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Energy Week #394: 11/19/2020
Thursday, November 12
Hurricane (NOAA image)
¶ “Hurricanes Are Maintaining Their Strength Farther Inland As The Planet Warms, Study Finds” • In recent years, hurricanes are rapidly intensifying more often, dumping higher rainfall totals, and even moving slower, all because they move over warmer water. Now, a study shows are maintaining their strength after landfall for much longer. [CNN]
Wind turbines (CSIRO, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Fortescue Leads ‘Stampede’ Into Green Energy With Stunning Plans For 235 GW Of Wind And Solar” • The scale of Fortescue’s program is breathtaking. To put it into context, 235 GW of wind and solar is equivalent to nearly five times the current capacity of Australia’s main grid, and more than the energy output of such oil giants as Chevron and Total. [RenewEconomy]
Electric replacement drive (Image courtesy Swind.Life)
¶ “New Conversion Kit Turns Your Classic Mini Cooper Into A Timeless EV” • Fans of classic cars and restomods rejoice! There is now a fully realized and genuinely affordable kit to help you turn your classic Mini Cooper into a fast, clean, and modern EV. And, best of all, it is even truer to the original Mini philosophy than you might hope for. [CleanTechnica]
Friday, November 13
Peat Bog (RodicaB, CC-BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “World Heritage Status For Scottish Peat Bogs Could Help Uk Hit Net Zero Goals” • There is hope that about 1,400 sq km of the most pristine peatland in northern Scotland will soon be much closer to status as the first world heritage peatland. Ecologists say peatlands covering only 3% of the Earth’s land surface, may hold 30% of the carbon stored on land. [The Guardian]
Sunset at Neom (TariQ instagram, Unsplash)
¶ “The Desert City To Run On Hydrogen” • On the edge of the Saudi Arabian desert beside the Red Sea, a futuristic city called Neom is due to be built. The $500 billion (£380 billion) city, complete with flying taxis and robotic domestic help, is planned to become home to a million people. And what will power this city and be its product? Green hydrogen. [BBC]
Bushfire (fvanrenterghem, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Hitting Net Zero Is Not Enough – We Must Restore The Climate” • The climate crisis is here now. No matter how quickly we reach zero emissions, the terrible impacts of the climate crisis will not just go away. They will continue to cause millions to suffer for centuries to come. Just cutting emissions is not enough. We have to begin restoring the climate. [The Guardian]
Saturday, November 14
Sylvia (Photo via EcoSightseeing)
¶ “Tesla Batteries Get Second Life In Electric Sightseeing Boat” • As Teslas get old (or get into accidents), the batteries they had in them become available for new purposes. One clever use is as batteries in electric boats. In Sweden, the sightseeing boat Sylvia is powered by used Tesla batteries that were combined for 190 kWh of energy storage capacity. [CleanTechnica]
Cars loaded with coal (Decumanus, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “USA Readies Self For Green Hydrogen Rumble As Trump Slithers Out Door” • Trump made coal jobs a centerpiece of his 2016 campaign, but he dropped the whole idea just two years after taking office, so it seems there was no job-saving coal plan after all. Oh well, it’s all water under the bridge now. The DOE has a Hydrogen Program Plan. [CleanTechnica]
Natural gas plant (Dual Freq, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Biden And Electric Utilities Are Split On Emissions Goals” • As President Trump rolled back environmental regulations and boosted fossil fuels, utilities forged ahead with plans to reduce emissions. But while 33 utilities pledged to eliminate emissions by 2050, Biden campaigned on a promise to have 100% clean electricity by 2035. [Scientific American]
Sunday, November 15
Wind farm (Karsten Würth, Unsplash)
¶ “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It – Or Not” • The recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports says it is too late to stop climate change. Some scientists disagree. But arguing about which climate model is most accurate diverts our attention from what is most important – the Earth is warming too fast, and we have to act on that. [CleanTechnica]
Nuclear power plant (Frédéric Paulussen, Unsplash)
