Energy Week #325: 7/3/2019

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Energy Week #325: 7/3/2019

Thursday, June 27:

H55 Electric Flight Trainer (Anna Pizzolante | © H55)

• “H55, Solar Impulse Spinoff, Introduces Electric 2-Seat Airplane” • A spinoff from Solar Impulse going by the short name of H55 flew a successful maiden flight with an electric two-seat airplane. Using an electric propulsion system made by BRM Aero, the Bristell Energic airplane is perfect for pilot training and flight schools. [CleanTechnica]
• “Recent Science Raises Oil Industry’s Climate Litigation Risk” • The fossil fuel industry defenses for its role in climate change are being chipped away. Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court denied a request from ExxonMobil to review a Massachusetts court decision that allowed the state’s attorney general to seek internal company documents. [Forbes]

Comparison of renewable generation with coal (Image: Electric Power Monthly)

• “US Electricity Generation From Renewables Surpassed Coal In April” • In April 2019, US monthly electricity generation from renewable sources exceeded coal-fired generation for the first time according to data published in the EIA’s Electric Power Monthly. Renewable sources provided 23% of total electricity generation; coal provided 20%. [Renewables Now]

Friday, June 28:

• “It’s Official: Maine To Go 80% Renewable By 2030” • Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) signed a trifecta of bills to move the state towards a clean energy future, including adding 375 MW of distributed solar by mid-2024. Also, the state’s utilities are required to get 50% of their power from qualified renewable energy sources by 2030. [pv magazine]

New York City (Hans Lienhart, Wikimedia Commons)

• “New York City Declares A Climate Emergency, The First Us City With More Than A Million Residents To Do So” • In an effort to mobilize local and national responses to stall global warming, the New York City Council passed legislation declaring a climate emergency. It’s the largest city in the US, with over 8.62 million inhabitants. [CNN]
• “Massachusetts Regulators Approve State’s Largest Clean Energy Procurement” • The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved contracts authorizing utilities to buy 9,554,940 MWh annually from Hydro-Quebec. The Sierra Club, however, questioned the wisdom of relying on Canadian hydropower to address the state’s climate goals. [Utility Dive]

Saturday, June 29:

Water vapor used in Strasbourg to cool people down (AFP)

• “France Hits Record Temperature Of 45.9°C” • France has hit its highest recorded temperature, 45.9°C (114.6°F), amid a heatwave in Europe that has claimed several lives. The new record was set in the southern village of Gallargues-le-Montueux. The previous record was 44.1°C during a 2003 heatwave that killed thousands of people. [BBC] (The record jumped 1.8°C, 3.24°F. – GHH)
• “UK Signs Net-Zero Emissions Requirement Into Law” • Two weeks after Theresa May, the UK’s outgoing Prime Minister, announced that she was introducing legislation to enshrine into law a net zero emissions by 2050 target, it was signed signed into law, making the UK the first major global economy to make such a target legally binding. [CleanTechnica]

Oil and wind

• “The Price Of A Fully Renewable US Grid: $4.5 Trillion” • The cost of shifting the US power grid to 100% renewable energy over the next 10 years is an estimated $4.5 trillion, according to a new Wood Mackenzie analysis. The price is for going entirely to renewables, replacing all nuclear and fossil fuels with renewable energy. [Greentech Media]
• “Fracking Creates A Glut Of Fossil Fuels And A Mountain Of Debt” • Steve Schlotterbeck, former chief executive of EQT, one of the largest shale gas fracking companies in the US, shocked people at a petrochemicals conference in Pittsburgh recentlyby telling them that fracking has been an “unmitigated disaster” for investors in shale companies. [CleanTechnica]

Alaskan water temperatures

• “Alaska’s Warming Ocean Is Putting Food And Jobs At Risk, Scientists Say” • The ice around Alaska is not just melting. It has gotten so low that the situation is endangering some residents’ food and jobs. Ocean temperatures in the Chukchi and North Bering seas are nearly 10°F (5°C) above normal, satellite data shows. [CNN]

Sunday, June 30:

• “Oceans Start To Slow Down On Carbon Dioxide Absorption” • Oceanographic researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara report that the ocean’s dynamic ability to act as a carbon sink is influenced by a number of factors, importantly including ocean circulation. This may explain why atmospheric CO₂ levels can rise when emissions do not. [Science Times]

