Energy Week – 10/1/2020

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 – 10/1/2020

Thursday, September 24

Elon Musk talks batteries (Source: Tesla)

¶ “The Six Big Takeaways From Tesla’s Battery Day” • The overall content of the Tesla Battery Day presentation might have been overwhelming for those who do not have a technical background in battery development. Given that, it might be a good idea to “pull the lens back” just a bit and discuss the major takeaways. Here are six. [CleanTechnica]

GE wind turbine (Image: GE Renewable Energy)

¶ “GE Secures 576 MW Of US Orders From Invenergy” • GE Renewable Energy announced 576 MW of orders from Invenergy for 187 of its 2.X onshore wind turbines. The three contracts will power the equivalent of 160,000 American homes across three US states. GE’s 2-MW product platform has a total of more than 15 GW of installed capacity. [reNEWS]

¶ “World’s Operating Nuclear Fleet At 30 Year Low As New Plants Stall” • Some 408 nuclear reactors were operating in 31 countries in July 2020, a decline of 9 units from mid-2019 and 30 fewer than the 2002 peak of 438, the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report showed. Of the 52 new plants being built globally, at least 33 are behind schedule. [BW Businessworld]

Friday, September 25

Total solar farm (Total image)

¶ “Total Seals 3.3-GW Spanish Solar Deal” • French energy giant Total has signed an agreement with Spanish company Ignis to develop about 3300 MW of solar projects in Spain. The projects, located near Madrid and in the Andalusia region, are expected to start operations in 2022 with the ambition of putting them all into production in 2025. [reNEWS]

Cooling towers (Image: distelAPPArath | Pixabay)

¶ “Nuclear Power Is The Most Expensive Form Of Generation, Except For Gas Peaking Plants” • The levelized cost of energy from nuclear power rose from about $117/MWh in 2015 to $155 at last year’s end, the World Nuclear Industry Status Report says. The LCOE for solar PVs fell from $65/MWh to about $49, and for wind it fell from $55 to $41. [pv magazine Australia]

Loop skyline (J Crocker, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Dynegy Will Power Chicago’s Willis Tower With Wind Energy” • Dynegy entered into a multi-year partnership with Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower to provide 100% renewable electricity to the Tower. The contract with Dynegy ensures that 100% of Willis Tower’s electricity comes from wind power and assures that costs remain constant. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Saturday, September 26

Cumulative burned area (World Resources Institute)

¶ “Six Graphics Explain The Climate Feedback Loop Fueling US Fires” • Wildfires in the Western US, and around the world, are getting worse. Fires in Oregon, Washington and California for the last month are off the charts compared to previous years – and fire season is still not over. Sadly, are just a preview of what’s to come, as we fritter away time. [CleanTechnica]

Fish at an artificial reef (Image provided by Ocean Habitats)

¶ “New Tech For Artificial Reefs Increases Marine Life And Vitality” • An artificial reef is a human-made structure that may mimic characteristics of a natural reef for ocean habitats. Several companies specialize in design, manufacture, and deployment of long-lasting artificial reefs. Typically, they are constructed of limestone, steel, or concrete. [CleanTechnica]

Hydrogen powered plane (ZeroAvia image)

¶ “Hydrogen-Powered Passenger Plane Completes Maiden Flight In ‘World First’” • A hydrogen fuel-cell ZeroAvia six-seater Piper M-class aircraft completed its maiden flight this week, in another step forward for low and zero-emission flight. The next step will be a flight of between 250 and 300 nautical miles, taking off from the Orkney Islands. [CNBC]

Sunday, September 27

GE wind turbines (CarstenE, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “GE Dumps Coal Power and Pivots to Wind” • GE said that it plans to stop building new coal power equipment. The decision didn’t come as a surprise. Coal is going out of favor rapidly in many countries due to its status as one of the dirtiest fuels, along with falling costs for cleaner sources of energy like natural gas, wind, and solar. [Motley Fool]

