geoharvey

Opinion:

¶ “Who Will Pay For Indonesia’s Clean Energy Bill?” • Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest coal producers, and environmental activists worry that many vested business interests are limiting the government’s ambitions for a clean energy transition. The country’s coal-burning power plants are mostly not old, and it is building more. This raises questions. [BBC]

Bali landscape (Geio Tischler, Unsplash)

¶ “The 2022 CleanTechnica Car Of The Year Is …” • It’s been one month since the 2022 CleanTechnica Car of the Year award was announced, and it’s time to reveal the winner! I’m going to go through all of the finalists once more, starting with the model with the lowest percentage of the votes and going to the one with the highest. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Getting Renewable Energy Connected” • There are about 1,300 GW of new energy resources, primarily renewables and storage, waiting to connect to power grids across the US. That’s more than the combined output of all power plants operating in the country today. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission blames the backlog on old rules. [NRDC]

Wind turbines (Filipe Resmini, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “E-Diesel Truck Costs 47% More Than Electric Truck, Counting Operation” • A study compares the price of e-fuels with battery-electric trucks in various scenarios. Even in the most optimistic for e-fuels, they are 15% more expensive. In a more reasonable estimate, they would cost 47% more than buying and operating a battery-electric truck. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Scientists Have Used Mushrooms To Make Biodegradable Computer Chips” • Research at the Johannes Kepler University in Austria has shown that mushroom skins could be used to provide a biodegradable alternative to some plastics used in batteries and computer chips, making them easier to recycle. The research was published in the journal Science Advances. [CNN]

Mushrooms (Külli Kittus, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Rich Countries Are Trying To Hit Pause On Climate Summit’s Key Issue” • At the UN’s COP27 climate summit, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom are united against establishing a new fund this year to help the world’s developing nations – which have contributed little to the climate crisis – recover from climate disasters. [CNN]

¶ “Solaris Sells 18 More Electric Buses To Cracow” • Electric bus manufacturer Solaris recently sold another 18 articulated electric vehicles to public transport operator Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne in Cracow. The contract was worth over PLN 98 million ($21.6 million) and the delivery of the buses is to be completed next fall. [CleanTechnica]

Solaris Urbino 18 (Mirko Riemer, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Maritime Sector And Green Hydrogen Leaders Agree On Ambitious Targets” • Leading organizations and initiatives across the shipping value chain, joined by the largest green hydrogen producers, signed a statement committing to rapid production and use of low-carbon fuels based on green hydrogen for global shipping decarbonization. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “European Energy Powers Up Swedish Wind Project” • European Energy has now completed the construction of the 37-MW Kingebol wind farm in the municipality of Åmål, Sweden with first power now being generated. European Energy has also revealed plans to build a 37-MW solar park adjacent to the wind park in Åmål. [reNews]

Wind farm (European Energy image)

¶ “Wealthy Nations Ink $20 Billion Deal To Move Indonesia Off Coal” • A group of wealthy countries secured an agreement with Indonesia to shift the major emitter’s power generation from coal to clean energy. The $20 billion deal financed by financial institutions and governments would be one of the largest public investments to close fossil fuel plants. [E&E News]

¶ “Anglo American Finds Renewable Sources For Queensland Coal Operations” • Mining major Anglo American has struck a deal with Queensland-owned energy generator Stanwell to power its steelmaking coal business solely through the use of renewable energy from 2025 onward, as part of a ten-year power supply deal. [Mining Weekly]

Wind turbines (Quang Nguyen Vinh, Pexels)

¶ “As Europe Quits Russian Gas, Half Of France’s Nuclear Plants Are Offline” • As Europe braces for a winter without Russian gas, France is hurrying to repair problems plaguing its atomic fleet. A record 26 of its 56 reactors are offline for maintenance or repairs after the worrisome discovery of cracks and corrosion in some pipes used to cool reactor cores. [Moneycontrol]

US:

¶ “Small Firms Have A Big Role Fighting Climate Change” • In the US, small businesses make up 99% companies. They employ nearly half of the American workforce. But their sheer numbers make it tough to regulate them. Focusing on supply chains can make it easier to engage with small businesses, unlocking billions in emissions savings. [BBC]

Main Street in Logan, Utah (Michael Hart, Unsplash)

¶ “GM Strikes Battery Separator Deal” • When we talk about EV batteries, minerals like lithium and cobalt tend to get most of the attention. But, a little polymer part of each cell, the battery separator, plays a vitally important role. In a press release, GM announced that it has struck a deal to keep improving separators and build them in the US. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Regulatory Approval For SunZia Transmission Paves The Way For A Southwest Renewable Energy Corridor” • Pattern Energy Group announced its SunZia Transmission project received the approval of the Arizona Corporation Commission to build a 550-mile high voltage DC transmission line from New Mexico to Arizona. [pv magazine USA]

Have a justifiably jolly day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “‘Everything Has Changed, Nothing Has Changed’” • The CEO of ScottishPower has said, “We have a cost of living crisis, energy is being weaponised and the discourse is now around energy independence. And how do you solve energy independence? You invest in renewables, which can be controlled, and built at speed.” But the task is not straightforward. [The Guardian]

Wind turbines (Abby Anaday, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Deep Geothermal – One Renewable Energy Source To Rule Them All?” • Imagine a supply of steam at the right temperature and pressure to make turbines spin – steam heated without any carbon emissions by geothermal energy. Science fiction? Not according to Paul Woskov, a research engineer at MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Hydrogen House” Deploys Rooftop Solar Panels, But Don’t Call Them Solar Panels” • The idea of a house that can produce its own hydrogen has been tossed around for a while now. We might expect solar panels to be involved, but Belgian researchers mapped out a different pathway. Their panels generate hydrogen gas instead of electricity. [CleanTechnica]

House with rooftop H₂ panels (Courtesy of Solhyd)
Please click on the image to enlarge it.

World:

¶ “War Causing Huge Release Of Climate Warming Gas, Claims Ukraine” • The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a large amount of warming gases to be released into the atmosphere, Ukraine claimed at the UN COP27 climate summit in Egypt. The amount is the equivalent of adding nearly 16 million cars to the UK’s roads for two years. [BBC]

¶ “Biggest Rainforest Nations Form Triple Alliance To Save Jungle” • The world’s three largest rainforest nations, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia, have launched a partnership to cooperate on forest preservation after a decade of on-off talks on a trilateral alliance. They will pressure the rich world to finance forest conservation. [CNN]

Macaws in a rain forest (Christina Victoria Craft, Unsplash)

¶ “Uganda’s President Slams ‘Western Double Standards’ Over Coal Mine Plans” • Uganda’s President Museveni slammed Western countries over what he calls a “reprehensible double standard” in their response to the energy crisis. He criticized prioritizing coal for energy security over the climate crisis, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [CNN]

¶ “As Rich Nations Haggle Over Climate Solutions, The Storm-Ravaged Caribbean Is Taking Matters Into Its Own Hands” • The Caribbean leaders, residents, and even utility companies say they are tired of waiting for world leaders to save them. Experts and residents tell CNN that the islands are now eagerly phasing out fossil fuels and building microgrids. [CNN]

Solar power (RMI image)

¶ “22% Of New Car Sales Now Electric In The Netherlands!” • The Dutch auto market is fast recovering from a slow first half of the year. It grew 20% in October, to almost 29,000 units. That could mean that the easing of the chip crisis is making itself noticed in the overall market. Pure electrics, which grew 12% YOY, took 22% of all new vehicle sales. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Electric Vehicles Are Duty Free In Mauritius!” • Mauritius has one of the world’s most generous tax regimes. Personal and corporate tax are harmonized at a low 15%. Mauritius has now moved to extend its tax policies to include electric mobility. From the 1st of July 2022, all hybrid and electric vehicles are now duty-free in the country. [CleanTechnica]

Mauritius (Ritesh Innovador, Unsplash)

¶ “Renewables key part of solution to end coal” •A massive scale up of renewable energy generation, system-wide improvements in energy efficiency and incentives is needed to reduce coal emissions, says a new report from the International Energy Agency, “Coal in Net Zero Transitions: Strategies for Rapid, Secure and People-Centred Change.” [reNews]

US:

¶ “NET Power Natural Gas Generating Plant Captures Its Own Emissions” • NET Power developed technology for generating electricity by burning natural gas that it says is cheaper than conventionally methods. But the real benefit of the technology is that it captures its own CO₂ emissions, which can then be sold or sequestered. [CleanTechnica]

NET Power demonstration facility (NET Power image)

¶ “Did Elon Musk Revive Hopes For A $25,000 Tesla?” • Tesla is working on a vehicle platform that could cost Tesla about half as much to build as its other vehicles, according to a statement by Musk in Tesla’s Q3 earnings call. This has many wondering if this could eventually become a rumored $25,000 car to which Tesla has referred in the past. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Avangrid Affirms Commitment To Commonwealth PPA” • In Massachusetts, Avangrid told authorities that it wants to keep a power purchase agreement for its 1200-MW Commonwealth project. Commonwealth had called for a one-month suspension of the approval process to address the impact of the current global economic conditions. [reNews]

Offshore wind farm (Pixabay image)

¶ “Solar Array In Amherst Puts Renewable Energy On Electric Grid” • Over 15,000 panels have been put up and are now online in Amherst, Massachusetts, and they are generating enough to power the electricity of over half of the town’s municipal buildings. The project features a 4-MW system that spreads across the north landfill. [WWLP]

¶ “DOE Teaming With Utilities To Support Four Hydrogen Demo Projects At Nuclear Power Plants” • The US DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy and the Office of Nuclear Energy are teaming up with utilities to support four hydrogen demonstration projects that are to be built at nuclear power plants. [Green Car Congress]

Have a singularly pleasant day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Degrowth: Dangerous Idea Or Answer To The World’s Biggest Crisis?” • Conventional economic logic has a core assumption: Bigger economies are better, and maintaining or boosting growth is paramount to improving society. But what if growth is doing little to fix our problems, or even fostering the destruction of the planet and jeopardizing its future? [CNN]

Building construction (Priss Enri, Unsplash)

¶ “An Electric Car Can Be Your Best Friend When The Lights Go Out” • The electric car, coupled with more rooftop solar systems, is shifting the paradigm from getting all one’s electricity from a utility company to making more of it ourselves and using it right there at home. So it might be possible to be comfortable at home when bad weather makes the grid fail. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Dirty Tricks To Save The Amazon” • Preserving the Amazon should be considered one of our generation’s greatest priorities, if we are to ward off the worst effects of climate change. One man just played a tremendous role in moving that preservation a giant leap forward, and … I have mixed feelings about it, or at least, how he did it. [CleanTechnica]

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

¶ “Stop Funding Russia’s Nuclear Weapons” • As Washington and the commentariat wring their hands about Vladimir Putin’s nuclear sword rattling, the US and the EU continue to shovel hundreds of millions of dollars to Rosatom, a Russian nuclear firm that maintains Moscow’s nuclear weapons complex and just filched a $60-billion Ukrainian nuclear plant. [The Hill]

Science and Technology:

¶ “The World Will Probably Warm Beyond The 1.5°C Limit. But Peak Warming Can Be Curbed.” • The world’s current climate pledges are insufficient to maintain the goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement. Global warming will likely surpass the 1.5°C limit. But researchers chart several potential courses in which the overshoot period is shortened. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it. (NASA, public domain)

World:

¶ “Fears Of Compromise On Key 1.5°C Global Temperature Issue” • A key target to stop climate change raising global temperatures is now in doubt at a UN summit. Climate change talks have been trying to limit the average rise in temperatures to 1.5°C. But senior figures here in Egypt worry about backsliding on efforts to keep the 1.5°C goal. [BBC]

¶ “Hywind Tampen Floating Wind Farm Delivers First Power” • The Hywind Tampen floating wind farm in the North Sea has begun producing power from its first turbine. Owned by the partners developing the Gullfaks and Snorre oilfields, the Hywind Tampen wind farm is expected to meet about 35% of the electricity demand of the two fields. [reNews]

Floating wind turbines (Equinor image)

¶ “Top Africa Renewable Firm Sees South Africa Power Woes Persisting” • Africa’s biggest renewable power company said it will take years for South Africa’s electricity supply woes to ease after the government’s bias toward coal led to the collapse of wind and solar energy manufacturers. The country still relies on coal for over 80% of its power. [Engineering News]

¶ “Scathing Report Accuses Electricity Providers Of Delaying New Zealand’s Shift To Renewable Energy” • A scathing report accuses electricity providers of delaying New Zealand ‘s shift to renewable energy sources. The report says the power companies are purposely putting off building key infrastructure so they can keep hiking the cost of power. [Newshub]

Geothermal plant (Herman Darnel Ibrahi …, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Green Hydrogen To Help Power Western Australia’s Town Of Denham In Australian Renewable Energy First” • Hydrogen made with renewable energy will be used to help power an Australian town for the first time as part of a landmark trial. The hydrogen will be used to power a fuel cell capable of generating enough electricity to supply about 100 homes. [MSN]

¶ “Forrest Unveils 10-GW Renewable ‘Super Hub’ To Power Grid And Green Hydrogen” • Queensland’s push to be a hydrogen superpower gained serious momentum with the announcement of a renewable energy “super hub” that will host more than 10 GW of wind and solar projects to produce green hydrogen at an industrial scale. [RenewEconomy]

Solar power (Supplied image)

US:

¶ “NREL And SMUD Launch Groundbreaking Automation Tool For Interconnecting Customer Solar To The Grid” • NREL has developed software that helps utilities identify optimal inverter modes and settings for distributed solar. The standalone system allows utility engineers to seamlessly interconnect PV generation, cutting wait times and costs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Fossil Vehicle Bans Are Likely To Hit Mom-And-Pop Gas Stations The Hardest” • The California Air Resources Board’s decision to phase out fossil fuel-powered cars by 2035 was an important step to address air quality and climate change. But there will be winners and losers. Mom-and-pop gas station owners seem likely to be losers. [CleanTechnica]

Gas station (Mehluli Hikwa, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “US Stakeholders Make Their Moves As Race For Global Green Hydrogen Takes Shape” • The falling cost of wind and solar energy has opened the door to a more equitable distribution of energy resources worldwide. That trend is taking hold in the US, where a new green hydrogen industry is beginning to leverage growth in the wind and solar power. [TriplePundit]

¶ “Baker Vetoes Nuclear Decommissioning Group” • Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts vetoed the creation of a special commission to study the economic and environmental effects of decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. He said the comission would “be duplicative of, and would interfere with” work already under way. [CapeCod.com]

Have a plainly grand day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Millions Of US Homes Are Installing Heat Pumps. Will It Be Enough?” • Across the United States, over 15 states and roughly 100 cities have begun to shift policies to encourage or require electrification of homes, workplaces, schools, and government buildings. Nevertheless, we are falling woefully short on climate pledges. We have to do better. [CleanTechnica]

Heat pump water heater (Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance)

¶ “A just transition depends on energy systems that work for everyone” • The West’s dash for African gas has become a rallying point at Cop27. Climate justice activists are calling out the hypocrisy of rich polluting nations who are scrambling to keep energy prices down by pushing for more fossil fuel projects in Africa. [The Guardian]

¶ “Poland’s Sad Love For These US Nuclear Lemons” • With breathtaking myopia, the Polish government has signed a deal to partner with the US company Westinghouse in the construction of three nuclear reactors. A look at history shows that Poland won’t get energy security from Westinghouse reactors. It might not even get the reactors. [IOL]

Westinghouse AP1000 (Westinghouse image)

Science and Technology:

¶ “‘Artificial Leaf’ To Produce Green Hydrogen” • The green hydrogen market has been taking off, thanks mainly to the availability of low-cost wind and solar power for electrolysis. The race is on to mimic nature’s high-efficiency hydrogen production system. It has been a long road, but the dream of an “artificial leaf” may finally take shape. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Belching Lakes, Mystery Craters, ‘Zombie Fires’: How The Climate Crisis Is Transforming Permafrost” • Nunapitchuk, Alaska, used to be in the middle of grassy tundra. Now, it sits in bogland. People who used to walk on grass now use 8-foot-wide boardwalks to get around. The Arctic is warming fast, and that brings many unexpected problems. [CNN]

Sinking building (Sue Natali, Woodwell Climate Research Center)

¶ “New Rear Axle Design Creates More Range For Smaller EVs” • A new rear axle concept for small EVs has been developed by scientists at the Chair of Lightweight Vehicle Construction at the University of Siegen. It can increase the range of a small EV by 35%. The new rear axle concept increases the available space for the battery in the body. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Uncovering The Dirty Secret Behind BP’s Bumper Profits” • Far removed from the world leaders making climate pledges at COP, are people like Ali Hussein Julood, a young leukaemia survivor living on an Iraqi oil field co-managed by BP. When the BBC discovered BP was not declaring the field’s gas flaring, Ali helped us to reveal the truth. [BBC]

Gas flaring (Celeda, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “BMW Neue Klasse Electric Cars Will Feature Up To 1341 Horsepower” • BMW recently held a splashy press event for its Neue Klasse vehicles, and CAR Magazine was on hand to report on the festivities. Chief technology officer Frank Weber began by announcing, “With the New Class lineup, we are going to make a huge technology leap.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New Research: Economic Viability Of EVs Is Strong And Improving In Developing Countries” • A World Bank report says that in many developing markets, low fuel and maintenance costs over the life of an EV more than offsets the relatively high purchase price. Environmental and health benefits make the case for EVs even stronger. [CleanTechnica]

Tata Nano (Vengolis, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “PepsiCo Commit To Use 100% Renewables” • The climate crisis may be the greatest, truly global challenge humankind has ever faced. PepsiCo is committed to doing its part to address the impacts of climate change. The company is aiming to source and generate 100% of its electricity needs through renewable energy by 2030. [The Global Herald]

¶ “Brisbane Airport Secures Renewable Energy Future” • BAC, Brisbane Airport Corporation, has entered into a six-year agreement to secure renewable energy from Queensland’s Clarke Creek Wind Farm & Blue Grass Solar projects. The deal is part of BAC’s commitment to be net zero for scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2025. [Newsroom Brisbane Airport Corporation]

A terminal at Brisbane Airport (Kgbo, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

US:

¶ “Tesla Megafactory Lathrop Went From Groundbreaking To Megapack Production In Just A Year” • CleanTechnica reported the groundbreaking ceremony of the Tesla Megafactory Lathrop in September 2021. And it took just around a year for Tesla to move from the start of construction to commissioning and production start. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Big News! Tesla Proposes North American Charging Standard” • One of the most frequently heard complaints from people considering the purchase of an electric car is that there is no common charging standard. Now North American EV owners can rejoice. Tesla is suggesting its charging equipment should be the standard for North America. [CleanTechnica]

Charging connections (Courtesy of Tesla)

¶ “Iowa Leads In Homegrown, Reliable, Renewable Energy” • Iowa is a clean energy leader, attracting almost $23 billion in capital investments and generating over $58 million in tax revenue. The Hawkeye state is the largest producer of renewable energy, with 59.5% of its power generated by its own renewable energy resources. [The Gazette]

¶ “Climate Change Prompts Pennsylvania Farmers To Adapt Crops And Businesses” • As the climate changes and brings more risks to the traditional farming schedule, farmers are looking for ways to make sure their crops survive. That means you might see different options at local farm markets or new events popping up on farms. [WHYY]

Have a simply marvelous day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Large Scale Solar Roofs Getting The Respect They Deserve” • The notion of distributed renewables is starting to gain currency at the highest levels. It may be cheaper to build large solar arrays, but they need power lines. When you run all the numbers, there can be significant economic advantages to producing solar power close to where it will be used. [CleanTechnica]

