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Energy Week #488 – 9/8/2022
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, September 1
Rooftop solar system (Courtesy of SunPower)
Minute 2
¶ “Ten Big Cleantech Benefits In Inflation Reduction Act” • The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has been the story of the quarter in the cleantech world. It covers a wide array of topics. Solar power giant SunPower came up with a list of 10 things in the Inflation Reduction Act that can “change your home and fill your wallet.” Here is a look at them. [CleanTechnica]
Vineyard (Karsten Würth, Unsplash)
Minute 5
¶ “The Arctic Circle: A New Frontier For Sustainable Wine” • In recent years, heat waves, drought, and smoke from wildfires have been wreaking havoc on European vineyards. It is increasingly difficult to produce the same legacy wines that producers have been making for centuries. Now there are vineyards in Sweden, and they are starting to be productive. [BBC]
Menzies Hotel, Menzies (Michal Lewi, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 8
¶ “Horizon Power Secures Land To Take Goldfields Town To 100% Renewables” • Western Australia’s regional utility Horizon Power is seeking to shift the northern Goldfields town of Menzies to 100% renewables. Menzies is one of 32 remote communities served by HP microgrids. Most are diesel powered, but they are all turning to renewables. [One Step Off The Grid]
Friday, September 2
Nuclear power plant (Kelly, Pexels)
Minute 11
¶ “Russia’s Stranglehold On The World’s Nuclear Power Cycle – Analysis” • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the international community to ban Russian nuclear technology. However, blocking and replacing Russia’s exports of uranium, reactors, and nuclear technology to the rest of the world is easier said than done. [Eurasia Review]
Pipistrel Velis Electro (Pipistrel image)
Minute 13
¶ “Why Electric Airplanes Are Taking Off At Flight Schools” • Air travel has been slow to transition to clean energy, but the next generation of aviators need not wait for commercial airlines to move away from fossil fuels. The Velis Electro, the world’s only electric plane fully certified in the EU and the UK, is taking off as a greener option for trainee pilots. [CNN]
PV shipments (EIA image)
Minute 16
¶ “Record Numbers Of Solar Panels Were Shipped In The US During 2021” • US shipments of solar PV modules rose to a record electricity-generating capacity of 28.8 million peak kW in 2021, from 21.8 million peak kW in 2020, based on data from our Annual Photovoltaic Module Shipments Report. Solar module shipments were 80% imports. [CleanTechnica]
Saturday, September 3
Oil leak that caused gas pipeline shutdown (Gazprom image)
Minute 19
¶ “Russia To Keep Key Gas Pipeline To EU Closed” • Russia’s gas pipeline to Germany will not reopen as planned on Saturday, state energy firm Gazprom has said. The firm said it had found an oil leak in a turbine on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, meaning it would be closed indefinitely. Moscow denies using energy supplies as an economic weapon. [BBC]
Beaver (mana5280, Unsplash)
Minute 22
¶ “Beavers Are Considered Valuable in the Fight Against Climate Change” • Scientists in Utah and California recently discovered that beavers are an important factor in the fight against climate change. Dams created by the rodents help store water longer, and fend off fires. This is important as arid conditions are brought on by global warming. [Green Matters]
Chicago (Pedro Lastra, Unsplash)
Minute 24
¶ “Chicago To Run Civic Operations On 100% Renewables By 2026 ” • The City of Chicago runs over 400 public buildings. City Hall and two international airports are examples. After signing a five-year clean energy deal with Constellation Energy, the city said that all its facilities and operations will run on renewable energy by 2025. [The World Economic Forum]
Sunday, September 4
Presidents Erdogan and Biden (The White House)
Minute 27
¶ “Turkey Offers To Mediate In Ukraine Nuclear Plant Standoff” • Turkish President Erdogan offered to mediate in the standoff over the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine. The offer came hours before the UN nuclear watchdog said the facility lost its last remaining main power line to the grid and was now relying on a reserve line. [Kyiv Post]
CalWave wave unit (Courtesy of CalWave Power Technologies)
Minute 30
