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Energy Week #491 – 9/29/2022
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, September 22
FMG ore train (Geez-oz, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
Minute 2
¶ “Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group announced a $6.2 billion plan to eliminate fossil fuels and carbon emissions from its operations by the end of the decade.” • The world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer expects to save $818 million a year from 2030 based on current prices of diesel, gas and carbon credits, a statement says. [Bay News 9]
(Also see video, “Business as usual is over,” at CNN)
Daimler truck (Daimler Trucks, via Bloomberg)
Minute 5
¶ “Daimler Launches First Mercedes-Branded Electric Semi” • In big news for the shipping industry, Daimler Truck revealed the production version of its first-ever, heavy-duty, long-haul battery electric semi truck: the Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul. It can haul 22 tons of cargo 500 km, or 311 miles, before it needs to be recharged. [CleanTechnica]
Sloth to the rescue (Jack Charles, Unsplash)
Minute 8
¶ “Nuclear Power As Response To Climate Crisis Is Like ‘Calling On A Sloth To Put Out A House Fire’ – Times Columnist” • A Times Opinion columnist, Farhad Manjoo, argued that nuclear power entails higher costs and longer periods for construction than renewables. With batteries, solar and wind are easier to put up and have lower costs. [The Deep Dive]
Friday, September 23
Agriculture workers (World Bank Photo Collection, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Minute 11
¶ “A Wave Of Technologies Uses Nature To Fight The Climate Crisis” • A wave of technologies is accelerating natural climate solutions, and experts say that, together, they can provide around one-third of the cost effective climate mitigation that is needed between now and 2030 to achieve the 1.5ºC target of the UN Climate Paris agreement. [CleanTechnica]
Hurricane Fiona storm track (NOAA image)
Minute 13
¶ “Fearsome Hurricane Fiona Could Be Canada’s Strongest-Ever Storm” • Canadians are bracing for what could be the strongest storm ever to hit their country’s coast. Hurricane Fiona lashed the Caribbean, is forecast to brush by Bermuda as a dangerous Category 3 storm, and shows no signs of slowing before it slams into Canada on Saturday morning. [CNN]
Wind turbine (Elena Zhuravleva, Pexels)
Minute 16
¶ “Renewable Energy Jobs Rise By 700,000 In A Year, To Nearly 13 Million” • Worldwide employment in the renewable energy sector reached 12.7 million last year, a jump of 700,000 new jobs in just 12 months, despite the lingering effects of COVID-19 and the energy crisis, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency. [Indiablooms]
Saturday, September 24
Construction work (Ford image)
Minute 19
¶ “BlueOval City: Ford’s Making Its Biggest Factory Complex Ever To Support EV Production” • Ford announced breaking ground for BlueOval City, representing a $5.6 billion investment on an EV-making mega-campus of nearly six square miles in western Tennessee. Ford’s goal is to build 2 million EVs per year by 2026, worldwide. [CleanTechnica]
Aluminum (Darren Patterson, Pexels)
Minute 22
¶ “Aluminum-Sulfur Battery Could Drastically Change Mining For Renewable Materials” • One of the most crucial aspects of sustainable living is the responsible mining of renewable resources. Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists have developed an aluminum-sulfur battery that could change mining practices forever. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Citroën Ami (Image from Citroën UK)
Minute 24
¶ “Citroën Announces New Partnership With Ubitricity” • The Citroën AMI is part of a new exiting range of very small urban electric vehicles. The AMI has a 5.5 kWh battery, a 6 kW motor, a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph). It has a range of 46 miles. One really noteworthy thing about this little EV is that you can get one for only £7,695 ($8,356)! [CleanTechnica]
Sunday, September 25
House in Queensland (Kgbo, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 27
¶ “Rooftop Solar Recently Reached 72% Of Western Australia Electricity Output!” • It was once a common assumption in the utility industry and among solar skeptics that solar power could not provide more than 5% of grid electricity or the grid would break. In Western Australia, rooftop solar PVs recently provided 72% of grid power for a time. [CleanTechnica]
Alice, in GlobalX branding (Courtesy of GlobalX & Eviation)
Minute 30
