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Opinion: 

¶ “Mustang Mach-E: The Classic Ponycar Grows Up” • If I like my V8 Mustang, will I still like an electric Mustang? Much ink has been spilled since the Mach-E appeared, but the question is still valid. Well, after a week spent behind the wheel of a Mustang Mach-E Premium AWD, I think I have an answer, and that answer is: maybe! [CleanTechnica]

Mustang Mach-E (Nicolas Peyrol, Unsplash)

¶ “2022 Will Be The Year For Next-Generation Clean Energy Technologies” • Next-generation clean energy technologies are reducing overall global energy demand and helping to make the energy supply side climate neutral. By all accounts, the year 2022 will be when that makes the energy mix cleaner, more secure, and more competitive. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Yale Study Puts The Kibosh On EV Emissions Myth” • You probably have heard all the rumors lately that EV emissions are greater than the emissions of conventional cars. Two researchers of the Yale School of Environment, Paul Wolfram and Stephanie Weber, did their own analysis and discovered those claims about EV emissions were simply not true. [CleanTechnica]

EV manufacture (Yale School of Environment image)

¶ “Greenland’s Ice Is Melting From The Bottom Up, And Far Faster Than Previously Thought, Study Shows” • The ice sheet covering Greenland is melting rapidly at its base and is injecting far more water and ice into the ocean than had been understood, according to research. That could have serious ramifications for global sea level rise. [CNN]

World:

¶ “What Is Black Carbon? The Latest Way Humans Are Causing Changes In Antarctica” • A study published in the journal Nature Communications found that the increasing human presence in Antarctica is causing more snow melt. With more tourists and researchers, there is more carbon in the snow, warming it to melt when the sun shines. [CNN]

Antarctic tourists (henrique setim, Unsplash)

¶ “Germany Halts Nord Stream 2 And Russia Responds With A Stark Warning” • Germany said it was halting certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline following Moscow’s actions in eastern Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, warned after Germany’s announcement that prices in Europe would skyrocket. [CNN]

¶ “French Startup Transition-One Wants To Supercharge EV Conversions With Its Ecological Transition Solution” • France’s recent homologation law allows retrofit of combustion vehicles that are more than 5 years old and has opened up opportunities for firms to accelerate the conversion of these vehicles to electric, with a €5000 per vehicle incentive. [CleanTechnica]

Mini Cooper, conversion candidate (Lloyd Freeman, Pexels)

¶ “22% EV Market Share In Germany! Fiat 500e Is #1” • German plugin EV passenger car sales in January were up 8% year over year. The main culprit for lukewarm performance was plugin hybrids, down 8%. Meanwhile, battery EVs grew 28%, to 20,892 units, with pure electrics starting the year ahead of plugin hybrids (53% vs 47%). [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Siemens Gamesa To Supply Two Polish Offshore Projects” • Siemens Gamesa signed a preferred supplier agreement for two projects in the Polish Baltic Sea. Partners Equinor and Polenergia will use the SG 14-236 DD turbine model for the projects, which will have a combined installed capacity of 1440 MW. The turbine has nominal power of 14 MW. [reNews]

Offshore wind farm (Siemens Gamesa image)

¶ “SBM Considering 400-MW Northern Irish Floater” • Marine engineering firm SBM Offshore, based in the Netherlands, is assessing Northern Ireland’s coastal potential for a multi-million pound Irish Sea floating wind energy development. The North Channel Wind floating wind scheme, with a proposed capacity of 400 MW, could have profound effects. [reNews]

¶ “Finland To Reevaluate Russian Rosatom Nuclear Reactor Project: PM” • Finland will reevaluate the security risks for a planned nuclear power reactor to be built by Rosatom, the Russian state-owned firm, following Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said. The decision was proposed by the country’s defense ministry. [Daily Sabah]

Sanna Marin (News Oresund, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “43% Of Pickup Owners Are Considering Buying An Electric Truck” • Car Gurus creates surveys. In the last quarter of 2021, the company asked 1,026 pickup truck owners in the US about their plans for the future. 43% of those said they would consider buying an electric truck in the next 10 years. That’s up from 34% just one year ago. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Tesla Launches Fleet Option For Businesses” • Tesla recently launched a fleet option for businesses that showcases the benefits of running a fleet of Tesla vehicles. Business owners can contact Tesla via the form at a link and input information such as the company name and the size of the fleet. There’s also a box for additional comments. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla cars (Tesla image)

¶ “How To Get Renewable Energy Onto The Grid? Northfield Has An Idea” • A bill before the Minnesota legislature would use $4.5 million from the Renewable Development Account for a grant to Northfield to create a pilot project that would develop a distributed energy resource management system for the city’s electricity grid. [Minnesota House of Representatives]

¶ “Pueblo County Drops Support For Nuclear Power After Facing Backlash From Residents” • Officials of Pueblo County, Colorado, say they are pulling back their support for replacing the state’s largest coal-fired power plant with a nuclear reactor following a public outcry from residents. They had expressed interest in nuclear power last year. [Colorado Public Radio]

Have a cunningly insightful day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “New High Performance Solid-State Battery Swaps Indium For Scandium” • Much-recognized research scientist Linda Nazar of the University of Waterloo in Ontario has been carving her name into the solid-state battery field, and she has just one-upped herself. This time she has got involved a new chemistry for the solid-state battery. [CleanTechnica]

Concept car: 1977 GM Electrovette (photo courtesy of GM)

World:

¶ “Ukraine-Russia Tensions: Oil Surges On Supply Fears” • Oil prices are climbing on fears that the Ukraine-Russia crisis will disrupt supplies across the world. The price of Brent crude rose to a seven-year high of $97.65 (£71.91) a barrel after Russia recognised two rebel-held regions in Ukraine as independent states and ordered troops into them. [BBC]

¶ “Climate Change Report To Sound Warning On Impacts” • The IPCC carries out a large-scale review of the latest research on global warming every six or seven years. A set of three reports about to be issued is their sixth such report. It is expected to be the most worrying assessment yet of how rising temperatures affect every living thing. [BBC]

Endangered red leaf monkey (Jeremy Bezanger, Unsplash)

¶ “Lithium: Good News For The Australian Mining Industry” • In good news for the Australian mining industry, miners produced 55,000 tonnes of lithium in 2021, a 28% increase from the 39,700 tonnes of lithium produced in 2020. This is approximately half of global production. Chile, in the number two  spot, produced about a third as much as Australia. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The Volkswagen E-Up! Returns” • In 2020, Volkswagen stopped accepting new orders for its smallest electric car, the E-Up!, citing an order backlog. But the order backlog was cleared, and in fact, Volkswagen quietly sold 30,800 copies of the e-Up! in Germany last year, making it the second best-selling electric car in the country. [CleanTechnica]

E-Up! (Courtesy of Volkswagen)

¶ “Worley, ABB, IBM To Deliver ‘Scalable Power-To-Gas’” • ABB, IBM, and Worley signed an MOU to work together on helping energy companies build and run green hydrogen facilities. The planned three-party collaboration aims to develop an integrated system that facility owners can build quickly, cheaply, and safely, and operate efficiently. [reNews]

¶ “Uniper Forges German Green Steel Partnership” • Uniper has entered into an agreement to supply German steel producer Salzgitter, one of Europe’s largest steel producers, with green hydrogen to produce low carbon steel. The first project is a planned import terminal capable of converting green ammonia back into hydrogen. [reNews]

Uniper facility (Uniper image)

¶ “Queensland Government Gears Up For Shift To Renewables And Decentralized Power With Microgrid R&D Hub” • The Queensland Labor government is ramping up the state’s shift to a decentralised and renewable powered electricity network with the help of a new $6 million Microgrid and Isolated Systems Test (MIST) facility in Cairns. [Renew Economy]

¶ “China And Russia Cannot Be Trusted On UK Nuclear Projects, Parliament Told” • China and Russia cannot be trusted with commercial contracts and should be barred from future UK nuclear power projects, a Labour former environment minister said. Lord Rooker warned against the countries’ involvement in building plants as they were unreliable. [GB News]

Guangdong nuclear plant (IAEA Imagebank, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “Biden Administration Freezes New Oil And Gas Drilling Leases After Court Rules Against Key Climate Tool” • Earlier this month, a District Judge ruled that the Biden administration may not use the “social cost of carbon” in decisions around oil and gas drilling on public land. Now the administration has put a pause on new leases and permits for drilling. [CNN]

¶ “Renewable Energy: Zero Blackouts, Millions Of New Jobs: Mark Z Jacobson” • Mark Z Jacobson and his team recently published an updated study building on prior research to show switching to 100% renewable energy would virtually eliminate the electrical grid blackouts that have plagued many areas of the country in recent years. [CleanTechnica]

Solar array (US DOE image)

¶ “Ford And Volvo Join Redwood Materials Battery Recycling Program In California” • Along with Ford and Volvo, Redwood Materials is launching an EV battery recycling program. Ford is also an investor in the company. Redwood Materials will work with dealers and dismantlers in California to recover end-of-life battery packs in hybrid and EVs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Obscure Electric Truck Maker Named ‘Mack’ Emerges From Stealth Mode” • A number of high profile EV startups have been grabbing for a piece of the electric truck market, but it looks like a name not known for electric mobility could have the drop on them. That would be Mack Truck, the iconic brand name with the familiar bulldog mascot. [CleanTechnica]

Class 8 Mack LR Electric truck (Courtesy of Mack Truck)

¶ “Texas Supreme Court Tells Exxon To Go Pound Sand” • In a brazen attempt by Exxon to stop lawsuits against it filed by eight California cities and counties, it argued that the suits violated Texas’ sovereignty and that it had every right to hide the truth about its products because its “free speech” was protected. Texas’s Supreme Court was not impressed. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Despite Regulator’s Ruling, GlobalFoundries To Move Ahead With Power Plan” • Semiconductor maker GlobalFoundries said it plans to press on with plans to create its own electric utility, despite a ruling from regulators that the company would not be exempt from state renewable energy rules. Its clean energy goals already exceed the state’s requirements. [Seven Days]

Have a fabulously useful day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Fab Labs Or Gigafactories? Or Both?” • Does everything need to be produced in a gigafactory? What is the place for a fab lab or microfactory? In a recent book, Dr Paul Wildman makes the argument for cosmolocalisation – global design produced locally in fab labs, where peer works with peer for the development of their own humanity. [CleanTechnica]

Open Motors Tabby

¶ “Will Elon Musk End The Fossil Fuel Industry? Tesla Vs Exxon” • Are oil and car executives hiding their heads in the sand? (Looking for more oil reserves perhaps?) Is Musk right about the end of the fossil fuel industry? UK-based research and analysis group Rethink Energy believes so. And there are good reasons to think they might be right. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Is Corn-Based Ethanol Worse Than Gasoline? New Study Says Yes” • A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that corn-based ethanol mixed in with gasoline is most likely a much larger contributor to global warming than gasoline by itself. The study was funded in part by the National Wildlife Federation and the US DOE. [CleanTechnica]

Corn (Waldemar Brandt, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Can India Become An Automotive Superpower?” • India is expected to be the third largest global automotive market by 2026 and is targeting 30% of new vehicle sales being EVs by 2030. Can India achieve this by becoming an auomotive superpower? The government is acting to support growth in the EV markets and its support infrastructure. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Candela C-8 Is The IPhone Moment For Electric Boats” • After sixteen months of development, Candela announced its C-8 electric hydrofoiling speedboat. It offers long all-electric range and high speed. It’s the company’s most ordered electric boat ever and had its first flight outside the Swedish tech company’s Stockholm headquarters. [CleanTechnica]

Candela C-8 (Candela image)

¶ “Irish Greenwashing Awards Call Out Misinformation” • The Irish Greenwashing Awards call out top misinformation spreaders that have been greenwashing and profiting from the climate crisis. Irish EVs is taking a satirical approach to help bring attention to the issue of greenwashing that’s been happening with the fossil fuel industry. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “We Should Boost Europe’s Energy Independence By Investing In Renewables, CEO Says” • The CEO of Portuguese utility EDP linked Europe’s energy independence to the rapid adoption of renewables. He said investment in the sector needed to come “much faster.” Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have put energy independence on people’s minds. [CNBC]

Wind turbines in Portugal (Vitor Oliveira, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Mike Cannon-Brookes Dismisses PM’s Suggestion That Coal Plants Should Run To End Of Scheduled Life” • AGL rejected the initial bid by Brookfield and Cannon-Brookes’s Grok Ventures to buy it for about $8 billion, shut its coal plants by 2030, and add 8 GW of renewable energy and storage to replace them. PM Scott Morrison added his own comments. [The Guardian]

¶ “Sarawak Aims To Be Regional Renewable Energy Powerhouse” • Sarawak aims to attain sustainable growth and prosperity by becoming a South-east Asian powerhouse to provide the region with affordable and reliable renewable energy, said the Malay state’s Chief Minister. He said, Sarawak’s abundant indigenous resources will be used for this. [Malay Mail]

Hydro dam in Sarawak (Gem Lyn, Unsplash)

¶ “China Looks To Unify Power Markets As Part Of Its Green Energy Push” • The state-of-the-art “flexible green electricity grid” that powered the 2022 Winter Olympic Games is the first of its kind, and it holds enormous potential for being able to send renewable energy across vast distances through the use of direct currents. [Oil Price]

US:

¶ “Will The US Government Really Build 500,000 EV Charging Stations?” • Recently, the US government released further details on their plans to build charging stations. Now, as part of a new website by the Departments of Energy and Transportation, the government finally released new information detailing how the process is going to work. [CleanTechnica]

EV charging station (dcbel, Unsplash)

¶ “A Year After Texas Cold Spell, Study Shows Renewable Energy Could Avoid Blackouts” • A year ago, Texas had a deadly blackout. Now, a study shows that electricity blackouts can be avoided across the nation – perhaps even during intense weather events – by switching to 100% clean and renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and water energy. [Denton Record-Chronicle]

¶ “State Senate President Seeks Commitment To Renewable Energy” • Rhode Island’s Senate president wants to require the state to be powered completely by renewable energy by 2030. Democratic Senate President Dominick Ruggerio introduced legislation this week. The Senate approved his similar legislation last year, but it stalled in the House. [MSN]

Have a very beautiful day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Floating Charging Points Will Let Ships Draw Electricity From Offshore Wind Farms – And Could Recharge Battery-Powered Vessels Of The Future” • Danish shipping firm Maersk Supply Service is to launch an electricity charging system to give ships access to renewable energy while they’re at sea. The electricity will come from offshore wind farms. [Yahoo News]

Stillstrom charging buoy (Maersk Supply Service rendering)

World:

¶ “Electric Vehicle Charging Network For South Australia” • The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia is empowering a new generation of road adventurers by building an electric vehicle charging network. RAA will install 536 EV charging points at 140 new locations to create South Australia’s first EV charging network. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Storm Eunice Carves Deadly Trail Across Europe” • At least 16 people have been killed as Storm Eunice carved a deadly trail across Europe. Deaths were reported in the Irish Republic, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland. Millions of homes and businesses lost power across Europe and transport networks were left in disarray. [BBC]

Storm (Torsten Dederichs, Unsplash)

¶ “As The Owner Of Australia’s Biggest Coal Plant Locks In A Closing Date, Others Are Ramping Up” • The decision by Origin to shutter the giant, 2880-MW Eraring plant follows the exit of Hazelwood power station in 2017 and plans that other big coal-fired units will go within a few years. But not all coal-fired power plants are being hastily shut down. [ABC]

¶ “Why Ireland Is The Worst Country In The EU At Using Renewables To Make Heat Energy” • Only 6% of the energy required for heating and cooling in Ireland came from renewable sources in 2020 – the lowest proportion of any EU country. For the EU as a whole, 23.1% of the energy used for heating and cooling in 2020. [TheJournal.ie]

Scene in County Cork (Jason Murphy, Unsplash)

¶ “BBM To Revisit Bataan Nuclear Plant’s Repowering” • With a power supply crisis jolting the next Philippine administration, the team of Presidential frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr is weighing options for repowering the mothballed 620-MW Bataan Nuclear Power Plant to augment the country’s electricity supply. [Manila Bulletin]

¶ “Benefits For Ross-Shire Highlighted In Renewables Industry Report As Sector Gears Up For Major Expansion By 2030” • Businesses with strong Ross-shire links are among more than 30 highlighted in a new report as set to benefit from a massive expansion in Scotland’s renewables energy sector. Wind capacity could increase 231% by 2030. [Ross-Shire Journal]

Arrival of superstructures (Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm image)

US:

¶ “Colorado Rural Power Utility Shifts Away From Long-Time Energy Provider To Pursue Locally-Produced Renewable Electricity” • La Plata Electric, a rural electric cooperative in southwest Colorado, has voted to shift partially away from its single energy provider so it can pursue locally produced renewable energy. [Colorado Public Radio]

¶ “Major Wind Developments Are Sweeping Into Northwest Oklahoma, Energy Companies Say” • The winds of change are blowing in Northwest Oklahoma with the development of several major wind projects over the next three years starting as early as this month. Invenergy and NextEra are both investing billions in Oklahoma wind farms. [EnidNews.com]

Wind farm (NextEra Energy Resources image)

¶ “Detonation takes down stacks at Springfield power plant” • The stacks at James River Power Station in Springfield, Missouri, are gone, and they had quite the send-off. Between livestreams, parking lot gatherings, field clustering and hilltop viewing, thousands of people watched the end of an era for the City Utilities power station. [Springfield News-Leader]

¶ “Gov Inslee, Gonzaga students talk climate change” • Gov Jay Inslee of Washington engaged in a serious conversation about climate change with about 50 Gonzaga University students. He emphasized that the needed shift to clean fuel would be “the largest industrial transition in the history of the world,” but the back-and-forth wasn’t all heavy. [Gonzaga University]

Have an incontrovertibly copacetic day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Why Can’t Renewable Energy Sources Keep UK Energy Prices Down?” • UK power generation from renewable sources has more than doubled since 2014. Nevertheless, dependence on fossil fuels is going to put a serious strain on people’s finances for the foreseeable future. So, why is the UK still at the mercy of gas prices? [BBC Science Focus Magazine]

Power lines (Matthew Henry, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Storm Eunice Blows Off Rooftops With Highest Wind Speeds On Record In England” • Storm Eunice tore down rooftops and trees, crushed cars, and sent planes skidding on runways as millions of people across the UK hunkered down at home to stay out of hurricane-strength winds. Its winds reached 122 mph, the highest ever recorded in the UK. [CNN]

¶ “The Flood Barriers That Might Save Venice” • The MOSE tidal barrier was built over a period of four decades to protect Venice from rising sea water at high tides. Fourteen months after it was finished, it has been raised 33 times. Naysayers of the past appear to have been proven wrong. Not once has it failed to protect the city when it was raised. [CNN]

MOSE barrier raised (Consorzio Venezia Nuova image)

¶ “OTA Software Upgrades Coming Soon For Volkswagen ID.4” • Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess held an Ask Me Anything session on reddit this week. He got over 1,000 questions from people all around the world and his answers were illuminating. Basically what he said was a testament to the power of over-the-air updates. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Antarctica Will Likely Set An Alarming New Record This Year, New Data Shows” • Preliminary data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center suggests Antarctica will likely set a record this year for the lowest sea ice extent – the area of ocean covered by sea ice. Sea ice around the continent has dropped lower than the previous record minimum set in March 2017. [CNN] 

Iceberg (Sergey Pesterev, Unsplash)

¶ “North Ayrshire Council Plans Solar Farm And Wind Turbines” • Plans for wind turbines and a solar farm at a development site in Irvine could help North Ayrshire Council to generate almost three times its future energy needs. The council said the three projects could generate 277% of the authority’s future energy demands, with the excess to be sold. [Irvine Times]

¶ “Canada Will Soon Have Its First Tesla Police Car” • Canada’s first Tesla will be added to fleet of patrol cars by the Bridgewater Police Service in Nova Scotia. Mayor Davit Mitchell shared his excitement on Twitter, noting that the city council agreed to buy a Tesla Model 3. He said data showed the lifetime cost will be less than for a conventional patrol car. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla police car in the UK (Tesla UK image)

¶ “Argentine Think Tank Sounds Alarm Over $8 Billion China Nuclear Power Contract” • Argentina’s General Mosconi energy institute has questioned a decision by the administration of President Alberto Fernández to sign a $8.3 billion turnkey contract for a nuclear power station with China National Nuclear Corporation. [BNamericas]

US:

¶ “Georgia To See 3,000+ Jobs From Build Back Better Act” • NRDC analysis shows that the Build Back Better Act, as it stands, could significantly accelerate clean energy investment, economic activity, and job growth in Georgia. The Senate’s passage of the Build Back Better Act would bring these climate and economic benefits to states across the country. [CleanTechnica]

SK Innovation’s planned Georgia EV battery site (SK Innovation)

¶ “200 Battery-Buffered Ultra-Fast Electric Car Chargers For Florida” • ADS-TEC Energy is a global leader in battery-buffered, ultra-fast charging. Smart City Capital specializes in finding funding solutions for the technologies that will define the future. The two companies are bringing ultra-fast ChargeBox electric car chargers to Florida. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Can The Salton Sea Geothermal Field In California Power Our EV Revolution?” • The Salton Sea geothermal field in California may hold enough lithium to meet all of the US battery needs, with enough left over to export some. But can it be extracted in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way? And how long will the resource last? [CleanTechnica]

Lithium extraction from hot brine (Jenny Nuss, Berkeley Lab)

¶ “Nacero Awards Long-Term Wind Power Agreement To NextEra Energy” • A press release says Nacero Inc awarded a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources a long-term power purchase agreement to supply wind power to Nacero’s planned manufacturing facility in Penwell, Texas, to supply gasoline with a net-zero lifecycle. [Odessa American] (Really?)

