Energy Week #521 – 5/4/2023

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Energy Week #521 – 5/4/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, April 27

MINI Cooper (MINI USA image)

Minute 2
¶ “Almost Half Of Americans Are Ready To Buy An EV In The Next Five Years” • On the occasion of Earth Day, a consumer survey conducted by MINI USA revealed the US consumers’ changing viewpoints and considerations about EVs, highlighting shifting sentiments since MINI first conducted the same survey over the last four years ago. [CleanTechnica]

Capitol Building (Jorge Alcala, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 5
¶ “Senate Votes To Revoke Tougher EPA Emissions Regulation For Trucks” • The Senate voted to rescind a Biden administration emissions regulation for heavy-duty trucks that Republicans call too burdensome, warning it will hurt the trucking industry and have negative effects through the economy. Senator Joe Manchin sided with Republicans on the 50-49 vote. [CNN]

Carbon Capture graphic

Minute 8
¶ “John Kerry Warns Relying On Carbon Capture Technology Is Dangerous” • In an interview with The Guardian, John Kerry, the US special envoy for climate, said that relying on carbon capture technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is “dangerous” and a cause for “alarm” because it is a distraction from what we need to do. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, April 28

Solar windows (Courtesy of NEXT Energy Technologies)

Minute 10
¶ “Chalk Up Another Win For Invisible Solar Windows” • The dream of a truly see-through, colorless solar window is becoming real. That is bad news for fossil energy stakeholders, but great for the global energy transition. The technology replaces ordinary window glass with specially coated look-alikes that generate zero emission electricity. [CleanTechnica]

Pump jack in Alberta (Nathan Schneider, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 13
¶ “Canada Pays $85 Billion Higher Social Carbon Price Than Oil & Gas Revenues” • The Canadian government updated its social cost of carbon, the estimated cost of the damages caused by emitting a ton of CO₂ into the atmosphere. Canada officially puts it at C$261 ($191). This means the damage of burning oil and gas exceeds the value of the fuel. [CleanTechnica]

Solar installers (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)

Minute 16
¶ “Livelihoods Of 255,000 American Families In Solar And Storage Industry Under Attack By House Republicans’ Proposal” • A group of lawmakers is attempting to reverse the Biden administration’s two-year pause on new solar tariffs and force companies to pay $1 billion in retroactive duties by using the Congressional Review Act. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, April 29

Solar wafer (Oregon DOT, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 19
¶ “Democrats Target House Republicans Who Voted To Repeal Climate Provisions Driving Billions Of Dollars Of Investments To Their Districts” • More than two dozen House Republicans who welcomed multi-million-dollar clean energy manufacturing investments in their districts voted to repeal the tax incentives that stimulated those very same projects. [CNN]

Gnathophausia zoea (Yale Peabody Museum, CC0)

Minute 22
¶ “Life In The Ocean’s ‘Twilight Zone’ Could Disappear Due To The Climate Crisis” • One of Earth’s largest habitats could see its rich diversity of life reduced by the end of the century due to the climate crisis. The ocean’s mesopelagic zone, also called the “twilight zone,” is located between 656 feet and 3,280 feet (200 meters to 1,000 meters) below the surface. [CNN]

Giga Texas (Larry D. Moore, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 24
¶ “Texas Continues Its Attack On EVs, Now With A $200 Annual Fee On Them” • “Giga Texas” is to be one of the world’s largest EV factories, and Tesla’s global headquarters are in Texas. But the state doesn’t allow Tesla to operate stores there, and to give Tesla just a little more thanks, Texas is going to slap a $200 annual fee on EV owners. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, April 30

BYD Qin Plus EV (Courtesy of Tycho de Feijter)

Minute 27
¶ “BYD Unleashes The Seagull In China – And Its Cheaper Than A Petrol-Powered Honda Fit!” • BYD launched the updated Qin Plus EV. You can get a full battery EV with a heat pump, a 150 kW motor, and a 57.6-kWh Blade battery for just $20,350 in China. This makes it cheaper than a 2023 Toyota Corolla SE, which starts from about $20,900. [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagen ID.2all (Volkswagen image)