¶ “Electric Airplane Flights Coming To Florida, The Bahamas, And The Caribbean” • Electric aircraft are all the rage, but when will we see actual commercial electric airplane options for normal people? They are on the way. The electric aircraft “Alice” from Eviation Aircraft is getting real orders, including from a young airline based in Florida. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Model Y (Tyler Casey, Unsplash)
Minute 32
¶ “Tesla BEV Market Share Dropped From 25.1% In Q2 2020 To 15.6% In Q2 2022 – While Sales Grew 180.2%” • Sales of Teslas grew from 90,891 in Q2 2020 to 254,695 in Q2 2022. But in the markets of China, Europe, and the US, Tesla’s share of battery EV sales dropped from 25.1% in Q2 2020 to 15.6% in Q2 2022. The market is growing faster than Tesla. [CleanTechnica]
Monday, September 26
Sakuú solid-state battery (Sakuú image)
Minute 35
“NGK Is To Supply Sakuú With Ceramics For Solid-State Batteries” • Sakuú, based in California, has novel methods of 3D printing. NGK is a Japanese company with expertise in ceramics. They will collaborate to develop 3D-printed solid-state batteries. Sakuú says the batteries are 50% smaller, 30% lighter, and less expensive than lithium-ion batteries. [CleanTechnica]
Forecast wind arrival times (NOAA image)
Minute 38
¶ “Florida officials urge residents to prepare for Tropical Storm Ian” • Floridians are bracing for Tropical Storm Ian, which is expected to rapidly intensify before hitting western Cuba with threats of strong winds and storm surge as high as 9 to 14 feet, according to the National Hurricane Center. It is too early to know where it will make US landfall. [CNN]
Sunrun installation (Sunrun image)
Minute 40
¶ “East Bay Customers Support California’s Grid During Extreme Heat Wave Through Innovative Program” • East Bay Community Energy and Sunrun have been installing solar + battery systems in California. Systems in EBCE’s Resilient Home Program gave critical emergency energy support to stave off rolling blackouts during California’s Flex Alerts. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, September 27
Hummer (GM image)
Minute 43
¶ “GM Banks On Honking Big Electric Vehicles In First-Ever Propulsion Do-Over” • GM has announced its first retooling of one of its propulsion facilities to make the innards for EVs. That’s the kind of move that could make EV-only startups quake in their boots. But the real question is how to plump up the lithium supply chain. [CleanTechnica]
Rheem 120V heat pump water heater (Rheem image)
Minute 46
¶ “Rheem Releases 120V Plug-In Heat Pump Water Heater That Can Be Plugged Into Typical Outlet” • Rheem released its 120V ProTerra(R) Plug-in Heat Pump water heater. This is really good news. When it comes to climate effects and price, heat pump water heaters are the energy equivalent of seven solar panels that cost one-sixth of the price. [CleanTechnica]
Super Typhoon Noru (NOAA/CIRA/RAMMB)
Minute 48
¶ “Climate Change Is Causing Hurricanes To Intensify Faster Than Ever” • Rapid intensification has historically been a rare phenomenon, but human-caused climate change is stacking the deck in favor of more intense storms. As they generate more rainfall and larger storm surge, they are also more likely to be stronger and intensify faster. [CNN]
Wednesday, September 28
Bamboo house interior (Maria Orlova, Pexels)
Minute 51
¶ “Could Living In A Bamboo Home Help Solve The Climate Crisis?” • While bamboo has been used in construction in Asia for thousands of years, it’s starting to be used for sustainable housing in parts of the US and elsewhere. Giant bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant on the planet. It can be harvested when it is just three years old. [CNN]
Flooded Venice (Egor Gordeev, Unsplash)
Minute 54
¶ “Venice’s Fight Against Rising Seas” • This statement is far from hyperbole: Venice is at very real risk of being consumed by the sea. In worst-case scenario, the city could disappear beneath the waves by as early as 2100. Part of the problem is rising sea levels. But also, many buildings in the city are slowly sinking due to groundwater extraction. [BBC]
Wind turbines (Scottish Power image)
Minute 56
¶ “Scottish Power Secured Record-Breaking 19 Renewable Energy Projects In First Half Of 2022” • Scottish Power has confirmed it secured 19 renewable energy projects in the first six months of 2022 totalling more than 9 GW, a record for the firm. Along with others, ScottishPower received leasing through the ScotWind initiative in January 2022. [Current News]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #491 – 9/29/2022
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 