Opinion:
¶ “Peter Dutton’s Climate Denial Is Morphing Into A Madcap Nuclear Fantasy” • Welcome to the Trumpian world we now live in, guided by energy tropes on social media. Say something often enough and people may believe it. And just when you think it couldn’t get more weird, up pops Australia’s federal Coalition with a plan for nuclear power. [RenewEconomy]
Chernobyl in 2011 (David Holt, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
World:
¶ “EVs Take 92.1% Share In Norway – Tesla Model Y Dominates” • February saw plugin EVs take 92.1% share in Norway, up from 90.1% year on year. Following the recent tax changes, battery EVs alone were above 90% share for the second consecutive month. The Tesla Model Y sold 1,747 units, which is almost a quarter of the entire market. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Nissan Ariya Gets Big Price Cut – Competitive With Tesla Model Y Now?” • The Nissan Ariya, the company’s fully electric crossover, just got its base price reduced by about $3,600. Some higher-end versions of the Ariya got their MSRP absolutely shredded, by as much as $6,000. The base MSRP for the Ariya is now $39,590. [CleanTechnica]
Nissan Ariya (Kazyakuruma, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Kazakhstan’s Renewable Energy Sector Gains Momentum With 146 Facilities In Operation” • The Kazakh Ministry of Energy released a report on the country’s burgeoning landscape of renewable energy, boasting 146 operational renewable energy facilities exceeding 100 kW on March 4, Kazinform news agency reported. [The Astana Times]
¶ “Hydro Rein Bags 2.4-GW Scandi Wind Portfolio” • Hydro Rein, Hydro’s renewable venture, is to acquire the majority stake in a 2,400-MW portfolio of wind projects in development in Sweden and Norway. Hydro Rein has entered into an agreement with the Swedish renewable energy developer IOWN Energy to take an 80% stake in the 25 projects. [reNews]
Wind farm (Hydro Rein image)
¶ “Microgrid Market Powers Up, Envisioned To Reach $87.8 Billion By 2029, At A CAGR Of 18.5%” • The global microgrid market is poised for substantial growth, with a projected size of $87.8 billion by 2029. The growth reflects a robust compound annual growth rate of 18.5% from 2024 to 2029, according to one report. [Metro – News Channel Nebraska]
¶ “Rays Power Infra Bags Order For Three Solar Projects” • The renewable energy firm Rays Power Infra said that it has bagged orders for three solar projects in India totalling 520 MW. The company is pursuing other growth opportunities. It submitted bids for solar EPC projects in India, Mauritius, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh. [Energy Central]
Solar farm (Gunnar Ridderström, Unsplash)
Australia:
¶ “Australians Prefer Living Near Wind, Solar Over Nuclear, Coal” • Only one in ten Australians would want to live near a nuclear reactor or coal-burning power plant, while most would prefer to live near wind and solar farms, new polling shows. The polling comes as the Coalition prepares to release its plan for nuclear reactors in Australia. [Mirage News]
¶ “European Energy Turns Sod On Oz Solar” • European Energy initiated construction on what will be its first operating project in Australia, a 56-MW solar farm in Victoria. Located in the Hume region of the state, this solar farm’s construction is anticipated to be completed in 2025. The 94-hectare site had been primarily used for grazing. [reNews]
Solar farm (European Energy image)
¶ “Trina Solar Sees Australia’s Rising Demand For Renewable Energy Solutions ” • Trina Solar sees strong demand for solar energy across various sectors in Australia. With a remarkable 12.5% increase in total installed solar capacity to 34.2 GW in 2023, Australia’s renewable energy landscape is also building battery energy storage systems. [SolarQuarter]
US:
¶ “Blizzard Slams California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, More Snow On The Way” • The snow has topped ten feet in some of the Sierra’s higher elevations. Now, yet another storm is to hit the mountains of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington with more heavy snow. It is expected to add up to two feet of snow to what has already fallen. [ABC News]
Blizzard (Dave Hoefler, Unsplash)
¶ “California Man Is First In The US To Be Charged With Smuggling Greenhouse Gases” • A Southern California man was arrested on suspicion of smuggling refrigerants into the US from Mexico. Federal prosecutors said he’s the first person to be charged with violating regulations intended to curb use of greenhouse gases. [ABC News]
¶ “US Counties Are Blocking Renewable Energy For Themselves, But Not For Thee” • A movement is afoot to block utility-scale renewable energy development across the US, even though the cost of wind and solar power is cheaper than electricity from other sources in many areas. However, there is more than one way to deal with such things. [CleanTechnica]
Worker at solar array (Courtesy of Shoals Technologies Group)
¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Announces $90 Million to Improve Building Efficiency, Increase Resilience, And Reduce Costs for American Families And Businesses” • As part of the Investing in America agenda, the DOE announced $90 million in funding to support building energy code adoption, training, and technical assistance. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “The US Saw Record Market Share For Heat Pumps And Electric Water Heaters In 2023” • The “Electrify Everything” movement is growing quickly, latest data from AHRI shows. The data tracks annual shipments of furnaces, heat pumps, and water heaters. As heat pumps set new records, gas equipment market share continued to decline. [CleanTechnica]
Have an amusingly profitable day.
geoharvey 