Energy Week #425: 7/1/2021

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 #425: 7/1/2021

Minute 0: introduction

Thursday, June 24

Satellite image (Copernicus Sentinel-3, European Union)

Minute 2
¶ “Ground Temps Reached 118°F In The Arctic Circle Yesterday” • Ground temperatures in Siberia have reached 118°F, Gizmodo reported while sharing the newly published satellite images. It should be noted that the temperature recorded is a land surface temperature, not air. But it is land where there is permafrost below the surface, and it is melting. [CleanTechnica]

Weather threat (John Fowler, Unsplash)

Minute 5
¶ “Climate Impacts To Hit Sooner – UN Report” • Dangerous thresholds are closer than once thought. Species extinction, widespread disease, unliveable heat, ecosystem collapse, cities menaced by rising seas – these and other devastating climate impacts are accelerating and bound to become painfully obvious before a child born today turns 30. [The Manila Times]

Solar array (GCL SI image)

Minute 8
¶ “‘Rapid’ Rejection Of $50 Billion Renewable Energy Hub Raises Concerns” • The Western Australia government raised concerns about the federal environment department’s rejection of plans for the Asian Renewable Energy Hub, but the consortium behind the project said it will work to amend the plans so the project can go ahead. [pv magazine Australia]

Friday, June 25

Old Faithful (Emily Campbell, Unsplash)

Minute 11
¶ “Climate Change Could Make Old Faithful Less Faithful” • A report from USGS and university scientists says climate change is driving up temperatures and reducing snowfall at Yellowstone National Park. It has seen annual snowfall drop by nearly 2 feet since 1950, and may see even less snow in the future, to the point of affecting the timing of Old Faithful. [CleanTechnica]

White House (David Everett Strickler, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “Biden Backs $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill But Places Big Condition” • The US Senate has struck an agreement for a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, after a meeting between President Joe Biden and a cross-party group of senators at the White House. The eight-year plan includes funding for roads, bridges, the power grid, public transport and internet. [BBC]

Pump jack (Granger Meador, Unsplash)

Minute 16
¶ “Oil Companies Should Prepare For Slow Decline Instead Of Playing Stupid Games” • The best thing oil companies could be doing right now isn’t getting caught peddling useless lies. Instead of playing games they can’t win in the long run, oil companies should accept that they’re in a declining industry and figure out how to get oil’s endgame right. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, June 26

Iowa farm (Kelcy Gatson, Unsplash)

Minute 19
¶ “On Climate, Iowa Farmers Are Between A Rock And A Hard Place” • An Iowa State University poll found that among those who make their living on Iowa’s farms, 81% believe our climate is changing but only 18% accept the clear scientific evidence that humans are the cause. Why the disparity? It has to do with their political tribe. [The Des Moines Register]

Cave in a melting glacier (Davide Cantelli, Unsplash)

Minute 22
¶ “Next IPCC Report Details Irreversible Tipping Points While Politicians Wrangle” • In the past, reports from the IPCC have been criticized for being too clinical and lacking a sense of urgency. Not this time. A draft of the upcoming report has been obtained by Agence France-Presse, according to The Guardian, and it pulls no punches. [CleanTechnica]

Oil rig (Photo courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels, CC0)

Minute 24
¶ “Oil & Gas Execs Are Struggling To Attract Investors And Blaming Clean Energy For Their Woes” • The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released its Q2 2021 Energy Survey, and it makes one thing clear: Oil and gas companies are struggling to find investors. The report included some responses that oil and gas executives gave to a survey. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, June 27

Wetlands (Sandra Brosnahan, Woods Hole Coastal And Marine Science Center)

Minute 27
¶ “Found In Missouri’s Wetlands, These Bacteria Could Help Scientists Combat Climate Change” • Found in wetlands from Missouri to Massachusetts, photoferrotrophs could be absorbing carbon dioxide on a large scale, underscoring the importance of conserving these threatened habitats, according to Washington University scientists. [KCUR]

Paw paw (Scott Bauer, USDA)

Minute 30
¶ “Adapting To An Uncertain Climate Future, Connecticut Is Auditioning New Forests” • Working with Audubon Connecticut, the state and other experts, Avalonia Land Conservancy decided to clear five small areas to remove dead and dying trees. Two of these will be used to plant trees that are used to the new climate conditions of global warming. [The CT Mirror]

