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Energy Week #400: 1/7/2021
Wednesday, December 23
Forest in China (zhang kaiyv, Unsplash)
¶ “The Tiny Forests Designed By Feng Shui” • Despite China’s grand environmental plans, its past reforestation efforts using non-native trees and fast-growing monoculture crops haven’t always been successful. Now, some scientists believe that forests based in feng shui, rich in biodiversity, could provide a blueprint for sustainable planting. [BBC]
After the Riverside Fire (US Forest Service image)
¶ “Climate Change: Oregon’s Western Cascades Watershed To Experience Larger, More Frequent Fires” • The Clackamas Basin rarely experiences the intense fire activity that burned there during the Labor Day fires, but research out of Portland State University shows such wildfires could become more common under a warming climate. [SciTechDaily]
Thursday, December 24
Aptera (Image courtesy of Aptera)
Baker Electric (From an ad ca 1905)
¶ “My Dream Electric Car” • A lot of people are not able afford today’s EVs, even used. If we are to get rid of the old, polluting cars around us, we need a new class of car for them. It would make sense to have medium-speed cars, designed for ordinary use by ordinary people, intentionally crafted for the greatest efficiency for local driving. [CleanTechnica]
Proposed offshore wind sites (Image via New Jersey Wind Port)
¶ “Shazam! Garden State Transforms Self Into $500 Million Offshore Wind Giant” • New Jersey is known for many things, and now you can add offshore wind to the list. Construction on a $250 million monopile facility will start in January. But that’s not all. New Jersey is setting itself up to be a major center for all facets of offshore windpower. [CleanTechnica]
Friday, December 25
GE Haliade-X turbine
¶ “GE’S Newest Renewable Energy Project Is A Giant Turbine That Powers A Home For Two Days With Just One Turn!” • GE’s Haliade-X prototype is the first wind turbine to generate 288 MWh of electricity in just 24 hour. Towering above Rotterdam, the 12-MW prototype was able to power 30,000 homes. Now, a 14-MW version is coming. [Yanko Design]
Saturday, December 26
Wind turbine (Alyssa Bossom, Unsplash)
¶ “Japan To Eliminate Petrol Vehicles By Mid-2030s” • The Japanese government announced that petrol vehicles would be phased out over the next 15 years as part reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Japan will reduce battery costs by 50% to make cars more attractive, and it will incentivize offshore wind farms to power them. [Euro Weekly News]
Sunday, December 27
NREL wind turbines, 2008 (Hustvedt, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “The Resistance: In The President’s Relentless War On Climate Science, They Fought Back” • The scientists’ efforts were often unseen and sometimes unsuccessful. But over four years, they mounted a guerilla defense that kept pressure on the Trump Administration. Here is a story about how they fought back, keeping science alive. [InsideClimate News]
Monday, December 28
King tide in Morehead City, NC (King Tides, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Rising To Meet The Tide Against The Threat Of Coastal Flooding” • As early as 2050, climate scientists predict, average high tides in the Norfolk, Virginia area will be equal to today’s king tides. They hope data collected by citizen scientists can help develop the ability to forecast exactly when and where damaging floods will occur. [Ars Technica]
Offshore oil platform (Dean Brierley, Unsplash)
¶ “2020 Was One Of The Worst-Ever Years For Oil Write-Downs” • Oil-and-gas companies in North America and Europe wrote down approximately $145 billion combined, roughly 10% of their market value, in the first three quarters of 2020. It is the most for that nine-month period since at least 2010, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. [Livemint]
Tuesday, December 29
Artist’s Impression of urban farming under solar panels in Singapore (Terrenus Energy image)
¶ “Terrenus Energy And Facebook Sign Deal For 19 MW Of Singapore Solar Project” • Terrenus Energy and Facebook have signed an agreement for 19 MW of energy from a solar farm being developed at Changi Business Park. Terrenus Energy is implementing various innovative projects with the solar project, including urban farming. [The Straits Times]
Illustration of MOSE in operation (Credit: Technital)
¶ “The Long Struggle To Protect Venice From Worsening Floods (Video)” • After years of corruption, cost overruns, and delays, Venice has finally unveiled MOSE, its long-awaited flood control system, and put it to use. “Today, everything is dry,” the mayor said. “We stopped the sea.” It can stop today’s high tides, but can it stand up to climate change? [CleanTechnica]