¶ “County Announces Renewable Solar Project” • In Wisconsin, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi and Alliant Energy announced final plans for construction to begin this spring on a 90-acre solar project in the Town of Cottage Grove. Parisi said the Yahara Solar Project will achieve Dane County’s goal of using all renewable electricity at its facilities. [Verona Press]

Dairy farm in Wisconsin (Corey Coyle, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Texas Led The Country In New Renewable Energy Projects Last Year” • Texas led the US in building new renewable energy projects last year, according to a report released by the American Clean Power Association. This continues a promising trend in a state that is known for relying heavily on fossil fuels that warm the planet. [The Bharat Express News]

¶ “Richland Workers Exposed To Radiation At Nuclear Power Plant, Says Fed Agency” • Some Columbia Generating Station workers received significant exposure to radiation during the spring maintenance and refueling outage, according to the NRC. Exposures could have been higher, but, by chance, the problem was discovered promptly. [Tri-City Herald]

Have a consummately gorgeous day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Why The Future Of Long-Haul Trucking Is Battery Electric” • There is increasing consensus among European truck makers and industry stakeholders that battery electric trucks will play a dominant role in the decarbonization of road freight. Low fuel and maintenance costs make battery EVs very competitive for long-haul transport. [CleanTechnica]

Battery electric truck (Volvo Trucks image)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Lithium-Sulfur Batteries’ Commercial Viability Improves With Breakthrough In Cathode Chemistry” • In hopes of making batteries that perform better than those currently used in EVs and are made from readily available materials, Drexel University chemical engineers introduced sulfur into lithium-ion batteries. The results are astounding. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Accelerated Ammonia Synthesis Holds Promise For The Conversion Of Renewable Energy” • Research by scientists at Hiroshima University reveals a way to make ammonia at ambient pressure from its constituent nitrogen and hydrogen molecules. The study demonstrates a process with potential uses for storage and transfer of renewable energy. [CleanTechnica]

Zero-emission Yara Birkeland (Yara image)

World:

¶ “UK Weather: Millions Told To Stay At Home As Storm Eunice Hits” • Millions of people have been told to stay at home as one of the worst storms in decades, Storm Eunice, hits the UK. The Met Office has issued two rare red weather warnings, one for London, the south-east, and east of England, the other for parts of south-west England and south Wales. [BBC]

¶ “Heavy Rains, Landslides Kill Scores In Brazilian Mountain City” • At least 110 people have died in the Brazilian mountain city of Petropolis, local officials said, after heavy rains triggered landslides that washed out streets, swept away cars and buried homes. Brazil’s Civil Defense Secretariat said 269 landslides had been recorded in the country. [CNN]

Area of Petrópolis (TMbux, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Green Trucking Watershed Moment As The EU Adopts New Tolling Rules” • After MEPs voted to adopt new legislation, EU member states have until 2023 to implement a new system of road tolls that give big incentives for zero-emissions trucks. Member states could opt to levy extra CO₂-based charges on fossil fuel lorries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “UK Needs 24 GW Of Storage To Integrate Wind Power” • A report from Aurora Energy Research shows that 24 GW of long duration electricity storage may be needed to integrate wind power into a secure net zero system. This is about eight times the current installed capacity. Aurora’s report finds this target cannot be achieved without urgent investment. [reNews]

Grid with storage (Wikichesterdit, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Power Ministry Notifies Green Hydrogen Policy” • India has unveiled its green hydrogen policy as a step towards meeting the objectives of the National Hydrogen Mission launched by the prime minister last year. India currently uses about 6 millions tons of hydrogen per year, but a report says that could grow to 28 million by 2050. [pv magazine India]

US:

¶ “Biden Announces $1 Billion In Infrastructure Funding To Clean Up The Great Lakes” • President Joe Biden announced $1 billion in funding from his administration’s infrastructure law would go toward cleanup and restoration of the Great Lakes. The bulk of funding is to restore “Areas of Concern” that the EPA has identified as severely degraded. [CNN]

Saginaw Bay (Notorious4life, CC0 1.0)

¶ “Cities Tried To Cut Natural Gas From New Homes. The GOP And Gas Lobby Preemptively Quashed Their Effort” • In 2019, the city council in Berkeley, California banned gas hookups in all new building construction. A number of cities followed that lead to address climate change. Now, twenty states have banned such actions by cities. [CNN]

¶ “GreenCore Partners With B&D Industries To Provide Labor For 10,000 Solar EV Charging Plazas” • GreenCore EV Services has a goal of building a network of over 10,000 solar EV charging plazas throughout the US by the end of the decade. It announced that it selected B&D Industries to provide network’s labor and prefabrication services. [CleanTechnica]

Charging stations (GreenCore EV Service image)

¶ “Vermont Regulators Say GlobalFoundries Can’t Form Its Own Utility Exempt From Renewable Energy Standards” • Vermont utility regulators ruled that the manufacturer GlobalFoundries can’t create its own power utility exempt from state renewable energy standards. The commission said it has no authority to allow such a move. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶ “Shuttered Massachusetts Coal Plant To Be Transformed Into Renewable Energy Manufacturing Center” • The site of a coal plant in Massachusetts is set to be transformed into a facility to help harness windpower. Prysmian Group will use the site to make submarine power cables that will bring the power from offshore wind projects to the grid. [TheHill]

Block Island Wind Farm (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)

¶ “Report Says New Nuclear Reactor Is Risky; Utilities Disagree” • A new type of nuclear reactor that would provide carbon-free energy to at least four states in the Western US poses financial risks for utilities and their ratepayers, according to a report. The report was immediately criticized by the project’s owner and the company developing the reactor. [KUTV]

¶ “New Unit At Plant Vogtle Hits Another 6-Month Delay” • The first of two nuclear reactors being built at Plant Vogtle might not begin generating electricity until as late as March 2023, Georgia Power Co now says. Reports of such delays for the reactors have become routine. With cost overruns, the project will cost its owners nearly $30 billion. [WRDW]

Have an indubitably dandy day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Cruel Irony Of US Politics: Climate Change, Ukraine, Gas Prices” • Here’s an epic plot twist in the American political drama: A President and the Democratic Party that came to office promising to wean the country off oil and gasoline to save the planet are now looking for ways to bring down the price of oil and gas to save a presidency. [CNN]

Russian T-14 Armata tank (Vitaly V Kuzmin, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Misguided EU Sustainability Targets Will Lock In LNG For Decades” • EU policies to clean up shipping will replace current, conventional marine fuels with fossil liquid natural gas, with little benefit to the climate. The misguided EU sustainability targets encourage an uptake of LNG, a new Transport & Environment study shows. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “NOAA Sea Level Rise Report: Now It’s Personal” • Some people complain that stopping climate change will be expensive. There is no question the cost of doing something will be high, but the cost of doing nothing will be much, much higher. The latest report from the National Ocean Service about sea level rise makes that abundantly clear. [CleanTechnica]

Coastal flooding (National Ocean Service image)
Please click on the image to enlarge it.

World:

¶ “More Than Eight Million Trees Lost This Winter In The UK” • The heating climate is making our weather more severe and unpredictable. More than eight million trees have been brought down by bad winter weather in the UK, and many more trees are now threatened by another two named storms that are bearing down on Britain. [BBC]

¶ “Heavy Duty Electric Trucks In Sweden And Denmark: The EV Revolution Rolls Forward” • The EV revolution is rolling forward and it’s not waiting for stragglers. The latest word is that large battery-electric trucks are beginning to be brought to the heavy end of the transportation spectrum. Scania and Volvo Trucks are two makers of heavy-duty trucks. [CleanTechnica]

Electric truck (Scania image)

¶ “Big Oil Is Spending Serious Money On Clean Energy” • In the past, fossil fuel companies have been repeatedly lambasted for ‘greenwashing’ and making only minuscule investments in renewable energy. Now, that trend appears to be turning around. Oil and gas companies have become among the most active on green energy deals and investments. [Oil Price]

Australia:

¶ “Biggest Power Plant In Coal-Reliant Australia To Close Early” • Australia’s largest coal-fired power station will close seven years earlier than planned, as its operator says it is increasingly unable to compete with the “influx of renewables.” The 2.88-GW Eraring plant is north of Sydney, in New South Wales, and is operated by Origin Energy. [BBC]

Eraring power plant (Origin Energy image)

¶ “British Financiers Say Northern Territories Indigenous Renewable Venture Could Lure $50 Billion” • British financial services company Octopus Group will partner with Aboriginal communities in northern Australia on renewable energy plans it says could attract investments of up to A$50 billion ($36 billion) over the next decade. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ “Investors Float 40 GW Of Renewable Energy Projects For Hunter-Central Coast REZ” • The New South Wales Government said almost 40 GW of large-scale solar PV, wind, and hydro generation and energy storage projects have been received in the registration of interest for the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone. [pv magazine Australia] 

Solar array (Neoen image, cropped)

US:

¶ “California Gas Prices Just Hit A Record High – $5 Gas Could Come Soon” • Gas in California hit a record high of $4.72 a gallon on average on Wednesday, and experts say a whopping $5 a gallon will likely be the norm there in a matter of months, if not sooner. Part of the reason for the price increase is the switch away from fossil fuels. [CNN]

¶ “Experts Say The Term ‘Drought’ May Be Insufficient To Capture What Is Happening In The West” • As the West goes into its 22nd year of a megadrought, officials at the US government’s top water resource management agency are trying to plan for an unprecedented age. The term “drought” may be insufficient to capture what is happening. [CNN]

Grand Canyon (Toni Tan, Unsplash)

¶ “Over 90% Of US Lithium Imports From 2016–2019 Came From Argentina And Chile” • The US imports many of the minerals used in EV batteries. They are mportant for meeting the increasing demand for EV production. From 2016–2019, over 90% of the lithium imported to the US came from Argentina (55%) and Chile (36%). [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Iberdrola Makes $10 Billion US Offshore Wind Pledge” • Iberdrola made a multi-billion dollar pledge to invest in three offshore wind projects totaling 2800 MW in Massachusetts. The Spanish firm will invest $10 billion on the development of the sites, Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán agreed at a meeting with Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. [reNews]

Ignacio Galán and Governor Charlie Baker (Iberdrola image)

¶ “Fracking In Pennsylvania Contaminates Drinking Water And Harms Pregnant Women” • A study shows that in Pennsylvania, fracking has contaminated the drinking water. It found evidence that drilling shale gas wells negatively impacts both the drinking water quality and the health of infants, indicating large social costs of water pollution. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New Mexico Regulators Approve Plan To Replace Nuclear Power” • New Mexico regulators approved a plan that calls for new solar generation to replace 114 MW of power Public Service Co of New Mexico will lose when it stops buying electricity from the Palo Verde nuclear plant in Arizona. PNM will develop the solar energy with battery storage. [USNews.com]

Have an uncommonly rewarding day.

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NRDC Analysis On Build Back Better:

¶ “Maine To Get 3,600 New Jobs From Build Back Better Act” • If the US Senate passes the Build Back Better Act, it would bring a result of 3,600 to 5,100 new direct jobs being created in Maine, according to Natural Resources Defense Council analysis. Clean energy investment, economic activity, and job growth are some of the benefits. [CleanTechnica]

Portland Head Lighthouse (Mercedes Mehling, Unsplash)

¶ “New Jersey Could See 13,500 Jobs From Build Back Better Act” • The Senate’s passage of the Build Back Better Act would bring the benefits of energy investment, economic activity, and job growth to states across the US, including an estimated 13,500 to 16,700 new direct jobs and 6,100 MW of renewable energy capacity created in New Jersey. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Texas Could Get 75,000 New Jobs With Build Back Better Act” • NRDC analysis shows that the Build Back Better agenda, as it currently stands, could significantly increase investment in clean energy, economic activity, and job growth in Texas. Texas could see 75,100 to 82,300 local jobs and 21,800 MW to 30,200 MW of clean energy capacity created. [CleanTechnica]

Texas Tesla Automobile Factory (Image from Tesla)

Science and Technology:

¶ “An Unspoken Benefit Of EVs: Less Auto Fluids Washed Into Our Waterways” • Leaking oil goes from car to street. Oil spilled on land gets washed from the street into the storm drain and into our lakes, rivers, and streams. Used motor oil is the largest single source of oil pollution in our lakes, streams, and rivers. EVs will cure that problem almost entirely. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Earth Is Heating Up Too Quickly For These Tiny Organisms To Adapt” • As global temperatures steadily rise, our planet may be changing too quickly for some of nature’s most wide-ranging organisms to adapt. The algae within lichen can take hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years to adapt to their preferred climates, according to the study. [CNN]

Lichens growing on a rock (Scott Osborn, Unsplash)

¶ “Hydrogen For Cars And Trucks Is An Idea Whose Time Has Come – And Gone” • A study published at Nature Electronics says fuel cell cars and trucks have little chance of being developed to the point they are commercially viable and that the urgency of the climate crisis demands decision makers focus on battery-electric vehicles instead. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Check Out This New Electric Rickshaw Delivery Van Concept From Sweden” • Swedish company Clean Motion focuses on light, affordable electric 3-wheeled vehicles that are built to be as energy-efficient as possible under their philosophy that aims to ensure that most of the energy is used to transport the goods rather than the vehicle itself. [CleanTechnica]

Clean Motion’s electric Re:volt 3-wheeled delivery van

¶ “India, Australia Ink Letter Of Intent On New And Renewable Energy Technology” • India and Australia signed a letter of intent for working jointly toward reducing the cost of renewable energy technologies and scaling up deployment to reduce polluting emissions across the world. They signed the LOI at the 4th India-Australia Energy Dialog. [BW Businessworld]

¶ “EDF Reveals 50-MW Irish Wind Farm Plans” • Plans to develop a 50-MW wind farm on land to the east of Broadford in County Clare were announced by EDF Renewables Ireland. The proposed Lackareagh Wind Farm, which could power more than 35,000 homes, will be located in the townlands of Killeagy and Shannaknock. [reNews]

Windfarm (EDF Renewables image)

¶ “Maree Todd Says She Cannot Give Her Backing To ‘High Cost And High Risk’ Nuclear Power Station” • Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP Maree Todd has declared that she cannot support the idea of a mini-reactor being built in her constituency, pointing to the “high cost and high risk” associated with nuclear energy. [John O’Groat Journal]

US:

¶ “US Sea Levels Will Rise Rapidly In The Next 30 Years, Report Shows” • A report led by NOAA gives an alarming forecast for the US: Sea level will rise as much in the next 30 years as it did in the past 100. According to the report, there is increasing confidence in science showing that the coasts of the US will see another 10 to 12 inches of sea level rise by 2050. [CNN]

Last house on Holland Island (baldeaglebluff, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Biden Administration Is Finalizing A Waiver For California To Set Its Own Vehicle Emissions Standards” • The Joe Biden administration is finalizing a waiver to allow California to adopt its own, stricter vehicle emission standards, reversing yet another Trump-era rollback. The EPA’s final decision on the waiver is expected soon. [CNN]

¶ “Electric Bus Talk: Repowering The Diesel Fleet Could Save Millions” • Transitioning the nation’s 500,000 yellow school buses from diesel to electric presents some daunting math. If we build 35,000 electric buses each year, instead of diesel buses, it will take 15 years to electrify the fleet. But repowering the buses we already have is taking off. [CleanTechnica]

School buses (Damian Carr, Unsplash)

¶ “Illinois Renewable Energy Growth Surges in the Months After Climate and Equitable Jobs Act Signed” • Five months have gone by since Illinois’ landmark clean energy law passed. Data from the solar industry found 2022 is on track to be one of the biggest years for solar energy in Illinois’ history. The workforce is to increase by nearly 50% in 2022. [PR Web]

¶ “Collins, King Welcome Almost $3 Billion in Renewable Energy Storage Funding from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” • Maine’s US Senators Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I) celebrated news that the Biden administration will invest $2.91 billion to increase the domestic production of batteries and other energy storage technologies. [Senator Angus King]

Have a pleasingly fortunate day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Putin Could Turn Off Europe’s Gas Tap. This Is The Solution” • As Russian soldiers look ready to invade the Ukraine, Europe is threatened by another crisis. Russia supplies 38% of Europe’s natural gas, and is using the European dependency on its gas as a weapon. One way for Europe to get out of the bind is to bring renewables online quickly. [CNN]

Russian sniper (Dominik Sostmann, Unsplash)

¶ “Electric Everything, Part 4 – Some Updates” • The first three parts of this “Electric Everything” series listed 43 things that have been electrified, from tiny scooters to giant ferries and ships, and everything in between. If we want to save the planet, we must electrify everything as soon as possible and convert to clean electricity generation. [CleanTechnica]

Natural Resources Defense Council On Build Back Better:

¶ “Build Back Better Offers Big Economic Benefits In Illinois” • NRDC analysis shows that the Build Back Better agenda could speed up clean energy investment, economic activity, and job growth in Illinois. “The stakes are enormous. This agenda recognizes that there is tremendous economic opportunity in tackling the climate crisis.” [CleanTechnica]

