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Energy Week #497 – 11/10/2022
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, November 3
Wind turbines (Quang Nguyen Vinh, Pexels)
Minute 2
¶ “US To Deploy 550 GW Of New Renewables By 2030” • The American Clean Power Association projects that the US may deploy 550 GW of new renewable energy projects by 2030. Solar, wind, and energy storage capacity will help pave the way for the nation to cut economy-wide emissions by 40% below 2005 levels. The work will create 1 million jobs. [pv magazine USA]
Mt Kilimanjaro (Sergey Pesterev, Unsplash)
Minute 5
¶ “These Glaciers Are On Track To Disappear Within The Next 30 Years, New Report Shows” • Recently, researchers at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization found that glaciers in one-third of the planet’s most beautiful parks and protected areas are set to disappear by 2050 – even if global warming is slowed. [CNN]
Indoor farming in Kentucky (Courtesy of AppHarvest)
Minute 8
¶ “Kentucky Emerges From Solar Energy Stealth Mode” • The state of Kentucky has been bumping around in the lower tier of states for installed PV capacity, but its solar energy wallflower days may be coming to an end. A new green hydrogen hub, one of the world’s largest indoor farms, and a giant water battery are all in the mix. [CleanTechnica]
Friday, November 4
Autonomous vehicle (Navya image)
Minute 11
¶ “This Little Autonomous Vehicle Getting Use At New York’s JFK International Airport” • Navya, a little autonomous shuttle company, is not usable in nearly as many environments as the tech from other companies, but it is effective on various simple routes. The company’s latest contract is with New York City’s JFK International Airport. [CleanTechnica]
Takeoff (Bing Hui Yau, Unsplash)
Minute 13
¶ “Why High Temperatures Can Make Planes Too Heavy To Take Off” • Our planet’s rising temperatures are making it harder for planes to take off at certain airports, presenting yet another challenge to civil aviation. As heatwaves become more frequent, the problem could extend to more flights, forcing airlines to leave passengers on the ground. [CNN]
Wind turbines in Ireland (Nordex image)
Minute 16
¶ “Irish Wind Output For October Nudges 50%” • Wind Energy Ireland has released its October Wind Energy report, which shows that wind energy provided 47% per cent of Ireland’s electricity in October 2022. The latest figures mean that wind energy has supplied 33% of Ireland’s electricity demand this year to the end of October. [reNews]
Saturday, November 5
Electric crane (SENNEBOGEN image)
Minute 19
¶ “New 50-Tonne Battery-Powered Electric Crane” • Just as in every other vehicle market, electric cranes are starting to arrive. The 653 E Electro Battery from SENNEBOGEN, developed with Dutch dealer Van den Heuvel, is a 50-tonne battery-powered electric crane. It answers a need for heavy equipment that meet the needs of quiet, clean cities. [CleanTechnica]
Electric motorcycle (Image courtesy Lightning Motorcycles)
Minute 22
¶ “Enevate And Lightning Motorcycles Partnership Creates 5-Minute Fast Charge For Electric Motorcycles” • Enevate makes batteries with high energy density and extremely fast charging. Lightning Motorcycles makes electric motorcycles that set performance records. The two combined efforts on Lightning’s Strike Carbon motorcycle. [CleanTechnica]
Lombard Street, San Francisco (Braden Collum, Unsplash)
Minute 24
¶ “Outdoor Living Rooms And Renewable Power: How San Francisco Is Fighting Climate Change” • Air pollution and traffic congestion plague cities worldwide. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In San Francisco, a number of environmental initiatives encourage eco-friendly habits, increasing greenery, and creating better space for everyone. [Yahoo News UK]
Sunday, November 6
The Line, a proposed city 105 miles long (Neom image)
Minute 27
¶ “Will We Ever … Live In City-Sized Buildings?” • Enclosed cities have become a narrative shorthand for futuristic settlements in science fiction. Many are self-contained habitats, incorporating all essential infrastructure, including energy generation, food production, waste management and water. Some have already been proposed for construction. [BBC]
Alice (Image courtesy of Eviation/GlobalX)
Minute 30