US DOJ building (Coolcaesar, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 32
¶ “‘Horrible and Unconscionable Betrayal’: Biden DOJ Backs Trump Tar Sands Pipeline Approval” • The Biden administration filed a legal brief backing the Trump Administration’s approval of the Line 3 tar sands pipline project. Indigenous groups and environmental activists fighting against the Line 3 tar sands pipeline were outraged. [EcoWatch]

Monday, June 28

Portland, Oregon (Jamison McAndie, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “It’s 114° In Oregon. Time To (Productively) Panic” • This weekend, in my formerly mild, rainy, Northwest state, we’re at a broiling 114° in Portland (similar to recent temps recorded in the arctic circle, which is even more frightening). The temperatures are not just record setting. They are off the charts. The previous city record is 107°. [CleanTechnica]

Pikes Peak Highway (Joe Dudeck, Unsplash)

Minute 38
¶ “Tesla Model S Plaid Defeats Cars Built To Win At Pikes Peak ” • It is “The Race to the Clouds.” The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, winds through 156 turns over 12.42 miles to the summit of Pikes Peak. Not only did the Tesla Model S Plaid win in the Exhibition class, but it won by a huge margin and defeated some cars built to win. [CleanTechnica]

Solar Panels (Sungrow EMEA, Unsplash)

Minute 40
¶ “Renewable sources provided more than a quarter of US electrical generation in April” • Renewable energy sources set a record in April 2021, generating 25.7% of total US electricity. Solar and wind’s output during April were 29.9% and 22.1% greater, respectively, than a year earlier, a SUN DAY Campaign analysis of EIA data shows. [Renewables Now]

Tuesday, June 29

Miami Beach (Antonio Cuellar, Unsplash)

Minute 43
¶ “Speculation On Climate Links To Surfside Condo Collapse” • As hope fades additional survivors will be rescued and scores are feared dead in the rubble of the Champlain Towers condo that collapsed near Miami Beach, impacts due to climate change are increasingly thought to have been a possible contributing factor in the tragedy. [CleanTechnica]

Almaty Region, Kazakhstan (Dmitry Sumskoy, Unsplash)

Minute 46
¶ “Kazakhstan Plans Massive 45-GW Renewable Project To Power Green Hydrogen” • Renewable energy company Svevind Energy, which has offices in Sweden, Germany, and Kazakhstan, is to partner with the Kazakh Invest National Company to construct a 45-GW renewable energy project. It is intended to produce huge amounts of green hydrogen. [Renew Economy]

Wind farm (Johanna Montoya, Unsplash)

Minute 48
¶ “US Utility Goes To Market For 3 GW Of Wind” • Southwestern Electric Power Company, an American Electric Power subsidiary, has issued three requests for proposals. One seeks up to 3 GW of wind capacity. The second of them is seeking bids for up to 300 MW of solar, and the third is seeking a short-term accredited deliverable capacity of up to 250 MW. [reNEWS]

Wednesday, June 30

Dust blowing off the Sahara Desert in June, 2020 (NOAA image)

Minute 51
¶ “The Saharan Air Layer: What Is It? Why Does NOAA Track It?” • The Saharan Air Layer can act to suppress hurricane formation and intensification. Thanks to recent advancements in satellite technology, we can better monitor and understand it, from its formation over Africa, to its effects on weather along the US Gulf coast and Florida. [CleanTechnica]

Climate protest sign (Markus Spiske, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “Dozens Dead As Heatwave Shatters Records” • Dozens of people have died in Canada amid an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed temperature records. On Tuesday, Canada recorded its highest ever temperature for a third straight day – 49.5°C (121°F) in Lytton, British Columbia. Before this week, the country had never passed 45°C (113°F). [BBC]

Wind farm (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

Minute 56
¶ “The California Blackout That Wasn’t” • People pay a lot of attention when the power goes out, but we tend to not notice when the grid stays stable, even under trying conditions. Recent record heat led the California grid operator to call on residents to reduce power use. But the grid did not go down, as batteries and demand response did their work. [CleanTechnica]

Minute 59: Finis

Energy Week #425: 7/1/2021

Notes:

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 #424: 6/24/2021

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.

