Energy Week #506 – 1/19/2023

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Energy Week #506 – 1/19/2023

Minute 0: Introduction 

Thursday, January 12

Rivian in water (Rivian image)

Minute 2
¶ “New UCF-Developed Battery Could Prevent Post-Hurricane Electric Vehicle Fires” • A researcher at the University of Central Florida has developed an aqueous battery that could prevent electric vehicle fires. The UCF-designed battery is fast charging, reaching full charge in three minutes, compared to the hours it takes lithium-ion batteries. [CleanTechnica]

Ocean (Nareeta Martin, Unsplash)

Minute 5
¶ “Ocean Heat Hit Another Record High In 2022, Fueling Extreme Weather” • The world’s oceans were the warmest on record for the fourth year in row in 2022, according to a study published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. It is a troubling indication of the climate crisis caused by humans releasing heat-trapping gases. [CNN]

Storm (Layne Lawson, Unsplash)

Minute 8
¶ “Storms Relentless As California Drenching Goes On” • The famously sunny southern coast of California has been hit by storm after storm since the December holidays, eroding roads, felling trees and causing landslides. As of Tuesday evening, at least 17 people had died in weather-related incidents since the storms began, Governor Newsom said. [BBC]

Friday, January 13

Offshore wind farm (Capmat007, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

Minute 10
¶ “US Interior Department Takes Steps To Strengthen Offshore Clean Energy Development” • The Department of the Interior announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will publish a proposed rule to update and simplify regulations for clean energy development on the US Outer Continental Shelf to facilitate project approvals. [CleanTechnica]

Contrails (Rae Galatas, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “Contrails Are A Problem For Aviation – But There Could Be An Easy Solution” • Environmentally, contrails are surprisingly bad. A study looked at aviation’s contribution to climate change and concluded that contrails create 57% of the sector’s warming impact by trapping heat that would otherwise be released into space. Fortunately, there is a solution. [CNN]

Lapland (Egor Vikhrev, Unsplash)

Minute 16
¶ “Huge Rare Earth Metals Discovery In Arctic Sweden” • The EU’s largest deposit of rare earths has been found in Sweden. No rare earths are currently mined in Europe, and 98% of rare earths used in the EU in 2021 came from China. The deposit’s discovery is seen as “decisive” for the green transition, as demand for EVs and wind turbines increases. [BBC]

Saturday, January 14

Nomad homes, one with PV panel (Joel Heard, Unsplash)

Minute 19
¶ “UAE’s Masdar To Develop Number Of Renewable Energy Projects In Kyrgyzstan” • Masdar, UAE’s leading renewable energy company, has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Energy of Kyrgyzstan to develop renewable energy projects with a capacity to generate 1 GW, Trend reports citing Masdar’s press service. [Trend News Agency]

Ocean heat (NASA image)

Minute 22
¶ “NASA: 2022 Was Fifth Warmest Year On Record” • The last nine consecutive years have been the warmest nine on record. The year 2022 effectively tied for Earth’s fifth warmest year since 1880, as Earth is about 2°F (1.11°C) warmer than the average for the late 19th century. Forest fires, hurricanes, and droughts are getting stronger as a result. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model Y (Tyler Casey, Unsplash)

Minute 24
¶ “Tesla Reduces New Car Prices In Effort To Boost Sales” • Tesla has greatly reduced its prices for Model S, Model X, and Model Y cars in the US. In some cases, the price reductions make the Tesla cars eligible for tax reductions, magnifying the benefits. There were similar reductions in Europe, and after price cuts in China, Tesla sold 30,000 cars in three days. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, January 15

Transmission lines (Thomas Despeyroux, Unsplash)

Minute 27
¶ “Electrifying Everything Is A Critical Pathway To Decarbonize The World And Our Lives” • A number of organizations, such as the World Bank, have developed “pathways” or “pillars” for reaching net zero emissions globally by 2050. The core strategies are remarkably consistent, and one critically important pathway is electrifying everything. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbines at Copenhagen (CGP Grey, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 30
¶ “Another Year, Another Record In Denmark’s Renewable Energy Progress” • In the past 40 years, Denmark has integrated 7 GW of wind and PV solar capacity into the electric grid. The fresh numbers from 2022 show that the country’s electricity needs are now covered by 60% renewables. In 8 years, that figure will quadruple. Yes, that’s 240%! [CleanTechnica]