Hurricane Paulette (BananaIAm, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Zombie Storms Are Rising From The Dead Thanks To Climate Change” • “Zombie storms,” which return to life after petering out, are a new addition this year. And undead weather anomalies are becoming more common thanks to climate change. One example was tropical storm Paulette, a hurricane that petered only to return. [Livescience.com]

¶ “In Siberia Forests, Climate Change Stokes ‘Zombie Fires'” • In a marshy clearing of a sprawling Siberian forest, a small cohort of volunteers battle a winter-resistant, underground blaze. It is a growing problem in Russia. In some places, peat has smoldered underground for around five years, and it can re-emerge, set fire to dry grass, and spread rapidly. [The Japan Times]

Monday, September 28

Wildfire (Gerd Altman | Pixabay)

¶ “Climate Change May Spark Serial Washoe Wildfires” • Within 20 years, northern Washoe County, Nevada, may become the epicenter of persistent wildfires driven by higher temperatures and prevalent drought brought about by climate change. That prediction is among several grim conclusions based on analysis of climate research. [Reno News & Review]

Lake District (Aivin Gast, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Boris Johnson Promises To Protect 30% Of UK’s Land By 2030” • An extra 400,000 hectares of English countryside will be protected to support the recovery of nature under plans by Boris Johnson. He will make the commitment at a virtual UN event. He is joining 65 leaders who pledged to reverse losses in the natural world by 2030. [BBC]

¶ “The Ancient Trade Holding Back The Sahara Desert” • With climate change, the Sahara Desert has grown about 100 km southward since 1950, and it is expected to keep growing. Now, acacia trees, whose gum has been prized for its unusual culinary and medical uses, are part of a continent-wide effort to hold back the Sahara Desert. [BBC]

Tuesday, September 29

BoxPower installation (BoxPower image)

¶ “Angelo Campus Electrifies The Renewable Energy Business With BoxPower” • Princeton alumnus Angelo Campus built a business, BoxPower, to ensure those who need quick access to power can find it in a simple configuration: a shipping container equipped with solar panels, a battery for energy storage and a backup generator. [Princeton University]

Pittsburgh (Vidar Nordli-Mathisen | Unsplash)

¶ “Cities Announce Massive Fossil Fuels Divestments” • Last week, 12 cities around the world announced a commitment to divest from fossil fuels, looking towards a green and just recovery from COVID-19. Los Angeles and New York City signed the declaration. Importantly, and perhaps surprisingly, so did New Orleans and Pittsburgh. [Triple Pundit]

Solar farm in Spain (Image: Foresight Group)

¶ “Renewable Energy Among The Most Pandemic-Resilient Infrastructure Sub-Sectors” • The renewables sector is among the most pandemic-resilient infrastructure sub-sectors, thanks in part to its ability to secure finance as well as government efforts to grow the green economy, according to a white paper from investment firm Foresight Group. [PV-Tech]

Wednesday, September 30

HydroFLEX with factory original graffiti (University of Birmingham)

¶ “All Aboard! UK’s First Hydrogen-Powered Train Starts Trial Journeys Today” • The first-ever hydrogen-powered train will run on the UK mainline today. Today’s trials of the train, named HydroFLEX, follow almost two years of development work and more than £1 million of investment by both Porterbrook and the University of Birmingham. [Energy Live News]

Flower (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)

¶ “Two-Fifths Of Plants At Risk Of Extinction, Says Report” • Two-fifths of the world’s plants are at risk of extinction, scientists have warned. Researchers say they are racing against time to name and describe new species, before they disappear. Plants hold huge promise as medicines, fuels and foods, says a report by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [BBC]

Offshore wind turbine installation (Ørsted image)

¶ “Dominion Unleashes Coastal Virginia” • Dominion Energy commenced started operations at its 12-MW Coastal Virginia offshore wind farm in the US. Ørsted oversaw the installation of the offshore project’s offshore components for the US developer, including turbines and foundations, while Dominion Energy oversaw all onshore aspects. [reNEWS]

Energy Week – 10/1/2020

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

Energy Week 9/24/2020

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 9/24/2020

Thursday, September 17

Overturned truck in Mobile, Alabama (Reuters image)