Minute 30
¶ “Volkswagen Has A Huge Avenue For US Market Expansion – If It Takes It” • In the first quarter of 2023, Volkswagen accounted for less than 2% of the US auto market. It doesn’t have a big US presence. But it could. A significant change in a market provides an opportunity for companies with no or low market share to grow in prominence. [CleanTechnica]

BYD electric buses in Santiago, Chile (Courtesy of BYD)

Minute 32
¶ “Public EV Transportation In South America” • In a transition to electric buses, some South American countries are electrifying public transportion without having to rely on large numbers of imported passenger vehicles. Chile, Colombia, and Costa Rica are solving complex problems without the tools available in wealthier countries. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, May 1

Australian vinyard (Brown Family Wine Group image)

Minute 35
¶ “How Climate Change Endangers Australian Wine” • While grapevines are described as “one of the most valuable weeds in the world,” capable of growing almost anywhere, the fruit itself is vulnerable to its environment. The heat effects of climate change are already messing with flavor and quality. Weather disasters make things worse. [BBC]

Auckland (Sulthan Auliya, Unsplash)

Minute 38
¶ “Warnings Insurance Will Back Out As Climate Change Shows Its Teeth” • Those at the pointy end of climate change say that insurance retreat – when insurers refuse to take on the risk of covering homes in risky areas – is coming and may already be here. And these are not just coastal properties but many places on flood plains or slip prone areas. [Stuff.co.nz]

Australian solar farm (Acen Australia image)

Minute 40
¶ “NSW Gets Stunning Low Price For Wind And Solar In Biggest Renewables Auction” • The government of New South Wales got low record prices for wind and solar power in its first auction for renewable energy and storage. The auction put strike prices below A$35/MWh (US 2.3¢/kWh) for solar, and A$50/MWh (US 3.3¢/kWh) for wind. [Renew Economy]

Tuesday, May 2

SpaceX Starship launch (Osunpokeh, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

Minute 43
¶ “Environmental Groups Sue FAA For SpaceX Launch” • Green groups are suing the Federal Aviation Administration over the SpaceX launch of a massive Starship rocket last month. The rocket exploded over the Gulf of Mexico about four minutes into flight. The suit alleges that the FAA failed to investigate properly potential harm the launch could cause. [CNN]

De Havilland Canada Dash 8 (Gerard van der Schaaf, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 46
¶ “Towing Electric Planes To Increase Range? I’m Not Convinced, But It’s Interesting” • Damon Vander Lind, founder and CEO of startup Magpie Aviation, came up with a solution for powering larger electric airplanes. It is to tow the aircraft to altitude and let it go on its own from there. It needs less battery weight, and it might just work. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbines in Lubbock County (Pete Alexopoulos, Unsplash)

Minute 48
¶ “More Green Investment Hasn’t Softened Red Resistance On Climate” • Even as billions of dollars in clean energy investments surge into Republican leaning communities around the country, state and federal GOP officials are hardening their resistance to efforts to reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels, dashing the hopes of environmentalists. [CNN]

Wednesday, May 3

Minute 51

Whale off Provincetown (Thomas Kelley, Unsplash)

¶ “Rising Sea Temps Are Pushing Oceans Beyond The Level Of Habitability” • According to the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, the Gulf of Maine is nourished by cold ocean waters with a complex system of deep basins and shallow banks. It has produced an abundance of seafood. But higher temperatures threaten change. [CleanTechnica]

Refinery (Patrick Hendry, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “Hundreds Of Hazardous Sites In California Are At Risk Of Flooding As Sea Level Rises, New Study Finds” • Hundreds of hazardous industrial sites that dot the California coastline – including oil and gas refineries and sewage-treatment plants – are at risk of severe flooding from rising sea level if the climate crisis worsens, research shows. [CNN]

Mississippi River (ORPC image)

Minute 56
¶ “Shell Aims To Harness The Power Of The Lower Mississippi” • ORPC, a renewable energy developer whose power systems harness the energy of free-flowing rivers and tides, signed a contract with Shell Technology – Marine Renewable Program for a Modular RivGen Power System demonstration project in the Lower Mississippi River. [Marine Technology News]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #521 – 5/4/2023