Illinois EV factory (Image courtesy of Rivian)

¶ “Analysis: Michigan To Get Over 18,000 Jobs With Build Back Better Act” • A new NRDC analysis shows that the Build Back Better agenda could greatly accelerate clean energy investment, economic activity, and job growth in Michigan. It projects 14,500 to 18,700 local jobs created in manufacturing, building, and servicing clean energy resources. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Is Tesla Building Another Car Factory In China?” • A news report out of China claims that Tesla is at least testing the waters for a second gigafactory in the country. Looking into an update from Liaoning Province’s official WeChat account, CarNewsChina said it showed that Shenyang City is preparing for the Tesla vehicle project. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Shanghai gigafactory (Courtesy of Tesla)

¶ “Climeworks Announces Boston Consulting, LGT Bank, And Rothesay As New Carbon Removal Customers” • LGT and Boston Consulting Group signed 10-year air capture agreements with Climeworks, for commitments towards carbon removal. The UK’s largest pension insurance specialist, Rothesay, also signed a carbon removal agreement. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Sweden Unveils Three New Offshore Wind Zones” • The Swedish government has identified three offshore wind zones that it believes can deliver up to 30,000 GWh of wind power per year. The areas are in the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, respectively. “We must have a lot of electricity, cheap electricity, fast,” the energy minister said. [reNews]

Gulf of Bothnia (Konstantin Goncharov, Unsplash)

¶ “Crossbenchers Urge Switch To Electric Transport To Boost Australia’s Energy Security” • Establishing thriving local EV manufacturing industries could be the answer to solving energy security challenges in Australia. Two independent federal MPs are backing a call for a locally manufactured, renewably powered, transport system. [Renew Economy]

¶ “Enel Green Power Set Record For Renewable Generation In Italy” • Enel Green Power generated about 119 TWh of energy renewably in 2021. Wind and solar provided 55.4 TWh, up by 9 TWh from 2020 figures. Hydroelectric provided 57 TWh, while the contribution from geothermal is 6 TWh, a relatively small but stable figure. [ThinkGeoEnergy]

Geothermal plant in Tuscany (Enel Green Power image)

¶ “First Poles Erected In $2.4 Billion Transmission Link To Create ‘Renewables Superpower'” • The $2.4 billion Project EnergyConnect is the first of several main transmission lines proposed by the Australian Energy Market Operator and state authorities as they build up the infrastructure to support a grid transitioning to 100% renewables. [Renew Economy]

¶ “IAEA Reviews Japan’s Plan To Release Fukushima Water Into Ocean” • A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Japan on Monday to review a plan to release treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean. Japan hoped the visit would help it push through the controversial plan. [DW]

Japanese squid fishing boats (Takanobu Shuji, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “DOE Will Build Nation’s First Large-Scale Facility To Turn Fossil Fuel Waste Into Rare Materials For Tech” • The DOE plans to build the nation’s first large facility to extract critical minerals like nickel and cobalt from waste like coal ash. The metals could then be used in components for renewable-energy batteries, cell phones, EVs, and other technologies. [CNN]

¶ “Megadrought: Western US Dry Spell Is Worst In 1,200 Years, Study Says” • The intense dry spell that’s parched the western US the past 22 years is the region’s worst “megadrought” since at least the year 800, a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change says. Over 40% of it can be blamed on human-caused climate change. [USA Today]

Arizona in drought (US NPS image, public domain)

¶ “Tesla Has 10.5% Of California Auto Market In 4th Quarter” • Tesla had 10.5% of all auto sales in California in the 4th quarter of 2021, up from 4.8% in the 4th quarter of 2020. Tesla registrations rose from 21,290 in Q4 2020 to 39,040 in Q4 2021. Only Toyota had more sales in California in the Q4 of 2021, with a 16.3% market share. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Last Minute Delay Leaves Green Energy Advocates Up In Arms In Connecticut” • ISO-New England’s announcement that it would end a rule blocking state-subsidized renewable energy projects from its annual capacity auction should have been a win for renewable energy, but a last-minute decision delays the change for two years. [The Connecticut Examiner]

Have an unconditionally triumphant day.

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NRDC Analysis On Build Back Better:

¶ “West Virginia To See Thousands Of New Jobs From Build Back Better Act” • The Senate’s passage of the policies in the Build Back Better Act, which the House has passed, would enable West Virginia to invest in climate solutions that could lead to over 70,000 direct jobs, an analysis from the Natural Resources Defense Council shows. [CleanTechnica]

Moving a blade on a winding road (Colin Watts, Unsplash)

¶ “Build Back Better Plan Gives Arizona 55,000 New Clean Tech Jobs” • Arizona residents can expect a significant economic gain if the Biden Administration is able to pass its Build Back Better Act, with more than 55,000 new sustainable, clean tech, and electric car jobs coming to the state to support the historic infrastructure bill. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Oregon Econ Boost From Build Back Better Act” • “[Over] 50,000 Oregonians work in the clean energy sector, specializing in renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean cars, and more. By focusing investments in places with low-income or reliance on the fossil fuel industry, we can support new jobs and businesses [where they are needed].” [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbine (Sander Weeteling, Unsplash)

¶ “8,600+ Jobs In Montana From Build Back Better Act” • “The Build Back Better Act will bring clean energy investments and good jobs to Montana,” said NRDC Western Campaigns Director Sam Gilchrist. “Nearly 10,000 Montana residents work in the clean energy sector already, and Build Back Better investments could create 10,000 more.” [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Big Banks Fund New Oil And Gas Despite Net Zero Pledges” • Big banks are pumping billions into new oil and gas production despite net zero pledges, campaigners have said. Banks including HSBC, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank are still backing new oil and gas despite being part of a UN-led group called the Net Zero Banking Alliance, ShareAction said. [BBC]

Offshore oil & gas rig (Zachary Theodore, Unsplash)

¶ “Tesla Shanghai Capacity Will Exceed 1 Million Cars In 2022, BYD Blade Batteries Coming” • Reports from CnEVPost say the manufacturing capacity of the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai is expected to increase to over 1 million cars a year in the near future. It also says BYD will supply about 10 GWh of its LFP Blade batteries to Tesla each year. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Australia’s Liberal Party: From FUD To Greenwashing” • In the last election campaign, Australia’s Liberal government took pains to reinforce fear, uncertainty, and doubt about renewable energy and EVs. Now another election looms, and they are spending $31 million taxpayer dollars for a publicly funded ad campaign to promote their green credentials. [CleanTechnica]

Clean energy (Sven Brandsma, Unsplash)

¶ “Renewables Reach New Highs In NEM As Fossil Fuels Slump To Historic Lows” • New figures published by Australia’s Climate Council show that renewable energy generation in the National Electricity Market grew almost 20% in 2021. Renewable sources generated 31.4% of electricity last year while gas generators supplied just 5.7%. [pv magazine Australia]

¶ “BlackRock Invests In Chilean Solar Projects” • Solek Group, through its Chilean subsidiary Solek Latam, signed a framework agreement to develop, build and sell solar projects in Chile to BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power Fund III. The deal enables Solek Group to develop up to 28 PV projects with an aggregate capacity of up to 200MW. [reNews]

Solar power (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “NREL To Help With National Electric Vehicle Charging Network Rollout” • National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers will contribute their expertise in electrified transportation systems to help create a new federal office focused on expanding EV charging infrastructure across the US equitably and strategically. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Electric Car Sales Surge As Overall Car Sales Slip – A Game-Changing Trend?” • Last quarter, overall US auto sales fell, but EV sales surged. Kelley Blue Book reports that total car sales fell by 21.3% in Q4 2021 compared to Q4 2020, while EV sales grew by 72%. Kelley Blue Book is not alone in predicting that EV sales will keep growing. [CleanTechnica]

EV interior (Jenny Ueberberg, Unsplash)

¶ “NJ Transit Reneging On Renewable Energy Commitment For Kearny Power Plant, Activists Say” • Climate activists are accusing NJ Transit of going back on a plan to build a non-gas powered plant in Kearny to provide rail systems like the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail with emergency electricity in case of power outages, such as happened with Hurricane Sandy. [NJ.com]

¶ “Minnesota Business Takes Climate Change As Environmental Challenge, Economic Opportunity” • Renewables are proving to be both an economic driver and an important environmental pursuit in Minnesota. Even oil and gas producers who ship products to Minnesota’s huge Pine Bend refinery are reducing carbon emissions. [Star Tribune]

Construction of wind turbines (Dean Riggot, NextEra)

¶ “Poll: Pueblo Voters Prefer Wind And Solar To Nuclear” • In Pueblo County, Colorado, voters have a strong preference for renewables for future energy production in their community according to new poll results released exclusively to News5. For their top two choices, 60% chose solar and 47% chose wind. Third place was natural gas, at 24%. [KOAA]

¶ “UMaine 4-H Workshop Explores Marshlands, Climate Change” • University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H will offer an online workshop for youth ages 12-18 about marshlands and climate change. “Maine’s Mysterious Marshlands: Using eDNA to Understand Climate Change,” will run from 1:30 to 2:45 PM on Wednesday, February 23. [Kennebec Journal]

Have a dauntlessly tranquil day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Temporary spent nuclear fuel storage isn’t temporary” • The proposal to “store” spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico is a Trojan horse that will defeat the goal of geologically isolating this highly radioactive and chemically toxic material. The proposed interim storage facility is geologically unsuitable even for a period of decades. [Santa Fe New Mexican]

New Mexico (Joonyeop Baek, Unsplash)

¶ “Is BP Providing A Blueprint For Big Energy?” • By bolstering a select few oil operations and pumping funds into renewable energy projects, oil and gas giant BP is already emerging stronger in the early days of its transition. Earlier this week, BP reported its highest profits in eight years as the company says that it is “performing while transforming.” [Yahoo Finance]

¶ “Life With Tesla After 60,000 Miles: What I’ve Learned” • My wife and I are still just as thrilled with our Tesla Model 3 as we were the day we took delivery on October 22, 2019. My odometer reads 60,220 miles. We have driven coast to coast from North Carolina to California and made multiple round trips from Utah to Wisconsin. [CleanTechnica]

Road trip (Diego Jimenez, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Information Batteries Store Energy As Information” • An information battery stores energy in the form of information. The authors of a study explained that they use an approach of storing energy as completed precomputation that can meet or even exceed the end-to-end efficiency of grid-scale storage using existing infrastructure. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Monstrous Waves Will Crash Ashore More Frequently Due To Climate Change” • The risk of coastal floods could rise 50-fold because of man-made climate change, recent research shows. With the weather phenomenon of overtopping, huge waves will hit structures or beaches with increasing frequency, say scientists, devastating communities. [Study Finds]

Wave (Matt Paul Catalano, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Mexico Vows To Press On With Power Changes Amid US Concerns” • Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador vowed on Thursday to press ahead with changes to the electrical power industry despite US concerns that they could close off markets, choke off competition, and possibly violate the US-Mexico-Canada free trade pact. [ABC News]

¶ “France Announces Plans To Build Up To Fourteen Nuclear Reactors” • The French plans for new nuclear power could see up to fourteen nuclear reactors built, altogether. On Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron said that France would construct six nuclear reactors, but the country will study the possibility of commissioning a further eight. [CNN]

Emmanuel Macron speaking (France Diplomatie, CC-BY-SA 1.0)

¶ “Egypt Plans To Produce 42% Of Its Power From Renewable Resources” • Egypt seeks to produce 42% of its power from renewable resources, a large portion of which would be solar power, according to Ghada El-Gendy, the Executive Director of the Arab Renewable Energy Company, affiliated with the Arab Organization for Industrialization. [Egypt Today]

¶ “Geely’s Big Hybrid SUV vs -45°Inner Mongolia” • You might not think of China when you think of extreme cold, but the country is massive, and the temperatures in the mountains of Inner Mongolia can drop to less than -45°C (-50°F). If you want to show off the performance of your hybrid electric car, you could hardly pick a more difficult place. [CleanTechnica]

Geely (By Geely)

¶ “Japan Venture To Build Country’s First Nuclear Fusion Power Plant” • A Japanese venture plans to build the first experimental plant in the country to generate power through nuclear fusion, the company said. The experimental plant is expected to have a generating capacity of several dozen kilowatts and to come online in the next five years. [Kyodo News]

US:

¶ “Ford Plans To Add 5 New Electric Lincoln SUVs By 2026” • Sources told Reuters that Lincoln, the luxury car division of Ford Motor Company, plans to introduce at least five new battery electric SUVs through 2026. Ford says it will build 600,000 EVs globally within two years. Part of its mission to be “the clear No 2 EV maker in North America.” [CleanTechnica]

Lincoln concept EV from ArtCenter College of Design

¶ “VinFast Launches New California Adventure In LA” • The Vietnamese EV contender VinFast announced plans to launch a California RoadShow to engage with potential customers in the US. The tour will go from Los Angeles to San Francisco, where the company’s US base is. It is meant to increase awareness of the company’s EV offerings. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Stellantis Plans Electric Ram Pickup With Range Extender Engine” • Autoblog reports that in addition to the battery electric version of its light-duty pickup truck that is scheduled to arrive in 2024, it will also offer a version of that truck with a range extender engine. The version will support applications that need to combine power and range. [CleanTechnica]

Ram EV (Courtesy of Ram)

¶ “Offshore wind takes off at last. States have been counting on it” • As a quickly growing list of projects enters the permitting and construction phases, many states are betting on offshore wind to be a crucial source of renewable power. Offshore windpower will also be an economic driver to create thousands of industrial and maritime jobs. [Concord Monitor]

¶ “Report: Warming Climate Threatens Wisconsin Way Of Life” • A report by the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts found that, since 1950, statewide average temperatures have warmed by 3°F, a number beyond any natural variability, while annual precipitation increased 17%. Today’s record temperatures will become average by mid-century. [Madison.com]

Have a fairly faultless day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Andrew Forrest Calls Out Hydrogen Greenwashing In Australia” • The Australian government is patting itself on the back for its “green” achievements after sending off a ship full hydrogen to Japan. It was made using electricity from coal and fracked gas. And they are subsidizing the fossil fuel industry to the tune of $20,000 a minute. [CleanTechnica]

Shipment of hydrogen (Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain image)

Science and Technology:

¶ “How Birds Are Adapting To Climate Crisis” • A study of birds that died in collisions with skyscrapers in Chicago shows that North American migratory birds appear to be shrinking in response to climate change. Importantly, those with bigger brains, relative to their body size, are not shrinking as much as their smaller-brained counterparts. [CNN]

World:

¶ “Amazon Deforestation: Record High Destruction Of Trees In January” • The number of trees cut down in January in the Brazilian Amazon far exceeded deforestation for January of last year, according to government satellite data. The area destroyed was five times larger than 2021, the highest January total since records began in 2015. [BBC]

Amazon rainforest (Neil Palmer, CIAT, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Fracking: UK’s Only Shale Gas Wells To Be Sealed And Abandoned” • The only two shale gas wells in the UK are to be abandoned after the industry regulator ordered them sealed. The Lancashire wells have not been used since 2019 after test drilling was suspended due to earth tremors and the government halted shale gas extraction in England. [BBC]

¶ “Glut Of Solar Panels In 2025” • Rethink Energy predicts that there will be a surge of polysilicon production capacity coming online in the next two years, leading to a glut of solar panels by 2025. The solar panel production capacity is expected to exceed 1,000 GW per year by 2030. The initial wave of manufacturing facilities is to come in 2025.  [CleanTechnica]

Rooftop solar systems (Mischa Frankl, Unsplash)

¶ “India To Replace Diesel With Renewables In Agricultural Sector” • Federal power minister R K Singh said India will replace diesel with renewable energy to achieve zero diesel use in the agricultural sector by 2024. Singh laid emphasis on the need for a state-specific agency dedicated to energy conservation and efficiency. [Macau Business]

¶ “Offshore Wind Farm Gets Go-Ahead Amid ‘Pressing Need’ For Renewable Energy” • UK Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has approved Vattenfall’s 1.8-GW Norfolk Vanguard wind farm off the Norfolk coast, ruling that the need for renewable energy outweighs concern over the “substantial harm arising from landscape and visual issues.” [Yahoo News UK]

Offshore wind farm (Zoltan Tasi, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Trump-Appointed Judge Bars Biden Administration From Using Key Climate Metric” • A district judge in the Western District of Louisiana issued an injunction that prevents the Biden administration from using what’s known as the “social cost of carbon” in decisions around oil and gas drilling on public land or in rules that govern fossil fuel emissions. [CNN]

¶ “Ohio Can Lead The Electric Vehicle And Clean Energy Economy” • Driven primarily by projected EV demand, the global lithium-ion battery industry and its supply chain have committed more than $600 billion in funding towards launching new EV models. A report highlights the advantages Ohio has for attracting investment. [CleanTechnica]

Ohio EV manufacturing (Image courtesy of Lordstown)

¶ “US DOE Aims $2.91 Billion At EV Batteries And Energy Storage” • The US DOE is letting loose with a new round of $2.91 billion in funding for a soup-to-nuts overhaul of the lithium supply chain for EV batteries and other energy storage systems. It has more reasons to do this than just to help save the planet from catastrophic climate change. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Mother Of All Agrivoltaics Projects Will Link Solar Canopies, Irrigation Canals” • One example of how farming combines with solar PVs is the Turlock Irrigation District in California, which just announced a new agrivoltaics project that could give the state multiple gigawatts of solar power, by outfitting irrigation canals with solar panels. [CleanTechnica]

Irrigation canal (Courtesy of Turlock Irrigation District)

¶ “PG&E Customers Receive 93% Of Their Electricity From Greenhouse Gas-Free Resources” • PG&E estimates that 50% of its customers’ electricity in 2021 came from eligible-renewable resources including biopower, geothermal, small hydroelectric, solar, and wind power. The figure is 93% when nuclear and large hydroelectric power are included. [Yahoo Finance]

¶ “Duke Energy Plans To Exit All Coal, Double Renewables” • Duke Energy Corp intends to close all of its coal plants by 2035 and more than double its renewable capacity by 2030 as part of a massive clean energy push. Duke expects to spend over $130 billion in the next decade on projects and investments, 80% of which will go toward cleaner sources. [E&E News]

Photovoltaic panels (Gabriel, Unsplash)

¶ “Energy Department Invests $6 Billion Into Nuclear Energy Program, Including 4 Nuclear Locations In Virginia” • The DOE announced a $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit Program to support US nuclear reactors. According to the DOE, nuclear power now provides 52% of the nation’s carbon-free electricity. (The figure shows the DOE is not using its own latest data.) [WAVY.com]

¶ “IG: ‘Fraudulent’ Parts At US Nuclear Plants Pose Safety Risk” • A report by the NRC Inspector General says that “counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect items” believed to be in US reactors “present nuclear safety and security concerns that could have serious consequences for nuclear power plant equipment required to perform a safety function.” [E&E News]

Have a comprehensively choice day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Gas Crunch Causes Electricity Crisis Despite Record Cheap Clean Energy. Time To Create A Green Energy Pool?” • In the UK and similar nations, the gas crisis is pushing up electricity prices because the wholesale electricity market uses the most expensive power to set the price. Renewables keep getting cheaper, and it’s time to change that old model. [Energy Post]