¶ “Hurricane Sally: Deadly Storm Leaves 550,000 Without Power In US” • Tropical Storm Sally has left more than half a million Americans without power as its torrential rains and storm surges lashed the US Gulf coast. The storm has brought “four months of rain in four hours” to Pensacola, Florida, that city’s fire chief Ginny Cranor told CNN. [BBC]

¶ “Scientific American Endorses A Presidential Candidate For First Time In Its 175 Year History” • Scientific American is the oldest continuously published magazine in the US. For 175 years, it has provided its readers with news and information about the world of science. It never allowed itself to stray into politics, until now. It endorsed Joe Biden. [CleanTechnica]

Wind farm

¶ “Reaching Energy And Climate Goals Demands A Dramatic Scaling Up Of Clean Energy Technologies” • A major effort to develop and deploy clean energy is urgently needed to meet energy and climate goals, especially to reduce carbon emissions from such areas as transport, buildings, and industry, according to an IEA report. [Modern Diplomacy]

Friday, September 18

Electric F-150 prototype (Image courtesy of Ford)

¶ “Electric Ford F-150 Will Offer Fleets Game-Changing 40% Lower Cost Of Operation” • The electric F-150, which is to go into production in mid-2022, will have more power and torque than its gasoline-powered counterparts. Ford also promises lower costs for the new F-150, with a total cost of ownership far lower than its combustion competition. [CleanTechnica]

Estraden Norsepower hybrid shipping vessel (Image used with permission of Norsepower)

¶ “EU Parliament Tells VdL To Make Shipping Polluters Pay” • The European Parliament voted for ships to be required by EU law to cut their carbon emissions. MEPs said that for the first time shipping industry polluters must pay for their emissions in the EU carbon market. The requirements will come into effect gradually to 2030. [CleanTechnica]

Oregon (Amanda Ray | Yakima Herald-Republic | AP)

¶ “Rain May Help Fight Wildfires In Oregon, But May Bring Other Problems” • Twelve fires have destroyed over 938,000 acres in Oregon, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. But there are flash flood watches posted for some areas where the vegetation has been stripped by the fire, and the rains could bring mudslides. [CNN]

Saturday, September 19

Simulated image of wind farm (LEEDCo image)

¶ “Icebreaker Offered Night-Time Shutdown Lifeline” • Ohio Power Siting Board has given a lifeline to the 21-MW Icebreaker offshore wind farm on Lake Erie. The board voted in favour of drafting an amendment to remove the night-time shutdown clause in the OPSB’s approval of the project. The revised ruling has yet to be drafted and voted on. [reNEWS]

Lightsource BP’s floating PVs (Lightsource BP via Reuters)

¶ “BP’s Plan To Dominate The Solar Industry” • BP is on track to be a very different energy company by 2030, with a massive portfolio of renewables. Today, the oil-turning-energy giant has 16 GW of solar energy in the pipeline. That’s enough to rival even the world’s biggest solar operator, China’s State Power Investment Corp. [Business Insider] (Scroll down.)

Moss Landing plant in California, now a battery site (David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “How Does The US Retire 236 GW Of Coal And 1,000 Gas Peaker Plants?” • We’ve reached a massive milestone in the global energy transition. Right now, American renewable energy sources and energy storage have the ability to match or beat the price of power from natural gas-fired peaker plants and coal-fired generators. [pv magazine USA]

Sunday, September 20

Wildfire (Nancy Hamilton | Golden Eagle Films)

¶ “Wildfire-Weary Californians, ‘Tired Of This Being Normal,’ Consider Uprooting Their Lives” • It’s not just the nearly 7,900 wildfires that have consumed more than 3.4 million acres and claimed 26 lives in California that have Arthur Gies looking online for a New York apartment. He realized this is not the new normal, but a prelude for what’s coming. [CNN]

Battered boat in Kefalonia (Reuters image)

