Opinion:
¶ “How Would A Harris Presidency Affect US Adoption Of EVs?” • Vice President Kamala Harris established her climate positions by endorsing hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits and rebates for renewable energy and EVs. By all indicators, a Harris presidency would continue to implement policies in support of the adoption of them. [CleanTechnica]
Kamala Harris (Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Tesla Is Over 100,000 Workers, Not Just Elon Musk” • Many Democrats have gone from wanting to support a company focused on stopping global heating to not wanting to support a company CEO who is spreading right-wing conspiracy theories, endorsing Donald Trump, and falsely downplaying the threats of global heating and climate crisis. [CleanTechnica]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Agrivoltaics: Use It Where It Works, Don’t Use It Where It Doesn’t” • In some cases, solar PVs and farming can be combined to increase the total land productivity. In other cases, the synergy between solar and farming is less successful. But there are more positive use cases for agrivoltaics than previously thought, recent developments show. [CleanTechnica]
Agrivoltaics with sheep (Reagan Costa, Enel North America)
World:
¶ “Municipal Tax Dollars From Renewable Energy Projects Nearly Double” • Alberta municipalities have seen a big jump in tax revenues from renewable energy projects in the past year. Driven by twenty new projects, annual tax revenues have shot up to $54 million in 2024 from $28 million last year, a 92% increase, according to a report. [MSN]
¶ “Melting Permafrost Releasing Toxic Mercury Into The Arctic, Scientists Say” • Melting permafrost in the Arctic is releasing toxic mercury into the water system, potentially impacting the food chain, scientists say. Arctic permafrost is melting at rapid rates, potentially putting the food chain and the communities who depend on it in “grave danger.” [ABC News]
Yukon River (Kalen Emsley, Unsplash)
¶ “AMEA Inks PPA For Aysha-1 Array In Ethiopia” • AMEA Power has announced the signing of a Power Purchase Agreement and Implementation Agreement with Ethiopian Electric Power for development and operation of a 300-MW Aysha-1 wind energy project in Ethiopia. Costing $620 million, the project is expected to power over 4 million households. [reNews]
¶ “Rānui Starts Work On 31-MW Twin Rivers Site” • In New Zealand, solar developer Rānui Generation has begun on-site works at the 31-MW Twin Rivers solar farm in Pamapuria, near Kaitaia. The array is the first of four PV sites in its development pipeline and is capable of delivering enough electricity to power 6,000 households or 25,000 EVs annually. [reNews]
Solar PVs and flowers (Dulas image)
¶ “Can Saudi Arabia Break Free From Using Oil For Power Generation?” • Despite also consuming prodigious quantities of natural gas, Saudi Arabia uses nearly 1.4 million barrels of oil per day in summer to generate power and water. But Riyadh may be about to turn the corner, with nearly 13 GW of renewables to come on line by the end of next year. [The National]
¶ “Wärtsilä Signs Decarbonisation Agreement For Madagascan Power Plant” • Wärtsilä’s renewal of its existing Operations and Maintenance agreement with QIT Madagascar Minerals SA part of the Rio Tinto group, has been expanded to include a novel Decarbonisation Agreement. Wärtsilä is to reduce emissions as it produces notable cost savings. [Wärtsilä]
Power plant (Wärtsilä image)
¶ “Zelenskyy: Russia Uses Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant For Strikes On Nikopol And Equipment Storage” • The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia is using the territory of the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant for launching strikes on Nikopol and other areas, and for storing ammunition and military equipment. [Ukrainska Pravda]
US:
¶ “Solar Energy Revolution Brewing In Arkansas, With An Assist From GM” • Last week, General Motors dropped word that it will power three of its assembly plants with electricity from a solar farm in Arkansas, but that’s just the tip of a solar energy boom washing over the state. Arkansas has been shaking the dust off its renewable energy profile. [CleanTechnica]
Arkansas solar array (Courtesy of General Motors)
¶ “An Unwelcome Fast Start To The US Severe Weather Season” • Severe storms have set a fast pace for the first half of 2024. It was an extremely active first half for severe convective storms. We had the second-highest number of tornado reports of any year in the past 15 years, the fifth worst year for hail, and the second most damaging windstorms. [WTW]
¶ “Louisiana Looks To Idaho National Laboratory For A Nuclear Strategy” • Louisiana leaders are working with Idaho National Laboratory’s Frontiers Initiative to help the state become a national leader in advanced nuclear energy. INL experts will help the state develop a strategic plan to use nuclear energy to support growing grid-scale electrical demands. [East Idaho News]
Have an appropriately easy day.
geoharvey 
Leave a comment