Opinion:
¶ “The Energy Transition Has Reached A Critical Inflection Point” • The transition to net zero is a complex process that requires significant changes in the way we produce, distribute, and consume energy. Many countries and companies have set net zero targets for greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or earlier. But the transition has its challenges. [CleanTechnica]
Energy (Arteum.ro, Unsplash)
¶ “Military Interests Are Pushing New Nuclear Power, And The UK Government Has Finally Admitted It” • Even before wind and solar power costs plummeted, nuclear power was recognized as “unattractive.” Documents poblished to show official UK energy policy fail to justify nuclear power, but on the military side, the picture is clear. [Phys.org]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Space Solar Is Coming And Perovskites Are Hitching A Ride” • Space solar, beaming energy down to Earth, seemed like a nutty idea back in the early 2000’s, but researchers at the California Institute of Technology just wrapped up a months-long, in-orbit test of three key space solar technologies, including a batch of 32 different kinds of solar cells. [CleanTechnica]
Launch (SpaceX, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “New Nonprofit To Utilize AI To Alleviate The Global Water Crisis” • A new nonprofit has become the latest organization to use artificial intelligence to help solve the world’s environmental issues. Earth05, a Barcelona-based nonprofit launched at the World Economic Forum, will use AI to discover solutions to the worsening global water crisis. [ABC News]
¶ “Swiss Post Accelerates The Transition To Electric Delivery Vehicles” • Swiss Post has been working to transition to using only electric delivery vehicles since 2010. Today, its fleet consists of more than 7,000 electric vehicles, the largest fleet of zero emissions vehicles in Switzerland. Today, every Swiss Post site has EV delivery vehicles in use. [CleanTechnica]
Swiss Post (Courtesy of Swiss Post)
¶ “Equinor Powers Up UK Battery” • Equinor’s 25-MW Blandford Road battery storage asset in the UK is operating. The project was developed, and will be operated, by UK battery storage company Noriker Power, in which Equinor owns a 45% equity share. The battery system is in Dorset, connected to the Southern Electric Power Distribution network. [reNews]
¶ “Giant Green Hydrogen Energy Islands To Host 100 GW Of Offshore Wind” • The offshore wind industry is expected to pick up steam over the next 25 years with 500 GW by 2050. Where will all those gigawatts will go? A new venture has an ambitious proposal to uncork the looming bottleneck with a network of ten offshore green hydrogen plants. [CleanTechnica]
Energy island (Copenhagen Energy Islands)
¶ “Lhyfe, Source Galileo sign hydrogen MoU” • Source Galileo and Lhyfe have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop commercial-scale green hydrogen production units in the UK and Ireland. Under the agreement, Lhyfe and Source Galileo will combine their expertise to generate and supply the gas to a variety of customers. [reNews]
¶ “Bangladesh Solar Power Surge Set To Unlock Thousands Of Green Jobs” • After years of slack progress, renewable energy in Bangladesh has recently seen a strong turnaround on the back of more affordable solar power. Over 3 GW are now in operation. That momentum is expected to create 3,000 to 4,000 new green jobs in the next few years. [Eco-Business]
Off-grid system in Bangladesh (IMF, Flickr, CC BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Japan Launches Major Offshore Wind Power Auctions In Push For Renewable Energy” • The Japanese government has initiated a third robust round of auctions, with the objective of selecting developers for two new offshore wind power areas in Japan’s northern region. Together, these areas have a combined capacity of 1.05 GW. [BNN Breaking]
¶ “A Mostly Renewable Electricity Grid Is Highly Feasible” • Australia’s electricity could be over 95% renewable by 2035, according to the latest release of Australia’s electricity market operator’s Integrated System Plan. Many people are sceptical, firmly believing that 24×7 baseload generators are essential. But experiments say they’re wrong. [Cosmos Magazine]
Weather (Neda Astani, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Storm Isha Forces Sellafield Nuclear Site Closure” • As Storm Isha swept across the UK, the Sellafield nuclear site took a step to close operations as a precaution. The decision, described as a safety measure in response to severe weather warnings, involved the suspension of activities related to nuclear waste processing, storage, and decommissioning. [Energy Live News]
US:
¶ “Electric Truck Manufacturers Select Mississippi (!) For New Battery Factory” • According to a press release, Accelera will build a factory to make commercial EV battery cells in Mississippi. It is expected to create more than 2,000 manufacturing jobs. The initial factory capacity will be 21 GWh annually with production scheduled to begin in 2027. [CleanTechnica]
Daimler Ekectric Truck
¶ “ExxonMobil Sues Investors To Block Climate Petition” • Oil giant ExxonMobil has sued climate activist investors in a bid to prevent their climate proposal from going to a vote at its annual investor meeting. The complaint is against Follow This and Arjuna Capital, which have called on Exxon to step up the pace of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. [BBC]
¶ “New Climate Projections: NYC Will Keep Getting Hotter And Wetter” • What does climate change have in store for New York City? New projections from the New York City Panel on Climate Change confirm that the city will be hotter, rainier, and wetter in the coming years, with major shifts hitting the city in the 2030s, less than a decade away. [THE CITY – NYC News]
Have a grandly delightful day.
geoharvey 