¶ “Cyclone Ianos: Two Dead As ‘Medicane’ Sweeps Across Greece” • Hundreds of people were trapped in flooded buildings as Cyclone Ianos, a Mediterranean hurricane, a type of storm called a “medicane,” battered areas north of Athens. Medicanes, tropical-like cyclones, have been categorised by meteorologists only in the past 40 years. [BBC]

EnergyX solid state storage technology (Image via EnergyX)

¶ “With Solid State Energy Storage, Oil-Rich Texas Hits Clean Tech Trifecta” • If all goes according to plans laid out by the startup EnergyX, Texas will lay claim to birthing disruptive solid state energy storage technology that shepherds more renewables onto the grid while making electric vehicles go farther, charge faster, and cost less. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, September 21

¶ “New Peer-Reviewed Study Shows Climate Change Impact Reduction By Making EV Batteries From Deep-Sea Rocks” • Research published in the Journal of Cleaner Production shows a carbon footprint reduction for minerals that are critical for EV batteries of up to 90%, if they come from deep-sea polymetallic nodules. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Transmission lines

¶ “Direct Current Microgrids To Be Tested In Europe’s Power System” • The potential of DC microgrids to advance Europe’s green energy ambitions will be shown in the project TIGON. The project is focussed on deploying DC-based grid architectures that can improve the reliability and resilience of a decentralized, renewables-based system. [Smart Energy]

Covid-19 testing (Kevin Winter | Getty Images)

¶ “Wildfires, Coronavirus And An Earthquake Collided For California’s Terrible Week” • The Golden State has been trying to contain the summer’s surge of coronavirus cases while dozens of wildfires burn and smoke is making it hard to breathe. Then, as if there were not enough crises colliding, Southern California had an earthquake. [CNN]

Tuesday, September 22

Pre-assembly area at Able Seaton Port (Image Courtesy: Equinor)

¶ “Dogger Bank Wind Farm Places Record-Breaking Turbine Order” • Dogger Bank Wind Farm and GE Renewable Energy announced contracts confirming the 13-MW Haliade-X turbine for two phases of the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The order is for 190 Haliade-X 13-MW turbines to be installed off the north-east coast of England. [Sea News]

Port Aransas, Texas – already flooded before the storm (Courtney Sacco | Caller-Times-USA | Sipa USA)

¶ “Tropical Storm Beta Makes Landfall In Texas Late Monday Night” • Tropical Storm Beta made landfall near the southern end of the Matagorda Peninsula around 10 pm CDT Monday, according to a special update from the National Hurricane Center. Beta’s slow-moving approach is expected to produce rain over a long period, causing flooding. [CNN]

Kohala coast, Hawaii (George, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Hawaiian Electric To Quit Coal Power And Add Solar And Battery Storage” • Hawaiian Electric, the primary provider of electricity to the Hawaiian Islands, has submitted contracts for new solar and storage projects that will end the use of coal on the Islands and represent 300 MW of solar energy and nearly 2 GWh of energy storage. [RenewEconomy]

Wednesday, September 23

¶ “Shell To Fuel Microsoft With Renewable Power In Net-Zero ‘Alliance’ Deal” • Transitioning oil supermajor Shell is to begin supplying Microsoft with renewables-sourced power to help the IT giant reach its 2025 targets for 100% clean energy. The deal is part of a far-reaching “strategic alliance”, the two companies have announced. [Upstream Online]

“Jelly roll” (Tesla Battery Day Screenshot)

¶ “Everything You Need To Know About Tesla’s New 4680 Battery Cell” • Tesla didn’t hold back at Battery Day, announcing a new tabless 4680 cell form factor. The battery has increasee energy density, thermal characteristics similar to smaller cells, improved the power-to-weight ratio, and lower cost, with its manufacturing streamlined. [CleanTechnica]

New York Governor Andrew M Cuomo (New York Governors Office)

¶ “New York Wraps Up First Community PV-Storage Project” • New York State’s first community solar paired with energy storage project has been completed. IPPsolar installed the 557-kW rooftop solar system and 490 kW of Tesla batteries in Westchester County. The installation will reduce the energy costs for approximately 150 household. [reNEWS]

