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Energy Week #503 – 12/22/2022
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, December 15
Honda Electric N-Van (Honda image)
Minute 2
¶ “At $7400, Honda’s Upcoming Electric N-Van Mini Van Can Be A Game-Changer In Japan’s Kei Car Segment” • Honda has set the starting price of the electric N-Van in Japan at ¥1,000,000 ($7,400), with the launch planned for the spring of 2024. Small city cars, which are highway-capable, known as Kei cars, are a big deal in Japan. [CleanTechnica]
GE Hydro Solutions turbines installed (GE Renewable Energy)
Minute 5
¶ “GE Renewable Energy Installs First Turbines At 1.2-GW China Pumped Hydro Plant” • The hydropower subsidiary of General Electric’s renewables business has installed the first pair of 300-MW turbines at a pumped hydro storage site in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, China. The company is to supply to more of the same turbines at the site. [Energy Storage News]
Volkswagen Atlas (Courtesy of Volkswagen)
Minute 8
¶ “Volkswagen Plans To Manufacture More Vehicles In The US” • In an interview with Handelsblatt, Pablo Di Si, the new head of Volkswagen for North America, said Volkswagen Group plans to introduce 25 electric vehicle models to the American market by 2030 in order to increase its market share from a fairly dismal 4% to 8% or more. [CleanTechnica]
Friday, December 16
Artist’s concept of factory (Courtesy of Redwood Materials)
Minute 10
¶ “Redwood Materials Will Build New Battery Recycling Facility In South Carolina” • South Carolina is getting to be a focal point of the EV revolution. Hyundai is building a $5 billion factory to make EVs in the state. BMW and Volvo have factories. Redwood Materials announced it will start construction of a $3.2 billion battery recycling facility. [CleanTechnica]
Los Angeles (Sterling Davis, Unsplash)
Minute 13
¶ “California Regulators Approve Plan For Carbon Neutrality By 2045” • The California Air Resources Board approved a plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2045, in line with legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this year. It is to move one of the largest economies in the world to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels. [CNN]
Whale (Abigail Lynn, Unsplash)
Minute 16
¶ “Whales Can Have An Important But Overlooked Role In Tackling The Climate Crisis, Researchers Say” • The world’s largest whales are more than just astonishing creatures. Much like the ocean, soil, and forests, whales can help save humanity from the climate crisis by sequestering planet-heating carbon emissions, researchers say. [CNN]
Saturday, December 17
Boeing 787 (Etienne Jong, Unsplash)
Minute 19
¶ “Virgin To Fly ‘Net-Zero’ Transatlantic Boeing 787” • Virgin Atlantic plans to operate a Boeing 787 from London to New York, powered solely by waste oils and fats, a move hailed as a step toward reducing aviation’s significant environmental impact. Billed as the “world’s first” net zero transatlantic flight, the aircraft will hit the skies in 2023. [CNN]
New Tesla Roadster (Tesla Fans Schweiz, Unsplash)
Minute 22
¶ “BYD May Lead In EV Deliveries And Tesla Will Pass Toyota” • While BYD could threaten Tesla’s crown for the world’s largest EV maker, some argue that another metric matters far more. Analysts predict Tesla’s operating profit will surpass global leader Toyota’s. This could represent another industry-wide disruption from the US automaker. [CleanTechnica]
Wind farm in Egypt (Hatem Moushir, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 24
¶ “Egypt’s New Energy Projects To Add 55 GW To Renewable Energy” • According to Egypt’s top renewable energy official, Egypt will soon be a major global energy hub. The country signed several projects in November that would add almost 55 GW to its existing solar and winds power capacity. The projects are to produce green hydrogen, [SolarQuarter]
Sunday, December 18
Tesla showroom (Courtesy of Tesla China)
Minute 27
¶ “China EV Exports Surge” • China has had ambitious plans to dominate the world auto industry through EV manufacturing. A recent Bloomberg report says it looks like China’s ambitions are being realised. And a top EV exporter from China is none other than American firm Tesla. It will export more than 200,000 EVs from China this year. [CleanTechnica]
Wind turbines (Anna Jiménez Calaf, Unsplash)
Minute 30
