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Energy Week #455: 1/27/2022
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, January 20
Chinese coal miner (Peter Van den Bossche, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
Minute 2
¶ “China Mined A Record Amount Of Coal In 2021. It Might Produce Even More This Year” • China produced more coal than ever last year as its power stations struggled to meet demand for electricity, undermining plans to curb carbon emissions. Coal output hit a record 4.07 billion metric tons last year, up 4.7% from 2020. Output may increase this year. [CNN]
Victim of transition (Peter Herrmann, Unsplash)
Minute 5
¶ “Greening The Rust Belt: An Unexpected Link Between Manufacturing Jobs And Sustainability” • Research suggests that communities that have seen steep reductions in manufacturing jobs are less likely to adopt plans related to environmental sustainability, highlighting the role that economic transitions play in fostering sustainability efforts. [CleanTechnica]
Wind farm (MidAmerican image)
Minute 8
¶ “MidAmerican Unveils 2.1-GW Iowa Clean Power Project” • MidAmerican Energy has plans for a $4 billion renewable energy project in Iowa, including wind and solar generation. In a filing with the Iowa Utilities Board, MidAmerican’s proposed project would add 2,042 MW of wind generation and 50 MW of solar generation, to be completed in 2024. [reNews]
Friday, January 21
Russian soldier in snow (Министерство обороны РФ, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 11
¶ “Gas Prices Could Soar If Russia Invades Ukraine” • If Russia invades Ukraine, inflation-weary Americans will likely pay the price at the pump. That’s because Russia is the No 2 oil producer on the planet, behind only the US. And Ukraine is a key energy transit hub, where a large amount of Russian natural gas exports to Europe flow through. [CNN]
Graphic from the EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook
Minute 13
¶ “US Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions Expected To Increase In 2022 And 2023” • In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the Energy Information Administration forecast that US energy-related CO₂ emissions will increase in 2022 and 2023 but remain below 2019 levels. These emissions had decreased 11% in 2020 due to Covid-19. [CleanTechnica]
Solar array (Duke Energy image)
Minute 16
¶ “Verizon Signs Power Deals For 910 MW Of New Renewables” • US telecoms provider Verizon has entered into virtual power purchase agreements equating to a total of 910 MW of capacity. Verizon’s seven new renewable energy purchase agreements are expected to help finance the powering of seven new solar and wind facilities. [reNews]
Saturday, January 22
Wind turbine (Waldemar Brandt, Unsplash)
Minute 19
¶ “Ørsted Signs MOUs To Develop Offshore Wind Farm In South Korea” • Danish energy company Ørsted signed memoranda of understanding with Korea Southern Power and Korea Midland Power to develop the Incheon offshore wind project in South Korea. The offshore wind facility will have a capacity of 1.6-GW, enough for 1.3 million households. [Power Technology]
UK battery factory (Britishvol image)
Minute 22
¶ “Massive UK Battery Factory Receives $2.3 Billion In Funding” • UK-based battery manufacturing start-up Britishvolt has announced $2.3 billion (£1.7 billion) of funding for a proposed battery “gigafactory.” Britishvolt plans to produce 30 GWh of battery capacity per year from its 93-hectare site in Blyth, Northumberland. [Power Technology]
Ithaca, NY (Will Barkoff, Unsplash)
Minute 24
¶ “Natural Gas Becomes Important Battleground In Transition From Fossil Fuels ” • Last year saw natural gas bans as cities lead the way in phasing out gas from homes and buildings. Ithaca, NY became the first city to go further and lay out an ambitious policy to transition all buildings to electric by 2030. But some states are pushing back. [CleanTechnica]
Sunday, January 23
Offshore oil rig (Arvind Vallabh, Unsplash)
Minute 27
¶ “No New Oil And Gas Leasing! Hearing On Climate And Offshore Drilling” • In a House Committee hearing, committee members focused on the connection between offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and US climate goals. This much is clear: continuing offshore oil and gas leasing as usual will not help us meet our climate goals. [CleanTechnica]
Lightning (Felix Mittermeier, Unsplash)
Minute 30