End notes:

Energy Week 9/24/2020

 

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

Energy Week – 9/17/2020

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 – 9/17/2020

Thursday, September 10

Money Talks – Tax Carbon (Edward Kimmel, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “BP Joins Financiers In Call For US To Tax Greenhouse Gas Emissions” • The US government should start making businesses pay for their greenhouse gas emissions to help combat global warming, according to a powerful group of finance and energy titans. The businesses include Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and BP. [WorldOil]

Offshore oil rig (© iStock)

¶ “Trump Courts Florida Voters With Moratorium On Offshore Drilling” • President Trump expanded a moratorium on drilling off Florida’s coast in an attempt to court voters in a must-win battleground state. He said he would block drilling in coastal Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and painted himself as an environmentalist. [MSN Money]

Elephants (Getty Images)

¶ “Wildlife In ‘Catastrophic Decline’ Due To Human Destruction, Scientists Warn” • Wildlife populations have fallen by over two-thirds in less than 50 years, a major report by the conservation group WWF says. It warns that “catastrophic decline” shows no sign of slowing, and nature is being destroyed by humans at a rate never seen before. [BBC]

Friday, September 11

Fire in the Amazon (Christian Braga | Greenpeace)

¶ “Tens of thousands of fires are pushing the Amazon to a tipping point” • Fires continue to rage at high levels through the Amazon in Brazil for the second year in a row, raising concerns among scientists that the rainforest’s destruction could eventually reach a point of no return. And the government of Brazil is doing little to curb illegal fires. [CNN]

(Photo by Bernd Wustneck | picture alliance via Getty Images)

¶ “BP Invests In Offshore Wind To Power 2 Million American Homes” • BP is moving into offshore windpower for the first time with a $1.1 billion investment in the US. BP plans to make major investments into bioenergy, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. It aims to raise $25 billion by selling oil and gas assets over the next five years. [CNN]

A girl and her bike (Reuters image)

¶ “Oregon Wildfires: Half A Million People Flee Dozens Of Infernos” • More than half a million people in Oregon are fleeing deadly wildfires that are raging across the Pacific Northwest, authorities say. Governor Kate Brown said at least four fatalities have been confirmed. More than 100 wildfires are currently scorching 12 western US states. [BBC]

Saturday, September 12

Shanghai Electric wind turbine (Shanghai Electric image)

¶ “Shanghai Electric Wind Power Orders Soar 505%” • Shanghai Electric reported orders for wind power equipment were up over 505% in the first six months of 2020, compared with the same period last year. The company signed a licensing agreement with Siemens Gamesa in 2018 to produce and sell the latter’s 8.0-167 DD turbine in China. [reNEWS]

Fire coloring everything (Eric Risberg | AP)

¶ “The Fires Raging Out West Are Unprecedented. They’re Also A Mere Preview Of What Climate Change Has In Store” • Over 3 million acres have burned in California. Three of the five largest fires in state history are burning now, as are huge swaths of Oregon and Washington. In most years, this would be when the fire season gets active. [CNN]

Farm at Green School in Bali (Kyle Field | CleanTechnica)

¶ “Should Food’s Environmental Damage Be Included In Its Purchase Cost?” • What would food cost if its environmental damage were to be factored into its actual retail price? If grocers and manufacturers took into account the environmental impact of meat, milk, cheese, and other foods, they would actually cost much more than they do. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, September 13

Blue Ridge Mountains (Ken Thomas, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Five Key Reasons To Stop The Mountain Valley Pipeline” • It’s time to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline and its dangerous attempts to transport dirty fracked gas across Appalachia. This massive dirty energy project would jeopardize sensitive rivers and streams, drinking water sources, the climate, and people in local communities. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Elon Musk Explains Why Tesla Solar Power Is So Cheap” • While researching the falling costs of solar power, I was struck to see that the average cost of a rooftop solar power system in the US is $2.19/watt, but Tesla is now offering rooftop solar power for $1.49/watt across the country. So, I asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk about it. He explained it. [CleanTechnica]

