Science and Technology:
¶ “Research Details Method to Get Efficient, Environmentally Friendly Lithium” • Researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering optimized a method for extracting lithium from more dilute sources of the mineral, including seawater, groundwater, and “flowback water” from fracking and oil drilling. [CleanTechnica]
Mudpots near the Salton Buttes (Deborah Bergfeld, USGS)
¶ “World’s Heaviest Soaring Bird Inspires Wind Power Design” • When placed at the tip of a turbine blade, the c-shaped “winglet” inspired by the condor reduces drag, potentially increasing the turbine’s efficiency by up to 10% in optimal conditions, according to a study by mechanical engineers at the University of Alberta, published in the journal Energy. [Tech Xplore]
World:
¶ “Tiger Mosquitoes Behind Dengue Fever Rise In Europe” • An invasive species of mosquito has been found in thirteen EU countries, with experts linking their discovery to a rise in dengue fever in Europe. Climate change is creating favorable conditions for the tiger mosquito to spread, said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. [BBC]
Tiger mosquito (James Gathany, CDC, public domain)
¶ “Unsold Tesla Cars Are Piling Up In America, Australia, And Germany” • Reports of unsold cars started late last month when Channel 7 News in Australia aired video of unsold Teslas piling up at the port of Melbourne. It said Tesla has lowered the price of some cars by as much as A$20,000, but still there were fewer buyers than anticipated. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “VW To Use Old EV Batteries To Build Massive Grid Battery To Store Wind And Solar” • Car maker Volkswagen plans to install large battery storage capacities in northern Germany to store wind and solar power for times of little output, WirtschaftsWoche reported. The head of VW’s technology department said it will begin construction this summer. [The Driven]
Volkswagen EVs and solar garage (Volkswagen image)
¶ “Lithium Miner Switches On Australia’s Biggest Off-Grid Hybrid Renewables System” • The largest off-grid renewable energy generator in Australia, Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley remote micro-grid, is operational. The project combines a 16-MW solar farm, a 17-MW, 19-MWh battery, and ultimately 30 MW of wind capacity. [RenewEconomy]
¶ “Ørsted Takes FID On Hornsea 3 BESS” • Ørsted has taken the final investment decision on a 300-MW battery energy storage system to be installed on the same site as the onshore converter station for its Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm in Norfolk. The storage system has an energy capacity of 600 MWh. It will use Tesla batteries for storage. [reNews]
Existing Battery energy storage system (Ørsted image)
¶ “Vattenfall-CIP And SSE Winners In 4-GW Dutch Offshore Wind Tender” • The largest offshore wind tender round in Dutch history have concluded on 11 June with the award of the 2-GW Ijmuiden Ver Alpha plot to an SSE Renewables consortium and the 2-GW Ijmuiden Ver Beta site to Vattenfall and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. [reNews]
¶ “European Energy Secures Microsoft PPAs” • European Energy entered several long-term PPAs with Microsoft to offtake energy from wind and solar projects in Sweden and Denmark. They total 180.6 MW and include the region’s first large hybrid wind and solar project. The agreements will deliver over 3.6 TWh during the contract period. [reNews]
Wind farm (European Energy image)
US:
¶ “California Public Utilities Commission Crushes Community Solar With Latest Monopolistic Play” • California utilities have been on a mission to squeeze out distributed solar energy for years, and after success on the residential side with Net Metering 3.0, they moved on to limiting growth of community solar via the California PUC. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “The Solar Energy Gloves Finally Come Flying Off” • The US power landscape is about to be shaken up to the tune of 4.5 GW of new solar generating and storage projects over the next five years, and three of the most asleep-at-the-solar-wheel states in the nation stand stand to get jarred awake by the sudden influx of investments in clean power. [CleanTechnica]
Entergy’s Chicot Solar Energy Center (Courtesy of Entergy)
¶ “US Department Of Interior’s Clean Energy Progress In Nevada” • The Bureau of Land Management announced that it completed environmental analysis of the proposed Greenlink West Transmission Project in Nevada. Its transmission lines could connect 4 GW of clean energy from the Nevada desert to the Western electric grid. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Key Bills Head For Veto Override Votes Next Monday” • The Vermont Legislature will reconvene next week on June 17th to vote on whether or not to override the governor’s vetoes of two important environmental bills, and possibly a third. Each will require a two-thirds majority of votes in support for the bill to be enacted. [Vermont Business Magazine]
Vermont State House (Farragutful, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
¶ “Tennesseans Push Against Proposed Pipeline Extension” • A proposed gas pipeline would cut through Middle Tennessee, but an environmental group is trying to stop it. The pipeline would stretch 122 miles from Smith County to East Tennessee. TVA said the project would ensure greener energy, but activists said there are cleaner options. [Yahoo]
¶ “Gates-Backed Nuclear Plant Breaks Ground, No Guarantee It’ll Have Fuel” • Unwilling to let a little thing like reality stand in its way, Bill Gates’ TerraPower has broken ground on its Wyoming nuclear power plant without any guarantee it will have the fuel needed to run it once it’s finished. The fuel would be high-assay low-enriched uranium. [The Register]
Have a curiously pleasant day.
geoharvey 
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