Science and Technology:
¶ “This Sleek Electric Boat Flies Like An Airplane, With Fuel Cells” • Wing-in-ground effect refers to a pocket of air that forms under a boat equipped with aerodynamic wings, creating a lift effect. The vessels are classified as boats despite appearing to fly like airplanes. Activity is picking up in the field, and Sea Cheetah has added a hydrogen fuel cell. [CleanTechnica]
Sea Cheetah (Courtesy of Sea Cheetah via einpresswire)
¶ “How The Process Of De-Extinction Will Be Used To Restore This Fabled Species” • The debate over whether the ivory-billed woodpecker is actually extinct may be ongoing, but a genetic engineering company aims to restore it to its natural habitat. Colossal Biosciences, a US company, plans to bring the ivory-billed woodpecker back. [ABC News]
World:
¶ “Italy And Switzerland Have Agreed To Shift Their Shared Border In The Alps. Here’s Why” • Alpine glaciers are melting. In fact they lost 4% of their volume last year. That means the border is changing, since they mark the border between Switzerland and Italy. So the two countries agreed to redefine their border in the area of the Matterhorn. [CNN]
Matterhorn (Lukáš Konvica, Unsplash)
¶ “Record Xpeng Sales in September!” • Xpeng enjoyed a big boost in sales from the new MONA M03 in September, leading the Chinese smart EV startup to a new monthly sales record. Xpeng scored 21,352 deliveries last month, and over 10,000 of those were the MONA M03, an EV that has the potential to be a top seller globally. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Car & General To Deploy 30 CHAJI EV Charging Stations In Mombasa And Ukunda For Electric Three-Wheelers” • Three-wheelers, or tuk tuks, are an integral part of the East African public transport. We are starting to get a lot of good news around their electrification in places like Tanzania and Kenya. One bit is that charging stations are coming. [CleanTechnica]
Tuk tuks (Courtesy of Car & General)
¶ “RWE Signs Monopile Supply Deal With Steelwind” • RWE has signed a contract with Steelwind Nordenham for production of up to 300 monopile foundations for its offshore wind projects in Europe. Steelwind will reserve capacity for 320,000 tonnes of steel at its Nordenham plant over 24 months from 2027 onwards for around 200 monopile foundations. [reNews]
¶ “China Drives Record Growth In Renewable Energy Jobs” • A record 2.5 million jobs were created in the renewable energy sector in 2023, the International Renewable Energy Agency and International Labour Organization said. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s solar and wind power installations were in China, which got 1.84 million of the jobs. [Caledonian Record]
Wind turbines (Enrique, Pexels)
US:
¶ “Cadillac LYRIQ Sales Soar!” • The share of Cadillac sales that were electric (that is, LYRIQ sales) was the highest of any major automaker, 19%, in the second quarter. The LYRIQ had 7,294 sales in the second quarter. That might not seem like much, but it’ a 139% increase in sales, as the LYRIQ had 3,018 sales in the third quarter of 2023. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “NREL Researchers Survey The State Of US Smart Charge Management” • Smart charge management – managing the flow of electricity that charges EVs intelligently – can have incredible benefits for drivers, utility companies, governments, and fleets. But they have not been widely deployed nationwide, and NREL did a national survey. [CleanTechnica]
Surveying smart charge management (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)
¶ “Pfisterer To Connect Empire Wind” • Pfisterer is to provide connection technology for the Equinor 2-GW Empire Wind project off the coast of New York, and the company will connect each of the project’s 15-MW turbines. The connection system allows all of the array cable infrastructure to be tested prior to hardware installation. [reNews]
¶ “Nissan EV Sales Surge in USA – LEAF Up 188%, ARIYA Up 23%” • Nissan was once a world leader in electric vehicles, and a US leader. Its Nissan LEAF was the top selling electric vehicle in the US and worldwide for a while. Maybe it’s making a comeback now, as sales of the ARIYA are up 23%, and sales of the LEAF are up a whopping 188%. [CleanTechnica]
Nissan ARIYA EV (Nissan)
¶ “US Adds 2.7 GW Of Grid Storage In Q2” • The US grid storage market added 2773 MW in the second quarter of 2024, data from the American Clean Power Association and Wood Mackenzie shows. In their latest US Energy Storage Monitor report, every segment of the US energy storage market saw growth in Q2 over last year’s totals. [reNews]
¶ “BOEM Approves 2.8-GW Atlantic Shores Plan” • The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has approved the Atlantic Shores South project plan to construct and operate two wind energy facilities with a capacity of 2800 MW off the coast of New Jersey. This is the final approval needed from BOEM after the Interior Department’s July 2024 Record of Decision. [reNews]
BOEM director Elizabeth Klein (BOEM image)
¶ “Ameresco Celebrates Completion Of Utah’s First Floating Solar Project” • Ameresco celebrated completion of Utah’s first floating solar array. It was developed in partnership with the Mountain Regional Water Special Service District. The 587.5-kW solar project was built on a holding pond at the Signal Hill Water Treatment Plant. [Solar Power World]
¶ “Conflicted RCEA Board Passes On Nuclear Power ” • After much discussion, a divided Redwood Coast Energy Authority failed to reach a decision on whether to accept an offer of free nuclear power from the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. The agency will pass on the state-mandated offer for an allocation of free nuclear energy. [North Coast Journal]
Have a happily productive day.
geoharvey 