In Australia, the Clean Energy Council released its Q3 Renewable Projects Quarterly Report, confirming that 2023 has been a challenging year for large renewable energy projects. They reached a total of only 509 MW of financially committed projects thus far. [Clean Energy Council]

¶ “West Africa’s Potential Renewable Energy Capacity At 2000 GW: Report” • West Africa has a potential renewable energy capacity of 2,000 GW, which could meet the basic energy needs of its population, according to a report by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and PWC Middle East. The continent’s current installed base is 59 GW. [ZAWYA]

Liberia (Luis Gómez-Ordoñez, Unsplash, cropped)

US:

¶ “Labor Union Wins This Year Are A Win For EVs” • A United Auto Workers white paper says, “In order to preserve American jobs and work standards, what is needed is a proactive industrial policy that creates high-quality manufacturing jobs making EVs and their components.” That statement was important for the recent UAW labor agreements. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New Biden Rule Requires States To Track CO₂ Emissions” • Last week, the Biden administration finalized a rule requiring states to track greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. The new rule requires each state’s DOT to establish declining carbon emissions targets using fuel sales, fuel efficiency, and vehicle-miles-traveled data. [CleanTechnica]

Tractor-trailer (Daphne Fecheyr, Unsplash)

¶ “Vermont Environmentalists Push For More Aggressive Clean-Energy Goals ” • Climate activists gathered at the Vermont Statehouse to push lawmakers to require utilities to get more of their power from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Members of 350Vermont argued that Vermont’s renewable energy is lagging behind other states’. [Seven Days]

¶ “Governor Hochul Announces More Than Two Gigawatts Of Community Solar Has Been Installed In New York” • Governor Kathy Hochul announced that more than 2 GW of community solar has been installed in New York, enough to serve 393,000 homes, reaffirming the State’s position as the top community solar market in the US. [Governor Kathy Hochul]

Solar farm (Wikideas1, public domain, cropped)

¶ “Eight-Year Delay In Pilgrim Decommissioning” • The Pilgrim Nuclear plant could take eight years longer to decommission than was expected six months ago. Owner Holtec International announced its second four-year delay since May, and the delay could have big implications for the disposal of radioactive water still at the plant. [Connecticut Public]

¶ “Arkansas Accepts $142 Million Settlement From Entergy Over Alleged Nuclear Plant Mismanagement” • The Arkansas Public Service Commission has agreed to a $142 million settlement with Entergy over the alleged mismanagement of its Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Mississippi, which supplies power to multiple states, and overcharging for electricity. [KATV]

Have a comfortably constructive day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Moving energy” • The renewable energy future starts with the political leadership. Once a leader in New England in the energy transition off of fossil fuels, Vermont is now the only state in the region to not have updated its renewables requirement in the last eight years as the reality of the costs of the climate crisis have sunk in. [Rutland Herald]

Vermont (Patrick Bald, Unsplash)

¶ “UN Nuclear Chief ‘Ignoring’ Huge Costs For India, Neighbours In The Event Of A Mishap” • The UN nuclear chief said nuclear energy must be part of the equation to tackle climate change. Keen observers of the nuclear power industry find such advocacy of nuclear power as a climate solution to be bizarre and against the true interest of humanity. [Counterview]

Science and Technology:

¶ “The Best Is Yet To Come: New Tandem Silicon-Perovskite Solar Cell Sets Record” • Solar cells may seem like old hats by now, but there is still plenty of room for innovators to push costs down and pump efficiency up. A new record-setting silicon-perovksite solar cell is just one example of the renewable energy firepower emerging from the lab. [CleanTechnica]

New record (Courtesy of LONGi via prnewswire)

World:

¶ “Toxic Gas Putting Millions At Risk In Middle East, BBC Finds” • Toxic pollutants released when gas is flared are putting millions more people to risk than previously feared, a BBC investigation suggests. Flaring is going on across the Gulf, including in the UAE, the COP28 hosts. Research suggests pollution is worsening air quality across the entire region. [BBC]

¶ “Lightning And Hailstorms Kill 24 In Western India” • At least 24 people have been killed by lightning, hailstorms, and intense rain in the Indian state of Gujarat, officials said. Such storms are unusual in the state during winter. Scientists have been warning that rising global temperatures are fuelling a surge in extreme weather events. [BBC]

Lightning (Rahul Viswanath, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Mercedes-Benz Expanding Solar At South Africa Factory, Investing In EV Charging Countrywide” • Mercedes-Benz South Africa is investing R100 million ($5.35 million) in a solar array with 22,847 solar panels at its East London manufacturing plant. The first phase of the installation has 3,692 PV solar panels. It was completed in 2022. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Virgin Atlantic To Fly From Heathrow To JFK Using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel” • Virgin Atlantic will fly a Boeing 787 Dreamliner 3,500 miles from Heathrow to JFK using 60 tons of 100% sustainable aviation fuel – a first. Before it could do this, it needed to get permission from a slew of government agencies in the UK and the US. [CleanTechnica]

Virgin Atlantic flight (Courtesy of Virgin Atlantic)

¶ “Renewable Energy Used For Heating Homes In North China” • Amid a cold wave sweeping North China, Li Chengqin, a resident of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, sips her tea while she watches TV in her cozy living room. This year she no longer has to frequently feed her stove with coal. Her new stove is powered by wind energy. [China Daily]

¶ “How Morocco Became Europe’s Clean Energy Supplier” • Morocco is quickly positioning itself as a potential supplier of renewable energy to energy-hungry Europe. Although Morocco is not as well endowed with oil and gas as its neighbors, it has managed to develop a vibrant solar energy sector by taking advantage of year-round sunshine. [Oil Price]

Solar panels in Morocco (sofoton.es, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Construction Starts On Glasgow Airport Solar Farm” • In a partnership with energy transition adviser and developer Ikigai Group, Glasgow Airport has completed the development phase and the subsequent financial close for a 20-MW solar plant with Zestec Renewable Energy. About £18.5 million is being invested to create the solar farm.[reNews]

US:

¶ “When Sea Levels Rise, So Does Your Rent” • With sea levels rising around the globe, Miami is facing an urgent need to adapt. As property investors look inland, away from the exclusive, low-lying beach area, they saw Little Haiti, a poorer neighbourhood, which is about 18 feet (5.5 meters) above sea level. Now rising rents are forcing its residents out. [BBC]

Little Haiti (Averette, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “You CAN Drive 55: NTSB Proposes Speed Limit Software” • The most recent National Transportation Safety Board call for speed-limiting software in new cars comes as a response to an investigation into a multi-vehicle crash in Las Vegas in 2022. That accident was blamed on excessive speed that resulted in nine fatalities. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “YouTube’s Loaded With EV Disinformation” • YouTube seems to be full of anti-EV material. One popular channel has several very similar videos about different manufacturers supposedly giving up entirely on EVs. There was a number of straight out lies and blatant misinformation in the video. And it is not the only channel like this. [CleanTechnica]

Propaganda (Screenshot from a fake news channel)

¶ “Local Electric Cooperative And Tennessee Solar Company Collaborate On Solar Farm In McNeal” • More than 60,000 solar panels now cover 160 acres of land near McNeal, Arizona. It’s the result of a joint partnership between a local electric cooperative and a Tennessee-based solar company to bring more solar power to a couple thousand homes. [AZPM News]

¶ “City Of Boston Announces Community Choice Electricity Rates” • The City of Boston encouraged all customers to choose BCCE as their electricity supplier. New rates will be in effect from December 2023 to December 2025 using Direct Energy as the contracted supplier. The renewable energy cost less than Basic Service Rate from Eversource. [Boston.gov]

Have a wildly successful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “How Did Humans Get To The Brink Of Crashing Climate?” • People who claimed the power to control nature and the energy resources around them saw the environment as a tool to be used for progress, historians say. Over hundreds of years, that impulse has remade the planet’s climate and brought its inhabitants to the brink of catastrophe. [ABC News]

Niagara Falls (Denley Photography, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “How China Put The Big Three And The US Behind The 8 Ball With EVs” • The sad fact is that the Chinese EV market managed to gain a years-long head start on the US. The design work ends up following the money, so it’s going to take years for American-designed platforms to become dominant again (assuming they ever do). [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Public Transport For Everyone: How To Unlock Climate And Development Benefits From Sustainable Mobility” • Public transport provides a myriad of benefits that can help countries reach climate and development goals. There’s no better solution to moving large numbers of people efficiently, cheaply, and sustainably than electric buses. [CleanTechnica]

Fotografia reklamowa Lukasz Bera (Image courtesy of Solaris)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Contrail Mitigation: A Collaborative Approach in the Face of Uncertainty” • Contrails are the white, linear trails behind some aircraft.To measure and address the climate challenge posed by aviation contrails, RMI is working with aviation industry leaders, the tech sector, and the academic community in the Contrail Impact Task Force. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “COP28: UAE Planned To Use Climate Talks To Make Oil Deals” • The United Arab Emirates planned to use its role as the host of UN climate talks as an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals, the BBC has learned. The UN body responsible for the COP28 summit told the BBC hosts were expected to act without bias or self-interest. [BBC]

Dubai (ZQ Lee, Unsplash)

¶ “Delhi Pollution: Indian Supreme Court’s 40-Year Quest To Clean Foul Air” • In early November, India’s the Supreme Court called for “immediate action” after air quality in the capital deteriorated to alarming levels. The court heard a number of arguments on measures implemented by the Delhi government to tackle the situation. [BBC]

¶ “BYD Philippines Releases Atto 3 EV And Prepares To Open 19 More Dealers, 100 Charging Stations” • AC Motors is reinforcing its commitment to Philippine EV adoption with the introduction of the latest addition to the BYD lineup, the Atto 3 hatchback. The company plans to establish 100 charging stations across selected Ayala Land properties. [CleanTechnica]

BYD Atto 3 (BYE image)

¶ “Iberdrola Sets Out £12 Billion UK Investment Plan Focusing On Electricity Networks And Renewables” • ScottishPower parent company Iberdrola has set out a £12 billion investment plan for 2024-2028 at the UK Global Investment Summit in London, hosted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, focusing on electricity networks and renewables. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “155-MW Romanian PV powers up” • Commercial operations have begun at the 155-MW Ratesti Solar Project in Romania. The PV site, owned by Israeli companies Econergy and Nofar Energy, is the largest of its kind in the country and south-east Europe and represents an investment of €102m. Several additional sites should come along in 2024. [reNews]

Solar project (Econergy image)

¶ “‘Biggest Energy Policy Change’: 32-GW CFDS Could Put Australia On Track For 2030 Climate Targets” • The Australian government’s start of competitive Contracts for Difference tenders for dispatchable renewable energy capacity, with back-up by battery energy storage systems, is an unprecedented step for national energy policy. [Energy-Storage.News]

¶ “Nuclear Energy In PH? Group Says There’s Not Even A Filipino Expert On Safety, Radiation” • In a convergence of strong scientific and environmental dissent on nuclear power, progressive groups, scientists, and climate activists expressed opposition to the newly signed nuclear deal between the US and the Philippines. [Inquirer.net]

Unfinished Bataan nuclear plant (Jiru27, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

US:

¶ “EV Batteries Are Perfect For Storing Solar Power” • Time shifting is one of the keys to the solar power revolution. In the past, those batteries have been made using new battery cells. But B2U, a California start-up, is putting its efforts into used EV battery packs as a simpler and more cost effective way to store electricity for later use. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Nantucket’s Rich Are Losing The Battle To Keep Wind Power Out Of Their Backyards” • A raft of lawsuits from residents and fishing industry groups complain about everything from marine life hazards to obstructed views. But Avangrid completed the first of 62 giant wind turbines last month, promising power for over 400,000 homes and businesses. [The Messenger]

Wind turbines (Waldemar, Unsplash)

¶ “New Life For Old Coal: Minelands And Power Plants Are Renewable Development Hot Spots” • AES Indiana’s Petersburg Generating Station has been burning coal since the 1960s. That era, though, will end soon, as the last unit will shut down in 2025. Two units will be switched to natural gas, but the company is also building an 800-MWh battery. [Ohio Capital Journal]

¶ “Governor And Array Technologies Announce New Mexico Expansion” • Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and CEO Kevin Hostetler of Array Technologies announced that plans have been finalized for a major expansion that will solidify the company’s New Mexico future with a new $50 million manufacturing site in Bernalillo County. [Los Alamos Daily Post]

Have an abundantly encouraging day.

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Opinion:

¶ “States Should Reform Fast E-Bike Regulations To Reduce Emissions” • For cheap transportation, let’s talk about electric dirtbikes like the Sur Ron Light Bee. Speeds are limited to around 45-50 MPH, but for city driving, that’s enough speed. Even faster ones are available both from Sur Ron and other brands, and with more range. [CleanTechnica]

Sur Ron electric bike (Sur Ron image)

¶ “Electric Cars Can Catch Fire. We Must Run And Tell The King!” • There are dozens of urban legends about electric cars. Many say they are just overgrown golf carts or that they can’t be driven in the rain. But the most prevalent myth about electric cars is that they are a fire hazard and likely to burst into flames at any time. It really is a myth. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “How AI Could Power The Climate Breakthrough The World Needs” • Better assessing future risks for farming is just one example of the ways artificial intelligence technologies can be used to address the climate crisis. AI probably won’t replace the need for humans in the climate change fight. But it could make their work faster and more effective. [CNN]

Jets fly by a Supercell (NOAA image, Unsplash)

¶ “Installing Solar Panels More Eco-Friendly Than Planting Trees: Study” • A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology has revealed that if land use is taken into account, installing more solar panels or investing more in solar energy is more climate-efficient than planting trees on the same piece of land. [WION]

World:

¶ “Stellantis and CATL Join Forces for European LFP Batteries” • Stellantis and CATL announced an agreement to supply LFP battery cells and modules for EVs in Europe. The agreement has two important goals: building a bold technology roadmap to support Stellantis’ future EVs, and identifying ways to further strengthen the battery value chain. [CleanTechnica]

Jeep® Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept (Stellantis image)

¶ “COP28 Is Humanity’s Last Clear Chance To Avoid A Climate Catastrophe” • Simon Stiell of Grenada is the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. He said world leaders must “stop dawdling and start doing” on carbon emission cuts, as rapidly rising temperatures have put everyone on the front line of disaster. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Can UK’s ‘Jet Zero’ Hopes Take Off With A Plane Fuelled By Used-Cooking Oil?” • A Virgin Atlantic flight will set off on Tuesday from London Heathrow for New York, a Boeing 787 carrying scientists, aviation leaders, politicians, and media, and powered largely by used-cooking oil, or as it is now called, sustainable aviation fuel. [The Guardian]

Model of a Boeing 787 (Justin Lim, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Cambodia’s Big Bet On The Dirtiest Fossil Fuel Faces Major Delays” • In 2020, Cambodia doubled down on fossil fuels with plans to develop three coal power plants to meet rising electricity demand that could not be filled by renewables. One of the plants is finished and operational, but construction work at the other two has stopped. [The Japan Times]

¶ “Phase-Out Of Fossil Fuels And Finance For Global South Must For Meeting Renewables Target: 350.Org” • As the world gears up for COP28, environmental activist group 350.org has called for a comprehensive package that includes a phase-out of fossil fuels and a finance package for the Global South to increase global renewable capacity. [Media India Group]

Break free (Eelco Böhtlingk, Unsplash)

¶ “China’s Installed Renewable Energy Capacity Surges In Jan-Oct” • China’s installed capacity of clean energy surged in the first ten months of the year. By the end of October, the installed capacity of solar power in China was up 47% year on year to 540 GW, while that of wind power stood at about 400 GW, for a yearly increase of 15.6% [Xinhua]

¶ “Top Diplomats From Japan And China Meet In South Korea Ahead Of Three-Way Regional Talks” • Top diplomats from Japan and China met for bilateral talks Saturday to try to resolve disputes including China’s ban on Japanese seafood, which has hit Japanese exporters. They will next join their host, Park Jin, for three-way talks. [ABC News]

Sea urchin for sale (Tuan Nguyen, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Downtown Albany, NY Gets Some DCFC Love” • Downtown Albany’s Quackenbush public parking garage now has a DC fast charging hub. This is expanding the New York Power Authority’s EVolve NY high-speed network into the heart of the capital city. New York Governor Kathy Hochul had announced the project earlier this month. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Wallbox and Bidirectional Energy To Get Grant For More V2X In California” • Wallbox recently announced a partnership with Bidirectional Energy, a software platform for bidirectional EV energy management. They got funding from the competitive CEC REDWDS grant. They will use the funding to introduce the Quasar 2 bidirectional charger. [CleanTechnica]

Wallbox and Kia (Image by Wallbox and Kia)

¶ “First Offshore Wind Farm To Power CT Homes Wins Final Approval; Will Be South Of Block Island” • Revolution Wind, an offshore wind project to power Connecticut and Rhode island and one of the relatively few in the northeast to emerge intact from a flurry of economic setbacks, has received final BOEM approval to begin construction. [The Daily Item]

¶ “Kentucky Groups Go After Federal Dollars To Pay For More Residential Solar Panels” • Kentucky’s state government and some of the state’s largest cities are applying for hundreds of millions of dollars to support the growth of solar for low-income and disadvantaged communities. Most of Kentucky still runs on power made from coal. [WKMS]

Have an especially fulfilling day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Geoengineering May Be The Least Worst Climate Solution” • Almost everyone agrees geoengineering is a lousy idea, one that is fraught with incalculable danger. Yet human greed, ignorance, and stupidity make it unlikely people will choose the best course, which is to drastically reduce our reliance on oil, methane, and coal for heat and electricity. [CleanTechnica]

Solar intervention (Chelsea Thompson, NREL, public domain)
Please click on the image to enlarge it.)