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 #520 – 4/27/2023

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Energy Week #520 – 4/27/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, April 20

Wind turbine (Pixy.org, CC0)

Minute 2
¶ “UK Report Shows Promise Of 100% Clean Energy, Without Nuclear Power, By 2050” • A best-case scenario in which the UK fully transitions to renewable energy with no nuclear generation would save more than £100 billion (over $124 million) achieving net-zero by 2050 and produce 20% fewer carbon emissions, an analysis concludes. [Common Dreams]

Tesla Model Y (Tesla image) 

Minute 5
¶ “Tesla Reduces US Prices For Sixth Time This Year! What Does That Mean?” • On Tuesday, Tesla reduced the price US customers will pay for certain models again. It is the sixth time this year that the company has done so. The big winners this time around are customers who want to buy or lease the best-selling Tesla Model Y, but other prices also fell. [CleanTechnica]

Storm over the Baltic Sea (Marek Piwnicki, Unsplash)

Minute 8
¶ “Fleet Of Russian Spy Ships Has Been Gathering Intelligence In Nordic Waters, Investigation Finds” • Russia has a fleet of ships in Nordic waters. A joint investigation by the public broadcasters of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland suggests they are spying as part of a program developing an ability to sabotage submarine cables and wind farms. [CNN]

Friday, April 21

Island of Vulcano (Benjamin Smith, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 10
¶ “Scientists Isolate Microbes That Eat Carbon Dioxide” • In the warm waters of an Italian volcano, scientists found microbes that gobble up carbon dioxide “astonishingly quickly,” they told The Guardian. Now they are hoping to put those microbes to work absorbing carbon dioxide as an efficient way of removing it from the atmosphere. [CleanTechnica]

Glydways electric pod (Photo provided by Glydways)

Minute 13
¶ “San Jose Chooses A Network Of Autonomous PRTs For Airport Connector Route” • The city of San Jose granted authorization to develop a network of autonomous cars that will travel on their own dedicated narrow 5.5-foot-wide paths. The system will start with 4-person electric pods transporting passengers between San Jose’s airport and two city areas. [CleanTechnica]

Icebergs (Muhammad Nasir, Unsplash)

Minute 16
¶ “Greenland And Antarctic Ice Sheets Are Melting Rapidly And Driving Sea Level Rise, New Satellite Data Finds” • Combining data from fifty satellite surveys of Antarctica and Greenland, spanning the years 1992 to 2020, scientists of the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise found a six-fold increase in ice sheet melting over the past thirty years. [CNN]

Saturday, April 22

Rufous hummingbird (Ryan Bushby, CC-BY-SA 2.5, cropped)

Minute 19
¶ “Tiny Creatures Are Losing Their Battle To Survive. Here’s What We Can Do To Save Them” • The Rufous hummingbird lost two-thirds of its population since 1970, according to the 2022 State of the Birds report. That is not the only species with such a decline. We can do things to help native species survive in an increasingly challenging world. [CNN]

Iceberg and ship (Hubert Neufeld, Unsplash)

Minute 22
¶ “The World Just Failed Its Annual Health Checkup” • The WMO’s annual State of the Climate Report, published Friday ahead of Earth Day, paints a stark picture, showsing climate records being broken. “This is really a wake up call that climate change isn’t a future problem, it is a current problem. And we need to adapt as quickly as possible.” [CNN]

CATL condensed battery (Image from CATL via CnEVPost)

Minute 24
¶ “Condensed Matter Battery From CATL Targets Electric Airplanes” • CATL, the world’s largest EV lithium-ion battery maker, announced that it expects to start producing “condensed matter” semi-solid batteries this year. The company said the new batteries will have an energy density of 500 Wh/kg. Common EV batteries in use have 300 Wh/kg. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, April 23

Visitors at the Upington Solar Power Complex (Scatec image)

Minute 27
¶ “Upington Solar Power Complex Lauded For Positive Social Impact” • South Africa’s Upington solar power complex was lauded for its positive social impact on the communities around it. Scatec Solar had connected the 258-MW solar PV complex to the national grid in 2020.The Upington solar power complex consists of three solar PV plants. [EWN]

Wind farm (US DOE, public domain)