Noor Abu Dhabi plant (EWEC image)

• “World’s Largest Single Solar Plant Starts Commercial Operations In Abu Dhabi” • Emirates Water and Electricity Company announced that the 1,177-MW “Noor Abu Dhabi,” the world’s largest single solar project, started commercial operation. The plant offsets natural gas use, reducing CO₂ emissions by a million metric tons per year. [Utilities Middle East]
• “Lamu Coal Plant Not Even Economically And Commercially Viable, Says Chinese Envoy” • Chinese ambassador Wu Peng assured Kenya that his country will not force coal on Kenyans. Wu said China is committed to reducing coal usage in the world. He confirmed that a coal-burning plant set to be built is not economically and commercially viable. [K24 TV]

Monday, July 1:

Extreme weather in Guadalajara (Ulises Ruiz | AFP)

• “Mexico’s Guadalajara Hit By Freak Summer Hailstorm Which Buries Cars, Blankets Streets” • A freak hailstorm has struck Guadalajara, one of Mexico’s most populous cities, shocking residents and trapping vehicles in a deluge of ice pellets up to two meters deep. While seasonal hail storms happen, there is no record of any this heavy. [ABC News]
• “Los Angeles And 8minute Solar Announce 25-Year PPA At Under Two Cents Per kWh!” • Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power has a proposal that will help on its goal of a Green New Deal. If approved, the city will enter into a 25-year power purchase agreement for 400 MW AC of solar electricity at a price of 1.997¢/kWh. [CleanTechnica]

Whaling logbook (Image: Justin Buchli)

• “Centuries-Old Sea Captain Diaries Are Confirming Modern Climate Science” • Logs kept by whalers mates can help to fill in some of the gaps left in the weather records, which only go back to 1880. American whaler diaries have been kept since the late 1700s, adding over a century of supplementary information to the climate record. [VICE]

Tuesday, July 2:

Women working for Frontier Markets (Frontier Markets image)

• “Women Are Bringing Solar Energy To Thousands Of Indian Villages” • In India’s desert state of Rajasthan, Frontier Markets employs women to sell lamps, stoves, TVs, and the solar power to run them through a program called Solar Sahelis. They are bringing renewable electricity to hundreds of millions of people who live off the grid. [CNN]
• “Global Progress To Halt Emissions Rise Is ‘Stalling’ Amidst ‘Woefully Inadequate’ National Targets” • The Climate Action Tracker, in an update of government actions on greenhouse gas emissions, concluded that progress for the climate crisis is “stalling,” as many countries retain “woefully inadequate” national targets. [CleanTechnica]

Jetty and pipelines (David P Howard, Wikimedia Commons) CC BY-SA 2.0

• “America’s Liquefied Natural Gas Boom May Be On A Collision Course With Climate Change” • Companies are scrambling in the US to build dozens of gas export terminals. Those investments are likely to be derailed in time as renewable energy costs plunge and concerns about climate change increase, according to the Global Energy Monitor. [CNN]

Energy Week #325: 7/3/2019

Energy, renewable energy, wind power, Solar, batteries, Nuclear, coal, oil, gas, Climate Change

Energy Week #324: 6/27/2019

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Energy Week #324: 6/27/2019

Thursday, June 20:

Himalayan mountain (Neville Gillett)

• “Himalayan Glaciers Are Melting Twice As Fast As Last Century” • Climate change is eating away Himalayan glaciers at a dramatic rate, a study revealed. Spanning 2,000 kilometers and harboring some 600 billion tons of ice, Himalayan glaciers supply around 800 million people with water for irrigation, hydropower and drinking. [CNN]
• “Trump Administration Weakens Climate Plan To Help Coal Plants Stay Open” • President Trump has thrown his latest lifeline to the ailing coal industry. The EPA released the final version of its Affordable Clean Energy rule. It’s supported by the coal industry, but it is not clear that it will be enough to stop coal-fired power plants from closing. [NPR]
• “Pennsylvania Governor Wants To Tie Nuclear Bailout To Joining RGGI” • Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf asked Republican lawmakers to authorize the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative as part of a nuclear bailout deal, according to reports from local media and analysts. The governor’s office did not comment. [Investing.com]

Friday, June 21:

Simone Giertz and Tesla Model 3 truck

• “Self-Proclaimed ‘Queen Of [WORD] Robots’ Builds The First Tesla Truck” • Tesla’s pickup truck is set to be unveiled in just a few months, but one eager maker just had to go off and make one for herself. Simone Giertz, who has shown some seriously odd robot creations on her YouTube channel, built herself the world’s first Tesla pickup. [CleanTechnica]
• “Yellow Light In US Auto Industry: Consumer Demand Problem Growing For Gas Cars” • A recent article in Forbes highlighted that JD Power and LMC Automotive have found “a growing backlog of unsold new cars and trucks” across the country. The reason? Sales are down. People are buying fewer and fewer gasoline-powered cars. [CleanTechnica]

Rendering of NuScale nuclear power plant (US DOE via NuScale, Carbon Free Energy Project)

• “Fooled Again: New “ACE” Power Plan Brings Back Nuclear Energy Jobs, Not Coal Jobs” • The Affordable Clean Energy plan was announced with great fanfare and coal miners in attendance. ACE replaces President Obama’s Clean Power Plan with one that stresses both affordable and clean. But that leaves coal still in its death spiral. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, June 22:

• “GE Will Shutter California Natural Gas Plant 20 Years Early” • GE notified the California Energy Commission it is shuttering the Inland Empire in Riverside, California, according to Reuters. The Inland Empire plant was only commissioned in 2009. GE invested roughly $1 billion in the plant, but operating it has become uneconomical. [CleanTechnica]

Forest in Costa Rica (Victor Quirós, Wikimedia Commons)

• “Costa Rica To Go 100% Plastic and Carbon-Free By 2021” • No country has made more environmental progress than Costa Rica. The country has got 99% of its energy from renewable sources since 2014. It has doubled the size of its forests, creating a huge carbon sink. Now, it plans to be free of plastic and fossil fuels by 2021. [The Rising]
• “The Olympics’ New Swiss HQ Is Both Eco-Friendly And Symbolic” • The new Swiss headquarters for the Olympic and Paralympic Games is finished, and the building, in the city of Lausanne, is the most sustainable in the world, the architects say. The building occupies a scenic spot on the shore of Lake Geneva, inside Louis Bourget Park. [CNN]

Sunday, June 23:

Ampaire Electric EEL airplane

• “Personal Airline Exchange Orders 50 Ampaire EEL Hybrid Electric Commuter Airplanes” • Air service provider Personal Airline Exchange, to expand its on-demand charter service, placed an order for 50 Ampaire Electric EEL commuter planes. They have hybrid electric systems like those in cars, with both electric and combustion power. [CleanTechnica]
• “70 People Were Arrested At A Climate Protest Outside The New York Times Offices” • Seventy people were arrested outside of The New York Times building in Manhattan, according to a New York Police Department spokesman, who said that charges are pending. They were protesting to call attention to the way news outlets cover the climate crisis. [CNN]

Protesters at the Garzweiler mine (AFP image)

• “Climate Protesters Storm Garzweiler Coal Mine In Germany” • Hundreds of climate change activists ran through fields, broke through a police cordon and stormed the Garzweiler open cast coal mine in western Germany to campaign against fossil fuels. Germany has vowed to be carbon neutral by 2050, but activists say 2050 is not soon enough. [BBC]

Monday, June 24:

• “VP Mike Pence Refuses To Directly Answer Whether Climate Change Is A Threat In Tapper Interview” • During an interview on CNN, Vice President Mike Pence said, “We will always follow the science.” But he repeatedly refused to give a direct answer when asked about his beliefs on climate change and whether it poses a threat to the planet. [Newsweek]

Offshore wind farm (Zoltan Tasi | Unsplash)

• “Finally, Major Movement On Governor’s Promises For Offshore Wind” • Ørsted’s Ocean Wind project established a first-year price of $98.10/MWh for the subsidy provided by ratepayers, the offshore renewable energy certificate. By way of comparison, the OREC offered in Maryland is priced at $170 for a wind project there. [NJ Spotlight]
• “The Diesel Scandal Just Destroyed Profit Growth At Daimler, Maker Of Mercedes-Benz” • Daimler, the German auto company that makes Mercedes-Benz, reduced its 2019 profit expectations by hundreds of millions of euros. The financial downgrade is fallout from the diesel emissions scandal that has rocked the German auto industry. [CNN]