¶ “Wave Energy Converter Passes First Test, Now It’s Off To Oregon” • Last week, Calwave concluded a successful 10-month test run of its x1 at a site off the coast of San Diego. CalWave is ready for action and is moving off to sites in Oregon and Alaska. It is also starting to look seriously at commercialization, possibly piggy-backed with offshore windpower. [CleanTechnica]
Haikou, Hainan (Anna Frodesiak, public domain)
Minute 32
¶ “Chinese Province Of Over 9 Million To Ban Fossil Fuel Car Sales By 2030” • Hainan may not be a household name in the US or Europe, but it is a province with more than 9 million people. The recent news out of Hainan is that the province is banning new fossil-fuel vehicle sales by 2030. That target is one of the most aggressive out there. [CleanTechnica]
Monday, September 5
Tube train (Image courtesy of Transpod)
Minute 35
¶ “Canada Might Be Getting A 1,000 Kilometers Per Hour Vacuum-Tube Train” • A Canadian company has unveiled plans for a fully electric train-style vehicle which could travel at 1,000 km/h (621 mph) and, it claims, would cost less than a plane ticket to travel on. FluxJet will be propelled at ultra-fast speeds along a protected tube-guideway. [CNN]
Elestor flow battery (Elestor image)
Minute 38
¶ “Hydrogen Bromide Flow Battery For Large-Scale Renewables Storage” • Dutch startup Elestor secured €30 million in funding from a consortium of lenders led by Equinor. It will use the funds to continue developing its hydrogen bromide flow battery technology. Elestor plans to build a gigawatt-scale production facility. [pv magazine Australia]
Rooftop solar system (Nuno Marques, Unsplash, cropped)
Minute 40
¶ “Inflation Reduction Act To Give US Solar Energy Industry A Much Needed Boost” • The latest data from the US Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie show a near leveling off of growth. But this forecast was based on the idea that the Investment Tax Credit would start declining in 2024. It has now been extended to 2032! [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, September 6
Thwaites Glacier (Alexandra Mazur, University of Gothenburg)
Minute 43
¶ “’Doomsday Glacier,’ Which Could Raise Sea Level By Several Feet, Is Holding On ‘By Its Fingernails,’ Scientists Say” • In Antarctica, Thwaites Glacier, called the “doomsday glacier,” has the potential to rapidly retreat in the coming years, scientists say, amplifying concerns over the extreme sea level rise that would accompany its potential demise. [CNN]
Cooperative solar plant (Courtesy of Grunneger Power)
Minute 46
¶ “Renewable Energy From Local Sources Is The New, New Thing In Europe” • There is a quiet revolution taking place that could significantly disrupt the utility industry. Communities in Europe are making plans to create their own electricity from renewable sources. It involves people managing their own supply of electricity. [CleanTechnica]
Wind turbines (Thomas Galler, Unsplash)
Minute 48
¶ “100 Percent Renewable Energy Systems Could Power The Globe By 2050” • A review from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers analyses over 600 peer-reviewed articles on 100% renewable energy. “The main conclusion of most of these studies is that 100% renewables is feasible worldwide at low cost,” the report says. [TriplePundit]
Wednesday, September 7
Sunnova network (Sunnova Energy)
Minute 51
¶ “Renewable Energy From Local Sources – California Edition” • Sunnova announced that it has applied to the California PUC to develop a novel solar and storage “micro-utility.” This innovative renewable energy platform allows residents, communities, and businesses to share excess clean power and “island” from the legacy distribution system. [CleanTechnica]
Logging (US Forest Service, USDA)
Minute 54
¶ “Wooden Buildings Could Eliminate 106 Billion Tons Of Carbon Emissions” • The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research published a study in Nature Communications that says building future cities from engineered wood products could prevent 106 billion tons of carbon dioxide from entering the Earth’s atmosphere by 2100. [CleanTechnica]
Farm (Dan Meyers, Unsplash, cropped)
Minute 56
¶ “Billions Directed To Food And Agriculture Is ‘Largest Since The Dust Bowl Of The 1930s’” • The Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest climate bill the US has ever passed, also addresses food and agriculture. Several areas of conservation, food protection, and financial insulation for at-risk farmers have been bundled in climate-friendly farm practices. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #488 – 9/8/2022
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 