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Energy Week #383: 8/6/2020
Thursday, July 30
Proterra bus (Courtesy of Proterra)
¶ “China Is Crushing The USA In Electric Bus Growth. Proterra Wants To Change That” • China already has 420,000 e-buses in operation. The US has only about 600. Proterra has developed a battery-leasing program for local governments that brings the upfront investment in an e-bus down to the same level as that of a legacy diesel. [CleanTechnica]
San Juan Generating Station (Steven Baltakatei Sandoval, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Renewables set to replace coal-fired San Juan Generating Station” • With a unanimous vote, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission ended part of the debate on the future of coal in the Four Corners region. Utility PNM will rely on 100% renewable energy and battery storage to replace coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. [New Mexico Political Report]
Wind turbines (Infigen Energy)
¶ “World’s Fastest Energy Transition: AEMO Maps Path To 94% Renewables” • The Australian Energy Market Operator says Australia is in the midst of what is likely to be the world’s fastest energy transition. And it finalized its 20-year blueprint to make sure that the shift from coal to a grid dominated by wind, solar, and storage can happen smoothly. [RenewEconomy]
Friday, July 31
Icebreaker pilot project (LEEDCo image)
¶ “US Lawmakers Urge Change To Icebreaker Shutdown Rules” • A bipartisan group of 32 US legislators, from across north-east Ohio, sent a letter to state authorities requesting reconsideration of operating restrictions placed on the Icebreaker offshore wind project. Last minute conditions imposed by the authorities had made the project unfeasible. [reNEWS]
Florida (Matt Gannon | CNN)
¶ “Flooding From Sea Level Rise Could Cost Our Planet $14.2 Trillion, Study Says” • If the world does nothing to mitigate rising sea levels, it could cost the global economy $14.2 trillion in lost or damaged assets by the end of the century, as larger areas of land, home to millions of people, are inundated, a study in the journal Science Reports says. [CNN]
Wind turbines (Nexans image)
¶ “UK Wind Output Hits Record 64 TWh In 2019” • Total wind generation in the UK rose by 13% in 2019 to a record 64 TWh, the Government’s Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics said. Wind speeds in 2019 were down on 2018, by 0.31 knots on average, but this was more than offset by additional capacity coming online, the government said. [reNEWS]
Saturday, August 1
Prairie Island nuclear plant (Royalbroil, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Xcel Energy Temporarily Stops Load Following At Prairie Island After NRC Inspection” • Xcel Energy temporarily stopped load following operations at Prairie Island in Minnesota after NRC determined that plant procedures should have required further analysis of such operations due to their long-term effects on safety. [S&P Global]
CRI installation in Germany (CRI image)
¶ “CRI Successfully Demonstrates Chemical Storage With Renewable Methanol” • Carbon Recycling International has shown that its renewable methanol can be used to store surplus renewable energy chemically. CRI developed a process to convert captured CO₂ and hydrogen directly into methanol by use of catalysts. [The Chemical Engineer]
Exxon and Chevron stock prices
¶ “Oil Giants Post Historic Losses As COVID-19 Obliterates Demand” • With a pandemic and a crude oil glut, the country’s two largest oil giants posted their steepest losses in modern history. ExxonMobil posted a $1.1 billion loss in the year’s second quarter. Chevron Corporation lost $8.3 billion, including a $5.2 billion write-down on assets. [HuffPost]
Sunday, August 2
Raspberries under solar panels (Image: BayWa re)
¶ “Rasberries Can Grow Under Solar Panels!” • What may have been a crazy idea a few years ago, it turns into a project in the Netherlands. A Dutch farm had 10,250 solar panels deployed across 3.2 hectares of raspberry crops to provide renewable energy for the area and create a more sustainable environment for the raspberries to grow in. [Energy Live News]
¶ “Deutsche Bank To Discontinue Lending To Coal Miners” • Deutsche Bank announced that it would discontinue doing business with companies that are most exposed to coal mining by 2025 at the latest. Deutsche Bank also said it would cease financing of new projects in the Arctic and of oil sand projects immediately. [EconoTimes]
