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Energy Week #492 – 10/6/2022
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, September 29
Rescue in Naples Florida (City of Naples Fire and Rescue)
Minute 2
¶ “Hurricane Ian Continues To Batter Florida As A Category 1 Storm While Officials Warn The Worst Is Yet To Come” • Ian made landfall as a Category 4 near Cayo Costa around 3:05 pm, with winds near 150 mph. It continued to batter Florida with high winds, heavy rain, and historic storm surge Wednesday night, even as it weakened to a Category 1. [CNN]
ESS all-iron flow battery (ESS image)
Minute 5
¶ “ESS Flow Battery To Supply 200-MW, 2-GWh Of Storage To California Utility” • ESS is an Oregon-based company that makes flow batteries using abundant and inexpensive materials: iron, salt, and water. ESS is to supply the Sacramento Municipal Utility District with a flow batteries with a total capacity of 200-MW, 2-GWh beginning next year. [CleanTechnica]
Growing alfalfa (USDA-NRCS image)
Minute 8
¶ “Hay! Alfalfa Is The Biggest Issue For Western Water” • All the reductions of water use cities can do will not be nearly enough to restore the Colorado River. But alfalfa farmers in one California irrigation district use far more water than the allotment for the state of Nevada. Alfalfa farms use almost enough water to cover the river’s shortfall. [CleanTechnica]
Friday, September 30
West Virginia wind turbines (DJCohenour, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
Minute 11
¶ “Last Gasp For Mountain Valley Pipeline Natural Gas Project” • Natural gas stakeholders thought they had the Mountain Valley Pipeline in the bag. Federal legislation that would have cleared the way for it and other fossil energy projects was cut from a spending bill by its own sponsor, Senator Joe Manchin. This should be a warning on fossil fuels. [CleanTechnica]
Experimental wafer stack (Fraunhofer ISE image)
Minute 13
¶ “Fraunhofer ISE Doubles Production Speed Of Silicon Wafers For Solar Panels” • Working with a consortium of companies and research organizations, Fraunhofer ISE devised an innovative production line that can produce 15,000 to 20,000 silicon wafers per hour. That is about double the output of most production lines in use today. [CleanTechnica]
Lucky survivors (PCHS-NJROTC, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
Minute 16
¶ “Hurricane Ian’s Rainfall Was A 1-In-1,000 Year Event For The Hardest-Hit Parts Of Florida” • Hurricane Ian slammed into the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday with record-breaking storm surge and devastating winds. But as it tracked inland, extreme rainfall became the most destructive aspect of the storm for central Florida. [CNN]
Saturday, October 1
Electric ferry (Artemis Technologies image)
Minute 19
¶ “Artemis Technologies Unveils Fast Electric Ferry Design” • A maritime design and applied technologies firm based in Belfast, Artemis Technologies, unveiled the design of its 100% electric EF-24 Passenger vessel for the global high-speed ferry market. This revolutionary ferry is one of several zero-emission vessels being created by the company. [CleanTechnica]
Solar trailer (Sono Motors image)
Minute 22
¶ “Sono Motors Debuts Solar Trailers, Solar Refrigeration For The World’s Current Diesel Fleet” • One promising way to cut some diesel usage in the existing fleet is to use solar retrofit kits on buses and large trailers for subsystems that ventilate, heat, air condition, or refrigerate. Sono Motors unveiled systems that cover those needs. [CleanTechnica]
Electrified classic (Everrati image)
Minute 24
¶ “Everrati Accelerates Global Production Of Classic Car EV Conversions Following Surging Demand” • Everrati has been working hard to ensure that timeless classics are also part of the transition to EVs. By converting legendary cars of yesteryear, Everrati is preserving them for a new generation to drive and enjoy without gas-guzzling guilt. [CleanTechnica]
Sunday, October 2
Noru from space in false colors (Earth Observatory, NASA)
Minute 27
¶ “Noru Became A Super Typhoon In Six Hours. Scientists Say Powerful Storms Are Becoming Harder To Forecast” • While Noru didn’t inflict as much damage or loss of life as other recent typhoons in the Philippines, it stood out from the others because it gained strength so quickly. It went from being a typhoon to a super typhoon in just six hours. [CNN]
Wind farm near Madison, New York (Russell Lovrin, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 30