¶ “Australia Vulnerable To Power Bill Shocks Until We Break Gas Habit” • Power bill shocks will remain a threat unless Australia quickly ramps up renewables to decouple from global coal and gas markets, said Daniel Westerman, CEO of the Australian Energy Market Operator. He said wind and solar power can protect against future shocks. [The Age]
Snow after drought (Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz, Pexels)
Minute 32
¶ “Recent Rain And Snow Brought Some Relief To California’s Historic Drought. It’s Still Not Enough” • In the past three years California residents have gone through back-to-back historically dry years that triggered unprecedented water shortages and landscape-altering wildfires. Now, a barrage of rain and snow have brought a tiny glimpse of hope [CNN]
Monday, December 19
Agrivoltaics and prairie restoration (Julia Fox, EPRI)
Minute 35
¶ “Agrivoltaics Goes Nuclear On California Prairie” • Interest in the emerging field of agrivoltaics has been exploding as farmers and researchers keep finding ways to combine solar panels with agricultural activity. Now, an agrivoltaic project in California is aimed at restoring native prairie at the site of a decommissioned nuclear power plant. [CleanTechnica]
Talking with daughters (Josh Willink, Pexels)
Minute 38
¶ “Think Climate Change Is Scary? Try Talking To Your Kids About It” • As an environmental reporter, I have written over and over about how the pollution we keep dumping into the air is hurting people, threatening ecosystems and endangering our future. But at home, I’ve struggled to explain this to my own daughters. [Yahoo News]
Offshore wind turbines (Fxp42, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 40
¶ “Victoria’s Gippsland Coast To Become Australia’s First Offshore Windfarm Zone” • Gippsland’s coast in south Victoria will be home to the turbines of Australia’s first offshore windfarm zone, with the heavy winds of the Bass Strait offering plenty of wild weather to power Australian homes. The zone is expected to drive renewable industry investment. [The Guardian]
Tuesday, December 20
Flowers (Palle Knudsen, Unsplash)
Minute 43
¶ “More Than 190 Countries Sign Landmark Agreement To Halt The Biodiversity Crisis” • An agreement with 23 targets aimed to halt the biodiversity crisis was reached at COP15 by more than 190 countries. It includes a pledge to protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030. Only 17% of land and 10% of oceans are currently considered protected. [CNN]
Making steel (yasin hm, Unsplash)
Minute 46
¶ “Europe Finally Agrees To Cap Gas Prices” • Europe has agreed to a cap on natural gas prices, following months of debate over whether the measure will protect European households and businesses from extreme price spikes as temperatures plummet. It is planned to come into force as of February 15 of next year, with a set of rules to come into effect. [CNN]
Electric bus (Courtesy of Blue Bird)
Minute 49
¶ “Blue Bird Teams Up With Highland Electric Fleets To Provide Twelve Electric School Buses To Illinois School District” • The Hardin County Community Unit School District #1 in Illinois is getting set to upgrade twelve buses to an electric model, after Blue Bird Corporation and Highland Electric Fleets teamed up to offer electrified buses. [CleanTechnica]
Wednesday, December 21
Electric postal delivery truck (USPS image)
Minute 51
¶ “USPS Fulfills Top Biden Climate Goal With Deployment Of 66,000 Electric Delivery Trucks” • The US Postal Service has announced it plans to deploy at least 66,000 electric delivery trucks by 2028, meeting a key goal for the Biden administration’s climate agenda. By 2026, the USPS plans to buy zero-emissions delivery trucks almost exclusively. [CNN]
Colorado River (European Space Agency)
Minute 54
¶ “Crunch Time For Colorado River As Federal Government Ponders Mandatory Cuts” • According to the Washington Post, state and federal authorities say that years of overconsumption of water are colliding with the stark realities of climate change. They may create a “complete doomsday scenario” for the Colorado River. [CleanTechnica]
Puerto Rico National Guard (National Guard, CC BY 2.0)
Minute 56
¶ “Putting The RICO In Puerto Rico” • Sixteen communities in Puerto Rico filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, Shell, Conoco, Chevron, Occidental, and other oil and coal companies. It claims, among other things, that they are no different than mobsters, so they are subject to the provisions of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #503 – 12/22/2022
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 