Opinion:
¶ “Storms, Flooding, And Extreme Heat Will Transform The American South” • Hurricane Helene dumped 4 feet of rain on parts of North Carolina, leading to devastating floods in places like Asheville that were considered safe havens. But we should have seen it coming. The average surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico is 90°F. [CleanTechnica]
Hurricane Helene (NOAA AOML)
Science and Technology:
¶ “New Analysis Finds Substantial Value of Adding Up to 4-Hour Duration Batteries to Solar Or Wind Power Plants In Regions Facing Transmission Congestion” • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory published a study that examines the value of adding batteries to wind and solar plants located in areas that are facing transmission congestion. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Volkswagen ID.7 Pro S Covers 794 km on One Battery Charge” • Driving the electric ID.7 Pro S, Volkswagen Team Switzerland, headed by Felix Egolf, an expert in long-distance driving with electric cars, successfully covered a total of 794 kilometres (493 miles) with a single battery charge in a driving time of 15 hours and 42 minutes. [CleanTechnica]
Volkswagen ID.7 (Volkswagen Newsroom)
¶ “Fossil Gas Crisis And EV Taxis in Colombia: A Surprisingly Promising Pair” • Recently, Columbia has gone through a series of complex changes of rain patterns, availability of natural gas, international politics, and utility company policy. The result is that taxi companies in the country are turning to electric taxis. It is a promising change. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “EVs Take 27.6% Share In France — Citroën e-C3 Arrives In A Rush” • September’s auto sales saw plugin EVs take 27.6% share in France, a drop from 29.3% year on year. Battery EV share grew modestly, while the plugin hybrid share fell. Overall auto volume was 139,003 units, down by some 11%. The Tesla Model Y was the month’s best selling Battery EV. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Model Y (Eyosias G, Unsplash)
¶ “SSE Delays Completion Of Dogger Bank A” • SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vargronn confirmed that the 1.2-GW Dogger Bank A wind farm off east England will not be in operation until the second half of 2025. The announcement was made after the project team worked with GE Vernova to assess the impact of three recent blade failures. [reNews]
¶ “UK’s Largest Operating Solar Farm Secures 20-Year PPA” • NextEnergy Capital announced that its subsidiary, NextPower UK ESG, signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement for the Llanwern Solar Farm, the largest operating solar farm in the UK. The agreement covers 90% of the electricity generated by the 75-MW facility. [Energy Live News]
Solar farm (Courtesy of NextEnergy Capital)
¶ “European Commission Approves €1.2 Billion Polish Storage Support” • The European Commission has approved a Polish scheme to support investments in electricity storage facilities to foster the net zero economy. The €1.2 billion scheme is to support the installation of at least 5.4 GWh of new electricity storage facilities. [reNews]
¶ “Australia’s Largest Operating Wind Farm Sends First Power To Sunshine State Grid” • Acciona Energia announced the largest operating wind farm in Australia, the 923-MW MacIntyre project in south-western Queensland, has marked a notable milestone. It has made its first export of renewable energy to the national electricity market. [RenewEconomy]
MacIntyre wind farm (Courtesy of Acciona Energia)
¶ “‘Don’t Agree On Everything’: Leaders Divided On Nuclear” • Peter Dutton has promised to build seven nuclear plants across Australia if the coalition wins next year’s federal election. But David Crisafulli, who is on track to lead the Liberal National Party to power in Queensland at the October 26 election, stands firmly against the proposal. [MSN]
US:
¶ “Why Was Flooding In Asheville So Extreme? Meteorologists Explain” • The remnants of Hurricane Helene were not the only factor that contributed to the severity of the flooding that struck Asheville, North Carolina. Other regional conditions, including a precursor rain event and the topography of the land, gave rise to deadly flash flooding. [ABC News]
Helene’s damage in Asheville (Bill McMannis, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Cryptocurrency And Data Centers Create Soaring Electricity Demand in Texas” • In the US, electricity demand is growing fastest in Texas, where ERCOT manages 90% of the load on the power grid. The growing demand for electricity is largely from computing facilities such as data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US DOE Invests $1.5 Billion In Grid Schemes” • The US DOE announced funds totaling $1.5 in four transmission projects being developed by American Council on Renewable Energy members. They will enable nearly 1,000 miles of power lines and 7.1 GW of new capacity in Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. [reNews]
Transmission lines (SXC image)
¶ “Utility-Scale US Solar Electricity Generation Skyrocketing in 2024” • In August 2024, utility-scale solar electric generation averaged 63.1 GWh between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM each day in the Lower 48, 36% more than for the same hours in August 2023. Additions of solar generating capacity outpaced other resources in the US electric power sector in 2023. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Nuclear Power Regulator Urged To Address ‘Dirty Bomb’ Risks To Society And Economy” • The US NRC, the nuclear power regulator, has not acted on recommendations to address radiological security risks to the economy and society including those from “dirty bombs,” This is according to the Government Accountability Office. [Reuters]
Have an appreciably receptive day.
geoharvey 