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Energy Week #437: 9/23/2021
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, September 16
Byron nuclear plant (Bill Tracey, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
Minute 2
¶ “Governor JB Pritzker Signs Legislation On Climate Change And Renewable Energy” • Illinois is the first state in the Midwest to enact legislation combating the climate crisis and to build an economy for the future. Gov JB Pritzker signed legislation that requires will close fossil fuel power plants over time and rescue money-losing nuclear plants. [HOI ABC]
Xpeng P5 (JustAnotherCarDesigner, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
Minute 5
¶ “XPeng Launches $25,000 To $35,000 P5 Electric Sedan – How Many Will XPeng Sell?” • XPeng has just dropped a massive hammer on the Chinese EV market. Despite being a smart electric car, XPeng’s new P5 model has a starting price of just ¥160,000 to ¥230,000 (after subsidies), which translates to $24,875 to $35,760. [CleanTechnica]
Volkswagen ID.4 EV (Volkswagen image)
Minute 8
¶ “Details Of The House’s US EV Incentives Proposal” • The House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the tax code, worked through the energy portions of the Build Back Better Act. They reimagined the EV tax credit that consumers can get when they buy a new EV and added a credit for the second owner of the EV as well. [CleanTechnica]
Friday, September 17
Trees in Sequoia National Park (Josh Carter, Unsplash)
Minute 11
¶ “California Fires: General Sherman And Other Sequoias Given Blankets” • Firefighters are wrapping fire-resistant blankets around ancient trees as blazes tear through California’s world-famous Sequoia National Park. Officials fear the fire could reach the Giant Forest, a grove of some of the world’s biggest trees, within hours. [BBC]
Near Lake Placid, New York (Alex Shutin, Unsplash)
Minute 13
¶ “Moving From Pain To Gain On Climate Solutions” • Since the Paris climate conference in 2015, the cost of renewable energy has fallen to below that of coal. But it’s not just economics. There are also gains for the environment, health, and energy security and access. There is no longer a trade-off between development and climate mitigation. [CleanTechnica]
Testimony before House Committee (US Government, public domain)
Minute 16
¶ “House Lawmakers Launch Investigation Into Climate Crisis Disinformation By Fossil Fuel Industry” • The House Oversight and Reform Committee announced it is to investigate fossil fuel industry disinformation on the climate crisis. The committee invited the heads of six oil companies and lobbying groups to testify before it next month. [CNN]
Saturday, September 18
Offshore wind turbines (Mitchell Orr, Unsplash, cropped)
Minute 19
¶ “US Offshore Wind Industry Has Electrifying Future” • The Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, written by a team of researchers at the DOE and NREL, says the US offshore wind industry made great progress in 2020 and early 2021. The offshore wind pipeline grew 24%, with 35,324 MW now in various stages of development. [CleanTechnica]
Rooftop solar system (Vivint Solar, Pexels)
Minute 22
¶ “Toss, Repair, Or Recycle Solar Panels? How Human Behavior Affects Fate Of Old Solar Panels” • By 2050, there could be 80 million metric tons globally of solar PVs reaching the end of their lifetime, with 10 million metric tons in the US alone. NREL researchers addressed this in an article published in the journal Nature Energy. [CleanTechnica]
LNG Carrier Alto Acrux (kenhodge13, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
Minute 24
¶ “Biden Announces Global Goal To Reduce Planet-Warming Methane Emissions” • President Joe Biden announced the US and EU have launched a global pledge to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, by nearly 30% by the end of the decade. Methane emissions are driven by fossil fuels, coal mining and agriculture. [CNN]
Sunday, September 19
School of fish (jean wimmerlin, Unsplash)
Minute 27
¶ “Blue Food Revolution Can Help Solve Climate Change, Malnutrition And Economic Crisis: Study” • Research shows how aquatic food sectors can play a vital role in providing healthy diets and a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient food system across the globe. The proceedings of the study were published in the journal Nature. [Republic World]
Offshore oil platform (Jan-Rune Smenes Reite, Pexels)
Minute 30