Solar array over parking (Courtesy of the French Senate)

¶ “Can Africa Power With Renewables As It Grows?” • Africa has 60% of the world’s best solar resources and a potential for wind to meet its electricity demand 250 times over. But half of those who live in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have access to electricity. The question is whether they can skip fossil fuel development and go straight to solar and wind. [DW]

World:

¶ “Biden Says US Is Back As A Leader On Fighting Climate Change As He Urges All Nations To Step Up Their Ambitions” • President Joe Biden used a short visit to the UN climate change summit in Egypt to tell the world the US was ready to take back its leadership role on fighting a warming planet after the passage of one of the president’s key priorities. [CNN]

Sign of the climate (Kelly Sikkemak, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Africa Pursues Green Hydrogen For Fossil-Free Economic Growth” • Fossil fuels have been getting high prices, but their age is ending. Green hydrogen is an alternative energy source getting ready for the market. The new hydrogen hotspot is Africa, where two massive, integrated green hydrogen and ammonia projects are taking shape. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Tesla Model Y Dominated European Car Sales In September” • Automotive market intelligence company JATO posted the results of the September 2022 car sales data for Europe. The data show that in September the Tesla Model Y topped the sales chart for all cars for the first time since it was launched in Europe in August of 2021. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model Y (Alexander Migl, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Fusion Fuel And Ballard Power Commission H2Évora Green Hydrogen Plant” • Fusion Fuel has announced it has completed the interconnection of its H2Évora plant to the Portuguese electric grid and has successfully commissioned the facility. The demonstration project will produce 15 tons of green hydrogen per year. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “Egypt And Norway To Build 100-MW Green Hydrogen Plant” • President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Egypt’s President, and Jonas Gahr Støre, the Norwegian Prime Minister, launched the first phase of a green hydrogen project in Egypt’s Ain Sokhna region, on the Red Sea. Norway’s energy giant, Scatec, will also take part in the project. [Energy Digital Magazine]

Ain Sokhna (Kaŕeem Saleh, Unsplash)

¶ “Billionaire Gautam Adani Lands In The Middle Of India-China Fight In Sri Lanka” • Pooneryn is an impoverished area in northern Sri Lanka, not far from India’s southern tip. It’s where Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man, plans to build renewable power plants, thrusting him into the heart of an international political clash. [NDTV.com]

¶ “German Parliament Extends The Use Of Three Nuclear Power Plants Until April In View Of The Gas Crisis” • Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, approved keeping three of the country’s nuclear power plants in operation at least until mid-April to guarantee electricity supply in the midst of the energy crisis. [MSN]

Emsland nuclear plant (Corradox, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Over 11 Years, Close To 9 Million People Sign Drive Against N-Power” • An anti-nuclear petition drive that began 11 and a half years ago has an impressive 8,831,163 signatures, with the most recent delivered to the economy ministry on November 11. One of the campaign founders, Journalist Satoshi Kamata, said now it is reaching out to other groups. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ “Florida Picks Up After Nicole Kills At Least 5 And Leaves ‘Unprecedented’ Damage To Daytona-Area Coastline” • As Nicole moved north, Floridians are picking up the pieces. It killed at least five people and ripped apart buildings with its dangerous storm surge and powerful winds. Many were still recovering from Hurricane Ian when Nicole hit. [CNN]

Flooding after Hurricane Ian (US CBP, public domain)

¶ “Vermont Officials Poised To Review Renewable Energy Policy” • Advocates of net metering want Vermont to consider raising compensation for solar producers. In contrast to this, utilities say the current compensation rates are not sustainable. The Vermont Department of Public Service is about to embark on a review of net metering. [WCAX]

¶ “First Global Estimates For Road Transportation GHG Leveraging AI And Satellite Images” • Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, have leveraged artificial intelligence and machine learning to produce accurate estimates for road transportation emissions of the top 500 emitting cities worldwide. [CleanTechnica]

Using AI to track emissions (JHU Applied Physics Laboratory)

¶ “City Of Columbia To Study Feasibility Of 100% Renewable Energy Production By 2030” • City staff in Columbia, Missouri, are starting to explore the possibility of sourcing the city’s energy production from 100% renewable sources. An ardent community push for this started about six months ago with a demonstration at city hall. [Columbia Daily Tribune]

¶ “Biden Administration Proposes Climate Change Reporting Requirement for Federal Contractors” • To address and mitigate climate risks, the Biden administration is proposing a rule requiring government contractors to publish their greenhouse gas emissions and reduction goals as well as financial risks from climate change. [ExecutiveGov]

Have a fascinatingly amusing day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “How To Donate Solar Panels And Wind Turbines To Ukraine” • The Global 100% Renewable Energy Platform Global100RE and the World Wind Energy Association initially made the call for support buying and deploying solar panels and wind turbines to help the people of Ukraine back in March. Here’s how you can reach out to WWEA. [CleanTechnica]

Kyiv, Ukraine (Ilya Cher, Unsplash)

¶ “New-Build Nuclear Must Face Down Industry’s Costly Past” • EDF’s 1.65-GW Flamanville plant, under construction in northwestern France, is 10 years behind schedule and is set to cost €12.7 billion, four times more than first estimated in 2004, Reuters reported. It is just one example of many nuclear plants that came in late and over budget. [S&P Global]

World:

¶ “Solar-Powered Trains For France” • SNCF Voyageurs is a state-owned subsidiary of the French National Railway Company. It is in charge of operating France’s passenger train network. SNCF Voyageurs is now aiming to have 40% to 50% of the rail network’s electricity coming from solar power by 2026. What’s better than solar-powered train travel? [CleanTechnica]

SNCF train (Didier Duforest, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

¶ “How Australia Has Become The World’s Greatest Lithium Supplier” • As demand soars for EVs and clean energy storage, Australia is meeting much of the world’s demand for lithium. It supplied roughly half the world’s lithium in 2021. While this helps reduce the need for fossil fuels, it raises another question – how can we source lithium sustainably? [BBC]

¶ “Gogoro And Zypp Electric Announce Strategic Partnership To Accelerate The Electric Transformation Of 2-Wheel Last Mile Deliveries” • In Delhi, Gogoro Inc and Zypp Electric announced a strategic B2B initiative and partnership to accelerate the urban shift of logistics fleets and last-mile deliveries to electric using battery swapping. [CleanTechnica]

Gogoro (Gogoro image)

¶ “Kenya And The UK Agree To Fast-Track £3.6 Billion In British Investment To Support Kenya’s Leadership On Climate Change” • Kenya has an installed electricity generation capacity of 3,077 MW. Renewables provided 89% of Kenya’s electricity generation in 2021. Building on this, six projects worth $4.1 billion will be fast-tracked with UK financial help. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Chile’s QB2 Copper Mine Will Be Fully Powered By Clean Energy” • The Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 copper project, in Chile, will be fully powered by renewable energy, according to Teck Resources. The company announced a 17-year power purchase agreement with AES Andes for 1,069 GWh/year of energy from renewable sources. [Mining Weekly]

Chalcopyrite copper ore (Didier Descouens, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Renewable Power Negates Need For 27 TWh Of Gas” • Gas consumption data taken from the Digest of UK Energy Statistics showed that in the first 40 days of the winter period (beginning in October), the level of renewable power generated in the UK has displaced the equivalent of 3% of UK annual gas demand and 6% of UK net gas imports. [Current News]

¶ “10-GW Wind Farm To Be Built In Egypt” • Masdar, Infinity Power, and Hassan Allam Utilities have signed an agreement to develop a 10 GW onshore wind project in Egypt – one of the world’s largest wind farms. The project will reduce Egypt’s carbon emissions by 9% and save the country an estimated $5 billion each year. [Energy Digital Magazine]

Wind turbine in Egypt (Hatem Moushir, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

US:

¶ “Floridians Are Picking Up The Pieces After Hurricane Nicole Pummeled The State, Killing At Least 4 And Collapsing Homes As It Moves North” • Nicole hit Florida’s coast as a Category 1 hurricane, just as the state was still reeling from catastrophic Hurricane Ian. Nicole was the first hurricane to hit the US during November in nearly 40 years. [CNN]

¶ “Homes Are Collapsing Into The Ocean In Florida. Here’s What’s Behind The Dangerous Situation” • Homes and buildings are collapsing into the ocean as Tropical Storm Nicole pushes a huge volume of ocean water onshore in southeast Florida. The storm surge came at an exceptionally high tide, and the sea has risen a foot in the last hundred years. [CNN]

Wave (lucas andreatta, Pexels)

¶ “New Report Paints Dire Picture Of America’s Future As The Climate Crisis Accelerates” • A new draft of the National Climate Assessment has been released. It paints a dire picture of what life is now like in America amid the climate crisis, and the incredible changes in store in the future. It outlines some painful truths we must confront, but so far have not. [CNN]

¶ “Argonne And Oak Ridge National Laboratories Collaborate With Wabtec On Hydrogen-Powered Trains” • Scientists at the Argonne and Oak Ridge National Laboratories are exploring options for emissions-free trains. The research focuses on hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels as viable alternatives to diesel for the rail industry. [CleanTechnica]

Locomotive (Wabtec image)

¶ “Tesla To Boost Fremont Production With Some Help From Shanghai” • Recent production upgrades to Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai boosted the company’s weekly output in China. Now the automaker may be looking to draw on this expertise for its plant in California. The help is expected to boost the Fremont plant’s production significantly. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “State Approves Minnesota Power Plan To Exit Coal By 2035, Add More Renewables” • Minnesota utility regulators Thursday unanimously approved Minnesota Power’s plan to close its two Cohasset coal generators by 2035 and add significant amounts of renewable power. The utility also plans to build its first grid-scale storage batteries. [Star Tribune]

Have a comfortably successful day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Investors Have Trillions To Fight Climate Change. Developing Nations Get Little Of It” • Many investors see big opportunities to propel – and profit from – the fight against climate change. Yet little of their money is going to poorer nations, which already bear the brunt of extreme weather despite contributing little of the pollution that fuels climate change. [KCCU]

Wind turbines (Fabian Wiktor, Unsplash, cropped)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Ceramics That Breathe Oxygen At Lower Temperatures Help Us Breathe Cleaner Air” • Ceramics with oxygen storage capacity are crucial for automotive catalytic converters. They help reduce noxious gases and prevent the precious metals from degrading. A group of researchers at Tohoku University have improved their performance. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “2-Battery NIU BQi-C3 E-Bike Offers More Range, Power” • The new NIU BQi-C3 e-bike features a pair of 920 watt-hour LG batteries with a 48V, 19.2Ah capacity and the ability to push out 500w of continuous power. With two batteries instead of one, the BQi-C3 Pro delivers nearly twice the range of “competitor brands.” [CleanTechnica]

NIU BQi-C3 e-bike (NIU image)

World:

¶ “Energy Security Trumps The Climate? London’s Biggest IPO Of The Year Is An Oil Company” • The listing of about 10% of Ithaca Energy, a North Sea oil and gas producer, is the biggest in London so far this year. It struggled out of the gate, however. It was last trading at about 230 pence ($2.62), more than 7% below its IPO price. [CNN]

¶ “China Is ‘Committed To Net Zero,’ Head Of Top Asian Development Bank Says At COP27” • China and the other 104 members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are “deeply committed” to their net-zero targets, says the chief of the continent’s largest multilateral development bank. China is the world’s largest carbon emitter of fossil fuels. [CNN]

Wind turbines in Xinjiang (Chris Lim, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Europe Still Can’t Live Without This Russian Energy Export” • Europe has raced to replenish its stocks of natural gas this year ahead of winter as Russia dramatically cut its flows of pipeline gas, including all shipments through the vital Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Global supplies of LNG that proved a vital alternative include large amounts from Russia. [CNN]

¶ “Sharp Rise In Fossil Fuel Industry Delegates At The COP27 Climate Summit” • The number of delegates with links to fossil fuels at the UN climate summit has jumped 25% from the last meeting, analysis shared with the BBC shows. Campaign group Global Witness found more than 600 people at the talks in Egypt are linked to fossil fuels. [BBC]

Oil rigs (Ben Wicks, Unsplash)

¶ “The Audi E-Tron Q8 Arrives Next Spring, Comes In 3 Flavors” • Over the past 10 years, Audi has been making huge strides toward becoming a fully electric car company. The culmination of all that dedication and hard work will arrive in showrooms next year when the new e-tron Q8 crossover SUV and its twin, the Sportback version, go on sale. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Israeli Green Hydrogen Firm Picks Up Moroccan Job” • Gaia, a Moroccan renewable energy developer, will use electrolyzer technology from Israeli company H2Pro for a green hydrogen demo project in Morocco. The announcement came at COP27, where the topic of green hydrogen and its role in the net-zero transition is much discussed. [reNews]

H2Pro electrolyzer (H2Pro image)

¶ “Solar Dominates Renewable Corporate PPAs In Asia Pacific, Says WoodMac” • Corporations in the Asia-Pacific region are set to contract a record 7 GW of renewable capacity in 2022, a report published by Wood Mackenzie says. Solar accounts for 57% of the Asia-Pacific region’s contracted corporate renewable power purchase agreements. [pv magazine Australia]

¶ “Sweden’s Largest Nuclear Power Reactor Suffers A Fault” • The largest nuclear reactor in Sweden has been disconnected from the national grid after a fault with one of its turbines. The plant, Oskarshamn 3, is 140 miles south of Stockholm on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It is not clear exactly what the fault is, according to a spokesman for the plant. [MSN]

Oskarshamns nuclear plant (Daniel Kihlgren, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

US:

¶ “Biden Promises Billions For ‘Nature-Based Solutions’ To Climate Change” • The Biden administration said it will direct billions of dollars toward “nature-based” solutions for climate change, including “bringing the power of nature to maximize the value and resilience of military bases.” The action follows an executive order signed on Earth Day. [WFIN]

¶ “Hurricane Nicole, A Large Category 1 Storm, Is Closing In On The East Coast Of Florida” • Massive Hurricane Nicole was dumping rain on Florida Wednesday night as the storm bore down on the east coast of the Sunshine State, threatening to bring damaging winds and heavy precipitation to some places still recovering from Hurricane Ian. [CNN]

Hurricane (George Desipris, Pexels)

¶ “US Department Of Energy Accelerates National Affordable Housing Upgrades” • The need to provide a whole lot more affordable housing solutions for disadvantaged communities is imperative but daunting. The DOE’s Building Technologies Office launched a funding effort to reinvent the “ABCs” of construction and renovation. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Work To Begin Soon On ‘Renewable Energy’ Plant” • Work on a gas-fired power plant that the Louisiana Public Service Commission approved earlier this year could begin in the first quarter of next year, Iberville Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso said. The plant was designed to use a fuel made of up to 50% hydrogen from its first operation. [West Side Journal]

Have an exceptionally placid day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Former NBA Champion Is Changing ‘How The World Builds’ To Fight The Climate Crisis” • In 2019, a hurricane devastated the Bahamas. Today, the country is building what it claims to be the world’s first carbon-negative housing community to reduce the likelihood of future climate disasters and to ease the shortage of homes caused by the storm. [CNN]

Partanna home prototype (Partanna image)

¶ “Egypt Faces An Acute Water Crisis, But It’s Building A ‘Green River’ In The Desert” • On the easternmost outskirts of Cairo, the Egyptian government is building a giant belt of lakes and parks in the desert. Creators call it the “Green River” and say that the ornamental ribbon is to go through Egypt’s new, ultra-modern metropolis: its New Administrative Capital. [CNN]

¶ “Once A Comfort, Rain Is Now Ruining Australia’s Mood” • The city of Sydney has seen around 170 days of rain so far in 2022. There have been more rainy days than dry ones. And with almost a quarter of the year still to go, Sydney broke its annual rainfall record last month. More than 2.3 meters (90 inches) of rain has fallen on the city. [BBC]

Flood in Western Sydney (Wes Warren, Unsplash)

¶ “Why Kenya Is Turning To Genetically Modified Crops To Help With Drought” • Kenya is facing a severe water shortage caused by four failed rainy seasons in a row, amid one of the harshest droughts the East African region has seen in four decades. Kenya has reversed a ban on genetically modifiedd crops so drought resistant maize can be planted. [BBC]

¶ “Electric Bus Boom: Northern Ireland Buying 100 Electric Buses” • The UK’s Department for Infrastructure is providing £88 million in funding to Translink to buy 100 zero-emission electric buses as well as EV charging infrastructure to support them. The buses are to be used in Northern Ireland. They will be built by Wrightbus. [CleanTechnica]

Northern Ireland (Wrightbus image)

¶ “Wiener Linien Orders 60 Mercedes-Benz ECitaro Buses For Vienna” • The Wiener Linien transport company has ordered 60 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro electric buses to run in Vienna. This purchase will help the Austrian city reduce its local emissions with low-floor buses that produce zero emissions. Deliveries will start next year and run through 2025. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “France To Reap $31 Billion Windfall From Renewable Energy Firms” • France will reap €30.9 billion from renewable-power producers over two years as the energy crisis boosts wholesale prices. Onshore wind producers will be the biggest contributor to the government’s coffers over the two years through 2023, with revenues of €21.7 billion. [Energy Voice]

Solar farm, northeast of Gien (Supplied by TotalEnergies)

¶ “World Bank Group Announces Major Initiative To Electrify Sub-Saharan Africa With Distributed Renewable Energy” • The World Bank Group announced an initiative to accelerate the pace of electrification in Africa to achieve universal access by 2030. To accomplish this, it will promote private investment in distributed renewable energy systems. [Mirage News]

¶ “These Two Energy Giants Are Joining Forces To Ramp Up Renewable Power” • Global sustainable energy giants Hitachi Energy and Equinor today announced that they have signed a strategic collaboration agreement. They’re going to join forces on global electrification, renewable power generation, and low-carbon initiatives. [Electrek]

Solar panels (Mariana Proença, Unsplash)

¶ “Finnish Offshore Wind Pipeline Nudges 14 GW” • Finland’s offshore wind pipeline has almost reach 14 GW, according to the Finnish Wind Power Association’s half-yearly report. At present, 13 offshore wind projects with a total output of almost 13,500 MW are planned. Over 3,200 MW more offshore wind power is under development than in the spring. [reNews]

US:

¶ “Average US Construction Costs Drop For Solar, Rise For Wind And Natural Gas Generators” • Construction costs for solar PVs continued to fall in the US in 2020; the capacity-weighted average fell 8% compared with 2019, the latest data shows. By contrast, construction costs for both wind turbines and natural gas-fired generators increased. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “Ford Is #2 Electric Vehicle Seller In USA” • Tesla has been dominating US electric vehicle sales for years, though other automakers are getting more serious. Ford has risen quickly from No Man’s Land to become the second best seller of EV in the country. In October 2022, sales of Ford’s EVs were 119.8% higher than in October 2021. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Lucid Sues Texas Over Direct Sales Ban” • Lucid Group has filed suit in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas (Austin division) claiming that the state’s rules on auto dealerships are a form “economic protectionism,” according to Bloomberg. Tesla has been embroiled in similar legal skirmishes in several states. [CleanTechnica]

Lucid EV (Lucid image)

¶ “US Renewable Growth Puts Them On Par With Nuclear” • The Energy Information Agency released its annual figures for how the US generated electrical power during 2021. Wind, which only started outproducing hydro three years ago, has developed a commanding lead. And solar has gone from a rounding error to 4% of annual production. [Ars Technica]

