Opinion:
¶ “Positive Climate Solutions To Celebrate In 2024” • In 2024, the numbers about fossil fuels, renewable energy transitions, and cleantech innovations are quite illuminating, and frequently they are contradictory, but, together, clean climate solutions offer a generally positive framework for the energy transition taking place around us. [CleanTechnica]
Storm with a microburst (NOAA, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Labour’s Energy Advisers Warn Against Watering Down £28 Billion Green Investmen” • Independent Labour energy advisers warned against watering down its £28 billion green spending plans in advance of its promise to create a zero carbon electricity system by 2030. The goals include 70% solar and wind, along with nuclear and other renewables. [The Guardian]
¶ “The Neglected Clean Heat We Flush Down The Drains” • The residents of False Creek, a recently redeveloped neighbourhood of Vancouver, get heat from an unusual renewable source, their sewage wastewater. Increasingly, municipalities around the globe harness this underground form of excess heat to decarbonise their energy networks. [BBC]
False Creek (Jhana Ellard, Unsplash)
¶ “EVs At 89.6% Share In Norway” • December saw plugin EVs at 89.6% share in Norway, up from 87.6% year on year amidst temporary incentives turbulence. Overall auto volume was 12,183 units, down from last year’s rush, but closer to seasonal norms. Norway’s best selling vehicle in December, and for the full year, was the Tesla Model Y. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Germany Reports Lowest Emissions In 70 Years But That’s Not The End Of The Story” • Last year, greenhouse gas emissions in Germany fell to 673 million tons of CO₂ equivalent (including CO₂, methane, and nitrous oxide), Agora Energiewende said. That is down 46% from the reference year of 1990 and the lowest level since the 1950s. [CleanTechnica]
Wind turbines in Germany (Karsten Würth, Unsplash)
¶ “Germany Reached 55% Renewable Energy In 2023” • In 2023, 55% of Germany’s power came from renewables, according to energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur, Reuters reported. The year was the first that renewable resources provided more than 50% of the country’s electricity. Wind and solar provided 31.1% and 12.1% of the electricity, respectively. [EcoWatch]
¶ “Ireland’s Last Peat-Fuelled Power Plant Switches To 100% Biomass” • Bord na Móna’s Edenderry power plant in Ireland moved from peat-fired electricity to biomass, meaning it no longer harvests bogs for fuel, the Irish Independent reported. The plant is the last of Ireland’s peat-fuelled plants to adopt an alternative fuel source. [Bioenergy Insight]
Peat bog (Maksim Shutov, Unsplash)
¶ “Spain Generated Record 50% Of Power From Renewables In 2023” • Spain generated more than half of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power in 2023 in a “historic” record, the national power grid, Red Electrica Espanola said. The renewably generated electricity was 50.4% of the overall national energy mix. [Tech Xplore]
US:
¶ “BrightNight Gets A $375 Million Renewable Energy Credit Line With A ‘Green Loan’ Twist” • The US startup BrightNight has become a renewable energy force to be reckoned with. It just nailed down a new $375 million line of credit that will enable it to push ahead with a portfolio of 31 GW worth of wind, solar, and energy storage projects. [CleanTechnica]
Solar array (Courtesy of BrightNight)
¶ “US Average Retail Gasoline Prices Were 40¢ Per Gallon Lower In 2023 Than 2022” • US retail gasoline prices in 2023 averaged 43¢/gal less than in 2022, data from the EIA’s Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. The decline was partly due to lower crude oil prices in 2023 compared with 2022 and higher gasoline inventories in the second half of 2023. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US DOE: $70 Million To Strengthen Energy Sector Against Physical And Cyber Hazards” • The US DOE announced up to $70 million in funding to support research intended to increase resilience and to reduce risks to energy delivery infrastructure from cyber and physical threats, extreme weather events, natural disasters, and other hazards. [CleanTechnica]
Power lines (Jerry Wang, Unsplash)
¶ “Governor Murphy Signs Legislation To Expand Community Solar Energy” • Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill to strengthen New Jersey’s community solar program. The Community Solar Energy Program gives individuals, who have no ability to install solar on their rooftops, access the benefits of solar energy, with significant energy savings. [NJ.gov]
¶ “Solar Energy Is On The Rise In Tennessee” • Tennessee has only begun to scratch the surface of its solar potential. According to data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and compiled in the Environment America Research & Policy Center report, We Have the Power, solar energy could meet 24 times the state’s use for 2020. [Environment America]
Tennessee (nathan kosmak, Unsplash)
¶ “Superior’s Mayor Wants Utility Regulators To Revisit Their Approval Of A $700 Million Gas Plant” • The mayor of Superior asked Wisconsin utility regulators to revisit approval of a roughly $700 million natural gas plant planned for the city. A group of utilities wants to build the 625-MW plant as part of plans to shift away from coal. [Wisconsin Public Radio]
¶ “First Conventional Uranium Mining In The US In Eight Years Has Begun In Utah And Arizona” • For the first in eight years, conventional uranium mining is underway in the US at three mines in Utah and Arizona. Energy Fuels Resources says that it plans to stockpile and eventually process the uranium at its White Mesa mill facility in Utah. [KSJD]
Have a thoroughly fine day.
geoharvey 
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