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Energy Week #496 – 11/3/2022
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, October 27
Electric school bus (GreenPower Motor Company image)
Minute 2
¶ “Biden–Harris Administration: 389 School Districts Getting Nearly $1 Billion From EPA’s Clean School Bus Program” • Under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, nearly $1 billion of the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program rebate competition was awarded to 389 school districts in 50 states; Washington, DC; and several Tribes and US territories. [CleanTechnica]
Wind farm (Kindel Media, Pexels)
Minute 5
¶ “GM Says It Will Power All Of Its US Sites With Clean Energy By 2025” • General Motors said it has deals to power all of its US sites with clean energy by 2025. GM’s clean energy portfolio now includes sourcing agreements from sixteen renewable energy plants. GM reports that that portfolio has produced over $75 million of positive cash flow since 2017. [Electrek]
LNG carrier (Ken Hodge, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
Minute 8
¶ “Europe Has So Much Natural Gas That Prices Just Dipped Below Zero” • EU gas storage facilities are close to full, tankers carrying liquefied natural gas are lining up at ports, unable to unload their cargoes. Europe now has more natural gas than it knows what to do with. So much, in fact, that spot prices briefly went negative earlier this week. [CNN]
Friday, October 28
Wind farm (Acciona Energia image)
Minute 11
¶ “UK Wind Power Sets New Generation Record” • The UK’s onshore and offshore wind farms set an electricity generation record of 19,936 MW of electricity, covering 52.2% of demand. The new record was set between 11:30 am and 12 noon on 26 October, beating the previous record of 19,916 MW that was set on 25th May this year. [reNews]
Backup power (Courtesy of GM Energy)
Minute 13
¶ “How Electric Vehicles May Be Able To Provide Backup Power For Homes” • GM announced a new business arm called GM Energy this month. It is set to offer bidirectional EV charging units that can send power back to homes and the electrical grid, Business Insider reports. GM, meanwhile, is set to partner with PG&E on a pilot project next year. [CleanTechnica]
Emissions (Chris LeBoutillier, Unsplash)
Minute 16
¶ “The Peak In Global Fossil Fuel Emissions Is Just Around The Corner” • Global fossil fuel emissions are expected to peak in 2025 as countries commit to spend heavily on low-carbon fuels. The International Energy Agency said in its annual World Energy Outlook report that Russia’s assault on Ukraine had the potential to “hasten” the global transition. [CNN]
Saturday, October 29
Ford E-Transit (Ford image)
Minute 19
¶ “2022 Ford E-Transit – Video Review” • Ford has been on a roll recently when it comes to electrifying its vehicle lineup. Now Ford is making one of its most popular commercial vehicles as an EV, the E-Transit. We recently had a chance to check out the 2022 cargo van guise of the E-Transit and learn more about its impressive features. [CleanTechnica]
LNG Ship (Maciej Margas, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 22
¶ “IEA: The Rapid Growth Of Natural Gas Demand Is Coming To An End” • A World Energy Outlook scenario from the IEA based on the current government policies has global demand for every fossil fuel showing a peak. “One of the effects of the current crisis is that the era of rapid growth in global gas demand draws to a close,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. [Oil Price]
Inverie village in Knoydart (Subarite, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
Minute 24
¶ “The Highland Haven Insulated From Rising Energy Prices” • Hydroelectric schemes are not unusual in Scotland. Knoydart, the west coast of Scotland, is different, however. It is so remote that it is not connected to the National Grid, meaning prices here are not dictated by the wholesale cost of more expensive forms of energy such as gas. [BBC]
Sunday, October 30
America’s largest offshore wind farm (Photo by Ionna22, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 27
¶ “The Demented Gift American Politicians Handed To China” • Once America was great. We had a political system that was the hope of the world. But we also had the best science, with the greatest researchers, finding the best ways to do things. But we walked away from our greatness, and now the huge renewables market is dominated by China. [CleanTechnica]
Penguins (Martin Wettstein, Unsplash)
Minute 30