¶ “Why Good Inventions Get Lost” • Many inventions have no way to benefit the inventor, humanity, or the environment. There may be important answers to climate change out there that cannot be developed because they will not pay their developers. That is a horrible reason to allow a planet to be ruined. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Debunking Solar PV Fears” • As numbers of PV installations modules have risen, some people have raised concerns about the materials they’re made from, promoting disinformation about the safety of recycling modules. A team at NREL in Colorado clarified this waste from solar panels and published an essay in the journal Nature Physics. [Living on Earth]

Solar panels (Chelsea, Unsplash, cropped)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Better Battery Performance And Less Degradation At The Same Time” • To safely store energy and make it rechargeable, you need to wire the individual battery cells together, build a way to cool them, and control the flow of energy in and out of the cells to prevent them from getting damaged and potentially even catching fire. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Haughey’s Bog: Why Are Peatlands Important?” • Haughey’s Bog in County Tyrone is the latest peatland in Northern Ireland to begin the journey to restoration. Peatlands cover 12% of the land area of Northern Ireland, but 86% of peatlands there are in a degraded state. Instead of storing carbon dioxide, they emit it. Restoration is vitally important. [BBC]

Peatland (K B, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “‘Moment Of Truth’ For Oil Industry: Deepen The Climate Crisis Or Help Fix It” • Oil and gas producers must confront a “pivotal” choice: continue to accelerate the climate crisis or become part of the solution, a new IEA report says. The world needs to take drastic action to limit rising global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. [CNN]

¶ “Nissan Will Invest Over $1 Billion To Make EV Versions Of Its Best-Selling Cars” • Nissan will invest £1.12 billion ($1.4 billion) to update its factory in northeast England to make electric versions of its two best-selling cars, the Qashqai and Juke crossovers. It is a boost for the British government as it tries to revive the country’s ailing economy. [ABC News]

Nissan Qashqai (Jameel Ismail, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Stellantis Opens “Circular Economy Hub” in Turin, Italy” • Stellantis opened the “SUSTAINera Circular Economy Hub” in Turin, Italy. This is a big step in the company’s plan to work toward a circular economy. It enables a “holistic 360-degree approach” via the company’s “4R” strategy: Reman, Repair, Reuse, and Recycle. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “BYD Produces Its Six Millionth Plugin Vehicle!” • BYD is now neck and neck with Tesla in terms of quarterly pure battery EV sales, and it has long been the world leader in plugin vehicle sales. As further evidence of its position at the top of the market, the company just passed the milestone of 6 million cumulative plugin vehicles produced. [CleanTechnica]

Six millionth plugin vehicle (BYD image)

¶ “Australia Plans To Add 32 GW Of Renewable Energy By 2030” • The Australian Government looks to add 32 GW of renewable, dispatchable energy capacity to its national electricity grid by 2030. A national framework to increase renewables investment will be used to underwrite 9 GW of dispatchable projects and 23 GW in variable capacity. [Power Technology]

US:

¶ “Range Energy Electrifies The Semi Trailer” • Range Energy has just completed a testing of its electric semi trailers by Mesilla Valley Transportation, a company that provides breakthrough testing, design, and development services for the trucking industry. The Range Energy semi trailer fits an innovative e-axle, battery pack, and smart pin. [CleanTechnica]

Range Energy semi trailer (Range Energy image)

¶ “Reliability v Sustainability: Inside The Debate Over The EPA’s Proposed Carbon Rules” • The American electric grid is going through major changes, prodded by state and federal policies, market forces pushing cheaper and cleaner power sources, and aging power infrastructure. That’s run up against transmission constraints and other delays. [Maryland Matters]

¶ “Michigan First State In Midwest To Set Power Storage Benchmark” • Michigan will become the first state in the Midwest to establish an energy storage standard. Ten states already set power storage goals but only two set more ambitious benchmarks than Michigan’s new target of at least 2,500 MW of energy storage by 2030. [MLive.com]

Solar panels (Provided By Boyne Mountain Resort)

¶ “Alaska’s Pricey, Fossil Fuel-Based Electric Power Could Thwart Investment, Mining Executive Says” • Steep electricity prices and heavy dependence on fossil fuels to generate power discourage development of new mining projects in Alaska. That’s the blunt message a mining executive had for Alaska’s natural resource development industries. [Anchorage Daily News]

¶ “Investors File Lawsuit Against NuScale After Cancellation Of SMR Project” • A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of people who purchased NuScale securities between Mar 15, 2023, and Nov 8, 2023, after NuScale’s Carbon Free Power Project was cancelled. It alleges that NuScale made false or misleading statements during that time. [Power Engineering]

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Opinion:

¶ “‘An Agenda To Control You’: How Climate Solutions Got Sucked Into A Fevered Culture War” • As climate solutions and policies move from the abstract to the personal – our cars, our food, and how we keep our homes warm – it has created fertile ground for anger and fear, and has fanned the flames of a culture war long in the making. [CNN]

Caution (Kevin Grieve, Unsplash)

¶ “I Thought Climate Change Was A Hoax. Now I’ve Changed My Mind” • Sarah Ott spent years believing climate change was a hoax, influenced by friends at church in the US south and a popular right-wing radio host. Here she shares her journey from being a climate sceptic to advocating for clean energy, teaching the science of climate change. [BBC]

¶ “What Happened To The Great Lakes Offshore Wind Boom?” • Offshore wind projects cropped up all over the Great Lakes region in the early 2010s, attracted by the strong and consistent winds that blow over the lakes. But by the end of the decade, all but one were gone. Icebreaker Wind has no full-time staff and is being pursued by volunteers. [Inside Climate News]

Icebreaker wind project (Leedco image)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Could Airports Make Hydrogen Work As A Fuel?” • The UK aviation industry has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040. The US aviation industry plans to reach net zero by 2050. The EU has a similar goal. Reaching such targets will require switching away from traditional jet fuel. But can hydrogen be the fuel we need? [BBC]

World:

¶ “World’s Biggest Iceberg On The Move After 30 Years” • The world’s biggest iceberg is on the move after more than 30 years being stuck to the ocean floor. The iceberg, called A23a, split from the Antarctic coastline in 1986. But it swiftly grounded in the Weddell Sea, becoming, essentially, an ice island. At almost 4,000 sq km (1,500 sq miles) in area. [BBC]

Iceberg (Christian Pfeifer, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “IZIVIA Putting 2,000 Fast Charging Stations At McDonald’s” • France is electrifying its transport quickly; 20% of new vehicle sales are full electrics and 30% being plugin vehicles. IZIVIA, a full subsidiary of EDF focused on e-mobility solutions, is aiming to install more than 2,000 fast chargers for EVs at McDonald’s restaurants in France. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Southern Europe’s Getting A Big Charging Boost” • There are some serious efforts going on to keep installing charging stations in southern Europe. One claims it’s going to end up giving the region the biggest charging network ever. Wallbox and Atlante are developing new public charging points in Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal. [CleanTechnica]

Atlante charging stations (Provided by Wallbox and Atlante)

¶ “Enel Sets $39 Billion Three-Year Grid Capex, To Be Selective On Renewable Energy” • Global electricity giant Enel SPA has set €35.8 billion ($39.05 billion) in capital expenditure for the next three years with “selective investment” in renewable energy. Enel expects renewable power to grow but sees a need to expand grid storage to support the growth. [Rigzone]

¶ “Mindanao Targets 50% Renewable Energy Mix By 2030 To Address Energy Challenges” • Grappling with the energy and environmental challenges spurred by rapid industrialization and population growth, the Philippine island of Mindanao has set an ambitious target of achieving a 50% renewable energy share in the overall energy mix by 2030. [Solar Quarter]

Mindanao countryside (Zeke Tucker, Unsplash)

¶ “Russia’s ‘Cold Shutdown’ At Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Fuels Safety Fears” • The fact that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine is in an area of Ukraine that is a war zone has caused global concern. One of the plant’s six reactors is being moved from hot to cold shutdown to find out why boron was detected in a cooling circuit. [Newsweek]

US:

¶ “Sea Turtle Nests Break Records On US Beaches, But Global Warming Threatens Survival” • Just as they have for millions of years, sea turtles by the thousands crawled from the ocean to US beaches to lay their eggs. This year, record nesting was found in Florida and elsewhere despite growing concern about threats from climate change. [ABC News]

Sea turtle (Giorgia Doglioni, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Annual Results” • With the two-year anniversary of the signing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Interior Department released an analysis that estimates the investments it produced, saying it supported on average 17,669 jobs and contributed an average of $2 billion to the economy each year in the US. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Arizona Solar Canal Project Aims To Save Water While Making Power” • With most of Arizona in a state of moderate to extreme drought, the Gila River Indian Community and the US Army Corps of Engineers have signed a deal to begin a solar-over-canal project. It is designed to reduce evaporation and boost efficiency of the solar panels. [New Atlas]

Rendering of Project Nexus in California (Solar Aquagrid LLC)

¶ “New York Announces Another Big Charging Infrastructure Program” • New York Gov Kathy Hochul announced changes to the state’s EV “make-ready” program to expedite the switch to zero-emissions EVs. The state predicts that the programs will eventually result in a total stimulated investment of $4 billion in EV charging infrastructure. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Pollution From Coal Power Plants Contributes To Far More Deaths Than Scientists Realized” • Air pollution particles from coal-fired power plants are far more harmful to human health than many experts realized. It’s more than twice as likely to contribute to premature deaths as air pollution particles from other sources, a study shows. [The Conversation]

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Opinion:

¶ “Solar Has Been Quietly Running Up The Score During The Delayed Vogtle 3 And 4 Construction” • During the construction of the Vogtle nuclear units 3 and 4, more than 4,500 MW of solar was built in the state of Georgia. That’s double the peak capacity that those nukes will bring online, and at 1/5 the cost. Let’s look into this. [Southern Alliance for Clean Energy]

Georgia solar project (Riley Harwood, US DOE, public domain)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Clean Energy 101: Passive Daytime Radiative Cooling (Really Cool Roofs)” • At Third Derivative and RMI, they’re particularly excited about a class of advanced materials that provide a passive daytime radiative cooling effect, greatly reducing indoor heat. In fact, their heat and emissions reduction benefits may even save people’s lives. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Heat Pump Water Heaters Save Money And Lower Emissions” • Our world is facing a climate emergency because of the billions of tons of greenhouse gases we dump into the environment each year. A heat pump hot water heater can be three times as efficient as a normal electric water heater. Same amount of hot water at one third the cost. [CleanTechnica]

Heat pump water heater (NIST, public domain)

World:

¶ “To Save Climate, Oil And Gas Sector Must Greatly Reduce Planet-Warming Operations, Report Says” • The oil and gas sector is one of the major emitters of planet-warming gases. It will need a rapid and substantial overhaul for the world to avoid even worse extreme weather events fueled by human-caused climate change, a report says. [ABC News]

¶ “Peru Has Lost More Than Half Of Its Glacier Surface” • Peru lost more than half of its glacier surface over the last six decades, and 175 glaciers became extinct due to climate change between 2016 and 2020, said scientists from the state agency that studies glaciers. Peru’s glaciers cover only 44% of the land they did when the first inventory was done in 1962. [ABC News]

Pastoruri Glacier (Willian Justen de Vasconcellos, Unsplash)

¶ “DHL Express South Africa Gets Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo Test Fleet In South Africa” • Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles partnered with DHL for the pilot test of an ID. Buzz Cargo fleet in South Africa. Four ID. Buzz Cargo units will be used as last-mile courier service in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban for a period of six months. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Vatican Getting Nearly Forty EVs From Volkswagen” • The Pope and the Vatican have been supporters of climate action and vehicle electrification for several years. The Vatican aims to have a completely carbon neutral fleet by 2030. Now the Vatican’s fleet is electrifying more than ever with an order for forty Volkswagen ID vehicles. [CleanTechnica]

Pope Francis and Volkswagen EVs (Volkswagen AG)

¶ “Zuellig Pharma And ACEN RES Forge Green Partnership For 100% Renewable Energy In The Philippines” • Zuellig Pharma is partnering with ACEN Renewable Energy Solutions to provide 100% renewable energy for two major distribution facilities in the Philippines – the Santa Rosa Distribution Center and Canlubang Distribution Center. [SolarQuarter]

¶ “Lightsource BP Launches Collective PPA Model” • Lightsource BP unveiled a collective purchasing framework so smaller and mid-sized businesses can access clean electricity by aggregating their demand. The company is inviting businesses to join a European multi-buyer corporate power purchase agreement for a portfolio of solar assets in Spain. [reNews]

Solar array with pollinator support (Lightsource BP image)

¶ “Giant Batteries Are Winning The Race Against Gas-Fired Power” • The longterm economics of gasfired generating plants are changing quickly. Giant batteries that ensure stable power supply by offsetting intermittent renewable supplies are getting cheap enough to make developers abandon scores of projects for gasfired generation worldwide. [Energy Central]

US:

¶ “Inflation Reduction Act Drives $92 Billion Investment In EV Production, 84,000 Jobs In USA” • The Inflation Reduction Act has been an enormous stimulus for the EV sector in the US. It is underrated and under-acknowledged for how it has brought manufacturing and mining jobs to the US, not to mention the many jobs it has retained. [CleanTechnica]

BlueOval City factory construction (Courtesy of Ford)

¶ “US Gas Prices Down As Gasoline Demand Down” • The US Energy Information Administration reports that gas prices in the US are down 10% compared to the same time last year. Or, taking inflation into account, they are actually down 13%! This is despite an expected 2% increase in miles expected to be traveled during Thanksgiving weekend. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Swift Current Energy’s Mineral Basin Solar Project Secures 20-Year NYSERDA Power Contract” • Swift Current Energy recently announced that its Mineral Basin Solar project has been granted a 20-year power contract by NYSERDA, marking a big step forward in New York State’s substantial investment in renewable energy. [SolarQuarter]

Wind turbines (Marcel Strauß, Unsplash)

¶ “Despite Setbacks, States Are Still Counting On Offshore Wind” • East Coast states’ plans to install massive new offshore wind farms have been battered by bad economic news and canceled contracts for projects officials were counting on to reach their clean energy goals. But state leaders don’t intend to dial back offshore wind ambitions. [Louisiana Illuminator]

¶ “Burlington Approves New Carbon Fee And Creates New Fund For Clean Energy Projects” • The Burlington City Council voted to charge developers a fee for installing new fossil fuel heating systems in new buildings and some existing buildings, despite opposition from some environmentalists who say the measure isn’t green enough. [VTDigger]

Have an appealingly convivial day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Twenty-Five Billion Reasons For Ministers To Support Urgent Consumer Energy Reform” • If we are to maximise solar value and continue to lower household power bills, we need Australia’s policy makers to act on smarter technology and regulation. The rules must benefit households and businesses, and not just big industry. [Renew Economy]

Australian Rooftop solar (Western Power image)

Science and Technology:

¶ “New Carbon Material Sets Energy-Storage Record” • Guided by machine learning, chemists working at the US DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed a material for carbonaceous supercapacitors that stores four times more energy than the best commercial material. The new material could be used to make more useful supercapacitors. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Northvolt And BYD Announce Sodium-Ion Battery Plans” • Northvolt made a surprise announcemen that it had developed a best-in-class sodium ion battery that would allow for expansion of cost effective and sustainable energy storage systems across the world. Separately, BYD says it will build a sodium-ion battery plant in China. [CleanTechnica]

Northvolt sodium-ion battery (Northvolt image)

World:

¶ “Dramatic Rise In Web Searches For ‘Climate Anxiety’” • The rise of wildfires, floods and droughts around the world are just some of the highly visible signs of climate change. The impact of climate change on human minds is reported less often. Online search queries related to “climate anxiety” have risen, according to data gathered by Google. [BBC]

¶ “The Villagers Building 100 Ft Ice Towers” • Ladakh had been bathed by the sun for 300 days per year, while barely four inches of rain have fallen. Floods in the region were virtually unheard of. There have been four in the last ten years. But drought always returns, leaving villages at risk. Now villagers are building ice towers to hold water through summer. [BBC]

Leh, Ladakh (Anmol Arora, Unsplash)

¶ “Why Kenya-Uganda Oil Row Is Causing Regional Jitters” • For decades, Kenya has imported oil and sold it on to its East African neighbours, but its role in supplying fuel regionally is at risk. A bitter row over fuel supplies has erupted between Kenya and Uganda, with the Ugandan leader saying his country is being “cheated” by “parasites” and middlemen. [BBC]

¶ “EU Lawmakers Back “Made in Europe” Green Tech Rules in First Bloc-Wide Industrial Plan” • Europe’s lawmakers voted in favor of “made in Europe” green manufacturing rules as part of the EU’s Net Zero Industry Act. This will boost European support for green tech to counter growing pressure from China and the US while improving resilience. [CleanTechnica]

Scania electric bus (Scania image)

¶ “TransAlta Going Greener As It Maps Out $3.5 Billion In Spending, Mainly On Renewables” • One of Alberta’s largest power generators says over two-thirds of its profits will come from renewable electricity production by 2028. It is a major shift for a company that once was one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in Canada. [Global News]

US:

¶ “Search For Pipeline Leak After As Much As 1.1 Million Gallons Of Oil Sullies Gulf Of Mexico” • As much as 1.1 million gallons of oil may have been discharged into the Gulf of Mexico from a pipeline system off Louisiana’s southeast coast, according to the US Coast Guard. The exact location and cause of the leak are as yet unknown. [ABC News]

Oil on water (Dmitry Bukhantsov, Unsplash)

¶ “Ford To Resume Building EV Battery Plant Delayed By Strike” • Ford Motor Co is resuming construction on a Michigan EV battery plant that the company postponed two months ago during a strike by the United Auto Workers union. But the automaker said that due to slowing EV sales growth, it will scale back the factory’s size. [ABC News]

¶ “This Moped-Style Utility E-Bike Could Replace A Car For Many People” • The newest model of e-bike from Momentum, a sub-brand of Giant Bicycles, promises to be a contender in the growing utility and cargo bike category due to its low stepover frame, impressive payload capacity, wide range of accessories, and grip throttle. [CleanTechnica]

Momentum Cito E+ e-bike (Courtesy of Momentum)

¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Approves Sixth Offshore Wind Project” • The Biden-Harris administration announced approval of the Empire Wind offshore wind project, the sixth approval of a large offshore wind energy project under President Biden’s leadership. This supports the goal of 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New Zero-Emissions Ferry For San Francisco Bay” • SWITCH Maritime manufactured a zero-emissions 75-passenger ferry. The company’s CEO Pace Ralli provided many details about the new vessel for CleanTechnica. It is to have hydrogen fuel cells, the hydrogen storage tanks, the electric propulsion system, and a lithium-ion battery system. [CleanTechnica]

Zero-emissions ferry (Courtesy of SWITCH Maritime)

¶ “GE Vernova And Next Hydrogen Sign MOU To Integrate Electrolysis Technology With Power Systems To Produce Green Hydrogen” • GE Vernova and Next Hydrogen Solutions have signed an MOU to integrate Next Hydrogen’s electrolysis technology with GE Vernova’s power systems offerings to produce green hydrogen. [General Electric]

¶ “Air Force Rescinds $100 Million Award For Microreactor” • In August, Oklo was tentatively chosen as the contractor to build a microreactor at Alaska’s Eielson Air Force Base by the end of 2027. But the military revoked the intent to award Oklo the planned $100-million-plus contract in late September, according to newsletter Northern Journal. [Canary Media]

Have a pleasantly surprising day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Five Things To Watch For At COP28 In Dubai” • COP28 will take place against a backdrop of steadily rising GHG emissions, record-breaking heat, and extreme climate impacts. But even so, unbelievably, there has been a continued expansion in fossil fuel production and use, and there are yawning emissions gaps in countries’ climate efforts. [CleanTechnica]

We’re in the wrong place (David Kovalenko, Unsplash, cropped)

World:

¶ “BMW Ends Combustion Engine Production In Germany” • As one of the most iconic brands in the century-long optimization of automobile engines for sporty driving, BMW’s tagline was “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” Now, however, BMW is turning to EVs and has ended the production of combustion engines in its home country of Germany. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Brazil Records Its Hottest Ever Temperature” • Brazil has recorded its hottest ever temperature, 44.8°C (112.6°F), as parts of the country endure a stifling heatwave. The record was hit on Sunday in the town of Araçuaí, in Brazil’s south-eastern state of Minas Gerais. [BBC] (Please note: geoharvey.com had a report of a much higher temperature last week as a result of an error.)

