Opinion:
¶ “Lessons from China’s Growing Adoption of Zero-Emission Trucks” • Getting more zero-emission trucks on the road is an important transportation shift needed to reduce air pollution and curb emissions. Transforming the entire trucking industry is challenging. It will require the establishment of government policies with ambitious targets. [CleanTechnica]
Gen-3 BYD 8TT (Courtesy of BYD)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Oxford Scientists Have Made A Remarkable Advancement With A Material That Generates Solar Power Without Traditional Panels” • In August, a team from Oxford’s physics department announced that it has developed an “ultra-thin material” that has 27% energy efficiency in converting sunlight into energy. This could be an important breakthrough. [Yahoo]
World:
¶ “Drought-Hit Danube River Reveals Scuttled German World War II Ships” • The wrecks of explosives-laden Nazi ships sunk in the Danube River during World War II have been revealed near Serbia’s river port town of Prahovo, after a drought in July and August. Due to the drought, the river’s water level drop to only 1.5 meters (4.9 feet). [CNN]
Prohovo, before the drought (Stadtigel, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
¶ “World Solar PV Installations To Grow To About 600 GW This Year” • Solar power keeps breaking records. More solar power is being installed than energy other electricity source in the US and in the world as a whole. A forecast from BloombergNEF has total solar PV power installations reaching nearly 600 GW this year, a 33% increase over the 2023 total! [CleanTechnica]
¶ “EV Battery News Just Keeps Getting Better And Better” • Some headline writers keep writing off 100% battery EVs as a passing fad, even though their sales keep rising. Faster-charging and less expensive batteries with longer range would help push things along for EVs, and that is exactly what EV battery stakeholders have in the works. [CleanTechnica]
Stellantis EV at a battery swap (Courtesy of Stellantis)
¶ “The Starmer Government Is Leading UK Away From Its Oil Addiction” • When Greenpeace appealed the decisions allowing drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea in 2022, the government of the UK opposed it. The UK’s supreme court ruled in June that “Scope 3” emissions should be taken into account. And the UK has a new government. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Aker To Design Med Wind Substations” • Aker Solutions won a contract to design the underwater substations for Med Wind, the 2,800-MW Italian floating wind project. The developer, Renexia, signed a front-end engineering and design contract with the company for the scheme off Trapani on the seabed of the Strait of Sicily. [reNews]
Submarine substation (Aker Solutions image)
¶ “Europe Adds 6.4 GW Of Wind In H1 2024” • Europe added 6,400 MW of new onshore and offshore wind capacity in the first half of 2024, according to latest data from WindEurope. In H1, 5.3 GW was onshore wind capacity and 1.1 GW was offshore. The EU is on track to build 15 GW of new wind farms this year, down slightly from 16 GW in 2023. [reNews]
¶ “Neoen And SmartestEnergy Sign Oz Solar PPA” • Neoen has signed a power purchase agreement with SmartestEnergy for 50% of the output from its 440-MW Culcairn solar farm in New South Wales. The four-year contract will enable SmartestEnergy to meet the demand for renewable energy from businesses in the state. Its term starts in 2026. [reNews]
Solar panels and sheep (Neoen image)
¶ “Regulator Grants Construction Permit For Two New Nuclear Reactors” • In South Korea, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission granted a construction permit for two new nuclear reactors, eight years after the application was submitted. The approval reverses the previous government’s nuclear phase-out policy. [KoreaTimes]
US:
¶ “Financing Solar Panels Just Became Way Easier in USA” • Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, a new financing model can make solar easier to access for low-income households and nonprofits. A church in Compton, California put it to work. A 12-kW project, soon to have a battery system, will allow the church to serve as a resiliency hub. [CleanTechnica]
Rooftop solar array (Courtesy of RE-volv)
¶ “Climate Action Plans For States Made Easier With Free Tool” • RMI and Energy Innovation’s free Energy Policy Simulator can help states craft very effective energy and climate plans. They developed EPS models for the 48 states in the continental US that estimate the environmental, economic, and human health impacts of different policies. [CleanTechnica]
“Feds Approve $2.3 Billion Solar-Plus-Storage Project” • The US Bureau of Land Management approved a $2.3 billion solar-plus-battery storage project in Nevada. Libra Solar is a 700-MW solar and 700-MW, 2.8-GW battery project being developed by Arevia Power. The project is on 5,141 acres of land in Nevada owned by the BLM. [Power Engineering]
Solar system in a desert area (Bureau of Land Management)
¶ “Warm Oceans Strengthened Hurricane Francine And Could Power More Fall Storms” • Warm water in the Gulf of Mexico helped quickly strengthen Hurricane Francine, creating danger for Louisiana residents rushing to buy supplies and secure their homes before the storm’s landfall. Warm ocean water is essential for strengthening hurricanes. [ABC News]
¶ “California Bridge Fire Updates: Newsom Expands Emergency Due To ‘Extreme Behavior'” • The Bridge Fire straddling Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties became the largest wildfire in California, as authorities battled several large blazes aided by federal assistance and the state National Guard. The Bridge Fire is threatening 2,500 structures. [ABC News]
Have a really happy day.
geoharvey 
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