Minute 0: Energy Week #424: 6/24/2021

Thursday, June 17

GMC Hummer EV (GM image)

Minute 2
¶ “GM Boosts Spending On Electric Vehicles To $35 Billion By 2025” • General Motors announced that it increased its planned spending on EVs to $35 billion by 2025. That is a 75% increase since March, 2020, when GM said it would spend $20 billion on EVs by 2025. It has raised the amount twice since 2020, first to $27 billion, and now to $35 billion. [CNN]

Tesla, Tesla, Tesla (Tesla)

Minute 5
¶ “Tesla Solar Is Becoming More And More Affordable” • Elon Musk is making solar more and more affordable, with better rates on solar loans. Tesla’s loan option had been for a 20-year plan with 10% down and 5.99% APR. Recently, Tesla made the loan option much more affordable with a new 10-year plan, 10% of the cost down, and only 0.99% APR. [CleanTechnica]

Renewable energy (Monthly Energy Review US EIA)

Minute 8
¶ “The United States Consumed A Record Amount Of Renewable Energy In 2020” • In 2020, consumption of renewable energy in the US grew for the fifth year in a row, reaching a record high of 11.6 quadrillion BTUs, or 12% of total US energy consumption. While renewable energy grew in 2020, fossil fuel and nuclear consumption declined. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, June 18

Drought in 2020 vs 2021 (US Drought Monitor)

Minute 11
¶ “Can The US Survive California’s Drought?” • The drought facing the Western US is bad. Really bad. It is a national and international crisis. California produces more than a third of the vegetables and two-thirds of the fruits and nuts sold in the US, so the drought is affecting more than California and the Southwest. It is threatening our food supply. [CleanTechnica]

Clouds (Artur D, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “The Amount Of Heat The Earth Traps Has Doubled In Just 15 Years, Study Shows” • The planet is trapping roughly double the amount of heat in the atmosphere that it did nearly 15 years ago, according to an alarming new analysis from NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. [CNN]

Solar array (American Public Power Association)

Minute 16
¶ “Combining Energy Storage And Solar Offers Unexpected Power Reliability Boost” • New research from North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University finds that when a power system combines energy storage and solar power generation, the result is greater reliability in the system’s ability to handle peak energy demand. [NC State News]

Saturday, June 19

Ships at sea (Tim Mossholder, Unsplash)

Minute 19
¶ “UN Greenwashes Shipping With Hopelessly Weak Carbon Efficiency Target” • The global shipping fleet will be required to reduce its carbon intensity by just 1.5% per year under a climate plan adopted by the UN regulator, the IMO. The target falls far short of the 7% annual reduction required to meet the goals of the Paris agreement. [CleanTechnica]

Heliogen concentrating solar system (Courtesy of Heliogen)

Minute 22
¶ “Concentrating Solar Startup Heliogen Raises $108 Million In Two Funding Rounds” • Renewable energy technology company Heliogen has raised $108 million in funding across two rounds, the second of which was oversubscribed. Industries that require high temperatures, such as cement and steel making, are taking interest in Heliogen’s technology. [CleanTechnica]

HA Wagner generating station (Talen Energy image)

Minute 24
¶ “Switching From Coal To Batteries At Maryland Power Plant” • According to Canary Media, unexpectedly low prices from PJM’s latest capacity auction spurred a fresh wave of coal generation retirement announcements this month. Talen Energy is installing a 20-MW battery storage facility at the site of a shuttered unit of the HA Wagner plant. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, June 20

Dried river bed (NOAA image)

Minute 27
¶ “Drought And Extreme Heat In The US West – The Climate Change Connection” • The American West has been blasted with sweltering heat this week, but it is just part of a decades-long drought. Simon Wang, a professor of climate dynamics at Utah State University, commented, “As a meteorologist, of course, this isn’t a surprise.” [Digital Journal]

Smoky sunset (Kym MacKinnon, Unsplash)

Minute 30
¶ “The Fires Of The Past Foretell The Fires Of The Future” • During the past two decades, we Coloradans have gotten used to billowing clouds of smoke over the mountains in summer. But 2020’s fires broke records. They seem to have usher in a whole new and terrifying “normal,” when the fires start before summer, and they stay around in the fall. [Sierra Club]

