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Energy Week #509 – 2/9/2023
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, February 2
Brazilian wind farm (AES Tiete image)
Minute 2
¶ “Renewables Account For 92% Of Brazil’s Power Produciton In 2022” • The Brazilian Power Trading Chamber announced that 92% of the country’s 2022 electricity production came from renewable energy sources. There was a 64.3% increase in output of solar power plants in 2022, compared to 2021. Windpower output increased by 12.6%. [Renewables Now]
The Black & White building (Ed Reeve, courtesy of AHEC)
Minute 5
¶ “The Black & White Building In London Showcases Wood Construction Techniques” • The Black & White building shows that commercial buildings can be truly green. Many so-called “green” buildings cover a steel and concrete core with a pretty wooden façade, but the frame of the Black & White building is structurally engineered wood. [CleanTechnica]
Vermont (Kevin Davison, Unsplash)
Minute 8
¶ “Vermont Lawmakers Revisit Renewable Energy Standard As Greenhouse Gas Emissions Deadlines Loom” • With Vermont’s 2025, 2030, and 2050 greenhouse emission deadlines slowly but surely approaching, state lawmakers are working quickly to make sure the legally binding deadlines are met. Some want to revisit the Renewable Energy Standard. [WPTZ]
Friday, February 3
Wildfire in California (US Forest Service, public domain)
Minute 10
¶ “PG&E To Stand Trial Over Deadly California Wildfire” • The California utility giant PG&E must face trial for manslaughter for its role in a 2020 wildfire that killed four people, a state judge has ruled. It is the latest legal trouble for Pacific Gas & Electric, which has been blamed for a series of deadly wildfires in the state in recent years. [BBC]
Work on a submarine cable (US Navy, public domain)
Minute 13
¶ “How undersea cables may affect marine life” • Thousands of miles of cables crisscross our deep seas, carrying data or electric power. These artificial structures can serve as shelter to a vast array of bottom-dwelling sea life that have been found to take up residence on or near them. But we don’t know much about the effects of their electromagnetic fields. [BBC]
Wetlands near Bristol Bay (US EPA, public domain)
Minute 16
¶ “EPA Blocks Mining Project Proposal That Threatened Alaskan Salmon” • The EPA has blocked the controversial Pebble Mine project, which was set for development in Alaska, over concerns about adverse effects on salmon fisheries, an agency release said. It could have become the largest copper, gold and molybdenum extraction site on the continent. [CNN]
Saturday, February 4
Ford Mustang Mach-E (Adrian N, Unsplash)
Minute 19
¶ “In Boost For Ford And Tesla, Treasury Changes EV Tax Rules Making It Easier To Qualify As An SUV” • New rules now in effect for EV tax credits favor SUVs. If a Ford Mustang Mach-E is an SUV, then it can get the credit if it costs almost $80,000. If not, the cut-off is $55,000. The Treasure Department has reviewed its new rules so they fit with common sense. [CNN]
Frost (Martin Longin, Unsplash)
Minute 22
¶ “Coldest Wind Chill Ever Recorded In Continental US, Say Forecasters” • Forecasters say the coldest wind chill ever has been recorded in the continental US as an Arctic cold snap freezes a swathe of North America. The National Weather Service said icy gusts on Mount Washington in New Hampshire produced a wind chill of -108°F (-77°C). [BBC]
Yaks in snow (Lieve Ransijn, Unsplash)
Minute 24
¶ “Why Temperatures Still Plummet To Dangerous Levels Even As The Planet Warms” • With all the high temperature records we see, there are still bomb cyclones and records for cold. Some scientists say that climate change – and more specifically rapid warming in the Arctic – may actually be increasing the likelihood that frigid, polar air can dive south. [CNN]
Sunday, February 5
Sea off New Zealand (Stephen Crowley, Unsplash)
Minute 27
¶ “Researchers Create Hydrogen From Seawater Without Pre-Treatment” • Before seawater can be used in an electrolyzer, it needs to be desalinated, purified, and ionized, and the catalysts used are costly. Researchers at the University of Adelaide say they have a solution that makes hydrogen directly from seawater by using cheap catalysts. [CleanTechnica]
Earth (NASA, Unsplash)
Minute 30
¶ “How Half A Century Of Climate Change Has Altered The Face Of The Earth” • Fifty years later its “Blue Marble” photo of Earth, NASA took a new image of Earth from its Deep Space Climate Observatory about 1.5 million km away. The photo reveals clear changes to the face of the Earth, some of which are indicative of 50 years of climate change. [PetaPixel]