Minute 30
¶ “The North Seas Can Be The World’s Biggest Power Plant” • A statement by the prime ministers and other leaders of eight nations of western Europe says, “We need offshore wind turbines – and we need a lot of them. We need them to reach our climate goals, and to rid ourselves of Russian gas, ensuring a more secure and independent Europe.” [POLITICO]

Ford F-150 Lightning in snow (Courtesy of Ford)

Minute 32

¶ “Ford To Build Electric Vehicles In Ontario, Rethinks China Strategy” • Ford builds the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus at its factory in Oakville, Ontario, a facility that opened in 1953. Now Ford says it will invest $1.5 billion to transform the Oakville Assembly Complex into a Canadian hub for manufacturing EVs and battery packs. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, April 24

Nuclear power plant (Frédéric Paulussen, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “No, Nuclear Power Isn’t The ‘Big Bazooka’ Climate Fix You Might Think” • Germany’s exit from nuclear power doesn’t single it out as a quirky anomaly or black sheep in a world otherwise enthusiastically embracing nuclear energy. It puts Germany in the global mainstream. Ever more countries are abandoning or scaling back nuclear power programs. [CNN]

Northvolt battery (Northvolt image)

Minute 38
¶ “Scania And Northvolt Announce New Battery For Heavy-Duty Trucks” • Scania, the heavy truck manufacturer that is part of Volkswagen Group, and Northvolt say they have teamed up to create a battery for heavy-duty electric trucks that will last as long as the vehicles themselves – about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles). [CleanTechnica]

Grasshopper (Wulan Sari, Unsplash)

Minute 40
¶ “Lush Prairies Could Really Be ‘Green Deserts’” • It’s tough out there for a hungry grasshopper on the Kansas prairie. Oh, there’s plenty of grass to eat, but this century’s grass isn’t what it used to be. It’s less nutritious, and it’s deficient in minerals, including sodium, potassium, and calcium. A major culprit is increased carbon dioxide levels. [The Atlantic]

Tuesday, April 25

Ocean (Bella White, Pexels)

Minute 43
¶ “Recent, Rapid Ocean Warming Alarms Scientists” • A major study highlights a worrying development. Over the past 15 years, the Earth’s accumulated heat has increased by 50%, with most of the extra going into the oceans. In March, temperatures of the sea surface off the east coast of North America were up to 13.8°C (24.8°F) higher than the 1981-2011 average. [BBC]

Pollution (C.G., Unsplash)

Minute 46
¶ “‘Like A Dam Breaking’: Experts Hail The Decision To Let US Climate Lawsuits Advance” • Without weighing in on the merits of the cases, the Supreme Court rebuffed an appeal by major oil companies that want to face litigation in federal courts, rather than in the state courts they see as more favorable to plaintiffs. It felt “like a dam breaking,” experts said. [The Guardian]

Solar array (US BLM image)

Minute 48
¶ “US Department Of Energy Expands Support For Community Solar” • The US DOE recently announced that it is making solar energy investments aimed at reducing electricity bills and local pollution while supporting President Biden’s ambitious goals of a 100% clean electricity grid by 2035 and having net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, April 26

Zelenskyy in the Donetsk region in June 2021 (Presidential Office of Ukraine CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 51
¶ “Ukraine Condemns Russian ‘Blackmail’ On Chernobyl Anniversary” • On the anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russia is using nuclear power plants to blackmail the world. “We have to do everything to prevent the terrorist state from using nuclear power stations to blackmail Ukraine and the world.” [RTE]
Zelenskyy in the Donetsk region in June 2021
(Presidential Office of Ukraine CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Conventinally growing citron (Takeshi Mas, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “Italian Farmers Saving An Ancient Fruit With Solar Power” • The citron of Calabria in southern Italy had almost died out from extreme weather and lack of economic value. But growing the crop under a canopy of solar panels has given the fruit a new lease of life. Their work in agrivoltaics has lessons for many climate-stressed crops. [BBC]

Caterpillar electric hauler (Caterpillar image)

