Opinion:
¶ “The 360-GW Reason To Boost Finance For Energy Storage Now” • Storage is indispensable to the green energy revolution. Energy storage technologies are also the key to lowering energy costs and integrating more renewable power into our grids, fast. If we can get this right, we can hold on to ever-rising quantities of renewable energy we harness. [CleanTechnica]
Battery bank, 2011 (Primary-master, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
Science and Technology:
¶ “New Graphene-Based 18650 Battery Cells Promise To ‘End E-Bike Fires’” • A recent press release from Nanotech Energy makes a bold promise. It says that its new 18650 cell will “end e-bike fires.” Granted, many press releases tend to exaggerate, so it’s probably best to take this news with a pinch of salt, but it could be very good news. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “PowerCo Tests QuantumScape’s New Solid State Battery For Volkswagen, And Likes What It Sees” • Volkswagen leveled up its EV battery business in 2022 with its PowerCo branch. PowerCo put a solid state battery from QuantumScape through its paces. It passed with flying colors, bringing the solid state battery of the future one step closer. [CleanTechnica]
Solid state battery for EVs (Courtesy of Quantumscape)
World:
¶ “27% BEV Share In China!” • Plugin vehicles are all the rage in China. Plugins scored more than 872,000 sales last month, up 39% year over year, which is this market’s fourth record month in a row. And expect the last month of the year to continue this record streak. November sales pulled the year-to-date (YTD) tally to over 7.1 million units. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “XPeng Sees 171% Growth In 4th Quarter” • XPeng is no BYD or Tesla. It’s far away from the million battery EV sales they reached this year. But XPeng is growing strongly and can certainly dream about reaching the million BEVs per year milestone one day. In terms of 2023, XPeng saw its sales rise to 141,601 units. That’s a 17% increase from 2022. [CleanTechnica]
BYD Dolphin (Courtesy of BYD)
¶ “JERA Starts Up Ishikari Offshore Wind Farm” • JERA and Green Power Investment Corporation have begun commercial operations at the 112-MW Ishikari Bay New Port Offshore Wind Farm 3 km off the coast of Hokkaido. The wind farm features fourteen 8-MW Siemens Gamesa turbines. The partners have retained ownership of the wind farm. [reNews]
¶ “Statkraft Seals Two PPAs For UK Solar Site” • Statkraft has signed PPAs with Gresham House and Workspace, for the Beavor Grange Solar Farm in Devon, England. The 20-MW PV site is managed by Gresham House. It is large enough to power the equivalent of 6000 homes, or two-thirds of Workspace’s total power demand, Statkraft said. [reNews]
Solar and wind site (Statkraft image)
¶ “Poland Produced Record 26% Of Electricity From Renewables In 2023” • Renewables generated 26% of Poland’s electricity in 2023, up from 19.3% the previous year, data show. However, coal continues to produce most of the country’s electricity. According to the Fraunhofer Society, Poland’s largest renewable source was onshore wind. [Notes From Poland]
¶ “Australian Homes Three Times More Likely To Have Solar Panels Than A Pool” • Quarterly installations of new solar panels reached a record at the end of 2023, with Australian households over three times as likely to have a PV system as a swimming pool. Households and businesses added 921 MW of solar capacity in the last quarter of 2023. [The Guardian]
Solar installation in Sydney (Damian Shaw, City of Sydney)
US:
¶ “Pennsylvania Lawmakers Debate Proposal To Raise State’s Renewable Energy Goal” • A bill in the state House would raise the amount of electricity Pennsylvania gets from renewables. The proposal would raise Pennsylvania’s renewable energy goals from 8% now to 30% by 2030, fulfilling one of Gov Josh Shapiro’s campaign pledges. [The Allegheny Front]
¶ “Two Large Offshore Wind Sites Are Sending Power To The US Grid For The First Time” • For the first time, turbines are sending electricity to the grid from the sites of two large offshore wind farms in the US. The first of 62 turbines at Vineyard Wind is operating, as is the first of 15 turbines 35 miles east of Montauk Point, New York. [ABC News]
Offshore wind turbines (NOAA image)
¶ “These Industries Will See Growth In Hawaii Over The Next Decade, Economists Say” • Film, agriculture, and renewable energy are emerging industries that economists say will help diversify Hawaii’s economy in the next decade. A report says real estate, tourism, and the federal government provide the largest share of the state’s GDP. [Hawaii Public Radio]
¶ “Minnesota Dog Sled Competition Canceled Due To Lack Of Snow” • The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is a series of races run by dog sleds and mushers on a 300-mile course known for incorporating the extremes of northern Minnesota weather, as well as for rugged terrain. It was canceled due to lack of snow, organizers announced. [ABC News]
Sled dog race (Thomas Lipke, Unsplash)
¶ “Archdiocese Shifting To 100% Renewable Energy This Year” • The Archdiocese of Chicago will shift its entire electric energy purchase to 100% renewable sources this year. The renewable energy purchase is the equivalent of removing 15,000 cars from the road, or eliminating the carbon emissions generated by 8,500 homes each year. [Chicago Catholic]
¶ “New Mexico Regulators Reject Utility’s Effort To Recoup Some Investments In Coal And Nuclear Plants” • Regulators rejected an effort by New Mexico’s largest electric utility to recoup from customers millions of dollars of investments made in a coal-fired power plant in the northwestern corner of the state and a nuclear power plant in neighboring Arizona. [ABC News]
Have a passably superb day.
geoharvey 