¶ “How Coronavirus Lockdowns May Have Led To Less Lightning In 2020” • Global lightning activity decreased nearly 8% in 2020 amid lockdowns triggered by the pandemic. Scientists who worked on the study discovered a potential cause for this drop in lightning activity: a decrease in atmospheric aerosols, tiny particles of air pollution. [CNN]
Area of the Colorado Fire (Spencer Davis, Unsplash)
Minute 32
¶ “‘Surreal’ January Wildfire Shuts California Highway” • An unseasonal wildfire is raging on California’s Big Sur Pacific coast, forcing evacuations and closing Highway 1, US officials say. The National Weather Service reported a “surreal fire behaviour given the wet Oct and Dec.” It is called the Colorado Fire, and it has burned about 1,500 acres (607 ha). [BBC]
Monday, January 24
Bovine inconvenience (Jo-Anne McArthur, Unsplash)
Minute 35
¶ “Humans Do A Poor Job Of Calculating Risk. That’s Terrible For The Climate Crisis” • Humans do a poor job of evaluating climate risk and the cost of reducing it. Over the past five years, extreme weather disasters have cost the US more than $750 billion. The Build Back Better package would cost $555 billion over the course of 10 years. [CNN]
Deluge (Jim Witkowski, Unsplash)
Minute 38
¶ “Climate Change Could Open Up ‘Rivers In The Sky’ Over East Asia” • We can clearly see that the climate crisis is already having a profound effect on weather systems, altering temperatures, rainfall, wind patterns, and more. Now, a study predicts likely deluges over the mountainous parts of East Asia in the future, the result of ‘atmospheric rivers.’ [ScienceAlert]
O’Connell Street, Ennis (Joseph Mischyshyn, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
Minute 40
¶ “Ireland’s Data Centers Provide An Economic Lifeline, But Environmentalists Say They’re Wrecking The Planet” • A €1.2 billion investment in a data center in the town of Ennis is likely to be welcomed by the Irish government, despite concerns that growth in data centers could undermine the commitment to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030. [CNN]
Tuesday, January 25
Roman fort Vindolanda (Vindolanda trust)
Minute 43
¶ “Climate Change Threatening Buried UK Treasures” • Climate change is threatening to destroy treasures buried in the UK as the soils that protect them dry out. About 22,500 archaeological sites in UK may be in danger. The problem is that changing weather patterns are drying out some peatlands, the waterlogged soils that cover about 10% of the UK. [BBC]
Rendering of two Intel processor factories (Intel Corporation image)
Minute 46
¶ “Intel Will Transform Ohio Into A Semiconductor Chip Epicenter” • Intel announced that it will invest over $20 billion to build two new factories and establish an epicenter for advanced chipmaking in the Ohio. The two leading-edge chip factories will help boost production to meet critical demand for advanced semiconductors. [CleanTechnica]
Energy storage facility (NEC Energy Solutions image)
Minute 48
¶ “NTPC Renewable Arm Tenders 500 MW, 3,000 MWh Energy Storage Projects” • NTPC Renewable Energy Limited has invited global bids to develop energy storage with a total of 500 MW, 3,000 MWh of capacity anywhere in India. The project shall be awarded through international competitive bidding followed by reverse auction. [pv magazine India]
Wednesday, January 26
Pump jack (David Thielen, Unsplash)
Minute 51
¶ “US Working With Allies To Shore Up Energy Supplies If Russia Invades Ukraine” • The Biden administration is making contingency plans to shore up Europe’s energy supplies should a Russian invasion of Ukraine create gas shortages and roil the global economy, senior administration officials said. Supplies of natural gas are especially important. [CNN]
Victoria Big Battery (Image courtesy of Neoen)
Minute 54
¶ “PG&E Proposes 6.4-GWh Battery Storage Plan” • Last June, the California PUC issued a directive requiring the state’s utility companies to install a total of 11.5 GW of storage between 2023 and 2026, to help replace the 2.2-GW Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. Now, PG&E is proposing nine new battery projects totaling about 1,600 MW and 6,400 MWh. [CleanTechnica]
RGGI allowance clearing prices
Minute 56
¶ “CO₂ Emissions Allowance Prices Increased In Latest RGGI Auction” • The most recent Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative quarterly auction resulted in a price of $13.00 per allowance. The previous auction set a record at $9.30 per allowance. Each allowance represents a limited authorization for power plants to emit one short ton of CO₂. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #455: 1/27/2022
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 