¶ “Vestas Picks Up 300-MW US Order” • Vestas has received a 300-MW order from Apex Clean Energy to power the Goose Creek Wind project in Illinois. The order consists of 50 V162-6.2 MW turbines delivered in 6.0-MW operating mode. The order includes supply, delivery, and commissioning of the turbines, as well as a 10-year service agreement. [reNews]

Have a fantastically sensible day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “The World Needs India To Avert Climate Catastrophe. Can Modi Deliver?” • In the past, India has defended its use of planet-warming fossil fuels in the name of development – a stance that has seen it criticized at international climate talks. By 2030, Modi wants half of India’s energy to come from renewables. But it is still building coal-fired generating plants. [CNN]

Solar plant in India (Thomas Lloyd Group, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “How This School In The Indian Desert Stays Cool Even In Extreme Heat” • The Indian desert town of Jaisalmer is called “The Golden City” for yellow sandstone architecture. It can get to 120°F (49°C) in the heat of summer, but the buildings provide cooling without using energy. New York architect Diana Kellogg used that tradition for a girls’ school. [CNN]

World:

¶ “This Has Quickly Become The Key Issue At COP27 – And The Most Difficult To Resolve” • Some countries are fighting for a so-called “loss and damage” fund. The concept is that countries that have contributed the most to climate change with their planet-warming emissions should pay poorer countries to recover from the resulting disasters. [CNN]

Village of Telly, Mali (Ferdinand Reus, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Billionaires Emit A Million Times More Greenhouse Gases Than The Average Person, Study Finds” • A report published by the British-founded charity Oxfam found that the wealthiest individuals’ investments account for up to 70% of their emissions. Their carbon emissions are more than a million times higher than those of an average person. [CNN]

¶ “VikingBus Orders 31 Mercedes-Benz ECitaro Buses As Long-Distance Runners In Denmark” • Vikingbus, a Danish bus company, has ordered 31 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro all-electric vehicles. These are to be primarily operated in the municipality of Køge, a port city located south of Copenhagen in the east of the island of Sjӕlland. [CleanTechnica]

Mercedes-Benz eCitaro (Courtesy of Daimler Truck)

¶ “UK BEV Volume Up YOY Despite Tesla’s Mid-Quarter Restocking” • The UK auto market saw plugin electric vehicles take 21.5% share in October, with growing year on year volumes. October market volume was still at the lowest seasonal level since 2010. BMW’s full electrics led the category in October, with Tesla in shipping mode. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Asia Pacific Corporate PPA Demand To Hit 7 GW” • In the Asia Pacific region, corporations are set to contract a record 7 GW of renewable capacity in 2022, an 80% increase on 2021, according to analysis from Wood Mackenzie. Corporate renewable power purchase agreements are becoming increasingly attractive as prices have come down. [reNews]

Wind turbines (Rabih Shasha, Unsplash)

¶ “Commerz Real And Hydro Rein Are To Buy A Danish Solar Portfolio” • Commerz Real and Hydro Rein are to buy a 362-MW solar portfolio in Denmark from developer GreenGo Energy. They include a 170-MW project located on Denmark’s west coast and another project in the south of the country. Commissioning is scheduled for 2026. [reNews]

¶ “World Must Double Renewable Power Targets To Achieve Net Zero: IRENA” • The world needs to double its renewable power targets for 2030 to achieve net zero emissions, the International Renewable Energy Agency said. Countries aim to reach 5.4 TW of installed renewable capacity by the end of the decade, about half of the 10.8 TW required. [The National]

Solar panels (Mariana Proença, Unsplash)

¶ “Microsoft Agrees To Purchase Wind Power From Alberta Project” • Microsoft will buy 543 GWh worth of energy a year from an Alberta wind power project in a recently announced deal. The energy will be from the Paintearth Wind Project, which began construction in September. It is expected to be finished by the end of 2023. [Calgary Herald]

¶ “France Electricity Prices Surge Past €1,000/MWh As More Nuclear Reactors Close For Winter” • Wholesale electricity prices in France for the middle of winter surged above €1,000/MWh ($1.00/kWh, wholesale), after EDF revealed more problems, and more outages at its reactors. EDF is the operator of the world’s biggest nuclear fleet. [Renew Economy]

Nuclear power plant (Frédéric Paulussen, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Florida’s East Coast Is Under A Hurricane Watch As The State Grapples With Hurricane Ian’s Devastation” • A rare November hurricane could batter Florida’s east coast this week as residents try to recover from Hurricane Ian. Subtropical Storm Nicole is nearing the state over waters that are warmer than normal, which will allow the storm to strengthen. [CNN]

¶ “South Dakota Cures The Renewable Energy Blues” • The political knives are still out when the topic turns to climate change, but it looks like the energy transition is going to happen anyway. A case in point is the “red” state of South Dakota, which has now amassed enough renewable energy to fulfill its own electricity needs, and then some. [CleanTechnica]

South Dakota wind energy resources (Courtesy of US DOE)

¶ “Ohio State To Develop New Bus Technology Testing Center With $26.5 Million Federal Investment” • Ohio State University will establish and operate a testing center to support deployment of zero-emission and low-emission buses, supported by a $26.5 million investment from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Minnesota Power Plans For More Renewable Energy Over Next 15 Years” • A Duluth-based utility, Minnesota Power, said it will add up to 700 MW of renewable energy – 400 MW of wind and 300 MW of solar. This is a big increase over the 300 MW of solar and wind it proposed when it announced its plan almost two years ago. [Duluth News Tribune]

Have a marvelously convenient day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “If Renewables Are So Cheap, Why Electricity So Expensive In South Australia?” • SA went from zero to 70% renewable energy in 16 years, and the price of electricity went up. One factor is a lack of competition pushing up prices, but the main influence is the rising cost of natural gas. Its price began to increase in 2015 and recently hit record highs. [SolarQuotes]

Gas-fired power plant (Peripitus, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

¶ “The Psychology Tricks That Can Dispel Climate Change Denial” • Looking at the psychology underlying climate change denial, it is apparent that we are dealing with black-and-white thinking in which possibilities are simplified and polarized into pairs of opposites. Shades of gray are missed; everything appears to be either true or false, right or wrong. [Yahoo]

Science and Technology:

¶ “First Self-Flying, 4-Seat, All-Electric, Vertical Takeoff And Landing Air Taxi” • Wisk Aero claims it has developed the first self-flying, fully electric, 4-seat air taxi. This is its 6th generation air taxi, reportedly “designed to meet and exceed rigorous commercial safety standards, making it one of the safest systems in aviation,” Wisk Aero says. [CleanTechnica]

Wisk Aero (Wisk Aero image)

¶ “Climate Change Fuels Malaria Infection” • Malaria and climate change are closely related, scientists say. The climate change seen in places around the world contributes to vector-borne diseases, including malaria, which is highly endemic in Africa. Growth of both the mosquitoes and the malaria parasites depend upon sufficiently warm weather. [The Standard]

¶ “Past Eight Years Eight Hottest On Record, UN Report Warns” • As the past eight years are on track to be the eight hottest on record, the World Meteorological Organization released its annual state of the global climate report with another warning that the target to limit temperature increases to 1.5°C (2.7°F) was “barely within reach.” [Al Jazeera]

Hot weather (Scott Goodwill, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “COP27: ‘Climate Chaos’ Warning As UN Summit Begins” • The UN’s climate change summit has opened in Egypt with a warning that our planet is “sending a distress signal.” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was responding to a UN report released on Sunday pointing out that the past eight years were on track to be the warmest on record. [BCC]

¶ “COP27: Rishi Sunak Urges Global Push On ‘Clean Growth’” • At the COP27 summit, Rishi Sunak will tell world leaders The fight against climate change can become “a global mission for new jobs and clean growth.” The prime minister will also say it is essential nations stick to commitments made in Glasgow a year ago at COP26 . [BBC]

Rishi Sunak speaking (Rory Arnold, No10 Downing Street,
UK Open Government license v3.0)

¶ “Deutsche Telekom To Buy 100% Electric Company Cars From 2023” • Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile in the US) is focused on taking climate action. That translates into initiatives that include a plan to buy only 100% electric cars for its fleet starting in 2023. It also plans to achieve climate neutrality within its own business operations in 2025. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Honda Exhibits World Premiere Of The ‘e:N2 Concept EV’” • Honda Brand introduced the the e:N2 Concept at the 5th China International Import Expo, an event that is being hosted in Shanghai. Honda released the concept for the second phase of its e:N Series of models – the EV model series they plan to market and sell in China. [CleanTechnica]

Honda e:N2 concept (Honda image)

¶ “United Nations Warns Climate Change Is Speeding Up” • Each of the last eight years, if projections for 2022 hold, will be hotter than any year prior to 2015, the UN said, detailing a dramatic increase in the rate of global warming. Sea level rise, glacier melt, torrential rains, heat waves – and the deadly disasters they cause – have all accelerated. [Tico Times]

¶ “Flow Power Enters Queensland Market With Clermont Solar Farm PPA” • Australian electricity retailer Flow Power has officially entered the Queensland market, signing an offtake deal with German-owned renewable energy developer Wirsol Energy for 30 MW of clean electricity generated at the 89 MW Clermont Solar Farm. [pv magazine Australia]

Clermont Solar Farm in Queensland (Wirsol Energy image)

US:

¶ “Wells Are Running Dry In Drought-Weary Southwest As Foreign-Owned Farms Guzzle Water To Feed Cattle Overseas” • Just as the Colorado River Basin is in crisis, aquifers are rapidly depleting from overuse, worsening drought, and rampant growth of agriculture. Huge, foreign-owned farms are growing thirsty crops like alfalfa to feed livestock overseas. [CNN]

¶ “GMC Hummer EV Pickup And SUV Sold Out For At Least Two Years” • It looks like there is some bad news if you want to purchase a 2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup or SUV. They are sold out, and it seems the waiting list is two or more years long. GM cannot keep up with the high demand, so prospective buyers are being waitlisted. [CleanTechnica]

Hummer EV SUV and pickup (Courtesy of GM)

¶ “The Next Big US Offshore Wind Winners Are Texas And Louisiana” • The Interior Department has just tapped Texas and Louisiana for offshore wind development. This may seem like an exercise in futility, but as states without fossil resources jockey for position in the new hydrogen economy, both Louisiana and Texas will have keep up. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Rewiring America Wants To Educate Consumers About The Benefits Available In The IRA” • There are important incentives for American households to improve their energy efficiency and lower their utility bills in the Inflation Reduction Act. Rewiring America wants to get the word out to local individuals and communities. [CleanTechnica]

Have an especially fine day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Will We Ever … Live In City-Sized Buildings?” • Enclosed cities have become a narrative shorthand for futuristic settlements in science fiction. Many are self-contained habitats, incorporating all essential infrastructure, including energy generation, food production, waste management and water. Some have already been proposed for construction. [BBC]

The Line, a proposed city 105 miles long (Neom image)

¶ “How Does Russia Keep Signing Nuclear Power Contracts?” • Russia’s ability to sign nuclear contracts in the midst of massive sanctions over its illegal invasion of Ukraine is a complicated story. The way nuclear fuel supply chains work means that all thirty countries with nuclear generation are to some extent exposed to Russian supplies. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Climate Activists Block Private Jet Runway At Schiphol Airport In Amsterdam” • Hundreds of Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion activists breached a runway Saturday at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport to try to stop private jets from taking off, in the latest demonstration by protesters aimed at drawing attention to the climate crisis. [CNN]

Schiphol Airport (Aron Marinelli, Unsplash)

¶ “As Countries Convene At Climate Summit In Egypt, Reports Show The World Is Wildly Off Track. Here’s What To Watch At COP27” • As global leaders converge in Egypt for the UN’s annual climate summit, researchers, advocates, and the UN itself warn the world is still wildly off-track on its goal to prevent the worst consequences of the climate crisis. [CNN]

¶ “Volvo Australia To Sell Only Electric Cars By 2026” • Volvo Group is one of the car-manufacturing brands that has made a commitment to switch to EVs by 2030. But in Volvo Australia announced it has decided to step it up a notch, by vowing to sell EVs only in Australia by 2026, well ahead of the car company’s global commitment. [CleanTechnica]

Volvo XC40 (Volvo image)

¶ “Enel To Build Rock-Based Storage System For Renewable Energy” • Enel, Italy’s biggest utility, and Israel’s Brenmiller Energy joined hands up to build a rock-based storage system in Tuscany to test new technologies to increase flexibility in the use of renewable energy. The system stores excess solar or wind energy as heat. [GreentechLead]

¶ “EU Cutting €11 Billion In Gas Costs Via Record Growth In Wind And Solar” • The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent one very clear message to Europe: Ween yourself off dependence on Russian fossil gas, and gas in general. That led to record growth in wind and solar power this year. And analysis shows that has led to €11 billion in gas cost savings. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it

¶ “Sunak Claims Role As ‘Clean Energy Champion’ On Eve Of Cop27” • Rishi Sunak attempted an extraordinary volte-face on green policy on the eve of the Cop27 climate summit, saying he would attend to “galvanise” world leaders to save the planet. He had been criticised for saying he was too busy with domestic commitments to attend. [The Guardian]

¶ “We Must Take Action To Save Agriculture From Climate Change – Peasant Farmers Association” • The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana made a six-point proposal for immediate action by the Government given the impact of climate change on food security worldwide. The proposals may serve as a backdrop to Ghana’s presence at COP 27. [News Ghana]

Farm workers (Peasant Farmers image)

¶ “External Power Restored To Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant – IAEA” • External power has been restored to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant two days after it was cut off from the power grid, the UN nuclear watchdog said. Russian shelling had damaged high voltage lines, and the plant requires electricity to prevent overheating. [MSN]

US:

¶ “Orders For Eviation Alice Electric Plane Pass $2 Billion” • On September 27, Eviation’s Alice electric plane conducted its first flight at Moses Lake Grant County International Airport, in Washington state. Now, Eviation Aircraft has announced that the order book for the all-electric Alice airplane has passed a total value of $2 billion. [CleanTechnica]

Alice (Image courtesy of Eviation/GlobalX)

¶ “Hacker-Craft Electric Boats To Use Electric Propulsion From Ingenity” • Two 100-year-old American companies, one building iconic mahogany speedboats, and the other making state-of-the-art electric drivetrains, are collaborating to deliver “the future of luxury boating.” Some Hacker-Craft Boats will be available with Ingenity Electric drivetrains. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Canoo’s New EV Battery Module Manufacturing Facility In Oklahoma” • Canoo has announced a new EV battery module manufacturing facility in MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor, Oklahoma. Once it is fully operational, the new facility will be able to handle approximately 3200 MWh of battery module manufacturing capacity. [CleanTechnica]

Canoo facility (Canoo image)

¶ “Idahoans Testify Against Idaho Power Solar Study” • Based on a study it had done, Idaho Power is proposing cutting the export credit rate from 8¢ to 10¢/kWh to 2.8¢ to 4¢/kWh for people who have had solar panels installed after December 2019, Sierra Club analysis shows. A broad group of people spoke out against the study at an Idaho PUC meeting. [KTVB]

¶ “Some Climate Activists Aren’t Suing Over The Future – They Are Taking Aim At The Present” • Most climate lawsuits pitch climate change as a problem that has yet to unfold, but one lawsuit by young people is takes a new approach to try to force governments to reckon with climate change. They are suing over damage that has already been done. [Popular Science]

Have an absolutely perfect day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Cop27: Climate Anxiety Is Rising, And That Might Be A Good Thing” • Global leaders are set to meet for another UN climate summit, COP27 starting in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday. The reality of climate change can be overwhelming for many people. Experts and activists have told BBC News that these fears can actually be good news for the planet. [BBC]

Climate protest (Callum Shaw, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “New 50-Tonne Battery-Powered Electric Crane” • Just as in every other vehicle market, electric cranes are starting to arrive. The 653 E Electro Battery from SENNEBOGEN, developed with Dutch dealer Van den Heuvel, is a 50-tonne battery-powered electric crane. It answers a need for heavy equipment that meet the needs of quiet, clean cities. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Enevate And Lightning Motorcycles Partnership Creates 5-Minute Fast Charge For Electric Motorcycles” • Enevate makes batteries with high energy density and extremely fast charging. Lightning Motorcycles makes electric motorcycles that set performance records. The two combined efforts on Lightning’s Strike Carbon motorcycle. [CleanTechnica]

Electric motorcycle (Image courtesy Lightning Motorcycles)

World:

¶ “US Trade Officials Open Talks With EU On IRA Incentives For Electric Cars” • To the surprise of no one, trade officials from the US and the EU plan to hold high level talks designed to defuse tensions over the tax credits for electric cars in the Inflation Reduction Act. The law sets requirements for electric cars to be eligible for the full $7,500 credit. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Plugins 22.4% Share In France, BEVs Up, PHEVs Down” • In October, Plugin EVs took 22.4% share of France’s auto market. Full electrics grew share slightly, while plugin hybrids declined. Overall auto market volume was 124,981 units up 5.5% YOY. October’s best selling full electric was the Peugeot 208, with the Renault Megane the long term leader. [CleanTechnica]

Renault Megane (Vitali Adutskevich, Unsplash)

¶ “Renewable energy will meet half of Karnataka’s energy needs by 2030, says Minister Sunil Kumar” • New renewable energy projects in Karnataka will add 12,340 MW of power capacity, helping the state to source half it’s energy needs from clean energy sources by 2030, according to Energy Minister Sunil Kumar Karkala. [The Economic Times]

¶ “XPENG Announces Vehicle Delivery Results For October 2022, Sees 56% Increase YOY” • So far, this has been a good year for the Chinese smart electric vehicle company XPeng Inc, and October was no exception. XPeng vehicle delivery results for October 2022 were released and showed some good numbers driving the company forward. [CleanTechnica]

Xpeng G3 taxi (Windmemories, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Canadian Government Recognizes Nuclear As Clean Energy” • The Canadian government’s inclusion of small modular reactors amongst clean energy technologies eligible for a new investment tax credit has been greeted by some as a signal that it considers nuclear power to be “clean energy” on a par with all other low-carbon technologies. [Eurasia Review]

¶ “Sizewell C Nuclear Plant Plans Have Not Been Scrapped, Says No 10” • Downing Street said plans to build a new nuclear power plant in Suffolk have not been scrapped as part of a drive for sweeping government spending cuts. When complete, the plant is expected to cost £30 billion, with taxpayers expected to foot about a fifth of that. [The Guardian]

Sizewell B reactor (Dave Croker, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “How Much Tesla Earned Per Car Delivered In Q3” • Year over year, Tesla’s net income more than doubled in the third quarter, and CEO Elon Musk seems to think the company could someday outpace some of the world’s largest companies. All automakers face high prices on raw materials, but Tesla is pulling in a good amount of money for each car it sells. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “GreenPower Deploys First Purpose-Built ADA-Compliant Electric Type A School Bus In The US” • GreenPower Motor Company, a manufacturer and distributor of electric-powered medium and heavy-duty vehicles, deployed the first purpose-built Type A, all-electric, zero-emission, ADA-compliant school bus in Clay County, West Virginia. [CleanTechnica]

Clay County school bus (GreenPower Motor image)

¶ “Former Pennsylvania Coal Communities Receive Millions For Renewable Energy, Workforce Development” • Former coal communities will get nearly $47 million for renewable energy and workforce development projects. The Appalachian Regional Commission and Governor Tom Wolf announced grants for nine projects in Pennsylvania. [The Allegheny Front]

¶ “Outdoor Living Rooms And Renewable Power: How San Francisco Is Fighting Climate Change” • Air pollution and traffic congestion plague cities worldwide. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In San Francisco, a number of environmental initiatives encourage eco-friendly habits, increasing greenery, and creating better space for everyone. [Yahoo News UK]