Tuesday, June 25:

Haliade X tower in Rotterdam (GE Renewable Energy image)

Haliade X turbine blade (GE Renewable Energy image)

• “GE’s 12-MW Haliade-X Turbine Tower And Blade Make First Appearances” • The component parts of GE Renewable Energy’s mammoth new 12-MW Haliade-X wind turbine prototype are arriving for installation in Rotterdam. The first turbine blade made its first appearance outside the company’s factory in Cherbourg, France. [CleanTechnica]
• “G20 Coal Subsidies Rise Despite Climate Pledges” • Despite promising a decade ago to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, the world’s leading economies more than doubled subsidies to coal-fired power plants between 2014 and 2017, putting climate goals at risk, according to a report by the London-based Overseas Development Institute. [RTE.ie]

Lighthouse on Merry Island Don Procter)

• “BC Lighthouses Go From Diesel To Renewable” • British Columbia’s 27 staffed lighthouses are shifting from diesel power to renewable energy, with several recently getting solar and wind turbines. Ten lighthouses are expected to make the changeover in about a year, while the other 17 will be retrofitted as the diesel generators age. [Daily Commercial News]

Wednesday, June 26:

• “India Plans To Set Up 500 GW Of Renewable Energy Capacity By 2030” • At the 17th meeting of the International Renewables Energy Agency (IRENA) council in Abu Dhabi, Anand Kumar, India’s secretary of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy announced that India plans to set up 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. [REVE]

Pennsylvania (Pixabay image)

• “Reading, Pennsylvania Sets 100% Clean Energy Goal” • The Reading City Council in Pennsylvania has unanimously voted to adopt a resolution establishing a goal of powering the entire community with 100% renewable energy by 2050. The city will prioritize energy-efficient and low-cost solutions in order to benefit residents. [Windpower Engineering]
• “8minute Solar And NV Energy Plan New Solar Power Plant With 540 MWh Of Battery Storage” • The Southern Bighorn Solar & Storage Center will include a 300-MW (AC) solar array with 540 MWh of lithium-ion battery storage. It will be built in Clark County on the Moapa River Indian Reservation about 30 miles north of Las Vegas. [CleanTechnica]

Energy Week #324: 6/27/2019

Energy, renewable energy, wind power, Solar, batteries, Nuclear, coal, oil, gas, Climate Change

Energy Week #323: 6/20/2019

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Energy Week #323: 6/20/2019

Thursday, June 13:

Teslas (Photo: Megan Gale via Twitter)

• “Seven Top Takeaways From Tesla’s Shareholder Meeting” • At Tesla’s yearly shareholder meeting, Elon Musk delivered the company’s “state of the union” for 2019. A few takeaways include that Tesla will make vegan steering wheels and that Elon actually does have a submarine car (though he is not James Bond). But they are not in the top seven. [CleanTechnica]
• “Renewable Energy Jobs Move South And East, As Industry Shifts To Middle Income Economies” • Currently 39% of all renewable energy jobs are in China. Other important jobs markets include Brazil, the US and the EU, but the most notable trend is the emergence of renewable energy industries in more corners of east and southeast Asia. [Forbes]
• “Renewable Energy Vermont Becomes First SEIA Affiliate In New England” • Solar Energy Industries Association announced that Renewable Energy Vermont is an official affiliate, its 15th state affiliate, and the first in New England, growing a network of organizations committed to advancing solar markets around the country. [Solar Power World]

Friday, June 14:

Yosemite Valley

• “96% Of National Parks Negatively Impacted By Air Pollution” • The National Parks Conservation Association published a report that has a number of insights about the negative impacts of air pollution at US National Parks. One of these is, “96% of the 417 national parks assessed are plagued by significant air pollution problems.” [CleanTechnica]
• “New Florida Law Just Legalized Driverless, Human-Less, Self-Driving Vehicles” • When will regulators approve self-driving vehicles? Well, in Florida, they already have. “More than a month after the Florida legislature passed a bill legalizing the use of autonomous vehicles, Gov Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law,” 10News reports. [CleanTechnica]

Burbo Bank wind farm near New Brighton, UK (Reuters)

