Science and Technology:
¶ “CATL Creates Fast Charging Electric Car Skateboard With 1000 Km Range” • CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, is not waiting for customers to come looking for batteries. It created what it calls its CATL Integrated Intelligent Chassis, a skateboard design that incorporates all the bits and pieces needed to make a fully functional electric car. [CleanTechnica]
CATL skateboard (CATL image)
¶ “COP28 President Says There Is ‘No Science’ Behind Demands For Phase-Out Of Fossil Fuels” • The president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, claimed there is “no science” showing a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to keep global heating to 1.5°C, The Guardian and the Centre for Climate Reporting revealed. Al Jaber is chief executive of the UAE’s state oil company. [The Guardian]
¶ “New CO₂ Energy Storage System Could Blow Past Li-Ion” • Carbon dioxide reaches a liquid state when compressed and it expands with a pop when released, and now the Italian startup Energy Dome is ready to harness the action for a new energy storage system that could provide far more storage at far less cost than lithium-ion batteries. [CleanTechnica]
Energy Dome energy storage system (Courtesy of Energy Dome)
World:
¶ “At COP28 meeting, oil companies pledge to combat methane. Environmentalists call it a ‘smokescreen’” • Fifty oil companies representing nearly half of global production pledged to reach near-zero methane emissions and end routine flaring by 2030, the president of this year’s UN talks said. Environmental groups called the move a “smokescreen.” [ABC News]
¶ “Court Of Appeals Rules Belgium Must Cut Emissions Faster” • The court of appeals in Brussels has ruled that Belgium must cut its carbon emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels and do it by 2030, according to a report by The Guardian. As of the end of 2021, the country had only managed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 24%. [CleanTechnica]
Belgium (François Genon, Unsplash)
¶ “EVs Take 60.6% Share In Sweden – Model Y Back On Top” • November saw plugin EVs take 60.6% share in Sweden, down YOY from the (anomalous) 64.6% pull-forward in November 2022. Full electrics alone took 39.7% of the market. Overall auto volume was 25,404 units, down 1% YOY. The Tesla Model Y was the best selling EV in November. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “XPeng Sales Up 245% in November” • XPeng has had its ups and downs in the past couple of years, but I continue to think that it’s got some of the best electric cars in the world and some of the best tech in the world. XPeng delivered 20,041 “smart” electric vehicles in November. That’s an increase of 245% over its November 2022 total. [CleanTechnica]
XPeng EV (XPeng image)
¶ “Rooftop Solar Installations Rise 34.7% To 431 MW In Jul-Sep: Mercom” • The rooftop solar installations in India registered a 34.7% year-on-year jump to 431 MW during July-September 2023, aided by a fall in module prices, Mercom India said in a report. The rooftop solar installations were at 320 MW during the same period of 2022. [Business Standard]
¶ “Tuvalu Aims To Transition To 100% Renewable Energy By 2030: Prime Minister Of Tuvalu” • Kausea Natano, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, affirmed his country’s efforts to achieve a full transition to renewable energy by 2030. He told the Emirates News Agency that Tuvalu’s objective may seem ambitious, but the country is “very serious about achieving it.” [ZAWYA]
Funafuti atoll (Stefan Lins, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Scotland’s Renewable Energy Projects Revealed In New Map” • A new map has been drawn up to show the scale and progress of Scotland’s renewable energy projects. The interactive guide was published by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. It has data and shows the status of different developments, which can be filtered through parliamentary regions. [The National]
US:
¶ “Climate Change Is Costing The US $150 Billion A Year” • In total, extreme weather events cost the US $150 billion per year, due to direct impacts such as infrastructure damage,injuries, and agricultural losses, the authors of a report estimate. And the cost of extreme weather events is expected to grow in the near term as sea levels and temperatures rise. [CNN]
Storm damage (Chandler Cruttenden, Unsplash)
¶ “US joins in other nations in swearing off coal power to clean the climate” • US Special Envoy John Kerry announced that America was joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which means the Biden Administration commits to building no new coal plants and phasing out existing plants. No date was given for closing the existing plants. [ABC News]
¶ “How The US, Oil Industry Plans To Drastically Cut Methane Emissions” • Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp said the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Compact requires oil firms to reduce their methane emissions by 80% to 90% over the next five years while providing monitoring records to an international verification body. [ABC News]
San Ardo Oil Field (Loco Steve, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
¶ “Texas Grid Faces Winter After Failed Attempt To Get More Power Online” • The Electric Reliability Council of Texas asked companies if they were willing to bring onlin some shuttered power plants running on gas and coal and, if so, what it would cost ERCOT. As it happened, not a single company thought reviving an old power plant made sense. [KRGV]
¶ “Where Things Stand In The Effort To Restart The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant” • Holtec International, the owner of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, remains optimistic in efforts to restart the shuttered plant. It launched an attempt to restart operations in early 2023. The effort still continues, with some big decisions still looming. [The Holland Sentinel]
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