Lombard Street (Braden Collum, Unsplash)

¶ “Ess Inc To Deliver Long-Duration Battery System To Burbank Water And Power” • In California, ESS Inc and Burbank Water and Power entered into an agreement for ESS to deliver a battery storage project to BWP. Under the agreement, a 75-kW, 500-kWh iron flow battery will be installed and connected to BWP’s 265-kW solar array. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “Puerto Rico: A Massive Energy Transformation Is Within Reach” • President Joe Biden has taken an important step to advance an energy transformation in Puerto Rico. He recently gave Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm authority to supervise federal resources for the electric system while driving a plan for renewable energy transformation.  [The Hill]

Have a wonderfully tranquil day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “COP27: Why The Latest UN Climate Conference Matters” • COP27 is reckoned to be the world’s best hope of progress on the climate issue. The global effort to cut emissions is “woefully inadequate” and means the world is on track for “catastrophe”, the UN warned last week. But the meeting in Egypt is shaping up to be prickly and confrontational. [BBC]

Promenade at Sharm El-Sheikh (Marc Ryckaert, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Why High Temperatures Can Make Planes Too Heavy To Take Off” • Our planet’s rising temperatures are making it harder for planes to take off at certain airports, presenting yet another challenge to civil aviation. As heatwaves become more frequent, the problem could extend to more flights, forcing airlines to leave passengers on the ground. [CNN]

¶ “How A Sand Battery Could Transform Clean Energy” • In western Finland, four young engineers believe they may have an answer to the challenge of energy storage. They are working at the Vatajankoski power plant, 270 km (168 miles) north-west of Finland’s capital, Helsinki, on storage using a remarkably simple, abundant, and cheap medium: sand. [BBC]

Sand battery (Polar Night Energy image)

World:

¶ “Zelensky accuses Russia of ‘energy terrorism’” • Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Kremlin of resorting to “energy terrorism” as Russian troops make few gains on the battlefield and are likely to be forced to withdraw from Kherson. Mr Zelensky said 4.5 million people were without power after Russian attacks on its energy network. [BBC]

¶ “Norway’s BEVs Still Growing Well, Even While PHEVs Fall Away” • Norway’s auto market saw 86.4% plugin EV share in October, down year on year, from 89.3%. Full electrics grew by 7.5% YOY, but a drop in plugin hybrids outweighed that. Overall, 12,558 units sold, up 8.5% YOY, and above the pre-2020 seasonal norm of 11,635 units. [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagen ID.4 (Ssu, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “COP27 Policy Brief Looks At How To Enable Southern Africa’s Transition To A Low-Carbon Electricity System” • The Southern African Power Pool operates four competitive electricity markets between 12 member countries. It has 40% of total electricity demand and about 40% of total carbon emissions in Africa. Here is a look at it. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “GM Plans New EV Startup Business Model For Europe” • Five years ago, General Motors sold its European operations to Stellantis. It looked at the time as though GM was through with Europe. Then earlier this year, GM CEO Mary Barra surprised the automotive world by announcing the company was planning to re-enter the European market. [CleanTechnica]

Cadillac LYRIQ (Courtesy of Cadillac)

¶ “NSW Officially Declares Its Third Renewable Energy Zone” • The New South Wales government has formally declared the state’s third Renewable Energy Zone. The South West REZ is in the state’s western Riverina region. Initial expressions of interest in the zone are set to attract generation proposals. The planned capacity is 2.5 GW. [pv magazine Australia]

¶ “Irish Wind Output For October Nudges 50%” • Wind Energy Ireland has released its October Wind Energy report, which shows that wind energy provided 47% per cent of Ireland’s electricity in October 2022. The latest figures mean that wind energy has supplied 33% of Ireland’s electricity demand this year to the end of October. [reNews]

Wind turbines in Ireland (Nordex image)

¶ “Sizewell C Nuclear Power Plant ‘Under Review’ As UK Seeks Spending Cuts” • Plans to build a new nuclear power plant in Suffolk are under review and could be delayed or scrapped as the government seeks to make sweeping spending cuts. The reactor is estimated to cost £30 billion and is expected to provide up to 7% of the UK’s total electricity needs. [The Guardian]

US:

¶ “This Little Autonomous Vehicle Getting Use At New York’s JFK International Airport” • Navya, a little autonomous shuttle company, is not usable in nearly as many environments as the tech from other companies, but it is effective on various simple routes. The company’s latest contract is with New York City’s JFK International Airport. [CleanTechnica]

Autonomous vehicle (Navya image)

¶ “California To Spend Another $1.8 Billion On Electric School Buses” • California has spent $1.2 billion on electrifying school buses over the past 20 years. Another $1.8 billion is set to be spent in the next five years on zero-emissions school buses and associated charging infrastructure. A report includes guidance on how it should be spent. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Napa Valley’s Frank Family Vineyards Furthers “Green to Our Roots” Ethos With A 100% Renewable Energy-Powered Winery” • Frank Family Vineyards announced that it has enrolled in Marin Clean Energy’s Deep Green Program. The program allows the winery to source 100% renewable energy from locally produced wind and solar power. [Wine Industry Advisor]

Vineyard (Daniel Salgado, Unsplash)

¶ “DTE Energy Accelerates Schedule For Retiring Coal, But Not Enough To Please Environmental Groups” • DTE Energy filed a 20-year energy plan that includes a faster retirement of its coal plants along with other steps to reduce carbon emissions. It will close a number of coal-burning plants early. At least one is to be converted to a gas-fired peaker plant. [Michigan Radio]

¶ “What’s Driving Maine’s Surging Electricity Costs? Despite Campaign Rhetoric, Not Renewable Energy” • Electricity and energy prices are major issues in Maine’s gubernatorial race. Former Republican Gov Paul LePage blames Maine’s renewable energy policies, but the key cost driver within the New England regional power grid is natural gas. [Maine Public]

Have a thoroughly unworried day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Solar Panels Should Be Donated To Ukraine ASAP” • One consistent target of Russia’s war in Ukraine has been Ukraine’s electricity facilities. Power plants, substations, and transformers have been destroyed. In the cold Ukrainian winter, people need electricity to be warm. Solar PVs may not be the perfect solution, but they can be put up fast. [CleanTechnica]

Solar power in Ukraine (Activ Solar, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “‘Compostable Plastic’ Doesn’t Live Up To Its Environmental Claims. Here’s What You Can Focus On Instead” • A new study conducted in the UK found that 60% of products labeled as compostable do not fully break down in home compost. Unlike conventional plastics, these alternatives are largely unregulated, despite their advertised benefits. [CNN]

World:

¶ “These Glaciers Are On Track To Disappear Within The Next 30 Years, New Report Shows” • Recently, researchers at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization found that glaciers in one-third of the planet’s most beautiful parks and protected areas are set to disappear by 2050 – even if global warming is slowed. [CNN]

Mt Kilimanjaro (Sergey Pesterev, Unsplash)

¶ “Europe Has Warmed Faster Than Any Other Region In The Past 30 Years” • The climate crisis is warming Europe faster than any other region, according to the latest State of the Climate in Europe report from the World Meteorological Organization. The temperatures in Europe have increased at more than twice the global average over the past 30 years. [CNN]

¶ “Sweden’s Plugin EV Share At 59.4%, Volvo XC40 Back To Strength” • October saw Sweden’s plugin electric vehicle share reach 59.4% of the auto market, up from 50.1% year on year. Full electrics alone took 35.5% share, from 22.9% YOY. Overall auto volume was 22,383 units, 12% up YOY, though still some 25% down on pre-2020 seasonal norms. [CleanTechnica]

Volvo XC40 (George Sargiannidis, Unsplash)

¶ “Japan’s TEPCO And Scotland’s Flotation Energy Eye Offshore Wind Prospects” • TEPCO Renewable Power, a subsidiary of Japanese utility Tokyo Electric Power Company, is teaming up with Flotation Energy to develop the offshore wind markets in Japan and Scotland. Flotation Energy has its headquarters in Edinburgh. [Power Engineering International]

¶ “Acwa Power To Build 10-GW Wind Farm In Egypt” • Acwa Power signed an initial agreement to build a 10-GW wind farm in Egypt. It could be the world’s second-largest wind farm. Acwa, a Saudi utility, signed the preliminary agreement with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company. [The National]

Wind turbines (Raimond Klavins, Unsplash)

¶ “Neoen To Use Wind And Big Battery In ‘First Of Its Kind’ Baseload Renewables Contract With BHP” • French renewable energy developer Neoen says it has signed a “baseload” contract with mining giant BHP to supply power to its huge Olympic Dam copper mine in South Australia. The power will come from wind and battery storage. [Renew Economy]

¶ “Marinus Link Will Unlock The Tasmanian Renewables Jobs Of The Future” • Through Marinus Link, Battery of the Nation, and Green Hydrogen, Tasmanians stand to benefit from a pipeline of projects that will provide jobs and opportunity over the next decade and beyond. It is one of the greatest opportunities for jobs in Tasmania’s history. [Premier of Tasmania]

Gordon dam and lake (Tangerineduel, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Cut Off From Grid By Russian Shelling, Says Ukraine” • Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was disconnected from the country’s grid after Russian shelling destroyed its last remaining high-voltage power lines, according to officials. The power plant only has 15 days’ worth of fuel for emergency generators, Energoatom said. [MSN]

US:

¶ “US To Deploy 550 GW Of New Renewables By 2030” • The American Clean Power Association projects that the US may deploy 550 GW of new renewable energy projects by 2030. Solar, wind, and energy storage capacity will help pave the way for the nation to cut economy-wide emissions by 40% below 2005 levels. The work will create 1 million jobs. [pv magazine USA]

Wind turbines (Quang Nguyen Vinh, Pexels)

¶ “America’s Largest Transit Bus Charging Station And Microgrid Opens In Maryland” • Montgomery County, Maryland, now has the largest transit bus charging station and microgrid in the US. It has the largest fleet of electric school buses in the nation and is planning for all 70 of the buses in its county transit system to be electric by 2026. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Kentucky Emerges From Solar Energy Stealth Mode” • The state of Kentucky has been bumping around in the lower tier of states for installed PV capacity, but its solar energy wallflower days may be coming to an end. A new green hydrogen hub, one of the world’s largest indoor farms, and a giant water battery are all in the mix. [CleanTechnica]

Indoor farming in Kentucky (Courtesy of AppHarvest)

¶ “California’s Climate Crisis Is Intensifying Quickly And Taking A Heavy Toll On Residents, New Data Reveals” • California’s climate crisis is quickly intensifying, impacting every resident and “increasingly taking a toll on the health and well-being of its people and on its unique and diverse ecosystems,” data from the California EPA reveals. [CNN]

¶ “Burlington Electric Department Announces Partnership With Arc Industries” • The Burlington Electric Department announced a partnership with ARC Industries to pioneer ARC’s new, leading-edge wind turbine – The Orb – at Burlington International Airport in pursuit of Burlington’s goal of becoming a Net-Zero Energy City by 2030. [City of Burlington, VT]

Have an unpretentiously splendid day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Natural Gas Power Plants Begin Their Inevitable Decline” • Natural-gas-fired power plants are expected to provide 38% of the nation’s electricity in 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Though nearly a net 6,900 MW of capacity will be added this year, natural gas is expected to be 36% of the power mix in 2023. [The Street]

Wisconsin gas-powered plant (Dual Freq, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Protein Evolution Recycles Plastics Quickly – ‘1 Million Years Of Evolution In 1 Day’” • Protein Evolution, a startup based in New Haven, Connecticut, emerged from stealth mode this week to announce it has created a process that can break down plastic waste into its component parts, which can then be reused to make new plastics. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Solar PV Module Design Has Wide-Ranging Impacts On Our Clean-Energy Future” • To achieve its decarbonization goals, the US must increase its PV production and installations rapidly, but installing more of the same is not the only solution. PV modules that last longer could reduce the manufacturing requirements and amounts of materials. [CleanTechnica]

Solar modules (Kelly, Pexels)

World:

¶ “How Pop Band A-Ha Inspired Norway’s EV Revolution” • Back in the 1980s, leaders in the Nordic environmental movement were pushing for EV technology but it just wasn’t being noticed. Then they recruited the country’s biggest pop group to help push the issue into the mainstream. The group, A-ha, used an EV to launch a campaign of civil disobedience. [BBC]

¶ “Ukrainians Are Dreading The ‘Darkest Winter’ As Russia Takes Aim At The Power Grid” • As the weather gets colder, millions of Ukrainians are trying to prepare for what they know will be an extremely difficult winter. The Ukrainian government said in July that over 800,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed in the war. Now Russia is bombing power plants. [CNN]

Bombed apartment building (Nick Tsybenko, Unsplash)

¶ “USA And UAE Team Up On Clean Energy – $100 Billion Investment” • Through a new Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy, the US and UAE will focus on the scalable development of low-emission energy sources, with the goal of deploying 100 GW of clean energy globally by 2035. This will be done with an investment of $100 billion. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Mercedes – Last ICE Platform 2023, Midsize EV Sedan 2024” • The Mercedes E Class is due for an update next year, and Mercedes told Germany’s Automobil Woche this week that the new platform for the E Class will be the last internal combustion chassis it will develop. Autocar reports that an electric counterpart to the C Class will be out in 2024. [CleanTechnica]

2023 Mercedes E Class prototype (Courtesy of Mercedes)

¶ “Renewable Energy Records Tumble Around The Country As Rooftop Solar Power Soars” • Soaring power production from rooftop solar panels broke records across Australia as output from fossil fuels fell to all-time lows. “We have observed records being broken recently – I think we need to get used to that,” a former electricity system planner said. [ABC]

¶ “EDF Renewables Turns Sod For 50-MW Battery” • EDF Renewables UK has started construction of a 50-MW battery site at Energy Superhub Coventry. The 50-MW, 100-MWh battery will help to support the integration of renewables in the UK by storing energy when the supply is abundant and discharging it when the supply is lower. [reNews]

EDF battery (EDF image)

¶ “Poland To Build Three Nuclear Power Plants” • The Polish government unveiled plans to install six large pressurized water reactors by 2040 with a combined installed capacity of 6 GW to 9 GW. Poland signed an agreement with the US on cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy. Westinghouse offered its AP1000 technology. [Balkan Green Energy News]

US:

¶ “Navy Lays Out Plan To Shutter Red Hill Fuel Storage Facility Nearly One Year After Leak Sickened Military Families” • A year after a fuel leak sickened families and forced the Pentagon to shut down the Red Hill fuel storage facility in Hawaii, the Navy laid out its nearly 5-year plan to permanently close the World War II-era facility. [CNN]

Red Hill fuel storage facility (US Navy image)

¶ “Almost 25% Of US Electrical Generation Was Renewable In The First Two-Thirds Of 2022” • Renewable electricity sources saw increases in the first two-thirds of 2022, Energy Information Administration data shows. In the first eight months of 2022, nearly a quarter of US electricity generation came from clean energy sources, Electrek reported. [EcoWatch]

¶ “Tritium And DC-America Join Forces To Provide Coast-To-Coast EV Charging” • Tritium DCFC Limited and DC-America joined forces to install DC fast chargers along America’s highway system as part of a coast-to-coast charging network. DC-America will offer its versatile charging stations equipped with Tritium’s fast chargers. [CleanTechnica]

EV charging stations

¶ “California Taco Bell Receives First EV Charging Stations” • Taco Bell opened its first ultra-fast charging station in South San Francisco, with help of ChargeNet Solutions. The partnership of ChargeNet Stations and Diversified Restaurant Group, a Taco Bell franchisee, will make EV charging easy at one of America’s most popular fast food chains. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “rPlus Energies Breaks Ground On 200-MW Solar Project” • Renewable energy developer rPlus Energies began construction of the 200-MWac Appaloosa Solar 1 project in Iron County, Utah. This project is the state’s largest. rPlus Energies, Greenbacker, and Sundt Construction hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on the project site. [Utah Business Magazine]

Have a serendipitously enjoyable day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Science and Technology:

¶ “Industrial Agricultural Needs To Be Replaced By Agroecology – Soon” • The agricultural sector accounts for nearly 25% of all emissions. Agroecology is a method of farming with nature rather than against it, using ecological principles for agricultural systems. The method promotes diversity, resilience, circularity, social values, and cultural practices. [CleanTechnica]

Young plants (Elena Mozhvilo, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Russian Missiles Bombard Cities Across Ukraine, Hitting Power And Water Infrastructure” • Russia launched a barrage of missile strikes at Ukrainian cities as it ramped up its attacks on infrastructure facilities across the country. In Kyiv,  80% of the residents were left without water, and many lost electricity. Other cities had similar damage. [CNN]

¶ “Power And Water Hit As Grain Ships Call Russian Bluff” • Power and water supplies across Ukraine have been bombed, including the hydroelectric power plant in Zaporizhzhia. Also, twelve ships filled with grain left the country’s Black Sea ports despite Russia’s suspension of an agreement allowing exports to some of the most vulnerable countries. [BBC]

Dnieper Hydroelectric Station (A1, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Mullen Announces The I-GO – €12,111 Mini EV For Europe” • Mullen, an emerging EV maker in China, announced that it has secured exclusive sales, distribution, and branding rights to a new compact urban delivery electric vehicle. The vehicle is called the I-GO. It is fully EU-standard approved and certified for sale in select European markets. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “European Parliament Moves To Mandate EVs By 2035” • The EU Parliament agreed to a set of rules that will see an increase in the number of recharging and alternative refueling stations for cars, trucks, trains, and planes. This is part of the “Fit for 55 in 2030 package” which plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% come 2030. [CleanTechnica]

EV recharging (Ed Harvey, Pexels)

¶ “Toyota Places Recycled EV Batteries On Grid” • JERA Co and Toyota created the world’s first large-capacity Sweep Energy Storage System using batteries from previously owned EVs. It is now connected to the consumer electrical power grid. They plan to store 100 MWh in grid batteries at JERA’s Yokkaichi Thermal Power Station. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Kenya Eyes Renewable Energy Milestone With Blueprint” • Stakeholders in Kenya’s electricity sector have unveiled a new blueprint to enable it to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030. The announcement comes ahead of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. [The Standard]

Kenya (Thomas Bennie, Unsplash)

¶ “Warsaw, Seoul Ink Deal To Develop Nuclear Power Plant In Poland” • Seoul and Warsaw signed a deal to develop a nuclear power reactor in Poland, the two countries’ ministries have said. Poland’s ZE PAK and PGE will join with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to assess building a 1400-MW nuclear reactor in the city of Patnow in central Poland. [WION]

US:

¶ “How Tucson, Arizona Is Facing Up To A 1,200-Year Drought” • Tucson is a desert city where barely 12 inches (30 cm) of rain falls in an average year. Over the past 15 years or so thousands of its residents have turned to rainwater harvesting. They joined the city’s drive to embrace the practice as part of its suite of water conservation initiatives. [BBC]

Blue front door in Tucson (Sean Benesh, Unsplash)

¶ “This City Paid $1.1 Million To Keep Faucets Running Through March As The Price Of Water Skyrockets In California” • Miles of uprooted almond trees lie dead on parched farms in Coalinga, in the intensifying drought, as new water restrictions force farmers to sacrifice their crops. Officials turned to the open market to buy the water the city needs. [CNN]

¶ “US Airports Are Switching To Electric Buses With Help From Federal Grants” • While we are waiting for electric airplanes and green aviation fuels to arrive, airports all across the United States are beginning to switch to electric buses to shuttle passengers from terminal to terminal and from parking lots to terminals and back. [CleanTechnica]

Electric buses (Courtesy of Charlotte Douglas Airport)