¶ “RWE Agrees To Acquire Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses, Inc” • German renewable energy company RWE AG signed a purchase agreement with Con Edison to acquire all shares in Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses. Con Edison CEB has about 3 GW of capacity operating in the US and another 7 GW in its development pipeline. [RWE]
Fort Lauderdale neighborhood (Luiz Cent, Unsplash, cropped)
Minute 32
¶ “Lack Of Flood Disclosure Laws Is Putting Home Buyers At Risk As Extreme Storms Become More Frequent” • According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, most states either have inadequate flood disclosure laws or none at all. This means that homebuyers completely in the dark about the history of flood damage at a property, unless they ask. [CNN]
Monday, October 3
Solar array (Jason Blackeye, Unsplash)
Minute 35
¶ “Hurricane Ian Amplifies Urgent Need For Resilient, Renewable And Just Energy Grid” • Climate change is fueling more intense storms, with power outages that can be lethal. But distributed renewable energy – generated at or near the place where it will be used – can keep the power flowing to homes, hospitals, and businesses when disasters hit. [The Hill]
Babcock Ranch solar array (From babcockranch.com)
Minute 38
¶ “This 100% Solar Community Endured Hurricane Ian With No Loss Of Power And Minimal Damage” • Babcock Ranch says it’s “America’s first solar-powered town.” Its solar array makes more electricity than the 2,000-home town uses. When Hurricane Ian came barreling through southwest Florida this week, the lights in Babcock Ranch stayed on. [CNN]
Tesla solar house (Screenshot from Tesla)
Minute 40
¶ “Tesla Powerwalls Survive Hours Underwater In Hurricane Ian” • Kelly Roofing, a licensed Tesla Solar Roof installer in Southwest Florida where Ian made landfall, says a solar roof it installed has no damage, apart from a small amount it got when a 30-foot boat landed on it. And two Powerwalls that were under water for hours are doing fine. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, October 4
Inside an Airlander 10 blimp (Hybrid Air Vehicles image)
Minute 43
¶ “Trains, E-Bikes, And Blimps – Bill McKibben Envisions Slower, Cleaner Transportation” • Years ago, a group of people in France founded a “slow food” movement, celebrating the joy of dining rather than downing a burger with fries and dashing back into life’s fray. Could we be ready for a “slow travel” movement? McKibben certainly thinks so. [CleanTechnica]
Battery storage system (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)
Minute 46
¶ “Microgrids For Anyone” • The National Renewable Energy Laboratory published a description of the improvised controls that saved NREL during its own outage. It describes a microgrid approach that sidesteps the central controller, an expensive and complicated component, to make microgrids easy and low cost where they are needed most. [CleanTechnica]
Agrivoltaics (Image courtesy SolarEdge)
Minute 48
¶ “Can Agrivoltaics Fuel The Growth Of Sustainable Farming?” • The Inflation Reduction Act, lauded as the largest climate change investment in US history, features a $369 billion investment in clean energy. It includes more than $20 billion for climate-smart agricultural practices, and that will likely produce more grants or subsidies for agrivoltaic projects. [CleanTechnica]
Wednesday, October 5
NextEra’s projected LCOE ratings (NextEra image)
Minute 51
¶ “Why Should We Pay Extra For Nuclear Power?” • As the governor of Virginia wants to switch support from renewables to nuclear power, it might be a good idea to revisit reports from last June. NextEra Energy, the biggest US investor in nuclear energy, made it clear that its cost analysis shows reasons to switch from nuclear to renewables. [CleanTechnica]
Electrovaya battery energy storage system (Electrovaya image)
Minute 54
¶ “NY Governor Hochul: Electrovaya To Establish Lithium-Ion Battery Gigafactory In Chautauqua County” • Governor Kathy Hochul announced Electrovaya, Inc, a producer of lithium-ion batteries for transportation and utility storage, has selected the Town of Ellicott in Chautauqua County, New York, as the site for its first US plant. [CleanTechnica]
Wind turbines (RWE image)
Minute 56
¶ “RWE pledges €15 Billion German Green Drive” • RWE has pledged to accelerate its efforts to phase out coal power generation, boosting its investment in renewables to replace the fossil fuel. RWE said it is ready to end lignite-based electricity generation in 2030 and confirmed that it will “invest massively” in renewable energy. [reNews]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #492 – 10/6/2022
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 