Fighting wildfires in the West (Nic Coury | AP)

¶ “28 People Have Been Killed And Dozens More Are Missing As Fires Ravage The West Coast” • Deadly wildfires have blanketed swaths of the states on the West Coast with unhealthy smoke, complicating the efforts to fight the blazes and find dozens of missing people, and compounding the misery of thousands who have been displaced. [CNN]

Monday, September 14

Port of Barcelona (Andy Mitchell, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Applying the Pareto Principle: Conversion of Commercial Transportation to Reduce Effects of Climate Change” • With a commitment to just 20% of a set of clean practices, it is possible to reduce a carbon footprint by 80%. That’s what’s known as the Pareto principle. If we apply that to commercial transportation, it could make a big difference. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “BP Says Oil Demand May Have Peaked Already” • BP Plc said the relentless growth of oil demand is over. This makes it the first supermajor to call the end of an era many thought would last for another decade or more. Oil consumption may never return to levels seen before Covid-19 crisis took hold, BP said in a report that breaks from orthodoxy. [Energy Voice]

Walt Handelsman cartoon

¶ “The Mosquito Apocalypse And The Aftermath Of Hurricane Laura” • The aftermath of Hurricane Laura continues for many in Louisiana. Now, they are dealing with a mosquito apocalypse, while Louisiana has been all but forgotten by the national media. Walt Handelsman, a cartoonist for The Advocate, a Baton Rouge paper, shared an image. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, September 15

Messy weather (Credit: WLTX)

¶ “Atlantic Remains Busy As Sally Gets Stronger” • There were five named storms in the Atlantic on Monday before Rene disapated. This is only the second time on record this has happened. Hurricane Sally strengthened Monday evening to a Category 2 hurricane as it makes its way towards a landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday. [WLTX]

Earth’s energy imbalance

¶ “Where Does The Heat Go?” • Reporting in the journal Earth System Science Data, the group of over 30 researchers from world scientific institutions tracked and quantified global heat storage from 1960 to 2018 to answer the question, “Where does the heat go?” The new study represents the most accurate, state-of-the-art heat inventory study to date. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Climate Change Denier Hired For Top Position At NOAA” • David Legates, a University of Delaware professor of climatology who has rejected the scientific consensus that human activity is causing climate change, confirmed with NPR this weekend that he was hired as NOAA’s deputy assistant secretary of commerce for observation and prediction. [Yahoo News]

Wednesday, September 16

Duke University (Duke University image)

¶ “Duke University Buys 101 MW Of Solar From Duke Energy” • Under the terms of a deal with Duke Energy, Duke University will purchase roughly 101 MW of solar capacity from three solar facilities in North Carolina. That power, combined with other efforts, is projected to result in a 69% reduction in the university’s carbon emissions by 2022. [pv magazine USA]

Is this sheet of aluminum foil from a PV research team at Arizona State University the secret sauce?

¶ “What’s The Secret Sauce Behind New “Forever” Solar Panels?” • Violet Power, a startup based in Oregon, looks to build the first modern, integrated PV factory in the US, producing both solar components and finished solar panels instead of relying on imported components. The company said it will back its PVs with by a 50-year warranty. [CleanTechnica]

Evacuation in a flood (Thomas B Shea | AFP | Getty Images)

¶ “The Climate Crisis Could Be Making Hurricane Sally Worse. Here’s How” • Scientists believe global warming is influencing hurricanes and making their impacts worse. And Hurricane Sally looks to be checking all their boxes. Hurricanes are intensifying faster, moving more slowly, and producing more rain than they had before climate change. [CNN]

Energy Week – 9/17/2020

 

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

Energy Week #388: 9/10/2020

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 #388: 9/10/2020

Thursday, September 3

Permian Energy Center (Photo: Ørsted)

