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Energy Week #510 – 2/16/2023
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, February 9
Chevy Bolt (Greg Gjerdingen, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
Minute 2
¶ “Hurry, Chevy Bolts Down An Astonishing 47% To $19,995 Until March! (Net After Tax Credit)” • In 2021, the price of a Chevy Bolt was $37,495. Now, with a couple of price cuts the 2023 price is $27,495 (if you can find a dealer in your area that will sell it at MSRP). With Federal incentives, which are available until March, a Bolt can be had for $19,995. [CleanTechnica]
Shipping on the Rhine near Koblenz (Holger Schué, Pexels)
Minute 5
¶ “Droughts Leave Cargo Riverboats High And Dry” • Increased droughts are forcing shipping companies to abandon some of the world’s main river cargo routes, warns Ann Christina Sloek-Andersen, a senior director at global shipping giant Maersk. On the Rhine, record low water levels meant some vessels were able to carry just 25% of their usual load. [BBC]
Great Wall of China (Pixy.org, CC0, public domain)
Minute 8
¶ “How China Achieved Its Clean Tech Dominance” • China holds a commanding lead in manufacturing most low-carbon technologies and looks likely to remain highly competitive. But the landscape is nuanced and varies by technology. There is still potential for other countries to catch up, and thus diversify global supply chains. [Energy Intelligence]
Friday, February 10
Winter cold (Pixabay, Pexels)
Minute 10
¶ “Heat Pump Wars In Maine” • New England and much of the northeast US suffered through a brutal cold snap lately. Much to the surprise of many, a heat pump designed for operation in low temperatures (not all of them are) is quite capable of functioning just fine even when the temperature outside falls below zero. And the message is getting around. [CleanTechnica]
Demonstration (Courtesy of Youth vs Apocalypse)
Minute 13
¶ “California Aims To Boot Dirty Investment With California Fossil Fuel Divestment Act” • One of California’s big recent announcements on climate laws is that state policymakers have introduced the California Fossil Fuel Divestment Act. It would require all large corporations to report carbon emissions, including their scope 3 emissions. [CleanTechnica]
Manila (Pixy.org, CC0)
Minute 16
¶ “Philippines’ Citicore Prepares For IPO, To Invest $4 Billion In Renewable Energy” • Citicore Renewable Energy Corp, one of the Philippines’ biggest solar power producers, is planning to go public to fund a $4 billion investment in solar projects over the next five years, its CEO said. Citicore hopes to increase its solar portfolio to 5 GW. [Market Screener]
Saturday, February 11
Solar panels on a German bridge (Pixy.org, CC0, public domain)
Minute 19
¶ “A Subsidy Arms Race Is Kicking Off Between Europe And America” • By directing roughly $370 billion in federal funding toward the rapid buildout of clean energy infrastructure, the US started a global subsidies race. World leaders say the package unfairly favors American companies and they have no choice but to respond with their own hefty incentives. [CNN]
Renewable energy (Werner Slocum, NREL)
Minute 22
¶ “The Economic Tides Just Turned For States” • States across the country have a massive opportunity to boost their economies through the Inflation Reduction Act, and now, for the first time, that opportunity is quantified. RMI’s first-of-its-kind analysis shows the potential benefits for states, in savings, investments, and employment. [CleanTechnica]
Home Depot roftop solar (Courtesy of DSD Renewables)
Minute 24
¶ “The Home Depot Furthers Investment In Renewable Energy At Stores, Installing 13 MW Of Solar Power Across California” • The Home Depot is partnering with DSD Renewables to install 13 MW of solar power on the rooftops at 25 store locations in California. The Home Depot’s renewable energy goal is to use 100% renewable energy by 2030. [CSRwire]
Sunday, February 12
BasiGo electric buses (BasiGo image)
Minute 27
¶ “Electric Buses Are Driving A Silent Revolution In Nairobi” • During the early days of COVID-19, authorities in Nairobi called on the city’s thousands of private bus operators to stop running. The result was that people could suddenly see Mount Kenya. The clear lesson was to stop using diesel power and adopt electric buses to move people. [CNN]
Solar farm in Colorado (Courtesy of Lightsource bp)
Minute 30
¶ “New Solar Farm Is A Carbon Sink And Prairie Preserver” • A movement is afoot to quash solar development on farmland in the US, but the case for rural solar keeps expanding. In the latest example, Lightsource bp built a pair of solar farms in Colorado that double as carbon sinks and help to preserve 3,000 acres of shortgrass prairie. [CleanTechnica]