¶ “Antarctica’s Emperor Penguins At Risk Of Extinction Due To The Climate Crisis” • Global warming is melting the sea ice the Antarctica’s emperor penguins depend on for their survival, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service now categorizes the species as threatened. The agency lists “imperiled species as endangered or threatened regardless of their country of origin.” [CNN]
Design by Kotchakorn Voraakhom (Landprocess image)
Minute 32
¶ “The Architect Helping Sinking Cities Fight Flooding” • When floods devastated Bangkok over a decade ago, Thai landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom became determined to help her sinking hometown fight this deadly climate threat. The central question she focuses on is “how are we going to live with the water, without fear?” [CNN]
Monday, October 31
Forest on the Amazon (Nareeta Martin, Unsplash)
Minute 35
¶ “Lula Da Silva Will Return To Brazil’s Presidency In Stunning Comeback” • Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva was elected the next president of Brazil, in a stunning comeback following a tight run-off race. His victory heralds a political about-face for Latin America’s largest country, and environmentalists hope that it will make Brazil a climate leader. [CNN]
Singapore (Peter Nguyen, Unsplash)
Minute 38
¶ “Singapore To Use Low-Carbon Hydrogen To Reach 2050 Net Zero Target” • Singapore announced that it intends to achieve a carbon-neutral status by 2050, and that it will use low-carbon hydrogen as a major component of its decarbonization. The country is especially vulnerable to the impact of a warming planet. [Hydrogen Fuel News]
Electric school bus (Crenaissanceman, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 40
¶ “USA’s First Vehicle-To-Grid Export Rate For Commercial Electric Vehicles” • A settlement agreement between PG&E and the Vehicle-Grid Integration Council, Electrify America LLC, and the California PUC is to establish the nation’s first “vehicle-to-grid” export compensation mechanism for its commercial EV charging customers. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, November 1
Blue front door in Tucson (Sean Benesh, Unsplash)
Minute 43
¶ “How Tucson, Arizona Is Facing Up To A 1,200-Year Drought” • Tucson is a desert city where barely 12 inches (30 cm) of rain falls in an average year. Over the past 15 years or so thousands of its residents have turned to rainwater harvesting. They joined the city’s drive to embrace the practice as part of its suite of water conservation initiatives. [BBC]
Young plants (Elena Mozhvilo, Unsplash)
Minute 46
¶ “Industrial Agricultural Needs To Be Replaced By Agroecology – Soon” • The agricultural sector accounts for nearly 25% of all emissions. Agroecology is a method of farming with nature rather than against it, using ecological principles for agricultural systems. The method promotes diversity, resilience, circularity, social values, and cultural practices. [CleanTechnica]
EV recharging (Ed Harvey, Pexels)
Minute 48
¶ “European Parliament Moves To Mandate EVs By 2035” • The EU Parliament agreed to a set of rules that will see an increase in the number of recharging and alternative refueling stations for cars, trucks, trains, and planes. This is part of the “Fit for 55 in 2030 package” which plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% come 2030. [CleanTechnica]
Wednesday, November 2
Wisconsin gas-powered plant (Dual Freq, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 51
¶ “Natural Gas Power Plants Begin Their Inevitable Decline” • Natural-gas-fired power plants are expected to provide 38% of the nation’s electricity in 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Though nearly a net 6,900 MW of capacity will be added this year, natural gas is expected to be 36% of the power mix in 2023. [The Street]
Bombed apartment building (Nick Tsybenko, Unsplash)
Minute 54
¶ “Ukrainians Are Dreading The ‘Darkest Winter’ As Russia Takes Aim At The Power Grid” • As the weather gets colder, millions of Ukrainians are trying to prepare for what they know will be an extremely difficult winter. The Ukrainian government said in July that over 800,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed in the war. Now Russia is bombing power plants. [CNN]
EDF battery (EDF image)
Minute 56
¶ “EDF Renewables Turns Sod For 50-MW Battery” • EDF Renewables UK has started construction of a 50-MW battery site at Energy Superhub Coventry. The 50-MW, 100-MWh battery will help to support the integration of renewables in the UK by storing energy when the supply is abundant and discharging it when the supply is lower. [reNews]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #496 – 11/3/2022
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 