¶ “Ørsted, The World’s Offshore Wind Giant, Gets Serious About Solar” • Ørsted is currently building two huge solar arrays, one in Texas and one in Alabama, totaling nearly 700 MW. Particularly striking is the 460-MW Permian Energy Center in West Texas, which will sell its solar power to ExxonMobil and includes a 40-MW battery system. [Greentech Media]

Renault Zoe (Press Image)

¶ “France Hits 10.5% EV Market Share In August – Up Four Times Year On Year” • Europe’s second largest auto market, France, saw a plugin passenger electric vehicle market share of 10.5% in August 2020, a growth of four times in share from August 2019. Bestsellers this year include the Renault Zoe, Peugeot e-208, and Tesla Model 3. [CleanTechnica]

Rooftop solar systems (Image: Dan Himbrechts | AAP)

¶ “Renewables Through The Roof, As Small-Scale Solar Heads To Stunning New Highs” • Australia is on track to add a stunning 6.3 GW of new renewable energy capacity in 2020, thanks largely to a rooftop solar market that has defied the odds of the Covid-19 pandemic and is headed to a record total of just under 3 GW for the year. [RenewEconomy]

Friday, September 4

Solar panels and bees (Mike Kiernan at Bee the Change)

¶ “Vermont Solar Expands State’s Pollinator Habitat” • Bee the Change, a Middlebury-based REV Member, teamed up with REV Member Green Lantern Solar to install its twentieth pollinator-friendly solar field on a 4.5 acre site in New Haven, Vermont. The site will soon host many species of plants that attract pollinator insects and beneficial bird species. [Green Energy Times]

¶ “Sunrun, SunPower, Engie, And Others Launch ‘Local Energy For All’ Campaign In USA” • Rooftop solar power has come down in price tremendously in the past decade, as they had for decades before. Solar panels were about nine times as expensive in 2006 as in 2019.Now, solar companies are pushing to make it cheap enough for everyone. [CleanTechnica]

Arctic wildfire (Yevgeny Sofroneyev | TASS | Getty Images)

¶ “Summer 2020’S Arctic Wildfires Set New Emission Records” • Arctic wildfires are setting records for CO₂ emissions, according to scientists at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. Based on data from the CAMS’ Global Fire Assimilation System, they estimate that CO₂ emissions from Arctic fires have increased by more than a third, compared to 2019. [CNN]

Saturday, September 5 

Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve, Ohio (Jaknouse, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Protecting Half The Planet Could Help Solve Climate Change And Save Species” • A study argues that nations can help avert the biodiversity and climate crises by preserving the roughly 50% of land that remains relatively undeveloped. The researchers mapped out the area they call a “Global Safety Net,” in a study published in Science Advances. [Science News]

DRS crystal structure (Credit: San Diego News)

¶ “Disordered Rock Salt And Transition Metal Anodes – Engineering The Batteries Of The Future” • People like to say nothing is sure but death and taxes. But there is something else we can be sure of – announcements about blockbuster new battery technologies that promise higher energy density and shorter charging times. [CleanTechnica]

Chicago Skyline (Alan Light | Flickr)

¶ “Chicago Launches $200 Million RFP To Power City Facilities By Renewable Energy” • The City of Chicago has released a $200 million request for proposals for a contract to procure renewable energy for all city-owned buildings. Under the contract, all city-owned buildings, streetlights and other facilities would run on renewable energy starting in 2022. [Utility Dive]

Sunday, September 6

Bike Bus (Screenshot from RTÉ News)

¶ “Ireland: Some Residents Replace School Buses With Bike Buses” • In Ireland, someone found a brilliant alternative to packing kids off to school in a bus during the Covid-19 era. It even looks like a ton of fun, contributes to student health (physical and mental), and cuts pollution. It’s a bike bus, or “school bus of bikes.” [CleanTechnica]

San Francisco Bay (Noah Berger | Associated Press)

¶ “New Evidence Shows Rising Temperatures Accelerating Frequency And Intensity Of Northern California Wildfires” • As California’s fire season is getting longer, it is getting clearer that even modest increases in temperature dramatically ratchet up wildfire risk, according to climate scientists, meteorologists and fire experts. [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]