¶ “Existing Water Infrastructure Holds Key To Generating More US Hydropower” • A study at the US DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory found great potential in all 50 states to produce clean conduit hydropower utilizing the existing infrastructure of pipelines and conduits. ORNL estimates that 1.41 GW of capacity could be added to grids. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Partnership Creates Wisconsin’s First Commercial Facility To Create Biofuel For Trucks, Aircraft” • The state’s first commercial facility to convert dairy farm waste into renewable biofuel for vehicles broke ground in Wisconsin, thanks to a partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Agra Energy, a California company. [Wisconsin Public Radio]

Farm in Wisconsin (Preston Bousley, Unsplash)

¶ “NextEra Says FPL’s Speedy Hurricane Ian Recovery Could Cost Customers $1.1 Billion” • Florida Power & Light achieved the company’s best-ever service restoration time in response to Hurricane Ian in September, though the effort may ultimately cost customers a collective $1.1 billion, company leaders said during a third-quarter earnings call. [Utility Dive]

¶ “PG&E Takes First Big Step To Keep Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Running” • PG&E took its first big step to keeping Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant operating past 2025. The utility company sent a request to the NRC essentially asking how it should proceed with an application to extend the life of the nuclear plant. [San Luis Obispo Tribune]

Have a happily developing day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Rather Than An Endlessly Reheated Nuclear Debate, Our Politicians Should Be Powered By The Evidence” • Rather than debating endlessly about nuclear power, Australian politicians could serve its people by taking a close look at a major report by the International Energy Agency. Renewable energy is easily the cheapest. [The Guardian]

Wind turbines (Pixabay, Pexels)

Science and Technology:

¶ “High-Res Maps Of Entire Polar Regions Provide Clues For Climate Researchers” • Four more years of high-resolution imagery show the polar regions in stunning detail, thanks to a team of researchers at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. The maps lead to understanding the full effects of what’s truly happening in a changing climate. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Lula Da Silva Will Return To Brazil’s Presidency In Stunning Comeback” • Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva was elected the next president of Brazil, in a stunning comeback following a tight run-off race. His victory heralds a political about-face for Latin America’s largest country, and environmentalists hope that it will make Brazil a climate leader. [CNN]

Forest on the Amazon (Nareeta Martin, Unsplash)

¶ “Ukraine War: Russia Halts Grain Deal After ‘Massive’ Black Sea Fleet Attack” • Russia says it is suspending its involvement in the internationally-brokered deal that allows Ukraine to export grain from Black Sea ports, after accusing Ukraine of a “massive” drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. It also accused the UK of blowing up gas pipelines last month. [BBC]

¶ “EU Cities Can Offer New Opportunities For Prosumers Of Renewable Energy” • A briefing by the European Environment Agency promoted that European cities can assist in Europe’s shift to a low-carbon future by utilizing urban centers to facilitate urban prosumption. This would offer opportunities for citizens to produce renewable energy. [CleanTechnica]

Rooftop system (City of Cape Canaveral Community Center)

¶ “Green Grid To Connect Asia” • Sun Cable, funded by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Twiggy Forrest, is building partnerships to develop the giant Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink). AAPL consists of up to 20 GW of solar and 42 GWh of energy storage on a 12,000-hectare site in the Northern Territory. This is the Asian Green Grid Network. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Singapore To Use Low-Carbon Hydrogen To Reach 2050 Net Zero Target” • Singapore announced that it intends to achieve a carbon-neutral status by 2050, and that it will use low-carbon hydrogen as a major component of its decarbonization. The country is especially vulnerable to the impact of a warming planet. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

Singapore (Peter Nguyen, Unsplash)

¶ “Renewable Energy Contributes Record 68.7% Of Power To Australia’s Main Grid For Brief Period” • Renewable energy hit a new record on Friday, briefly contributing over two-thirds of the power in Australia’s main grid. The Australian Energy Market Operator said the record was set at 12:30 pm, with 18,882 MW, from renewable sources. [The Guardian]

¶ “Galata Wind Receives EBRD Loan For Wind Projects” • In Turkey, Galata Wind signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for loans for two onshore wind projects. The $45 million loan will be used to finance the up to 50 MW of extension projects at the Mersin and Sah windpower projects. [reNews]

Wind turbines (Dan Meyers, Unsplash)

¶ “Russians Shelling Nikopol District From Nuclear Power Plant Premises” • In Ukraine, the Russian invaders are shelling the Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk region from the territory of the Zaporizhia NPP, realizing that there will be no return fire. That’s according to the chief of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council, Mykola Lukashuk. [menafn]

US:

¶ “USA’s First Vehicle-To-Grid Export Rate For Commercial Electric Vehicles” • A settlement agreement between PG&E and the Vehicle-Grid Integration Council, Electrify America LLC, and the California PUC is to establish the nation’s first “vehicle-to-grid” export compensation mechanism for its commercial EV charging customers. [CleanTechnica]

Electric school bus (Crenaissanceman, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “GM Suspends Advertising On Twitter” • General Motors has announced it was taking a break from advertising on Twitter. The move came as Tesla CEO Elon Musk finalized his purchase of the social media platform. Though GM has much ground to cover to achieve Tesla’s annual sales of EVs, the withdrawal may be a shot at Musk and Tesla as a competitor. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Michigan Utilities Say Inflation Reduction Act Will Lower Cost Of Transition To Renewable Energy” • The IRA may as well have been named the Emissions Reduction Act. Consumers Energy President Garrick Rochow praised its clean energy benefits in recent calls with investors. He said, “We see a lot of benefits in this new legislation.” [Michigan Radio]

Have a particularly gorgeous day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “The Demented Gift American Politicians Handed To China” • Once America was great. We had a political system that was the hope of the world. But we also had the best science, with the greatest researchers, finding the best ways to do things. But we walked away from our greatness, and now the huge renewables market is dominated by China. [CleanTechnica]

America’s largest wind farm (Photo by Ionna22, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Researchers Discover Substitutes For Rare Earth Materials In Magnets” • University of Cambridge researchers, in collaboration with colleagues in Austria, report that tetrataenite, a “cosmic magnet” that takes millions of years to develop naturally in meteorites, can be made artificially and could be used instead of rare earth materials in magnets. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Arctic Ocean Becoming Acidic Due To Climate Change” • Researchers have found that climate change is causing the Arctic Ocean to become more acidic. The latest research is the work of a team from the University of Gothenburg, who compared data from Arctic areas in 1994 through 2020. It was published in the journal Science. [DeeperBlue.com]

Arctic waters (Jeremy Bishop, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Antarctica’s Emperor Penguins At Risk Of Extinction Due To The Climate Crisis” • Global warming is melting the sea ice the Antarctica’s emperor penguins depend on for their survival, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service now categorizes the species as threatened. The agency lists “imperiled species as endangered or threatened regardless of their country of origin.” [CNN]

¶ “The Architect Helping Sinking Cities Fight Flooding” • When floods devastated Bangkok over a decade ago, Thai landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom became determined to help her sinking hometown fight this deadly climate threat. The central question she focuses on is “how are we going to live with the water, without fear?” [CNN]

Design by Kotchakorn Voraakhom (Landprocess image)

¶ “The Nigerian Woman Cleaning Up A Land Soaked In Oil” • It is the rarest of stories: a fix for an environmental disaster that is actually working. Oil spill after oil spill has turned the Niger Delta, in southern Nigeria, into one of the most polluted places on Earth. Scientist Eucharia Nwaichi is using bioremediation to remove pollutants in the soil naturally. [BBC]

¶ “Mobilize Fast Charge: The New Ultrafast Charging Network In Europe” • New fast chargers are coming to Europe by mid-2024. Mobilize, a Renault Group brand, is launching Mobilize Fast Charge network. The ultrafast charging network consists of 200 charging stations, mostly at Renault dealerships that are less than five minutes from a motorway. [CleanTechnica]

Mobilize rest area (Mobilize image)

¶ “Solar Powering South Australia Completely For Several Hours A Day” • Recently, all of the electricity demand in South Australia was met by solar from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, for six hours of free electricity. All operational demand being met by renewables may become the norm this year, with excess supply being exported to Victoria or stored in batteries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Renewable Energy And Nepal” • Nepal declared Energy and Water Resources Decade (2018-28) to implement the Roadmap for Energy Development. Nepal is self-sufficient in electricity production now, producing 11,064 GWh in 2022, a big jump from 4,258 GWh in 2013. And next year, all of its people are to have access to electricity. [The Kathmandu Post]

Upper Tamakoshi diversion dam (Bishaldev100, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Greece Emerging As Electric Power Supplier To Southeast Europe” • Greece has recently become an exporter of electric power to its neighbors in Southeast Europe. The country has become a net exporter – rather than importer – of electricity, according to the Independent Power Transmission Operator, Greece’s national grid operator. [Greek Reporter]

¶ “Up To Six Mystery Drones Spotted Over UK Nuclear Plant In Possible ‘Malicious’ Event” • Up to six drones were reported to armed police after being spotted over a British nuclear plant in an incident which remains unexplained, new information shows. The unidentified aerial vehicles were spotted over a uranium enrichment site in Cheshire. [Metro UK]

Urenco (Eirian Evans, Capenhurst Technology Park, CC BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “Oakland Expands Electric Vehicle Charging Access” • The city of Oakland, California, has opened another public EV charging station. It is an EVgo fast charging station near Lake Merritt. The new station has six 200 kW fast chargers, capable of charging a vehicle up to 80% in 15–45 minutes, depending on the charging capacity of the vehicle. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “A ‘Delivery Wave’ At Tesla Is Causing Problems With Logistics, Not Demand” • Investors are nervous about a delivery decline, but as a company inside the Tesla ecosystem, it’s crystal clear at EVANNEX. Tesla is delivering plenty of cars. We are seeing the usual vehicle deliveries “bump,” but it’s coming slightly after the typical end of the quarter. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla (EVANNEX image)

¶ “Chevron, Algonquin Partner On Permian Basin Solar Facility” • Multinational oil producer Chevron is venturing into renewable power through a partnership with Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. Chevron’s Hayhurst Solar Power Facility in Eddy County, New Mexico, that will generate renewable energy for oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin. [MySA]

¶ “‘It’s Got Nasty’: The Battle To Build The US’ Biggest Solar Power Farm” • When proposals for the largest solar plant ever conceived for US soil started to gather pace – a plan that involves putting several million solar panels up on the flat farmland of northern Indiana – something in one woman from a farming family seems to have snapped. [The Guardian]

Have a pleasantly exciting day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “2022 Ford E-Transit – Video Review” • Ford has been on a roll recently when it comes to electrifying its vehicle lineup. Now Ford is making one of its most popular commercial vehicles as an EV, the E-Transit. We recently had a chance to check out the 2022 cargo van guise of the E-Transit and learn more about its impressive features. [CleanTechnica]

Ford E-Transit (Ford image)

¶ “Queensland Australia Has A Fossil Fuel Revenue Problem And Wants Hydrogen To Solve It” • Queensland has a challenge: a lot of rooftop solar that has no price signal, so it always runs, along with a lack of grid storage. However, hydrogen as a medium of electricity storage for firming the grid is a poor choice due to high cost and low efficiency. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Heat Waves Due To Climate Change Have Cost World Economy Trillions So Far” • A study in the journal Science Advances says increasingly extreme heat waves brought on by global warming have cost the global economy trillions of dollars since the early 1990s. The countries emitting the least CO₂ are suffering the most. [Business Standard]

Flooded street (Misbahul Aulia, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Ukraine War: Kyiv Set For Longer Power Cuts After Air Strikes” • The Ukrainian authorities have warned people in the capital Kyiv to expect longer power cuts, lasting more than four hours, because of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. Rolling blackouts are hitting not only Kyiv but also central regions of Ukraine, including the city of Dnipro. [BBC]

¶ “The Highland Haven Insulated From Rising Energy Prices” • Hydroelectric schemes are not unusual in Scotland. Knoydart, the west coast of Scotland, is different, however. It is so remote that it is not connected to the National Grid, meaning prices here are not dictated by the wholesale cost of more expensive forms of energy such as gas. [BBC]

Inverie village in Knoydart (Subarite, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Offshore Wind – Victoria Won’t Wait” • Victoria will no longer wait for coal companies and energy generators to make up their minds and take action. Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio has announced that the state will aim for 95% renewables by 2035. “By 2035 there will be no dirty coal generation in our state,” the minister said. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Wind Goes Global Giga” • The Philippine Department of Energy announced that 40 offshore wind service contracts with a potential capacity of 30 GW have been issued. Chaozhou, in the Guangdong province of China, intends to install a 43.3 GW wind farm in the Taiwan Straits. Morocco is in talks about 10 GW of solar and wind. It is happening. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore wind turbine (Grahame Jenkins, Unsplash)

¶ “China’s Renewable Energy Capacity Expands In January-September” • In the January-September period, China’s installed capacity of wind power increased 16.9% year on year to around 350 GW, while the installed capacity of solar power generation came in at 360 GW, up 28.8%, according to the National Energy Administration. [Shanghai Daily]

¶ “IEA: The Rapid Growth Of Natural Gas Demand Is Coming To An End” • A World Energy Outlook scenario from the IEA based on the current government policies has global demand for every fossil fuel showing a peak. “One of the effects of the current crisis is that the era of rapid growth in global gas demand draws to a close,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. [Oil Price]

LNG Ship (Maciej Margas, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Eskom: 53 GW Of Renewable Energy Required Over Next Decade” • Eskom revealed that around 53 GW of additional generation capacity from renewable energy sources will be needed over the next decade to ensure energy security in South Africa. Eskom revealed the figure during the Transmission Development Plan Public Forum. [ESI Africa]

¶ “Poland Chooses US Firm To Build First Nuclear Power Plant” • A US firm beat out its French and South Korean competitors to land a contract to build Poland’s first nuclear power plant, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said. Westinghouse Electric Company was given the multi-billion-euro deal as Poland seeks to be independent of Russian gas supplies. [DW]

Westinghouse AP1000 (Westinghouse image)

US:

¶ “Enphase Commits To Manufacturing Microinverters In US, Thanks To The IRA” • Enphase makes microinverters, the tiny devices that convert the direct current from PVs to alternating current to power homes or feed into the grid. The company is based in California, but it makes its products other countries. Now they will be made in the US. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Line Upgrades Could Help Get Renewable Energy To The Grid, State Says” • The Alaska Energy Authority got the go-ahead to upgrade aging electrical transmission lines from Bradley Lake to Quartz Creek, in the state’s “rail belt.” The area’s transmission lines aren’t up to the task of bringing renewable electricity to the people living there. [KDLL]

Sterling Highway (steve lyon, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Puerto Rico To Make Improvements On Power Grid After Hurricane Fiona, Governor Says” • Governor Pedro Pierluisi said after Hurricane Maria, the government made repairs to the island’s power grid, but after Hurricane Fiona, they’re making improvements. Nearly fifty construction projects are underway in a transition to renewable energy. [WESH]

¶ “LePage Blames Renewables, Mills Blames Fossil Fuels – Here’s Why Energy Prices Are Really So High” • Electricity prices are sky high in Maine, and that has made for fertile campaign material this election season. But the data is clear that fossil fuel prices, not renewable energy subsidies, are largely to blame for the recent surge in electricity prices. [Maine Public]

Have an uninterruptedly cheerful day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “How Electric Vehicles May Be Able To Provide Backup Power For Homes” • GM announced a new business arm called GM Energy this month. It is set to offer bidirectional EV charging units that can send power back to homes and the electrical grid, Business Insider reports. GM, meanwhile, is set to partner with PG&E on a pilot project next year. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “Electric School Buses Could Be “Mobile Batteries” During Blackouts” • A new federal program is awarding grants to school districts all over the country. This will reduce emissions and pollution, but there is another side benefit to the program. The batteries in the buses can be used for local backup power in the event of power failure. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “The Peak In Global Fossil Fuel Emissions Is Just Around The Corner” • Global fossil fuel emissions are expected to peak in 2025 as countries commit to spend heavily on low-carbon fuels. The International Energy Agency said in its annual World Energy Outlook report that Russia’s assault on Ukraine had the potential to “hasten” the global transition. [CNN]

Emissions (Chris LeBoutillier, Unsplash)

¶ “Climate Change: UN Warns Key Warming Threshold Slipping From Sight” • There is “no credible pathway” to keep the rise in global temperatures below the key threshold of 1.5C, a bleak UN assessment says. Scientists believe that surpassing 1.5°C would see dangerous impacts for people all over the world. Only an urgent transformation of society will avoid disaster. [BBC]

¶ “Volkswagen Claims Small Electric SUV, Two Entry Level Electric Cars In The Works” • In an interview with Autocar, Volkswagen Brand CEO Thomas Schäfer said Volkswagen will introduce two versions of its entry level electric car, They will start at around £20,000 and will be among ten new electric cars to be launched by 2026. [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagon EV (Volkswagen image)

¶ “Volvo Group To Produce Battery Modules In Ghent By 2025” • Volvo Group’s truck plant in Ghent announced that it will start to produce battery modules in 2025. The investment decision to install battery module manufacturing capacity in Ghent is yet another important step for Volvo Group to shape its future value chain for battery systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Vietnam Set To Open Renewable Energy Market To PPAs” • Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade aims to open up Vietnam’s electricity market to bilateral PPAs through a pilot scheme that would, for the first time, enable renewable energy generators to sell electricity directly to private off-takers under virtual or synthetic deals. [pv magazine Australia]

Solar plant in Ninh Thuan province (Trungnam Group image)

¶ “ESAK To Support 100% Renewable Energy Transition” • The Electricity Sector Association of Kenya developing measures to ensure the country achieves a 100% renewable energy transition by 2030. This comes ahead of the 27th Conference of the Parties session to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that will be held in Egypt. [Capital News]

¶ “UK Wind Power Sets New Generation Record” • The UK’s onshore and offshore wind farms set an electricity generation record of 19,936 MW of electricity, covering 52.2% of demand. The new record was set between 11:30 am and 12 noon on 26 October, beating the previous record of 19,916 MW that was set on 25th May this year. [reNews]

Wind farm (Acciona Energia image)

¶ “Supply Chain Weaknesses Across Renewables Pose A Barrier To The Energy Transition” • Many nations are declaring green energy as the future and have announced a doubling down on investment in renewables. However, despite these declarations, the prospects of renewable energy remain bleak, as supply chain weaknesses undermine efforts. [Power Technology]

¶ “UN Nuclear Watchdog To Conduct “Independent” Probe Into Ukraine Dirty Bomb Allegations” • The UN’s nuclear watchdog will this week carry out an “independent verification” of Russian allegations concerning the production of so-called dirty bombs at two sites in Ukraine. Kyiv suspects Russia might itself use a dirty bomb in a “false flag” attack. [NDTV]

Ukraine (Olga Subach, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Magna Expands In Three Locations Across Michigan” • In a recent press release, one of Canada’s largest companies, Magna, announced it is investing more than $500 million to expand its operations in three different locations in Southeast Michigan. One is a facility in St Clair where it makes battery enclosures. It also plans to open new facilities. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Electrofuels Rush Begins In Texas (Where Else?)” • Someone is going to make electrofuels happen, and Texas appears to be in contention for the e-fuels capital of the world. The latest addition to the Lone Star fold is South Korea’s SK Trading International, which has just invested a rather nice chunk of change in the US company Infinium. [CleanTechnica]

Electrofuels facility (Courtesy of Infinium)

