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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 #384: 8/13/2020
Thursday, August 6
Co-location of rail and power line (Image: Direct Connect)
¶ “Underground HVDC Line To Connect Renewables, Other Generators In MISO, PJM Markets” • The developer of the SOO Green project announced a solicitation to allocate transmission capacity rights on a first-of-its-kind project co-locating electric transmission underground with a railroad corridor running from Iowa to Illinois. [Power Engineering Magazine]
¶ “Covid-19 Bankrupts 19 Energy (Oil & Gas) Companies” • A total of 19 energy companies have filed for bankruptcy this year. These are not the only recent ones in the US industry, though. There are around 225 bankruptcy cases across the country in the energy sector that are still pending in federal bankruptcy courts as of May 31, 2020. [CleanTechnica]
Bottlenose dolphin (NASA, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Toxic Chemicals From Burning Fossil Fuels Poison Dolphins And Whales On East Coast” • High levels of toxic chemicals have been found in stranded dolphins and whales along coast of the the southeastern US, according to a study. Arsenic, mercury, and other chemicals from burning fossil fuels and mining were found in their bodies. [CNN]
Friday, August 7
Offshore wind farm (David Will | Pixabay)
¶ “Offshore Wind To Reach Over 234 GW By 2030 Led By Asia-Pacific” • Global offshore wind capacity will surge to over 234 GW by 2030 from 29.1 GW at the end of 2019, led by the exponential growth in the Asia-Pacific region and continued strong growth in Europe, according to a report from the Global Wind Energy Council. [Power Engineering International]
H2FUTURE green hydrogen plant (Voestalpine image)
¶ “How Falling Solar Costs Have Renewed Clean Hydrogen Hopes” • The world is increasingly banking on green hydrogen fuel to fill some of the critical missing pieces in the clean-energy puzzle. For decades, researchers have heralded a new “hydrogen economy,” but it’s barely made a dent in fossil fuel demand, so far. Now, that might change. [MIT Technology Review]
Yellowstone River (Betsy Wills, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Lawsuit Challenges Trump’s Overhaul of Environmental-Review Law” • A legal battle with far-reaching consequences for industry and ecosystems has kicked off with a federal lawsuit over the Trump administration’s revamp of a longstanding law that requires extensive environmental reviews for road, industry and building projects. [Courthouse News Service]
Saturday, August 8
Autonomous robots (Image courtesy of Greenfield Robotics)
¶ “Swarm Of Tiny Robots Could Help Eliminate Pesticides” • Imagine a future of foods free of harmful chemicals, where crops still grow strong and dense in the absence of choking weeds, but bees and other pollinators buzz and frolic among the crops. At Clint Brauer’s farm in Kansas, that future is very nearly a reality, thanks to autonomous robots. [CleanTechnica]
Tidal turbines (Courtesy Verdant Power)
¶ “Verdant Power Progressing Tidal Energy Project In New York” • Verdant Power is moving ahead on installation of three, fifth-generation tidal power turbines on its TriFrame mount at its Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project site in the East River in New York City. The turbines have been mounted in preparation of a move to the site. [Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine]
Urban-Air Port (Image courtesy of Hyundai Air Mobility)
¶ “Hyundai And Urban-Air Port Working On Urban Air Mobility Infrastructure In UK” • Hyundai Air Mobility and Urban-Air Port teamed up to “explore new, purpose built, multifunctional, and scalable infrastructure for urban air mobility.” Hyundai plans to invest $1.5 billion over 5 years to develop an air vehicle and the broader urban air mobility ecosystem. [CleanTechnica]
Sunday, August 9
English coal miners, ca 1925 (Photo: Hirz | Getty)
¶ “Is This The End For ‘King Coal’ In Britain?” • According to figures released last week, a mere 8 million tonnes of coal were incinerated in UK factories and power plants last year. That is roughly the same amount that was burned nationally in 1769, when James Watt was patenting his modified steam engine. It has been an extraordinary transformation. [The Guardian]
Solar trackers (Image credit: Project Drawdown)