Storm in Minas Gerais (Nathalia Segato, Unsplash)

¶ “1.5ºC Is In The Rear View Mirror. 3ºC Is Just Around The Corner – UN Emissions Gap Report” • This year’s Emissions Gap Report says as things stand, unconditional Nationally Determined Contributions made under the Paris Agreement in 2015 would put the world on track for limiting temperature rise to 2.9°C above pre-industrial levels. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Zero Carbon Charge Starts Construction On First National Network Of 100% Solar-Powered EV Charging Stations in South Africa” • While there is already a growing charging network in South Africa, Zero Carbon Charge now wants to help grow the network further, by including more of the national and regional roads that are not yet covered. [CleanTechnica]

Zero Carbon Charge site (Zero Carbon Charge image)

¶ “North Seas Energy Ministers endorse Wind Power Package” • The ten Energy Ministers of the North Seas Energy Cooperation agreed a new NSEC Action Agenda for the build-out of offshore wind. This Agenda aims to help strengthen Europe’s wind energy supply chain. The NSEC also welcomed the EU Commission’s Wind Power Package. [WindEurope]

¶ “Coal Power Plants Thriving At 65% PLF Despite Record RE Capacity Addition, Says CRISIL” • Plant load factors of India’s coal-based power plants will improve to about 65% this fiscal despite record renewable energy capacity addition, said a report by CRISIL Ratings. Conditions for companies generating with coal increase their credit ratings. [The Financial Express]

Coal plant (Saket swagat sahoo, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

US:

¶ “California Wildfires Altering Ecosystems, Disrupting Wildlife Habitats: Study” • Over the past two decades, US forest fires have become more intense, frequent, and widespread. The fires that burned large swaths of land in California are reshaping wildlife ecosystems, a study found. It was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [ABC News]

¶ “Seppuku At GM’s Cruise Division Shows The Necessity Of Transparency, But That May Not Be Enough” • After a nasty crash involving one of its vehicles and a pedestrian, GM lost its license to run robotaxis in California, and it has put production of its next-generation vehicles on hold. But it seems a vital part of those stories was missing. [CleanTechnica]

GM Cruise EV (GM Cruise image)

¶ “Tesla Cybertrucks Roll Into Tesla Stores Before Black Friday” • With ten days remaining to the Cybertruck Delivery Event that is to take place at Tesla Giga Texas on November 30, Tesla has already started displaying Cybertrucks at its showrooms in the US. The Cybertrucks showcased at Tesla Stores are production models and will go to customers. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Revolution Wind Begins Construction Of Offshore Wind Farm In Rhode Island Sound” • Offshore wind projects along the Atlantic coast have suffered setbacks recently, particularly in New Jersey. But things are different in Rhode Island. Revolution Wind celebrated starting construction of a large offshore wind farm in Rhode Island Sound. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore wind farm (Pixy.org, CC0)

¶ “Texas, Weirdly, Is Leading America’s Clean Energy Future” • Texas, America’s oil capital for more than a century, is now the top producer of renewable energy in the US. While fossil fuel still reigns supreme in the state’s energy mix, wind and solar account for a growing share of the total. Some people are happy about that, but some are not. [Business Insider]

¶ “Amazon To Develop First Solar Farm In Oklahoma” • Amazon announced that it’s developing its first solar farm in Oklahoma, and plans to power local grids and its operations. The solar farm will be in Kiowa County in southwest Oklahoma, with a capacity of 100 MW. This will add to two Amazon wind farms in the state, for a total of 618 MW of capacity. [KGOU]

Wind turbines in Oklahoma (USDA, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Governor Hochul Announces Installation Of First Offshore Wind Turbine For South Fork Wind” • Governor Kathy Hochul announced the completed installation of the first offshore wind turbine for South Fork Wind, a milestone for New York’s offshore wind development. It will be the first large wind farm completed in US federal waters. [Governor Kathy Hochul]

¶ “The Deeper Dig: A Plan For What’s Left Of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant” • VY has been shut down since 2014, and NorthStar, the company that now owns it, is deconstructing it. NorthStar recently submitted a plan that describes in detail the final steps of decommissioning, which is projected to be finished ahead of schedule, by 2026. [VTDigger]

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Opinion:

¶ “UK Has £10 Billion Per Nuclear Reactor Decommissioning Bottomless Pit” • The costs for nuclear power are coming home to roost in the UK. Despite the very high costs of new nuclear reactors, the rising costs of clean up, and the availability of much cheaper alternatives, the UK’s current administration remains committed to the technology. [CleanTechnica]

Model of Hinkley Point C (UK government, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “$18 Trillion Capital Gap Is Threatening The Green Energy Transition” • Closing the $18 trillion gap to fund the transition to green energy through 2030 is slowed due to negative investment conditions. Challenges include inflation, supply chain pressures, and higher costs of capital. But the energy sector has responded proactively. [PR Newswire]

¶ “The Future Of Energy Is Community Energy, And 100% Renewable” • Our governments, energy market bodies, and energy corporates may not be getting the energy transition right. They are struggle to get the social approval they need for the big expensive decisions that they are making. Community energy is the answer to a fast transition. [Renew Economy]

People of a community (Natalie Pedigo, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Extreme Weather And Falling Demand Are Pushing Wineries Into The Red” • According to the International Organisation for Vine and Wine, an industry group, global wine production is set to fall to its lowest level since 1961 this year, hit by scorching heat and extraordinary flooding. Italy is expecting a 12% drop in its output, and Spain could see 14 %. [CNN]

¶ “The World Briefly Smashed Through The 2-Degree Warming Limit For The First Time Ever” • The Earth’s temperature briefly rose above a crucial threshold that scientists have been warning for decades could have catastrophic and irreversible impacts on the planet and its ecosystems, according to data shared by a prominent climate scientist. [CNN]

Ice (Melissa Bradley, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “China’s Growing EV Influence Around Asia Highlighted At San Francisco’s APEC Summit” • The 2023 APEC Summit held in San Francisco last week marked a pivotal moment in the region’s transition to sustainable transportation. Representatives from China engaged in updating already existing bilateral agreements to promote EV cooperation. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Electric Delivery Trucks Growing In Australia” • Just as the Australian state and federal regulations are being adapted to the transition to electric semi trucks, local councils are being urged to examine their regulations to allow quiet, less polluting electric delivery trucks to operate at night. These trucks could charge during the day, using cheap solar. [CleanTechnica]

Electric truck (Volvo Group image)

¶ “UK Gov Raises Maximum Price for Offshore Wind Projects” • In a release posted on its website recently, the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said that the government has “increased the maximum price for offshore wind projects in its flagship renewables scheme to further cement the UK as a world leader in clean energy.” [Rigzone]

¶ “EWEC Commissions 2-GW Solar Plant In Abu Dhabi” • Abu Dhabi officials inaugurated the 2-GW Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic Independent Power Project. It is said to be the largest single-site solar PV plant. It is managed by UAE-based Masdar, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, French energy giant EDF, and Jinko Power, a Chinese solar developer. [PV Magazine]

Dhafra solar project (EWEC)

¶ “Replacing Oil Shale With Renewables In The Power System Can Help Estonia Achieve Its Energy And Climate Ambitions” • A quicker phase out of oil shale use in electricity generation and streamlining permitting for renewable energy projects are crucial to realise Estonia’s goals while maintaining energy security, an IEA policy review shows. [International Energy Agency]

US:

¶ “Those With Smaller Farming Operations Often Pay The Price Of Extreme Weather” • Kentucky farmers were not used to the distances they’ve had to drive the past couple years, the result of bad weather that’s closed nearby market sites. As the damage increases, a trip that used to take ten minutes got get produce to market can take an hour or more. [ABC News]

Farm (Timothy Eberly, Unsplash)

¶ “Hyundai Teams With Amazon For New Car Sales And Web Services” • Amazon would dearly love to get into selling new cars. In a joint press release at the Los Angeles auto show, Hyundai and Amazon announced a partnership that will offer Hyundai automobiles, both conventional and electric, online through Amazon starting early next year. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Air Force Approves New Green Aircraft Demonstrator Project” • The US Air Force conferred X-plane status on a green aircraft demonstration project aimed at reducing fuel use by 30%. Spearheaded by Boeing and NASA, the it is the first Air Force designated X-plane to focus on sustainability since the program began in the 1940s. [CleanTechnica]

Transonic Truss-Braced Wing X-66A (Boeing image)

¶ “A Year After Devastating Winter Storm, Power Plant Problems ‘Still Likely’ In Extreme Weather” • As the anniversary of Winter Storm Elliott approaches, a pair of reports released last week reveal how much worse the situation could have become and how the continued vulnerability of the US energy grid to frigid weather continues. [Virginia Mercury]

¶ “Congress Looks To Boost Job Training For Offshore Wind Industry” • Congress is considering federal help to address the labor shortage in the fledging offshore wind industry. Senator Edward J Markey (D-Mass) introduced the Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act, that would boost workforce needed for offshore windpower development. [WorkBoat]

Have a highly beneficial day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “This Corn Was Down To Its Last Two Cobs. Now It Could Help Farmers Grow Food In The Climate Crisis” • Heirloom grains, vegetables, and fruits have traits that make them less at risk of climate change, because they have been grown over hundreds of years in wildly different conditions. Here is the story of a corn that was barely saved from extinction. [CNN]

Jimmy Red (Peter Frank Edwards for High Wire Distilling Co)

World:

¶ “UK Government Plans Radical Shake-Up Of Foreign Aid For Climate Change Disasters” • The UK government is to spend millions of pounds helping countries prepare for future disasters in a radical shake-up of policy. A £150 million fund will help poor countries get faster access to money in emergencies and reduce the impacts of climate crises. [BBC]

¶ “US And China Agreement Sets The Tone For COP28” • The US and China will back a new global renewables target and work together on methane and plastic pollution, they said in a joint statement after a meeting to find common ground ahead of COP28 talks. The two countries account for 38% of the world’s greenhouse gases. [CleanTechnica]

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in 2022 (White House, public domain)

¶ “Solar Smashes More Records, As Coal Power Sent To Another New Low” • Solar power expanded its influence over Australia’s main grid on the weekend, setting new records for output and generation share, and helping to send the output of black coal to a new low. Of 8 GW of coal capacity in New South Wales, only 1.53 GW were operating. [Renew Economy]

¶ “Housing Developments In Zimbabwe Are Starting to Get Solar Panels From The Get-go!” • Falling prices for solar installations, rising energy costs, and regular power outages in places like Zimbabwe and South Africa make the business case for solar PVs even better. Housing developments with solar offer residents some energy security. [CleanTechnica]

Housing (Courtesy of Turnbury Property Developers and TDW)

¶ “Japan Railway Operators Eye Net-Zero CO₂ Emissions Via Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trains” • Railway operators are hastening to put hydrogen fuel cell trains into commercial use. The trains will help cut CO₂ emissions for transportation, and the government intends to review related regulations and push for the spread of such trains. [The Japan News]

¶ “Wind Turbines Begin 700 km Journey Inland From Geraldton To Billion-Dollar Kathleen Valley Lithium Mine” • The first of 15 gigantic blades, which will make up five wind turbines, has left Geraldton Port on a 700 km journey inland to a $951 million lithium mine that is being opened up in Western Australia’s northern Goldfields. [ABC]

Moving a blade (Supplied, Danny Tuddenham via Facebook)

US:

¶ “Tesla Embraces Advertising with a Focus on Vehicle Safety” • Tesla has shunned traditional advertising methods, preferring to let its innovative products speak for themselves. But in a notable departure from this strategy, Tesla recently embarked on an advertising journey, beginning with a commercial on YouTube that showcases safety. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Prime Time Shuttle To Buy 550 Canoo Electric Vehicles” • Prime Time Shuttle, a major US shuttle service based out of Los Angeles, has agreed to purchase 550 EVs from the startup Canoo. Prime Time Shuttle is based in LA, but provides luxury vehicles for shuttle services in 34 states. Canoo expects to create about 1,300 jobs in Oklahoma. [CleanTechnica]

Canoo for Prime Time Shuttle

¶ “Solar Power To The People: California Program Brings Clean Energy To Oakland” • Over 100 projects in California have solar panels installed through the Multi-Family Affordable Housing program. The state allots $100 million per year, starting July 2019. By 2030, the program’s goal is 300 MW of solar projects on low-income rental buildings. [The Guardian]

¶ “New Plant Hardiness Map, Used By Gardeners Nationwide And Based On OSU Climate Data, Unveiled” • The Department of Agriculture released its new Plant Hardiness Zone Map, the national standard by which gardeners can determine which plants are most likely to survive the coldest winter temperatures at a given location. [CleanTechnica]

Plant Hardiness Zone Map (USDA)

¶ “Biden Administration Announces $6 Billion For Climate Resilience, Grid Enhancements” • President Biden announced over $6 billion in investments to make US communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change by improving electric grids, reducing flood risk, supporting conservation, and pushing for environmental justice. [Smart Energy International]

¶ “$1.6 Million In Tax Revenue On The Line For Wiscasset In Dispute Over Nuclear Waste Facility” • The town of Wiscasset looks like it is set to go to court over a Maine Department of Environmental Protection decision to give tax breaks to a facility that stores spent nuclear fuel from the decommissioned Maine Yankee power plant. [The Maine Monitor]

Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, 2015 (NRC image)

¶ “National Grid Renewables Breaks Ground On Two Ohio Solar Projects” • National Grid Renewables announced the start of onsite construction at neighboring projects in southern Ohio. Once operational, the Ross County Solar Project and the Fayette Solar Project will deliver a combined 167.5 MW of clean solar power. [The Highland County Press]

¶ “US Military Quietly Revokes Planned Contract For Small Nuclear Plant At Alaska Air Force Base” • The U.S. military has rescinded the preliminary award of what could be a nine-figure contract with the company it had tentatively selected to build a small-scale nuclear power plant at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks. [Alaska Beacon]

Have an emotionally rewarding day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Accelerating Power At Sea For A Thriving Blue Economy” • The ocean contains enough water to fill quintillions of gallon-sized containers. But it is not just the ocean’s size that stymies exploration. Ocean exploration requires technology, technology needs energy, and the ocean is a power desert. The US DOE hopes to deal with that. [CleanTechnica]

Sea (NOAA image)

¶ “A New All-Solid Battery Hits Long Duration Energy Storage Mark” • In past years, the technology tools were lacking, but that’s not an excuse anymore. Wind and solar power are widely available, and new long duration energy storage technology is emerging to help renewables replace fossil fuel power plants without a hitch. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Your Home Could Soon Power Itself – With Concrete” • MIT researchers have successfully developed a supercapacitor, which can act like a battery – though it is different, as it doesn’t degrade through use – out of widely available materials, in the hopes of providing a cheap and architectural way of saving renewable energy from going to waste. [Newsweek]

Tree at a concrete wall (Pawel Czerwinski, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Solar Energy Could Power All The Health Facilities In Poorer Countries And Save Lives, Experts Say” • This month, at COP28, experts will argue that all healthcare facilities in poorer countries could be provided with electricity using solar energy, within five years and for less than $5 billion, putting an end to the risk of life from power outages. [The Guardian]

