World:
¶ “Fourth Global Coral Reef Bleaching Event Underway As Oceans Continue To Warm: NOAA” • As the world’s oceans experience unprecedented warming, significant coral bleaching has been reported across the globe, experts say. NOAA reported the fourth global bleaching event on record and the second in the last ten years. [ABC News]
Bleached coral (Nico Smit, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Operator Of Japan’s Wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Prepares To Restart Another Plant” • TEPCO said it has obtained permission from safety regulators to start loading atomic fuel into a reactor at its only operable plant in north-central Japan. It is keen to restart the plant for the first time since the 2011 disaster. [ABC News]
¶ “Cotierra’s Biochar Tech Aims to Enrich Colombia’s Coffee Industry” • Cotierra, a Swiss-Colombian carbon removal and AgTech startup received $1 million in pre-seed funding from a consortium of climate-focused investors. It will support biochar reactor technology development and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification in Colombia. [CleanTechnica]
Coffee beans (Rodrigo Flores, Unsplash)
¶ “Climeworks Wins Funding For Direct Air Capture & Storage In Norway” • Climeworks, which installed the world’s first and largest Direct Air Capture and Storage plant in Iceland, received €2.3 million from Enova, a state enterprise owned by Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment. The funding is for a feasibility study in Norway. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Global Wind Installations In 2023 Set New Record” • The global wind industry installed a record 117 GW of new capacity in 2023, making it the best year for new wind energy so far. Total installations of 117 GW in 2023 represents a 50% year-on-year increase from 2022, according to a report from the Global Wind Energy Council. [reNews]
Installing a rotor (GWEC image)
¶ “Smart Grid Firm Lands $86 Million To Develop VPPs And Help Customers Load Match Renewables” • Irish-based smart grid technology company GridBeyond says it has raised €52.25 million in a new funding round that will help it expand its virtual power plant business and help customers match load with green energy output. [RenewEconomy]
¶ “PM Wants Robust Renewable Energy Plan To Cut Oil Bill” • In Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the authorities managing renewable energy to cut the country’s $27 billion oil import bill and improve the electricity distribution system. He said using renewable energy would also rid the country of its parasitic crude oil tanker mafia. [Dawn]
Karachi (Muhammad Jawaid Shamshad, Unsplash)
¶ “Japan ‘Fossil Fuel Dinosaur’ Announces Launch Of 20-GW Global Renewables Platform” • Japan’s largest power company and one of the largest thermal power producers in the world announced the launch of a major global renewables business. Jera is the latest fossil giant to act on the existential threat of net-zero to its business model. [RenewEconomy]
¶ “Ecoenergy Powers Up 92-MW Romanian Solar” • Econergy has commenced commercial operations at a 92-MW solar park in Parau, Romania. The project is jointly owned by Econergy and RGreen, a French renewable energy investment fund. Econergy provided the plant’s engineering, procurement, and construction management services. [reNews]
Solar array (Andres Siimon, Unsplash)
¶ “UN Nuclear Chief Says Accident Is ‘Dangerously Close’ At Zaporizhzhia” • The head of the IAEA warned that the danger of a major nuclear accident at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains “very real.” “We are getting dangerously close to a nuclear accident,” Rafael Mariano Grossi told the UN Security Council. [Voice of America]
US:
¶ “US Interior Department Takes Action to Protect Taxpayers from Offshore Oil & Gas Decommissioning Costs” • The Interior Department announced a final rule from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to protect taxpayers from covering costs that should be borne by the oil and gas industry when offshore platforms require decommissioning. [CleanTechnica]
Retired oil rigs (Ben Wicks, Unsplash)
¶ “Guzman Energy Partners With Holy Cross Energy For Power Generated By Bronco Plains II Energy Center” • Guzman Energy and Holy Cross Energy agreed on renewable energy from the Bronco Plains II Energy Center in Kit Carson County, Colorado. The 200-MW wind farm will provide annual power needs for up to 40,000 households. [Yahoo Finance UK]
¶ “CIP Bags 1.3-GW US Onshore Wind Portfolio” • Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has acquired Liberty Renewables, which has a 1,300-MW portfolio of onshore wind projects in the state of New York. The projects are scheduled to be built to come online during the years 2026 to 2030. Hoffman Falls Wind will be the first project developed. [reNews]
Wind farm (Dan Meyers, Unsplash)
¶ “CAISO Releases Ambitious 2023-2024 Transmission Plan To Address State’s Climate Goals” • The California Independent System Operator released its draft 2023-2024 Transmission Plan. The plan projects significant new generation of renewable energy and identifies 26 new transmission projects estimated to cost a total of $6.1 billion. [Mondaq]
¶ “Largest Offshore Wind Farm Gets Final Permit” • Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial project off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, has received its final Clean Air Act Outer Continental Shelf air quality permit from the EPA after a 30-day public comment period. It is the largest offshore wind project in the US. [Environment News Service]
Have an impressively enjoyable day.
geoharvey 