Opinion:
¶ “We Need More Than Transmission Lines” • I want to start with a simple statement that some people think unbelievable: “We cannot power our grid with baseload power alone.” I will admit that it is theoretically possible to power the grid exclusively with baseload plants, but only for a very brief time, perhaps on the order of five minutes. [CleanTechnica]
Please click on the image to enlarge it.
¶ “The Rise Of Renewables Is A Reason To Be Hopeful In 2024” • Recently, Canary Media asked six of its regular contributors to talk about something that gives then hope for 2024. Eric Wesoff pointed out that BloombergNEF’s now forecasts 413 GW of solar power capacity will be installed worldwide in 2023. That’s up from 260 GW in 2022. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “China’s BYD Closer To Taking Tesla’s Electric Car Top Spot” • The Chinese company BYD has moved a step closer to toppling Elon Musk’s Tesla as the world’s biggest-selling manufacturer of electric vehicles. The firm announced that it had sold a record 526,000 battery-only EVs in the last three months of 2023. Tesla is about to release sales data. [BBC]
BYD EV (Jack1007, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Progress Made In The Solar & Battery Storage Industry Shows That The Future Is Going To Be Awesome!” • It is sad to see that we still have over six hundred million people in Africa without access to electricity. Distributed renewable energy can play a key role in increasing access to electricity in off-grid applications and offer crucial support for weak grids. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “SAE Develops NACS J3400 Standard In Record Time” • SAE International is the primary standards setting body for electrical devices. The switch to NACS meant it had to move swiftly to get a new standard in place in time for companies to use it when they wanted. SAE released a Technical Information Report after only six months of work. [CleanTechnica]
NACS J3400 (Image from Charged EVs)
¶ “Egypt And China Electric Power Initiate Preliminary Studies For Ambitious 10-GW Solar Energy Project” • Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese firm to begin preliminary studies for a groundbreaking 10-GW solar energy project. The solar project aims to save roughly $1 billion per year in natural gas costs. [SolarQuarter]
¶ “Vestas Wins 108-MW Order In South Africa” • Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has won a 108-MW order for the Witberg Wind Farm, placed by independent power producer Red Rocket, to be sited in Western Cape, South Africa, including supply and installation of 24 4.5-MW turbines and a 15-year management agreement. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Darling wind (Kalle Pihlajasaari, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “China Three Gorges Commissions 3.48-GW Of New Solar Capacity” • Three Gorges Energy switched on 3.48 GW of solar in the final week of December. One of the PV facilities, which is near Golmud in Qinghai province, has a capacity of 900 MW. Another, with 200 MW of concentrated solar power is part of a 100-GW wind-PV project. [PV Magazine]
¶ “Neoen Turns Sod On Italian Solar Trio” • Neoen has begun construction of its first three renewable energy projects in Italy. The three solar farms have a combined capacity of 24.7 MW. Two of them are located in Lombardy (8 MW and 7.6 MW) and one is in Marche (9.1 MW). Neoen has developed the projects and will retain 100% ownership. [reNews]
Solar farm (Neoen image)
¶ “Transmission Project for 20-GW Rajasthan Renewable Energy Zone” • Indian state-owned Power Grid Corporation has secured a crucial inter-state power transmission project aimed to harness energy from a 20-GW Renewable Energy Zone in Rajasthan. The Letter of Intent for this significant venture was issued in the last month of 2023. [SolarQuarter]
US:
¶ “Electric Vehicle Sales Are Slowing. No Need For Panic Yet, Insiders Say” • The recent headlines for EVs have been brutal: Sales are dropping. Momentum is slipping, as consumers are souring on the technology. Experts say, however, that 2024 may be the year to finally pull the plug on gasoline-powered cars and trucks. [ABC News]
The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 (Hyundai image)
¶ “Wind And Solar Power Provide More Electricity Than Coal In The USA” • Those who love to hate EVs are fond of saying that they are powered by coal. A decade or two ago that was much more likely to be the case. Today, coal has shrunk enormously as a US electricity source, and it doesn’t even provide as much as solar and wind power together. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Vestas Secures 135-MW Project In The US” • Vestas has received a 135-MW order to power an undisclosed wind project in the USA. The order consists of 30 V163-4.5 MW turbines, Vestas’ newest high-capacity factor turbine and the project has been developed by Steelhead Americas, Vestas’ North American development arm. [Energy Global]
Vestas turbines (Dario De corso, Unsplash)
¶ “Northeast States Double Down On Building America’s Wind Market, Despite Setbacks” • Over the decades, GE closed plants, and its sprawling campus of 45,000 workers plummeted to less than 4,000. Still, despite rising costs, with many macroeconomic challenges, GE and New York state are both pushing ahead with proposed projects. [Capital & Main]
¶ “Nuclear Expert Blasts NuScale Amid Investor Suit Arising From Cancelled Idaho Project” • Hagens Berman urges NuScale Power Corporation investors who suffered big losses to submit losses now. Nuclear expert Mycle Schneider pointed out that NuScale promised in 2008 to have a reactor running in 2015, but it has not started construction. [GlobeNewswire]
Have a constructively awesome day.
geoharvey 