Minute 56
¶ “Caterpillar And NMG Make Amazing Circular Deal” • Mining company Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc and Caterpillar Inc have signed definitive agreements to provide a zero-exhaust emission fleet, supporting infrastructure, and service for NMG’s Matawinie Mine. Caterpillar will supply heavy mining equipment to help NMG get to zero exhaust emissions. [CleanTechnica]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #520 – 4/27/2023

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 #519 – 4/20/2023

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Energy Week #519 – 4/20/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, April 13

Cabin with solar panels (John Pupkin, Pixy.org, CC0, cropped)

Minute 2
¶ “Wind And Solar Now Generate 12% Of Global Electricity” • An Ember report found that wind and solar energy hit a record high 12% of global electricity generation in 2022. Meanwhile the EU countries are lagging behind with wind power expansion. Put together, all renewable energy sources and nuclear power made up 39% of global electricity last year. [DW]

Coffee beans (Tina Guina, Unsplash)

Minute 5
¶ “The Bean That Could Change The Taste Of Coffee” • Findings from his latest study suggest that if global temperatures rise 2°C, countries supplying a quarter of the world’s arabica will suffer major declines in yield. A rise of 2.5°C will have this impact on 75% of supply. The industry is now pinning hopes on a different coffee species. [BBC]

Coal-burning power plant (Pixy.org, CC0)

Minute 8
¶ “Coal Supplying Less US Power Than Gas, Renewables, And Nuclear” • Coal use in the US power market is set to decline for a second year in succession as utilities increasingly shift to cheaper and cleaner natural gas and renewables. About 11 GW of coal plants, which is 5% of the fuel’s US capacity, closed in the past year, according to the DOE. [Mining Weekly]

Friday, April 14

Transmission lines (PhotoMIX Company, Pexels)

Minute 10
¶ “US Needs Power Highways From The Plains To Spread Wind, Solar Benefits” • As the Biden administration takes measures to accelerate renewable energy deployment, the US DOE released a national draft transmission study that highlights the importance of new transmission capacity to achieve emissions goals and reduce costs. [Reuters Events]

Smoke from the dairy farm (Castro County Sheriff’s Office)

Minute 13
¶ “Texas Dairy Farm Explosion Kills 18,000 Cows” • A blast at a Texas dairy farm earlier this week killed approximately 18,000 cows, according to local authorities. The explosion, at South Fork Dairy near the town of Dimmitt, also left one person in critical condition. Authorities believe that machinery in the facility may have ignited methane gas. [BBC]

Battery (Screenshot, US DOE)

Minute 16
¶ “New Battery Center Launches In USA” • The US DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have announced the launch of a new joint battery center. It will bring together the resources and expertise of the national lab, the university, and Silicon Valley to accelerate the deployment of energy storage. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, April 15

Isar nuclear plant (Elmschrat, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

Minute 19
¶ “‘A New Era’: Germany Quits Nuclear Power, Closing Its Final Three Plants” • Germany’s last three nuclear power plants are closing as of April 15, marking the end of the country’s 60 year nuclear era. German opposition to nuclear power was already strong in 2000, when the government promised a phase-out. Then came the Fukushima Disaster. [CNN]

Wind turbines (Luca Bravo, Unsplash)

Minute 22
¶ “The Clean Energy Milestone The World Is Set To Pass In 2023” • Greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, the largest source of the world’s emissions, are expected to fall for the first time, according to London-based think tank Ember. The world’s demand for electricity is still growing, but new renewable energy is growing faster. [BBC]

Grazing sheep (Hasan Almasi, Unsplash)

Minute 24
¶ “The Wool That Could Capture Carbon” • Sheep Inc claims to be the world’s first “carbon negative” fashion brand. The brand, which is based in London, factors farming (including methane, sheep farming’s main source of emissions), manufacturing, packaging, and transport into its analysis, according to a report from Carbon Footprint. [BBC]

Sunday, April 16

LCOE, April 2023 (Courtesy of Lazard)

Minute 27
¶ “Wind And Solar Power Now The Clear Champions On Cost” • There is some question about whether the ambitious goals of the Biden administration to promote EV adoption will succeed, but there is no question that renewable energy – wind and solar – is taking over from thermal generation when it comes to making electricity. [CleanTechnica]

Gas valves (Long Pyles, Pixy.org, CC0)