• “US Looking To Harness The Ocean Winds With British Help” • The federal government estimates that the coastal waters off of New Bedford, Massachusetts, are among the windiest in the nation. Some bad news is that the US doesn’t know much about building wind turbines, out in the ocean at least. But some good news is that the UK can help with that. [BBC]

Saturday, June 15:

Seward Highway (Image: David Mark | Pixabay)

• “84-Year Old Tesla Owner Perhaps First To Drive Electric Car To Arctic” • Many still believe electric cars are incapable of road trips due to a lack of EV charging infrastructure. An 84-year old Tesla owner proved the naysayers wrong when he became the first person to drive an electric car to the coastline of the Arctic Ocean. [CleanTechnica]
• “Greenland Lost Two Billion Tons Of Ice Yesterday, Which Is Very Unusual” • Over 40% of Greenland experienced melting yesterday, with total ice loss estimated to be more than 2 gigatons. It is highly unusual for that much ice to be lost in the middle of June, and 2019 could once again set records for the amount of Greenland ice loss. [CNN]

Alberta oil wells (Credit: Real News via YouTube)

• “Alberta Taxpayers Will Get Stuck With $400 Billion+ Oil & Gas Cleanup Bill” • Rob Wadsworth, vice-president of closure and liability for the Alberta Energy Regulator told oil and gas officials privately last September that the cleanup bill for oil and gas wells in Alberta will be over $260 billion. Taxpayers were kept in the dark, however. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, June 16:

• “French EV Sales Up 34% In May 2019” • The French plug-in electric vehicle market scored 4,051 registrations in May, up 34% year over year, with fully electric cars (+36%) growing faster than plug-in hybrids (30%). All-electric cars represented 71% of all plug-in sales. This growth is happening as the overall automotive market is stagnating. [CleanTechnica]

Wind farm (Associated Press)

• “Renewable Energy Is Now The Cheapest Option – Even Without Subsidies” • New data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) demonstrate that using renewable energy is increasingly cost-effective compared to other sources, even when it must compete with the heavily-subsidized fossil fuel industry. [Forbes]
• “When Will Renewable Energy Prices Stop Dropping?” • Renewable energy prices have just kept falling for years, and some people wonder when they will stop. Their understanding is that prices are rather unpredictable. In some important ways, they are wrong. To a surprising degree, the price declines are predictable. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, June 17:

Climate rally in Paris (Getty Images)

• “EU Leaders Face Pressure To Deliver On Climate Change” • By keeping global warming in the public eye, protests helped Green parties in last month’s European elections. They won 74 seats in the European Parliament, up from 52 seats. Their surge, and the boost for liberal parties in the center, will change EU political dynamics. [BBC]
• “Investors Remain Ready To Back Renewable Projects, Survey Finds” • Sydney-based MinterEllison released a wide-ranging international survey that found that renewable energy investors stand ready to increase their activities over the next two years. Australian renewable projects are attractive, especially with US investors. [pv magazine Australia]
• “South Australia’s Stunning Aim To Be ‘Net’ 100% Renewables By 2030” • The South Australia Liberal government says it expects the state will achieve “net” 100% renewables by 2030. This contrasts with the conservative Liberal Party at the federal level, where the prevailing view is that renewables will kill the economy. [RenewEconomy]

Tuesday, June 18:

Solar system on water (Kevin Frayer | Getty Images)

• “They Want To Create Floating Islands To Convert Sunlight Into Energy” • Researchers in Switzerland and Norway are trying to recycle carbon dioxide to make fuel. In a study published this month, the group proposes to use marine-based floating islands of solar cells to make hydrogen, extract CO₂ from sea water, and react them to make methanol. [CNN]
• “Flesh-Eating Bacteria In New Jersey Reveal One Possible Effect Of Climate Change, Study Says” • In the past two years, five cases of Vibrio vulnificus, a flesh-eating bacterial infection, have been tied to Delaware Bay. Water temperatures have been risi there in recent years, making favorable conditions for the bacteria, according to a study. [CNN]
• “Synthetic Fuels: Supporting Wärtsilä’s Vision Of A 100% Renewable Energy Future” • As Wärtsilä continues to pursue a 100% renewable energy future, one emerging technology that looks set to play a major part in the process is synthetic fuel production, which generates synthetic fuel from excess CO₂ emissions. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]

