World:
¶ “Alarming Southern Africa Agriculture Statistic Should Spring Regional Leaders Into Decisive Action” • A serious drought is affecting a countries in southern Africa. Some reports say it is the worst drought in over 100 years. Close to 70% of the southern African population relies on rain-fed agriculture and harvests were decimated. [CleanTechnica]
Solar PVs for pumping water (WRI image)
¶ “Diesel Consumption Drops in China!” • EIA estimates of diesel consumption in China totaled 3.9 million barrels per day in June 2024, a decline of 11% from the same month last year and the largest year-over-year decline in consumption for any month since July 2021. This is despite China’s GDP growth of 4.7% from last year in the second quarter. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “BMW Group Mexico Invests In EV Charging In Mexico” • BMW Group Mexico, aiming to promote electric mobility in Mexico, has consolidated a new strategic alliance with VEMO, which joins other strategic allies in order to amplify the charging structure on public roads for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the country. [CleanTechnica]
Charging station (Courtesy of BMW)
¶ “Hai Long Offshore Wind Project Launches Nacelle Production Line” • The Hai Long Offshore Wind Project, along with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, started production at the company’s expanded Taichung Nacelle Plant. The collaboration includes an upgrade by Siemens Gamesa to meet the demand for 14-MW wind turbines. [North American Windpower]
¶ “Lightsource BP Gets Financing For New Zealand PV Project” • Lightsource BP has NZ$267 million ($161 million) of financing on its 168-MW Kōwhai Park solar project in New Zealand. It will be one of New Zealand’s largest solar farms, with around 300,000 solar panels. Kōwhai Park is the first phase of the Christchurch Airport’s renewable energy precinct. [reNews]
Solar array (Lightsource BP image)
¶ “US IPP Powers Up Canadian PV Site” • Independent power producer Silicon Ranch has announced that its 58-MW Scotford Solar Farm has reached commercial operation near Edmonton, Alberta. It is Silicon Ranch’s first international solar project and the first large-scale PV facility installed in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. [reNews]
Scotford Solar Farm (Silicon Ranch image)
¶ “‘We Should Have Better Answers By Now’: Climate Scientists Baffled By Unexpected Pace Of Heating” • In a candid essay in the journal Nature this March, one of the top climatologists in the world posited the possibility that global heating may be moving beyond the ability of experts to predict what happens next. Now it’s August, and things may have changed. [The Guardian]
Weather balloon (NOAA, Unsplash)
¶ “Finland’s Fortum Says New Nuclear Not Feasible At Current Prices” • Fortum doesn’t believe investing in new nuclear power capacity is feasible at current low Nordic power prices, its chief executive said. The utility is among the power companies under consideration for building 2,500 MW of new nuclear power plants for Sweden. [Yahoo]
US:
¶ “Jordanian Citizen Arrested For Allegedly Attacking Florida Solar Energy Facility, Threatening Pro-Israeli Businesses” • A Jordanian citizen living in Florida was arrested and charged for allegedly carrying out multiple attacks on businesses in Orlando, as well as a solar facility, based on their perceived support for Israel, the DOJ announced. [ABC News]
Some of the damaged solar panels (US DOJ image)
¶ “American Cities Are Getting Unbearably Hot. These Ones Are Roasting The Most” • No, it’s not your imagination – summers in the US really are getting hotter. And longer. Phoenix reached 158 days above 95°F on average in 2023. But Las Vegas comes out on top for heat. It roasted this summer. Every day in July the high was over 105°F, and it topped out at 120°F. [CNN]
¶ “New York City Is Home To Largest Passive House Building In The US” • The Sendero Verde 709-unit apartment complex in New York City is the largest certified passive house building in the US. Its champions say it can serve as a model for other cities and states that are trying to tackle both the housing crisis and the climate crisis. [CleanTechnica]
Sendero Verde (Courtesy of New York City)
¶ “Never Been Better Time To Buy A Used EV – Prices Drop 20.5%!” • Been thinking about getting an electric car but not sure when to jump in? If, like many others, you’re shopping for a good used car, it seems your time has come! Used electric car prices were down 20.5% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the second quarter of 2023! [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Revolution Wind Delayed To 2026” • Ørsted has delayed the commercial operation date for its 704-MW Revolution Wind from 2025 to 2026. The company blamed a construction delay at the onshore substation, which is being built by Eversource. The substation is located on a former Naval base, where the soil is contaminated. [reNews]
Wind turbine mast (Ørsted image)
¶ “The GOP’s Efforts To Repeal The Clean Energy Plan Are Anti-Worker And Will Hurt Arizona” • The Biden-Harris clean energy plan has been swept up in politics, as Republicans in Congress argue to repeal the the Inflation Reduction Act. But there isn’t anything controversial about creating more good jobs and giving Americans more energy choices. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Trump Flunks Basic Science Yet Again In Speech Insulting Harris’ Intelligence” • During his speech in North Carolina, which Trump claimed would focus on the economy, he claimed Harris is “not smart.” It’s hard to take the insults seriously when Trump himself fails to grasp some fairly basic concepts involving science and economics. [MSNBC News]
Have a slyly rewarding day.
geoharvey 