Opinion:
¶ “How Do Cooler Heads Prevail?” • If we can’t talk politics, there is one part of sustainability that we should turn our attention to: Local self-reliance. It means that a community can create its own power, grow much of its own food, and make some of the goods that it uses. From farmers markets to community microgrids, we have many parts of the solution. [CleanTechnica]
Tomatoes in a garden (Shuken Nakamura, Unsplash)
¶ “The Great AI/Data Center Scam” • AI is burgeoning, and so is the demand for energy to drive it. Engineers at Apple explored the capabilities of the large language models that algorithms use to process AI tasks. They concluded there is a lot less to AI than its proponents claim. We are planning more energy capacity to power things that don’t work well. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Trump Return Likely To Slow, Not Stop, US Clean-Energy Boom” • A Biden-era law providing a decade of subsidies for new solar, wind, and other clean energy projects would be close to impossible to repeal, thanks to support from Republican states, and other levers available to the next president would only have marginal impact, analysts say. [Reuters]
Renewable energy (Benoît Deschasaux, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “2024 Will Be The First Year On Record To Smash A Warming Limit Scientists Warned About” • Data confirms 2024 will be the hottest year on record and the first calendar year to exceed the Paris Agreement threshold. This devastating news for the planet comes as America chooses a president that has promised to undo its climate progress. [CNN]
¶ “Record-High Pollution Sickens Thousands In Pakistan’s City Of Lahore” • Record-high air pollution in Punjab province has prompted authorities to close schools and keep its government employees at home. Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in Punjab province, said, “otherwise, the government will be forced into a complete lockdown.” [ABC News]
Air pollution (Jacek Dylag, Unsplash)
¶ “World Moving On Without USA As It Declines” • The US has ceded manufacturing of the technologies needed to fight climate change to other countries, mostly to China. It gave up on solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, EVs, heat pumps, transformers, and more. Europe, China, India, and the rest of the world has to move forward without the US. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Seaway7 Wins EA2 Array Cable Installation Job” • Seaway7 was awarded the contract by ScottishPower Renewables to transport and install the inter-array cables for the 960-MW East Anglia 2 offshore wind project. ScottishPower Renewables’ £4 billion East Anglia 2 offshore wind farm will be in the North Sea, about 33 km off the coast of England. [reNews]
Seaway 7 vessel (Seaway 7 image)
¶ “Germany Sets New Record For Renewable Power” • From January to September, wind and solar exceeded fossil power generation for the first time in Germany, reaching a record 45% share. Solar is growing faster than expected, exceeding national targets. Wind deployment is still lagging but signs of a future acceleration are emerging. [ember-energy.org]
¶ “Engie Awards Contracts For First Irish PV Projects” • Engie has announced the contract for construction of three solar farms in Ireland, its first onshore renewable projects in the country. Engie appointed Engie Astatine and TLI Group to build the assets. The sites are in the counties of Galway and Limerick and will have a combined capacity of 18 MW. [reNews]
Ireland (Nils Nedel, Unsplash)
¶ “EnBW Starts Work On German Solar Park” • EnBW marked the beginning of construction of an 88 MW solar project in the municipality of Vierlinden in Germany. It will also include 13.4 MWh of battery energy storage systems. The work is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year when the solar park is to be connected to the grid. [reNews]
¶ “BlueFloat’s 2.1-GW Oz Project Clears Milestone” • The 2,100-MW Gippsland Dawn Offshore Wind Project has been granted major project status by the Australian Government. It is one of sixteen diverse projects nationwide to receive this recognition and only the second offshore wind project being developed to hold this status. [reNews]
Offshore wind farm (BlueFloat Energy image)
¶ “A Tiny Grain Of Nuclear Fuel Is Pulled From Ruined Japanese Nuclear Plant, In A Step Toward Cleanup” • A robot that spent months in the ruins of a reactor at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant delivered a sample of melted nuclear fuel the size of a grain of rice. Officials said it was a step toward starting the cleanup of hundreds of tons of fuel debris. [MSN]
US:
¶ “$81 Million For Energy Storage Showcase In Kentucky” • It may not be an easy stunt to turn a former coal mine into a 287-MW storage facility, especially when the technology involves pumped storage hydro-power. But a pumped storage project is taking shape, and it will put Kentucky on the map, with help of an $81 million grant from the DOE. [CleanTechnica]
Pumped hydro-power (Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage LLC)
¶ “Southern California Fire Moving ‘Dangerously Fast’ With 0% Containment” • A fast-moving brush fire engulfed 14,000 acres, prompting evacuations as the National Weather Service gave out a red flag warning. Ventura County was put under an “extremely critical” wildfire warning. Firefighters are barely starting with the Mountain Fire, which is 0% contained. [ABC News]
¶ “Trump Likely To Target Climate Measures That Are Making The Most Difference” • The election of Donald Trump for a second time and the Republican takeback of the US Senate could undo many of the national climate policies that are reducing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions most, according to climate solutions experts. [ABC News]
Have a vastly superior day.
geoharvey 
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