Opinion:
¶ “Rising Temperatures And Rising Authoritarianism – Trends That Are Intertwined” • As Earth’s annual average temperatures push against the 1.5º C limit, social scientists warn that we may move into a dangerous new era in human history. Research shows the increasing climate shocks could trigger unrest and authoritarian backlashes. [CleanTechnica]
No planet B (Markus Spiske, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Should There Be A Category 6 For Hurricanes? These Climate Scientists Say Yes” • The Saffir-Simpson scale currently goes from Category 1 to 5. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests adding a Category 6. The new scale would cap Category 5 storms at 192 mph and anything above that would be Category 6. [CNN]
World:
¶ “Study Of Sea Sponges Lead Scientists To Believe Earth Has Already Passed 1.5°C Of Warming” • A study of 300 years of ocean temperature records kept preserved within sea sponges in the Caribbean indicate that global mean surface temperatures may have already exceeded 1.5°C and that a 2°C Celsius rise could be possible by the end of the decade. [ABC News]
Sponges (NOAA, Unsplash)
¶ “BYD #1 In World In Plugin Vehicle Sales In 2023” • In the last stage of the 2023 race, BYD had another record month, this time with 321,000 registrations. It again beat Tesla, which had 195,265 deliveries. So BYD beat Tesla by a significant margin. With a 56% year-on-year growth rate, the Shenzhen company was the fastest growing make. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “World EV Sales Report – Tesla Model Y Is The Best Selling Model In The World!” • The last months of 2023 brought a record-fest for world plugin vehicle sales, with three months out of the last four setting new sales records. December had over 1,550,000 registrations. In the overall market, the Tesla Model Y was the global best seller. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Model Y (Murphy Zheng, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “EVs At 93.9% Share In Norway – Record High” • January saw plugin EVs at 93.9% share in Norway, a new record high. All but battery EV powertrains faced higher taxes from January 1st, and had low sales, following December’s pull forward. Overall auto volume was subdued, at 5,122 units. January’s best seller was the Tesla Model Y. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Pacific Green Australia Announces Plans For 30 Hectare, Grid-Scale Battery Park In Portland, Victoria” • British-owned energy company Pacific Green Australia plans to build a 1-GW battery park on 30 hectares in Portland, Victoria. It will be one of the largest batteries in the nation. Pacific Green hopes to be feeding energy into the grid by 2026. [ABC]
Proposed energy park (Supplied by Pacific Green Energy)
¶ “Shell Joins RSP Wave Power, Subsea Energy Storage Project” • Shell has joined the Renewables for Subsea Power project, which is powering subsea equipment off the coast of Orkney, Scotland, through a combination of wave power and subsea energy storage. Shell Technology, a Marine Renewable Program, comes with the investment. [Offshore Magazine]
¶ “Pause On Renewables Projects To Lift At Month’s End As Planned” • The Alberta government’s seven-month moratorium on approving wind and solar power projects will end on February 29 as planned. Premier Danielle Smith confirmed the date in Ottawa. “We are the destination for solar and wind investment in the country,” Smith said. [CBC]
Calgary (Kyler Nixon, Unsplash)
¶ “One Of The World’s Biggest Atomic Power Plants Used To Have A Staff Of 12,000. Now Only 3,000 Run It” • Security at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains fragile amid worrying recent staff cuts enacted by Russian occupiers. It is one of the ten biggest atomic power plants in the world, the UN nuclear watchdog chief said. [CTV News]
US:
¶ “Celebrating Another Breakthrough In Domestic Lithium Production” • Last week, Controlled Thermal Resources broke ground on a geothermal power plant in California’s Salton Sea. The facility will not only generate electricity from geothermal energy, but also serve a vital, dual purpose: extracting lithium from the hot brine that powers it. [CleanTechnica]
Groundbreaking (Photo from Controlled Thermal Resources)
¶ “Largest Proposed Wind Farm In Washington Reduced By Half, Firefighting Issues Are Part Of The Problem” • A wind farm that was to be the largest in Washington was reduced by half as it raised concerns about birds and viewsheds. Its developer said new restrictions could be bad for renewable energy development in the state. [Oregon Public Broadcasting]
¶ “Increasing Alternative Energy Standards Would Bring Billions In Investment To Pennsylvania” • The governor of Pennsylvania pledge 30% renewable energy by 2030. Three business groups crunched the numbers and found that if that happens, more than $13.1 billion could be invested in Pennsylvania over the next seven years. [pv magazine USA]
Solar installation in Pennsylvania (US DA, Public domain)
¶ “Texas Recently Generated 80% Of Its Power From Renewable And Nuclear Power. Here’s Why That Matters” • Starting at 9:45 am Sunday, more than 78% of electricity running on the grid managed by the ERCOT came from either wind, solar, or nuclear power. That percentage hovered between 78% and 80% until nearly 4 pm. [Houston Chronicle]
¶ “Biden’s $1.5 Billion Clean Energy Boondoggle” • We got word that the Feds agreed to pony up $1.5 billion to restart a 50-year-old “clean energy” power plant in Michigan. It’s a nuclear power plant that couldn’t compete with other sources of energy, costing up to 57% more than competing sources, so it was shut down in 2017. Now they want to restart it. [Energy and Capital]
Have a tolerably perfect day.
geoharvey 