UC Davis West Village in Davis, California (SunPower image)
Minute 32
¶ “SunPower Now Offers Solar For Multi-Family Properties, And The Tenants Benefit” • Many tenants can’t get solar energy because they don’t own the house. SunPower wasn’t happy with this and decided to do something about it. It recently showed how three new customers took advantage of its multifamily solar business, passing savings to tenants. [CleanTechnica]
Monday, February 13
Concentrated solar plant (Vast Solar image)
Minute 35
¶ “$65 Million For ‘First-Of-A-Kind’ Concentrated Solar Power Plant” • The Australian Renewable Energy Agency confirmed it approved A$65 million ($44.95 million) to help Vast Solar build VS1, a “first-of-a-kind” concentrated solar power plant north of Port Augusta. The plant will have a capacity of 500 MW and store energy for four to sixteen hours. [pv magazine Australia]
Lincoln Financial Field (Courtesy of Philadelphia Eagles)
Minute 38
¶ “Solar, Solar Everywhere! Clever And Creative Uses Are Dotting The Landscape” • As the cost of solar panels continues to drop, it is becoming increasingly competitive as a popular energy source for households, businesses of all sizes, and municipalities. As a result, some solar applications are quite clever, creative, and imaginative. [CleanTechnica]
Agrivoltaic system (BlueWave via CS Energy)
Minute 40
¶ “US Clean Energy Goals Hinge On Faster Permitting” • The speed and scale the climate crisis requires reforms to the way projects sited and permitted to achieve our national goals. One analysis found that the project build time, including permitting, siting, and construction, for utility-scale solar and wind facility projects averages four years. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, February 14
German windpower (Franzfoto, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 43
¶ “German States Show ‘Unknown Unity’ In Preparing Faster Wind Power Roll-Out” • The German states signalled readiness to expand onshore wind power “in almost unknown unity,” said economy and climate minister Robert Habeck. His comments came after he met with representatives of the 16 Länder to talk about buildout of renewables. [Clean Energy Wire]
Lithium battery with carbon nano-tubes (Toyocolor, Toyo Ink)
Minute 46
¶ “EV Battery News From CATL, Toyocolor, And Toyo” • If there is EV battery news, there is a good chance it is about CATL. In today’s case, the CATL news is actually from a CATL supplier using the name to brag a bit. The news is that CATL will be using Toyocolor’s conductive carbon nanotube dispersions in its next-generation batteries. [CleanTechnica]
Wind turbines (Reegan Fraser, Unsplash, cropped)
Minute 48
¶ “BOEM Publishes 2400-MW SouthCoast Wind Draft EIS” • The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management published the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed 2400-MW SouthCoast Wind energy project in Massachusetts waters. The project is a JV of Shell and Ocean Winds. It could provide power for more than 800,000 homes. [reNews]
Wednesday, February 15
Solar charging at NYIT (Samantha Padreddii, US DOE)
Minute 51
¶ “2024 Budget Calls on NYPA to Help Develop Renewables” • New York’s 2024 executive budget seeks to advance renewable energy through the New York Power Authority. The agency could use funds from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to help the state meet its energy-efficiency goals. Some observers feel it is a step in the wrong direction. [Public News Service]
GreenWay charging VW ID.4 (Courtesy of WysokieNapiecie.pl)
Minute 54
¶ “EU Fit For 55: Zero CO2 Emissions For New Cars And Vans In 2035” • The European Parliament approved legislation setting the path towards zero CO₂ emissions for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in 2035. New intermediate emissions reduction targets for 2030 are set at 55% for passenger cars and 50% for vans. [CleanTechnica]
Road in Colorado (Pixy.org, CC0, public domain)
Minute 56
¶ “10.5% Of New Vehicle Sales Now Electric Vehicle Sales In Colorado” • Last year, 10.5% of new vehicles sold in Colorado were EVs. That’s a great result in the USA, which as a whole is closer to 6% or 7% of new vehicle sales being electric. Colorado got to this place with an extra helping of incentives for people who go electric. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #510 – 2/16/2023
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 