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.
geoharvey 
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