¶ “Is The World Warming Faster Than Expected?” • With our historically high sea temperatures, worrying lows in Antarctic sea-ice, and extreme weather events hitting every continentm, it’s now “virtually certain” that 2023 will be the hottest year on record. But the rate of warming is not beyond what scientists expected from climate models. [BBC]

Wildfire smoke (Landon Parenteau, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Cero Generation’s Italian Agrivoltaic Project Goes Live” • Cero Generation has announced that Pontinia, its 70-MW solar project in Italy, is now live. Pontinia is also among the first agrivoltaics projects in Italy, combining solar power generation with farming. About 65% of the 135 hectares (334 acres) that the project sits on will be used for agriculture. [Energy Global]

¶ “A Swedish Hydrofoil Ferry Seeks To Electrify The Waterways” • Speeding through Stockholm’s archipelago, the new P-12 vessel by electric boat maker Candela barely makes a sound as it glides over a meter (3’ 4”) above the water. Its developers hope the ferry, which was unveiled this week, will introduce a new era of public transport on the water. [ABC News]

Candela P-12 (Candela image)

¶ “UK’s Octopus Energy Launches $3.7 Billion Offshore Wind Fund With Tokyo Gas” • Britain’s Octopus Energy’s renewables investing arm launched a fund with Japan’s Tokyo Gas to invest £3 billion ($3.7 billion) in offshore wind projects by 2030. The Octopus Energy Offshore Wind fund was set up with funding from Tokyo Gas. [Offshore Magazine]

¶ “US, Philippines Sign Landmark Nuclear Deal” • The US and the Philippines signed a landmark deal that would allow the US to export nuclear technology and material to Manila, which is exploring the use of nuclear power. US Congressional approval is needed for the deal, and so is adherence with non-proliferation requirements. [MSN]

Philippine nuclear research reactor (PNRI, public domain)

US:

¶ “EVgo To Build Charging Stations Faster, Offer Free Charging To Hertz Customers” • Like all charging providers, EVgo works hard to improve what it is doing and make for a better driver experience. This continued in November with an advancement in EV charging construction speed and a deal with rental car company Hertz. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New Mexico Adopts Crucial Package to Clean up Cars And Trucks” • The New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board and the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board has adopted three major standards that will provide significant climate, public health, air quality, and economic benefits to New Mexico. [CleanTechnica]

New Mexico (Davron Bowman, Unsplash)

¶ “Seventy US Dealers Apply To Sell VinFast Electric Vehicles” • Vietnamese automaker VinFast has gotten serious about selling electric cars around the world, and it is entering the US auto market quite early in its evolution. According to VinFast, seventy auto dealers across the US have already put in applications to sell VinFast EVs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “First Wind Turbine Produced At GE Vernova’s New York Facility” • GE Vernova’s Onshore Wind business announced that it has completed the first onshore wind turbine produced on its new wind manufacturing assembly line in Schenectady, New York. The unit is the largest onshore turbine ever manufactured in the US. [Power Engineering International]

GE Verona’s 6 MW turbine (GE Verona)

¶ “Despite Loss Of Two Major Projects, New Jersey Is Moving Forward With Its Offshore Wind Power Goals” • Despite the loss of two major offshore wind farm projects when Danish developer Ørsted pulled out of New Jersey, the state is moving forward with its plans to support and grow the nascent industry. The state will seek bids on new projects. [WHYY]

¶ “New Yorkers Encouraged To Prepare Now For Winter” • It is time to prepare for winter. Multiple New York State agencies and authorities offer programs to help residents manage energy use, reduce electric and heating bills, and increase comfort during cold temperatures by weatherizing and making these buildings more energy efficient. [nyserda]

Have a charmingly actualized day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Mitigation And Adaptive Actions Are Working, But Climate Threats Continue To Intensify” • The Fifth National Climate Assessment shows a decline in US greenhouse gas emissions even as the population and GDP have grown. But even with ambitious climate action underway, every region of the US is having greater climate threats and impacts. [CleanTechnica]

Climate impact (Soliman Cifuentes, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “At Talks On Cutting Plastics, Plastics Credits Are On The Table. What Are They?” • Two groups that want reduced plastics production, Break Free From Plastic and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, published a report highly critical of plastics credits, calling them a flawed tool that won’t help with worldwide pollution. [ABC News]

¶ “There Is A Silent Revolution Happening In Africa” • Africa is home to over 50 countries and more than 1.3 billion people. A lot of exciting things happen on the continent, and a lot of them just fly under the radar or don’t get a lot of attention. An example is an increasing number of electric scooters and bikes in Harare, Zimbabwe. [CleanTechnica]

Electric motorcycle (Ather Energy, Unsplash)

¶ “Ghana Waives Import Duties On Electric Vehicles For 8 Years Starting 2024” • Ghana’s Minister for Finance and Economic Planning presented the 2024 Budget Speech. In that speech, some great incentives for electric vehicles were announced. Two incentives were wavers of import duties for public transportation EVs and knocked-down EVs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Hydrogen Aircraft Brings Low Emissions Flight To The Skies” • Australian Government funding is helping startup AMSL Aero to develop a new hydrogen-powered aircraft named Vertiia. The Sydney business received $5.43 million under the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s Advancing Renewables Program after a prototype was developed. [energy.gov.au]

Vertiia by AMSL Aero (AMSL Aero image)

¶ “The Latest Tory Worry: China’s Grip On Solar Power” • The UK’s Hawkish Conservative MPs spooked by China’s influence in the UK have a new worry: solar power. China controls 80% of the global solar manufacturing market, including both finished solar panels and the raw materials needed to build them. But the UK wants to expand use of solar power. [POLITICO.eu]

¶ “UK Government Announces It Will Increase Maximum Price Paid For Renewable Power” • The UK Government announced it will increase the maximum price that renewable assets may be paid for power under the Contracts for Difference regime. The administrative strike price for the sixth CFD allocation round will rise by 30%. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Offshore windfarm (Pete Godfrey, Unsplash)

¶ “Kyiv Blames Partial Shutdown At Zaporizhzhya NPP On Russian ‘Gross Incompetence’” • Incompetent actions taken by the Russian occupation administration led to a partial blackout at Zaporizhzhya NPP, Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom said on November 16. The Energoatom report was confirmed by information from the IAEA inspectors. [Yahoo News]

US:

¶ “Florida Flooding Closes Schools, Knocks Out Power” • More than 80,000 customers were without power in Florida Thursday morning after torrential rain and winds topping 65 mph. Parts of South Florida, near Key Largo, recorded more than a foot of rain in the past 24 hours. Miami saw a whopping 7.53 inches of rain, setting a new daily record. [ABC News]

Flooding in Florida (Wade Austin Ellis, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Fire Prone California Homeowners Left Behind As Insurance Companies Drop Coverage” • As climate change continues to cause disasters across the country, such companies as Farmers, Allstate, USAA, and State Farm have limited any new business in California. Many top home insurers in that state have increased premiums, some by nearly 10 times. [ABC News]

¶ “The 2024 Fuel Economy Guide Can Help You Choose Your Next Fuel-Efficient Vehicle” • To help make choosing a vehicle easier, the US DOE and EPA released the 2024 Fuel Economy Guide. Using it makes comparing vehicles easy, with detailed fuel economy and annual fuel cost estimates for model year 2024 light-duty vehicles for sale in the US. [CleanTechnica]

EV charging (myenergi, Unsplash)

¶ “Report Charts the Path to an American-Made Energy Storage Future” • The Solar Energy Industries Association has released a report addressing the barriers to building a robust energy storage manufacturing sector in the US, including cost competitiveness, access to raw materials, technical expertise, and the need for a large, diverse workforce. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “$3.5 Billion to Strengthen US Battery Manufacturing” • Two years after President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the US DOE announced up to $3.5 billion from the law to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and battery materials in the US. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law supports a policy of net-zero emissions by 2050. [CleanTechnica]

Battery storage (Z22, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Jefferson County Commissioners Sign Tax Deal With Solar Power Company” • In Ohio, the Jefferson County commissioners signaled their approval of a 43-MW solar generation facility on a reclaimed strip mine in Steubenville, signing an agreement that will guarantee payments of at least $300,000 a year for the next 35 years. [The Herald Star]

¶ “100% Renewable Energy By 2035 Is Ambitious But LA Is On Track” • If you live in the City of Los Angeles, every time you turn on your AC or flip a light switch, the power you’re using comes from the LA Department of Water and Power. They plan to provide all of it without a drop of gas or an ounce of coal by 2035, just energy from renewables. [KCRW]

Have an acceptably ideal day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “EnergyX Aims New Solid-State EV Battery At The 500,000-Mile Car Of The Future” • EVs are just like ordinary gas guzzlers in some respects, including their lifespan. A longer-lasting solid-state EV battery would help cut their lifecycle emissions, and the startup EnergyX is among those that are hammering away at the problem. [CleanTechnica]

Solid-state EV batteries (Courtesy of EnergyX)

¶ “Ocean Thermal Energy: The Future Of Renewable Power?” • Ocean thermal energy conversion technology, which exploits the differing temperatures in different layers of ocean water to create energy, is almost 150 years old, but is only now gaining traction for practical application. It could become an essential source of energy for island nations. [Oil Price]

¶ “Hydropower Making Sustainability Gains With Fish-Safe Turbines” • Innovative, high-performance hydro turbines that enable fish to pass directly through can generate energy while preserving biodiversity, according to studies conducted by Alden Research Laboratory along with the US Electric Power Research Institute. [Power Engineering International]

Hydro turbine (Natel Energy image)

World:

¶ “42% Of New Cars In Netherlands Now Plugin Cars!” • The Dutch market saw an increase in plugin registrations to 11,776 units in October, with the plugin vehicle market thus reaching 42% of the overall auto market last month. That kept the year-to-date score to 43%, mostly thanks to the pure electrics that make up 29% of new vehicle sales. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EVs Are The Only Bright Spot In Global Efforts To Reach Net Zero Emissions” • EV sales are moving at the right speed to reach net zero carbon emissions as outlined in the Paris Agreement. That achievement is shown in an analysis that shows that the EV sector is the only one of 42 indicators assessed that is on track to reach an agreed-upon 2030 target. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model 3 (Austin Schmid, Unsplash)

¶ “China’s Renewable Energy Boom Powers Global Job Surge, Report Says” • The global energy sector is witnessing a surge in job opportunities fueled by clean technologies, with China contributing over half of this growth, a Paris-based energy watchdog said. It also warned that skill shortages are emerging as an increasing concern. [Radio Free Asia]

¶ “Portugal Just Ran On 100% Renewables For Six Days In A Row” • Portugal started decarbonization with some legacy hydropower, but neither nuclear capacity nor plans for any. That meant it had to figure out how to cut fossil fuel use with new renewables. It committed to building renewables in pledging a 2050 deadline for net-zero carbon emissions in 2016. [Canary Media]

Portugal (Maksym Kaharlytskyi, Unsplash)

¶ “UK-Backed Fund Plans To Mobilize $1.6 Billion For Africa Power” • A UK-government backed renewable energy fund plans to mobilize $1.6 billion to help get electricity to 16 million people and businesses in Africa. The Renewable Energy Performance Platform’s REPP 2 aims to raise $230 million directly and will partner with other financiers. [Financial Post]

¶ “Ireland Holds Firm On 8 GW Of Solar By 2030 Target” • The Irish government said this week that it expects to install 8 GW of solar by 2030. The government said PV should reach existing levels of onshore wind, roughly 4.5 GW, by the mid-late decade. The government said that Ireland will hit the 8-GW target by use of existing instruments. [PV Magazine]

Ireland (Aldo De La Paz, Unsplash)

¶ “Conservative MPs Have Called On Jeremy Hunt To Boost Coastal Communities By Unleashing Britain’s Renewable Power” • With the world’s five largest farms, the UK is already a world leader in traditional offshore wind. But Conservative MPs want to see similar success in floating offshore wind, which allow turbines to be placed farther out to sea. [Daily Express]

¶ “Japanese Support Fishermen By Buying From Fukushima Area” • Since the 2011 meltdowns, the Fukushima nuclear plant stored growing amounts of radioactive waste water. In August, the plant started releasing treated and diluted waste water into the ocean. Many Japanese people are buying fish in support of fisheries in waters near the plant. [VOA Learning English]

Market in Hokkaido (Cindy Chan, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “The Belvidere Plant’s Transition To An EV Plant Has A Bright Future” • Stellantis, which produces Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and RAM vehicles, is to invest $4.7 billion in the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois.. This company aims to reopen the existing plant to produce midsize trucks on two shifts and to establish an EV battery plant in Belvidere. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Top Tesla Gigacasting Supplier Gets Acquired By GM!” • The Tesla Model Y has been a whopping success globally. It is on track to being the highest selling vehicle model of any powertrain in 2023. Some of that has come down to Tooling & Equipment International’s efficient, cheap casting process. But now TEI belongs to GM. [CleanTechnica]

2024 Cadillac Celestiq (Cadillac image)

¶ “Georgia’s Path Forward: Transforming Climate Crisis Into Opportunity With Renewable Energy Growth” • Every few years, the federal government engages experts across the country to develop a national climate assessment. The latest one shows that climate change has arrived. But it also shows a path forward, with solutions in reach. [WGXA]

¶ “Alaska Gets $200 Million For Railbelt Energy Project, Cook Inlet Undersea Cable” • A $206 million federal grant will fund a project to run a 50-mile undersea cable through Cook Inlet, to better connect Railbelt utilities and improve access to renewable sources. Here is an interview about the project, flexibility, and energy security. [Alaska Public Media]

Have a happily cognizant day.

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World:

¶ “US And China Pledge To Resume Climate Working Group, Ramp Up Renewables Ahead Of Biden-Xi Summit” • The US and China announced that they agreed to resume a working group on climate cooperation and pledged a major ramp-up of renewable energy. The announcement came ahead of a leaders’ summit in San Francisco. [CNN]

Wind farm in China (liuzusai刘祖赛, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Why Delhi Lags Behind Beijing In The Battle To Breathe” • Since 2013, Beijing has waged a determined war on air pollution using a range of command-and-control measures. Meanwhile, Delhi is among the ten most polluted cities in the world, partly because of firecrackers celebrating a Hindu festival, but mostly due to normal activity. [BBC]

¶ “Health Warnings As Brazil Is Gripped By An ‘Unbearable’ Heatwave” • Red alerts have been issued for almost 3,000 towns and cities across Brazil, which are enduring an unprecedented heatwave. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, temperatures were as high as 42.5°C (108.5°F). Officials attributed the heat to El Niño and climate change. [BBC] (The temperature is corrected from an earlier report.)

Rio de Janeiro (Raphael Nogueira, Unsplash)

¶ “Asian Economies Must Ramp Up Wind And Solar Power To Keep Global Warming Under 1.5°C” • To meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F), nine major Asian economies must increase the share of electricity they get from renewable energy from the current 6% to at least 50% by 2030, a report by Agora Energiewende says. [ABC News]

¶ “Heat-Related Deaths For Older Adults Could Increase 370% By Mid-Century If Climate Warms 2°C” • Yearly heat-related deaths worldwide for people over 65 are projected to increase 370% by the middle of the century if global temperatures rise by 2°C, a report says. Heat-related deaths of adults over 65 have increased by 85% since the 1990s. [ABC News]

Heat (Eelco Böhtlingk, Unsplash)

¶ “Mercedes Moving All 5,000 Company Cars In Germany To Electric” • Mercedes-Benz decided to transition all 5,000 of its company cars in Germany to EVs. This comes through “company circles” according to Automobilwoche, and it seems Mercedes-Benz has somewhat confirmed and somewhat corrected the publisher on the news. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Volkswagen ID.7 Is Volkswagen’s New Star EV” • Volkswagen’s ID.7 is larger, has more range, has more tech, and will cost more money than Volkswagen’s top selling EVs, the ID.4 and ID.3. Will the ID.7 sell more units than those two? Probably not. But it’s got some selling points that are so compelling I wouldn’t bet against it just yet. [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagen ID.7 (Courtesy of Volkswagen)

¶ “Indonesia State Utility Plans 31.6 GW Renewable Power Capacity In 2024-2033” • Indonesia’s state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara plans to build 31.6 GW of renewable power capacity between 2024 and 2033, chief executive Darmawan Prasodjo told parliament. The new renewable capacity would be 75% of all new capacity during the time. [Nasdaq]

¶ “Renewable Energy Set To Account For 85% In Vietnam In 2050” • Vietnam aims to increase the share of renewable energy in the primary energy supply to around 85% in 2050, Vietnam News reported, citing Tran Hong Thai, the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology. Coal-derived power will be completely phased out by 2050. [menafn]

Ya Ly Dam spillway (Tycho, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

US:

¶ “Biden ‘Just Getting Started’ On Climate Action In Response To Major New Report” • President Joe Biden said he will continue to pursue remedies to the threats caused by climate change with the release of the Fifth National Climate Assessment. He recognized that it’s still not enough and that some Republicans are getting in the way of more progress. [ABC News]

¶ “No Place In The US Is Safe From The Climate Crisis, But A New Report Shows Where It’s Most Severe” • The effects of a rapidly warming climate are being felt in every corner of the US, and they will worsen over the next ten years with continued fossil fuel use, according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a stark report from federal agencies. [CNN]

Miami (Ryan Parker, Unsplash)

¶ “Battery Energy Storage Systems Are Here: Is Your Community Ready?” • Many communities are already evaluating building proposals for battery energy storage systems. To help with this, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory experts have assembled BESS resources that communities will need as they look toward their energy goals. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “First Electric VTOL Aircraft To Fly Over New York City” • A four-passenger eVTOL aircraft has flown over New York City. It’s very different from the Volocopter that recently flew over Tampa. The Joby electric aircraft can go 100 miles on a full charge, and Joby estimates that a flight from Manhattan to JFK Airport will take around seven minutes. [CleanTechnica]

