Opinion:
¶ “Nuclear Won’t Cut It: CCA Says Australia Must Go All In On Renewables To Meet Climate Targets” • Australia will not reach net zero emissions by 2050 under the federal Coalition’s nuclear power plan, according to a comprehensive report that puts the shift to 100% renewables at the centre of all plausible pathways to meet the global climate target. [RenewEconomy]
Wind farm (William DeHoogh, Unsplash, cropped)
World:
¶ “Volvo Scales Back Electric Vehicle Ambitions, Eases Goal To At Least 90% By 2030” • Volvo Cars, based in Sweden, eased off on its pledge to stop selling cars with internal combustion motors by 2030, saying slow rollout of places to charge up and withdrawal of purchase incentives will leave room for a few cars that still need fossil fuels. [ABC News]
¶ “Sunken Village Emerges In Greece As Drought Dries Up Lake” • From beneath the shrinking Lake Mornos in central Greece, the muddied remains of homes are reemerging nearly 45 years after the village that once stood here was covered with water. Drought brought the lake to its lowest level in decades. It supplies water to nearly half the Greek population. [CNN]
Lake Mornos (Bougalis Nikolaos, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Used EVs Are Now Cheaper And More Efficient In UK Than Their Gasoline Or Diesel Counterparts” • HPI data shows that the average retail cost of an EV is lower than for combustion vehicles by about 8.5% at three years and 14% at four years. Prices for used EVs have fallen sharply in the past two years to provide motorists with bargains. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “EVs Take 95.7% Share In Norway – End-Game Emerging” • In Norway, the August auto market saw plugin EVs take 95.7% share, a new record, up from 90.0% year on year. Battery EVs alone took 94.3% share, with all other powertrains only collecting crumbs. Overall auto volume in August was 11,114 units, flat YOY. The top battery EV was the Tesla Model Y. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Model Y (Michal Lauko, Unsplash)
¶ “CIP Inaugurates The 300-MW Zhong Neng” • Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners inaugurated the 300-MW Zhong Neng offshore wind farm off the coast of Taiwan. Full grid connection is expected by the end of the year. CIP claimed that Zhong Neng is the first offshore wind farm in Taiwan to be completed ahead of schedule. [reNews]
¶ “Rezolv Inks Offtake For 229-MW Bulgarian Solar” • Rezolv Energy entered into a solar virtual power purchase agreement with Ardagh Glass Packaging-Europe. The VPPA covers output from Rezolv Energy’s 229-MW St George solar project in Bulgaria. The St George solar park will be built on a brownfield site, the former Silistra airport. [reNews]
Solar Panels (Chelsea, Unsplash)
¶ “Spanish Energy Giant Starts Building New Solar And Big Battery Hybrid Project In Queensland” • Iberdrola says it has begun building a solar and battery hybrid project in Queensland, the first facility it is to built in the state. The Broadsound solar and battery project will feature a 376-MW solar array and a 180-MW, 360-MWh battery facility. [RenewEconomy]
¶ “Wave Energy Converter To Be Deployed Off Albany” • The M4 converter, the focus of a Western Australian research project, is designed to harness renewable energy from the ocean. The Albany M4 Wave Energy Demonstration Project will deploy the device in the waters of King George Sound to test the region’s potential for wave energy. [The Daily Cargo News]
M4 wave energy converter (The University of Western Australia)
¶ “Zaporizhzhya Plant Cooling Tower Requires Demolition After Fire: IAEA” • The International Atomic Energy Agency said that a cooling tower damaged in a fire at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, occupied by Russia, will likely require demolition. “This big structure is not usable in the future,” IAEA director Rafael Grossi said during a visit. [Yahoo]
US:
¶ “Sheep Thrive In Solar Project Opponents Tried To Kill” • A 485-megawatt solar project in Virginia is running smoothing while playing host to a flock of sheep, creating new opportunities for local farmers while pumping out clean kilowatts. The project almost died in an assault linked to fossil industry stakeholders, but persistence paid off. [CleanTechnica]
Virginia solar project (Courtesy of AES via YouTube)
¶ “Former Tesla Exec Notes That Trump Was Bad For Tesla And Biden Was Much Better” • Party policies on EVs, climate action, and solar are extremely different. Rohan Patel worked for Tesla for over seven years and was its Vice President of Global Public Policy and Business Development. He felt the need to keep the discussion on track. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Developer Powers Up 220-MW PV Project” • Mill Creek Renewables has started commercial operations at Great Cove Solar, a 220-MW project encompassing two solar facilities stretching over 1,600 acres in Pennsylvania. As the largest solar project in the state, Great Cove Solar has over 485,000 panels, enough to power about 38,060 homes. [reNews]
Solar farm (Mill Creek Renewables image)
¶ “Sungrow And Spearmint Energy Partner To Add Over 1 GWh Of Energy Storage Capacity In Texas” • After Spearmint Energy commissioned its first major battery energy storage project in Texas, a 150-MW, 300-MWh system using Sungrow’s PowerTitan Series storage, the two companies agreed to deploy over 1 GWh of added storage there. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Fracking Led The US To Pump More Oil Than Any Country In History” • The US produced more oil in 2023 than has ever been produced in any year by any country, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Big Oil has become more productive as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have seen technology breakthroughs. [CNBC]
Have an undistractedly thoughtful day.
geoharvey 