Grand Place, Brussels (Stephanie LeBlanc, Unsplash)

Minute 32
¶ “Belgium Court Deems Inadequate Climate Policy A Human Rights Violation” • Climate campaigners claimed a “historic victory” after a Brussels court condemned Belgium for its climate policy that breaches the country’s duty of care and human rights obligations. The verdict from the Court of First Instance followed a six-year legal battle. [EcoWatch]

Monday, June 21

Job building wind turbines (Science in HD, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “The Save Our Future Act Offers Blueprint For Supporting Coal Workers And Communities” • Two US Senators introduced a solutions-oriented bill that would put a price on emissions of greenhouse gases and use the revenues to mitigate impacts of the policy on consumers, workers, and communities. The bill would help coal miners and their communities. [CleanTechnica]

Wetland in the Pilbara (Government of Western Australia)

Minute 38
¶ “Environment Minister Rules Huge Renewable Energy Hub In WA ‘Clearly Unacceptable’” • A 26-GW renewable energy export development in the Pilbara region of Western Australia has been declared “clearly unacceptable” by the federal environment minister due to its impact on threatened migratory species and internationally recognized wetlands. [The Guardian]

Linking two systems (Prysmian image)

Minute 40
¶ “Prysmian Swoops For 2.1-GW US Green Link” • Prysmian Group was selected as preferred supplier of high-voltage direct current cable systems for the 2100-MW SOO Green HVDC Link. The project will connect two of the largest energy markets in the US, the Midwest Independent System serving the central US to the eastern PJM Interconnection. [reNEWS]

Tuesday, June 22

Volkswagen concept bus (Image courtesy of Volkswagen)

Minute 43
¶ “Volkswagen Rethinks US Sales Strategy After Biden EV Push” • According to a report by The Detroit Bureau, Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen’s product development officer, told the press that his company will “realign … in a massive way” its EV sales strategy in the US as a result of President Biden’s policy initiatives designed to boost EV adoption. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbines (Thomas Reaubourg, Unsplash)

Minute 46
¶ “WoodMac Sees APAC Wind And Solar Investments Topping $1.3 Trillion By 2030” • Asia-Pacific investments in wind and solar will hit $1.3 trillion this decade, according to analysts at Wood Mackenzie, more than double the level in the 2010s. The analysts project carbon emissions from the power industry to peak at 7.3 billion tonnes in 2025. [Stockhead]

Tesla on the Silk Road (Tesla image)

Minute 48
¶ “Tesla Honors The Historical Silk Road With The Longest Supercharger Route From East To West In China” • Tesla tweeted from its Tesla Greater China account that it has just opened the longest Supercharger route from east to west in China. The tweet included a stunning video and a nod to China’s historic Silk Road and efforts to modernize it. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, June 23

Volvo factory (Volvo Cars image)

Minute 51
¶ “Volvo Announces Plan To Develop Fossil-Free Steel” • No matter how progressive a car maker gets, no matter how seriously it takes recycling or examines its supply chain, modern cars need steel, and manufacturing steel without the use of fossil fuels is a challenge. Luckily, it’s a challenge that Volvo, at least, seems to be willing to take on. [CleanTechnica]

Electric equipment (Climate Agency, City of Oslo)

Minute 54
¶ “The Scandinavian Way To Zero-Carbon Construction” • The words quiet, clean, and green are not what you would typically use to describe a construction site. But the site at Olav Vs gate, one of the busiest streets in the heart of Oslo, was special. In a first of its kind, all the machines used there – excavators, diggers, and loaders – were electric. [BBC]

Wind turbines (Charl Folscher, Unsplash)

Minute 56
¶ “Most New Wind And Solar Projects Will Be Cheaper Than Coal, Report Finds” • Globally, 62% of wind and solar projects built last year are able to generate cheaper electricity than even the world’s cheapest new coal plants, an International Renewable Energy Agency report says. Renewables could undercut the price of energy from 800 GW of coal plants. [The Guardian]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes:

Energy Week #424: 6/24/2021

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 #423: 6/17/2021

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.