Offshore wind turbines (Martin Pettitt, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “The Engineers Battling To Stop Global Warming Ruining Roads” • Since the floods of 2010-2011, Queensland has used a process called foamed bitumen stabilization to protect its roads. Small amounts of air and water are injected into hot bitumen, the sticky dark substance often used for road surfaces. That does a lot to protect the roads. [BBC]

¶ “Direct Air Capture And The Climate Long Game” • Direct Air Capture is not a magic bullet. Engineered CO₂ capture, including such solutions as direct air carbon capture and sequestration, could nevertheless provide a critical backstop against worsening climate change. The Rocky Mountain Institute has a new insight brief on the subject. [CleanTechnica]

Direct Air Capture (Photo by Climeworks)

¶ “Rare Earth Elements Await In Waste” • Rare earth elements are often hard to get and hard to recycle, but a flash of intuition led Rice University scientists toward a possible solution. Chemist James Tour reported the lab successfully extracted valuable rare earth elements from waste at yields high enough to resolve issues for manufacturers. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Wooden Batteries Are Hitting The Market – Is This The Future Of Clean Energy?” • Finnish designers Stora Enso have built a production facility costing €10 million that will create renewable bio-based carbon by turning trees into batteries. This will be done with lignin, which is commonly derived from wood but is abundant in all vascular plants. [Euronews]

Lignin to replace non-renewable graphite (Stora Enso image)

World:

¶ “China To Focus On Gobi Desert For New Solar, Wind Power Bases” • China’s new renewable energy plans will focus on the Gobi Desert along with other desert regions, as it speeds up the construction of huge new wind farms and solar power bases and boosts its transmission capabilities, regulators said in a new policy document. [CNA]

¶ “Australia Lists Koala As Endangered Species” • Australia listed the koala as an endangered species across most of its east coast, after a dramatic decline in numbers with rapidly diminishing habitats and climate change. The federal government said the listing was for Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory. [BBC]

Koala (Bob Walker, Unsplash)

¶ “Macron Calls For ‘French Nuclear Renaissance'” • The French president announced a plan to build at least six new plants by 2050, despite enormous cost overruns and decadelong delays in completing a prototype. He also touted massive investments in renewable energy. He is facing a presidential election in April, and he is campaigning. [DW]

¶ “Rajasthan Signs Pacts For Over 90 GW Of Renewable Energy Projects ” • State-owned power producers THDC India, NTPC, NHPC, and SJVN committed to building 10 GW of renewable energy capacity each. Among private firms, Reliance plans 20 GW, and Axis Energy Group plans 28 GW of solar projects and a 4-GW solar PV factory. [pv magazine India]

Thar Desert (sushmita balasubramani, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “What’s A Gas Utility Without Gas?” • The Philadelphia City Council is holding a public hearing to discuss the future of Philadelphia Gas Works, the country’s largest municipally owned gas utility. The hearing seeks to find an answer to a question: How does Philadelphia successfully prepare PGW for a future that will not use fossil fuels? [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Winter Sports Are On Thin Ice – This Snowboarder Wants To Preserve Their Future” • If global greenhouse gas emissions remain on the current trajectory, by the end of the century, only one of 21 Winter Olympics locations used so far will have enough snow and ice to reliably host the Games. Jeremy Jones wants to do something about that. [CNN]

Jeremy Jones (Ming T Poon, Protect Our Winters)

¶ “33% Of Americans Exposed To Health-Threatening Weed Killer – New Study” • One out of three people in a large survey showed signs of exposure to a pesticide called 2,4-D, a study published by researchers at the George Washington University showed. Human exposure to the chemical has been rising as its agricultural use has increased. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Concentrating Solar Power Research Heats Up At NREL” • Concentrating solar power has long held promise as a renewable energy technology. CSP uses the power of the sun by heating and storing an inexpensive medium such as sand, rocks, or molten salt for on-demand energy. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is researching it. [CleanTechnica]

Employee working on heliostats (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)

¶ “Nine states have committed to 100% clean energy. Now Twelve states are vying to be next” • Twelve Environment America state groups have active campaigns for 100% renewable energy. The national network helped get nine states committed to 100% clean energy. Now, it’s urging more states to get on the road to 100% renewable. [Environment America]

¶ “TVA Unveils Major New Nuclear Program, First SMR At Clinch River Site” • The Tennessee Valley Authority will invest in a major program that will explore the construction of multiple advanced nuclear reactors. The utility will be starting with a GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor at its Clinch River site in Tennessee. [POWER Magazine]

Have a totally cool day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Giant Donut-Shaped Machine Just Proved A Near-Limitless Clean Power Source Is Possible” • Scientists in the UK announced that they were able to generate a record 59 megajoules (16.4 kWh) of sustained fusion energy over five seconds. (The article says the fuel, deuterium and tritium, can be extracted from seawater, but that is not true. Tritium can’t be.) [CNN]

Torus Hall, where the JET tokamak machine lies (UKAEA image)

¶ “Scientists Discover A Surprising Structural Change In Metal Oxide” • Scientists from the Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Alabama, and UCLA made a surprising discovery about structural changes that occur when vanadium dioxide is cooled below its metal-to-insulator transition temperature. This has practical implications. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Building A Solar-Powered Future” • Technology costs for solar power are expected to continue their decline, but in the coming decades, the evolution of solar energy technologies could be defined more by how they interact with such energy technologies as wind and storage. This is a key finding in Solar Futures Study, published by the US DOE. [CleanTechnica]

Renewable energy (NREL image)

World:

¶ “Oil Could ‘Easily’ Hit $120 If Russia-Ukraine Crisis Escalates, JPMorgan Warns” • Oil prices could soar to $120 a barrel or more if Russia’s crude exports are derailed by tensions with Ukraine, projections from JPMorgan say. The forecast underscores how a potential invasion of Ukraine would cause wide-ranging ripple effects throughout the world. [CNN]

¶ “Renewables Auctions To Be Held Annually In Green Energy Push” • The UK government re-stated its faith in green power with a decision it says will create a steady stream of renewable energy projects. Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced that auctions to supply low-carbon electricity will now happen every year, instead of every two. [BBC]

Offshore wind farm (Carl Raw, Unsplash)

¶ “Plugin Vehicles Have 23% Of New Car Sales In Netherlands In January” • In the context of a falling overall market (-11% YOY) in the Netherlands, battery EVs surged in January (+181% YOY, to 3,076 registrations, or 10% market share). They had their best January ever. Meanwhile, plugin hybrids had a 13% market share, at 4,052 registrations. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Electric Cars Experience ‘Breakthrough Moment’ Led By Tesla, According To New York Times” • The auto industry is poised for some big changes in 2022. Jack Ewing and Neal E. Boudette at The New York Times said, “Battery-powered cars are having a breakthrough moment.” They compared it to Ford’s introduction of the Model T. [CleanTechnica]

Model T Ford (Philip Schroeder, Unsplash)

¶ “Gas-Fired Power Falls To Lowest Level Since 2005 As The Coalition Pushes Ahead With Its ‘Gas-Fired Recovery’” • The exponential rise of renewable energy led to it providing over 30% of Australia’s electricity in 2021. Meanwhile, gas-fired power fell to its lowest level in 16 years, despite the funding it gets from the Morrison government. [The Guardian]

¶ “Radioactive Rockfish Caught Near Fukushima Nuclear Plant Prompts Japan To Suspend Shipments” • Japan has ordered the suspension of shipments of black rockfish caught off Fukushima prefecture after tests on a haul late last month showed radiation levels that measured fourteen times the legal limit for human consumption. [South China Morning Post]

Black rockfish (Chad King, public domain)

US:

¶ “US Solar Funding Notice For Small Innovative Solar PV And CSP Projects” • The US DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office announced the Small Innovative Projects in Solar 2022. The funding program for PVs and Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power will award up to $5 million for projects that seek to fund innovative R&D. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Home Collapsed Into The Ocean As Rising Seas Eat Away At The North Carolina Coast” • Another beachfront home in North Carolina collapsed into the ocean, officials with the National Park Service said, as tides get higher and rising sea levels eat away at the coast. Recent windy weather has produced waves that are higher than normal. [CNN]

Wrecked home (Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NPS)

¶ “Environment North Carolina Kicks Off Statewide Renewable Energy Campaign” • Environment North Carolina announced a campaign for 100% renewable energy in the state: As “Governor (Roy) Cooper and state officials set priorities and plans for the new year, ENC sets sights on taking steps to transition the state to 100% renewable energy.” [Carolina Coast Online]

¶ “Electric Vehicles And Hybrids Surpass 10% Of US Light-Duty Vehicle Sales” • Hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and EV sales in the US have increased in recent months as sales of non-hybrid vehicles fueled by gasoline or diesel decreased. In the fourth quarter of 2021, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and EVs together accounted for 11% of US light-duty vehicle sales. [CleanTechnica]

Quarterly sales by powertrain (US EIA image)

¶ “Hawaiian Electric Says 38% Of Energy Used Last Year Came From Renewables” • Hawaiian Electric’s consolidated renewable portfolio standard refers to renewable energy used by customers as a percentage of total utility sales. In 2021, it was at 38.4%, up from 34.5% in 2020. The renewables come from Oahu, Hawaii island, and Maui County. [Honolulu Star-Advertiser]

¶ “US Senate Committee Holds Hearing On Nuclear Legislation” • The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on two measures related to development of nuclear technologies and to regulation of facilities and waste sites. Sen Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the ranking committee member, introduced one of the bills. [WV MetroNews]

Have a properly nifty day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “What Is Nord Stream 2 And Can Biden Kill It?” • President Joe Biden said that natural gas will not flow through Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany if Moscow orders an invasion of Ukraine. It is a $11 billion undersea pipeline between Russia and Germany. Russia could use it as a coercive tool, and the Germans don’t want to be controled. [CNN]

Pipe-laying ship Solitaire (PR Allseas, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “The EV Transition Requires Infrastructure That Inspires Confidence And Powers All Communities” • From the largest metropolitan areas in the US to rural communities in Georgia, we need cleaner, more affordable, and efficient transportation options if we are going to solve climate change in a way that uplifts communities. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “No Silver-Bullet Solutions For Saving Used Planet” • With much of the planet already “used-up”, the world has hard choices to make over how to use land in the most sustainable and effective way. That is the take-home message from fifty leading experts on why land matters in tackling a host of existential challenges. [BBC]

Austrian landscape (Dimitry Anikin, Unsplash)

¶ “Fraunhofer ISE Invents Silicon Recycling Process For Solar Panels” • Frauhnofer ISE is one of Germany’s premier research institutions. In a press release, it says it has devised a way to recapture the silicon in old solar panels and reprocess it to be reused to manufacture new solar cells. The process can be used on an industrial scale. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Huge Profits At BP And Shell Revive Calls For Windfall Tax To Tackle Fuel Poverty” • In earnings reports, BP posted an annual profit of almost $12.9 billion, and Shell reported a profit of $19.3 billion after what it described as a “momentous” year. Meanwhile, households are suffering energy poverty. This has people calling for a tax on windfall profits. [CNN]

Pump jack (Jeff W, Unsplash)

¶ “Why Uganda Is Investing In Oil Despite Pressures To Go Green” • Vast oil reserves lie beneath Uganda’s Lake Albert and a fledgling oil business is going for them. There are environmental concerns and questions over whether it is too late for an oil boom, but it seems that change is coming to the wide valley floor, below the steep escarpment. [BBC]

¶ “Electric Triumph TE-1 Motorcycle Revealed” • A prototype of the Williams Advanced Engineering-developed, Triumph TE-1 electric motorcycle has finally been revealed, with the completed demonstrator now fully ready for live testing and final styling from the Triumph motorcycles team. It will be capable of 80 kW (107 hp) of continuous power. [CleanTechnica]

Electric Triumph TE-1 (WAE, Triumph)

¶ “January German Plugin EV Share 22% – Fiat 500 In Top Spot” • Germany, Europe’s largest auto market, and the world’s second largest plugin market after China, saw plugin electric vehicle share of 21.6% in January, almost flat year-on-year. January plugin registrations suffered a hangover after December’s end-of-year emissions compliance push. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Energy Secretary Ties Renewables To World Peace” • The greatest peace plan ever could be based on renewable energy, US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in her opening remarks at a US-EU Energy Council Ministerial this week. The issue of energy security has been highlighted due to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. [Oil Price]

Secretary Granholm addressing reporters (US DOE image)

¶ “Serbia’s Energy Security Plan Targets 50% Renewables Share By 2040” • Serbia plans to build solar power plants, wind farms, and pumped-storage hydropower plants, but also gas-fired power plants, energy storage batteries, and hydrogen facilities for its energy transition. Its Coal-fired power plants would all be closed by 2050. [Balkan Green Energy News]

US:

¶ “US Army releases first climate strategy with goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050” • The US Army released its first climate strategy with goals to reduce its greenhouse gas pollution by 50% by 2030 and attain “net-zero” emissions by 2050. The US military has been impacted by extreme weather in the past few years. [CNN]

Lunch at McDonalds (Konrad Ciężki, Pexels)

¶ “Founding A Federal Emissions Center – Tracking Methane Emissions Better” • The Biden administration has released a new set of actions for tackling super-polluting methane emissions. Their plan includes the formation of an interagency working group to coordinate greenhouse gas measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ford E-Transit Deliveries To Customers Have Begun” • Ford E-Transit electric work vans are leaving the factory in Kansas City and are on their way to 300 business and commercial customers. More than 10,000 have already been ordered. Ford CEO Jim Farley says his company intends on being the Tesla of electric commercial vehicles. [CleanTechnica]

Ford E-Transit (Image courtesy of Ford)

¶ “Environmental Groups Praise Xcel Energy’s Plans To Close Coal Plants, Bolster Renewables” • Xcel Energy’s plan to retire all of its coal plants in the next eight years while building out its renewable energy capacity got unanimous approval from state regulators. It would, however, extend the operating life of the Monticello nuclear plant. [Bring Me The News]

¶ “Justice Signs Bill To End Nuclear Power Ban” • West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has signed a bill to repeal the state’s ban on nuclear power. It lifts a 26-year moratorium on the construction of nuclear power facilities in the state. The ban was intended to protect the coal industry in a state that has 88% of its electricity coming from coal. [WVPB]

Have an incredibly gratifying day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “The Wacky Untaxed World Of Jet Fuel Is Coming To An End” • For something that produces 2-5% of global CO₂ emissions depending on how you count it and who you ask, you’d think that aviation fuel would be a commodity that every country taxed heavily, especially more rational entities like the EU. But that’s just not true. [CleanTechnica]

Electron’s 4-passenger plane (Courtesy of Electron Aviation)

¶ “The Hidden Costs Of Keeping Gas Plants Online In Texas And Beyond” • We saw it in Texas last winter, and we’ve seen in many other cases, in weather cold and hot: Fossil power plants are very vulnerable to extreme weather and can fail to deliver just when the grid – and people trying to stay safe in their homes – need their electricity most. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Calculating Better Solid-State Batteries” • The Solid-State Battery Performance Analyzer and Calculator, or SolidPAC, can help researchers who have developed a promising new material but are not quite sure how to design a successful cell. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Ilias Belharouak said, “It builds practicality into the search for better batteries.” [CleanTechnica]

SolidPAC graphic (Andy Sproles, ORNL, US DOE)

World:

¶ “Why The Dutch Embrace Floating Homes” • With sea levels rising and supercharged storms cause waters swelling, floating neighborhoods offer an experiment in flood defense that could allow coastal communities to better withstand climate change. In the land-scarce but densely populated Netherlands, demand for such homes is growing. [BBC]

¶ “Nissan To End Internal Combustion Engine Development … Sort Of” • ArsTechnica says Nissan will stop developing internal combustion engines, except for the US market, where demand for gasoline-powered engines is insatiable, particularly for large SUVs and pickup trucks. Engines that meet EU emissions levels are too expensive. [CleanTechnica]

Nissan concept (Nissan image, cropped)

¶ “UK Starts 2022 Above 20% Plugin EV Share – May End Close To 50%” • The UK saw plugin electric vehicle share hit 20.4% in January 2022, up from 13.7% in January 2021. Full battery electrics almost doubled their share year-on-year, to 12.5%. Diesels continued their retirement walk, with just 5.2% share, from 12.3% year-on-year. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Contact Energy Ups Size Of Tauhara Geothermal Project To 168 MW” • New Zealand power company Contact Energy reports that the development of the new Tauhara geothermal power station near Taupo is progressing well. The company now expects the previously planned capacity of 152 MW can be increased to 168 MW. [ThinkGeoEnergy]

Te Huka geothermal plant at Tauhara (Contact Energy image)

¶ “Gencell Launches Revolutionary Off-Grid Ammonia-To-Power Solution For Mobile Operators” • GenCell Energy, based in Israel, is a provider of power systems fueled by hydrogen and ammonia. It is launching its GenCell FOX™ off-grid power system, which generates power on-demand from ammonia, for mobile operators. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “UK Regulators Approve China’s UK HPR1000 Design” • The UK HPR1000 reactor is suitable to build in the UK, the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency concluded. It is of the Hualong One design. A subsidiary of EDF and China General Nuclear, General Nuclear Services, proposes to build it in Bradwell, England. [World Nuclear News]

Cutaway of the UK HPR1000 design (CGN image)

US:

¶ “Preparing For Category 6 Hurricanes, A New Facility Will Test Winds Of 200 MPH And Storm Surge” • The 12-fan Wall of Wind at Florida International University is used as a test site for engineering against tornadoes, hurricanes, and other types of windstorms. It can generate winds of 160 MPH. Unfortunately, that isn’t enough anymore. [CNN]

¶ “Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy Calls For 80% Of Railbelt Power To Be Renewable By 2040” • Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has introduced new legislation that would require 80% of the Railbelt’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2040, with penalties for electric companies that fail to meet the requirement. [Anchorage Daily News]

Passenger train in Alaska (Luke Jones, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Hydropower Turbine Proposal Would Cut Power Costs For Three Cities” • Three cities in Northern California may see a change in their energy bill if a proposal to buy power from a renewable energy company is approved. The South San Joaquin Irrigation District’s water treatment plant would use hydropower for cheaper electricity. [Good Day Sacramento]

¶ “Brookfield Renewable Adds 7 GW Energy Storage To Pipeline” • Renewables owner and operator Brookfield Renewable tripled its US development pipeline to 31 GW through the $650 million acquisition of clean power developer Urban Grid. The pipeline of Urban Grid includes 13 GW of solar and 7 GW of energy storage in twelve states. [Energy Storage News]

Solar array (Urban Grid image)

¶ “More Cities Transitioning To 100% Renewable Energy!” • Los Angeles County, Beverly Hills, and Redondo Beach decided to go up to 100% renewable energy as the default rate beginning in 2022. By the end of this year, more than 2 million people will be receiving 100% renewable energy in Los Angeles and Ventura counties! [Sierra Club Angeles Chapter]

¶ “Governor Introduces Legislation To Spur ‘Micro’ Nuclear Reactors In State” • Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy introduced legislation that would streamline the state’s process for approval of siting for small nuclear reactors. The bill would facilitate use in Alaska of “micro-reactors,” a generation of very small reactors now under development. [Anchorage Press]