Electric VTOL (Courtesy of Joby)

¶ “ExxonMobil Aims To Be Top Lithium Supplier For Electric Vehicles, Drills First Lithium Well” • ExxonMobil announced that it aims to be a top lithium producer and supplier for the EV battery industry by 2030. It is getting to work on its first lithium well at a lithium production site in southwest Arkansas, which is a lithium-rich region. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “California To Use Flexible Appliances For Renewable Energy Integration” • Flexible demand appliance standards are “coming down the road” in California for water heaters, behind-the-meter batteries, and EV chargers, the California Energy Commission’s Andrew McAllister said at a CalFlexHub symposium on flexible load technologies. [PV Magazine]

Have a euphoniously funny day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Electric Vehicle Sales Continue to Grow, Despite What Some Automakers Are Saying” • The future of cars is electric, a fact that many of the world’s automakers have publicly stated. But over the last month several automakers have said the transition from gasoline to EVs needs to slow down, partly due to low demand. That is a tactic. [CleanTechnica]

EV (Hyundai Motor Group, Pexels)

Science and Technology:

¶ “How Floating Solar Panels In Reservoirs Could Revolutionise Global Power” • Floating solar PVs on reservoirs could produce three times as much electricity as the entire EU, a study shows. Innovative schemes have seen solar panels attached to car parks, trash heaps, and farms. Now, researchers are urging governments to invest in floating solar. [Euronews]

¶ “Solar-Powered Device Produces Clean Water And Clean Fuel At The Same Time” • A floating, solar-powered device that can turn contaminated water or seawater into hydrogen fuel and purified water has been developed by University of Cambridge researchers. It could be useful in resource-limited or off-grid environments. [CleanTechnica]

Solar device (Chanon Pornrungroj, UC, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

World:

¶ “Tiny Caribbean Nation Creates World’s First Marine Protected Area For Sperm Whale” • The tiny Caribbean island of Dominica is creating the world’s first marine protected area for one of earth’s largest animals: the endangered sperm whale. Scientists say the reserve not only will protect the animals, but it will also help fight climate change. [ABC News]

¶ “Volkswagen Will Produce Electric Cars In Mexico” • Tesla may have postponed its plans to produce electric cars in Mexico, but Volkswagen is stepping in to fill that hole. Volkswagen is now saying that it will build electric cars down in Mexico. Naturally, it could end up that Tesla and Volkswagen start EV production at around the same time. [CleanTechnica]

Interior of VW EV (Courtesy of Volkswagen)

¶ “Global Wind Power Market To Record Robust Growth At 13.67% CAGR, Accounting For $278.43 Billion By 2030” • A recent report published by Kings Research shows that the global Wind Power Market size reached $112.23 billion in 2022 and projects it to register $278.43 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 13.67% from 2023 to 2030. [Yahoo Finance]

¶ “Volvo Makes Longest Ever All-Electric Truck Journey In Australia” • Just as Australian states and territories are reviewing trucking regulations, Volvo is announcing that it has finished the longest all-electric heavy-duty truck trip in Australian history. A Volvo FH Electric traveled from Queensland to the Australian Capital Territory for the milestone. [CleanTechnica]

Longest journey (Volvo image)

¶ “RWE Renewable-Electricity Generation Helps Drive Earnings Growth” • For RWE, adjusted earnings before depreciation and amortization reached €6.150 billion compared with €3.39 billion in the first nine months of last year. EBITDA from the wind, solar, and hydro businesses rose, while the coal and nuclear were lower than last year’s figures. [Morningstar]

¶ “Support For COP28 Pledge For Tripling Renewable Energy Is Historic, REN21 Chief Says” • Think tank REN21 has seen a move in response to the COP28 president’s call to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030, according to its executive director. The increase is expected to be 90% solar and windpower. [The National]

Windpower (Anna Jiménez Calaf, Unsplash)

¶ “UK Wind Power Still A Better Deal Than Gas” • Analysis by independent think tank New Green Alliance has revealed even if the UK government sets prices for offshore wind power at double the level paid in the last successful Contracts for Difference auction, it will still be cheaper than gas power, and prices will be less volatile. [reNews]

US:

¶ “Drenching Rain On Its Way To Quench Louisiana’s Worst Drought On Record” • The Gulf Coast’s most significant rainfall in months will bring much-needed relief this week to portions of the Gulf Coast, helping to alleviate Louisiana’s worst drought on record, which fueled unprecedented wildfires and helped trigger a saltwater intrusion into the Mississippi River. [CNN]

Yazoo River Diversion Canal (Justin Wilkens, Unsplash)

¶ “Nearly Half Of US Vehicle Classes Has One Or More Vehicles With 100 MPGe Fuel Economy Or Greater” • Six of the thirteen EPA size classes had at least one vehicle with EPA-rated fuel economy greater than 100 miles per gallon equivalent for model year 2023. Midsize and large EVs had the highest fuel economy, tying at 140 MPGe. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “AEP To Spend $9.4 Billion On Regulated Renewables” • The American Electric Power Company plans to invest $9.4 billion in regulated renewables over the next five years as part of its plan to add 21.5 GW of diverse generation in the period 2024-2033. This is according to AEP chair, president, and CEO Julie Sloat, as she discussed AEP’s five-year plan. [Renewables Now]

Traverse Wind Energy Center (American Electric Power image)

¶ “$10 Billion Renewable Energy Project Paused Over Concerns For Native American Historic Sites” • Work on a $10 billion transmission project has come to a halt in southwestern Arizona, with Native American tribes saying the federal government has ignored concerns about effects that the SunZia transmission line will have on religious and cultural sites. [PBS]

¶ “Smaller Utah Towns Were Banking On The Promise Of Nuclear Replacing Coal. Now What?” • An energy project that was slated to help many Utah communities transition from fossil fuels to nuclear power has been canceled. That means they’ve got to find other ways to fill that gap in their long-term plans for transitioning to carbon-free electricity. [KUER]

Have a simply majestic day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Air Pollution Standard Backed By MEPs Is ‘Worse Than Useless’” • The EU Parliament backed a “Euro 7” standard that fails to significantly increase air pollution protections beyond its Euro 6 predecessor. Green group Transport & Environment even suggested that EU lawmakers rename the draft vehicle emissions law as “Euro 6 F.” [CleanTechnica]

Road traffic (Mikechie Esparagoza, Pexels, cropped)

¶ “Flattening The Solar Duck: Why Households Should Also Face Negative Export Tariffs” • Australia’s rooftop solar success story has regulators and grid operators grasping for blunt instruments to re-assert control. But is this really something to panic about, or should negative prices be taken as a signal to solar households to adopt battery storage? [Renew Economy]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Success Story: New Tool Connects Multiple Microgrids to Increase Community Resilience” • An Oak Ridge National Laboratory team developed software to manage the exchange of power among multiple microgrids in a network. The team is in the final hardware testing before demonstrating their microgrid orchestrator in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. [CleanTechnica]

Adjuntas microgrid storage units (Maximiliano Ferrari, ORNL)

¶ “Battling Desertification: Bringing Soil Back To Life In Semiarid Spain” • As the Sahara advances northward into Spain, farmers are deeply aware of the swift changes coming to their orchards, crops, and pastures. They see an average loss of fertile soil exceeding 21 metric tons per hectare per year – and the need for well-managed soil. [The Good Men Project]

World:

¶ “Tourists Are Rethinking Their Relationship With Earth” • Ecobnb, based in Italy, lists over 3,000 properties worldwide, from a vegan and organic farmhouse in Tuscany, to an eco mountain lodge in Costa Rica. Travellers can filter their search to find specific interests such as plant-based food, and EV charging stations powered by renewable energy. [BBC]

Accommodation listed on Ecobnb’s website (Ecobnb image)

¶ “Toxic Haze In India Capital After Diwali Festival” • Residents of India’s capital, Delhi, woke up to smoky skies as air quality dropped after the festival of Diwali. People in the city burst crackers late into Sunday night despite a ban on fireworks due to high pollution levels. There are a number of air pollution sources in Delhi, and schools are closed. [BBC]

¶ “Kenyans Get Tree-Planting Holiday To Plant 100 Million Seedlings” • Kenyans have been given a special holiday to plant 100 million trees as part of the government’s goal to plant 15 billion trees in 10 years. The holiday allows “each and every Kenyan to own the initiative,” according to Environment Minister Soipan Tuya. [BBC]

Kilimanjaro and insufficient trees (Sergey Pesterev, Unsplash)

¶ “Nations Gather In Nairobi To Hammer Out Treaty On Plastic Pollution” • Efforts to create a landmark treaty to end global plastic pollution are advancing in Nairobi as most of the world’s nations, plus petrochemical companies, environmentalists, and others affected by the pollution gather to discuss draft language for the first time. [ABC News]

¶ “Spinning Mega-Machines Will Safeguard The Baltic Power Grid As It Desynchronizes From Russia” • Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia recently accelerated a plan to cut the electrical chains that keep them tied to Russia. A technical lynchpin to their planned escape from the Moscow-controlled power zone is a set of synchronous condensers. [IEEE Spectrum]

Spinning machines (Siemens Energy)

¶ “Uttar Pradesh Is To Invite Bids For 7 GW Of Solar Power Projects” • Daily newspaper Business Standard reported that the Uttar Pradesh government is gearing up to tender 7 GW of solar capacity. It reported the state will invite bids for the PV capacity, with 4 GW to be tendered soon and an additional 3 GW to be auctioned subsequently. [pv magazine India]

¶ “Vattenfall delivers first power from Vesterhav” • Vattenfall has delivered first power from its 170-MW Vesterhav Syd wind farm sited off the coast of Denmark close to its 180-MW Vesterhav Nord project. The project’s 20 turbines were erected from July to September this year. Changes in plans and tough weather have delayed the power output. [reNews]

Offshore wind turbine (Vattenfall image)

¶ “Saudi Arabia Invites Developers For 3.7 GW Of Solar Projects” • Saudi Arabia is seeking to award four solar projects with 3.7 GW of combined capacity of as part of its National Renewable Energy Program. The Saudi Power Procurement Company opened the qualification process for firms interested in the development of the four solar schemes. [Renewables Now]

US:

¶ “Ramcharger Takes A Belt And Suspenders Approach To Electric Pickup Trucks” • Many prospective pickup truck buyers are skittish about buying a battery electric model. So Ram has come up with a brilliant solution: the Ramcharger 1500. It is built on exactly the same chassis as the REVolution 1500, but it has a shorter range of 145 miles. [CleanTechnica]

Ramcharger (Ram image)

¶ “Biden Moves To Reduce US Reliance On Russian Nuclear Supply Chain” • The US has enough uranium to last 100 years but lacks the fuel enrichment capacity to be self-reliant. So the US is dangerously reliant on Russian nuclear supply chains. The White House reportedly asked Congress for $2.16 billion to boost US enrichment capacity. [Oil Price]

¶ “Renewable Energy Fuels Major Economic Payoffs In Rural Indiana” • Wind and solar projects are powering a big surge for Indiana’s economy. David Loomis, president of Strategic Economic Research, said communities located near renewable-energy fields reap additional rewards. “Economic development, benefits, property taxes, jobs.” [Public News Service]

Have a perceptably insightful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “The Future Of EVs Can’t Rely On One Man’s Mental Health” • In a number of recent articles, like one at Futurism, Elon Musk has been described as broken. To justify that position, the author points to incidents that Twitter employees told him about. The author claims that as public opinion of Musk fell, Musk’s mental state fell with it. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Cybertruck (Tesla image)

Science and Technology:

¶ “First Electric VTOL Flight In Florida” • Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft continue to coast forward, and one of the latest landmark achievements from the industry is the first eVTOL flight in Florida. That same flight is also the first time an eVTOL aircraft has taken flight at a major international airport in the US. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “World Temperatures Will Blow Past Paris Goals This Decade, Asserts New Study” • A paper by scientists of a dozen institutions says the world’s average temperature will surpass 1.5°C above preindustrial times much sooner than most forecasts. It says extreme action is needed, or they will reach 2°C above those levels before 2050. [Phys.org]

Lead author James Hansen (Bruce Gilbert, Earth Institute)

World:

¶ “Plans For £4 Billion Offshore Wind Farm Could Meet Manx Energy Demands” • Power generated from a £4 billion offshore wind farm could meet the Isle of Man’s peak energy demands, the company behind the plans said. Renewable energy firm Ørsted is seeking views on the proposals for the project in area off the island’s east coast. [BBC]

¶ “Presidential Aspirants Agree On Renewables, Diverge On Nuclear Energy” • Among Taiwan’s four presidential candidates, there is broad agreement on the importance of renewable energy in Taiwan’s energy mix in the future. But there is considerable disagreement on whether Taiwan should continue to use nuclear power and in what form. [Focus Taiwan]

Wind farm off Taiwan (Courtesy of Taiwan Power Co)

¶ “Wind Power Projects In Thatta Come Online” • All twelve of the wind power projects in the Thatta district of Sindh, with a total capacity of 610 MW, were connected to Pakistan’s national grid, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. The plants are part of the 3,000-km-long China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. [The Express Tribune]

¶ “Renewables Hit Record High In Australia” • Renewable energy hit a record high of 72.9% of total generation of the National Electricity Market on Sunday, as a wave of wind and solar across Australia’s main grid sent coal output and operational demand to new lows. The new peak beat the previous peak of 72.5%, which was set on October 24. [Renew Economy]

Bald Hills wind farm (John Englart, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “How A False Claim About Wind Turbines Killing Whales Is Spinning Out Of Control In Coastal Australia” • Quentin Hanich, editor-in-chief of Marine Policy, spent this week debunking a fake article on social media that claimed to be from his publication. It said offshore wind projects in regions of New South Wales would kill 400 whales a year. [The Guardian]

¶ “West Coast Council Backs Locally Generated Hydroelectricity” • The West Coast Regional Council is calling for the Government to back local hydropower as the country moves away from coal and gas. The council has submitted this on the Government’s discussion documents, “Advancing New Zealand’s Energy Transition,” on its local power needs. [RNZ]

Southern Alps (Peter Burdon, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Brazil Installs 1.6 GW Of Wnd Energy” • In Brazil, the National Electric Energy Agency announced that in April, the country surpassed the 3-GW mark of growth in the electricity generation matrix in 2023. Of the total, approximately 1.6 GW are related to wind farms (49.15% of the total) and 1.2 GW of photovoltaic solar (37.19% of the total). [REVE]

US:

¶ “How Researchers, Farmers, And Brewers Want To Safeguard Beer Against Climate Change” • In the face of human-caused climate change impacting water access and weather patterns in the Willamette Valley, hops growers need all the new strategies the farm can get to sustain what they produce and provide to local and larger breweries alike. [ABC News]

Hops growing (Markus Spiske, Unsplash)

¶ “There’s another wildfire burning in Hawaii” • A wildfire is burning in a remote Hawaii rainforest, underscoring a new reality for the normally lush island state. The ingredients are the same as they were in Maui’s historic town of Lahaina: severe drought fueled by climate change is creating fire in Hawaii where it has almost never been before. [ABC News]

¶ “Vineyard Wind 1 Installs First 853-Foot-Tall GE Haliade-X Wind Turbines” • We hear a lot about offshore wind installations that were halted as the economic calculus changed, rendering some of the projects unprofitable. Here we have some news about the forward progress with Vineyard Wind 1 off the coast of Massachusetts. [CleanTechnica]

GE Haliade-X turbine (Courtesy of Avangrid)

¶ “With Smart Policy, Truck Electrification Is Within Reach” • Only 10% of vehicles on US roads are medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, but they produce nearly 25% of our transportation emissions. An analysis of fifteen states adopting the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation shows 60% of medium-duty and 43% of heavy-duty trucks can be electrified now. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “In A First, MIT Trains Students To Resolve Conflicts Over Clean Energy Projects” • As the US injects hundreds of billions of dollars into clean energy through the Inflation Reduction Act, criticism is growing louder about where, how, and whether new development should be allowed. MIT is training students on conflict resolution. [St Louis Post-Dispatch]

Have a noticeably grand day.