Minute 0: Energy Week #423: 6/17/2021

Thursday, June 10

Solar panels (Science in HD, Unsplash)

Minute 2
¶ “Ohio Will Soon To Be Home To The Largest Solar Factory Complex Outside Of China” • First Solar unveiled plans to build a state-of-the-art factory in Ohio, doubling its US manufacturing capacity. The factory will be the company’s third in the Toledo area. First Solar, the only major US manufacturer of solar panels, will invest $680 million in the factory. [CNN]

Block Island wind farm (Shaun Dakin, Unsplash)

Minute 5
¶ “North Carolina Sets 8-GW Offshore Goal For 2040” • North Carolina has set out a goal of 2800 MW of offshore wind by 2030 and 8000 MW by 2040. To further the state’s transition to a clean energy economy, Governor Roy Cooper issued an executive order highlighting North Carolina’s commitment to offshore wind power. [reNEWS]

Wall street (Patrick Weissenberger, unsplash)

Minute 8
¶ “Investors Holding $41 Trillion Demand Action On Climate – Now” • Investors managing over $41 trillion in assets are loudly calling on world leaders to step up their climate game as quickly as possible, so they can take part in a wave of investment in clean energy. The investors call for governments to set more ambitious emission reduction targets. [CNN]

Friday, June 11

Wind farm in Brazil (Enel Green Power image)

Minute 11
¶ “Enel Starts 716-MW Brazil Wind Farm Spinning” • Enel Green Power commissioned the Lagoa dos Ventos wind farm in Brazil. It is the largest wind farm operating in South America. Lagoa dos Ventos, which is now operating at full capacity, consists of 230 wind turbines. EGP is taking 510 MW of its 716-MW capacity, and the rest is going into the free market. [reNEWS]

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead (Lindsay E. Durant, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “Lake Mead: Largest Us Reservoir Dips To Record Low” • The largest reservoir in the US has dipped to its lowest ever level, officials say, as an extreme drought continues in the region. The surface elevation of Lake Mead along the Arizona-Nevada border fell to 1,071.56 feet (326.6 metres) above sea level. It has sunk about 140 feet since 2000. [BBC]

Agrivoltaics (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)

Minute 16
¶ “Largest US Agrivoltaic Research Project Advances Renewable Energy While Empowering Local Farmers” • A study at Oregon State University estimated that converting 1% of US farmland to agrivoltaics would meet the nation’s renewable energy targets, save water, and create a sustainable food system. A 1.2-MW solar farm in Colorado working on that. [Solar Power World]

Saturday, June 12

Praying mantis (S N Pattenden, Unsplash)

Minute 19
¶ “Biodiversity And Climate Crises Demand Transformative Change” • A report shows that passing on a maximally livable planet to future generations requires a profound shift in how we look at nature and economic progress. We need to prioritize protecting and restoring nature and dismantle the economic systems driving carbon emissions. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model S Plaid (Tesla image)

Minute 22
¶ “The World’s Quickest Car, Safest Car, And Most Powerful Computer On Wheels – Tesla Model S Plaid” • “The public tends to respond to precedents and superlatives,” Musk once said back in 2012, the year the original Tesla Model S was introduced. Now comes an overhaul, the Tesla Model S Plaid. It is the fastest production car made. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore windpower (Zoltan Tasi, Unsplash)

Minute 24
¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Proposes Competitive Lease Sale For Offshore Wind Development For New York And New Jersey” • In support of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to install 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, the Department of the Interior proposed sale of offshore wind leases for eight areas of the New York Bight. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, June 13

Tongass National Forest (Henryhartley, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 27
¶ “Biden Administration Starts To Restore Protections For Alaska’s Tongass National Forest” • In welcome news for Native tribes, the climate, wildlife, and local businesses, a much-needed process to reinstate critical protections for the Tongass National Forest has begun, reversing one of Trump’s many environmental rollbacks. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla vs Ferrari Flat 12 drag race (CarWow image, via Motor1)

Minute 30
¶ “Video: Electric Ferrari Drag Race: Tesla Power Vs 12 Mighty Cylinders” • Pity Ferraris are objectively terrible by the standards of today … if only there were some way to make a classic Ferrari somehow relevant again. How about an original Ferrari 308 GT with a Tesla drive train in it? Race that against a 390 hp Ferrari to see how well that works. [CleanTechnica]

