Opinion:
¶ “The Silver Lining At A Disappointing COP29? It Showed Climate Progress Can Survive Trump 2.0” • The resolutions reached at COP29 on tackling the climate crisis, in the early hours of Sunday morning, are gravely disappointing but much better than nothing. And the result of this climate conference in Baku was almost nothing. [The Guardian]
Opposition (Markus Spiske, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Rumors About Electric Cars And Short Battery Life Debunked In This Study” • One myth about EVs is that they will be nearly impossible to sell because the batteries age quickly and need to be replaced at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Consultancy P3 did a detailed study of this and other myths about batteries in electric cars. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Pakistan Is Experiencing A Solar Power Boom. Here’s What It Can Teach Us” • Pakistan’s rapid adoption of solar energy is largely market-driven with minimal political support. As more consumers abandon the grid, the resulting decline in demand drives up fixed costs for those who stay connected to the grid, and tariffs are up 155%. [The World Economic Forum]
Solar and fossil fuel plants (Reon Energy image)
¶ “Nations Meet In Final Round To Address Global Plastic Crisis” • Negotiators gathered in South Korea in a final push to create a treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution. In addition to the national delegations, representatives from the plastics industry, scientists, and environmentalists came to shape how the world tackles the problem. [ABC News]
¶ “TotalEnergies Unveils French Hydrogen Project” • A green hydrogen production project was launched by TotalEnergies with Air Liquide on the La Mède platform in France, as part of its goal to decarbonize its European refineries by 2030. The project will reduce the biorefinery’s CO₂ emissions by 130,000 tonnes per year, the company said. [reNews]
TotalEnergies refinery (TotalEnergies image)
¶ “The State Govt Approves A $1 billion Battery Energy Storage System” • The government of New South Wales has approved a $1 billion BESS near Newcastle. With 500 MW of power, storing 2,000 MWh of electric energy, it will play a key role in keeping the city’s lights on during peak demands, as it will cover needs of about 200,000 homes. [The Lismore App]
¶ “Danske Commodities Inks 1.4-GW Baltyk Deal” • Danske Commodities has signed balancing agreements for the 720-MW Baltyk 2 and 720-MW Baltyk 3 Polish offshore wind projects. The Energy trading outfit will offtake 100% of the arrays, totaling 1.4 GW, making this the biggest renewables deal in the history of the company. [reNews]
Offshore windpower (Pete Godfrey, Unsplash)
¶ “Albany Wave Energy Project To Help Australia Become World Leader In Renewables” • Australia is well-placed to decarbonize its economy by leading offshore renewable energy, including wave energy. M4, the ‘Moored MultiMode Multibody’ device, was sited about 1.5 km offshore in King George Sound, Western Australia. [The University of Western Australia]
¶ “Can Lebanon’s Renewable Energy Sector Rise To Meet The Challenge?” • Lebanon has been facing an ongoing energy crisis for several years, with regular blackouts leading to over-reliance on diesel generators for power. This is largely due to years of misspending public funds and under-investment in the country’s energy infrastructure. [OilPrice.com]
Beirut, Lebanon (Sara Calado, Unsplash)
¶ “Russia Must Stop Its Threats To Use Nuclear Weapons: The Japan News” • Russia violated international law and subjected Ukraine to a campaign of aggression. Now it is now threatening to use nuclear weapons if it is counterattacked, as Putin signed a decree on Russia’s use of nuclear weapons. Russia’s lawlessness is too much to tolerate. [Asia News Network]
US:
¶ “US Automakers Face Major Changes To EV And Emissions Policies” • US automakers invested nearly $146 billion over the past three years in design, engineering, and making EVs, the Center for Automotive Research says. Now, they are mounting lobbying campaigns to convince Donald Trump not to tear up the agreement behind their work. [CleanTechnica]
Ford F-150 Lightning (HJUdall, public domain)
¶ “Mercedes-Benz Gives Hints Of Future Charging Locations” • Like a number of other manufacturers, Mercedes-Benz figured out over the past few years that relying on charging companies and government to power EVs wasn’t going to work out. Putting out their own charging stations became important. The question was, where would they do this? [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Adapture Renewables’ 14.6-MW Solar Project Operating Commercially In Virginia” • Utility-scale solar and energy storage project developer, owner, and operator Adapture Renewables announced the completion and start of operations of Rivanna Solar, a 14.6-MW solar project in Charlottesville, Virginia. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Rivanna Solar (Courtesy of Adapture Renewables)
¶ “What’s Going On With California’s Solar Power Grid?” • Based on research from Melody Petersen at the Los Angeles Times, very strange things seem to be happening with solar and wind power in California. As Petersen writes, “large commercial operators are increasingly forced to stop production” of solar power when the state’s systems produce too much of it. [InsideHook]
¶ “Texas’ Transformation Into A Renewable Energy Leader” • It is traditionally known as the heartland of oil and gas, but Texas has emerged as a leader in renewable energy. Over the past few days, clean energy sources have impressively powered over a third of the Texas energy grid. But the surge in renewable energy is in spite of opposition. [Microgrid Media]
Have a marvelously simple day.
geoharvey 