¶ “In Canada And Germany, The Climate Crisis Is Finally On The Ballot. But Can It Win?” • Climate change rarely makes or breaks an election. But the tide appears to be turning. The climate crisis is finally on the ballot. In Canada and Germany, it has become an important issue, and political parties supporting climate action are gaining strength. [CNN]
Rolls-Royce Spirit of Innovation (Courtesy of Rolls-Royce)
Minute 32
¶ “Rolls-Royce Electric Airplane Takes Flight” • Rolls-Royce Aerospace has been a leader in developing electric propulsion systems for airplanes in order to help lead the world forward into a future of zero-emissions flight. The company has been working on the fastest electric airplane, able to fly at over 300 mph. Now they have flown it. [CleanTechnica]
Monday, September 20
Natural gas pipeline (Selim Arda Eryilmaz, Unsplash)
Minute 35
¶ “Climate TRACE Lifts The Veil On Oil & Gas Emissions” • The production and refining processes for oil and gas account for about one-tenth of human-made greenhouse gases, making the sector one of the world’s largest emitters. With the launch of Climate TRACE, we are closer to clear answers about where those GHGs are coming from. [CleanTechnica]
EnerVenue nickel-hydrogen battery (EnerVenue image)
Minute 38
¶ “Nickel-Hydrogen Battery For Large Scale Renewables” • US start-up EnerVenue secured funding for a gigafactory to make nickel-hydrogen batteries for large-scale applications. The battery efficiency is 80% to 90%, depending on the cycle rate, and its energy density per square foot is at least equal to lithium-ion batteries, the company said. [PV Magazine]
General Sherman tree (Gene Daniels, NARA, public domain)
Minute 40
¶ “KNP Complex Fire Reaches Part Of Sequoia National Park’s Giant Forest, Threatening Some Of The World’s Largest Trees” • The KNP Complex Fire in California reached a “small area” of the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park, home to some of the world’s largest trees, fire officials said. They have spent recent days preparing the trees for the threat of fire. [CNN]
Tuesday, September 21
Lightsource BP solar farm (Press release image)
Minute 43
¶ “BP Gambles Big On Fast Transition From Oil To Renewables” • Oil major BP agreed to sell a third of its majority stake in a very profitable project earlier this year. The deal exemplifies a larger strategy to liquidate the company’s fossil-fuel assets to raise cash for investments in renewable-energy projects that BP concedes won’t make money for years. [Reuters]
Empty shelves (Martijn Baudoin, Unsplash)
Minute 46
¶ “Why Is There A CO₂ Shortage And How Will It Hit Food Supplies?” • When two large UK fertilizer factories stopped work because of soaring wholesale gas prices, they also stopped producing CO₂, a by-product. This means there has been a cut of 60% of the UK’s food-grade CO₂ supply. And CO₂ has many different uses for food. [BBC]
Turów mine (Wolkenkratzer, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 48
¶ “Poland Ordered To Pay A $580,000 Fine For Each Day It Continues Operating A Controversial Coal Mine” • Poland is to pay a €500,000 ($586,000) fine for each day it takes coal from an open-pit mine near the Czech and German borders, Europe’s top court ruled. The KWB Turów mine supplies power to around 2.3 million Polish households. [CNN]
Wednesday, September 22
Chevy Bolt (GM image)
Minute 51
¶ “GM Says It Has Fixed The Chevy Bolt Battery Problem And New Cells Already In Production” • Good news. GM and LG say they have solved the battery cell manufacturing defect that led to several battery fires. LG stopped producing the cells in August, but resumed production recently. GM says it will begin replacing battery packs in October. [CleanTechnica]
Xi Jinping speaking in 2017 (Voice of America, public domain)
Minute 54
¶ “China’s Xi Jinping Promises To Halt New Coal Projects Abroad Amid Climate Crisis” • Chinese President Xi Jinping made a key climate pledge in a pre-recorded address to the UN General Assembly. China will not build any new coal-fired power projects abroad and will increase financial support for low-carbon energy projects in other developing countries. [CNN]
Appalachia (Jenna Richardson, Pexels)
Minute 56
¶ “Appalachia Poised To Become Clean Energy Country” • In the clean energy transition, many fear that coal-dependent regions like Appalachia will lose out or be left behind. But RMI analysis challenges that assumption. It says Appalachia could be where the biggest economic benefit from the deployment of wind and solar projects happens in next decade. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes:
Highlights
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 