Kagoshima Nanatsujima Solar Plant (Sakoppi, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 32
¶ “Four Nuclear Reactors’ Worth Of Renewable Electricity Wasted In Southwest Japan” • There have been frequent cases in Japan’s Kyushu region where the electricity generated from renewable energy sources, such as solar power, has gone unused. On some days, the capacity wasted is the equivalent of four nuclear reactors. [The Mainichi]

Monday, June 14

Best Bees Company hives (Best Bees Company image)

Minute 35
¶ “Tech Firms Use Remote Monitoring To Help Honey Bees” • Hit by a deadly parasitic mite, pesticides, and climate change, a survey showed that between April 2019 and 2020 43.7% of US bee hives were lost. An Irish business, ApisProtect, makes wireless in-hive sensors that transmit data to website-based software so bee keepers know what hives need intervention. [BBC]

Minute 38

Falmouth harbor (Kate Joyce, Unsplash)

¶ “G7 Leaders Share A Bold Vision For A Net Zero Future. But The Devil Is In The Lack Of Detail” • There was some concrete progress earlier in the summit from G7 ministers, and a vision laid out by leaders for a net zero world that would take a green approach to everything. But the final communiqué was lacking details the experts had hope for. [CNN]

Taishan nuclear Plant (Courtesy of EDF)

Minute 40
¶ “US Assessing Reported Leak At Chinese Nuclear Power Facility” • The US government spent the past week assessing a report of a leak at a Chinese nuclear plant, after a French company that part owns and helps operate it warned of an “imminent radiological threat,” according to US officials and documents reviewed by CNN. [CNN Philippines]

Tuesday, June 15

Jay Leno (Franz von Holzhausen via Twitter, screenshot)

Minute 43
¶ “Jay Leno Breaks World Record In Tesla’s New Plaid Model S – ‘I Love This Car'” • Jay Leno broke the world acceleration record for a quarter mile in the new Tesla Model S Plaid. He is one of the few lucky ones to have driven the fastest production car ever made. Leno’s new record time is for a quarter-mile ET of 9.247 seconds at 152.09 mph. [CleanTechnica] (And the AC was on.)

Cameron Peak fire (Canyon Lakes Ranger RD)

Minute 46
¶ “High-Elevation Forests In The Rockies Are Burning More Now Than In The Past 2,000 Years” • Following a devastating wildfire season in 2020, new research shows that high-elevation forests in the Rocky Mountains are burning more now than any previous time in the past 2,000 years, amid extreme drought, induced by climate change. [CNN]

Cable laying ship

Minute 48
¶ “UK And Norway Complete World’s Longest Subsea Electricity Cable” • The world’s longest submarine electrical cable will be turned on this week as testing of a 720-km interconnect that can exchange power between the UK and Norway begins. This cable can carry 1.4 GW of power, which is about the equivalent capacity of a large nuclear reactor. [California News Times]

Wednesday, June 16

Ocean (Sean Oulashin, Unsplash)

Minute 51
¶ “Marine Protected Areas Key To Our Future” • If we want our ocean to stay productive, we need to step up now. For decades, the ocean has been absorbing much of global warming’s heat, so it’s warmer and more acidic than ever. Marine life is searching for cooler waters, harmful algae are blooming, and  vital habitats are being destroyed. [CleanTechnica]

Oil rig (Worksite Ltd, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “Federal Court Temporarily Blocks Biden Administration’s Oil And Gas Lease Pause” • A federal court blocked, for now, the Biden administration’s pause on oil and gas leasing. The decision by a US District Court in Louisiana is a temporary order. The administration may be required to follow a schedule of lease sales set by the Obama administration. [CNN]

Renewable energy (Filipe Resmini, Unsplash)

Minute 56
¶ “The Renewable Energy Revolution Has A Major Employment Problem” • The seemingly unstoppable growth trend has hit a serious speed bump. There just aren’t enough workers. The industry is expanding so rapidly that there simply aren’t enough qualified and skilled workers to fill the huge swath of new job openings in the field. [Oil Price]

Minute 59: Finis 

Notes:

Energy Week #423: 6/17/2021

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 #422: 6/10/2021

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.