Have an outlandishly congenial day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Is California Becoming Anti-Solar?” • Is California becoming an anti-solar state? It sure seems that way considering its recent desire to start charging homeowners with solar $8 per kW. The state’s utility commission also wants to cut its rooftop solar energy incentives after many years of success. There has been a tremendous backlash. [CleanTechnica]

Googleplex solar rooftops (Steve Jurvetson, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Hydropower For A Resilient Grid – Why We Need It” • The US power grid is more vulnerable than ever before because of a shift in power sources and an uptick in natural disasters. When part of the grid goes out, it can cause a ripple effect across entire regions if not quickly corrected. Hydropower is a valuable resource for addressing that problem. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Making Designer Crystals? It’s Easier With A New Targeted Particle Bonding Strategy” • Colloids are microparticles evenly distributed in a fluid. Crystals made from colloids are valuable in a wide range of applications such as batteries, fuel cells, sensors, solar cells, and catalysts. Scientists have learned how to use them to form a crystal structure. [CleanTechnica]

Crystals made from colloids (Image courtesy of Energy.Gov)

¶ “Corals Doomed Even If Global Climate Goals Met: Study” • An average increase of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels would see more than 99% of the world’s coral reefs unable to recover from ever more frequent marine heat waves, they reported in the journal PLOS Climate. A 2°C increase means mortality will reach 100%, according to the study. [Phys.org]

World:

¶ “Cyclone Batsirai: Whole Villages Swept Away In Madagascar” • At least ten people have been killed and nearly 50,000 were displaced after Cyclone Batsirai brought strong winds and rain to Madagascar. Batsirai – the second major storm in two weeks – made landfall on the east coast, with gusts of 235 km/h (146 mph) and high waves hitting coastal areas. [BBC]

Track of Cyclone Batsirai (Meow, placed into public domain)

¶ “Climate Change: Top Companies Exaggerating Their Progress – Study” • Google, Amazon, Ikea, Apple, Nestle, and other big companies are failing to meet their own targets on tackling climate change, according to a study of 25 corporations. They also routinely exaggerate or misreport their progress, the New Climate Institute report says. [BBC]

¶ “Investors Submit 34 GW Of Wind, Solar, And Storage For Renewables Zone In Australia” • The state government of New South Wales has reported a “huge” response to the registration of interest process for the South-West Renewable Energy Zone. Over 34 GW of wind, solar PV, and energy storage proposals were received, after 3 GW had been sought. [PV Magazine]

Limondale 349-MW (DC) solar farm (RWE image)

¶ “GE Renewable Energy Announces New Renewable Hybrids Factory In India” • GE Renewable Energy announced that it has opened a new renewable hybrids factory near Chennai in India, for the manufacture of Flexinverter and Flexreservoir systems. The factory will be able to fully produce and integrate systems at the site. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “Operating Coal-Fired Power Plants More Expensive Than Switching To Renewables – Research” • A paper by Ravi Silva, Director of the Advanced Technology Institute at the University of Surrey, says solar energy typically has a cost comparable to or lower than other energy sources, including coal and nuclear, even as far north as Britain. [Mining.com]

West Burton power station (Richard Croft, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Ratch Australia To Build 70-MW Solar Park In Victoria” • Ratch Australia, an Australian electricity generation company and a subsidiary of Thailand power producer Ratch Group, has secured planning permission for construction of a 70-MW solar park in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley. The Morwell Solar Farm is to be operational by 2024. [Energy Digital]

¶ “The Opposition Demands New Nuclear Power” • For the first time, the party leaders of the four Swedish political parties are now writing a joint debate article in which they draw up the guidelines for a new energy policy. The parties agree to lift the current ban on building new reactors at locations other than the existing nuclear power plants. [California18]

Nuclear power plant (Lukáš Lehotský, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Boulder Sued Big Oil For Climate Damages, Then The Marshall Fire Happened” • Four years ago, Boulder, Colorado, sued ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy for climate change-related damages and adaptation expenses. They estimated the damage at over $100 million by 2050. They vastly overestimated the time and underestimated the price. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “California Utilities Shutting Off Power For Fewer People, But Too Many Still In The Dark” • The practice of shutting off power to prevent utility equipment from starting wildfires is much less prevalent in the news recently. But is that because the events are now less frequent, or have Californians just become accustomed to power outages? [CleanTechnica]

Dixie Fire (Joe Bradshaw, Bureau of Land Management)

¶ “New Gas Plant For Electrical Co-Ops Draws Fire, Highlights Bumpy Path To Renewable Energy” • A gas-fired power plant proposed for Iberville Parish, Louisiana, is an important part of a plan by five rural Louisiana electrical cooperatives to provide reliable, cheap electricity through 2045, backers say. Critics say it would lock in emissions until 2045. [The Advocate]

¶ “Elon Musk Agrees With Keeping The California Nuclear Power Plant Open” • CEO and billionaire Elon Musk stated he agrees to keep a nuclear power plant in California open amidst the issues it faces with continuing its service. Musk agreed that the nuclear plant should not close down but instead focus on continuing its service for the public. [Tech Times]

Have a reliably fabulous day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Winter Olympics: Will The Beijing Games Be ‘Green And Clean’?” • China has promised to deliver a “green and clean” Winter Olympics. Organisers say they prioritized protecting native species, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting down on resources used. Extraordinary as efforts have been, there have been criticisms. [BBC]

Two-man bobsled (Rowan Simpson, Unsplash)

¶ “Big Problems With Small Nuclear Reactor Proposals For Montana” • For the last 44 years a successful Citizens’ Initiative banned nuclear power in Montana unless approved by the voters. But Republican majorities in the 2021 Montana legislature repealed the initiative and Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed the bill into law. [Daily Montanan]

Science and Technology:

¶ “MIT Scientists Create 2-Dimensional Polymers As Strong As Steel” • Scientists at MIT have been trying for two decades to make a 2-dimensional polymer, something that all their theories and models suggested was possible but could never be actually created in the lab. Now, it seems they have one. It is stronger than steel and as light as plastic. [CleanTechnica]

MIT 2-dimensional polymer (MIT image)

¶ “Aquamarine Solar Project – Smart From Start To Finish” • Among the many solar projects in the country, the Aquamarine project is notable for its innovative development model. It’s part of a 20,000-acre master-planned solar park on fallowed and salt-contaminated agricultural lands in the Westlands Water District in California’s Central Valley. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Can ‘Green’ Ammonia Be A Climate Fix?” • In Minnesota, there’s a research farm peppered with wind turbines that, when in full swing, boasts an astonishingly low carbon footprint. The wind powers a chemical plant that makes ammonia, which can not only be spread as fertilizer under the turbines, but also can be used for fuel, free of CO₂ emissions. [WIRED]

Farm (Randy Fath, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Saving The Night Sky: New Zealand’s Craziest Experiment Yet?” • Increasing light pollution has proven negative effects on human health and nocturnal wildlife. New Zealand has not only starry nights of exceptional quality but a growing appetite for dark sky conservation. Now, it also has a plan to become the world’s first dark sky nation. [BCC]

¶ “Iceland To End Whaling From 2024 Amid Controversy And Falling Demand” • Iceland says it will end whaling from 2024 amid dwindling demand and continuing controversy. Svandís Svavarsdóttir, Iceland’s Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, wrote that whale hunting had lost much of its economic significance in recent years. [CNN]

Humpback whale (Pixabay, Pexels)

¶ “Electric Cars Help Cut UK Transportation Emissions By 11.2%” • Sales of electric cars, including plug-in hybrids, surged in the UK last year, to 12% of the new car market. That’s good news, even if it is far behind the EV sales records being set by Norway. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders claims average new car emissions fell 11.2%. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “This Renewable Energy Stock Has A Hidden Power Source” • Brookfield Renewable has invested heavily in expanding its portfolio of renewable energy resources over the years, especially to grow its wind and solar energy platforms. Brookfield doesn’t want investors to overlook the importance of its hydroelectric business, however. [The Motley Fool]

Water reservoir (Kelly L, Pexels)

US:

¶ “US DOE Announces $20 Million To Lower Costs Of Geothermal Drilling” • The US DOE announced up to $20 million in funding to lower the cost of developing geothermal energy by demonstrating faster drilling technologies to shorten the time it takes to develop projects overall. Geothermal drilling can exceed 50% of a project’s costs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Wisconsin Wants To Open Up Electricity Sales For EV Charging, But Restrict Solar-Powered EV Chargers” • Two bills that focus on solar-powered EV chargers are going through the Wisconsin state legislature. Both emphasize selling electricity by the kWh to EVs, but one bill would require that all the electricity come from an electric utility. [CleanTechnica]

Solar-powered EV charger (iSun image)

¶ “BMW Gilds Zero Emission Mobility Lily: Free EV Charging, Low-Carbon Steel” • BMW North America announced a free new EV charging program to sweeten the deal for EV buyers. And, as BMW customers may want to buy larger EVs, BMW has makes that more ecologically friendly by use of its new low carbon steel initiatives. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Bill Would Increase Rhode Island’s Renewable Energy Standard” • Rhode Island’s state lawmakers are eyeing increases in the Renewable Energy Standard, a move that could prove a windfall for renewable energy projects. Under H7277, the standard would be raised incrementally every year until it hits 100% after 10 years. [ecoRI News]

Have a good old-fashioned perfect day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Nuclear Power: CO₂ Fix Or Cost Disaster?” • It is an issue the industry has not properly addressed. The costs for two reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia are up dramatically. In fact, the actual costs of 75 of the more than 90 existing nuclear power reactors in the US exceeded the initially estimated costs of the units by over 200%, according to the US DOE. [E&E News]

Plant Vogtle in Georgia (Georgia Power image)

¶ “New South Wales Working To Support Its 50% Electric Vehicle Market Share Target” • If you don’t have chargers, people won’t buy EVs. We need the ecosystem to support the uptake of the vehicles. If New South Wales aims to achieve 50% of new vehicle sales being EVs by 2030, the state government has to support a fast charging system. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Sustainable Construction: Modern Approaches To Traditional Practices” • As the mainstream construction techniques have progressed in speed and cost, there is a growing realization that continuing in the direction of traditional practices is having negative impacts on our environment, our communities, and our quality of life. [CleanTechnica]

Construction (Etienne Girardet, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “January Sees France’s Plugin EVs Grow Share By 50%” • In France, Europe’s second largest auto market, the January plugin electric vehicle share was 17.6%, up from 11.6% year-on-year. Full battery EVs doubled their share of the market to almost 10%. The overall auto market volume was down 33% from pre-pandemic seasonal norms. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Airlines Call For End To Loopholes In Carbon Market And Back European Climate Measures” • Four airlines and clean mobility group T&E are calling for equal rules to apply to all flights departing from European airports, regardless of their destination, in order for European measures to decarbonize aviation by 2050. [CleanTechnica]

Jet plane (Call Me Fred, unsplash)

¶ “US Waives Sanctions On Iran’s Civil Atomic Program In Bid To Advance Nuke Talks” • The Biden administration restored some sanctions relief to Iran’s atomic program as talks aimed at salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal enter a critical phase. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed several sanctions waivers related to Iran’s civilian nuclear activities. [The Times of Israel]

¶ “Australia’s Largest Microgrid Goes Online” • The Western Australian coastal town of Kalbarri can now be powered by a 100% renewable energy system of rooftop solar and windpower with battery storage. Western Power, a state government-owned utility, confirmed that the state’s largest renewable microgrid has been commissioned. [PV Magazine]

Kalbarri microgrid (Western Power image)

US:

¶ “Utilities’ Carbon-Reduction Goals Will Have Little Impact On US CO₂ Emissions” • Executing several plans announced by US power utilities to reduce CO₂ emissions would have a minor effect on US energy-related CO₂ reductions, according to the analysis published in Annual Energy Outlook 2021 by the Energy Information Administration. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Two Colorado Companies Plan Vehicle-To-Home Charging Systems” • Vehicle-to-home, or V2H, sounds like such a simple concept. A battery and solar panels run on DC, however, and a home usually runs on AC. To make everything work, you need an inverter that changes AC to DC and back again. Two Colorado companies are working on that. [CleanTechnica]

Emporia EV charger (Emporia image)

¶ “Governor Introduces Bills Aiming For Renewable Energy Standards” • Governor Mike Dunleavy introduced identical bills to the Alaska House and Senate that seek to promote “energy independence” and an emphasis on renewable energy. A press release said an NREL study showed a figure of 80% sustainable energy is “highly achievable.” [Alaska’s News Source]

¶ “The Market, Not Climate Concerns, Is Driving Mississippi’s Slow Push For Renewable Energy” • Mississippi, where natural gas dominates the energy supply, may soon turn a corner in its transition to renewable energy. But despite the probable future impacts of climate change, the state is letting the market, not emissions, dictate that shift. [Mississippi Today]

Solar facility in Mississippi (Mississippi Power image)

¶ “DTE Seeks 500 MW Of Clean Power In Michigan” • DTE Energy is to add new renewable energy projects totaling about 500 MW in Michigan because of the continued growth and popularity of its MIGreenPower voluntary renewable energy program. MIGreenPower has 35 industrial, 450 small business and over 48,000 residential customers. [reNews]

¶ “New Initiative To Help Modernize Puerto Rico’s Power Grid” • The US DOE joined the Departments of Homeland Security and Housing and Urban Development to sign an MOU with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It starts a with a locally tailored, community-driven roadmap to help Puerto Rico meet its target of 100% renewable electricity. [Energy Live News]

Have an outrageously auspicious day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Green Olympics: Test Case For China And Carbon Neutrality” • China can use the winter Olympics as a way to show the many millions of people who will watch the games that it is serious about achieving its ambitious climate goals. China has nearly half of total capacity of renewable energy that has been installed in the world. [CleanTechnica]

Guangling County wind farm (Hahaheditor12667, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Ice That Took Roughly 2,000 Years To Form On Mt Everest Has Melted In Around 25” • The highest glacier on the world’s tallest mountain is losing decades worth of ice every year because of human-induced climate change, a study shows. Ice that took around 2,000 years to form on the South Col Glacier has melted in around 25 years. [CNN]

¶ “Does Renewable Energy Threaten Efforts To Conserve Biodiversity On Land?” • In our study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we suggest that, while conflicts between renewables and protected areas do occur, overlap need not be as severe as previously suggested, with appropriate policy and regulatory controls. [Carbon Brief]

Wildebeest migration (Jorge Tung, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Satellites Map Huge Methane Plumes From Oil And Gas” • Huge plumes of the warming gas methane have been mapped globally for the first time from oil and gas fields using satellites. Plugging these leaks would be an important step in buying extra time to curb climate change. The leaks are thought to be mostly unintended. [BBC]

¶ “European Oil Facilities Hit By Cyber-Attacks” • Multiple oil transport and storage companies across Europe are dealing with cyber-attacks. IT systems have been disrupted at Oiltanking in Germany, SEA-Invest in Belgium, and Evos in the Netherlands. In total dozens of terminals with oil storage and transport across the world have been affected. [BBC]

Oil terminal (Oiltanking image)

¶ “EU Member States To Sue Brussels For Classifying Fossil Fuel Gas And Nuclear Power As ‘Green Energy’” • EU member states are to take legal action against the European Commission after it decided to count natural gas and nuclear power as green energy. The EU’s executive controversially included the two fuels in its “taxonomy” this week. [The Independent]

¶ “UK Drivers Cut Fuel Costs 69% Switching To EVs From Petrol Or Diesel Cars” • UK drivers are set to save 68.6% of their annual fuel costs when making the switch from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles, research shows. The study was done by analysts at Your Electrical Supplies, Service, and Solutions (YESSS Electrical). [CleanTechnica]

Cost per mile (Image courtesy of YESSS Electrical)

US:

¶ “Democrats Call For Biden Officials To Limit US Natural Gas Exports Because Of Rising Home Heating Costs” • Eleven US Senators called for the Biden administration to curb overseas shipments of natural gas as Americans struggle with home heating sticker shock this winter. Higher natural gas prices are driving heating costs up sharply. [CNN]

¶ “EPA, White House Warn Louis Dejoy To Halt Plan To Replace USPS Fleet With Gas-Powered Trucks” • The White House and EPA blasted the US Postal Service for its decision to replace 90% of its aging vehicle fleet with gas-powered trucks, rather than EVs. The current USPS plan would have only 10% of its next generation delivery vehicles be electric. [CNN]

Next generation USPS delivery truck (USPS image)

¶ “81 Tesla Megapacks Help Texas Keep The Grid Stabilized” • Tesla is helping Texas with 81 Megapacks to avoid a repeat of last year’s winter disaster. This year, as Tesla is settling into its nice new headquarters, it is having a positive impact on the state. Elon Musk said that Tesla is working hard to provide even more of the battery systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New England Natural Gas And Electricity Prices Increase On Supply Constraints, High Demand” • The spot natural gas price at the Algonquin Citygate, a trading hub and benchmark for the natural gas price in New England, averaged $20.55 per million British thermal units during January 2022, the highest monthly average price since February 2014. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “Louisiana Sets 5-GW Offshore Wind Goal” • Louisiana has announced an offshore wind goal of 5 GW by 2035. The target has been set out within the state’s Climate Action Plan, which is intended to complement ongoing efforts to implement the state’s Coastal Master Plan. The goal of that plan is to adapt to the impacts of climate change. [reNews]

¶ “Caterpillar Hops On Electric Train Craze With A Massive Deal For Ten Locomotives” • Through its Progress Rail subsidiary, Caterpillar, the legendary maker of heavy equipment, locked in a 10-locomotive deal with the Union Pacific Railroad, the equally legendary rail company. It will be the biggest battery-electric locomotive fleet in the US. [CleanTechnica]

EMD® Joule locomotive (Photo courtesy of Progress Rail)

¶ “CAISO Plan Calls For $30.5 Billion For Transmission And More Renewable Energy” • California’s power grid will look much different by 2040, a 20-year draft transmission plan by the California Independent System Operator shows. It calls for much more renewable energy resources and a $30.5-billion build-out of the transmission grid. [POWER Magazine]

¶ “House Committee Supports Nuclear Waste Ban Bill” • A New Mexico House Committee has approved a bill that would ban spent nuclear material from being stored in or transported through the state. The legislation aims directly at a proposed privately owned and operated spent nuclear waste interim storage facility in southeast New Mexico. [KSFR]

Have an importantly recreational day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Peak Oil Is Coming” • It may not appear so at the moment, because energy in all forms is in massive demand as we come out of the economic doldrums of the Covid pandemic. But climate change makes a case for a rapid fall in the middle of the decade as renewables outpace fossil fuels in supplying the world with energy. [CleanTechnica]

Deepwater Horizon (US Coast Guard, public domain)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Sunrun V2G Charger Works With Ford F-150 Lightning To Power Your Home” • Sunrun is the official charging partner for Ford and its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, which can be used as a backup power supply. It just requires a Ford Charge Station Pro, which comes with most F-150 Lightning models, and a “home integration system.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Koenigsegg Quark And Terrier Bring Big Power In Small Package To Electric Cars” • Christian von Koenigsegg has turned his talents to electric motors and drivetrains. One result is the Quark, a compact 3-phase electric motor measuring just 12″ by 13″ x 4.4″ (303 x 334 x 112 mm), that puts out an eye-popping 335 hp. And there is more. [CleanTechnica]

Terrier powertrain for electric cars (Image courtesy of Koenigsegg)

World:

¶ “Europe’s Plan To Call Natural Gas ‘Sustainable’ Triggers Backlash From Climate Campaigners” • Including natural gas and nuclear power on the EU’s green list could unlock a wave of private investment. But the plans have angered climate activists and could still be blocked by European lawmakers, who are also deeply divided over the issue. [CNN]

¶ “Australia Prepares for Automated Driving” • The latest report from Austroads looks at the minimum physical infrastructure needed for automated driving. This is good news. Tesla CEO Elon Musk expects Full Self-Driving will be ready at the end of this year, and my Tesla wastes time in the carport when it could be on the road earning money. [CleanTechnica]

NIO autonomous driving (Image courtesy of NIO)

¶ “Norway’s Plugin EV Share Above 90% Again In January – BEVs At Record 84%” • Norway, the global leader in electric vehicle adoption, saw plugin electrics take 90.5% share of the auto market in January 2022, up from 80.7% year-on-year. Full electrics alone took a record 83.7% share, with combustion-only vehicles at a new low of 4.9% share. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Australian Power Prices Now ‘Among Lowest In The World’ As Renewable Energy Drives Costs Down” • A flood of renewable energy has helped drive down household power prices to their lowest levels in almost a decade, according to analysis by the Australian Energy Council, which suggests Australia has some of the cheapest electricity in the world. [ABC]

Wind farm in Victoria (John Englart, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Russia Warns Of Power Price Spike If Energy Transition Is Hasty” • A rushed transition away from fossil fuels risks driving electricity prices higher, a senior Russian official said after German government comments that an EU carbon tax may make renewables more attractive in Russia. He said any push to renewables should be gradual. [Yahoo Finance]

¶ “China’s State-Owned Nuclear Power Developer To Build Plant In Argentina” • China National Nuclear Corp, one of the nation’s two state-owned nuclear project developers, signed a contract to build a plant in Argentina based on the third-generation Hualong One reactor design. It will be Argentina’s fourth nuclear power plant. [South China Morning Post]

HPR cooling system (Ji Xing, Daiyong
Song, Yuxiang Wu, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

US:

¶ “Natural Gas Spikes 16% Ahead Of Winter Storm” • Natural gas futures rose 16% on Wednesday as energy markets brace for a powerful winter storm that threatens to derail production just as demand rises. Natural gas futures closed at $5.50 per million BTUs. That’s a rise of 55% since the price sank to $3.56 on December 30. [CNN]

¶ “The Real Cost Of Electric School Buses (It’s Lower Than You Think)” • Momentum towards electric school bus adoption is building, spurring a growing range of funding and financing opportunities from the federal and state governments, electric utilities, and local agencies to help communities overcome the initial economic barriers. [CleanTechnica]

Solaris electric school bus (Image courtesy of Solaris)

¶ “NREL-Led Solar Permitting Software Reduces Project Times By 12 Days” • The National Renewable Energy Laboratory did a pilot study of, a free, web-based tool that automates residential solar permit approval. The software reduces the time it takes to permit, inspect, and install residential solar panels on average by twelve days. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “General Motors To Power Three Automotive Plants With Clean Energy” • GM made a new pledge to power Michigan automotive plants in Flint, Burton, and Wyoming with clean energy. GM partnered with Consumers Energy for the project. It brings GM closer to its target of sourcing 100% renewable energy in the US by 2025. [Environment + Energy Leader]

GM Renaissance Center (arthurpalac, Pixabay)

¶ “San José Clean Energy Unveils New, Innovative Solar And Battery Storage Project With Major Climate Impact” • San José Clean Energy and Terra-Gen unveiled the Kern Solar and Battery Storage Project. It provides power in a unique format: fixed delivery of 62 MW of renewable energy between 6:00 AM and 10:00 PM every day. [San Jose]

¶ “Georgia Power Aims For Employee Retention In Plan To Eliminate Coal” • Georgia Power is retiring all coal plants as it incorporates more renewable energy, according to a filing from the utility. More than 700 people work at the coal plants. Georgia Power plans to work with employees to transition them into new roles, a spokesperson said. [The Business Journals]

Have a shockingly lovely day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Zinc-Bromide Batteries To Store Solar Power At Acciona’s Testing Field In Spain” • Spanish renewable energy firm Acciona Energía will test the zinc bromide battery technology developed by Anglo-Australian manufacturer Gelion at its PV testing plant in Navarra. The project is part of an innovation program started by Acciona Energy. [PV Magazine]

Battery system (Acciona image)

World:

¶ “Here’s Another Thing Keeping Prices High: Climate Change” • The pandemic economy is one of imbalances. Supply chain woes and rising inflation have been with us for a while now, with few solutions in sight. But there’s another big shock to the global economy taking shape: climate change. And climate change is not going away. [CNN]

¶ “UK Plants Are Flowering A Whole Month Earlier Than They Used To, Study Shows” • Climate change is making plants across the British Isles flower, on average, a month earlier than they used to, a new study shows. And that might set off a chain of events that could disrupt ecosystems and potentially cause entire species to collapse. [CNN]

Cherry blossoms (Marijana Vasic, Unsplash)

¶ “Australia Sets The Example As India Seeks A Renewable Future” • Australian battery storage is an example for others. India’s Union Power Ministry put forth a plan to stop adding new coal-fired generating capacity, noting current coal fleet is only operating at 55% capacity. And reliance on gas generation has proven uneconomical. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Finance Pivots To Green Hydrogen” • Green hydrogen production is accelerating, and according to IEEFA is nearing light speed. On sunny days, from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm, prices for electricity are negative. EVs and energy storage can absorb some of the excess electricity, but GH₂ will drive renewable energy further in decarbonization. [CleanTechnica]

Green H₂ (Photo courtesy of Michelin Group)

¶ “Li-Cycle Announces First European Battery Recycling Facility In Norway” • Li-Cycle announced its first European battery recycling facility in Norway, in a joint venture with ECO STOR, a second-life energy storage development business focused on converting used lithium-ion batteries for use in energy storage. ECO STOR is a minority owner. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Arctic Exploration: Developing Green Energy Technology In An Extreme Region” • A $27 million clean energy-powered Russian research facility is being built in the Arctic. It is to be at the lead for the hopes of the country’s Arctic Council to bring carbon-free technologies to the remote and climatically harsh region. [Power Technology]

Siberian landscape (Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology)

¶ “Stelco Enters The EV Battery Recycling Market Through Primobius” • Stelco, a Canadian steelmaker, announced that it is entering the electric vehicle battery recycling market through agreements with Primobius GmbH. Under the agreements, Stelco will be able to advance commercial lithium-ion battery feedstock sourcing agreements. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “North Macedonia’s Renewables Target Set At 46% By 2025” • North Macedonia has projected the share of renewable energy sources in electricity to reach 46% by 2025, says the Economic Reform Program 2022-2024 that it submitted to the European Commission. The intermediate targets are 34% for 2022, and 37% for 2023. [Balkan Green Energy News]

North Macedonia (Shalev Cohen, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Five States Updated Or Adopted New Clean Energy Standards In 2021” • Four states, Delaware, Oregon, North Carolina, and Illinois, updated their Renewable Portfolio Standards or Clean Energy Standards in 2021. Also, Nebraska approved its first clean energy goal in 2021, becoming the 20th US state to commit to 100% clean electricity by 2050. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Almost 500-Mile-Long Lightning Bolt Crossed Three US States” • A lightning bolt almost 500 miles long that lit up the sky across three US states has set a new world record for longest flash, scientists have confirmed. The bolt in 2020, extended a total of 477.2 miles (768 km) and spread across Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. [BBC]

Satellite imagery of the lightning strike (NOAA image)

¶ “Tesla Can’t Offer Pennsylvania Residents State Inspection Because They Don’t Have Emissions Testing Equipment” • Tesla can’t offer Pennsylvania residents state inspections because Tesla doesn’t have emissions testing equipment. The idea that an EV has to pass emissions testing is more than just a little bit silly, but some laws are like that. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Developer Picks Up 540-MW Solar Portfolio” • Sol Systems, based in Washington, DC, has acquired a 540-MW solar development portfolio in southeastern Illinois from Arevon Energy. The portfolio consists of three 180-MW (DC) solar energy projects located across Hamilton, Randolph, Saline, and White counties. [reNews]

Solar array in Illinois (bogdanstepniak, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “New York Advocates Want Further Action On Climate, Renewable Energy” • On Tuesday, lawmakers heard over eight hours of testimony about Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed environmental conservation budget. Environmental advocates argue that the state hasn’t done enough to ensure it will hit its climate goals. [NY State of Politics]

¶ “New Mexico Debates Bill To Block Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage” • Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are in strong opposition to building a multibillion-dollar facility along the state’s border with Texas that would store tons of spent nuclear fuel from commercial power plants. [The Fresno Bee]

Have an exceptionally leisurely day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “The World’s Tiny Islands Inspiring Green Action” • Some say green islands or “eco-islands,” such as the Danish island of Samsø and the Greek island of Tilos, are shining examples of how we can live without fossil fuels. They demonstrate the power of small communities and act as beacons lighting the way towards a world less prone to carbon pollution. [BBC]

Tilos, Greece (Максим Улитин, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Are We Seeing The End Of Growth In Car Traffic?” • Last year the Dutch government published far lower projections for car growth than what it had predicted in 2017. Its upper projection for 2040 was halved, from 27% growth to 13%, while its lower projection even predicts a decline in car traffic per inhabitant of 11% between 2018 and 2040. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Earth Has More Tree Species Than We Thought” • There are 14% more tree species than have been discovered, according to what researchers call the first “scientifically credible” estimate. Of the 73,300 estimated species, the researchers say there are 9,200 yet to be found. Most rare species are in tropical forests under threat by climate change and deforestation. [BCC]

Forest (Luca Bravo, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Nissan Teases Teeny, Tiny Micra EV, And A Solid-State Battery Plan, Too” • Last week, Nissan came out swinging with a big bet on small-car electrification, in the form of a freshly restyled, 100% electric version of its subcompact Micra. Nissan is also in the Alliance partnership with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors, researching solid-state batteries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Record 31.1 GW Of PPAs Signed In 2021” • Corporations bought over 31 GW of renewable electricity through power purchase agreements in 2021, BloombergNEF research shows. The figure set a new record, up nearly 24% on the previous year’s 25.1 GW. Almost two thirds (65%) or 20.3 GW of the PPAs were struck in the Americas. [reNews]

Wind farm (Andrea Junqueira, Unsplash)

¶ “Five Powerful Examples Of Clean Energy Transitions In Asia” • Here, we look at five important examples across Asia: the huge and emerging economies of China, India, and Indonesia, along with Vietnam and Bangladesh. Together, these countries are home to about 43% of the world’s population and over 35% of the its energy consumption. [GreenBiz]

¶ “Farmers Profiting From The Solar Power Boom” • Some 75% of the UK’s land is farmland. This typically flat, open land is also best suited to renewables. In 2019, around 40% of farmers were already generating, and profiting from, low-carbon energy, says the UK National Farmers’ Union. They produced around 10% of the UK’s electricity. [Energy Monitor]

Solar farm (Gunnar Ridderström, Unsplash)

¶ “Peru Wants To Tender 2 GW Of Renewables This Year” •The Peruvian government will offer around 2 GW of renewable energy capacity in two different auctions this year, the country’s minister of energy and mines, Eduardo González, announced. The two procurement exercises are expected to mobilize around $2 billion in new investments. [PV Magazine]

US:

¶ “Increasing Flood Costs Over Next Three Decades Will Mainly Impact People Of Color, Study Shows” • A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change found the cost of flooding in the US will likely rise from around $32 billion today to $43 billion in 2050. And like many aspects of the climate crisis, the change in flood risk won’t affect everyone equally. [CNN]

Bicycle in a flood (Mika Baumeister, Unsplash)

¶ “Biden Administration To Offer $1.2 Billion For States To Clean Up Planet-Warming Methane Leaks” • The Biden administration said it will make about $1.2 billion available for states to clean up and cap orphaned oil and gas wells, which can leak methane into the atmosphere. It’s the first round of federal funding for cleanup of old wells, which will eventually cost $4.7 billion. [CNN]

¶ “EPA To Bring Back Mercury Pollution Rules That Were Nixed Under Trump Administration” • The EPA announced it intends to reaffirm its authority to regulate toxic mercury from power plant smokestacks, undoing a Trump rollback. The EPA proposes to bring back the 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rules implemented under President Obama. [CNN]

Coal-burning plant in New York (Ale Alvarez, Unsplash)

¶ “US Clean Energy Corps To Pursue Climate Resilience” • The Clean Energy Corps, a new program launched by the Biden administration, will hire 1,000 people in the US to help expand the country’s clean energy infrastructure, a step the White House says is “critical to achieving the president’s goal of 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ocean Energy Gets Its Galaxy Quest On: Never Give Up, Never Surrender” • Ocean energy has been an also-ran in the decarbonization race, but that could change in short order. Last week, the US Department of Energy threw down a cool $25 million in funding for eight new ocean-based energy projects at PacWave South. [CleanTechnica]

Ocean energy by PacWave South (Image by PacWave South)

¶ “Utility Issues Request For 2.3 GW Of Renewables” • Georgia Power has filed its 2022 Integrated Resource Plan which includes a request for approval of 2300 MW of renewables capacity, with a goal of 11,500 MW by 2035. The utility also requests approval to own and operate 1 GW of energy storage by 2030. (GP is part owner of the Vogtle nuclear plant.) [reNews]

¶ “West Virginia Lawmakers Vote To Repeal Ban On Nuclear Power Production” • West Virginia lawmakers have lifted a ban on nuclear energy production. The House of Delegates voted 76-18, with eight absences, to lift the ban. Senators already had voted to do away with the ban. Such issues as taxation, transportation, and safety are yet to be addressed. [WV MetroNews]

Have a resoundingly celebratory day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Can Nuclear Fusion Power The Race To Net Zero?” • The IPCC’s landmark report in 2018 concluded that the world needs to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to have a good chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Estimates for when fusion might come into use range from 2030 to 2050, and beyond. That’s not soon enough. [Energy Monitor]

Tokamak reactor during maintenance (Rswilcox, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Are Auto-Dealership Protection Laws Holding Back Electric Vehicle Adoption?” • Bloomberg’s Liam Denning and The Atlantic’s, Robinson Meyer both argue that antiquated dealer-protecting state laws are delaying the transition to EVs by distorting the US auto market. They point out that EV sales are higher in the states that don’t restrict direct sales. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Nuclear Disaster In Japan Did Something Strange To Trees” • Trees outside Fukushima Daiichi are definitely acting weird, according to a study published recently in the journal Plants. Conifers in the area near the nuclear plant are showing unusual growth patterns, with the degree of irregularity in proportion to the distance from the plant. [Futurism]

Japanese Red Pine (David J. Stang, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

World:

¶ “Electric Car Market Grows To 29% In Europe As EV Sales Explode!” • While the overall car market continues falling off a cliff, at -22% YOY in December, Europe’s passenger plugin car market had a near-record month, with 280,200 registrations. The record was 281,000 registrations in December 2020, which was inflated by the CO₂ mandate rush. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Tesla #1 In World EV Sales In 2021” • After a walk in the park in 2019 and 2020, Tesla had another comfortable win of its 4th consecutive Best Seller title in 2021. However, with its market share eroding (12% in 2018, 17% in 2019, 16% in 2020, and 14% in 2021), a competitor might challenge Tesla in 2022, and that would most likely be BYD. [CleanTechnica]

BYD S7 (Mohammad Fathollahi, Unsplash)

¶ “Bloomberg Predicts Massive Fall In Green Hydrogen Prices” • Although “blue” hydrogen, made from natural gas backed up by carbon capture and storage (a technology which struggles to be economically viable), is cheaper today than “green” hydrogen, made from water using renewable energy, according to a report by BloombergNEF. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Plugin Vehicles At Record 13.3% In Italy In December, But Car Market In Crisis” • In Italy, overall monthly registrations crashed near 27%, from almost 122,000 units in December 2020 to less than 89,000. Combustion engines continued their steep decline with a whopping 42% loss. With an end to incentives, EV sales fell too, though comparatively slightly. [CleanTechnica]

Fiat 500e (Robin Ooode, Unsplash)

¶ “Philippines DOE Opens Tender For 2 GW Of Renewable Capacity” • According to the Philippines Department of Energy’s notice of auction, the country is seeking to install new capacity on the islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The targets for the three regions are for 1,400 MW, 400 MW, and 200 MW, respectively. [Renewables Now]

¶ “Massive Blades For Australia’s Biggest Wind Turbines Arrive In Queensland” • The first shipment of massive wind turbine blades for Neoen’s 157-MW Kaban wind farm in north Queensland arrived at the Port of Cairns late last week, and it was a sight to behold. An image was captured and shared by state energy minister Mick de Brenni. [Renew Economy]

Wind turbine blade shipment (Mick de Brenni via LinkedIn)

¶ “NextEnergy Completes $900 Million Solar Funding Drive” • Solar company NextEnergy Capital has raised $896 million with the close of its NextPower III ESG fund. NPIII ESG will focus on the international solar infrastructure sector, principally targeting projects in selected OECD countries, including the US, Portugal, Spain, Chile, and Poland. [reNews]

¶ “Jan De Nul Launches New Jack-Up Voltaire” • Jan De Nul has launched its next-generation jack-up Voltaire. The milestone was reached at the COSCO Shipping Shipyard in Nantong, China. This vessel will be the second and largest jack-up vessel in Jan De Nul’s fleet. The main crane with a capacity of over 3000 tonnes will enable her to build wind turbines at sea. [reNews]

Voltaire (Jan De Nul image)

¶ “Solar Expansion At WA Mine To Deliver 100% Renewables In Daylight Hours” • Perth-based Zenith Energy announced it will install more solar PV and battery storage capacity at IGO’s Nova nickel-copper-cobalt facility in West Australia’s Goldfield region. It will allow the mine to be powered by on-site renewables for up to nine hours at a time. [pv magazine Australia]

US:

¶ “The Average Cost Of Building A Tesla Revealed In Year-End Earnings Report” • Tesla makes a habit of defying conventional wisdom, which, in the auto manufacturing business, says you can’t make money building electric cars. It turns out that Tesla is one of the most profitable car companies in the world. So much for conventional wisdom. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla (Mr Borys, Pexels)

¶ “Startup Eyes Major ‘Infrastructure Play’ With Renewable Energy-Powered Cell Towers” • Aradatum Inc, a Brighton, Michigan, startup led by Larry Leete, who also has had roles at such companies as Steelcase Inc and General Electric, is nearing a pilot phase to deploy self-powered telecommunication towers across the country. [MiBiz]

¶ “Department Of Energy Launches Plan To Jumpstart Interstate Power Transmission” • California could one day meet its energy needs with solar power from Arizona’s deserts or hydropower from the Pacific Northwest under a $20 billion federal project to improve long-distance power transmission that was launched this month. [The San Diego Union-Tribune]

Have a comfortably cozy day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Renewable Energy Is Leading The Way In The ‘New Utilities’” • The utilities sector has been undergoing transitions as energy demands and resources change. For those in the sector who thought that 2021 was rocky, there are signs that 2022 will be even more disruptive. Ty Roberts, VP of Networked Solutions, explained to Digital Journal. [Digital Journal]

Wind turbines (Laura Ockel, Unsplash)