Minute 30
¶ “G7 Ministers Falsely Claim They Have Ended Fossil Fuel Finance, Leave Door Open To Gas Investments” • G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers issued a communique ahead of next month’s G7 Leaders Summit that leaves the door open for investments in new capacity and technologies despite IEA climate analysis. [Oil Change International]

Pond and mill at Harrisville (Magicpiano, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 32
¶ “Harrisville Files Complaint Against Eversource Over Community Power” • Harrisville, New Hampshire, is starting a community power program. The town has filed a complaint at the Public Utilities Commission against Eversource, saying the utility company has violated disclosure requirements in the state’s community power law. [NHPR]

Monday, April 17

Meeting (IEA image)

Minute 35
¶ “G7 Targets 1 TW Of Solar To Speed Up Renewable Energy Transition” • Ministers from the G7 states and representatives of the EU, wrapped up a meeting in Japan with an agreement to ramp up the total amount of solar power generation to more than 1 TW by 2030 as part of plans to speed up the clean energy transition. [pv magazine Australia]

Studying a Monet painting (Liza Rusalskaya, Unsplash)

Minute 38
¶ “Scientists Confirm Long Held Theory About What Inspired Monet” • Claude Monet was a founder of Impressionism. A team of scientists looked at over 100 works he and the earlier British painter Joseph Mallord William Turner painted, with the goal of finding whether their paintings capture the increasingly polluted skies of the Industrial Revolution. [CNN]

Great Salt Lake (Patrick Hendry, Unsplash)

Minute 40
¶ “‘It Buys Us Time’: Great Salt Lake Is Still At A High Risk Of Disappearing After Epic Snow, Scientists Warn” • Three months ago, nearly three dozen scientists and conservationists sounded the alarm that the Great Salt Lake in Utah faces “unprecedented danger” and required immediate “emergency measures.” Heavy winter snow bought a little time. [CNN]

Tuesday, April 18

Wind turbines (Goldwind image)

Minute 43
¶ “Goldwind Toasts 100-GW Milestone” • Goldwind has achieved a milestone of exceeding 100 GW of global installed capacity, with successful operation of several wind power projects. The company held an event to mark the 100-GW installed capacity milestone and the launch of two new wind turbine models for areas of uncertain winds. [reNews]

Charging a V2G capable Nissan Leaf  (Image from AREA)

Minute 46
¶ “Could electric vehicles reshape the grid?” • The Realising Electric Vehicle-to-Grid Services trial in Canberra was to find whether a fleet of EVs could provide grid services as big batteries and virtual power plants do. The trial is complete and the results are promising: Vehicle-to-Grid technology can provide support for the grid. [Australian Renewable Energy Agency]

Wind turbines under a low sun (Pixy.org, CC0)

Minute 48
¶ “Since The IRA, $150 Billion Of Investment, 46 Factories, And 18,000 Jobs In Renewable Energy” • Over the last eight months, following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, over $150 billion in domestic utility-scale clean electric power investments have been announced, according to the American Clean Power Association. [pv magazine USA]

Wednesday, April 19

Polluted air (Pixy.org, CC0)

Minute 51
¶ “A Quarter Of Americans Live With Polluted Air. People Of Color And Those In Western States Disproportionately Affected” • About 1 in 4 people in the US breathe polluted air that can hurt their health and shorten their lives, a report from the American Lung Association says. People of color are disproportionately affected, as are residents of Western cities. [CNN]

Capitol Building (Donghun Shin, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “House Fails To Override Biden’s Veto Of Resolution To Overturn EPA Water Rule” • The House of Representatives failed to override President Joe Biden’s veto of a resolution to overturn an EPA water rule. Republicans argue that the rule puts a burden on the agriculture community by being too restrictive in defining what is a navigable waterway. [CNN]

Golden lion tamarin (su neko, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 56
¶ “Biodiversity Targets May Be Slipping Out Of Reach – Study” • A study published in the Royal Society journal, Proceedings B says effects of climate change and habitat loss on animal populations have been underestimated. Scientists say preventing extinctions may take longer than expected and that unless we act now global biodiversity targets will be out of reach. [BBC]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #519 – 4/20/2023