Wednesday, December 30
GreenPower school bus (GreenPower image)
¶ “NY Governor Cuomo Unleashes New Electric Bus Initiatives” • Governor Andrew M Cuomo announced a series of initiatives to increase the number of electric buses in the state of New York. The new initiatives include $16.4 million in incentives for the expansion of electric bus usage amongst public transportation authorities. [CleanTechnica]
Thursday, December 31
Wind turbines and cacti (Don Stouder, Unsplash)
¶ “US Renewable Pipeline Poised To Add 172.5 GW Through 2024” • An analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence shows a pipeline of 172.5 GW of wind and solar projects through 2024. Of that, 75.7 GW are wind projects while 96.8 GW are solar, the data shows. Wind and solar projects totaling 30.7 GW of capacity are currently under construction. [S&P Global]
Friday, January 1
Bomb cyclone (NOAA image)
¶ “‘Bomb Cyclone’ Is Bringing Big Waves To Central Coast. What Caused This Weather Phenomenon?” • 2020 ends with another weather record. On New Year’s Eve, a storm with record-breaking low pressure formed near the Aleutian Islands. Its development is what meteorologists call bombogenesis. And it is what they call a “bomb cyclone.” [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
Coal vs renewables (US EIA, “Monthly Energy Review”)
¶ “US Renewable Energy Consumption Surpasses Coal For First Time In Over 130 Years” • US annual energy consumption from renewable sources exceeded coal consumption in 2019, for the first time since before 1885, according to the Energy Information Administration’s Monthly Energy Review. In 2019, Coal was down nearly 15% from 2018. [CleanTechnica]
Saturday, January 2
Scientist launching a balloon (NOAA image, Unsplash)
¶ “Why Trump Failed To Derail National Climate Assessment” • The Trump administration’s failure to soften or bury the climate assessment shows the resilience of federal climate science despite Trump’s efforts to impede it. This article is based on interviews with current and former government officials and others familiar with the process. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]
Sunday, January 3
Tesla in Florida (CleanTechnica)
¶ “Tesla Roaring Into 2021 As Short Sellers Lose Record $38 Billion” • Last year was disastrous for people who bet against Tesla on the stock market. On the last day of the year, Tesla’s stock set a new high of over $700. Yahoo! Finance said the Tesla short sellers lost over $38 billion in mark-to-market losses in 2020. [CleanTechnica]
Monday, January 4
Massachusetts decarbonization plan Please click on the image to enlarge it.
¶ “Massachusetts Will Require All New Cars Sold Be Electric By 2035” • Governor Charlie Baker and his administration shared a plan that will deal a major blow to fossil fuel automakers while greatly cutting the state’s greenhouse-gas emissions. These changes include the mandate that all new cars sold in the state will be electric by 2035. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, January 5
Wind turbines (Noah Hogue, Unsplash)
¶ “In ‘Remarkable Shift,’ Four Out Of Five Texans Say Climate Change Is Real. Now What?” • A study published last month by the University of Houston found that 81% of Texans agree that climate change is happening. That result now matches the views expressed by the majority of Americans. But now we need to make everything electric. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
Wednesday, January 6
Block Island wind farm (Ionna22, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Massachusetts Raises Offshore Wind Procurement Goal” • The Massachusetts state legislature increased the state’s offshore wind goal to 5,600 MW. An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy authorizes procurement of 2,400 MW more offshore wind capacity and raises the renewable energy target to 40% by 2030. [reNEWS]
Notes:
Energy Week #400: 1/7/2021
GE has a 14-MW wind turbine. Japan is eliminating gas-powered cars by the mid 1930s, and so is Massachusetts. Scientists in the US fought back on climate change. The oil industry suffered one of its worst years. Coal is producing less electricity than renewables. And there is more.
George Harvey, blogger, author, and journalist for Green Energy Times and CleanTechnica, computer engineer
Tom Finnell, electrical engineer, transmission grid expert, world traveler, philanthropist, and philosopher
Energy, renewable energy, wind power, Solar, batteries, Nuclear, coal, oil, gas, Climate Change
Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 