Wednesday, June 19:

Solar panels and wind turbines in Palm Springs (Getty Images)

• “Renewables Are Winning The Economics Battle Against New Coal And Gas, Stunning Study Shows” • Bloomberg New Energy Finance reported that renewables are now the cheapest form of new electricity generation across two thirds of the world. Five years ago, they were cheapest in only 1% of the world, according to BNEF. [ThinkProgress]
• “Extreme Temperatures Are Melting The Arctic” • If you live in the US or Canada, you may have noticed cool weather lately. Climate scientists say that this is because the mass of cold air usually over the Arctic has been displaced southward by warm that is as much as 40°F higher than normal. There is a cause of this, but the effects are just starting. [CleanTechnica]

Solar PVs (Getty Images)

• “The US Solar Power Is Booming This Year Despite Trump’s Tariffs” • A report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables found that the first quarter of 2019 was the strongest in the US solar industry’s history, with 2.7 GW of solar capacity added to the grid. The growth is expected to continue. [Gizmodo]

Energy Week #323: 6/20/2019

Energy, renewable energy, wind power, Solar, batteries, Nuclear, coal, oil, gas, Climate Change

Energy Week #322: 6/13/2019

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Energy Week #322: 6/13/2019

Thursday, June 6

Homebiogas unit

• “Engie’s HomeBiogas Turns Household Waste Into Renewable Natural Gas With Ease” • Engie invested in HomeBiogas in the middle of last year and is now working with its team to grow the business. HomeBiogas sells its products directly to consumers, so Engie’s global reach and significant capital represent huge opportunities. [CleanTechnica]
• “US Energy Storage Market Grows 232% In First Quarter” • The US deployed a total of 148.8 MW of energy storage in the first quarter of 2019, making it the strongest quarter ever for energy storage. It broke the previous record, set in the previous quarter, by 6% and grew 232% over the amount deployed in the first quarter of 2018. [CleanTechnica]

Installing solar (Ashley Cooper | Global Warming Images | Alamy)

• “Home Solar Panel Installations Fall By 94% As Subsidies Cut” • The UK’s Labour party has accused the government of “actively dismantling” the solar power industry after new installations by households collapsed by 94% last month. The accusation is that the government is prioritizing fracking over household costs, jobs, and emissions cuts. [The Guardian]

Friday,  June 7

• “GM Claims It Can Sell Affordable Electric Cars That Are Profitable” • GM president Mark Ruess told an audience at the UBS Global Industrials and Transportation Conference that GM will soon be able to sell electric cars at “very average transaction prices.” He said GM’s EVs are being engineered to make money at low cost. [CleanTechnica]

GE Haliade-X turbine

• “GE Bet On Fossil Fuels, Lost Nearly $200 Billion Misjudging Renewable Energy Transition, Study Says” • General Electric’s profitability collapse over the past few years can be largely attributed to the company’s inability to judge the accelerating pace of the global energy transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewables, a study claims. [Electrek]
• “Michael Bloomberg Promises $500 Million To Help End Coal” • Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, will donate $500 million to a new campaign to close every coal-fired power plant in the United States and halt the growth of natural gas, his foundation said. The campaign will focus on state and local governments. [The New York Times]

Saturday,  June 8

Melting ice (Rodrigo ABD | AP, file)

• “White House Blocked Intelligence Aide’s Written Testimony On Climate Change” • White House officials barred a State Department intelligence staffer from submitting written testimony this week to the House Intelligence Committee warning that human-caused climate change could be “possibly catastrophic.” [The Philadelphia Inquirer]
• “German States Say Renewables Roll-Out Need Not Wait On Grid Expansion” • Germany’s federal state premiers agreed to push ahead with the renewables roll-out without waiting for grid improvements, an article in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitungreport said. Green power can be used locally to produce hydrogen, synthetic fuels, or heat. [Clean Energy Wire]
• “Automakers, Fearing Prolonged Regulatory Uncertainty, Tell Trump To Cut A Deal With California On Emissions” • A group of 17 world automakers wrote to President Trump asking him to abandon his plans to scrap the emissions standards. Instead, they want a compromise with California and the other states that use its tougher standards. [CNN] (I looked at other sites – GM and Ford were included.)

