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Energy Week # 289, 11/01/2018
Thursday, October 25:
Refinery (Getty Images)
- “Exxon ‘Systematically’ Misled Investors, NY AG Says”
For years ExxonMobil duped shareholders about the serious threat its fossil fuels empire faces from the global crackdown on carbon emissions, according to a lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General. The lawsuit alleges that Exxon executed a “longstanding fraudulent scheme.” [CNN] - “Oil Spill Settlement Pays for Climate Curriculum in Gulf States”
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is spending part of a $500 million oil spill settlement to provide climate change education at middle and high school levels in Gulf Coast communities vulnerable to sea-level rise and other climate threats. [Scientific American]
Buckland solar arrays (Nathaniel Herz | Alaska’s Energy Desk)
- “A Solar Project in Rural Alaska Takes Aim at Sky-High Electric Bills”
A renewable energy project in the Northwest Alaska village of Buckland aims to demonstrate solar and wind power’s potential to reduce the region’s sky-high utility costs. Three solar arrays will switch on this week, and a battery system is coming next year. [Alaska Public Radio Network]
Friday, October 26:
- “Sodium-Ion Batteries to Pump Bondi Sewage in Test of Cheaper Li-Ion Alternative”
A project developed at the University of Wollongong is underway to test a comparable, low-cost alternative to lithium-ion battery storage. The sodium-ion battery packs are in use, after commissioning of the project this week. [RenewEconomy]
Offshore wind farm (Photo: Shutterstock.com)
- “Oil and Gas Majors Need to Invest $20 Billion Yearly to Dominate in Renewables”
Majors account for a 15% share of the global oil and gas market. If those majors want to capture the same market share in renewables, it would require them to collectively invest $200 billion, according to a new report from Wood Mackenzie. [Greentech Media] - “More and More Democrats are Running on a Total Phaseout of Fossil Fuels”
More than 1,400 Democrat candidates running for every level of office this November have committed to some form of a goal to mandate 100% clean, zero-emissions electricity in their state by 2050, according to the League of Conservation Voters. [Washington Examiner]
Saturday, October 27:
Ocean fish (David Loh | Reuters)
- “The Fate of the Ocean: Our Ocean Conference”
With much of the world’s attention now fixated on climate change, the Our Ocean conference on the island of Bali is a great opportunity to address the health of the oceans and garner commitments to save it from the scourges of pollution, overfishing, and transnational crime. [Council on Foreign Relations] - “GM Pushes National Electric Car Plan as Trump Tries to Roll Back Emissions Standards”
In response to an administration proposal to roll back fuel economy requirements, General Motors is calling for the federal government to start a nationwide program to put EVs on the road, modeled on California’s Zero Emission Vehicle program. [CNN]
Solar power in China
- “Asia Pacific to See 355 GW of Solar and Offshore Wind Boom in the Next Five Years”
The Asia Pacific region is expected to add a further 355 GW of new PV capacity over the next five years, despite expectations that installations will decline this year. And the region’s offshore wind industry is predicted to grow 20-fold over the next decade. [CleanTechnica]
Sunday, October 28:
- “Why Canadian Tar Sands Oil may be Doomed”
At current prices, $19 per barrel, Canadian tar sands oil producers are losing money on every barrel of oil they dig out. Despite signs earlier this year the industry would “turn profitable in 2018,” a much more likely scenario at this point is a fourth straight year of losses. [NationofChange] (Thanks to Tad Montgomery)
Kaskawulsh glacier
- “Dry Lakes and Dust Storms: Dramatic Changes to Yukon Glaciers are Warning for Planet, Researchers Say”
The Yukon’s enormous glaciers are thinning very quickly, creating huge environmental changes. The dramatic changes are an early warning of what climate change could mean for the rest of the planet, researchers say. [CBC.ca] - “Billionaire Brawl: Warren Buffett vs Sheldon Adelson in Nevada”
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns NV Energy, a government-regulated monopoly that ranks as the state’s largest utility. And Adelson is bankrolling a campaign to break up the company and take control of where his power-hungry casinos buy electricity. [Politico]
Monday, October 29:
Horsepower, before a different transition
- “Energy Transitions are Nothing New but the One Underway is Unprecedented and Urgent”
As a historian who has studied the oil industry’s earliest years and petroleum’s role in world history, I believe that keeping the world habitable for future generations will depend on a swift transition to more sustainable energy sources. [Cosmos] - “Smithfield Announces Plans to Cover Hog Lagoons, Produce Renewable Energy”
Smithfield Foods says it plans to cover most of its hog lagoons in North Carolina to generate renewable energy and to protect the waste pits from heavy rains. During Hurricane Florence’s rains the lagoons caused environmental problems. [North Carolina Health News]
Somali farmers riding Somali-made Solar Evs
- “He’s Turning Lights On in War-Torn Rural Somalia, One Panel at a Time”
With a company backed by his own funds, along with those of friends and family, a man named Wiliq has brought electricity to 1,000 people so far by installing 70 kW of solar panels. A little electricity brings many other benefits, however, including information. [OZY]
Tuesday, October 30:
- “US Coal on Track for Record Capacity Decline, Closing 15.4 GW”
The closure of coal-fired power plants across the US is currently on track to set a new record this year, with at least 22 plants going dark, a 15.4-GW decline, according to a new report published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. [CleanTechnica]
African elephant
- “This is the ‘Last Generation’ That Can Save Nature, WWF Says”
Global wildlife populations have fallen by 60% in just over four decades, as accelerating pollution, deforestation, climate change, and other man-made factors have created a “mind-blowing” crisis, the World Wildlife Fund has warned in a damning new report. [CNN] - “More than 90% of World’s Children Breathe Toxic Air, Report Says, as India Prepares for Most Polluted Season”
Around 93% of the world’s children under 15 years of age, 1.8 billion children, breathe air so polluted that it puts their health and development at serious risk, according to a report published by the World Health Organization. [CNN]
Wednesday, October 31:
Climate kids rally group
- “Feds Are ‘Trying to Silence’ the Kids Suing the Trump Administration over Global Warming”
The Supreme Court is considering the DOJ’s petition for writ of mandamus. Federal attorneys question whether the kids have a right to “a climate system capable of sustaining human life” under the Constitution or public trust doctrine. [CNN] - “New Renewables, Nuclear Bring Down US Electricity Emissions by ~13%”
Analysis by the DOE puts some numbers on how zero-carbon energy has brought down US power sector emissions. It is almost all wind, which went from 0.4% to 6.3% of generation from 2005 to 2017, and solar, which increased from about 0% to 1.9%. [pv magazine USA]
Nyngan solar power plant
- “NSW Launches Emerging Energy Program to Replace Coal Generation”
The New South Wales Coalition government launched one of the most significant energy transition projects in Australia. The Emerging Energy Program is designed to help replace most of the state’s ageing coal plants with wind, solar, and storage within 15 years. [RenewEconomy]
Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 