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Energy Week #348: 12/5/2019
Wednesday, November 27
VW race car (Volkswagen courtesy image)
- “Volkswagen Motorsport Says Auf Wiedersehen To Internal Combustion Engines” • Volkswagen Motorsport, the arm of the company that coordinates all factory racing programs, says it will no longer use internal combustion engines in factory-sponsored automotive competitions. From now on, if a race car has a VW badge on it, it will be electric. [CleanTechnica]
- “Siemens Gamesa 11-MW Giants Lined Up For HKZ” • Vattenfall will use Siemens Gamesa’s newly upgraded 11-MW DD-193 turbine for the 750-MW Hollandse Kust Zuid 1&2 offshore wind farm off the Dutch coast. Vattenfall said the Hollandse Kust Zuid zone is now planned to be fitted with approximately 140 machines. [reNEWS]
Onagawa nuclear power plant (Kyodo)
- “Nuclear Watchdog Approves Restart Of Onagawa Reactor In Miyagi Hit By 3/11 Tsunami” • The No 2 unit of Tohoku Electric Power Co’s Onagawa plant in Miyagi Prefecture received the green light after the addition of disaster prevention measures, including a 29 meter, ¥340 billion ($3.1 billion) seawall that is nearing completion. [The Japan Times]
Thursday, November 28
- “Nine climate tipping points now ‘active,’ warn scientists” • More than half of the climate tipping points identified a decade ago are now “active,” leading scientists have warned. Three of them, collapse of ice sheets in Greenland, West Antarctica, and part of East Antarctica, would commit the world to around ten meters of irreversible sea-level rise. [Science Daily]
Installing Rainforest Connection devices (Rainforest Connection)
- “How Old Cell Phones Are Spying On Illegal Loggers” • Through his non-profit Rainforest Connection, Topher White puts old Android smartphones in recycled plastic boxes fitted with extra microphones, battery packs, and solar panels. The devices, fastened to trees high up in the canopy, automatically alert rangers when they hear loggers. [CNN]
Friday, November 29
Ellen, 100% electric ferry (Photo via European Commission)
- “Ellen, World’s Largest Electric Ferry, Has Battery Equivalent To 50 Tesla Model S Batteries” • The 750-ton Ellen is the most powerful 100% electric ferry in the world. She can carry 30 vehicles and 250 passengers. She can charge at up to 4.4 MW, and battery size is 4.3 MWh, which is equivalent to about 50 Tesla Model S batteries. [CleanTechnica]
- “Utility To Close Coal-Fired Plant” • New Mexico’s largest electric provider says continued operation of a coal-fired power plant using carbon-capture technology wouldn’t be in the best interest of customers. Public Service Co of New Mexico made the declaration in testimony on the San Juan Generating Station’s pending closure. [KUNM]
Channel 4 News Climate Debated (ITN News)
- “Boris Johnson Replaced By Ice Sculpture After Dodging Election Debate On Climate Crisis” • Boris Johnson was criticized by party leaders and represented by a dripping ice sculpture after refusing to appear in a televised election debate focusing on climate change. His Conservative Party offered a replacement, but Channel 4 refused that. [CNN]
Saturday, November 30
- “Mercedes-Benz Owner Daimler To Cut 10,000 Jobs Worldwide” • German carmaker Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, said it will shed at least 10,000 jobs worldwide as it seeks to fund the switch to electric cars. The move comes days after rival Audi said it would cut 9,500 of its 61,000 jobs in Germany for similar reasons. [BBC]
Guidon Designs office (Photo: Guidon Designs)
- “Indianapolis Building Gets Highest ‘Green’ Building Certification Possible” • Indiana often falls behind in sustainable construction, but a new Indianapolis building just completed a $2.6 million effort toward certification as a top-tier “green” office space with LEED v4 Platinum certification. It is Guidon Designs’ redesign of an existing building. [Indianapolis Star]
Sunday, December 1
- “The Five Corrupt Pillars Of Climate Change Denial” • The fossil fuel industry has spent the past 30 years sowing doubt about the reality of climate change where none exists. The latest estimate is that the world’s five largest publicly-owned oil and gas companies spend about $200 million a year on lobbying to undermine binding climate policy. [EconoTimes]