Sunday, June 9

Floodwaters in Arkansas (Nathan Rott | NPR)

• “‘We All Owe Al Gore An Apology’: More People See Climate Change In Record Flooding” • A string of natural disasters has hit the central US in recent weeks, from tornadoes to heavy rainfall that floods fields, inundates homes and threatens levees. For many people, there is a clear connection between new weather patterns and climate change. [WAMU 88.5]
• “New Rules Give Households Right To Sell Solar Power Back To Energy Firms” • Britain’s biggest energy companies will have to buy renewable energy from customers under new laws to be introduced this week. Homeowners who install new rooftop solar panels from 1 January 2020 will be able to sell the energy they do not need to their supplier. [The Guardian]

Fairbourne, northwest Wales (CNN image)

• “UK Village Considers The Unfathomable: Tearing Itself Down Before Nature Does” • Fairbourne, a village in northwest Wales, is built on a natural flood plain. The reinforced embankment that protects it from flooding was upgraded after a flood 2014 at a cost of £6.8 million ($8.7 million), but it will only hold for so long, as the sea keeps rising. [CNN]

Monday, June 10

Jordans sunny and windy Wadi Rum

• “How Countries Can Learn From Jordan’s Renewable Energy Pivot” • Jordan, with a total generation capacity of about 4,000 MW, has 285 MW of wind and 771 MW of solar power. It wants to have 2,000 MW of renewable capacity by 2021. Its move toward renewables, started in 2015, is impelled by both economic and humanitarian pressures. [The National]
• “900 GW Of Coal To Be Repaced By Renewable Energy – IRENA” • A report from IRENA convincingly concludes that by 2020 the entire world will be able to install renewable energy for considerably less cost than existing fossil fuel plants. Renewable energy has fallen in cost faster than even IRENA had forecast, and the cost keeps declining. [Utilities Middle East]

Walt Disney World solar array (Image: Cynthia Shahan)

• “Walt Disney World Solar Panels Now Span 270 Acres” • At 50 MW, the Walt Disney World solar array is one of the biggest in Florida, and it generates enough renewable energy to operate two of Disney’s four Florida theme parks. The Walt Disney Company has a 2020 goal to reduce emissions by 50% compared to 2012. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, June 11

Wind farm

• “US Renewable Energy Generating Capacity Has Now Surpassed Coal” • According to an analysis by the SUN DAY Campaign, using newly published data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, US electrical generating capacity of renewable energy sources is now – for the first time – greater that of coal. [Windpower Engineering]
• “BLP Replaces Canceled Wind Investment With Lower-Cost Solar” • In Grand Haven, Michigan, the Board of Light & Power is banking on renewable energy. When a wind project to which the BLP had committed, was recently canceled. Instead of wind, the local utility will be getting increased solar power. It is the BLP’s second solar project. [Grand Haven Tribune]

Wind farm in Costa Rica (Christian Haugen, CC BY 2.0 Generic)

• “Costa Rica’s Renewables Produce 99.99% Of Power In May” • Costa Rica obtained 99.99% of its electricity from renewable sources in May, according to the country’s power utility Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad. Five renewable sources were responsible for the production of 984.02 GWh. Other producers provided 0.17 GWh. [Renewables Now]

Wednesday, June 12

Wind turbines

• “Utility-Scale Wind Becoming Top Renewable Energy Resource This Year, EIA Says” • The annual power production from wind energy will surpass hydropower and become the top US clean energy resource for the first time this year, the DOE’s Energy Information Administration forecast in an outlook it released. [Power Engineering Magazine]
• “Climate Change Poses Major Risks To Financial Markets, US Regulator Warns” • A top financial regulator is opening a public effort to highlight the risk that climate change poses to the nation’s financial markets, setting up a clash with a president who has mocked global warming and whose administration continues to suppress climate science. [Forbes India]

Transmission lines (Ian Muttoo | Flickr)

• “Are Old Midwest Coal Plants Pushing Renewables Offline?” • State utility commissions in Minnesota and Missouri are looking at the way companies run older coal plants, even when those units aren’t the cheapest option. By doing so, they may be squeezing out lower-carbon resources and raising costs for consumers. [E&E News]

Energy Week #322: 6/13/2019

Energy, renewable energy, wind power, Solar, batteries, Nuclear, coal, oil, gas, Climate Change