Minute 0: Energy Week #422: 6/10/2021

Thursday, June 3

Seaweed (NOAA image)

Minute 2
¶ “Seaweed Can Restore Ocean Dead Zones Caused By Nutrient Run Off” • Fertilizer from US farms washes down rivers and causes the algae blooms that lead to dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara say seaweed could soak up lots of the phosphorous and nitrogen, while adding oxygen to the water. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla police car for Westport, Connecticut (image via Twitter)

Minute 5
¶ “Tesla Police Vehicle Brings Big Monetary Savings To Westport, Connecticut” • In 2019, the city of Westport, Connecticut, added a new Tesla Model 3 patrol car to its fleet. Critics were upset over the cost, but new financial data shows that betting on the Tesla Model 3 as the choice for a police vehicle paid off, saving the city tens of thousands of dollars. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model 3 (Martin Katler, Unsplash)

Minute 8
¶ “Will Electric Cars Get Cheaper? Definitely!” • With falling costs of producing batteries and dedicated production lines in carmakers’ plants, EVs will be cheaper than gas-powered cars, on average, within the next 6 years. Cost-competitive EVs in the short-term are inevitable, according to Logan Goldie-Scot, head of clean power at BNEF. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, June 4

American chestnut (Peatcher CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 11
¶ “Conservationists Are Planting The Seeds Of History’s ‘Biggest Ecological Turnaround’ In Maine Forest” • An orchard in coastal Maine is one of three where researchers have planted what could be the forest of the future. But what makes that future different is that it contains the next wave of American chestnut trees – a kind created in a lab. [Bangor Daily News]

Ørsted wind farm (Ørsted image)

Minute 13
¶ “Danish Energy Giants Ørsted Intends To Tip $57 Billion Into Renewables” • Denmark’s multinational power company Ørsted has made a global statement with a new commitment to spend $57 billion between 2020 and 2027. “Our aspiration is to become the world’s leading green energy major by 2030,” said Ørsted chief executive Mads Nipper. [Energy Matters]

Shipping containers on land and ship (Tom Fisk, Pexels)

Minute 16
¶ “Denmark, Norway, And The US To Lead Zero-Emission Shipping Mission” •The governments of Denmark, Norway, and the US, along with the Global Maritime Forum and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, announced that they will lead a new Zero-Emission Shipping Mission as part of Mission Innovation. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, June 5

Texas winter storm (Courtesy of Texas DOT, Austin District)

Minute 19
¶ “Texas Passes Reforms To Winterize Power Infrastructures” • Texas lawmakers completed the final version of Senate Bill 3, in response to the outages that resulted during the deadly February winter storms. It aims to bolster Texas’ electricity infrastructure and require power plants to be prepared for extreme weather conditions [Engineering News-Record]

Fiat 500e (Stellantis image)

Minute 22
¶ “Fiat Plans To Go All In On Electric Cars By 2030″ • According to Autocar, Fiat boss Olivier François announced, “Between 2025 and 2030, our product lineup will gradually become electric only.” This, folks, is big news. EVs aren’t just for the wealthy any more. They are for everyday transportation for everyday people who do everyday things. [CleanTechnica]

Sequoia trees (Josh Carter, Unsplash)

Minute 24
¶ “Fire Killed 1 In 10 Of Earth’s Most Fire-Resilient Monarch Sequoias In 2020” • The Visalia Times-Delta obtained a draft National Park Service report that puts a number on the Castle Fire’s climate-fueled toll. Between 7,500 and 10,000 monarch sequoias, 10% to 14% of the world’s mature sequoia population, perished in the fire. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, June 6

Forest in Alaska (LB Brubaker, NOAA, public domain)

Minute 27
¶ “California Assembly Passes Groundbreaking Deforestation Bill” • In a landmark vote, California policymakers took a major step toward protecting the world’s forests. The state Assembly passed a groundbreaking bill to ensure that procurement contracts protect boreal and tropical forests and fundamental Indigenous rights. [CleanTechnica]

Blueberries (Élisabeth Joly, Unsplash)

