Opinion:
¶ “Are We Seeing A Last Gasp From Oil Lovers And Apologists?” • Zach Shahan: A few recent trends got me thinking that we might be seeing a ‘last gasp’ for oil lovers and apologists as they try to cling onto their oil-related wealth and cultural inertia. … People stop buying the old tech quicker than they start buying the new tech. [CleanTechnica]
Relic (Timothy Abraham, Unsplash)
¶ “Green Energy Revolution Can Be Sabotaged And Delayed, But It Cannot Be Stopped” • The renewable energy transformation is accelerating, no matter how hard the fossil fuel industry and its supporters push back. It’s about time. A cleaner, better world is in sight, but that world can’t be realized until we leave oil, gas, and coal in the ground. [Common Dreams]
¶ “America Is Better Than This” • Jennifer Sensiba: While Trump needs to be stopped, there are obvious moral limits to what we should do to accomplish that goal. There is no justification for the violent act against former president Trump this weekend. It makes no sense at all for people to start acting as judge, jury, and executioner. [CleanTechnica]
US Army National Guard (Capt Joe Legros, Public Domain)
¶ “No Room For Nuclear Power, Unless The Coalition Switches Off Your Solar” • Before renewables came along, coal-fired power stations pumped out electricity (and carbon emissions) 24 hours a day. But baseload power is neither necessary nor commercially viable. This is one of many reasons why the Coalition’s proposed nuclear strategy is flawed. [The Conversation]
¶ “Is Earth’s weather getting weirder?” • Wherever we look, it looks like extreme weather events are getting more common. Weather events happened in the past, but the problem is now they’re happening more frequently and far more powerfully. The author spoke with climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe to find out what’s going on and what we can do to help. [Space.com]
Hurricane Beryl (NASA-JSC image)
World:
¶ “Ireland Climbs To Number Five In EY Renewable Energy Attractiveness Index” • Ireland is the fifth most attractive country in the world to invest in renewable energy projects, according to the latest EY Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index. Moves to enable large scale projects, and growth in Corporate Power Purchase Agreements were positive. [RTE.ie]
¶ “Ireland Reaches 400 MW Of Distributed-Generation Solar” • According to figures from Ireland’s distribution system operator ESB Networks, the country now has more than 100,000 rooftop solar projects, cumulatively adding more than 400 MW of clean energy to the national grid. Of that, 20% was installed in the last six months. [pv magazine International]
Dublin (Jordan Harrison, Unsplash)
¶ “Egypt And UAE Target 4 GW Of Renewable Energy On Egyptian Grid By Next Summer” • Egypt and the UAE pledged to deepen their cooperation in renewable energy, aiming to bring 4 GW of clean power onto Egypt’s grid by next summer. Both parties emphasised the importance of renewable energy for Egypt’s energy needs. [ZAWYA]
¶ “Rio Tinto Signs Up To Power Pilbara Iron Ore Operations With 80-MW Solar Farm” • Mining giant Rio Tinto has signed another solar deal with another Pilbara Indigenous group, as it slowly replaces gas power with renewables. The deal with the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation will allow an 80-MW solar farm next to an existing power station. [RenewEconomy]
Iron mine in Western Australia (Bäras, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Cà Mau Province Licenses Fourteen Wind Power Farms In 2024” • Fourteen wind power projects have been approved for investment in Vietnam’s southernmost province of Cà Mau so far this year. They will have a combined capacity of 800 MW. The province’s renewable energy plans envisage having sixteen wind power farms. [EIN News]
US:
¶ “The Duck Curve And Solutions For It” • In the US, the “duck curve” is a California phenomena. It’s a change to the legacy way of operating generation. There was too much solar during the middle of the day, when demand was highest. The long-awaited duck curve issue is here in a big way, with some days in spring now being 100% solar. [CleanTechnica]
Solar duck curve (Marta Victoria, CC BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Rising Seas Wiped Out An Entire US Species For The First Time” • The combined effects of sea level rise, rising tides and intense storms drove the wild Key Largo tree cactus population to extinction in its only known US location in the Florida Keys, according to the paper published in the Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. [CNN]
¶ “Rocky Shores Of Pacific Northwest Show Low Resilience To Changes In Climate, Research Shows” • A 15-year period ending in 2020 that included a marine heat wave and a sea star wasting disease epidemic saw major changes in the groups of organisms that live along the Pacific Northwest, a study by Oregon State University scientists showed. [Del Norte Triplicate]
Research (Courtesy of Oregon State University)
¶ “Texas Governor Greg Abbott Demands Answers As Customers Remain Without Power After Beryl” • With about 270,000 homes and businesses still without power in the Houston area almost a week after Hurricane Beryl hit Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said he’s demanding an investigation into the response of the utility that serves the area. [ABC News]
¶ “Santa Barbara County Fire Grows To Over 38,000 Acres” • The largest blaze of the California wildfire season, the Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County, grew to over 38,000 acres by Friday, fueled by gusty winds and extreme heat, authorities said. The Lake Fire burning near Los Padres National Forest has burned over 38,000 acres. [ABC News]
Have a consequentially beneficial day.
geoharvey 