¶ “China’s Offshore Wind Leap Shows Renewable Energy Failures” • Coal-dependent China’s recent overtake of the UK for the world’s largest offshore wind capacity, with nearly half global supply, is an impressive feat drawing deserved praise, but it also demonstrates how underutilized that renewable energy source really is. [Sustainability Magazine]

¶ “Natural Landmarks Already Damaged Or Destroyed By Climate Change” • Most people who never travel to exotic places will nonetheless recognize images of Mount Kilimanjaro with its legendary snows, or the Great Barrier Reef and its rich marine life. But these and many other iconic natural wonders are losing their struggle with climate change. [24/7 Wall St]

Kilimanjaro with nearly no snow (Stephan Bechert, Unsplash)

¶ “West Virginia Legislature Could Make A Big Mistake On Nuclear Energy Monday” • With the West Virginia legislature voting on bills to deregulate and fast-track new nuclear energy power plants in the State this week, ratepayers and taxpayers would be well advised to consider the recent case of “Plant Vogtle.” [Huntington News]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Plant-Based Epoxy Enables Recyclable Carbon Fiber And Improves Economics For Mass Market Electric Vehicles” • NREL researchers showed that making carbon fiber composites with bio-based epoxies and an anhydride hardener makes them fully recyclable by introducing linkages that are more easily degraded. Composites can approach being “green.” [CleanTechnica]

NREL researcher (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)

World:

¶ “Bentley To Produce Its First EV In The UK” • Bentley has committed £2.5 billion to sustainability investments over the next 10 years and secured a UK production site for its first battery EV, which is slated to roll off of the production line sometime in 2025. The company will be exclusively electric and end-to-end carbon neutral by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “What An Astronaut Could See From Space That Changed Him For Good” • European Space Agency said the effects of climate change on Earth were increasingly visible from space and showed a marked difference since his last visit to the space station in 2016: retreating glaciers, pollution, and extreme weather events. [CNN]

Astronaut Thomas Pesquet (ESA/NASA image)

¶ “Western Australia – Out With The Poles, In With The Solar Panels” • Western Australia is a vast state. Power companies are seeing a high cost difference between maintaining poles and wires and installing hybrid power systems at the ends of the long power lines. When bushfires burn all the poles, it is very easy to decide which way to go. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The Northern Territory EV Transition” • Australia’s Northern Territory has long been associated with the biennial World Solar Car Challenge. A recent survey showed 78% of Territorians would consider purchasing an EV if they were on price parity with petrol or diesel cars. The government of the territory is working on making that happen. [CleanTechnica]

Solar racer (Image courtesy of Northern Territory Government)

¶ “European Companies Willing To Provide Iran With Solar Panel Production Lines” • The head of the Energy Committee of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture has said European companies, especially those in Germany, are currently willing to provide Iran with solar panel production lines, IRNA reported. [Tehran Times]

US:

¶ “Millions Remain Under Blizzard Warnings As Nor’easter Pummels The Northeast” • Much of the East Coast was covered with a thick blanket of snow Saturday night, with several areas reporting record snowfall totals, and officials across the region urged residents to stay put as the fierce nor’easter made its way through the country’s northeastern tip. [CNN]

Snow in Lexington, MA (HurricaneCovid, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “LA City Council Votes Unanimously To End Urban Oil Drilling” • After several years of intense organizing by residents and community groups, the Los Angeles City Council voted to pass a motion that will begin phasing out oil drilling throughout the City of Los Angeles. The unanimous vote is a tremendous win for health and safety. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “California’s Rooftop Solar Net Metering Program” • Long a pioneer in the adoption of solar power, California is in the midst of seeking input from stakeholders, through a California Public Utilities Commission process, to adjust its net metering rooftop solar program in a manner that accounts for emerging needs and market trends. [CleanTechnica]

Have a really fantastic day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Six Solutions To Battery Mineral Challenges” • A flood of recent articles, whether spontaneous or coordinated, seeks to discredit renewable energy, EVs, and other elements energy transition to save the climate. One claim is that it’s immensely destructive if not impossible to find enough minerals to make all the batteries. There are solutions. [CleanTechnica]

Aptera (ApteraMotorsMedia, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Tesla Will Support Full Self Driving Licensing For Other Manufacturers” • Tesla will support FSD licensing by other car manufacturers, Elon Musk said on Twitter. From a financial standpoint, it makes good sense for Tesla to license it to other manufacturers. Licensing FSD would become another stream of income for the company. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Lamborghini Announces Plans For First EV” • Lamborghini CEO Winkelman recently confirmed in an interview with Autocar Magazine, that Lamborghini’s first all-electric model will arrive in 2028. He added that it will be a four-seat crossover. Following the crossover’s appearance, Lamborghini will release its all-electric second-generation Urus SUV. [CleanTechnica]

Lamborghini EV (Lamborghini image)

¶ “Oil Executives Barred From Leaving Peru After Massive Spill Causes ‘Ecological Disaster'” • Four oil executives in Peru were barred from leaving the country as authorities investigate an oil spill that forced Lima to declare an environmental emergency earlier this month. The travel ban applies to four employees of the Spanish energy and oil company Repsol. [CNN]

¶ “Australian Open Leads The Way – Game, Set, Match On Fossil Fuel Sponsorship” • Amidst the furor of the Novak Djokovic visa debacle and between the distractions of the Kyrgios–Kokkinakis doubles team-up, something far more significant happened at the 2022 Australian Open. Tennis Australia dumped fossil fuel sponsorship. [CleanTechnica]

Rod Laver Arena (Jono52795, CC BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Hitachi Energy Achieves 100% Renewable Energy Across Its Operations” • Hitachi Energy has reached a major milestone for its sustainability goals, it announced. Hitachi Energy is using 100% fossil-fuel-free electricity to power its own operations. The development moves the company closer to its Sustainability 2030 plan. [Power Engineering International]

US:

¶ “Dangerous Heavy Snow And Winds Approaching Hurricane Intensity Could Knock Out Power, Flood Coastal Areas As Weekend Nor’easter Revs Up” • A weekend nor’easter that’s forming off the coast of the Carolinas Friday night will likely quickly strengthen as it begins making its way up the East Coast overnight into Saturday. [CNN]

Forming storm, Jan 29, 2021 (NOAA image)

¶ “Natural Gas Futures Surge As Powerful Winter Storm Looms” • Natural gas futures are climbing sharply ahead of a blizzard that will force millions of Americans to crank up the heat. For the week, the March natural gas contract is up more than 25%. This could point to higher home heating costs in the weeks to come, adding to the inflation. [CNN]

¶ “AccuWeather Shares How An Electric School Bus Fares In Alaska” • AccuWeather shared a story of how the “hottest school bus on the market” is doing in Alaska, addressing the topic of batteries and cold weather. The article said Tok Transportation, which operates buses for the Alaska Gateway School District, is testing the limits of the tech. [CleanTechnica]

Electric school bus (Tok Transportation image)

¶ “New Indiana Poll Reveals Strong Bipartisan Support For Renewable Energy” • Audubon Great Lakes released findings from an Indiana state-wide poll that shows great support from Indiana voters – across party lines – for more renewable energy. Of the voters polled, 74% favor expanding Indiana’s renewable energy resources. [National Audubon Society]

¶ “Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Plug-In Hybrid Arrives This Spring” • It’s good news, bad news time at the Jeep division of Stellantis, formerly Daimler Chrysler, formerly Chrysler Corporation. The 4xe plug-in hybrid version of the popular Grand Cherokee will go on sale this spring. According to Autoblog, buyers will have 5 trim levels to choose from. [CleanTechnica]

Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Plug-In Hybrid (Jeep image)

¶ “Duke Energy’s Solar Portfolio Grows In North Carolina With The Addition Of Two New Plants” • Continuing its efforts to grow renewable energy in North Carolina, Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, a nonregulated brand of Duke Energy, recently began commercial operation of two major solar facilities, totaling 71.6 MW, in the state. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “NYC’s First Electric School Buses Are Diesel-To-Electric Repowers, And That’s A Big Deal” • New York City has committed to having only electric school buses by 2035. The first of them are hitting the city’s streets now. In a pioneering move, instead of buying buses, Logan Bus Company is having 5 older diesel buses converted to electric. [CleanTechnica]

School bus (Photo courtesy of UES)

¶ “Leaders Say Nuclear Will Save Kemmerer. Residents Aren’t Convinced” • Coal’s demise hurt Kemmerer, Wyoming. When TerraPower announced in November that it would build a sodium-cooled nuclear reactor at the town’s Naughton Power Plant, local and state leaders were extatic. But ordinary people were more apathetic. [Casper Star-Tribune]

¶ “‘Storm-Prone State’: DeSantis Pledges $80 Million For Climate Adaptation In South Florida” • Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the state would award $80 million in grants to South Florida cities and counties to deal with storm-water and flood-control problems. Nearly $40 million of that amount is going to two Miami projects. [Miami Herald]

Have superbly superior day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Tesla Earnings Call Highlights – What I Learned” • I found the Tesla Q4 earnings call disappointing. It said basically that since they have plenty of demand for their current vehicles, there is no need to release the Cybertruck, Semi, or Roadster this year. But there are always some good nuggets of information to be shared when Elon Musk in on the call! [CleanTechnica]

Making EVs (From Tesla’s Q4 2021 Earnings Release)

¶ “Reaction To The McKinsey Climate Change Report” • The figures in the McKinsey consulting group report may sound dire. They show that the cost of addressing climate change will require the nations of the world to invest $9.2 trillion a year for many years to transition to 100% renewable energy. But they are not as bad as they sound. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Gas Stoves Are A Threat To Health And Have Larger Climate Impact Than Previously Known, Study Shows” • The gas emitted from household stoves and ovens is not only dangerous to public health but also has much more significant impacts on the climate crisis than previously thought, research by scientists at Stanford University shows. [CNN]

Gas burner (Brett Jordan, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Global Witness Exposes The Lie Behind The Carbon Capture Scam” • In 2015, Shell installed a carbon capture facility at its Scotford refinery northeast of Edmonton in Alberta. According to Dezeen, the system was designed to eliminate emissions from hydrogen production. But Global Witness says it actually released more CO₂ than it captured. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Australia Pledges $700 Million To Protect Great Barrier Reef Amid Climate Change Threat” • With a February 1 deadline to give UNESCO a report on the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia’s government pledged A$1 billion ($700 million) to protect it. The Australian Climate Council called the pledge “a band-aid on a broken leg.” [CNN]

Great Barrier Reef (Marek Okon, Unsplash)

¶ “Wärtsilä To Optimise And Decarbonise Gold Mine Power Station In Suriname” • Wärtsilä will supply a 7.8-MW, 7.8-MWh energy storage system to a gold mining company to help achieve its climate and decarbonization targets at a mine that it has in Suriname. It will be the first utility-scale energy storage system in the country. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “Innovative Financing: Developers Meet Rising Demand For Residential Geoexchange” • With a $3.8-million refinancing recently of two district geothermal (also called geoexchange) projects in British Columbia, Vancity Community Investment Bank has sealed its status as a leading Canadian financier for geothermal technology. [CleanTechnica]

Geoexchange systems (VCIB image)

¶ “India Could Create Millions of Jobs Through Renewable Energy” • Last year, India saw multiple waves of pandemic, increases in extreme weather events, and growing economic instability. The year 2021 also brought climate announcements from India, which shows that countries can create jobs, protect health, and combat the climate crisis. [NRDC]

¶ “Coal, Gas Power Shrinking In Australia As Renewable Energy Shines” • Renewable energy is squeezing fossil fuels further out of Australia’s power mix. Renewables accounted for a record-high share of average electricity generation in the final three months of 2021 and threatened the viability of coal-fired power plants. [Sydney Morning Herald]

Open pit coal mine (Max Phillips, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Sweden Approves A Plan To Bury Spent Nuclear Fuel For 100,000 Years” • What to do with nuclear waste has been a major headache since the world’s first nuclear plants came on line in the 1950s and 1960s. Sweden’s government has given a go-ahead for building a storage facility to keep the country’s spent nuclear fuel safe for the next 100,000 years. [Nasdaq]

US:

¶ “Federal Judge Cites Climate Crisis In Decision To Cancel Oil And Gas Leases In Gulf Of Mexico” • A federal judge invalidated a massive oil and gas lease sale for 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico after a coalition of environmental groups sued the Biden admnistration to stop it. The ruling cancels 1.7 million acres of oil and gas leases from that sale. [CNN]

Oil drilling platform (Gary Leavens, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “President Biden Hypes Up GM And UAW Again” • President Biden is hyping General Motors again. An official White House press release says GM is making a $7 billion investment to create 4,000 new jobs at EV manufacturing sites in Michigan, the latest sign that the Biden economic strategy is helping power a historic American manufacturing comeback. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New US Postal Service Contractor Proposes Electric Vehicles … For US Army” • For those who don’t know, Oshkosh Defense actually can make EVs. Earlier this week, the company upped the ante on its EV business by introducing the new eJLTV, which has been described as the “first-ever silent drive hybrid-electric Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.” [CleanTechnica]

USPS Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (Oshkosh Defense image)

¶ “Appalachian Power Files For Approval Of Projects” • Two filings submitted by Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power to the West Virginia Public Service Commission request approval and cost recovery for multiple renewable energy projects, a news release from Appalachian Power says. The move is expected to save customers $22 million. [Yahoo News]

¶ “Buena Park Becomes First City In Orange County To Choose 100% Renewable Energy” • Buena Park is now the first city in Orange County to choose to get its energy from 100% renewable sources. The Buena Park City Council voted 4-1 in favor of the resolution. Irvine, Huntington Beach, and Fullerton face similar resolutions soon. [Los Angeles Times]

Have an outstandingly awesome day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Is Your Seafood Climate Friendly? Scientists Outline The Benefits Of Marine Aquaculture” • Writing in BioScience, Alice Jones of the University of Adelaide, and an international team of scientists from the University and The Nature Conservancy, discuss the potential of marine aquaculture to feed a growing human population sustainably. [Newswise]

Seafood (Douglas Lopez, Unsplash)

¶ “How A Smart Electric Grid Will Power Our Future” • The largest ever simulation of its kind, modeled on the Texas power grid, concluded that consumers stand to save about 15% on their annual electric bill by partnering with utilities. In this system, consumers would coordinate with their electric utility operator on a ‘transactive’ basis. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Climate Change Is Coming For Our Coffee” • Bad news for coffee lovers: Climate change will make it much harder to grow Arabica coffee in the coming years, according to a study that appeared in the scientific journal Plos One. The study used several global climate models to examine how conditions will change for growing coffee by 2050. [CNN]

Coffee beans (Rodrigo Flores, Unsplash)

¶ “The Pandemic Has Been Great For Electric Car Sales” • Global sales of battery EVs increased to 4.5 million last year from 2.1 million in 2020, according to data from consultancy LMC Automotive. Electric cars made up 6.3% of global vehicle sales in 2021, tripling their market share from 2019. Overall passenger vehicle sales remain depressed. [CNN]

¶ “India’s ReNew Power Announces Battery Storage Partnership With Fluence” • ReNew Power and Fluence will set up a new joint venture company to offer energy storage in India. The first effort of that company will be to set up a 150-MWh battery project to support a 300-MW renewable energy project being developed by ReNew Power. [CleanTechnica]

Fluence batteries (Image courtesy of Fluence)

¶ “Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Japanese Youth Sue Over Cancer Diagnoses” • Six young Japanese people are suing the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant after developing thyroid cancer in the years after the 2011 nuclear disaster. The plaintiffs aged six to sixteen at the time of the disaster. Their lawsuit is seeking $5.4 million in compensation from TEPCO. [BBC]

¶ “Climate Change: How Much Will It Cost? McKinsey Has The Answer” • McKinsey is one of the world’s largest consulting firms, identifying risks and advising clients how to deal with them. It has issued a report that attempts to put real numbers on the true cost of climate change. There is good news in the report, but to realize it, we have to act. [CleanTechnica]

Lightning ahead (NOAA image, Unsplash)

¶ “Japan To Help With Bill Gates’ Next-Gen Nuclear Power Project” • Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said it will work with Japan’s atomic energy agency to provide technical assistance to a US start-up run by Bill Gates that is building a next-generation nuclear reactor in Wyoming. TerraPower plans to build its plant in that state by 2028. [Yahoo News]

US:

¶ “Bomb Cyclone With The Power Of A Hurricane Will Unleash Snow And Blizzard-Like Conditions This Weekend” • Confidence is growing that a winter storm with the intensity of a hurricane, snow measured in feet, and blizzard-like conditions will impact major cities in the Northeast this weekend. It is described as “a nor’easter with blockbuster potential. [CNN]

Snow (Tim Foster, Unsplash)

¶ “House Democrats Announce Three New Task Forces To Address The Climate Crisis” • As President Biden’s signature climate and economic bill stalls in the Senate, House Democrats are launching three new climate-focused task forces. They will focus on the climate change impact on agriculture, national security, and the US power sector. [CNN]

¶ “Lawyer For Big Oil Tells Court That Lawsuits Threaten National Security” • Responding to a lawsuit brought by the city of Baltimore over damages resulting from oil industry lies, a lawyer for big oil firms told a federal appeals court that lawsuits alleging fossil fuel companies lied about the climate crisis could pose a security risk to the nation. [CleanTechnica]

Greenpeace climate action (Greenpeace image)

¶ “Tesla expects 50% growth despite supply chain woes” • Tesla sales will grow by more than 50% in 2022 compared with last year despite supply chain problems, chief executive Elon Musk has said. The electric carmaker reported a record $5.5 billion profit last year. Sales at the firm rocketed 71% to $53.8 billion in 2021, as it delivered over 936,000 vehicles. [BBC]

¶ “Pathways To Net-Zero For New Mexico’s Economy” • A set of briefs includes modeling with a new, in-depth look into pathways for New Mexico to cut climate-warming pollution and improve health and quality of life for its communities, particularly rural and tribal communities that have historically been overburdened by fossil fuel development. [CleanTechnica]

Desert in New Mexico (Ethan Wright-Magoon, Unsplash)

¶ “Arizona Utility Regulators Again Reject Clean Energy Rules” • Arizona’s utility regulators rejected new rules that would have drastically boosted the use of renewable energy for the second time in a year, drawing sharp reaction from advocates of clean energy, who said the decision leaves the state far behind what is needed to address climate change. [Westport News]

¶ “Brookfield Renewable Adds 20,000 MW Of Solar, Energy Projects With Urban Grid Acquisition” • Brookfield Renewable and its institutional partners acquired clean power developer Urban Grid and its pipeline of projects comprising about 13,000 MW of utility-scale solar and 7,000 MW of energy storage capacity for $650 million. [Solar Industry]

Have a perfectly delightful day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Elon Musk Not A Fan Of “Zero-Sum” Mindset” • Elon Musk isn’t a proponent of a zero-sum mindset. He’s opened up Tesla’s patents. And he’ll also soon open up the company’s Supercharger network to other automakers. He’s encouraged industry-wide electrification all along. Tesla’s mission is all about “accelerating the advent of clean transport.” [CleanTechnica]

SpaceX launch (SpaceX image, Unsplash)

