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Energy Week #508 – 2/2/2023
Thursday, January 26
Electric bus made in Kenya (AVA image)
Minute 2
¶ “Kenya’s Producing Its First Electric Buses” • Kenya’s BasiGo is a perfect example of how quickly things can happen. Established in May 2021, BasiGo sealed partnerships with several banks in Kenya. It just announced a partnership with Associated Vehicle Assemblers to make 1,000 electric buses in Kenya over the next three years. [CleanTechnica]
Coal-burning power plant (Wim van ‘t Einde, Unsplash)
Minute 5
¶ “EPA Plans To Stop Six Power Plants From Dumping Toxic Coal Ash Into Unlined Ponds” • The EPA announced it plans to stop six coal-fired power plants from continuing to dump coal ash into unlined ponds. The agency announced last year that it would begin to enforce Obama-era regulations requiring coal-fired power plants to clean up their waste. [CNN]
Hydrogen storage (Hydrogen Web image)
Minute 8
¶ “Foresight Backs 100-MW German Electrolyser Project” • Foresight, through its managed funds, is to invest in a 100-MW green hydrogen project in Germany. Two Foresight funds, HH2E and HydrogenOne Capital Growth, are developing the project, located in Borna, Saxony. It will produce around 6000 tonnes of hydrogen a year, initially. [reNews]
Friday, January 27
New York City (Mike C Valdivia, Unsplash)
Minute 10
¶ “Equinor And BP Bid For Third New York Offshore Wind Solicitation” • Equinor and bp today jointly bid into New York’s third offshore wind solicitation, building on strong commitments to deliver renewable energy for New Yorkers, create sustainable jobs, boost the economy across the state, and support a just transition to renewable energy. [BP]
Jordan Creek Wind Farm (Courtesy of NextEra Energy)
Minute 13
¶ “NextEra Commissioned 5 GW Of Renewables And Storage In 2022, Ups Growth Plan” • NextEra Energy, the parent company of Florida Power & Light and the largest developer of clean energy in the US, said it deployed 5,000 MW of new renewable energy resources and energy storage in 2022, while adding 8,000 MW of projects to its pipeline. [Power Engineering]
Grant Lake (Ross Stone, Unsplash, cropped)
Minute 16
¶ “How California’s Recent Flooding Could Set The Stage For A Dangerous Wildfire Season” • Weather has swung from drought to floods. But Californians know the pendulum could abruptly swing the other way again. If moisture doesn’t stick around and heat sets in, winter’s rain and snow could prime the landscape for an intense wildfire season. [CNN]
Saturday, January 28
Wind turbines (Jason Blackeye, Unsplash)
Minute 19
¶ “At $1.1 Trillion, Renewable Energy Investment Matches Fossil Fuels In 2022 For First Time” • For the very first time in history, investment in low-carbon energy technologies worldwide was equal to money spent on fossil fuels, global strategic research service provider BloombergNEF said. $1.1 trillion was invested in cleaner energy technology in 2022. [Down To Earth]
Ravenswood Generating Station (Taraqur Rahman, Unsplash)
Minute 22
¶ “Dirty Fossil Power Plants In Queens To become Green Energy Hubs” • Rise Light & Power LLC announced that it will invest in an offshore wind facility so as to turn its Ravenswood Generating Station in Queens, New York City’s largest fossil fuel power plant, into a clean energy hub. A 1.3-GW offshore wind farm would power batteries at Ravenswood. [Informed Comment]
Tongass National Forest (US Forest Service)
Minute 24
¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Protections For Tongass National Forest” • The US Department of Agriculture finalized protections for the Tongass National Forest, the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest. USDA’s final rule repeals the 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule and restores longstanding protections to 9.37 million acres of Alaska. [CleanTechnica]
Sunday, January 29
All-electric school bus (Courtesy of GreenPower Motors)
Minute 27
¶ “Electric School Buses Can Fight Inequity In The USA, Or Worsen It” • Most students, especially those from low-income and communities of color, ride diesel-powered buses that expose them to health issues. Electric school buses offer a solution, but they can actually deepen inequities if programs aren’t designed and deployed properly. [CleanTechnica]
Geothermal plant in Tiwi (Chris Newhall, USGS, public domain)
Minute 30
¶ “Asia’s First Steam Field Continues To Power Homes” • Asia’s first commercial-scale geothermal steam field was discovered 50 years ago in Tiwi, a small town in the Philippine province of Albay. It is still providing clean, renewable energy to 2.7 million homes. Geothermal is the biggest industry in Tiwi and a major source of local employment. [The Manila Times]