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Opinion:

¶ “The AI Boom Is Boosting Carbon Emissions – Should Companies Acknowledge Their Climate Share?” • AI uses a lot of electricity because it needs thousands of specialized computer chips. It’s getting clear that the AI boom in the next few years will increase electricity consumption exponentially, increasing the world’s carbon emissions. [CleanTechnica]

Computer chip design (Adi Goldstein, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Self-Repairing Solar Panels Are Heading For Space” • Demand for larger, more powerful solar arrays is heating up for use in space. NASA has been scouting for companies that can deliver the most bang for the buck, and the Arizona startup Solestial is in the running with new ultra thin solar panels that can repair themselves in space. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “US And China Reach ‘Some Agreements’ On Climate – John Kerry” • The US has reached some agreements with China ahead of the COP28 Summit in Dubai at the end of this month, US climate envoy John Kerry has said. “We felt that our days of talks were very successful. We did come up with some agreements”, he said, adding that details will come soon. [BBC]

July meeting (Office of US Climate Envoy, public domain)

¶ “Northumberland Solar Farm Given Planning Permission” • A solar farm in Northumberland that could provide power for up to 13,000 homes was granted planning permission. The land is being used to grow animal feed and was used for opencast coal extraction in the 1950s and 60s. When the solar farm is finished, sheep will graze on the land. [BBC]

¶ “Volvo Leads The Way: Electric Trucks For Australia” • Volvo Group includes Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks, Volvo Penta, and Volvo Bus. Volvo has a battery EV alternative for every diesel truck they offer, from a medium-duty truck with a 5-ton payload right up to the flagship Prime Mover. It is the biggest automotive manufacturer in Australia. [CleanTechnica]

Electric garbage truck (Photo courtesy of Volvo)

¶ “ZOLA: Fighting For Energy Equality Backed By GE, EDF, And Tesla” • ZOLA Electric is on a mission to provide clean power, all the time, anywhere. The company was founded over a decade ago to install smart, connected devices in the form of lithium ion batteries and solar, to power basic energy needs for rural African communities. [Energy Digital Magazine]

¶ “South Africa’s Eskom Unveils The Largest Battery Storage Project in Africa” • South Africa’s national power utility company, Eskom, has just unveiled the largest Battery Energy Storage System in South Africa. With a capacity of 100 MWh, this is not only the first one of its kind in South Africa, but also a first on the African continent. [CleanTechnica]

Eskom storage facility (Eskom image)

¶ “Yukon Wants To Electrify To Reduce Emissions But Faces A Shortage Of Green Power” • Yukon Energy officials say they will be hard-pressed to produce enough renewable power to meet the territory’s emissions targets. To hit emissions targets, Yukon Energy needs much more reneable energy, especially for home heating and transportation. [CBC]

¶ “China Will Guarantee Financial Support For Coal-Fired Power Plants” • A government agency in China says coal-fired power plant operators will receive guaranteed payments based on the installed capacity of their units, part of a program to ensure a stable power supply across the country. China is still building coal-fired power plants. [POWER Magazine]

Coal plant in China (Shubert Ciencia, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “Low US Gasoline Demand Is Making Gasoline Less Profitable” • Low gasoline demand in combination with the seasonal switch to winter-grade gasoline has made gasoline less profitable to produce, reducing the difference between gasoline blendstock and crude oil prices to multiyear lows of around 17¢/gallon in October 2023. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Volvo Group Acquires Proterra” • Volvo Group announced, “Proterra Inc and Proterra Operating Company Inc are in a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy process in the US. Volvo Group has been selected as the winning bidder in an auction for the business and assets of the Proterra Powered business unit at a purchase price of $210 million.” [CleanTechnica]

Proterra bus (Darius Pinkston, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “US Grid Rules Preclude Reliability, Security Benefits Of Cloud Computing, Experts Warn” • Cloud technologies could provide significant cost, security and reliability benefits to the US electric grid but critical infrastructure rules do not allow them to be used for certain larger assets, multiple speakers said at FERC’s annual reliability conference. [Utility Dive]

¶ “Kentucky Regulators Approve Plan For 900% Increase In Renewable Energy” • The Kentucky PSC approved a plan by Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities to retire several fossil fuel plants and replace them with  877 MW of solar and a 125-MW, 500-MWh of battery system. This will be a 900% increase in renewables. [pv magazine USA]

Solar array in Kentucky (Vesper Energy image)

¶ “Siemens Gamesa Scraps Plans To Build Blades For Offshore Wind Turbines In Virginia” • Siemens Gamesa has canceled plans to build blades for offshore wind turbines in Virginia. It is the latest sign of trouble for the young US offshore wind industry as inflation, raised interest rates, and supply chain issues have cut into profitability. [WVTF]

¶ “Disputes Over Safety, Cost Swirl A Year After California Okayed Plan To Keep Last Nuke Plant Running” • A year after California endorsed a proposal to keep running its last nuclear plant, disputes still swirl about its safety, whether over $1 billion in public financing could be be wise, and even if the electricity is needed in the age of renewables. [Spectrum News]

Have a consummately fine day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Fossil Fuels Will Kill Us All, Every One” • Emissions from fossil fuels make us sick and increase global temperatures to the point where glaciers melt, sea levels rise, and we have more powerful storms. But we act like the person who falls from a 20-story building and tells someone on the 10th floor who asks how it’s going, “So far so good.” [CleanTechnica]

Oil (Maarten van Dijl, Greenpeace via Oil Change International)

¶ “Oil Companies Shook My House, Hundreds Of Miles From The Oil Fields” • While fracking sometimes causes earthquakes, wastewater disposal from all types of oil production is almost always to blame. Wastewater disposal wells pump large volumes of undrinkable saltwater into the ground in deeper layers. We owe ourselves better than this. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “How Africa’s First Heat Officer Is Protecting Women In Sierra Leone” • Eugenia Kargbo is the first person in Africa to hold the position of chief heat officer. Her job is to make Freetown, Sierra Leone, a more liveable, greener city and to help its residents cope with rising heat. In 2022, her team installed market shade covers to protect 2,300 street vendors. [BBC]

Freetown (Bunting Kargbo, Unsplash)

¶ “Powering Progress: Batteries For Discoms” • India’s power system is shifting to a new phase as universal electricity access is achieved. Now economic growth drives electricity demand. Building out sufficient energy storage will be essential for India’s grid to successfully integrate renewable resources and to meet future load demands. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “China Announces Plan To Reduce Methane Emissions” • In a piece of good news for our overburdened planet, China agreed to take a hard look at its methane emissions and find ways to reduce them. It said that it will boost monitoring, reporting, and data transparency to reduce releases of the super-potent greenhouse gas, according to Bloomberg. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbines in China (Hahaheditor12667, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “European Wind Power Action Plan” • The recently agreed EU energy target is at least 42.5% of demand covered by renewable sources by 2030, with the ambition to reach even 45% from renewable sources. Reaching that target will require a massive increase in installed wind capacity, from 204 GW in 2022 to over 500 GW in 2030. [Energy Industry Review]

¶ “THDCIL Inks Pacts To Develop 3,270 MW Renewable Energy Projects In Karnataka” • THDC India Ltd plans to set up 3,270 MW of clean energy projects, including pumped storage and floating solar, in Karnataka, its chairman and managing director said. The company signed two memoranda of understanding related to the plans. [Business Standard]

Karnataka countryside (Tejj, Unsplash)

¶ “100-MW Solar Power Plant Gets Nod In Bangladesh” • The government of Bangladesh has approved a proposal to set up a 100-MW solar plant in Mymensingh District. A consortium of Chinese Xizi Clean Energy Equipment Manufacturing Co Ltd and local firms Cassiopea Fashion Ltd and Cassiopea Apparels Ltd will build the plant. [Asia News Network]

US:

¶ “White House Announces New Efforts To Prevent Wildfires, Limit Smoke Hazards” • The White House is announcing an interagency focus to protect communities from wildfire smoke and prevent large fires that put communities at risk. An MOU was signed by the Departments of Interior and Agriculture, along with the EPA and CDC. [ABC News]

Wildfire smoke (Malachi Brooks, Unsplash)

¶ “Hawaii Unveils $150 Million Recovery Fund For Maui Wildfire Victims’ Families, Injured Survivors” • Governor Josh Green of Hawaii announced a recovery fund of over $150 million for the victims of the Maui wildfires. The families of those who were killed and those who “suffered severe personal injuries” could receive more than $1 million each. [ABC News]

¶ “Jeep’s Electrification Game Plan: Wrangler, Wagoneer, And More Going Electric!” • Exciting times are coming for Jeep enthusiasts, as Jeep is set to take a giant leap into electrification. Jeep outlined some plans for the next five years, promising to electrify some of its most beloved models, including Wrangler, Wagoneer, and Grand Wagoneer. [CleanTechnica]

Jeep EV (Jeep image)

¶ “Santa Maria to operate eight city facilities with solar power” • In California, the Santa Maria City Council approved agreements to operate eight city facilities with solar power that are expected to save over $12.6 million in the 20-year life of the project. The city will have no out-of-pocket costs and will begin saving money in the first year of operation. [Santa Maria Times]

¶ “San Antonio City Council Approves $31 Million For Largest Municipal Solar Project In Texas” • The City Council of San Antonio, Texas, approved the largest municipal solar project of its kind. The $31 million project will result in the installation of roof top, parking, and park canopy solar photovoltaic systems at 42 city facilities. [Texas Public Radio]

Municipal solar array (Big Sun Solar image)

¶ “Michigan Senate Votes To Override Local Decisions On Wind, Solar Energy” • Michigan lawmakers approved another major change to the state’s energy policy, passing a two-bill package that would let state regulators override local decisions about where to allow large-scale wind and solar arrays. The bills are headed to the governor. [Bridge Michigan]

¶ “Illinois House Passes Bill To Lift Moratorium On Nuclear Plants” • A bill ending Illinois’ ban on building nuclear power plants is headed to Governor Pritzker’s desk. The state House of Representatives passed the legislation on Thursday, and the state Senate passed it on Wednesday. Pritzker vetoed a similar bill earlier, but lawmakers think he’ll sign this one. [WGEM]

Have a significantly graceful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Now Is The Time To Get Transportation Right” • In the US, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to use infrastructure investments to meet our nation’s climate and equity goals. A new NRDC publication ranks the states by how well they are set up to take advantage of those transportation funds. [CleanTechnica]

EVs (LA Department of Transportation image)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Batteries Of The Future? How Cotton And Seawater Might Power Our Devices” • During a power outage in India, there’s a cash machine still happily dispensing banknotes, partly thanks to burnt cotton. This cash machine has a backup battery in it, a battery that contains carbon from carefully combusted cotton. Other batteries have other low-impact materials. [BBC]

¶ “Let’s Go Gigacasting!” • Tesla has pioneered the use of massive casting machines, which do what Elon Musk calls “gigacasting.” With that casting system available, Tesla will think of the entire underbody of its EVs as a single piece. Let’s do a deep dive into gigacasting and learn what’s pushed it to the pinnacle of EV manufacturing. [CleanTechnica]

EV manufacture (Courtesy of Tesla)

¶ “The Last Twelve Months Were The Hottest Ever Recorded, An Analysis Finds” • The last twelve months were the hottest Earth has ever recorded, says a peer-reviewed report by the nonprofit research group Climate Central. It says burning gasoline, coal, natural gas, and other fossil fuels caused the unnatural warming of the past year. [Metro US]

World:

¶ “Pacific Leaders To Meet To Discuss Climate Change And Other Regional Concerns” • South Pacific leaders are heading to the stunningly beautiful island of Aitutaki for discussions about climate change and other regional concerns. Among the other concerns is the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. [ABC News]

Coconut trees (Bill Fairs, Unsplash)

¶ “Nigeria Has Ended Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Giving Solar Power A Boost” • Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of crude oil. Yet since it has no refineries of its own, gasoline and diesel fuel must be imported. Even with subsidies, Nigerians pay exorbitant prices. The government has decided to end the subsidies and switch to supporting renewable energy. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Electric Buses In Kenya Create Greater Environmental Impact” • While South American and Chinese cities have been generating a great deal of attention by electrifying their public transport, East Africa is determined to not fall behind. The large part of electric buses are still in China, but the biggest impact may come from those in Kenya. [CleanTechnica]

BasiGo E9 Kubwa (Image by BasiGo)

¶ “Maersk’s APM Runs 8% Of World’s Ports, Says Electrification Is The Answer” • APM Terminals, the AP Moller-Maersk division that runs about 8% of the ports in the world, has released a white paper, The Case For Electrified Container Handling, on what to do about container-handling equipment at the docks. It may be where the world is headed. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Small Modular Nuclear Reactor That Was Hailed By Coalition As Future Cancelled Due To Rising Costs” • The only company to have a small modular nuclear power plant approved in the US, which wsa cited by the Australian opposition as evidence of a “burgeoning” global nuclear industry, has cancelled its first project due to rising costs. [The Guardian]

NuScale VOYGR-6 small modular reactor (NuScale image)

¶ “‘The Market’s Decided’ Say Climate, Energy Leaders” • The climate and energy ministers agree that the market has charted its future for energy already. And it’s renewable, says Australia’s climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen, who spoke at the Future Energy conference at the Tonsley Innovation precinct in Adelaide. [Cosmos Magazine]

US:

¶ “Why Super Fog Is Continuing To Create Dangerous Driving Conditions In Louisiana” • Relentless drought conditions fueling the persistence of marsh fires burning in parts of southeastern Louisiana are causing ongoing super fog events on regional highways during peak commute times. Some highways were closed due to dangerous conditions. [ABC News]

Fog (Jakub Kriz, Unsplash)

¶ “EIA Expects U.S. Annual Solar Electricity Generation To Surpass Hydropower In 2024” • The Energy Information Administration forecast that the US will generate 14% more electricity from solar energy than from hydroelectric facilities in 2024, in its Short-Term Energy Outlook. The forecast is driven by continued growth in solar facilities. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “PG&E Files Application To Keep The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Operating Until 2045” • PG&E submitted to the NRC an application to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant running 20 years after its scheduled closure date, meaning the plant could operate until 2045. Originally PG&E planned to shut down its two reactors in 2024 and 2025. [KCBX]

Diablo Canyon nuclear plant (PG&E image)

¶ “Southern California Fire Risk Prompts Warnings For Power Shutoffs Wednesday As Santa Ana Winds Return” • Thousands of residents are at risk of power outages Wednesday and Thursday due to powerful winds blowing through Southern California and causing an increased threat of wildfires. National Weather Service offices issued Wind Advisories. [FOX Weather]

¶ “Pioneering Nuclear Project Gets Canceled After Costs Surge” • The first nuclear power project in the US with a small modular reactor has been canceled. NuScale Power Corp was building the reactor in partnership with the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, but the estimated cost of its electricity rose from $58/MWh to $89/MWh. [Oil Price]

Have a truly untroubled day.

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(, CC-BY-SA 3.0) km² CO₂ NH₃ CH₄ ₹ NOₓ ‽ ♦♦♦♦♦

World:

¶ “’Virtually Certain’ That 2023 Will Be Warmest Year After October Record” • This year’s heatwaves, floods, and fires have been deadly. Now it is “virtually certain” that 2023 will be the warmest on record, after October temperatures were 0.4°C above the previous high of October 2019. It was the fifth month in a row of record warmth. [BBC]

November (Ruvim Noga, Unsplash)

¶ “Global Wine Production Falls To 62-Year Low In 2023” • Poor weather globally is likely to cause global wine production to fall to a six-decade low this year. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine says that wine production around the world is likely to be about 7% lower in 2023 than last year. Such a yield would be the worst since 1961. [BBC]

¶ “Essen: Germany’s ‘Ugly Duckling’ City Success” • In the heart of western Germany’s long-time Ruhr region, the city of Essen spent much of the past 150 years marred by pollution, tainted by filthy mines, factories, and poisoned waterways. But a striking transformation has seen Essen go from being Germany’s ugly duckling to one of Europe’s greenest cities. [BBC]

Elisabethkrankenhaus, Essen (Wiki05, public domain)

¶ “Why Cheetahs Will Be Especially Vulnerable To Climate Change” • Cheetah populations are especially vulnerable to rising temperatures because hotter days are forcing them to hunt at night more, putting them in greater competition with nocturnal predators such as lions and African wild dogs, according to a study in the journal Biological Sciences. [ABC News]

¶ “Musk Makes The Move To Bring An Affordable Tesla To The European Market” • Finally, Tesla revealed plans to manufacture an affordable EV. It will enter the market as a €25,000 ($26,838) EV produced at Tesla’s gigafactory near Berlin. Elon Musk made the announcement as he visited the Tesla factory in Gruenheide and chatted with staff. [CleanTechnica]

Giga Berlin, which looks like every other Giga  (Tesla image)

¶ “The Nasty Drought In Syria, Iraq And Iran Would Not Have Happened Without Climate Change, Study Finds” • A three-year drought that has left millions of people in Syria, Iraq, and Iran with little water would not have happened without human-caused climate change, a study by World Weather Attribution found. The drought started in July of 2020. [El Paso Inc]

¶ “Energy Vault’s Gravity Storage To Power 1.16 GWh Of Chinese Projects” • Energy Vault Holdings said that five systems using its EVx gravity energy storage technology and totalling 1.16 GWh will be built in China. Together with two other sites, they have a combined capacity of 3.26 GWh, and representing over $1 billion (€937 million) of project value. [Renewables Now]

Energy Vault system (Business Wire image)

US:

¶ “Virginia Governor Declares State Of Emergency As Crews Fight Wildfires” • Firefighters are battling several blazes in forests of Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Wide swaths of those states face moderate to severe drought conditions and warmer than normal temperatures. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency. [ABC News]

¶ “Air Force Asks Congress To Protect Nuclear Launch Sites From Wind Turbines” • The Air Force’s underground nuclear missile silos are rarely disturbed by more than the occasional wandering cow. But the service is now asking Congress to help with another unexpected danger: towering wind turbines, which are edging closer to the sites each year. [ABC News]

Wind farm (rachelalienergy, public domain)

¶ “US Steel Pioneers Battery-Powered Locomotives, First In North America” • The debut of two all-electric locomotives in the Pittsburgh area, replacing two built in 1964 and 1974, strikes a chord of history. With clean trains and green steel, grandpa must be beaming about what this means for his progeny and all living things around his old hometown. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Advances Fifteen Onshore Renewable Energy Projects With Potential To Power Millions Of Homes” • During remarks at the Western Governors Association Winter Meeting, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced that the Interior Department is advancing fifteen onshore renewable energy projects across the West. [CleanTechnica]

Wind project (Interior Department image)

¶ “Redwood Materials Helps To Recycle Kauai’s Stationary Energy Storage Systems” • In Hawaii, the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative currently has a 4.6-MWh battery storage system that is ready to be decommissioned. So KIUC is getting the help of Redwood Materials for the decommissioning process as well as recycling the batteries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “2025 RamCharger Raises The Electric Truck Bar” • Ram Trucks took the wraps off its 2025 RamCharger hybrid pickup truck. Packing 663 HP electrified horsepower and 615 lb-ft of torque, this is a big, fast, and powerful pickup with a 14,000 lb. tow rating, a 2625 lb payload capacity, and it does 0-60 MPH in four seconds. [CleanTechnica]

2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Limited (Courtesy of Stellantis)

¶ “PG&E Deploys Its First 100% Renewable Remote Grid In Push To Mitigate Wildfires” • Pacific Gas and Electric Company put into service its first fully renewable remote grid in its growing fleet of standalone power systems. PG&E’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan describes remote grids that provide utility service using local energy resources. [Smart Energy International]