¶ “Drawdown Review 2020: How To Address Global Warming In A Responsible Manner” • Three years later publishing Drawdown, Project Drawdown published Drawdown Review, which suggests humanity can manage the climate crisis effectively using only the tools available today. Of course, that assumes we start acting like responsible adults. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Argonne National Lab Breakthrough Turns Carbon Dioxide Into Ethanol” • According to ANL, its researchers, working with partners at Northern Illinois University, have discovered an electrocatalyst that converts carbon dioxide and water into ethanol with very high energy efficiency, high selectivity for the desired final product, and low cost. [CleanTechnica]
Monday, August 10
Fishing boat (Image: Katherine Maltby)
¶ “How Fish Stocks Will Change In Warming Seas” • A study conducted in the UK highlights the future effects of climate change on important fish stocks for south-west UK fisheries.The study suggests changes that could have important implications for fisheries management, and for the future fish diets of the British public. [Science Codex]
¶ “Trump Pledged To Bring Back Coal. He Didn’t” • Trump first promised to bring the coal industry back in 2016. But coal has not come back under Trump. It’s continued to decline. In 2016, the US had 48,900 coal-mining jobs, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now, the same agency says there only about 43,800 coal-mining jobs left. [Roanoke Times]
Solar panels (Image: US DOE, EERE)
¶ “Solar-For-Coal Swaps Could Turbocharge Clean Energy Revolution” • US coal power plants have been retiring at an average of 10 GW per year. That is not nearly quick enough to avoid trouble. Energy Innovation has identified 179 GW of coal plants that can’t compete on cost with solar, and focused on 22.5 GW of these. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, August 11
Explosion scene (Baltimore Fire Department via Twitter)
¶ “A ‘Major Gas Explosion’ In Baltimore Has Killed One Person, Injured Seven” • A “major gas explosion” destroyed three houses in northwest Baltimore, killing a woman and critically injuring seven people as at least three dozen firefighters continue to search for people buried in the rubble and debris, the Baltimore Fire Department said. [Forbes]
Nikola truck (Nikola image)
¶ “Nikola Books Order For 2,500 Electric Refuse Trucks” • As Nikola’s first factory is going up in Arizona, it announced that it signed an agreement with Phoenix-based Republic Services for 2,500 zero emissions all electric refuse trucks, with possibly 2,500 more at a later time. Republic is the second largest refuse hauler in the US. [CleanTechnica]
Icewind Freya turbine (Icewind image)
¶ “New 6-Bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Can Power Your Off-Grid Home For 30 Years Safely” • The Icelandic renewable energy company IceWind is now launching its innovative six-bladed wind-powered turbines for home use in the US. The new Freya model from IceWind, which starts at $3,200, is an entirely different design. [Forbes]
Wednesday, August 12
Brick supercapacitor powering an LED light (D’Arcy Research Laboratory)
¶ “Powerhouses: Nanotechnology Turns Bricks Into Batteries” • A new technology exploits the porous nature of fired red bricks by filling the pores with tiny nanofibres of a conducting plastic that can store charge. The first bricks store enough electricity to power small lights. The bricks are supercapacitors, operating without chemical change. [The Guardian]
¶ “Renewables in 2020 Will be Fastest Growing Source of Electricity in the US: EIA” • In 2020, the fastest-growing US source of electric generation will be renewables, the US Energy Information Administration has forcast. It expects the power sector to add 23.2 GW of new wind capacity and 12.9 GW of utility-scale solar capacity this year. [Saurenergy]
Wind farm (RES image)
¶ “Corporate Clean Power Demand Outstripping Supply” • The demand among corporates worldwide for renewable electricity is exceeding the supply, according to analysis by BloombergNEF. The shortfall in RE100 clean electricity demand is now projected to reach 224 TWh in 2030, up from BNEF’s previous estimate of 210 TWh. [reNEWS]
Energy Week #384: 8/13/2020
Energy, renewable energy, wind power, Solar, batteries, Nuclear, coal, oil, gas, Climate Change
Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 