Minute 30
¶ “Climate Change Could Negatively Impact Maine’s Blueberry Crop” • A study by scientists at the University of Maine analyzing 40 years of data found more warming in wild blueberry fields of Down East Maine than elsewhere. They said the warming of the blueberry fields could imperil the berries as temperatures rise and there is less water. [News Center Maine]

Minute 32

New BYD buses in the UK

¶ “BYD Scores More Electric Bus Orders And Deliveries In Sweden And Spain” • BYD keeps rolling out more and more electric buses, especially in Europe. This week, the news is that it delivered 30 more electric buses in Spain, that country’s largest order, and it got an order for 79 electric buses in Sweden, the first order by Bergkvarabuss. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, June 7

Solar array with storage (Courtesy of 8minute Solar Energy)

Minute 35
¶ “Grid-Scale US Energy Storage Capacity Could Grow Five-Fold By 2050” • In the latest report from the Storage Futures Study, NREL analysts describe significant market potential for utility-scale diurnal storage (up to 12 hours) in the US power system through 2050. They found that storage could show a five-fold increase from today’s total. [CleanTechnica]

Flood (Chris Gallagher, Unsplash)

Minute 38
¶ “Climate Change Increases Extreme Rainfall And The Chance Of Floods” • An international research team has concluded that increases in extreme rainfall and its flooding are projected to continue as global temperatures keep rising. Limiting warming to 1.5°C will help limit changes in extreme rainfall, though some adaptations will still be required. [EurekAlert!]

Sydney Opera House (Srikant Sahoo, Unsplash)

Minute 40
¶ “Will Tesla’s $1 Billion Investment In Australian Minerals Inspire Australia To Start Refining Its Own Lithium With Renewables” • Recently, Tesla announced that it will spend $1 billion or more on Australian minerals, and Tesla’s Chair Robyn Denholm spoke about how her home country processes lithium. It doesn’t. That could be changed. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, June 8

Candela C7 Electric Speedboat (Courtesy of Candela Speedboat)

Minute 43
¶ “Candela C7 Electric Speedboat Takes Flight” • A hydrofoil uses an underwater wing to produce lift, hoisting a boat out of the water for a faster, more efficient ride. It’s a clever solution that’s been around for decades, but hasn’t really gone anywhere, as yet. Candela, based in Sweden, has a revolutionary hydrofoil that has reached series production! [CleanTechnica]

Pump jack (Zbynek Burival, Unsplash)

Minute 46
¶ “Peak Oil Moves Closer As Energy Majors Shift To Renewables” • In 2020, the largest oil and gas companies increased investment in clean energy by 34%, despite a 6% fall in global energy demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research. Oil and gas majors investe $8.8 billion (€7.2 billion) in 2020, up from $6.6 billion the year before. [Euractiv.com]

Wind turbines (Goldwind Americas image)

Minute 48
¶ “Renewables To Yield Half A Million US Jobs By 2030” • In the US, decarbonisation has the potential to create 500,000-600,000 new jobs across the solar, wind and battery storage industries by 2030, according to a report published by the American Clean Power Association. The jobs would have higher than average pay and could be unionized. [reNEWS]

Wednesday, June 9

Mauna Loa Observatory (NOAA via Twitter)

Minute 51
¶ “Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Hits Highest Level In Over 4 Million Years” • NOAA released data showing atmospheric CO₂ reached a monthly average level of 419 ppm in May. This is not just the highest reading recorded since accurate measurements began 63 years ago. It is the highest level the planet has seen in over four million years. [Alaska Native News]

Offshore wind plant (WindEurope image)

Minute 54
¶ “Electrification Is ‘Cheapest Way To Hit Net Zero’” • A report from the European Technology and Innovation Platform on Wind and WindEurope says the most cost-effective way to decarbonize the EU economy is electrification. It says a future net-zero system will “cost no more as a share of GDP than energy system costs today: 10.6% of GDP.” [reNEWS]

Wind turbine (Waldemar Brandt, Unsplash)

Minute 56
¶ “US Interior Department To Explore Offshore Wind Potential In The Gulf Of Mexico” • The Interior Department announced a plan to assess opportunities in the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. This is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to deploy 30 GW of offshore windpower by 2030, creating thousands of jobs. [CleanTechnica]

Minute 59: Energy Week #422: 6/10/2021

Notes:

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