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 #468: 4/21/2022
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, April 14
Monk seal using a fishing net as a pillow (NASA, Unsplash)
Minute 2
¶ “COP26 Promises Will Hold Warming Under 2°C” • The carbon-cutting promises made at COP26 would see the world warm by just under 2°C by the end of this century, according to an analysis. The study finds that if all the pledges that countries made are implemented “in full and on time,” temperatures would rise by 1.9° to 2°C. [BBC]
Plastic batteries (PolyJoule image)
Minute 5
¶ “These Plastic Batteries Could Help Store Renewable Energy On The Grid” • A new type of battery made from electrically conductive polymers could help make energy storage on the grid cheaper and more durable, enabling a greater use of renewable power. The batteries are made by the Boston-based startup company PolyJoule. [MIT Technology Review]
Solar system (JoergGastmann, Pixabay)
Minute 8
¶ “World’s Renewable Electricity Capacity Surpassed 3 TW In 2021” • Renewables accounted for 38.3% of global electricity generation capacity at the end of last year, compared to 36.6% in 2020, the International Renewable Energy Agency said in its annual statistical report. Renewables grew by 9.1% overall and reached 3.06 TW. [Balkan Green Energy News]
Friday, April 15
Electric bus (Bermuda Government via RMI)
Minute 11
¶ “Bermuda Electrifies 1/3 Of Its Public Bus Fleet” • Bermuda’s Department of Public Transportation launched the first of 30 electric buses into service, a third of its public bus fleet. The electric buses are replacing old diesel-powered buses, cutting capital, maintenance, and operations costs in half. This will save $10 million over their lifetime. [CleanTechnica]
Container ship (Borderpolar Photographer, Unsplash)
Minute 13
¶ “Finding The Invisible Climate Killer, So-Called “Green” Ships” • LNG-powered ships look clean, but they have a dirty, invisible secret: methane. In fact, about 80% of Europe’s LNG used by ships today are worse for the climate than the fuels they replace, due to emissions of methane, which is roughly 80 times more warming than carbon dioxide. [CleanTechnica]
Protest (Samuel Jerónimo, Unsplash)
Minute 16
¶ “Ukraine’s President Zelensky To BBC: Blood Money Being Paid For Russian Oil” • In an interview with the BBC, President Zelensky spoke to continued purchases of Russian oil. He singled out Germany and Hungary, accusing them of blocking efforts to embargo energy sales, from which Russia stands to make up to £250 billion ($326 billion) this year. [BBC]
Saturday, April 16
Solar array in Brooklyn (US DOE, public domain, cropped)
Minute 19
¶ “New York Is To Have 10 GW Of Distributed Solar Energy By 2030” • New York Governor Kathy Hochul, in advance of Earth Week, announced that the State Public Service Commission has approved a framework for New York to achieve at least 10 GW of distributed solar by 2030. That would supply annual needs of nearly 700,000 average homes. [CleanTechnica]
Miscanthus (Hamsterdancer, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 22
¶ “Growing Perennial Grasses Could Help Curb Climate Change” • Climate change is driving up temperatures and causing more frequent heatwaves in the American Midwest. But according to a study led by the University of Maryland, growing the perennial giant miscanthus could cut Midwest warming by one degree Celsius. [Earth.com]
Pump jack (Pixabay, Pexels)
Minute 24
¶ “Biden Administration Announces It Will Resume Onshore Oil And Gas Lease Sales With Higher Royalty Rate” • The Interior Department announced it plans to resume onshore oil and gas lease sales on federal land. The royalty rate for companies to pay to the federal government will be higher. The Bureau of Land Management will issue sale notices on Monday. [CNN]
Sunday, April 17
Bjørn Bergum in the vineyard (Slinde Vineyard image)
Minute 27
¶ “We’re Making Wine In Norway” • The fjords don’t freeze any more, and it rains when it used to snow. Norwegian winemaker Bjørn Bergum’s plants grow at 61° north of the equator, far outside the 30° to 50° degrees latitude traditionally considered optimum for wine production. But climate change is pushing vineyards farther from the equator. [BBC]
Marine Le Pen (Olaf Kosinsky, Wikipedia, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 30
