Opinion:
¶ “Why You Should Buy An EV For Your Next Vehicle” • An interesting 2023 study breaks down several characteristics that contribute to a positive intention toward an EV purchase. Studies analyze public acceptance of EVs and point out the gap between adoption intention and actual adoption behavior. There are a lot of reasons to buy an EV. [CleanTechnica]
EV charging (myenergi, Unsplash)
¶ “Joe Rogan, Ray Kurzweil Reveal the Truth about Renewable Energy” • As an inventor and entrepreneur, Ray Kurzweil is considered to be one of the most brilliant minds of the 21st century. In an interview, he told Joe Rogan, “People say we need nuclear power which we don’t, I mean, you can get it all from the sun and, and the wind within 10 years.” [Energy & Capital]
World:
¶ “More And Faster Offshore Wind Is The Aim Of Maersk’s New ‘Rube Goldberg’ Workboat” • Maersk Supply Service has new type of “next-generation Wind Installation Vessel.” It will haul the WIV out to a wind farm construction site and park it there 24/7, while additional components are ferried in by a fleet of other purpose-built vessels. [CleanTechnica]
New offshore wind vessel (Courtesy of Maersk Supply Service)
¶ “EV Battery Prices Dropping A Lot This Year And Next” • Here is some good news. EV battery prices are expected to drop a lot in 2024 and 2025. That’s according to a recent analysis from Goldman Sachs. When EV battery prices do come down a lot, we can then expect electric vehicle prices to come down a lot, which will boost EV sales further. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “World’s First Commerical Seaweed Farm In An Offshore Wind Farm” • The dream of building the world’s first commercial scale seaweed farm within an offshore wind farm edged a little closer to reality last week, when the Irish firm Simply Blue Group stamped its seal of approval on the North Sea Farm 1 project. If all goes well, the idea will spread. [CleanTechnica]
Seaweed farm (Courtesy of Smartland Landscape Architecture)
¶ “Construction Starts On Second Biggest Battery In World’s Most Renewable Grid” • Zen Energy says it started construction on the 111-MW, 291 MWh Templers battery near Adelaide. It will be the second biggest in South Australia. The state already leads the world in the share of wind and solar in its grid and is set to be 100% renewably powered by 2027. [RenewEconomy]
¶ “Finnish Player Inks 600-MW Romanian PV Pact” • Finnish renewable energy investor Korkia and Romania-based renewable energy developer Econous Green Energy set up a partnership to develop 600 MW of solar energy in Romania. Initial projects are expected to be licensed and ready for construction in 2025, to supply energy for 200,000 households. [reNews]
Solar array (Red Zeppelin, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “TagEnergy And Harmony Energy’s 49-MW, 98-MWh battery storage facility comes online” • TagEnergy, a clean energy company, and renewable energy infrastructure developer Harmony Energy brought the 49-MW, 98-MWh Jamesfield battery energy storage system facility online in Scotland. It is a standalone project near Abernethy. [ETN News]
¶ “System Operator Outlines £58 Billion UK Offshore Grid Plan” • The UK Electricity System Operator has published a report proposing a £58 billion investment in the electricity grid to meet growing demand for electricity in Great Britain by 2035. The plan aims to connect 21 GW more offshore wind development off the coast of Scotland. [reNews]
Grid system (National Grid)
¶ “Chief Scientist Cathy Foley Backs Renewables, Calls Nuclear Power ‘Expensive’” • Australia’s chief scientist is backing a path to zero emissions led by renewables over nuclear energy, which is “expensive technology.” The federal opposition has put nuclear power back on the national agenda, but Cathy Foley said energy assessments should be guided by evidence. [ABC]
¶ “It Was A ‘Monumental’ Year For Renewables In Europe” • Coal dropped 26% in 2023, and another 20% of coal plants in the EU are expected to close this year and next. Surprisingly, gas did not replace coal in the grid, as it saw a decline of 15%, the fourth year of decline in a row. Wind power is now the second-largest source of electricity in the EU. [Corporate Knights]
Wind turbines (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)
¶ “Images Taken Deep Inside Melted Fukushima Reactor Show Damage, But Leave Many Questions Unanswered” • Images by miniature drones inside a badly damaged nuclear reactor at Fukushima Daiichi show displaced equipment and misshapen materials but leave many questions unanswered, showing how daunting decommissioning will be. [AP News]
US:
¶ “Who Is Buying Electric Cars Now?” • For years, very early adopters were buying electric cars because of the climate crisis or because they were techies who quickly got drawn to the new electric era. But now there are a lot of people buying electric cars who aren’t early adopters in one of those core buyer groups. So, who are these people? [CleanTechnica]
EV driver (Jenny Ueberberg, Unsplash)
¶ “Garamendi, King Introduce Bill To Allow Biomass Power To Participate In The RFS” • Rep John Garamendi, D-Calif., and Sen Angus King, I-Maine, each introduced legislation to allow plants generating renewable electricity from forest biomass, such as woodchips or sawdust, to participate in the Renewable Fuel Standard. [Ethanol Producer Magazine]
¶ “BOEM Publishes Notices Of US East Coast Offshore Wind Proposals” • The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has finalized its designation of a wind energy area in the Gulf of Maine. It could potentially deliver 3 GW to Maine and 10 GW to Massachusetts. BOEM’s notice is to be followed by a 30-day public comment period. [Offshore Magazine]
Have a fully worthwhile day.
geoharvey 
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