¶ “How The Southern US Benefits From Federal Funding For Climate Action” • Many southern US voters don’t realize how much their elected leaders are taking advantage of federal funding for clean energy initiatives. It’s important that voters in midterm elections understand how their communities benefit from climate crisis initiatives. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “How Climate Change Is Appearing In The Midterm Elections In NH” • New Hampshire is already seeing the effects of climate change, and scientists continue to warn that leaders must act quickly to prevent increasingly dire consequences. But on the campaign trail, climate issues have been relatively absent from speeches, ads, and debates. [NHPR]

Have a gloriously beautiful day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Nuclear Reactors Can Become Dirty Bombs – And You Don’t Even Need a War” • The alarming stories about the Ukrainian reactors captured by Russians potentially being used as dirty bombs drives home one clear message: nuclear power plants and their high-level nuclear waste are inherently dangerous and their use should be discontinued. [Common Dreams]

Chernobyl exclusion zone sign (Kilian Karger, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Europe Has So Much Natural Gas That Prices Just Dipped Below Zero” • EU gas storage facilities are close to full, tankers carrying liquefied natural gas are lining up at ports, unable to unload their cargoes. Europe now has more natural gas than it knows what to do with. So much, in fact, that spot prices briefly went negative earlier this week. [CNN]

¶ “Svalbard: The Race To Save The Fastest-Warming Place On Earth” • Deep inside the Arctic Circle, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is home to the world’s northernmost permanent settlement, Longyearbyen, which is estimated to be heating at six times the global average. One resident who has been there three years finds the changes in that time shocking. [BBC]

Spitsbergen, Svalbard (Janik Rohland, Unsplash)

¶ “Indonesia To Put 2 Million Electric Motorbikes On Road By 2025” • Indonesia hopes for zero emissions by 2060 and to cut its carbon footprint by 29% by 2030. As part of this they plan to put two million electric motorcycles on the road by 2025. A large number of electric motorcycle makers and competitive prices make the goal reasonable. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “DB Schenker Pre-Orders 2,000 E-Trailers” • E-trailers look very much like a conventional semi trailers except they have their own battery packs and an e-axle that powers some of the wheels. Instead of requiring a tractor to do all the work, e-trailers share the task of transporting cargo. Freight carrier DB Schenker just pre-ordered 2,000 of them. [CleanTechnica]

E-trailer (Krone image)

¶ “China Electric Car Sales – 26% Fully Electric, 35% Have A Plug” • Plugin vehicles continue to be hot in the Chinese auto market. They grew 78% year over year in September. They scored over 636,000 registrations last month, a new record. Plugin hybrids surged 148% year over year. With 161,000 registrations, it was their fifth record month in row. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Global Energy Crisis A ‘Turning Point’ For Renewable Energy Adoption, IEA Says” • The global energy crisis set off by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could “hasten” the transition to renewable energy, the International Energy Agency said. Investment in renewable energy needs to double to more than $4 trillion by the end of the decade. [The National]

Wind farm in South Africa (Charl Folscher, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Bosch Set To Invest $260 Million, Create 350 Jobs In South Carolina” • Bosch announced that it is producing of EV motors at its Charleston, SC Rexroth facility. The company plans to invest $260 million more to expand production of EV components at the site, and expects to create at least 350 high-paying jobs in the region by 2025. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Biden–Harris Administration: 389 School Districts Get Nearly $1 Billion From EPA’s Clean School Bus Program” • Under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, nearly $1 billion of the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program rebate competition was awarded to 389 school districts in 50 states; Washington, DC; and several Tribes and US territories. [CleanTechnica]

Electric school bus (GreenPower Motor Company image)

¶ “Ford Makes Deals To Buy Cleaner Steel” • Making steel uses large amounts of carbon and emits a lot of CO₂. Fortunately, there are companies working on making lower-impact steel. Ford is working with some of them to get that greener, leaner steel into their vehicles. It is acting to ensure a stable supply of low carbon steel for its products. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “First Comes The Sub-Zero Gas Prices In Texas, Then The Flaring” • A glut of natural gas in the Texas shale patch has grown so large prices have fallen below zero. This is raising fears among environmentalists that drillers are burning off more of the fuel at wells. Flaring gets rid of gas that companies can’t or aren’t willing to put into pipelines. [Regina Leader Post]

Flaring (Pixabay, Pexels, cropped)

¶ “Bow, NH, Exploring Renewable Energy Installations On Town-Owned Land” • Bow’s Energy Committee asked the Select Board to consider installing solar PVs on town-owned properties to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions. The committee aims to identify buildings and town-owned land that can be used to generate renewable energy. [Concord Monitor]

¶ “GM Says It Will Power All Of Its US Sites With Clean Energy By 2025” • General Motors said it has deals to power all of its US sites with clean energy by 2025. GM’s clean energy portfolio now includes sourcing agreements from sixteen renewable energy plants. GM reports that that portfolio has produced over $75 million of positive cash flow since 2017. [Electrek]

Wind farm (Kindel Media, Pexels)

¶ “Northern Maine Transmission Line Gets Key Vote From State Regulators” • State regulators gave initial approval to a proposed transmission line connecting a massive renewable energy project in Aroostook County to the New England grid. They held off on issuing contracts to give Massachusetts officials time to decide on picking up some of the costs. [Maine Public]

¶ “TVA Developing Plans For 20 Small Nuclear Reactors To Power Tennessee Valley By 2050” • To decarbonize and electrify America’s economy, the head of its biggest public power utility thinks several hundred new nuclear reactors may be needed in the next generation, including 20 or so new smaller reactors in the Tennessee Valley. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

Have a fundamentally superior day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “COP27: What is the Egypt climate conference and why is it important?” • After a year of climate-related disasters and broken temperature records, world leaders are going to discuss action on climate change, at the UN climate summit in Egypt. COP27 is the 27th annual UN meeting on climate. It will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh from 6 to 18 November. [BBC]

Earth (ActionVance, Unsplash)

¶ “Is Sustainable Aviation Fuel The Solution For The Aviation Industry?” • In a Rethink Energy report, lead analyst Bogdan Avramuta points out that depending on “sustainable aviation fuel” (kerosene created from waste) will not achieve the aviation industry’s goals of decarbonization. And their goals are 50% reduction in emissions. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “THIS Is The Toyota That Will Take The Fight To Tesla” • This is it, gang. The all-new, all-electric Toyota bZ3 sedan has been revealed, and it’s set to take on the Tesla Model 3 for mainstream electric supremacy in what is unquestionably the world’s most important new car market: China. It is part of a joint venture between Toyota and BYD. [CleanTechnica]

Toyota bZ3 sedan (Toyota image)

¶ “Rising Sea Levels Spell Disaster For America’s Coastal Nuclear Plants” • With sea level rise, nuclear plants are increasingly threatened by flooding. Serious and swift mitigation plans are clearly needed to make sure that aging nuclear infrastructure can safely stand up to storm surges and extreme weather. But nuclear advocates say there is plenty of time. [Yahoo Finance]

World:

¶ “World Is In Its ‘First Truly Global Energy Crisis,’ Says IEA Chief” • Tightening markets for liquefied natural gas worldwide and major oil producers cutting supply have put the world in the middle of “the first truly global energy crisis,” the head of the International Energy Agency said. Soaring global prices are hammering consumers. [CNN]

Oil rig (Arvind Vallabh, Unsplash)

¶ “Europe Electric Car Sales: 16% Of New Cars Fully Electric, 24% Have A Plug” • After over a year in the red, Europe was back in black in August, with a 3% growth rate. September confirmed the trend with a 9% increase in auto market sales, signaling that the worst of the production constraints might be over. Full battery EVs are dominating plugin sales. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “China Building World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm At 43.3 GW” • Chaozhou, a city in Guangdong province, has revealed ambitious plans for a 43.3 GW facility in an unusually windy area of the Taiwan Strait. Operating between 75 and 185 kilometers off the coast of Chiuna, the offshore wind farm will have thousands of powerful turbines. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore wind farm (Courtesy of the European Commission)

¶ “Wales To Launch State-Owned Renewables Developer” • The Welsh government announced plans to establish a state-owned renewable energy developer. The company will initially focus on building onshore wind projects in the government’s woodland estate, where four projects totaling 441 MW have already been built and 134 MW are in development. [reNews]

¶ “Amazon’s First Two Renewable Energy Projects In China Are Expected To Generate Enough Electricity Annually For 250,000 Chinese Homes” • China has made clean energy commitments to help build a long-term sustainable economy. Amazon’s first wind farm and solar farm in China are now producing 200 MW of clean energy. [About Amazon]

Amazon wind farm in China (Amazon image)

¶ “Doctors Decry ‘Record Profits’ For Fossil Fuel Companies As Climate Change Weighs On Global Health” • Doctors are taking aim at the fossil fuels industry, placing blame for the world’s most dire health problems on companies seek oil and gas profits even as climate change worsens heat waves, intensifies flooding and roils people’s mental health. [NBC News]

¶ “Putin Is Increasingly In Fear Of Attacks By Anti-War Russian Saboteurs” • Russia’s leadership has increasing concerns about acts of sabotage carried out against key infrastructure by Russian citizens who oppose the war in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said. The MOD cited sabotage blowing up of a train line in Russia’s Belgorod region. [The Independent]

Belogorad (Petr Magera, Unsplash)

¶ “Russia Doing ‘Secret Work At Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant’ Amid ‘Dirty Bomb’ Claims” • Russian forces were doing secret work at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator said. Fears are rising the Kremlin might intend to make Zaporizhzhia the site of its alleged false flag operation involving a nuclear device. [Euronews]

US:

¶ “Thomas Built Buses Celebrates 200th Proterra Powered Electric School Bus Delivery” • Thomas Built Buses achieved a big milestone. The company has delivered its 200th Proterra Powered Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley battery-electric school bus. The 200th electric school bus went to Monroe County Public Schools in Indiana. [CleanTechnica]

Electric school bus (Courtesy of Thomas Built Buses)

¶ “Since When Did Oak Ridge National Laboratory Get Into Racing?” • The DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced that Marc-Antoni Racing licensed energy storage technologies it had developed. The primary focus is on components that would enable batteries to charge quickly while still being dense in terms of stored energy. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Midterm Outcome In Certain States Could Affect Energy Approach” • States have taken the lead on climate in recent years in the absence of federal policy. Maryland’s net-zero emissions targets, Oregon’s cap-and-trade program, and Arizona’s solar subsidies all hang in the balance in the midterm elections. Their fate could affect US climate performance. [Yahoo Finance]

Have an impressively happy day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Good News On The 2022 Climate Action Front” • Positive climate action is making a difference. Here are some positive environmental stories from 2022, with a focus on environmental responsibility, the welfare of the society, and the responsibility of individuals for contributing towards social and environmental progression. [CleanTechnica]

Bison (Jonathan Mast, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “How Do We Know Humans Triggered Earth’s Warming?” • For more than 30 years top scientists worldwide have come together every several years to draft a report on climate change and what causes it. In the latest version of their report, they said: “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.” [ABC 6]

¶ “Hemp For Victory! Researchers Make Better And Cheaper Batteries From Plant Waste” • Texas-based Bemp Research says it developed a lithium-sulfur battery based on use hemp to make a boron-carbide material. It says its battery would overcome lithium-ion battery challenges on cost, scalability, performance, weight, and recyclability. [CleanTechnica]

Hemp (USDA image)

World:

¶ “UN Nuclear Watchdog To Inspect Ukrainian Sites” • The UN’s nuclear watchdog says it will send a team to inspect two sites in Ukraine at the government’s request. Officials said International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will examine the sites for signs of “undeclared nuclear activities.” Russia has accused Kyiv of preparing to use dirty bombs. [BBC]

¶ “The Ships Full Of Gas Waiting Off Europe’s Coast” • Dozens of giant ships packed full of liquefied natural gas lie off the coasts of Spain, Portugal, the UK, and other European nations. Europe has about 95% of the gas it needs for winter in storage, so the ships will have to wait to unload. but there are other factors making the matter complicated. [BBC]

LNG tanker (青空白帆, CC-BY-SA 2.1 Japan, cropped)

¶ “Heat Pumps Get A Boost In UK And Newfoundland” • Heat pumps really scare natural gas, oil, and propane peddlers. It’s all about efficiency. Air source heat pumps are the low carbon future of home heating. With a £5,000 government grant and a 0% VAT, heat pumps will play an essential part in the UK achieving its Net Zero goals by 2050. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “WEDUSEA To Test World’s Largest Wave Energy Prototype” • WEDUSEA, a collaboration between fourteen industrial and academic partners coordinated by Ireland’s Ocean Energy, is ready to begin testing of a large scale wave energy device. It will launch the €19.6 million project this week at the Conference on Ocean Energy in Spain. [CleanTechnica]

Wave energy prototype (Courtesy of Ocean Energy)

¶ “Solar Power Is The Fastest Way To Reduce Dependency On Russian Gas In Europe” • Solar power is growing rapidly in Europe due partly to the need to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Statkraft’s Low Emissions Scenario now shows that Europe will have significantly more solar power by 2030 than expected before the war in Ukraine. [Yahoo Finance]

Australia:

¶ “’We Need Everything, Everywhere, All At Once:’ Industry Calls For Energy Storage Scheme” • The push for a Renewable Energy Storage Acceleration Scheme backed by the federal government and the state of Victoria was launched by the Smart Energy Council, the Clean Energy Investor Group and Climate Action Network Australia. [Renew Economy]

Victoria Big Battery (Image supplied)

¶ “Massive Supercharger Rollout In NSW” • The Australian state of New South Wales is set for a massive supercharger rollout. The NSW state government (Liberal) will invest “$39.4 million in the first round of Fast Charging Grants to co-fund 86 new fast and ultra-fast EV charging stations. Each station will have four to fifteen bays.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Renewable Storage Solution In Air?” • The Silver City Energy Storage Centre, to be built in a decommissioned mine at Broken Hill, New South Wales, will use compressed air technology developed by Canadian energy storage company Hydrostor Inc. Hydroster says the 200-MW facility will be among the biggest projects of its type in the world. [InDaily]

Rendering of Silver City Energy Storage Centre

¶ “AGL Study Looks To Converts Coal-Power Stations Into Renewable Storage” • AGL will investigate the feasibility of retrofitting gas-fired power stations into energy storage facilities using thermal storage in a $1 million study supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. AGL will study using a 200-MW generating unit. [Utility Magazine]

US:

¶ “PPL To Work On Transmitting Renewable Power From Offshore To New England Mainland” • PPL Corp has reached an agreement with Elia Group to develop methods to transmit power generated by offshore “wind farms” to customers in New England. That can help customers and advance the utility’s environmental goals, according to PPL. [WFMZ]

Offshore wind farm (Carl Raw, Unsplash)

¶ “University Of Oklahoma Engineers Help Build Power Grid Of The Future” • Extreme weather, natural disasters and increased demand are taking a toll on America’s century-old infrastructure. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma were given funding to study thermal energy storage in commercial and residential buildings to promote renewable energy. [Newswise]

¶ “Five Walmart Suppliers Team Up On Renewable Energy Buy” • Five Walmart suppliers teamed up to purchase renewable energy from a Kansas wind farm, the retailer announced last Tuesday. The deal is part of the retailer’s plan to reduce 1 billion metric tons worth of emissions from throughout its supply chain by 2030. [Supply Chain Dive]

Have an appropriately glorious day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “The Climate Films Shaping Society” • We need a subtler, more varied portrayal of climate change in film than just climate disaster blockbusters, says Becca Warner. Social scientists and non-profits argue that climate is a topic that belongs in many kinds of on-screen stories, not just the occasional thriller about climate disaster. [BBC]

Grey’s Anatomy episode “Hotter Than Hell” (Credit: ABC)

World:

¶ “Nigeria’s Stolen Oil, The Military And A Man Whose Name Is Government” • A network of illegal oil pipelines being unearthed in Nigeria shows the extent of oil theft in the country. In Delta state, thieves built their own 4 km (2.5 mile) pipeline through the heavily guarded creeks to a 24-foot rig on the Atlantic Ocean, where vessels blatantly load stolen oil. [BBC]

¶ “New Ground As Tech Aims To Help Boost Soil Health” • More than half of the world’s agricultural soil is degraded, experts say. An Indian guru called Sadhguru is leading a global campaign, SaveSoil, which pushes to improve soil health around the world. He calls for farmers to be given incentives to keep a minimum of 3% of organic content in their soil. [BBC]

Sadhguru (SaveSoil image)

¶ “Uganda-Tanzania Oil Pipeline Sparks Climate Row” • Uganda and Tanzania are set to begin work on a massive crude oil pipeline a year after the International Energy Agency warned that the world risked not meeting its climate goals if new fossil fuel projects were not stopped. The two East African countries say their priority is eonomic development. [BBC]

¶ “Hurricane Roslyn Makes Landfall In Mexico, Potentially Bringing Life-Threatening Conditions” • Hurricane Roslyn slammed into west-central Mexico on Sunday, bringing rain and threats of inland flooding. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said, “This rainfall could lead to flash flooding and landslides in areas of rugged terrain.” [CNN]

Hurricane Roslyn approaching Mexico (CIRA image)

¶ “Lilium Jet EVTOL Reaches New Milestone” • The Phoenix 2 air taxi is the prototype for an EVTOL jet, and it’s currently in its fifth generation. Because the engines can pivot, they allow for quick vertical takeoff and an easy transition into flight. Lilium had shared a video of the Phoenix 2 prototype going from a hover to wing-borne flight. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Etihad Airways Plans To Bring In COP27 Delegates On A Net Zero Emissions Flight” • Delegates to COP27 will travel to the conference with net zero emissions, rather than contributing to climate change. Etihad Airways partnered with World Energy for the first Net-Zero flight powered by Book & Claim, a Sustainable Aviation Fuel, to deliver delegates. [CleanTechnica]

Etihad Airways flight (Etihad Airways image)

¶ “Hydrogen To Be Injected Into UK Station For First Time” • Hydrogen will be injected into an emergency gas-fired power station for the first time in a pilot backed by the owner of British Gas. Centrica invested in an industry joint venture to trial using hydrogen at an existing “peaking plant” at its Brigg station in Lincolnshire, the Guardian can reveal. [The Guardian]

¶ “Russians Will Not Leave Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, But Are Allegedly Not Opposed To ‘Safety Zone’” • The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergei Ryabkov, stated that a protective zone around the Zaporizhzhia NPP is necessary. He also made clear that Russia considers demilitarisation of the ZNPP as impossible. [Yahoo News]

Soldier (Ministry of Defence, Russian Federation, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

US:

¶ “Food Waste Is A Huge Climate Problem. A New Candy Has A Sweet Solution In Time For Halloween” • Plant-based, chewy FAVES candies contain 96% fruits and vegetables. The ingredients are chosen partly to be nutritious, and partly because they would otherwise have gone to waste at farms and grocery stores, the company says. [CNN]

¶ “Eviation Sells More Alice Electric Aircraft For Underserved Routes” • Aviation contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, and there actually are companies striving to bring electric aircraft into the market. Some are succeeding. In a recent press release, Eviation had exciting news that it sold 25 more of its electric Alice aircraft. [CleanTechnica]

Alice (Eviation image)

¶ “Hershey And National Grid Renewables Sign Second Big Power Deal” • Everything has an environmental cost, and anything that we can cut it back on helps. And yes, that’s even true for chocolate. That’s why a recent deal between Hershey and National Grid Renewables is so exciting, and it isn’t the first time they’ve done it. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “States Are Vying For Money To Start ‘Hydrogen Hubs. What Are They?” • The DOE is looking to dole out $7 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law to fund up to ten regional clean hydrogen hubs. Each would be “a network of clean hydrogen producers, potential clean hydrogen consumers, and connective infrastructure…” [Nebraska Examiner]