¶ “Le Pen Puts Fuel-Tax Cut, Wind Crackdown At Heart Of France Energy Plan” • French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is campaigning on promises to cut taxes on gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, and electricity. She would crack down on wind turbines, build twenty new nuclear reactors, and exit from Europe’s electricity market. [Autoblog]
Cable laying ship (Nsandel, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 32
¶ “‘Invisible Energy Highways’ Could Usher In A New Era Of Shared Power” • Undersea electricity cables could become more common as governments drive their energy strategies towards renewables. As countries develop wind and solar power, there will be a greater incentive to build undersea cables that can promote power-sharing across regions. [Oil Price]
Monday, April 18
Ships at Singapore (shawnanggg, Unsplash)
Minute 35
¶ “How Climate Change Is Disrupting The Global Supply Chain” • The COVID pandemic has rightly received most of the blame for global supply chain upheavals in the last two years. But the less publicized threat to supply chains from climate change poses a far more serious threat and is already being felt, according to scholars and experts. [GreenBiz]
Glowee grows marine bacteria for lights (Glowee image)
Minute 38
¶ “The French Town Where The Lighting Is Alive” • French start-up Glowee is making bioluminescent lights. Unlike standard streetlamps, which emit a harsh glare and need to be hooked up to the electricity grid, these otherworldly lights are powered by living organisms. Their light has a very soft quality. They will be installed in public places as a test. [BBC]
Installing a tidal turbine (Glen Wallace, Flickr, CC BY-ND)
Minute 40
¶ “Tidal Power Is Set For A Commercial Breakthrough In The UK” • Tidal energy has long been lurking in the UK’s renewable energy arsenal, outshone by its wind and solar counterparts due in part to early issues with technology readiness and high costs. But recent research shows it could provide 11% of the electricity needs of the UK. [The Maritime Executive]
Tuesday, April 19
Hummer EV SUV (Image from gmc.com)
Minute 43
¶ “EVs: The Rise Of The Electron Monsters. Do We Really Need 9000-Pound Electric Vehicles?” • Back in the ’70s, people made up the phrase “gas guzzler” to describe vehicles that consumed way too much gasoline. Now, we have some EVs that consume far more raw materials and electricity than is wise in a world that needs to transition quickly. [CleanTechnica]
Trees with snow (Kostiantyn Li, Unsplash)
Minute 46
¶ “Natural Gas Spikes To Highest Level Since 2008 As Rare Nor’easter Looms” • Natural gas futures surged to levels unseen since 2008 as the Northeast braces for a rare April blast of heavy snow. Natural gas futures soared 9% to $7.96 per million BTU in recent trading, leaving natural gas prices up by a staggering 113% since the end of last year. [CNN]
Wind turbines (Goldwind image)
Minute 48
¶ “Wind Turbines Can Stabilize The Grid” • In a milestone for renewable energy integration, GE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory operated a common class of wind turbines in grid-forming mode, which is when the generator can set grid voltage and frequency and, if necessary, operate without power from the electric grid. [CleanTechnica]
Wednesday, April 20
Loading PVs (Image courtesy of the Footprint Project)
Minute 51
¶ “Footprint Project And New Use Energy Provide Ukraine With Solar Microgrids” • The Footprint Project and New Use Energy teamed up to quickly provide Ukraine with solar microgrids. Will Heegaard, CEO of Footprint Power, and Paul Shmotolokha, CEO of New Use Energy, have been helping Ukrainians since Russia launched its invasion in February. [CleanTechnica]
RUMSL’s Rewa solar park (RUMSL image)
Minute 54
¶ “Madhya Pradesh Renewable Energy Capacity Grew 32-Fold In 12 Years” • Madhya Pradesh, a state in India, has reached 5,152 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, compared to just 160 MW in the year 2010. This includes 2,444 MW of wind power, 2,490 MW solar power, 119 MW biomass power, and 99 MW small hydropower. [pv magazine India]
Tesla Megapack (Tesla image)
Minute 56
¶ “PG&E’s Tesla Megapack Is Now Operational” • Pacific Gas and Electric’s 182-MW Tesla Megapack Elkhorn battery is now in operation, the Associated Press has reported. Included in the system are a total of 256 Tesla Megapacks on 33 concrete slabs. These have the capacity to store and dispatch up to 730 megawatt-hours of energy to the grid. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #468: 4/21/2022
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 