¶ “DOE Publishes Strategic Framework For Hydrogen Effort” • The DOE released its Hydrogen Program Plan. A key aspect of the strategy the agency presented is to enable hydrogen production from a diverse array of low-carbon domestic energy resources, including renewables, nuclear energy, and fossil fuels (with carbon capture). [World Nuclear News]
Pipeline (Photo: Quinten de Graaf | Unsplash)
¶ “Minnesota Permits Pipeline Replacement For Line 3” • Environmental and Indigenous leaders responded with alarm after Minnesota regulators approved key permits for Enbridge Energy’s planned Line 3 Pipeline replacement, and called on Democratic Gov Tim Walz to block any construction for the Canadian company’s project. [LA Progressive]
Monday, November 16
Girl Statue on Wall Street (Robert Bye, Unsplash)
¶ “Blackrock and Fidelity Are Betting Big On This $130 Trillion Mega-Trend” • This isn’t just a megatrend. It’s a movement. Big money is fleeing anything that’s not sustainable. By 2022, PwC says that 77% of institutional investors will stop buying non-ESG products entirely. (ESG is Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance.) [OilPrice.com]
LCOE and marginal costs (Lazard image)
¶ “Wind And Solar Are Cheaper Than Everything, Lazard Reports” • The recent Lazard report on the LCOE showed that wind and solar offer the cheapest electricity in the US, even significantly undercutting natural gas combined cycle power plants now. But that’s only half of it. Solar and wind are much cheaper nearly everywhere. [CleanTechnica]
Zach and Kyle at Fremont (CleanTechnica image)
¶ “Tesla’s Automotive Gross Margin Improves from 18.7% to 23.7%” • Tesla’s automotive gross margin improved from 18.7% to 23.7% in Q3. That’s an astounding improvement in automotive gross margin. Even 18.7% is great in the automotive industry. It’s a figure that still leaves Tesla a lot of room to bring down prices or fuel faster growth. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, November 17
¶ “Green Hydrogen Scheme Sprouts In Scotland, With Flow Battery” • Scotland is apparently not satisfied with its position in the offshore wind vanguard. The country has embarked on a new plan to pair tidal power with vanadium flow batteries to produce green hydrogen. Tidal power is very predictable, and batteries make the output constant. [CleanTechnica]
UVM researchers in the field
¶ “UVM Is Leading The Largest Study of Climate Change In Vermont” • Since the 1980s, folks have put a cinder block on the pond when it freezes. When the ice melts, the block sinks, and a clock is unplugged, capturing the exact time of the melt. There’s a clear pattern. The ice is melting earlier. Now, UVM is leading an ambitious scientific study. [UVM News]
Mosgortrans’ 500th electric bus
¶ “Moscow Gets Its 500th Electric Bus” • Russia is a major oil & gas country. As the oil industry goes, so goes Russia. Even so, reports say a public transit company for the Moscow metro area has put its 500th electric bus into service. This electric bus was produced by Kamaz, a Russian truck and engine (and apparently electric bus) manufacturer. [CleanTechnica]
Wednesday, November 18
Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland (Tina Rolf, Unsplash)
¶ “Greenland’s Glaciers Could Lose More Ice Than Previously Thought, Raising Concerns For Sea Level Rise” • A study shows Greenland’s ice is melting much faster than previously thought. Its authors warn their findings show that ice loss on Greenland could exceed even the worst-case projections. It was published in the journal Nature Communications. [CNN]
Cummins electrolyzer (Cummins image)
¶ “Cummins Reveals Road Map To Carbon-Free Hydrogen Economy” • Cummins, an Indiana company known for its diesel and natural gas engine technologies, laid out its path into the hydrogen economy with plans to decarbonize transportation and other industrial sectors it serves while encouraging growth of renewable energy. [Heavy Duty Trucking]
Boris Johnson (UK Government image)
¶ “Johnson Unveils £12 Billion Plan For ‘Green Industrial Revolution’” • UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has taken the wraps off a £12 billion plan for a “green industrial revolution” that will support up to 250,000 jobs. Johnson’s ten point plan reiterates London’s policy pledge of 40 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 60,000 sector jobs. [reNEWS]
Energy Week #394: 11/19/2020
Energy, renewable energy, wind power, Solar, batteries, Nuclear, coal, oil, gas, Climate Change
Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 