Windpower making green hydrogen (Longshanks, public domain)
Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “US DOE Pledges Funding For Hydro” • The US DOE has announced three funding opportunities to advance hydropower. The funding will come through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It will support expansion of low-impact hydropower, such as pumped storage and retrofits for dams that do not produce power. [reNews]

¶ “State Of NJ Files Lawsuit Against Five Oil And Gas Companies For Climate Change Misinformation” • The Attorney General and agencies of New Jersey and filed a lawsuit against five oil and gas companies and the American Petroleum Institute, alleging they knowingly made false claims to deceive the public about climate change. [Essex News Daily]

Have an unusually satisfying day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Europe Should Sanction Russia’s Nuclear Industry – Now” • The Russian nuclear industry has once again managed to avoid inclusion in the latest round of EU sanctions. It is the eighth in a row that it skirted this vital issue in an apparent acknowledgment that Europe’s dependence on Russian nuclear fuel cannot easily be reversed. [The Moscow Times]

Model of Emstand nuclear plant (ChNPP, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “6K Has A New Formula For Sustainable EV Batteries” • The US firm 6K has been showing off its improved battery technology. The Massachusetts startup just won $50 million in funding from the Biden administration to manufacture more sustainable EV batteries domestically, deploying a proprietary high tech process it calls UniMelt®. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Massive Russian Strikes Target Energy Grid” • Russia has launched a “new massive strike” targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He said the attacks were on a “very wide” scale, hitting Ukraine’s regions in the west, centre, south and east. Nearly 1.5 million households were without electricity. [BBC]

BM-21 Grad rocket launcher (Qasioun News Agency, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Opole And Solaris Are Putting Even More Electric Buses On Polish Roads” • Opole, a city in southern Poland, has around 127,000 people living in it. According to a recent press release, Opole’s public transport operator Miejski Zakład Komunikacyjny just signed a contract with Solaris Bus & Coach to receive eight electric buses. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Tata Motors Is Electrifying Both Transit And Rideshare” • The Government of Jammu & Kashmir commissioned Tata Motors to provide it with 150 9-meter and 50 12-meter electric buses as part of their a transportation initiative. Tata Motors also signed an agreement with Evera, a ride-hailing platform in the Delhi region, for 2,000 XPRES T EVs. [CleanTechnica]

Tata XPRES T EV (Norbert Aepli, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Can Low Speed Electric Vehicles Spark The EV Revolution In Africa?” • Low Speed EVs are starting to find their way to some African cities. They have been available in some West African countries where they drive on the right side of the road. Now they are being introduced in eastern African countries, where cars are on the left side of the road. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Bureau Of Meteorology Was ‘Cowering In The Corner’ On Climate Crisis: Former Staff” • Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology was accused of “cowering in the corner” on the climate crisis, with current and former staff describing a conservative culture that left the Australian public poorly informed. The bureau was accused of havin a toxic workplace. [The Guardian]

Wildfire in Tasmania (Matt Palmer, Unsplash)

¶ “Sri Lanka Gets 6000 MW Of Renewable Energy Proposals As Competitive Bidding Ends” • Sri Lanka had received proposals from operators to build around 6,000 MW of renewable electric generating capacity when expressions of interest were called, according to industry officials, as competitive procurement was also ended. [Economy Next]

¶ “India’s First Solar-Powered Village Promotes Green Energy, Sustainability And Self-Reliance” • During his two-day visit to India this week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited a model project site in Gujarat state, designated the country’s first solar-powered village. He commended villagers there on the shift towards renewable energy. [UN News]

Residents interacting with the UN Secretary-General (UN News)

¶ “Macron Calls For ‘Massive Acceleration’ Of Renewable Energy” • President Macron called for a “massive acceleration” of renewable energy development in France, along with offshore wind farms and solar power, through a plan has the country work to narrow the gap behind its European neighbors in terms of energy policy. [Nation World News]

US:

¶ “Major Storm Is Bringing Early-Season Snow To The Western US This Weekend” • A major storm system is bringing early-season snow, heavy rain and severe thunderstorms to the US this weekend and into early next week. It begins in the western US this weekend, bringing with it the first significant snowfall of the season to the Intermountain West. [CNN]

Forecast map (NOAA & National Weather Service)

¶ “Foxconn Model V Is Just The Latest Electric Truck To Be Unveiled” • Foxconn, the iPhone maker, has been making rapid headway into the automotive world, having purchased the old GM factory in Lordstown, Ohio, and kicking off the production of the Lordstown Endurance. Now, they have a production-ready electric truck: the Foxconn Model V. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “TeraWatt Plans High Power Charging Corridor From Long Beach To El Paso” • TeraWatt Infrastructure, the EV charging company, has raised a billion dollars from investors in its initial funding round. It plans to use that money to build and operate charging centers for heavy duty electric trucks on Interstate 10 from California to Texas. [CleanTechnica]

TeraWatt charging area (TeraWatt image)

¶ “Energy Debated In New Mexico State Land Office Race As More Lands Leased For Wind Power” • Thousands of acres in south-central New Mexico are to host two windfarms on public land after a lease sale by the New Mexico State Land Office. Both bids were awarded to subsidiaries of Pattern Energy for a total of 15,000 acres. [Carlsbad Current-Argus]

¶ “Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Has Long To-Do List To Assure Safety” • The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant has a new lease on life – thanks to $1.4 billion in taxpayer financed loans – but oversight officials and critics worry about the massive backlog of inspections left unaddressed because the plant was headed for shutdown. [NBC Bay Area]

Have an unambiguously outstanding day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Lower-Cost Tesla Will Outsell All Current Teslas Combined” • During the Q3 2022 Tesla conference call, an institutional investor asked about a low-cost Tesla EV. In response, Elon Musk said it was the “primary focus of our New Vehicle Development team, obviously.” One strategist commented that such a car would outsell all current models. [CleanTechnica]

Elon Musk (Steve Jurvetson, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Victoria’s Ambitious 95% Renewable Energy Target Is Risky But Essential” • It’s the end the line for coal in Victoria, after Premier Dan Andrews announced plans for 95% renewables within 13 years. The industrialised state has been aiming for 50% by 2030. But it’s also the end of the line for our ailing, mostly privatised, energy market. [Startup Daily]

World:

¶ “Zelensky Accuses Russia Of Plot To Blow Up Dam” • Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of preparing to blow up the Kakhovka dam at a hydroelectric plant in southern Ukraine. The action would lead to a “large-scale disaster.” The dam is under Russian occupation, but Ukrainian forces are closing in on it. [BBC]

Kakhovka dam (GennadyL, public domain, cropped)

¶ “Renewable Pathway More Cost Effective Than Fossil Fuels In Indonesia” • Unlocking Indonesia’s untapped renewable energy potential to meet the rising demand is more cost effective than continuing a heavy reliance on domestic and imported fossil fuels, according to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency. [Modern Diplomacy]

¶ “OsloBuss Building New Charging Facility For Electric Buses” • OsloBuss is transitioning away from diesel-powered buses in favor of battery-powered vehicles. It is the first tour bus company in northern Europe to do so. It now has ten of the 50-passenger electric buses manufactured by Yutong in service and will add more in the near future. [CleanTechnica]

Electric bus (Courtesy of OsloBuss)

¶ “China’s Ban On Overseas Coal Power Plants Is Good For The Climate … But Experts Ask Where The Support For Renewable Energy Is” • Beijing’s pledge a year ago has put a “significant dent” in planned coal-fired projects overseas, according to research. But China must do more to redirect resources towards renewable energy. [South China Morning Post]

¶ “Daniel Andrews Plans To Revive State Electricity Commission” • The Victorian government has announced it will revive the publicly owned State Electricity Commission and bring forward its net zero emissions goals if it is re-elected. Premier Daniel Andrews said the move is Victoria’s “most significant energy announcement” in 30 years. [The Guardian]

Coal-fired power plant (Robert Linder, Unsplash)

¶ “UAE Is Leading Global Efforts To Promote Clean, Renewable Energy” • The UAE leads global efforts in clean and renewable energy through its strategies and investments in this field. Last year, the UAE announced the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, making it the first country in the Middle East and North Africa with such an initiative. [Gulf Today]

¶ “Nunavik Renewable Energy Firm Eyes Projects In Six Communities” • A Nunavik renewable energy company says it wants to hear from residents in six communities about possible renewables projects. Staff from Tarquti Energy Inc have been exploring the potential for various projects to reduce reliance on diesel in Nunavik. [Nunatsiaq News]

Tarquti power system (Courtesy of Tarquti Energy Inc)

US:

¶ “GMC Sierra EV Denali – 754 HP, 400-Mile Range” • GMC has unveiled its Sierra EV Denali. In its press release, GMC says its first electric pickup truck will have 754 horsepower and 785 lb-ft of torque in Max Power mode, together with a range of 400 miles on a full battery charge. The Ultium battery pack is a structural part of the chassis. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Interior Dept. Pokes Sleeping Offshore Wind Giant As Renewables Take Charge” • US offshore wind projects on the East Coast have been moving against opposition. Now it’s time for the Pacific Coast, which is a different kettle of fish. Instead of political opposition, the wind industry faces the easier challenges posed by floating wind turbines. [CleanTechnica]

Floating windpower (US DOE image)

¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Announces $28 Million To Advance And Deploy Hydropower Technology” • The US DOE announced more than $28 million across three funding opportunities to support research and development projects that will advance and preserve hydropower as a critical source of clean energy. [Department of Energy]

¶ “Legislative wins present opportunities for clean energy contractors” • It’s a challenging time to be a renewable energy infrastructure contractor, but two of the Biden administration’s signature bills could help ease the challenges for contractors who know how to find and bid for work on the projects that the bills fund or help get funded. [Power Engineering]

Building a solar thermal facility (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)

¶ “DOE Awards $38 Million For Projects Leading Used Nuclear Fuel Recycling Initiative” • The US DOE announced $38 million for a dozen projects that will work to reduce the impacts of light-water reactor used nuclear fuel disposal. The research projects are being led by universities, private companies, and national laboratories. [Department of Energy]

¶ “Port Of Oakland Approves Two-Year Deal For Renewable Energy” • The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners extended an agreement to have the Port of Oakland purchase renewable energy from the East Bay Municipal Utility District. The Port has been buying energy from a power generation station at the wastewater treatment plant. [CBS News]

Have a fabulously worthwhile day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Methane is a global climate concern, but new technologies offer hope” • Scientists estimate we could slow the worldwide rate of warming as much as 30% by cutting methane pollution from human-caused sources as quickly as possible. New technologies enable us to locate and measure methane emissions faster and with greater precision than ever before. [CNN]

MethaneSAT will launch in 2023 (Environmental Defense Fund)

¶ “Renault Twingo ZE First Impressions” • The Renault Twingo ZE is the fully electric version of the 2014 Twingo III. The platform for this car was designed with the possibility of an electric drivetrain in a joint venture with Daimler. The Twingo ZE is not a conversion from a pure gas model, but is rather based on a dual-powertrain platform. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “StoreDot’s Super Fast-Charging Batteries Pass Durability Benchmark” • At CleanTechnica, we have started to get pretty skeptical of battery technology claims. Most speculative stories we don’t cover, because all too often, the technology doesn’t work out. StoreDot is delivering cells that have tested in an EV form factor that is ready for production. [CleanTechnica]

StoreDot battery system (StoreDot image)

World:

¶ “Europe Faces Tough Decisions Over Nuclear Power” • With the war in Ukraine, Russian supplies of natural gas was cut off, and energy prices are at emergency levels. Some tout nuclear power as an answer, but half of the French nuclear power plants are not operating in the wake of Covid-19. The French Prime Minister says use less energy. [BBC]

¶ “Solaris Showed Off Two Buses, New Tools At Transexpo 2022” • Solaris, one of the leading electric vehicle manufacturers in Europe, presented two battery-powered buses at the Transexpo Fair, the Urbino 12 electric bus and the Urbino 18.75 electric bus. The former is the most popular model, and the latter is classic articulated model. [CleanTechnica]

Solaris Urbino 18.75 electric bus (Solaris image)

¶ “Qatar’s First Large-Scale Solar Power Plant Starts Operation” • The 800-MW Al Kharsaah solar power plant in Qatar has been completed, and it has been started up and connected to the country’s grid. Developed by TotalEnergies, in partnership with QatarEnergy and Marubeni, the plant is located 80 km west of the capital, Doha. [Energy Digital Magazine]

¶ “Russia Removed From Nuclear-Energy Stage At Washington Summit” • Russia has lost its place on stage at a key international nuclear summit in Washington that takes place next week. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that executives from Rosatom and Russia’s industry regulator were dropped from the agenda. [South China Morning Post]

IAEA Zaporizhzhia inspectors (IAEA Imagebank, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Australia:

¶ “Victoria unveils offshore wind strategy” • Victoria has released its Offshore Wind Implementation Statement, which sets out the next steps to establish a Victorian offshore wind industry. These include the creation of a new government agency – Offshore Wind Energy Victoria – to streamline and drive coordinated development of the sector. [reNews]

¶ “Akaysha Energy 850-MW, 1680-MWh Battery Coming To New South Wales” • Remember when Tesla installed a 100-MW, 129-MWh Hornsdale battery in South Australia in 2017? Back then, it was huge. But my, how the world has changed. Akaysha Energy announced it will build an 850-MW, 1680-MWh battery in New South Wales. [CleanTechnica]

Rendering of the Akaysha battery (Akaysha image)

¶ “Broken Hill Mine Flipped Into Renewable Energy Storage” • The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has unveiled the re-purposing of a defunct mine in Broken Hill, in New South Wales, for renewable energy storage, using compressed air. Arena has conditionally approved A$45 million in funding to construct the 200-MW, 1600-MWh facility. [Mining Weekly]

US:

¶ “Audi’s Line Of EVs May Soon Be Produced In The US” • Audi’s line of EVs may soon be produced in the US, as soon as 2023, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which encourages EV makers to build their vehicles in the USA. For BEVs and PHEVs to remain eligible for tax credits, the final assembly must happen in North America. [CleanTechnica]

Audi e-tron (Liam Walker, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Tesla To Build 1,000 GWh Of Battery Cells Domestically, Over Double Entire World’s 2022 Output” • In the Q3 Tesla earnings call, Elon repeated one important message three times. It is that Tesla plans to make a 1,000 GWh of batteries a year, vertically integrated, domestically. There is a lot to that statement, so here’s a break-down of what it means. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Electrify America Adds MEGA Battery Backup To Charging Stations” • Electrify America has unveiled its first application of megawatt-level battery storage in Baker, California, ensuring that there’s always enough power to for its customers to charge up their EVs, regardless of the grid. The system has a solar canopy and its own battery. [CleanTechnica]

Electrify America charging site (Electrify America image)

¶ “Alabama Power Seeks Proposals For Renewable Energy Projects” • Alabama Power is seeking proposals for renewable energy projects from 5 MW to 80 MW including solar, wind, geothermal, tidal or ocean currents, low-impact hydro, biomass, and biogas from sewage treatment processes, solid municipal waste, or landfills. [pv magazine USA]

¶ “UConn, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Announce Partnership For Research And Innovation” • UConn has reached a partnering agreement with the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory for clean energy innovation and grid resilience. NREL will establish a research collaboration with UConn at the UConn Tech Park. [UConn Today]

Have a delightfully peaceful day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “For Years, I Was Insulated From The Effects Of Climate Change. Evacuating My Home Was A Rude Awakening” • I lived in a city for most of my life and, for many years, I felt largely immune to climate change. While I knew it was happening, I was protected from the immediate impacts. That changed pretty soon after I moved to the mountains. [CNN]

Wildfire in Colorado, 2018 (US Forest Service, public domain)

¶ “US Nuclear Power Industry Has A Russian Problem” • US firms developing a new generation of small nuclear power plants have a big problem: only one company sells the fuel they need, and it’s Russian. That’s why the US government is urgently looking to use some of its stockpile of weapons-grade uranium to help fuel the new advanced reactors. [NDTV.com]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Aeromine Rooftop Wind Technology Outperforms Solar” • Aeromine created a bladeless wind energy system that harvests ambient wind currents to generate electricity. It is vibration-free, silent, and easy to install.  Aeromine says it can generate up to 50% more electricity than a comparable solar power array, but it costs no more. [CleanTechnica]

Aeromine system (Aeromine image)

¶ “New Zinc Energy Storage System Beats Supply Chain Blues” • A lithium supply chain that is not up to snuff leaves room for alternatives to edge into the market. The latest development on that score comes from the Canadian company Salient Energy, which is offering a new zinc-ion battery that relies on abundant materials in the US. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Global CO₂ Emissions From Fossil Fuels To Rise By Less Than 1% This Year As Renewables And Evs Take Off” • Finally, good news in the battle against greenhouse gasses: CO₂ emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are on track to rise less than 1% this year. We have electric vehicles and an uptake of renewables to thank for the surprisingly small increase. [CNN]

Coal burning power plant (Sam LaRussa, Unsplash)

¶ “Ukrainians Told To ‘Charge Everything’ As Power Grid Hit By Russia” • Ukraine’s national energy company has urged citizens to “charge everything” by 07:00 (04:00 GMT) Thursday because of expected power cuts caused by Russian missile strikes. Energy plants were hit by Russian missiles again on Wednesday – part of a wave of such strikes since 10 October. [BBC]

¶ “Roam Rolls Out The First-Ever Electric Mass-Transit Bus Operation In Kenya!” • Roam announced the launch of the first electric, public mass transit bus operation in Nairobi. A year-long pilot project aims to address the unique challenges of public transport by providing mass transit that is reliable, sustainable, efficient, and modern. [CleanTechnica]

Roam bus (Courtesy of Roam, Kenya Power)

¶ “Octopus Energy Partners with Nexta for 1.1 GW Renewables in Italy” • A UK-based builder of wind and solar farms, Octopus Energy Generation, said it will enter Italy’s green power market by investing in renewable energy developer Nexta. Octopus held that the move will help the country wean itself off gas and lower future energy bills. [Saur Energy]

¶ “Victorian Labor To Build Publicly Owned Renewables, Revive Electricity Commission If Re-Elected” • A re-elected Victorian Labor government would build 4.5 GW of publicly owned renewable energy generation, with a renewable energy target of 95% by 2035. The election promise also includes an emissions reduction target of 75% to 80% by 2035. [ABC]

Solar array in Queensland (Queensland government)

¶ “Securing Tasmania’s Renewable Energy Future Through Historic Partnership” • The Tasmanian Government and the Australian Government are partnering under the Rewiring the Nation initiative to move ahead on an energy package including the Marinus Link, the North West Transmission Development, and Battery of the Nation. [Premier of Tasmania]

¶ “Government Rules Out Nuclear Power” • The Government of Ireland will not be taking the advice of Engineers Ireland to build Small Modular Reactors, Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath has said. “My own view and the view of the Government is that the future for Ireland is renewable energy,” he said. “It’s not nuclear.” [Newstalk]

Rendering, NuScale plant (Oregon State University, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Awards $2.8 Billion For US Manufacturing Of Batteries For Electric Vehicles And Electric Grid” • Twenty companies in twelve states will receive a total of $2.8 billion to build and expand facilities to extract and process lithium, graphite, and other battery materials, manufacture components, and show technology. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Volvo Trucks Levels Up Its Electric Trucks Sales Process With End-To-End Fleet Electrification Consulting” • Volvo Trucks North America spent a week showing off its trucks at its 2022 Electromobility Summit. Its flagship truck in North America is the Volvo VNR, a Class 8 semi truck with a power-packed fully electric powertrain. [CleanTechnica]