¶ “Experts Say Nuclear Energy As Climate Solution Is Total ‘Fiction'” • As global scientists continue to warn of the urgent need to keep fossil fuels in the ground, a quartet of European and US experts on Tuesday made a comprehensive case for why nuclear power should be not be considered a solution to the climate crisis. [Common Dreams]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Solid-State EV Battery Bingo Card Filling Fast: Dongfeng Motor, Nissan-Renault Numbers Come Up” • Skeptics continue to doubt the likelihood of a solid-state battery breakthrough, but leading automakers are clearly not listening. One EV company after another is taking up the technology, lured by a promise of long range and low cost. [CleanTechnica]

Solid-state battery (Oak Ridge National Laboratory image)

¶ “Reducing Wind Turbine Wakes Could Save Wind Farms Millions” • Wakes can cost an average wind farm about 10% of its potential energy. In the spring of 2022, National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers will launch a multi-institutional, international wind energy campaign called the American WAKE experimeNt (AWAKEN). [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “US Working With Allies To Shore Up Energy Supplies If Russia Invades Ukraine” • The Biden administration is making contingency plans to shore up Europe’s energy supplies should a Russian invasion of Ukraine create gas shortages and roil the global economy, senior administration officials said. Supplies of natural gas are especially important. [CNN]

Pump jack (David Thielen, Unsplash)

¶ “There’s A New Kind Of Gold In Them There Pits” • A spent gold mine in far north Queensland is set to become the world’s first co-located solar and pumped storage plant. The 250-MW Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project, 270 km northwest of Townsville, is the first pumped hydro power station to be built in Australia in almost 40 years. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “How Dubai Is Pushing Back Its Encroaching Deserts” • The desert has never been far from Dubai’s doorstep. Now a modern financial hub of three million people, the UAE’s most populous city has sea on one side, and a seemingly endless carpet of sand on the other. Encroaching deserts are threatening the emirate’s remaining fertile land. [BBC]

Dubai (Mohammed Nasim, Unsplash)

¶ “Renewable Energy On The Rise: 37% Of EU’s Electricity ” • In 2020, renewable sources covered 37% of gross electricity demand in the EU, up from 34% in 2019. Windpower provided 36% of renewable power, and hydropower accounted for 33%. Solar power, the fastest growing type of renewable energy, provided 14% of renewables. [European Commission]

¶ “Fortescue Buys Williams Advanced Engineering” • Fortescue has bought Williams Advanced Engineering. They have been cooperating for some time in the electrification of Fortescue’s 400 ton haulage trucks, and they will be working more closely together. WAE has been successful on the racetrack. Now it will take on heavy industry. [CleanTechnica]

Solomon Mine (Fortescue Communications, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Amp Energy Announces The Largest Battery Storage Facilities In Europe: Two Flagship 400-MW Projects In Scotland” • Amp Energy announced Europe’s two biggest battery storage facilities in its 800-MW battery portfolio in Scotland. The portfolio is due to be operational in April 2024 and will be comprised of two 400 MW battery facilities. [National Post]

US:

¶ “PG&E Proposes 6.4-GWh Battery Storage Plan” • Last June, the California PUC issued a directive requiring the state’s utility companies to install a total of 11.5 GW of storage between 2023 and 2026, to help replace the 2.2-GW Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. Now, PG&E is proposing nine new battery projects totaling about 1,600 MW and 6,400 MWh. [CleanTechnica]

Victoria Big Battery (Image courtesy of Neoen)

¶ “GE Revs Up Renewables Business Turnaround As Seismic Shake-Up At US Giant Looms” • US industrial conglomerate GE will intensify efforts to turn around its money-losing renewables business this year in a challenging near-term market as part of a recently announced plan to split the group into three separate public companies by early 2024. [Recharge News]

¶ “CO₂ Emissions Allowance Prices Increased In Latest RGGI Auction” • The most recent Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative quarterly auction resulted in a price of $13.00 per allowance. The previous auction set a record at $9.30 per allowance. Each allowance represents a limited authorization for power plants to emit one short ton of CO₂. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “Markley Group Signs PPA For Electricity From Community Solar Projects In Massachusetts” • Markley Group entered a power purchase agreement with Borrego for renewable energy projects across the US. Markley will purchase half of the power from 80 MW of community solar projects in the Eversource utility territory. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “West Virginia Senate Votes To End Ban On Nuclear Power” • A bill to lift the ban on nuclear power in West Virginia passed the Senate. Lawmakers voted 24 to 7 to end the ban. West Virginia is one of 13 states that restricts the construction of nuclear power facilities. The ban was enacted at a time when state lawmakers supported coal. [WVPB]

Have a consequentially excellent day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Why Won’t The US Embrace EVs?” • President Joe Biden set a national target for half of all new vehicles sold in the US to be EVs by 2030. Many auto industry executives consider it a realistic goal. But there’s cognitive dissonance among plans, projections, and the current state of US EV purchases. Currently, only 4% of cars sold in the US are EVs. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla in Nashua, New Hampshire (Matt Henry, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Solar Panels From CPT Break Efficiency Barrier” • Silicon in solar PVs only responds to certain wavelengths, those in the red and yellow portion of the spectrum. University of Cambridge Researchers had a bright idea that allows material on the PVs to absorb light of other areas of the spectrum and convert it to useful wavelengths. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Climate Change Threatening Buried UK Treasures” • Climate change is threatening to destroy treasures buried in the UK as the soils that protect them dry out. About 22,500 archaeological sites in UK may be in danger. The problem is that changing weather patterns are drying out some peatlands, the waterlogged soils that cover about 10% of the UK. [BBC]

Roman fort Vindolanda (Vindolanda Trust)

¶ “EU Commission ‘Suppresses Its Own Science’ By Allowing Gas In Taxonomy” • The EU Taxonomy draft proposal would include gas as a sustainable investment. The Commission’s own expert group reviewed the proposal and rejected the inclusion of gas, however, as it contradicts science-based recommendations issued in 2020. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “FedEx Express Tests EVs In India” • FedEx Express is testing EVs in India as part of its global goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040, the company announced. The trial is slated to end in a month in Bangalore after testing the technology for FedEx Express operations. With positive results, the trial will be extended to Delhi. [CleanTechnica]

Energy storage facility (NEC Energy Solutions image)

¶ “Panasonic Will Invest $700 Million To Make Next-Generation Batteries For Tesla” • Nikkei Asia reports that Panasonic will invest $700 million to expand a battery factory in Japan, so they can make the new 4680 battery cells developed by Tesla. The factory will be capable of producing enough batteries each year to power about 150,000 EVs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “NTPC Renewable Arm Tenders 500 MW, 3,000 MWh Energy Storage Projects” • NTPC Renewable Energy Limited has invited global bids to develop energy storage with a total of 500 MW, 3,000 MWh of capacity anywhere in India. The project shall be awarded through international competitive bidding followed by reverse auction. [pv magazine India]

Energy storage facility (NEC Energy Solutions image)

¶ “Munich On Track To Reach 100% Renewables In 2025” • The German city of Munich is making considerable progress with the decarbonization of its power as the share of renewables is projected to reach 90% in 2022. The city sees itself on track to reach its goal of fully covering its power needs with green electricity in 2025. [Renewables Now]

¶ “Oman Inaugurates 500-MW Ibri 2 Solar Field” • Some 1.5 million bifacial panels make up the power plant in Ad-Dhahirah governorate. It was constructed in just 13 months by ACWA Power, the Gulf Investment Corporation, and Kuwaiti developer Alternative Energy Projects Co. The $417 million plant has 1.5 million PV panels. [PV Magazine]

Solar array (Oman Ibri II image)

¶ “Official: 17,000 MW Of Nuclear Power To Join Iran’s Grid” • The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says 17,000 MW of nuclear power will join the country’s grid in the next 20 years. Iran has one nuclear power plant, which as a 1,000-MW reactor built by Russia. Russian and Iranian firms are working on two additional 1,000-MW plants already. [Press TV]

US:

¶ “Supreme Court Takes Up Case That Could Limit Federal Government’s Jurisdiction Over Wetlands” • The Supreme Court agreed to take up a case that could limit the federal government’s jurisdiction over wetlands protected under the Clean Water Act. The case comes as the Biden administration is is trying to undo Trump-era rollbacks to federal protections. [CNN]

US Supreme Court building (Adam Szuscik, Unsplash)

¶ “Tesla’s Q4 2021 Revenue Should Exceed Seventeen Dow Components” • On Wednesday, January 26th, Tesla’s 2021 full year earnings will be released. With luck, we may see that Tesla’s revenue exceeds seventeen Dow components. This will be put up livestream, with zany chat action and cool analyst charts, on the CleanTechnica YouTube channel. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Intel Will Transform Ohio Into A Semiconductor Chip Epicenter” • Intel announced that it will invest over $20 billion to build two new factories and establish an epicenter for advanced chipmaking in the Ohio. The two leading-edge chip factories will help boost production to meet critical demand for advanced semiconductors. [CleanTechnica]

Two proposed Intel processor factories (Intel Corporation image)

¶ “Nevada Regulators Approve Solar+Storage To Replace Coal-Fired Plant” • Nevada utility NV Energy received approval from state regulators to purchase two solar-plus-storage projects to replace power generation from its coal-fired North Valmy Generating Station. The 522-MW North Valmy plant is scheduled to be closed in 2025. [POWER Magazine]

¶ “Meta To Feed Off 225-MW Iowa Wind” • Apex Clean Energy is to supply Meta, also known as Facebook, with all the electricity from the 225-MW Great Pathfinder wind farm in Iowa. The project will help support Meta’s operations in the region. One of those is its data center campus in Altoona, Iowa, which recently announced an expansion. [reNews]

Have an unambiguously enjoyable day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Humans Do A Poor Job Of Calculating Risk. That’s Terrible For The Climate Crisis” • Humans do a poor job of evaluating climate risk and the cost of reducing it. Over the past five years, extreme weather disasters have cost the US more than $750 billion. The Build Back Better package would cost $555 billion over the course of 10 years. [CNN]

Bovine inconvenience (Jo-Anne McArthur, Unsplash)

¶ “Labeling Unabated Gas As ‘Green’ Risks Diverting Finance From Essential Renewables” • The European Commission’s move to label some investments in natural gas, a source of CO₂ and methane emissions, as climate-friendly risks detracting the finance community’s attention from the highest investment priority, renewable energy. [EURACTIV.com]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Climate Change Could Open Up ‘Rivers In The Sky’ Over East Asia” • We can clearly see that the climate crisis is already having a profound effect on weather systems, altering temperatures, rainfall, wind patterns, and more. Now, a study predicts likely deluges over the mountainous parts of East Asia in the future, the result of ‘atmospheric rivers.’ [ScienceAlert]

Deluge (Jim Witkowski, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Philippines Utility Meralco Launches 850-MW Renewables Tender” • The Manila Electric Company opened a tender for 850 MW of renewable generation capacity. The utility is seeking proposals to deploy around 600 MW to start providing power in February 2026, and another 250 MW that will begin commercial operations in February 2027. [PV Magazine]

¶ “Ireland’s Data Centers Provide An Economic Lifeline, But Environmentalists Say They’re Wrecking The Planet” • A €1.2 billion investment in a data center in the town of Ennis is likely to be welcomed by the Irish government, despite concerns that growth in data centers could undermine the commitment to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030. [CNN]

O’Connell Street, Ennis (Joseph Mischyshyn, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Is Switzerland’s Electric Vehicle Story A Preview For The Rest Of The Globe?” • For a long time, Norway was the trendsetter when it came to the future of EV adoption. Now there’s another country worth admiring. Known for exquisite chocolates, fine watches, and secretive banks, Switzerland is now taking its place on the EV scene. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Deutsche Post Offsets CO₂ Emissions For Transport Of Letter Mail” • Deutsche Post Group DHL announced that it’s offsetting CO₂ emissions for letter mail transport in 2022 at no extra cost. Until recently, the GoGreen option was subject to a charge. Now, it’s offsetting all CO₂ emissions that are generated by its mail transport operations. [CleanTechnica]

DHL GoGreen cargo bike

¶ “VETERIA21 Project Will Transform Thermoplastics For Use In EV Battery Casings” • The VETERIA21, which is being developed by AIMPLAS, a plastics technology company Spain, is focusing on advanced manufacturing processes to obtain sustainable materials for the EV industry. The goal is to reduce the weight in EVs, starting with battery casings. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New Brunswick Power Seeks Unprecedented 25-Year License For Point Lepreau Nuclear Power Station” • The license for Atlantic Canada’s only nuclear power generating station expires in June, and the New Brunswick Crown corporation that operates the aging CANDU-6 reactor is seeking a license renewal for an unprecedented 25-year term. [Yahoo Finance]

Pickering Nuclear, a CANDU plant (John McArthur, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Advocates Say A Utility-Backed Bill Imperils Rooftop Solar In The Sunshine State” • A bill moving through the legislature in Florida, backed by a powerful utility, would reduce the financial benefits of rooftop solar panels so much that environmentalists and solar builders say it could turn the state’s fast-growing solar industry off overnight. [CNN]

¶ “US Superstores Could Power Over 7.9 Million Households With Solar” • A report released by the Environment America Research and Policy Center and the Frontier Group says that US big-box retail and grocery stores, if equipped with rooftop solar, could produce enough electricity to power more than 7.9 million households. [Power Engineering International]

Rooftop and parking lot solar (Frontier Group image)

¶ “Redwood Materials To Launch Production Of Anode Copper Foil” • Redwood Materials reports that it is planning to start up its anode copper foil production facility in the first half of this year. Redwood had earlier announced that Panasonic would be including its copper foil from recycled materials in new battery production at Giga Nevada. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New Mexico House Committee Passes Renewable Energy Bills” • A State House Committee approved a series of bills this weekend designed to increase the use of renewable energy in New Mexico. One, the Energy Storage System Tax Credit, would offer homes and businesses a 40% tax credit for energy storage systems installed before 2025. [KSFR]

Solar array (US DOE image)

¶ “Large Corporations Present EV Blueprint To Auto Makers” • Ceres, a nonprofit that works with capital market leaders on sustainability issues, announced that Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance members gave a roadmap to top auto makers for developing the types of EVs companies plan to buy in the US over the next five years. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Enbridge: Growth In Renewable Power Is Huge, And It’s Just Getting Started” • Enbridge’s history is soundly in the oil and natural gas pipeline space, but it has been looking to expand into clean energy, using the cash flows from its oil and gas assets. The company is spending more on clean energy today than it is on its legacy businesses. [The Motley Fool]

Have an exhilaratingly convenient day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “No New Oil And Gas Leasing! Hearing On Climate And Offshore Drilling” • In a House Committee hearing, committee members focused on the connection between offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and US climate goals. This much is clear: continuing offshore oil and gas leasing as usual will not help us meet our climate goals. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore oil rig (Arvind Vallabh, Unsplash)

¶ “When Will The US Tap Its Massive Geothermal Energy Potential?” • As governments turn their backs on fossil fuels, many appear to be focused almost solely on wind and solar power. The US geothermal industry is finally gaining some momentum, but will it attract the investment and support it needs to fully develop? [Oil Price]

Science and Technology:

¶ “How Coronavirus Lockdowns May Have Led To Less Lightning In 2020” • Global lightning activity decreased nearly 8% in 2020 amid lockdowns triggered by the pandemic. Scientists who worked on the study discovered a potential cause for this drop in lightning activity: a decrease in atmospheric aerosols, tiny particles of air pollution. [CNN]

Lightning (Felix Mittermeier, Unsplash)

¶ “New Paper Shows: ‘A Win On Climate Is A Win For Health'” • From ramping up clean electricity to eliminating food waste, from designing cities for walking and biking to preserving ecosystems, projects that lead to a low-carbon society and limit climate change will have more and greater benefits for health than previously realized. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Plugin Electric Vehicles Get 21% Share Of Auto Market In Another Record Month In China” • Plugin vehicles in China once again ended the year with a record month, growing by 125% year over year in December to 502,000 units. Battery EVs were responsible for 83% of the plugin market in the month, slightly above the year’s 81% average. [CleanTechnica]

Wuling Hongguang Mini EV Cabrio
(JustAnotherCarDesigner, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “EU Climate Chief Wants Renewables To Stop Making Putin ‘Rich'” • European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans called on member states to increase investment in renewable energy and eventually wean the continent off Russian gas. The threat of a Ukrainian invasion is also giving rise to fears that gas prices could spiral even higher. [Financial Post]

¶ “Asia’s Emissions-Reduction Plan For The World” • At COP26 last year, the Asian Development Bank and the Indonesian and Philippine governments announced a pilot Energy Transition Mechanism. Now they are engaging others in the equitable, just, scalable, and affordable energy initiative to retire or repurpose coal-fired power plants. [The Jakarta Post]

Coal plant (Marcin Jozwiak, Pexels)

¶ “Japan’s Tepco Hit By Setback In Clean-Up Of Crippled Fukushima Nuclear Plant” • TEPCO has found that a coolant solution, which is used to create an ice wall halting the seepage of groundwater into Fukushima reactor buildings, leaked from two storage tanks. The leaks underscore the unpredictable challenges in the clean-up of the site. [Devdiscourse]

¶ “Foreign Ministers Of Iran And Russia Discuss New Nuclear Plant Construction” • Russian and Iranian officials met to discuss the construction of new nuclear plants in Iran, Tehran’s foreign minister said. He said Moscow and Tehran would instate a period of “excellent cooperation”, according to a report published by the Anadolu news agency. [The New Arab]

Presidential event at the Bushehr Nuclear
Plant (Hossein Heidarpour, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

US:

¶ “Over 450 Climate Scientists Say Advertising Industry Must End ‘Complicity’ In Climate Crisis” • A group of more than 450 scientists called on advertising agencies to cut off their fossil fuel clients and to end their ties with an ongoing misinformation campaign that has time and again killed progress on addressing the climate crisis. [NationofChange]

¶ “‘Surreal’ January Wildfire Shuts California Highway” • An unseasonal wildfire is raging on California’s Big Sur Pacific coast, forcing evacuations and closing Highway 1, US officials say. The National Weather Service reported a “surreal fire behaviour given the wet Oct and Dec.” It is called the Colorado Fire, and it has burned about 1,500 acres (607 ha). [BBC]

Area of the Colorado Fire (Spencer Davis, Unsplash)

¶ “Renewables To Make Up 18% Of Appalachian State’s Purchased Electricity In 2022” • In North Carolina, Hydroelectric and solar power purchases will increase Appalachian State University’s percentage of electricity supplied from renewables from 2% to 18% in early 2022. The university’s utility will buy electricity from Carolina Power Partners. [Watauga Democrat]

¶ “Indigo Introduces New EVs For Rideshare And Delivery” • Indigo Technologies introduced two new EV designs targeting the rideshare and delivery markets at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company describes itself as an OEM that is delivering a new class of smooth, roomy, and affordable EVs. [CleanTechnica]

Indigo Technologies EV (Indigo Technologies image)

¶ “$80 Million Renewable Landfill Gas Plant Construction To Start Soon” • Energy company EDL is poised to begin building a roughly $80 million landfill gas processing plant on the east side of Oberlin, Ohio, in the next few weeks, city Planning and Development Director Carrie Handy said. Its product gas will be cleaned and sold. [Chronicle Telegram]

¶ “Maryland Gives Itself B-Minus For Adapting To Climate Change In Coastal Areas” • Maryland has over 3,000 miles of shoreline, and climate change has already had a devastating impact on its coastal communities. Groups from the University of Maryland and the state just released a report card on its adaption status. It got a B-minus. [WTOP]

Have a downright upbeat day.

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