Youth Climate Strike (Felton Davis, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Q&A: Why Women Leading The Climate Movement Are Underappreciated And Sometimes Invisible” • The American scientist Eunice Newton Foote theorized in 1856 that CO₂ in the atmosphere could produce global warming. That was three years before Irish physicist John Tyndall did research often cited as the beginning of climate science. [InsideClimate News]

Monday, September 7

Tesla rooftop solar panels (Image via Tesla)

¶ “Solar PV Panels Were 12 Times More Expensive In 2010, 459 Times More Expensive In 1977” • The website PVInsights says the average price for a polycrystalline solar PV module last week was $0.167/watt. That means the price of about $2/watt in 2010 was close to 12 times as high as it is today. And the price in 1977 was $76.67/watt, 459 times as high. [CleanTechnica]

California wildfire (Eric Paul Zamora | The Fresno Bee | AP)

¶ “California Sets New Record For Land Torched By Wildfires, As 224 People Escape By Air From A ‘Hellish’ Inferno” • This has become the worst year in history for California’s wildfires, in terms of the amount of land scorched, and it’s only September. More than 2,094,955 acres have burned across the state this year, CAL FIRE Captain Richard Cordova said. [CNN]

Solar panels for an off-grid system in South Africa

¶ “Off-Grid Power Takes Off In Africa” • With its lower costs and improved reliability, Africa’s leaders are learning to love off-grid renewable energy. What used to be seen as an adjunct to large-scale thermal and hydro-based national grid supply is now being recognised as a major weapon in the drive to provide electricity access to all Africans. [African Business Magazine]

Tuesday, September 8

Sunrise (Radi1981, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Listen Up! Dr. James Hansen Has A Message For The Citizens Of Earth” • Dr James Hansen sent an email about a paper on the Earth’s energy imbalance. The Earth has an energy imbalance of 0.75 ± 0.25 W/m2. That number, while small, is equivalent to the heat of 400,000 nuclear explosions like the one at Hiroshima – every day! [CleanTechnica]

Hornsdale Power Reserve and wind farm

¶ “Australia’s Biggest Renewable Energy Hub To Deliver Low-Cost Power For ACT” • The proposed $3 billion Goyder project will have 1200 MW of wind, 600 MW of solar, and 900 MW, 1800 MWh of storage. The hub is to be the biggest of its kind. The first contract is for 100 MW at A$44.97/MWh ($33/MWh or 3.3¢/kWh) for 14 years. [RenewEconomy]

Woodland Hills, California (Getty Images)

¶ “LA County Records Highest-Ever Temperature” • Los Angeles County recorded its highest-ever temperature on Sunday, Sept 6. Dave Bruno, a senior meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said, “We reached 121°F in Woodland Hills, California. That is the highest-ever temperature at a station, beating 119°F on July 22, 2006.” [CNN]

Wednesday, September 9

Flooded cropland in Iowa (Tony Webster, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Trump Admin Document Reportedly Warns of Financial Disaster of Climate Change” • In the report, “Managing Climate Risk in the Financial System,” the authors forecast that business-as usual emissions will cause immense chaos in US financial markets. The report came from president Trump’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission. [New York Magazine]

Building on Rue de Beaubourg (Credit: Paris Habitat)

¶ “The Buildings Warmed By The Human Body” • The building at Number 2 Rue de Beaubourg in Paris looks modest. Though you wouldn’t know it from the outside, it nevertheless has an unusual design. Since 2015, the building has been drawing its warmth from the hustle and bustle of human body heat in a nearby metro station. [BBC]

Nikola Badger (Nikola Motor image)

¶ “General Motors To Manufacture Nikola Badger As Part Of New Strategic Partnership” • Nikola Motor and GM are forming a new strategic partnership. For a $2 billion equity stake in Nikola and the right to nominate one director to the Nikola board, GM will engineer, validate, and manufacture the battery and fuel cell variants of the Nikola Badger. [CleanTechnica]

 

 

Energy Week #388: 9/10/2020

 

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