¶ “Advocates Fear NH Clean Energy Proposal Would Pit Nuclear Against Solar, Wind” • New Hampshire clean energy advocates say a proposal to define nuclear power as clean energy could undercut renewable energy. A NH House bill would allow nuclear power generators, such as Seabrook Station, to receive payments for generating clean energy. [The Keene Sentinel]

Have a widely appreciated day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Kauai Is A Clean Energy Leader. Its Secret? A Publicly Owned Grid” • Kauai’s grid infrastructure took a beating from Hurricane Iniki in 1992, and the business that owned the grid wanted to sell. Kauai residents raised financing and acquired the utility in 2002, turning it into a locally owned cooperative reduced rates that had once been Hawaii’s highest. [Canari Media]

Kauai (Spencer Watson, Unsplash)

¶ “Electricity Grid in Peril: A National Priority” • The number of weather-related power outages has grown significantly in recent years, with such weather disasters as extreme cold, hurricanes, and wildfires making many of the US power interruptions worse. The US has not adequately invested in or enacted policies to address these issues. [RealClearEnergy]

¶ “Nuclear Energy And Free Market Capitalism Are not Compatible” • Nuclear energy saw some success in the past, but seems incapable of it today. That is largely because the tenets of free market capitalism cause it to fail. This is also true for small modular reactors. Successful nuclear programs have always been subsidized by governments. [CleanTechnica]

Nuclear plant (Jametlene Reskp, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Investing In Nuclear Energy Is Bad For The Climate, NGOs Say” • At the European Nuclear Energy Forum, the nuclear industry and certain EU countries are calling for more support and subsidies for nuclear power, particularly for Small Modular Reactors. But environmental NGOs are joining voices to contest this call. [The European Environmental Bureau]

Science and Technology:

¶ “The Big Bubble Curtains Protecting Porpoises From Wind Farm Noise” • Over the past decade, a curious invention has spread across Europe’s northern seas. It’s called a big bubble curtain, it works a bit like a giant jacuzzi, and it helps protect porpoises from the massive underwater noise caused by wind farm construction. [BBC]

Big bubble curtain (Hydrotechnik Lübeck image)

¶ “Offshore Wind Developers Are Eyeing New Alliances With Aquaculture Industry” • The US offshore wind industry has had a slow start, but wind developers elsewhere are beginning to attract aquaculture stakeholders with opportunities for multi-use and co-located operations. If that works, it could help deflect some of the resistence. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Real-World Traffic Demo Reveals Energy Savings” • In a real-world demonstration, researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory determined that a connected and automated vehicle, or CAV, traveling on a multilane highway with integrated traffic light timing control can maximize energy efficiency and achieve up to 27% savings. [CleanTechnica]

Test of an automated vehicle (ORNL, US DOE)

World:

¶ “Local Production Of Plug-In Hybrids Up Times Five In South Africa” • The latest Automotive Industry Export Council data shows that South African auto makers made note of increased sales of EVs worldwide. As a result, production of EVs has jumped from 733 in the first three quarters of 2021 to 3,534 in the same period in 2023. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Tesla To Build €25,000 Car At German Gigafactory” • An anonymous source who claims to have knowledge of the matter says Tesla plans to produce a car with a starting price of €25,000 ($26,838) at its factory in Grünheide, Germany, according to a Reuters report. The source did not say when production of the new car would begin. [CleanTechnica]

Gigafactory (Tesla image)

¶ “K-Electric Plans Ambitious 640-MW Renewable Energy Initiative” • K-Electric, the primary electricity provider for Karachi, is advancing a strategic renewable energy plan that could reshape the city’s power landscape. The company has taken significant steps towards adding 640 MW of renewable capacity to Pakistan’s grid. [The Express Tribune]

¶ “SUSI Invests In Italian Storage Market” • SUSI Partners has expanded the scope of its Italian solar development platform to include battery storage projects. ReFeel New Energy has passed its initial targets and has over 750 MW of battery capacity under development, of which 200 MW is awaiting final authorisation to move into construction. [reNews]

Energy storage (SUSI Partners)

US:

¶ “The Private Sector Accounts For 89% Of Announced US Battery Investments” • Announcements of investments by the private sector in US battery technologies have been increasing over the last few years, with 208 as of September 2023. The locations of announcements relating to battery materials and manufacturing are all across the US. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “West Virginia’s Largest Solar Power Facility At Fort Martin To Go Online By End Of Year” • The Mon Power solar power facility in Fort Martin is nearly complete and is expected to generate electricity by the end of the year. With 50,000 solar panels that will produce 18.9 MW, it is the largest of five planned facilities by the utility First Energy. [WV News]

West Virginia Solar array (Courtesy of First Energy)

¶ “State Of New York Makes Massive Investment In Renewable-Energy Projects” • New York has made a massive investment in renewable energy. The state is committing $300 million to create the nation’s first offshore wind blade and nacelle manufacturing facilities. This investment will create 8,300 jobs for New York’s renewable energy workforce. [Public News Service]

¶ “USDA Awards REAP Grants To Biogas, Bioenergy Projects” • The USDA awarded $145 million in loans and grants to 700 projects under the agency’s Rural Energy for America Program. Several biogas and bioenergy projects are among those selected for REAP awards. Two California biogas companies were each awarded $1 million. [Biomass Magazine]

Have a preposterously pleasant day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Tesla Share Price Is Under Pressure. Will The Cybertruck Help?” • If the Cybertruck is a hit with the public, the price of Tesla shares could soar and everyone will say what a genius Musk is. If it does not, the share price could sink and people will say Musk is an idiot. Could it be that both statements are true? “We’ll see,” said the Zen master. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Cybertruck (Tesla image)

¶ “Atoms For Peace Was Never The Plan” • Atoms for Peace had a nice ring to it. But it was a fantasy at best, at worst, a lie. Atoms for Peace was never the intention. Atoms for war, as it turned out, was brewing in the background even before Dwight Eisenhower became president of the US. Whose idea was it? Dr Charles A Thomas, of Monsanto, for one. [Counterpunch]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Study Reveals Effects Of Fast Charging On Electric Car Battery Health” • Recurrent Auto published a report on DC fast charging and battery degradation. “We compared cars that fast charge at least 90% of the time to cars that fast charge less than 10% of the time. … The results show no statistically significant difference in range degradation. [CleanTechnica]

Charging an EV (Ernie Journeys, Unsplash)

¶ “SunDrive Innovation Aims To Reduce Solar Costs” • SunDrive Solar is set to take a giant step towards a new type of cheaper solar panels at commercial scale. The Australian company’s technology replaces one of the most expensive components of a solar cell with an alternative about 100 times cheaper and much more efficient. [Australian Renewable Energy Agency]

World:

¶ “‘Shame On You, Tesla!’ Sweden’s Labor Unions Fight Back” • Dock workers in Sweden are threatening to block deliveries of new Teslas entering the country. They are standing by metal workers at Tesla’s Swedish repair shops who went on strike on October 27. Their dispute rises from Tesla’s refusal to sign a collective agreement with their union. [CleanTechnica]

Stockholm (Maxime Gilbert, Unsplash)

¶ “Trina Solar Expands Investment In Vietnam, Accelerating The Country’s Solar Power Growth” • The Chinese solar panel maker Trina Solar announced plans to boost its investment in Vietnam’s Thai Nguyen province by an additional $420 million. The boost will raise Trina’s total investment in the country to nearly $900 million. [EnergyPortal.eu]

¶ “EU Wind Package Must Protect Workers” • IG Metall Coast, Germany’s largest trade union is calling for a joint assessment of the EU Commission’s Pact for Wind Energy and the industrial policy concept of Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck. It said regional value creation and collectively agreed working conditions must be given more consideration. [reNews]

Wind turbine workers (Dennis Schroeder, NREL, public domain)

¶ “2024: The Commencement Of Taiwan’s Floating Wind Farm Era” • Taiwan is making significant strides in the development of floating offshore wind power, as the capacity for wind power in shallow coastal areas gradually reaches its limit. It is anticipated that 2024 will mark a pivotal year for development of floating wind farms in Taiwan. [Digitimes]

¶ “REC Issues Dual Tenders Totaling 11 GW For Renewable Power Evacuation Projects In Rajasthan” • REC Power Development and Consultancy has issued two tenders for the establishment of an Inter-State Transmission System aimed at evacuating a total of 11,000 lakh (1.1 billion) units of power from Renewable Energy Zones in Rajasthan. [SolarQuarter]

Transmission tower (Shruti Singh, Unsplash)

¶ “Solar Mini-Grids Offer Clean-Power Hope To Rural Africa” • Mini-grids, small power systems usually supplying rural villages, are not new. But the drop in cost of solar PVs has driven growth in clean energy mini-grids, with rural Africa poised to benefit the most. The village of Sabon Gida has more reliable power than Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital. [Forbes India]

¶ “China, Japan And South Korea Reaffirm Pledges For Climate Action” • The environment ministers of China, Japan, and South Korea reaffirmed their commitments to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution. The countries said they remain committed to multilateralism and are willing to encourage close collaboration. [China Daily]

Biodiversity (Rui Silvestre, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “NREL Study Finds Rapid Adoption Of ZEVs Will Move To US To 80% Or More Drop In GHG Emissions By 2050” • The rapid adoption of zero-emission EVs will move the US close to an 80% drop in transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 from the 2019 level according to researchers from the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. [Green Car Congress]

¶ “Dominion Sees Cheaper Wind Power At Massive Offshore Project” • Dominion Energy Inc expects to deliver power at a cheaper price than originally expected from the largest approved offshore wind project in the US, a rare win for a wider wind sector recently beleaguered by bad news. The shares soared the most in almost a year. [Supply Chain Brain]

Block Island Offshore Wind Farm (Ionna22, CC-BU-SA 4.0)

¶ “West Virginia PSC OKs Major Solar Energy Project In Mason County” • The Public Service Commission of West Virginia gave a green light to New Haven PV I to site a 100-MW solar facility on 1,555 acres in Mason County. The array will consist of 226,356 solar panels. The company will invest $97 million, creating 319 construction jobs. [WV News]

¶ “University Of Arkansas Outlines Plan For Renewable Energy” • The University of Arkansas’s 2022 Sustainability report had a solar energy plan that would save the school over three million dollars every year. Now, Eric Boles, director of Sustainability says expanding the school’s use of solar power is a cost-efficient way to reduce its carbon footprint. [KNWA]

Have an unambiguously exciting day.

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Opinion:

¶ “EV Charging And The Grid: The Truth Is Out There” • There is a widely held belief that supplying enough electricity to charge all the EVs expected to be around in a few years will take huge investments for the grid upgrades needed to meet the demand for EV charging. Now, thanks to the Green Energy Consumers Alliance, we have facts. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla and bison (Taun Stewart, Unsplash)

¶ “How Alberta Was A Green Energy Leader But Squandered It” • Alberta was a leader in oil. Then its black gold rush was rivalled by a green one, as investors clamour to cash in on the province’s bright Prairie skies and Chinook winds. But Alberta’s provincial government hit the brakes on renewable power in the midst of a multi-billion dollar boom. [Global News]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Climate Change Laying Healthy African Land To Waste” • The UN Convention to Combat Desertification concluded that over 100 football pitches worth of healthy land is lost every minute in Africa. But the problem is global. The UNCCD says that between 2015 and 2019, the world lost at least 100 million hectares of healthy land each year. [The East African]

Desertification (Gabriele Niek, Unsplash)

¶ “Tesla Vehicles Warn Drowsy And Inattentive Drivers” • Teslas keep getting smarter over time with the help of free over-the-air software updates. A new and interesting feature has just started rolling out to Tesla cars in Europe. It warns drivers if they are inattentive or drowsy. The vehicle monitors movements of a driver’s eyes and the steering wheel. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “EVs Take 26.5% Share In France – Dacia Springs Up” • October saw plugin EVs take a 26.5% share of the French auto market, up from 22.4% last year. The volume of full EV sales grew over 50% year on year. The overall auto volume was up some 22%, year on year, though still below pre-2020 norms. The Dacia Spring was the best selling full EV. [CleanTechnica]

Dacia Spring (Alexander Migl, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “25% BEV Share In China! – China EV Sales Report” • Plugins scored more than 776,000 sales in China last month, up 22% year over year, to set the market’s second monthly record in a row. And expect the last quarter of the month to continue this record streak. The September sales pulled the year-to-date tally to over 5.4 million units. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Bangladesh’s First Offshore Wind Power Project Approved” • Denmark’s green investment proposal valued at $1.3 billion for developing Bangladesh’s first 500 MW utility-scale offshore wind energy project has received the government’s nod in principle for a detailed feasibility study. The proposed project site is in the Cox’s Bazar district. [The Business Standard]

Wind turbines (Supplied photo)

¶ “Europe’s Battery Charge To Power A Green Economy” • The European battery market could be worth as much as €250 billion a year as of 2025. Europe aims to increase its share of global battery-cell production to as high as 25% this decade from 3% in 2018, reducing Asia’s 85% dominance. The EU is also promoting battery reuse and recycling. [Cyprus Mail]

¶ “ISIF Commits €94 Million To The UK Green Energy Giant Octopus Energy’s Fund” • The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund announced a €94 million commitment to OEG’s Sky Fund for investment in renewable energy projects. OEG plans to establish an office in Dublin, creating a full-time presence as it invests in Irish green energy projects. [Independent.ie]

Wind farm in Ireland (Kenneth Gallery Smyth, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Australia’s 2024-25 Budget To Focus On Supporting Green Energy Industries, Chalmers Flags” • Australia’s next federal budget will back green energy winners to help the renewable energy transition, according to treasurer Jim Chalmers. He said the energy transformation is “absolutely central” to the Albanese government’s goals. [The Guardian]

¶ “CDB Wants Faster Transition To Renewable Energy” • Dr Gene Leon, President of the Caribbean Development Bank has challenged regional leaders to quicken their pace in transitioning to full reliance on renewable energy sources. He said achieving the 2030 goal of becoming carbon neutral is critical to building economic and climate resilience. [Barbados Today]

Wind turbine (Luke Thornton, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “New Kind of Nuclear Threat In Putin’s War On Ukraine Explained” • The government of Ukraine said that a Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s western Khmelnytsky region on October 25 had targeted a nuclear power plant, reigniting fears of the consequences of having a war raging in a country that is home to 15 atomic power stations. [Newsweek]

US:

¶ “Fact Check: Trump Falsely Claims California Had ‘Blackouts All Over The Place This Summer’” • Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed in a speech in Texas that California had widespread blackouts this summer because there was insufficient electricity to meet demand. The state’s last blackout due to load imbalance was in 2020, a state official said. [CNN]

Not blacked out (Tyler Casey, Unsplash)

¶ “Tesla Energy Unveils VPP Plan For Puerto Rico And $0 Down Solar For Tesla Drivers” • Electricity has become a fundamental component of modern life, but generating it on relatively small patches of land in the middle of vast oceans is challenging. So Tesla Energy has introduced a virtual power plant program for residents of Puerto Rico. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Senator Casey Urges Amendments To Support US Steel in Renewable Energy Projects” • Senator Bob Casey is supporting American manufacturing by urging the Biden Administration to amend guidelines under the Inflation Reduction Act. He wrote the Treasury and the IRS to correct guidelines allowing use of foreign steel in PV projects. [Franklin County Free Press]

Have a totally okay day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Hansen Vs Mann: Is Global Warming Linear Or Exponential?” • In research published in the journal Oxford Open Climate Change, James Hansen and his colleagues argue that IPCC models and predictions on climate change are too conservative. He suggests geoengineering. Michael Mann has a differing viewpoint, calling geoengineering a “slippery slope.” [CleanTechnica]

Clouds (Zoltan Tasi, Unsplash)

¶ “Canada’s Carbon Price Working, So Of Course It’s Being Attacked” • Canada’s carbon price is back in headlines. For fiscal and political reasons, the Liberal government exempted homes heating with oil from the tax for three years. Naturally, the Conservatives have used this to raise populist grievances that mostly don’t hold any water. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Who Are The Major Players In Electric Grid Reliability?” • The largest blackout North American history happened when an overloaded electrical line sagged to short out on a tree limb. The cost could have been as high as $10 billion. New regulations have helped avoid a repeat of that outage, but now the grid is being strained by climate change. [CleanTechnica]

Grid regions (North American Electric Reliability Corporation)

World:

¶ “Climate Scientists Are Working With Indigenous Tribes” • For many of us, climate science brings to mind satellite observations, temperature records or the analysis of ice cores. But there is plenty more data besides that. Indigenous communities that have long lived close to the land often hold their own records and recollections. [BBC]

¶ “Tesla Model Y Rules In Europe – Europe EV Sales Report” • Approximately 288,000 plugin vehicles were registered this September in Europe, up 15% year over year. Unfortunately, the overall market grew 11%, as it is finally recovering from a couple of bad years. The Tesla Modle Y dominated the EV market with 34,378 cars sold. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model Y (Pontus Jerand Wernhammar, Unsplash)

¶ “Community-Battery Applications Swamp Renewable Energy Authority” • The Australian Renewable Energy Agency says it has received 140 eligible applications for its Community Batteries Funding Program, with a total grant request of $1.3 billion. This is over 10 times the $120 million available under the program’s first round of funding. [The New Daily]

¶ “Transitioning Towards Renewable Energy Will Stabilize Energy Prices, Tabuya Says” • In Fiji, the Minister for Women, Children, and Social Protection, Lynda Tabuya says strategic policies can mitigate the effects of dependency on fossil fuels by promoting energy efficiency and transitioning towards renewable energy sources. [Fijivillage]

Fiji (Josaia Cakacaka, Unsplash)