Mackinac Island (Erin Vanderklok, Unsplash)

Minute 32
¶ “Why Michigan Is Trying To Shut Down Canada’s Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline” • Michigan commissioned an independent risk analysis of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline. It says an oil spill could cost almost $2 billion in damages. Also, any pipeline accident in the Straits of Mackinac could “represent a point of no return for species loss.” [BBC]

Monday, January 16

Mild winter weather (Dominik Dombrowski, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “Europe’s Warm Winter Is Robbing Putin Of A Trump Card” • The threat of cutting Russian gas supplies was Putin’s trump card, if the war he started dragged into a long winter. But the winter has been milder than expected, and Western and Central Europe have coordinated gas consumption. taking one of Putin’s largest bargaining chips out of his hands. [CNN]

Baltic Sea at Gotland (Michal Lawrenin, Unsplash)

Minute 38
¶ “Ørsted Applies For Four Permits For Swedish Offshore Wind Farms” • Ørsted has applied for permits to build four additional large offshore wind farms in Sweden. Pending permit approvals and a plan for offshore grid build-out, Ørsted aims to deliver the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in Sweden, Skane Offshore Wind Farm, by 2029. [reNews]

Davos looking green (Marvin Meyer, Unsplash)

Minute 40
¶ “Global Leaders And Climate Activists Gather In Snowless Davos Ahead Of World Economic Forum 2023” • At the Swiss resort of Davos, where World Economic Forum 2023 is meeting, snowpack remains meagre on the lower slopes due to a massive heatwave bringing high temperatures to Europe and forcing ski resorts to shut down operations. [Earth.Org]

Tuesday, January 17

Abu Dhabi (Belinda Fewings, Unsplash)

Minute 43
¶ “A Major Oil Exporter Is Hosting A UN Climate Summit. Opinions Are Divided” • The COP28 climate summit is mired in controversy. It is being held in one of the biggest oil exporting nations – the United Arab Emirates – and headed by one of the most prominent faces in its oil industry. Some people fear that it has been hijacked by the fossil fuels interests. [CNN]

 Walnut orchard (© Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 46
¶ “California Hit With One Final Round Of Storms” • California has been hit by a final round of storms, bringing more rain and snow to a state already reeling from at least 19 weather-related deaths. Skies will begin to look sunnier starting Tuesday, the NWS said, but a final gasp of wet weather will hit some areas on Wednesday and into Thursday. [BBC]

Lion Electric school buses charging (Courtesy of Nuvve Corporation)

Minute 49
¶ “EPA Requirement Keeps Electric Buses Out Of Low-Income Schools” • In order to qualify for first round of funding from these EPA grants, school districts are being required to identify the specific diesel buses they’d replace with electric buses. The problem there is that many low-income school districts don’t own their own buses. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, January 18

Sun Cable proposal (Sun Cable image)

Minute 51
¶ “Billionaires Battle Over Sun Cable: David Waterworth” • Disagreements about management of Sun Cable, the world’s biggest renewable energy export project, led to numerous conflicting headlines. I was hoping that after four days, the dust might have settled and the situation might be clearer. I’m not sure, but here’s what I can make of it. [CleanTechnica]

Plane at Heathrow (Isaac Struna, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “The Rich Should Pay Higher Fares To Clean Up Aviation, Says Heathrow Boss” • Rich travelers will have to pay more to fly if the aviation industry is to transition to greener fuels, the boss of one of the world’s biggest airports said. Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said that wealthy individuals and companies should pay extra to fly with sustainable aviation fuel. [CNN]

Transmission lines (Hush Naidoo Jade Photography, Unsplash)

Minute 56
¶ “To Integrate Renewables, Energy Storage Is A Cost-Effective Alternative: Study” • Energy storage is a cost-effective alternative to transmission lines for integrating renewable energy, supporing reliability, and modernizing the grid, according to a recent study. Storage would typically have a lighter impact on the land and shorter development time. [Utility Dive]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #506 – 1/19/2023

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