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 #518 – 4/13/2023

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Energy Week #518 – 4/13/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, April 6

Electric van (Courtesy of GM/Brightdrop and Ryder)

Minute 2
¶ “Several Good News Items From GM” • GM has recently announced several good things for its EV efforts. Bolt EV and EUV sales are doing well, Brightdrop (its electric cargo van division) scored some important partnerships, among which is a really good deal it struck with Ryder. Here we take a good look at each of them. [CleanTechnica]

Drax power station (StaraBlazkova, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

Minute 5
¶ “UK’s Biggest ‘Renewable’ Power Station Could Lose Its Funding Over Alleged ‘Greenwashing’” • Drax produced 11% of the UK’s electricity in 2019. Now it is under scrutiny by Ofgem, the energy regulator, following allegations that it was burning wood from ancient forests to generate electricity. It could lose up to £800 million per year in funding. [iNews]

Tornado (Randy Milanovic, Unsplash)

Minute 8
¶ “Tornadoes And Climate Change: How A Warming World May Affect Tornado Season” • Climate change seems to be shifting the concentration and range of tornadoes, pushing them into more vulnerable areas. In addition, evidence suggests there will be a more favorable environment for severe weather – and probably tornadoes – in a warmer future. [CBS News]

Friday, April 7

Studying underground water (Maxime Bouffard, Unsplash)

Minute 10
¶ “Underground Water Could Be A Great Source Of Renewable Energy” • A study published in the journal Applied Energy shows that use of underground water to store thermal energy could reduce natural gas and electricity consumption by 40% in the US heating and cooling sector. Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage is being studied around the world. [Earth.com]

Franz Josef Glacier (Francesco Veronesi, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 13
¶ “‘Shocked’ By The Loss: Scientists Sound The Alarm On New Zealand’s Melting Glaciers” • Every year New Zealand scientists fly over some of the country’s most iconic glaciers – ancient “rivers” of ice that descend from the Southern Alps, a spine of mountains that extend along the South Island. And almost every year, they find them shrinking. [CNN]

Dodge Ram 1500 REV (Image by Ram)

Minute 16
¶ “Ram 1500 REV Electric Pickup Truck Will Feature A 229 KWh Battery And 500 Mile Range” • Dodge Ram REV electric pickup truck is to come in 2025. Its specs are truly astounding. It will be available with two batteries. One is rated at 168 kWh with a range estimated to be 350 miles. The other is rated at 229 kWh with an estimated range of 500 miles. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, April 8

Beaver pond (Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 19
¶ “How Beavers Could Help The Colorado River Survive Future Droughts” • Beavers are natural engineers, instinctively building dams and canals. A growing movement of nonprofits, experts, and government agencies see a potential to take learn beavers’ natural engineering prowess to capture more water for the places that desperately need it. [ABC News]

Airplane (Emanuel, Unsplash)

Minute 22
¶ “Polluting Planes And Ships Get Green Investment Label From EU” • Planes and ships that run on fossil fuels could be given ‘green’ investment status as the EU Commission published its updated list of sustainable investments. Investments in more ‘efficient’ planes and ships would qualify as green, regardless of their use of fossil fuels. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model 3 (Vlad Tchompalov, Unsplash)

Minute 24
¶ “Tesla Cuts US Prices For Fifth Time Since January” • Tesla cut prices in the US between 2% and nearly 6%, its website showed on Thursday, as the company extends a discount drive on its EVs that analysts caution could hurt profitability. The company has cut the price of its base Model 3 by a cumulative 11% since the start of the year. [CNN]

Sunday, April 9

Home run (Hudson Graves, Unsplash)

Minute 27
¶ “Why MLB Players Could Be Hitting Hundreds Of More Home Runs Each Season By The End Of The Century” • Whether it’s a change in the baseballs, better analytics, or more robust training, many have wondered about what could be behind the increase in Major League Baseball home runs in recent years. But research raised another possibility: climate change. [CNN]

Rye (Kai Pilger, Unsplash)

Minute 30
¶ “New Ways To Protect Food Crops From Climate Change And Other Disruptions” • As climate and security crises destabilise our food sources, researchers are taking a critical look not just at how we produce food, but at the entire systems behind our food supplies. In this case, the systems behind the seeds that produce our food crops. [Partner Science Norway]