Route 66 in 2006 (Marriedtofilm, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 32
¶ “In Deep-Red Corner Of Arizona, Threat Of Losing Water Starts To Outweigh Fear Of Regulation” • Unfettered agricultural growth means faucets of residents of Kingman, Arizona, will run dry soon. They blame corporate megafarms that pumped 60% to 72% of the groundwater used there as of 2021. The lesson is get active or lose water. [CNN]
Monday, February 6
Lake Powell (Gavin Van Wagoner, Unsplash, cropped)
Minute 35
¶ “Colorado River Crisis Is So Bad, Lakes Mead And Powell Are Unlikely To Refill In Our Lifetimes” • Even with above-average snowpack in the Rocky Mountains, scientists say everyone in the Colorado River Basin will need to plan for low reservoir levels for years to come. Some think the river’s major reservoirs probably won’t refill in our lifetimes. [Yahoo]
Village in Norway (Tobias Tullius, Unsplash)
Minute 38
¶ “Top Five Countries with 100% Renewable Energy in Electricity Generation” • Some countries have been particularly successful with renewable electricity and have made significant progress in increasing the share of renewable energy in their overall energy mix. Here is a look at the top five countries for using renewably generated electricity. [The CSR Journal]
Tesla Model 3 (Charlie Deets, Unsplash)
Minute 40
¶ “Tesla Model 3 Lease Price Reduced To Match The Toyota Corolla!” • Tesla has dropped its lease pricing so much that it costs the same to lease a Tesla Model 3 as a Toyota Corolla! The Model 3 is clearly a much larger car for passenger and luggage volume than the Toyota Corolla and slightly larger than the BMW 3 Series sedan. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, February 7
TEPCO installing discharge outlet caisson (TEPCO image)
Minute 43
¶ “Pacific Forum And Japan Going Head-To-Head Over Planned Nuclear Wastewater Dump” • There are hopes that a meeting will address issues about the looming release of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. The Government of Japan, Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna, and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown are to meet in Japan. [RNZ]
Cleaner air for San Francisco (Joonyeop Baek, Unsplash)
Minute 46
¶ “New Study Links EVs With Real-World Reductions In Air Pollution And Respiratory Problems” • A study by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, has found a link between the increased use of zero-emission vehicles and improved air quality and public health in California. [CleanTechnica]
Aurora Borealis (Sami Takarautio, Unsplash)
Minute 48
¶ “Atmospheric Rivers Aren’t Just A Problem For California. They’re Changing The Arctic, Too” • The Arctic is seeing a rapid decline in sea ice even during the cold winter months when it should be recovering from the summer melt. Scientists say that one often-overlooked factor plays a bigger role than they had thought: Atmospheric rivers. [CNN]
Wednesday, February 8
Electric train (Pixy.org, public domain, CC0)
Minute 51
¶ “Europe, China, And India Can Electrify All Rail, Why Can’t The US?” • India is at 83% rail electrification, and is ahead of schedule to achieve almost 100%. China is at 72%, on its way to 100%. It’s built 40,000 km (30,000 miles) of grid-tied electrified high-speed rail since 2007. Europe is at 60% so far. And then there’s the US, with 1%. [CleanTechnica]
Drought in the West (Tajuana Delamora, Pixy.org, CC0)
Minute 54
¶ “Senators Form Bipartisan Colorado River Caucus As Tensions Rise In West Over Water Crisis” • As the Colorado River sinks further into crisis and tensions rise between Western states over how to divvy up painful water cuts, a bipartisan group of senators is formalizing a new caucus to examine how the US government could help in the situation. [CNN]
Proposed Form Air battery system (Xcel Energy image)
Minute 56
¶ “New Energy Storage Facility Could Be Coming To Pueblo Under Pilot Plan” • Pueblo could soon become home to an iron-air battery storage system to back up energy from solar and wind plants. The system will be on the site of Xcel Energy’s Comanche 3 power plant, which is slated to close December 31, 2030 as the last coal-burning plant in Colorado. [Pueblo Chieftain]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #509 – 2/9/2023
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 