Coal-burning power plants (Coburn Dukehart | Wisconsin Watch)
¶ “WEC Pledges To Be Carbon-Neutral By 2050” • WEC Energy Group, which owns We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, is pledging to go carbon-neutral by 2050, joining a growing list of companies that are looking to step up their carbon reduction goals. It has set a new goal to reduce carbon emissions 70% in the next decade. [Urban Milwaukee]
Monday, August 3
Coal (Robert Cianflone | Getty Images)
¶ “More Coal Power Generation Closed Than Opened Around The World This Year, Research Finds” • The size of the global coal power fleet fell for the first time on record over the first six months of the year, with more generation capacity shutting than starting operation, according to Global Energy Monitor, a US research and advocacy group. [The Guardian]
Wind turbines in China (Suzlon image)
¶ “251 GW Of New Chinese Wind Expected This Decade” • China is expected to add 251 GW of new wind capacity through 2029 but additions will take a 16% hit from next year due to the end of subsidies, according to Wood Mackenzie. The country’s wind power market could reach a cumulative grid connected capacity of 461 GW by the end of the decade. [reNEWS]
Wind farm (Jonathan Mitchell | IWEA)
¶ “Ireland ‘On Track’ To Meet 2020 Clean Power Goal” • Ireland is on track to reach its 2020 renewable energy target to get 40% of its electricity from clean power, after a strong second quarter saw wind energy alone deliver 28.5% of the country’s electricity. That is up from 26.1% in the second quarter of last year, and new wind farms are coming online. [reNEWS]
Tuesday, August 4
Lonely truck (Image from Transportation.gov)
¶ “Road Revenue Plummets – New Ways To Fund Infrastructure Projects Needed” • With Covid-19, traffic has been reduced to a fraction of what it had been. As road revenue plummets because of low sales of gasoline and diesel oil, road infrastructure projects that keep our labor force on the job and support the economy are in real jeopardy. [CleanTechnica]
Wind farm in Texas (Paul Harris | Getty Images)
¶ “It’s Time For American Leaders To Wake Up To The Threat Of Climate Change For The Good Of The Planet And Business” • If left unchecked, the impact of climate change will alter our world, reshaping our coastlines and coastal cities, accelerate extinctions, devastate agriculture, cause famine, ravage our economy, and threaten our health. [TIME]
Irrigation canal covered with solar panels (Getty Images)
¶ “The ‘Solar Canals’ Making Smart Use Of India’s Space” • One of the main challenges in building solar farms in India is finding good places to build them. The high population density makes it hard to find sites for solar arrays. Rooftop solar is used, but roofs are inadequate for the need. In Gujarat, the answer has been to cover its canals with solar panels. [BBC]
Wednesday, August 5
Yamaha electric motor for cars (Image credit: Yamaha)
¶ “Yamaha Creating High Performance Electric Motors For Mainstream Manufacturers” • The EV revolution keeps pushing forward, and Yamaha has turned its attention to designing and building high output electric motors that are as small and light as possible. It will soon offer a range of motors ranging from 35 kW (47 HP) to 200 kW (268 HP). [CleanTechnica]
New Jersey R&D facility solar array (Courtesy of Siemens)
¶ “Siemens Seeks To Optimize Microgrid Solutions With New Building Management System Integration” • Siemens is pushing into microgrid development with the launch of a microgrid test bed at its New Jersey R&D facility. It is a ‘living lab’ to explore the integration of a wide range of traditional microgrid components with the building itself. [CleanTechnica]
BP Portable EV fast charger charging a Nissan LEAF (BP image)
¶ “BP To Cut Oil Production 40% By 2030, And Invest Billions Into Green Energy” • BP announced that it is planning to cut oil and gas production by 40%, and it will invest billions of dollars into clean energy. This is part of a major strategic plan that was unveiled along with a gigantic second-quarter loss and a cut in dividends. [CleanTechnica]
Energy Week #383: 8/6/2020
Energy, renewable energy, wind power, Solar, batteries, Nuclear, coal, oil, gas, Climate Change
Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 