Winter Storm Elliot (NOAA image)

Minute 32
¶ “Gas Generators Get Caught With Their Plants Down” • Gas power plant owners are facing performance penalties levied by the grid operator PJM, which they are attacking for enforcing the rules. An added irony is that the penalties, over $1 billion, are meant to pay incentives to the plants that over-performed their obligations, including wind farms. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, April 10

Shanghai (Edward He, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 35
¶ “Tesla To Build New Megapack Battery Factory In China” • Tesla is planning to expand its business in China with a new battery factory to be built in Shanghai. The new facility is to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually, with a total capacity equivalent to 40 GWh. The batteries produced in Shanghai will be sold globally. [Oil Price]

BYD Qin Plus EV

Minute 38
¶ “The 2023 BYD Qin Plus EV Shows How Far BEVs Have Come Over The Last Decade” • In some cases, battery EVs are priced lower than comparable ICE cars. Let’s look at the world’s largest auto market, focusing on one of the traditional leaders in the sedan market, the Toyota Corolla, and compare it with a similar BEV sedan, the BYD Qin Plus EV. [CleanTechnica]

Charging Tesla (alex, Unsplash)

Minute 40
¶ “EPA Preparing To Release Strict Vehicle Emissions Rules” • The US EPA is preparing to release strict new proposed federal emissions standards for light-duty vehicles that would move the US car market decisively toward EVs over the next decade. The rules would ensure that 64% to 67% of all new-car sales in the US would be EVs by 2032. [CNN]

Tuesday, April 11

PVs on trackers (Pixy.org, CC0)

Minute 43
¶ “75 Terawatts Of World Solar PV Are Needed By 2050 – Action Is Needed Now!” • The increasing acceptance of PV technology has prompted the experts to suggest that about 75 TW (75,000 GW) or more of globally deployed PV will be needed by 2050 to meet decarbonization goals. “Time is of the essence.” A great effort is needed now. [CleanTechnica]

Next generation Prius (Toyota image)

Minute 46
¶ “Toyota Planning To Add Plug-In Hybrids With Over 200 Km Of Battery Range” • Toyota recently announced that it will expand its current lineup by releasing ten new battery-electric models by 2026. For plugin hybrids, Toyota announced that it is developing next generation plug-in hybrids with an all-electric driving range beyond 200 km (124 miles). [CleanTechnica]

Igiugig village (Photo from Igiugig Village Council)

Minute 48
¶ “An Alaskan Village’s Journey Back to the Future” • The largest oil field in the US was discovered northern Alaska in the 1960’s. That brought fuel, gasoline-powered vehicles, and oil heating to Igiugig. But fuel costs have risen so much that residents struggle to afford heat for their homes and schools shuttered. Remote villages are turning to renewable energy. [NREL]

Wednesday, April 12

Liddell plant in 2006 (Webaware, public domain)

Minute 51
¶ “Coal Power Station Closes As State Transitions To Renewable Energy” • The Liddell Power Station in New South Wales, a coal-fired power station which first came online in 1971, has been shut down. The facility proved unreliable, having to be restarted 335 times in 2022, and it consistently failed to produce its maximum amount of power. [Utility Magazine]

Kariba Dam (Image from ZRA)

Minute 54
¶ “Proposed 1,200 MW Floating Solar PV Plant In Zimbabwe Could Increase Generation By 44%” • China Energy Engineering Group has proposed to construct a 1,200 MW DC floating solar PV plant on Lake Kariba to help with Zimbabwe’s unprecedented power crisis. The floating solar plant would cover 25 km² (about 1.34%) of the reservoir’s area. [CleanTechnica]

Ft Lauderdale (Daniel Halseth, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 56
¶ “Sea Level Rise: Scientists Find ‘Unprecedented’ Rates Along Some US Coasts” • A study published in Nature Communications found that since 2010, sea level rise along the nation’s Southeast and Gulf coasts has increased dramatically. Scientists at Tulane University found that sea levels in those regions have increased by about half an inch every year. [Vigour Times]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #518 – 4/13/2023

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