¶ “Orders For Eviation Alice Electric Plane Pass $2 Billion” • On September 27, Eviation’s Alice electric plane conducted its first flight at Moses Lake Grant County International Airport, in Washington state. Now, Eviation Aircraft has announced that the order book for the all-electric Alice airplane has passed a total value of $2 billion. [CleanTechnica]
Volvo XC40 (Volvo image)
Minute 32
¶ “Volvo Australia To Sell Only Electric Cars By 2026” • Volvo Group is one of the car-manufacturing brands that has made a commitment to switch to EVs by 2030. But in Volvo Australia announced it has decided to step it up a notch, by vowing to sell EVs only in Australia by 2026, well ahead of the car company’s global commitment. [CleanTechnica]
Monday, November 7
Wisk Aero (Wisk Aero image)
Minute 35
¶ “First Self-Flying, 4-Seat, All-Electric, Vertical Takeoff And Landing Air Taxi” • Wisk Aero claims it has developed the first self-flying, fully electric, 4-seat air taxi. This is its 6th generation air taxi, reportedly “designed to meet and exceed rigorous commercial safety standards, making it one of the safest systems in aviation,” Wisk Aero says. [CleanTechnica]
Bales of alfalfa (Gary D Robson, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 38
¶ “Wells Are Running Dry In Drought-Weary Southwest As Foreign-Owned Farms Guzzle Water To Feed Cattle Overseas” • Just as the Colorado River Basin is in crisis, aquifers are rapidly depleting from overuse, worsening drought, and rampant growth of agriculture. Huge, foreign-owned farms are growing thirsty crops like alfalfa to feed livestock overseas. [CNN]
Hummer EV SUV and pickup (Courtesy of GM)
Minute 40
¶ “GMC Hummer EV Pickup And SUV Sold Out For At Least Two Years” • It looks like there is some bad news if you want to purchase a 2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup or SUV. They are sold out, and it seems the waiting list is two or more years long. GM cannot keep up with the high demand, so prospective buyers are being waitlisted. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, November 8
Nuclear power plant (Frédéric Paulussen, Unsplash)
Minute 43
¶ “France Electricity Prices Surge Past €1,000/MWh As More Nuclear Reactors Close For Winter” • Wholesale electricity prices in France for the middle of winter surged above €1,000/MWh ($1.00/kWh, wholesale), after EDF revealed more problems, and more outages at its reactors. EDF is the operator of the world’s biggest nuclear fleet. [Renew Economy]
Solar panels (Mariana Proença, Unsplash)
Minute 46
¶ “World Must Double Renewable Power Targets To Achieve Net Zero: IRENA” • The world needs to double its renewable power targets for 2030 to achieve net zero emissions, the International Renewable Energy Agency said. Countries aim to reach 5.4 TW of installed renewable capacity by the end of the decade, about half of the 10.8 TW required. [The National]
South Dakota wind energy resources (Courtesy of US DOE)
Minute 48
¶ “South Dakota Cures The Renewable Energy Blues” • The political knives are still out when the topic turns to climate change, but it looks like the energy transition is going to happen anyway. A case in point is the “red” state of South Dakota, which has now amassed enough renewable energy to fulfill its own electricity needs, and then some. [CleanTechnica]
Wednesday, November 9
Partanna home prototype (Partanna image)
Minute 51
¶ “Former NBA Champion Is Changing ‘How The World Builds’ To Fight The Climate Crisis” • In 2019, a hurricane devastated the Bahamas. Today, the country is building what it claims to be the world’s first carbon-negative housing community to reduce the likelihood of future climate disasters and to ease the shortage of homes caused by the storm. [CNN]
Flood in Western Sydney (Wes Warren, Unsplash)
Minute 54
¶ “Once A Comfort, Rain Is Now Ruining Australia’s Mood” • The city of Sydney has seen around 170 days of rain so far in 2022. There have been more rainy days than dry ones. And with almost a quarter of the year still to go, Sydney broke its annual rainfall record last month. More than 2.3 meters (90 inches) of rain has fallen on the city. [BBC]
Northern Ireland (Wrightbus image)
Minute 56
¶ “Electric Bus Boom: Northern Ireland Buying 100 Electric Buses” • The UK’s Department for Infrastructure is providing £88 million in funding to Translink to buy 100 zero-emission electric buses as well as EV charging infrastructure to support them. The buses are to be used in Northern Ireland. They will be built by Wrightbus. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #497 – 11/10/2022
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 