¶ “Renewable Energy Investors In Greece To Add Batteries Or Face Curtailment” • Though curtailments are still low in Greece, there is concern that soon they may soon cause more serious problems for clean energy producers, as the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy system rises to 78%. Batteries can solve this issue. [Balkan Green Energy News]

¶ “Wind Farms Push Spain’s Renewables Share To 50.7% In Oct” • Renewabl sources accounted for 50.7% of Spain’s total electricity production in October, up from 42.1% a month earlier. The large increase is thanks to a sharp rise in wind power output, according to preliminary figures released by the Spanish grid operator, Red Electrica de Espana. [Renewables Now]

Wind farm in Spain (José Ibáñez, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

US:

¶ “Sales Of Electric Cars Top 20% In California, Led By Tesla Model Y” • The California New Car Dealers Association reported on November 1, 2023, that sales of battery electric cars accounted for 21.5% of new car sales in the Golden State during the first 9 months of the year. It was 22.3% in the third quarter, up from 16.4% in 2022 and 9.1% in 2021. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Solar And Wind Power Curtailments Are Rising In California” • The California Independent System Operator, which operates the grid in most of the state, is increasingly curtailing solar PVs and wind-powered electricity generation as it balances supply and demand during the rapid growth of those renewable energy sources in California. [CleanTechnica]

California solar array (BLM California, public domain)

¶ “Clean Power Alliance To Serve Southern California With Record Amounts Of Wind Power From Largest Renewable Energy Infrastructure Project In US History” • A 15-year PPA with Pattern Energy will expand CPA’s diverse clean energy portfolio with 575 MW of wind energy from the 3.5-GW SunZia wind farm in central New Mexico. [Yahoo Finance]

¶ “Cover Crops Help Fight Climate Change, But Farmers Fear Losing Money” • Cover crops top the list of tasks U.S. farmers are told will build healthy soil, help the environment and fight climate change. Yet after years of incentives and encouragement, Midwest farmers planted cover crops on only about 7 percent of their land in 2021. [CGTN]

Corn crop (CFP image)

¶ “Michigan Legislature Clears 100% Clean Energy Law” • The Michigan State House passed a package of bills that could make Michigan a clean energy leader. If Governor Whitmer signs them, they will set a 100% clean electricity standard for 2040. Among other things, they include an energy storage standard of 2.5 GW by 2030. [Environment America]

¶ “Person Of Interest Charged After Car Drives Through Security Fences At South Carolina Nuclear Plant” • A person of interest has been charged a day after a man drove a vehicle through security fences at Oconee Nuclear Station in South Carolina, according to authorities. The man was charged with attempted murder and other crimes. [ABC News]

Have a thoroughly delightful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “It Is The Best Of Times, It Is The Worst Of Times For Offshore Wind In America” • The Biden Administration just approved a plan to install up to 176 wind turbines off the coast of Virginia. But in New York, the developers of four proposed offshore wind farms recently asked the state for more money before moving forward. [CleanTechnica]

Block Island Wind Farm (Gary Norton, US DOE)

Science:

¶ “Why Grazing Bison Could Be Good For The Planet” • The American bison were hunted almost to extinction by European settlers. Their loss was devastating to the prairies. Now they are making a comeback, and they could help reverse the damage. In Kansas, thirty years of bison grazing in tallgrass prairie has been shown to increase native plant species richness. [BBC]

World:

¶ “Olive Oil Prices Skyrocketing In Europe” • Olive oil has increased by about 75% since January 2021, and in Spain, the world’s biggest olive oil producer, prices jumped a massive 115% since August 2021. Spanish farmers and experts primarily blame the nearly two-year drought, with higher temperatures affecting flowering of the trees. [ABC News]

Olive tree (Carlos Zurita, Unsplash)

¶ “How An American Meat Broker Fuels Amazon Deforestation” • China has become the world’s biggest beef importer, and Brazil is China’s biggest supplier, according to UN data. More beef moves from Brazil to China than between any other countries. But the Brazilian cattle industry is a major driver of destruction of the Amazon rainforest. [ABC News]

¶ “Wuling Bingo And BYD Seagull Excel In China, Selling Over 150,000 Units Each” • Two small EVs, the Wuling Bingo and the BYD Seagull, are selling like hotcakes right now in China. These small, affordable 5-door EVs show that it really is possible now to develop a small affordable EV and scale production in decent numbers in a short time. [CleanTechnica]

BYD Seagull (BYD image)

¶ “Coal Free By 2070? India’s Push Toward Renewables Won’t Stop Coal Reliance For The Next Two Decades” • India’s leaders have been optimistic about its path to net zero, making bold claims that 50% of its electric power will come from renewables by 2030, and 100% by 2070. But the use of coal goes on and is likely to continue doing so. [NBC Bay Area]

¶ “Vestas Expands Its Wind Technology Energy Offering In Germany” • Developer Uhl Windkraft was first to order Vestas’ new V172-7.2 MW wind turbine, the latest addition to Vestas’ EnVentus Platform. Six turbines will be supplied to the Hoßkirch wind project, which is in cooperation with the Comital House of Koenigsegg-Aulendorf. [Energy Digital Magazine]

Vestas wind turbines (Vestas image)

US:

¶ “Fifteen Injured In Fire And Building Collapse Following Gas Line Rupture In New York State” • Fifteen people were injured, including five of the first responders, after a gas line rupture in Wappingers Falls, New York, a village near Poughkeepsie. The rupture lead to a massive fire and collapse of a multi-family building, according to officials. [ABC News]

¶ “Electrifying Trucks: Tackling Inflation And Saving Americans Money” • Truck electrification combats inflation partly because electric trucks are two to five times as efficient as diesel trucks, but also, electricity is dramatically less expensive. Depending on use and other specifics, running on electricity rather than diesel oil can reduce fuel costs by 40% to 60%. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Semi (Courtesy of Frito-Lay)

¶ “DOE Announces Up To $440 Million To Install Rooftop Solar And Batteries In Puerto Rico’s Most Vulnerable Communities” • The DOE announced a slate of solar companies and nonprofits selected to install rooftop solar and battery storage systems for vulnerable households in Puerto Rico, through the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Harvesting Sunshine: Solar Is America’s Newest Cash Crop” • Agrivoltaics, the combination of agriculture and solar energy, is one of the fastest-growing applications of solar. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that there are 2.8 GW of agrivoltaic sites in the US, and more projects are coming online every week. [CleanTechnica]

Regenerative farming (Courtesy of Silicon Ranch via Cision)

¶ “Public Power Is On The Ballot In Maine. Will Voters Take A Leap Of Faith?” • Two utilities, Central Maine Power and Versant, distribute 97% of Maine’s electricity. Question 3 on Maine’s ballot asks voters to decide whether they want to oust CMP and Versant and replace them with a nonprofit, publicly owned utility called Pine Tree Power. [Grist]

¶ “Longroad Energy Starts Construction On 377-MW Arizona Solar Projec” • Longroad Energy, a renewable energy developer based in Massachusetts, announced the financial close and start of construction of Sun Streams 4. The project, in Maricopa County, Arizona, has 377 MW of solar panels and a 300-MW, 1,200-MWh battery system. [pv magazine USA]

Longroad solar project (Longroad image)

¶ “Vermont Lawmakers Want To Require Utilities To Source 100% Renewable Electricity By 2030” • Vermont lawmakers will take up their next big piece of climate legislation next year in the form of a bill that would require electric utilities to get more of their power from renewable sources. Vermont Democrats are set to override a veto. [Vermont Public]

¶ “No Easy Solutions For Removing San Onofre’s Spent Nuclear Fuel” • The San Onofre nuclear power plant hasn’t generated any electricity in more than ten years. But even as the iconic plant is being dismantled, it is still generating controversy over what to do with some of the radioactive material on the site. Some highly radioactive waste has nowhere to go. [KTLA]

Have a fundamentally soaring day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Why It Matters That The Earth Is On The Brink Of 1.5°C Of Warming ” • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change uses 1.5°C as a limit to aim for. The exact figure of 1.5°C of warming is less important than keeping global warming as far below that figure as possible. But researchers say the likelihood of doing so is waning. [ABC News]

Terraced fields (Huy Nguyen, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Researchers Argue That Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Is Not Enough To Combat Climate Change” • A paper in Oxford Open Climate Change says that strategies humanity must pursue to reduce climate change will have to include more than reducing greenhouse gases. This comes from an analysis of climate data led by researcher James Hansen. [Phys.org]

World:

¶ “EVs Take 60.6% Share In Sweden – Kia EV9 Debuts” • October saw plugin EVs take 60.6% share in Sweden, up fractionally from 59.4% year on year. EV volumes were up by some 14%, barely ahead of overall market growth. Overall auto volume was 25,016 units, up by 12% year on year. The Volkswagen ID.4 was the EV that sold best in October. [CleanTechnica]

Kia EV9 in Korea (Hyundai Motor Group, Unsplash)

¶ “US Electric Train Maker Sends Hot Pink Diesel-Killing Love Letter To Australia” • A new electric train is heading from the US to Australia with a futuristic twist. The locomotive will deploy regenerative breaking – energy captured from its brakes while on the move. The payoff is lower fuel costs, a smaller carbon footprint, and reduced down time. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “China’s Coal Boom Includes 775 GW Of Shelved, Canceled, Or Closed Plants” • China has permitted more coal plants in recent years than the rest of the world combined, reports say. But the narratives don’t mention the operating coal plants that were shut down and plants that were not built have a combined capacity of 775 GW. [CleanTechnica]

Coal mine (Herry Lawford, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “China’s Lithium Mining Boom In Tibet Sparks Debate In Renewable Energy Race” • A research report by Turquoise Roof, a network of Tibetan researchers, has revealed that the booming EV industry in China is fuelling a lithium rush in Tibet. It risks damaging the troubled region’s fragile ecology and deepening rights violations. [Phayul]

¶ “Singapore Seen As Hub For Renewable Energy” • Singapore can be a hub for renewable energy as the city-state can leverage its status as one of the world’s biggest commodity trading centers and bunkering ports, analysts said. Its Energy Market Authority has given tentative approval for plans to import 1.2 GW of wind power from Vietnam. [China Daily]

Singapore (Peter Nguyen, Unsplash)

¶ “Global Grid-Forming Inverter Market Expected To Reach $1,042 Million By 2028” • The global grid-forming inverter market is estimated to grow from $1,042 million by 2028 from an estimated of $680 million in 2023. Grid-forming inverters are vital for managing the rapid growth of renewable energy and ensuring grid stability. [Yahoo Finance]

¶ “Portugal Powered Solely By Renewables Last Weekend” • Portugal relied solely on renewable energy last weekend, largely wind and hydroelectric power, to meet electricity demand. It generated 172.5 GWh of renewable electricity and useed 131.1 GWh between Friday night and Monday morning, exporting excess power to Spain. [PV Magazine]

Trolley car in Portugal (Aayush Gupta, Unsplash)

¶ “Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Starts Third Release Of Treated Radioactive Wastewater Into The Sea” • The tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant began its third release of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the sea Thursday after Japanese officials said the two earlier releases ended smoothly. [TheHour]

US:

¶ “VinFast May Bring The Ultra Cheap VF 3 To America” • Last June, VinFast introduced the VF 3, a boxy two-door electric vehicle designed to appeal to customers in its home market of Vietnam. Now, there are suggestions that VinFast might produce cars in a North Carolina factory, and the VF 3 could be priced in the sub-$20,000 range. [CleanTechnica]

VinFast VF 3 (Courtesy of VinFast)

¶ “Well-Equipped Single Motor Chevy Equinox Will Start At $34,995 – Someday” • When Chevrolet announced the Equinox EV in January of 2022, it said the battery-electric version of its popular midsize SUV would start at around $30,000 and have a range of up to 300 miles. At a somewhat increased price and range, it is still coming. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “TotalEnergies Starts Up 380-MW Solar Power Plant with Battery Storage in Texas” • TotalEnergies has started commercial operations of Myrtle Solar, a solar farm south of Houston. Myrtle has a capacity of 380 MW and 225 MWh of co-located batteries. Myrtle produces enough green electricity each year to provide for about 70,000 homes. [PR Newswire]

Transmission towers (Pierre Jarry, Unsplash)

¶ “EPICS Global Research Centre For 100% Renewable Power Grids Launched In US” • The Electric Power Innovation for a Carbon-free Society center was launched at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. It has partners from the UK, Australia, and the US researching potencial of 100% renewable power grids across the world. [Smart Energy International]

¶ “Despite Net-Zero Commitments, California Is Curtailing Renewable Power” • California, a state that’s all-in for net-zero energy policies, announced it’s curtailing solar and wind power due to increased congestion. Congestion occurs when power transmission lines lack the capacity to deliver the electricity generated. [Independent Women’s Forum]

Have an amusingly straightforward day.

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Opinion:

¶ “How The US Can Become A Global Leader In Offshore Wind” • To become a global leader in offshore wind energy, the US must seize the opportunity to address three major areas: investing in employment and training, bolstering transmission infrastructure, and developing a comprehensive set of American standards and guidelines. [CleanTechnica]

Block Island wind farm (US DOE, public domain)

Science and Technology:

¶ “24M Introduces Electrode-To-Pack Battery Without Individual Cells Or Modules” • Prior to 24M ETOP™, cell makers, EV OEMs, and energy storage integrators built battery packs and modules from individual cells. However, current lithium-ion battery cells have a large fraction of inactive, non-charge carrying materials in them, adding weight. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “A Sustainable Alternative To Air Conditioning” • One major contributor to global warming is air conditioning. But scientists from McGill University, UCLA, and Princeton found in a study an inexpensive, sustainable alternative to mechanical cooling with refrigerants in hot and arid climates, and a way to mitigate dangerous heat waves during blackouts. [CleanTechnica]

Thermostat (Dan LeFebvre, Unsplash)

¶ “Designing cleaner vehicles” • As a second-year master’s degree student in mechanical engineering, Adi Mehrotra channels much of his energy into designing clean energy vehicles. He has taken the helm of the MIT Electric Vehicle Team, a student research team that probes the future of transportation by designing a hydrogen-powered motorcycle. [MIT News]

World:

¶ “The Isle Of Eigg: The Community-Owned Island That Powers Itself” • Eigg is one of a collection of islands in the Scottish Inner Hebrides called the Small Isles. It lies 15 miles from the mainland and is reliant on a ferry that runs a few times a week, weather dependent, for supplies and transport. Waste isn’t an option here and sustainability is a necessity. [BBC]

Wind turbines on Eigg (W L Tarbert, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

¶ “BMW Going With New Batteries For Its Ambitious EV Plans” • A core technology for transforming to an emissions-free world is batteries, and researchers around the world are looking to find what is best. BMW has just confirmed it will use LFP battery cells soon, and it is also working on solid-state battery and sodium-ion battery cells. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Electric Bus Traction In Stockholm And Sicily Is Increasing Exponentially With Bus Expert Solaris Supplying The Stocks” • Solaris, a Polish e-mobility leader in public transport, continues to make waves in the world of sustainable transportation with its latest orders from Sweden’s Nobina Stockholm and Italy’s AMTS Catania earlier this October. [CleanTechnica]

Solaris Urbino 15 LE electric bus in Sweden (Solaris image)

¶ “Indonesia’s Ambitious Plan To Cut Carbon Emissions And Boost Renewable Energy” • Indonesia is facing the challenges of rapid growth of industry and energy demands. It unveiled an ambitious plan to curtail its carbon emissions in the on-grid power sector and significantly increase the share of renewable energy generation to 44% by 2030. [DD News]

¶ “Amazon Expands Renewable Energy Footprint In India With 198-MW Wind Farm” • Amazon has unveiled a new 198-MW wind farm Osmanabad, Maharashtra, India. This addition marks Amazon’s fiftieth renewable project in India, pushing the firm’s renewable energy capacity past 1.1 GW. It is the seventh Amazon project in the past year. [Inc42]

Windpower in India (Debasish1974, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “G7 Pushes For Removal Of Japanese Food Import Bans” • The Group of Seven urged recent restrictions imposed on Japanese food products from around Fukushima to be removed. The restrictions follow the Fukushima nuclear Disaster. The G7 nations include Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the US. [Food Safety News]

US:

¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Approves Largest Offshore Wind Project In The Nation” • Located approximately 23.5 nautical miles off Virginia Beach, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is the largest yet, and would provide about 2,600 MW of clean, reliable offshore wind energy, capable of powering over 900,000 homes. [CleanTechnica]

Wind resources at 100 meters above the ground (NREL image)

¶ “Toyota more than doubles investment and job creation at North Carolina battery plant” • Toyota will invest an additional $8 billion in the hybrid and electric vehicle battery factory it’s constructing in North Carolina, more than doubling its prior investments and expected number of new jobs, the company announced Tuesday. [ABC News]

¶ “Bechtel Wins EPC Work On Texas Solar Project” • Bechtel has been selected by Sabanci Renewables to design and construct a 232-MW (DC) solar plant in Victoria County, Texas. Bechtel will do development, including engineering, procurement, building, commissioning, and project management. Construction is set to be completed in mid-2025. [reNews]

Solar farm (Sabanci Renewables image)

¶ “Ørsted Scraps Two Offshore Wind Power Projects In New Jersey, Citing Supply Chain Issues” • Danish energy developer Ørsted said it is scrapping two large offshore wind power projects off the coast of New Jersey, adding uncertainty to a nascent industry federal and state governments are counting on to help transition away from fossil fuels. [CBS News]

¶ “Why The Military May Need Microgrids For Overseas Bases To Win A Near-Peer Fight” • A paper by an Air Force engineer warns of a major vulnerability on US military bases overseas. Most bases are wired into the electrical grids of host nations, but their backup generators may not have fuel for over a week. They need microgrids. [Air & Space Forces Magazine]

Have a curiously rewarding day.

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