Fully electric FH for the European market (Volvo Trucks image)

¶ “Tesla Dominating US Luxury Vehicle Market” • Tesla remains the leader in the luxury sector of the US auto market, outpacing typical leaders BMW and Mercedes-Benz by a wide margin. Tesla doesn’t reveal its specific sales numbers, but current estimates hold that the automaker outsold its next competitor in luxury vehicles by over 100,000 units. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “7-Eleven Enrolls In MIGreenPower Renewable Energy Program For 160 Locations” • 7-Eleven Inc enrolled in DTE Energy’s voluntary renewable energy program, MIGreenPower. The enrollment will enable 7-Eleven to achieve 100% renewable energy for all 160 of its southeast Michigan locations for 20 years beginning in 2025. [North American Windpower]

Have an abundantly useful day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “In Arizona, The Future Of Renewable Energy Is On The Ballot” • When political pundits call Arizona a key swing state in the midterm elections, they’re talking about the races for control of the US Senate and House. However, this election could decide whether Arizona will become a leader in decarbonizing its power grid or abandon those efforts entirely. [Sierra Club]

Arizona (Robert Murray, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Four More Big Battery Stories” • Scaling up renewable energy generation capacity seems to be all about scaling up battery storage capacity to help with the fluctuations in supply. Luckily, we’ve got a lot of battery news. In fact, we’ve got so much battery news that we can’t cover it all. Here are four battery stories I’ll run through quickly. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Infraco Africa And Equatorial Power To Roll Out Access To Clean Power And Agri-Processing In The DRC And Rwanda” • Equatorial Power integrates the delivery of energy with water purification, agri-processing business incubation, and e-mobility. Infraco Africa is joining with it on mini-grids in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. [CleanTechnica]

Rwanda (Infraco Africa)

¶ “Electric Cars From China Are Putting The Squeeze On European Manufacturers” • Transport & Environment reports that a lack of incentives is slowing the electrification of European carmakers while Chinese EV makers are seeing their market share increase. Chinese companies could capture a majority of the EV market in Europe in time. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Developer Gains Nod For 90-MW UK Solar” • Renewables developer Boom Power has secured permission to construct over 90 MW of solar capacity in Yorkshire. The developer has been granted planning permission for the Osgodby (over 40 MW) and Low Farm (49.9 MW) solar farms. The Boom Power pipeline is approaching 3 GW in the UK alone. [reNews]

Solar array (Andres Siimon, Unsplash)

¶ “Landmark Energy Deal Massive Step Forward For Victorian Renewable Energy Transition” • The federal Albanese and Victorian Andrews governments announced an energy deal to accelerate Victoria’s renewable energy transition and kickstart offshore wind. The $2.25 billion deal will finance creation of six “renewable energy zones.” [The National Tribune]

¶ “Finland’s OL3 Nuclear Reactor Risks More Delays After Damage Found” • Damage was detected in the feedwater pumps of Finland’s Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor during maintenance work. The damage is likely to delay the commissioning of the plant and the startup of regular production, according to TVO, the plant’s operator. [Nasdaq]

Olkiluoto nuclear plant (Hannu Huovila, TVO, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

US:

¶ “As The Mississippi River Plunges, The Army Corps Is Building A 1,500-Foot-Wide Levee To Keep Salt Water Out Of Drinking Water” • The Army Corps of Engineers has begun construction on a 1,500-foot-wide underwater levee in the Mississippi River to prevent saltwater from pushing up the river amid record-low river levels and flow rates. [CNN]

¶ “Biden moves one step closer to making giant Pacific Ocean wind turbines a reality” • The Department of Interior announced it will hold a lease sale for wind energy off the coast of Central and Northern California, bringing the Biden administration’s dream of a massive West Coast wind farm one step closer to reality. [CNN]

Offshore wind farm (CGP Grey, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Treasury Department Launches Assessment Of How Extreme Weather Is Increasing Insurance Rates” • As climate change makes storms stronger and more destructive, Treasury will take a hard look at how climate-related disasters are driving insurance rates up. They will assess worsening extreme weather and its impact on the cost of insurance. [CNN]

¶ “Canoo Gets Orders For 3000 EVs From Zeeba And 9300 From Kingbee” • Earlier this year, Canoo hinted it might not have funds to begin production. Then Walmart stepped in with an order for 4500 delivery vans. Now Zeeba, a national fleet leasing company, has ordered 5,450, and Kingbee, a national van rental provider, ordered 9,300. [CleanTechnica]

Canoo (Image courtesy of Canoo)

¶ “$1.2 Billion Gemini Solar+Storage Project To Use 100% CATL Batteries” • The giant 690-MWac Gemini solar power project planned for Las Vegas will include 1,416 MWh of energy storage capacity. This will be one of the largest solar+storage projects in the US, or the world for that matter. The $1.2 billion project’s developer is Primergy Solar LLC. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ørsted Signs 200-MW US Onshore Wind PPA” • Ørsted has signed a group power purchase agreement with five corporate suppliers to Walmart to supply the latter with electricity from the 200-MW Sunflower Wind onshore wind farm in Kansas. Amy’s Kitchen, Great Lakes Cheese, Levi Strauss & Co, The JM Smucker Co, and Valvoline Inc are buying the energy. [reNews]

Wind farm (Ørsted image)

¶ “BLM Announces Completion Of Crimson Energy Storage Project” • The Bureau of Land Management announced that construction of the Crimson Energy Storage Project, a 350-MW battery storage system in eastern Riverside County, California, is now complete. The system is in operation and expanding grid capacity. [Bureau of Land Management]

¶ “Solar Developer Secures $100 Million Loan” • Renewables provider Pivot Energy has agreed a $100 million revolving development loan facility with debt finance firm Fundamental Renewables. The money will go towards funding a diverse range of solar and storage projects across the US. The facility provides Pivot Energy with financial flexibility. [reNews]

Have a truly magnificent day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Say “Climate Pollution” Instead Of “Greenhouse Gases” – The Difference In Impact Is Huge” • Climate activists are altering the language they employ to describe our quickly warming world, and the term “climate pollution” has started to shift the way that the public ascribes responsibility for the existential crisis that surrounds us. [CleanTechnica]

Supercell over Oklahoma (Raychel Sanner, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “You Call That An Energy Plan?” • Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued a press release on what he calls his energy plan. Along with it was 26 pages labeled “2022 Virginia Energy Plan,” but it isn’t a plan at all. To start with, the “plan” fails to comply with legal requirements of what the plan must include. It fails even to mention climate change. [Virginia Mercury]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Advances In Decarbonizing Steel And Cement Manufacturing” • The steel industry produces nearly 8% of all carbon emissions globally, according to a McKinsey report. The cement industry is responsible for about 8% of global emissions, according to the BBC. A number of companies are developing different ways to decarbonize these processes. [CleanTechnica]

How to make steel (Electra image)

World:

¶ “Fuel Protests Gripping More Than 90 Countries” • High costs of living are driving people to protest in the streets against high prices. The BBC has mapped all reported demonstrations over fuel since January 2021, revealing a huge increase in protests this year. Around the world demonstrators have demanded that fuel be made more affordable. [BBC]

¶ “EU Produces Record Wind And Solar Energy As It Shirks Russian Gas” • Wind and solar power made up a record 24% of the European Union’s electricity since Russia invaded Ukraine, a report says. It’s a boost that also helped the bloc battle soaring inflation. Nineteen of the EU’s 27 member states had record wind and solar generation since March. [CNN]

Wind farm (Anastasia Palagutina, Unsplash)

¶ “Mercedes CEO Says Europe’s Gas Crisis Will Accelerate Its Shift To Renewables” • Europe’s gas crisis will be “a catalyst” for Mercedes-Benz to push deeper into clean energy, says its CEO. Mercedes is taking steps to cut down its use of natural gas at the company’s factories in Germany by roughly half, while keeping production levels up. [CNN]

¶ “Volkswagen BEV Sales Nearly 500,000 A Year – Now Ewan McGregor Is Providing A Boost” • Volkswagen aims to be the top selling battery EV maker in the world. That’s not going to be easy, but the German auto giant has made a lot of progress. Tesla plans to reach 1.4 million BEV deliveries this year. Volkswagen Group is approaching 500,000. [CleanTechnica]

Use the Force (Volkswagen image)

¶ “South Africa’s Eskom Signs Land Lease Agreements With Independent Clean Power Generators” • To move forward on the switch to renewable energy, Eskom is making land available close to its power stations, where there is sufficient grid capacity, for Independent Power Producers to lease and invest in renewable energy projects. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Renewable Investments Could Outstrip Upstream Oil And Gas In 2022” • High spot electricity prices, particularly in Europe, are changing narrative for the utility wind and solar investment. Potential payback periods of under one year could start a race to develop renewable assets purely based on project economics, Rystad Energy research shows. [Oil Price]

Solar power plant (Zbynek Burival, Unsplash)

¶ “Portugal Bets All On Renewable Energy After Abandoning Coal” • As the UN steps up calls to make the switch to renewable energy to fight the global climate emergency, Portugal is among the first EU countries to abandon coal entirely. Portugal is has been joined by Belgium and Sweden in its renouncing coal as an energy source. [Global Times]

¶ “Germany To Postpone Nuclear Plant Closures As Russia’s War In Ukraine Fuels Energy Crisis Fears” • German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ordered ministers Monday to prepare to keep all three of the country’s remaining nuclear plants running until mid-April, putting his foot down on an issue that had threatened to split his three-party government. [CBC]

Neckarwestheim Unit 1 (Felix König, public domain)

US:

¶ “Stealthy Green Steel Startup Cracks Lazy Iron Ore Code” • Electra figured out a solution to the problem of carbon emissions for steel, which involves, well, a solution. The idea is to dissolve less costly, low-grade iron ore in a solution, then extract the iron. The company states that its process can work on ores with an iron content as low as 35%. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “California’s Tomato Farmers Are Getting Squeezed By Water Crisis As Growing Costs Continue To Rise” • This year, fewer tomatoes were grown as rising interest rates, inflation, and the crushing drought squeezed farmers who saw their margins sliced and diced. While the cost of growing tomatoes continues to rise, it ultimately hits consumers. [CNN]

Tomatoes (Meg MacDonald, Unsplash)

¶ “BP Buying Leading RNG Production Group In $4.1 Billion Deal” • British oil major BP is continuing to diversify its energy portfolio. It announced a deal to acquire a company considered a leader in production of renewable natural gas, Houston-based Archaea Energy. BP is paying $3.3 billion in cash, along with $800 million for Archaea’s debt. [Power Magazine]

¶ “DOE Invests $14 Million To Enhance Environmental And Wildlife Benefits From Solar Energy Infrastructure” • The DOE announced $14 million in funding to study how solar energy infrastructure interacts with wildlife and ecosystems. These projects are part of a DOE renewable power research portfolio of nearly $100 million. [Department of Energy]

Have a satisfyingly extraordinary day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Recent Battery Deals Could Indicate Manufacturers Are Up To The Task Congress Gave Them” • China has 100% control over battery-grade synthetic graphite, 73% control of cobalt, 68% control of nickel, and 59% control over lithium. US car makers, however, are showing they are up to the task of finding new sources of materials. [CleanTechnica]

Chevrolet Equinox EV in the 2024 model year (GM Image)

¶ “Australia’s Energy Future Is Renewable, Not Radioactive” • Bernard Keane summed up the nuclear debate like this in Crikey: “Someone on the right will call for a ‘debate’ on nuclear power. Critics will point out that nuclear power is ludicrously expensive, takes decades to build, and is prone to multi-hundred per cent cost blowouts.” And so it goes on. [Green Left]

World:

¶ “BYD Scores Big Rental Deal” • BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, partnered with SIXT, an international car rental company, for the European market. The agreement is to begin a long-term partnership with a shared vision to help accelerate electric mobility adoption. The all-electric BYDs will be available to customers in Q4 2022. [CleanTechnica]

BYD Atto 3 SUV (BYD image)

¶ “19% Of New Car Sales In Germany Fully Electric, 32% Have A Plug” • The German automotive market may have bottomed out. After growing 3% in August, September brought a solid 14% sales increase, while plugins grew even faster. Sales of full electric vehicles were up in September by 33% year over year, taking 19% of the overall market. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “16% Of New Cars Now Fully Electric In France!” • In France, the overall auto market presented its second positive month, after a long fall in sales. It was up 6% year over year, but still down a significant 19% compared to September 2019. Full electrics were the highlight of the market, growing 34% YOY, and winning 16% of the market in September. [CleanTechnica]

Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric (Alexander Migl, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “World Energy Storage Forecast Increased 13% – Thanks, IRA & REPowerEU!” • The Inflation Reduction Act in the US and the EU’s REPowerEU will underpin the US and EU movement towards faster battery deployment. The IRA, for example, includes an Investment Tax Credit that applies to standalone energy storage projects. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Iberdrola Commissions Australian Wind-Solar Project” • Iberdrola has started commissioning its first wind-solar hybrid project, Port Augusta. The renewable facility, located in the state of South Australia, combines 210 MW of wind power with 107 MW of photovoltaic power and has required an investment of A$500 million ($312 million). [reNews]

Wind and solar power (Iberdrola image)

¶ “NTR Signs Irish Solar PPA With AIB” • NTR has signed a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement with Irish banking group AIB to source energy generated from two solar farms NTR will construct in County Wexford. The solar farms at Enniscorthy and Gorey combine to place 21.4 GWh of new renewable energy in the Irish grid. [reNews]

¶ “Renewable Energy Plants Could Boost Property Prices” • According to PRD’s, Renewable Energy In the Property Market, local government areas that built either a wind or solar energy plant in 2017, have seen average property prices increase 41% over the past five years. The value of a home can also be increased by installing solar panels. [Elite Agent]

Wind farm in Queensland (Lepidlizard, public domain)

¶ “Germany’s Scholz Vows Solution To Nuclear Power Dispute Next Week” • The German government will resolve a dispute over nuclear power in the coming days, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Berlin on Friday, after plans to delay the nation’s nuclear phase-out beyond the end of the year exposed cracks in the coalition. [StreetInsider]

US:

¶ “Climate Change Exposes Lack Of US Preparedness In Defending Arctic Ocean Interests, Senator Says” • Climate change is unlocking a new crossroads and potential center of conflict: the Arctic. But one key lawmaker, Maine Senator Angus King, warns the US has lagged behind in securing the region, as other powers move in. [CNN]

USCGC Bertholf, Arctic Ocean (US Coast Guard, public domain)

¶ “Lots Of Energy Around Green Energy In Lebanon” • Want a glimpse into the future? Visit Lebanon, New Hampshire. Solar arrays glint in the sun at the city’s buildings. The city bought one of the nation’s first Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks. The municipal airport is getting ready for electric planes. All this is not an accident. [Union Leader]

¶ “Billions Of Snow Crabs Have Disappeared From The Waters Around Alaska” • The snow crab harvest has been canceled in Alaska for the first time ever after a sharp fall in the snow crab population. There had been around 8 billion snow crabs in 2018, but the number fell to 1 billion in 2021, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game researcher said. [CNN]

¶ “Will ERINs Make Teslas Cheaper?” • The US Renewable Fuel Standard mandates that fuel sold in the US has to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels. Since 2005, that has mostly been corn ethanol. It seems consideration is now being given to EV makers to allow them to generate electric Renewable Identification Numbers. [CleanTechnica]

Have a securely powered day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Electric Vehicle Phobia” • We will soon be going south into New South Wales and Victoria, on our first post-Covid roadtrip. We will visit old friends and relatives en route, and we expect some negative comments on our transportation. Some are wary of the Tesla Model 3 and fear for our safety. Some think we may not get there at all. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model 3 (Charlie Deets, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Can An Enormous Seaweed Farm Help To Curb Climate Change?” • Imagine a seaweed farm the size of Croatia floating in the South Atlantic. Spinning in a natural ocean eddy, it sucks a billion tonnes of carbon out of the atmosphere every year and sinks it to the ocean floor out of harm’s way. A UK businessman plans to have this up and running by 2026. [BBC]

¶ “NASA Is Making It Even Easier For Scientists To Understand Climate Change” • A new mission led by NASA, the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation, hopes to provide better context and understanding about climate change. The mission is being run from aboard the International Space Station and has recently produced its first mineral maps. [BGR]

Work on the ISS (NASA image, public domain)

World:

¶ “Vancouver’s Air Quality Affected As Several Wildfires Rage” • Wildfires burning in British Columbia and Washington state have triggered an air quality advisory, a Metro Vancouver district press release says. The smoke contributes to high concentrations of fine particulate matter in the area, which pose the greatest risk to health. [CNN]

¶ “The BYD Atto 3 Launched In India, Laos, And Nepal!” • It has been reported on several platforms that BYD is planning to start producing at least 300,000 EVs per month soon from its various plants in China and other places. This week saw the Atto 3, being launched in new markets, including the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, India, and Nepal. [CleanTechnica]

BYD Atto 3 (Image courtesy of BYD)

¶ “Removing The Barriers To EV Uptake In Australia” • Now, with rollouts of charging systems throughout Australia, barriers to EV uptake are pretty much gone. Apart from misinformation and ignorance, the only barrier facing Australians at the moment is the upfront cost of purchase. This may disappear next year as cheaper imports reach us. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “German Greens Lay Out Nuclear Power Position Amid Federal Government Infighting” • The Green Party, one of the three coalition parties governing at federal level, supported German Economy Minister Robert Habeck in his plans to keep two nuclear power plants on standby, in case of an energy crunch over winter, up until April 2023. [DW]

Isar II nuclear plant (E.ON Kernkraft GmbH)

US:

¶ “The Mighty Mississippi Is So Low, People Are Walking To A Unique Rock Formation Rarely Accessible By Foot” • Tower Rock, an island in the middle of the Mississippi River south of St. Louis, is typically surrounded by water and only accessible by boat. But as severe drought pushes river levels to near-record lows, people can now reach it on foot. [CNN]

¶ “Credit Suisse Predicts Renewable Energy That Is ‘Too Cheap To Meter’ By 2025” • Credit Suisse says the Inflation Reduction Act will have such a tremendous impact on renewable energy that the US may see the LCOE from renewable sources fall to less than 1¢/kWh hour by 2025, after all tax and production credits are factored in. [CleanTechnica]

Solar array (Raphael Cruz, Unsplash)

¶ “US Offshore Wind Guidance Accelerates Development Of The US Offshore Wind Industry” • The US offshore wind sector has new official guidance that can be used in the regulatory approval process. The first of five recommended-practice documents for offshore windpower is an overarching flagship document for the US Offshore Wind Standards Initiative. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “CIRI Looks To Triple Power At Fire Island Wind Farm” • An Alaska Native corporation is looking at expanding its Fire Island Wind Project, adding perhaps a dozen turbines and tripling the power output from the island in Cook Inlet, five miles west of Anchorage. With 11 big turbines, it is already the second-largest wind farm in Alaska. [Anchorage Daily News]

Fire Island wind farm (tjpeters, free for use)

¶ “Gov Youngkin reconfirms goal of investing in nuclear energy” • Gov Glenn Youngkin is reconfirming his goal of investing more into nuclear energy. Southwest Virginia could become home to the nation’s first small modular reactor, or SMR, due to the aggressive plan from Youngkin. He made a new announcement in Wise County. [WSET]

¶ “Miami-Dade County Involved In National Study To Fight Climate Change Impact On Island Communities And Urban Settings” • To help fight climate change, Miami-Dade County is participating in a nationwide study that will analyze the cooling potential of urban natural areas among other things. The study is led by the Natural Areas Conservancy. [Islander News]

Have an enchantingly cozy day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.