Pollution (Kevin Frayer, Getty Images)
- “In The Fight Against Climate Change, No One Can Stand On The Sidelines” • Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund: We can avoid this bleak future, and we know what we have to do – reduce emissions, offset what cannot be reduced, and adapt to new climate realities. No individual or institution can stand on the sidelines. [CNN]
Monday, December 2
- “Climate Change: COP25 Talks Open As ‘Point Of No Return’ In Sight” • Political leaders and climate diplomats are meeting in Madrid for two weeks of talks amid a growing sense of crisis. Speaking ahead of the meeting, UN Secretary General António Guterres said, “the point of no return is no longer over the horizon.” [BBC via Albanian Daily News]
Flooding in Cuba after Hurricane after Hurricane Irma (Yamil Lage | AFP | Getty Images)
- “Climate Crisis Forcing 20 Million People A Year From Their Homes, Oxfam Says” • Climate-fueled disasters have forced about 20 million people per year to leave their homes in the past decade, according to a new report from Oxfam. This makes the climate the biggest driver of internal displacement for the ten year period. [CNN]
- “Colorado Rethinks Dam Safety As Climate Change Heightens Risk For State’s 27 ‘Unsatisfactory’ Structures” • A climate-driven shift toward extreme storms has compelled Colorado officials to rethink the safety of hundreds of dams across the state that hold water and mine waste. Included are 27 high-hazard dams already listed as deficient. [The Denver Post]
Tuesday, December 3
Candal wind farm in Spain (Iberdrola image)
- “Iberdrola To Replace Last Spanish Coal Plants With Subsidy-Free Wind And Solar” • Spanish electric utility Iberdrola says will replace its last two Spanish coal-fired power plants with 550 MW of subsidy-free wind and solar. This new capacity brings Iberdrola’s scheduled new clean energy capacity up to 2,500 MW in 2022. It plans 10,000 MW by 2030. [RenewEconomy]
- “Russia Switches On Gas Mega-Pipeline To China As Putin Touts Closer Ties” • Russia started putting natural gas through an enormous pipeline to China worth billions of dollars, affirming increasingly close economic and political ties between the two countries. The “Power of Siberia” pipeline is more than 8,100 km (5,000 miles) long. [CNN]
- “Maine Wants To Store, Not Waste, Excess Renewable Energy” • The transmission lines connecting Maine’s far-flung renewable generators to the regional electric grid sometimes are too weak to carry all their power, and the generators sometimes have to be curtailed. One power-to-gas substation could save the state 75,000 MWh per year. [Governing]
Wednesday, December 4
Batteries (Mk2010, Wikimedia Commons)
- “Battery Prices Falling Sharply, Says Report” • Battery prices are falling sharply and will continue to fall, according to a study by Bloomberg NEF. The paper showed prices declining sharply between 2010 and 2019. In 2010, battery prices were above $1,100/kWh, but they decreased to $156/kWh in 2019. This is a decline of 87%. [Down To Earth Magazine]
- “Industries Can Cut Power Costs By 60% Using Renewable Energy: WWF” • In addition to cutting carbon emissions, Indian Commercial and industrial consumers can cut their electricity bills in a range between 30% and 60% by replacing grid power supply with renewable energy, according to a report from World Wildlife Fund-India. [ETEnergyworld.com]
Greta Thunberg (Carlos Costa | AFP via Getty Images)
- “Greta Thunberg Arrives In Lisbon For COP25 After Sailing Across Atlantic” • Greta Thunberg arrived in Lisbon after nearly three weeks at sea, before giving a press conference at the port alongside youth activists and crew members. Around 25,000 people from 200 countries are expected to attend the COP25 climate change conference in Madrid. [CNN]
Energy Week #348: 12/5/2019
Energy, renewable energy, wind power, Solar, batteries, Nuclear, coal, oil, gas, Climate Change
Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 