Wind turbines
(Priscilla Du Preez, Unsplash)
Minute 32
¶ “Permian Set To Lead BPx Energy’s Low Carbon, Renewables Efforts” • BP plans to sell $25 billion in oil and gas assets to fund its renewables business. The company is not completely through with oil and gas, and in fact, it sees significant contributions from the shale assets. But it has set a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. [Midland Reporter-Telegram]
Monday, January 30
Wind farm (Zbynek Burival, Unsplash)
Minute 35
¶ “US Renewable Energy Farms Outstrip 99% Of Coal Plants Economically” • Coal in the US is now being economically outmatched by renewables to the point that it’s more costly for 99% of the country’s coal-fired power plants to keep running than it is to build an entirely new solar or wind energy operation nearby, an analysis found. [The Guardian]
Thanet Wind Farm (Acabashi, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 38
¶ “King Charles’ Newest Eco-Activism: Royal Wind Farm Profits Will Go To The People” • King Charles III announced that an expected surge in profits from wind farm deals that could have elevated royal investment accounts should, instead, be spent on the public. A spokesperson said the king wished a windfall to be redirected “for the wider public good.” [CleanTechnica]
Form Energy battery (Form Energy image)
Minute 40
¶ “Xcel To Test Power Storage Tech In Becker” • Xcel Energy is bringing state-of-the-art storage technology to the Sherco Power Plant in Becker. Xcel Energy has partnered with Form Energy, an American technology company, to deploy an iron-air battery system at the Sherco Plant. The plant’s capacity will be 10 MW, and 1,000 MWh. [WJON]
Tuesday, January 31
Solar farm (Elawan Energy image)
Minute 43
¶ “Solar, Wind Produce Record Fifth Of EU Power” • According to the “European Electricity Review,” published by energy think tank Ember, wind and solar generated over a fifth (22%) of EU electricity in 2022, for the first time overtaking fossil gas (20%). The coal power share increased by 1.5 percentage points to generate 16% of EU electricity in 2022. [reNews]
Duckweed (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Public Domain)
Minute 46
¶ “US Government Funding Helps Biofuels Move Forward” • Biofuels may not be the ideal way to address climate change, but they can help reduce our carbon emissions. Two pieces of news in recent weeks that show the US government is still trying to help biofuels improve, come from cleaner sources, and work better with infrastructure. [CleanTechnica]
Trondheim (Simon Williams, Unsplash)
Minute 48
¶ “Norway Discovers Huge Trove Of Metals, Minerals And Rare Earths On Its Seabed” • A Norwegian study found a “substantial” amount of metals and minerals ranging from copper to rare earths on the seabed of its extended continental shelf, authorities said. These resources are in high demand for the role they play in the transition to a greener economy. [CNN]
Wednesday, February 1
Gas station (Diego Carneiro, Unsplash, cropped)
Minute 51
¶ “Exxon Announces Record Profits For 2022” • ExxonMobil announced record profits for the year 2022, reporting it made $55.7 billion over the past year and drawing ire from the left. Other major energy companies also posted record earnings for the year. Democrats have been critical of corporate profits at a time when consumers faced high prices. [The Hill]
Solar array (Gustavo Fring, Pexels)
Minute 54
¶ “Big Return To Coal In Europe Killed Off By Record Renewable Energy” • As Russia cut off gas supplies to Europe last year, countries put more coal power on standby to fill the gaps. But the bloc fended off a feared dramatic increase in burning coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, by installing large amounts of solar and wind generating capacity. [Sky News]
Wind farm in Iowa (Voice of America, public domain)
Minute 56
¶ “The Decline And Fall Of Fossil Fuels” • The latest projections from FERC say natural gas capacity will not grow in the US in the near term. Fossil fuels were in decline overall, but now no part of the fossil fuels or nuclear industry is projected to grow. So about 100% of net generating capacity growth to 2026 is expected to made up of renewables. [Green Energy Times]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #508 – 2/2/2023
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
Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 