Opinion:
¶ “Please Don’t Store Nuclear Waste In Our Precious Oil Field, Says Fossil Fuel Industry” • A Wall Street Journal story covered a plan to store nuclear waste in the most active US oil field. It was a fascinating collision between fossil and post-fossil energy that underscores a truth at the heart of the nuclear debate: nobody wants it in their backyard. [Futurism]
Pumpjacks in an oilfield (gerhard crous, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Novel Field Campaign Sets Sail to Improve Offshore Wind Forecasts” • Weather patterns are difficult to predict offshore due to complex atmosphere-ocean interactions and a lack of data. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and collaborators are charting a new course with help from novel approaches to technology and measurement. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “New Study Projects Geothermal Heat Pumps’ Impact On Carbon Emissions And Electrical Grid by 2050” • Modeling analysis led by the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory gives the first detailed look at how geothermal energy can relieve the electric power system and reduce carbon emissions if widely implemented across the US. [CleanTechnica]
Geothermal heat pump system (Chad Malone, ORNL, US DOE)
¶ “Tackling Climate Change: Understanding How Soil Traps Carbon” • A new finding explains how soil sequesters plant-based carbon from the atmosphere. The outcome may promote ideas to help tackle climate change, including strategies to prevent carbon release. With 2,500 billion tons of carbon, soil is one of Earth’s largest carbon sinks. [Digital Journal]
World:
¶ “Climate Change: Plan To Capture, Ship, And Bury Power Station’s CO₂” • Plans have been unveiled to lay new undersea pipes to carry carbon emissions from one of Europe’s largest gas power stations. The scheme would link Pembroke power station with a liquified natural gas terminal across the Milford Haven estuary in Pembrokeshire. [BBC]
Ship at Milford Haven (Gareth James, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
¶ “’Zombie Fires’ Burning At An Alarming Rate In Canada” • In the dead of Canada’s winter, the embers of last year’s record wildfire season still remain. So-called zombie fires are burning under thick layers of snow at an unprecedented rate, raising fears about what the coming summer may bring. Their smoke can be seen rising, and it can be smelled. [BBC]
¶ “PNE Expands PPA Program” • The PNE Group has signed up more than 100 wind and PV project companies to its consulting program Power Purchase Agreements as a service. In 2023 alone, PNE’s PPA team signed up 39 wind and PV outfits with a total output of over 337 MW for PPAs for the short and long terms. PNE now supports 107 clean projects. [reNews]
Wind turbines (PNE image)
¶ “Report Identifies Bottlenecks Preventing Renewables Uptake In WA” • A report prepared for the Australian Energy Council has identified key bottlenecks preventing uptake of renewable energy projects in Western Australia. Roadblocks include a lack of new transmission planning and investment, along with slow, costly, opaque grid connection processes. [Energy Magazine]
¶ “Greece Set to Become Major Energy Exporter to Europe” • Greece could generate billions of euros of yearly income for its economy by developing an electricity connection to central Europe and exporting the country’s vast potential in renewable energy to consumers in Germany and elsewhere, according to a recent study. [GreekReporter.com]
Transmission lines (Varistor60, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Laos Gives Green Light To 1,200-MW Wind Power Project” • The Lao government has signed an agreement with Savan Vayu Renewable Energy Co, Ltd for developing a 1,200-MW wind power project in Sepon district of the province of Savannakhet, which borders Vietnam. The project is the largest of its kind in Laos to date. [VietnamPlus]
US:
¶ “The Texas Solar Energy Revolution Is Going Global” • The solar industry of Texas is in a weird situation politically, but that doesn’t seem to stop investors who want to pump money into the state’s economy. The latest news shows how manufacturers in other states and countries can base their clean power profiles on Texas renewable energy projects. [CleanTechnica]
Misae II Solar Park in Texas (Courtesy of Greenalia)
¶ “2024 Hyundai Kona Electric – The EV For Chevy Bolt Owners Whose Lease Is Up” • Someone who leases a Chevy Bolt might find that when the lease is nearly up, it is not easy to find a car to replace it. The problem is that GM does not yet have a suitable replacement. It may be that the Hyundai Kona Electric is exactly the car they want. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Sun Bear Solar Farm Will Be Eight Miles Long, One Mile Wide, And Have Two Million Solar Panels” • Sun Bear, a huge solar and battery storage installation in the Four Corners region of Colorado, will have more than two million solar panels on 5,500 acres of land belonging to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The solar capacity will be 975 MW. [CleanTechnica]
Have an elegantly exquisite day.
geoharvey 