Energy Week #525 – 6/1/2023

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 #525 – 6/1/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, May 25

Hand crew from Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Navajo Region returning to fire camp (Photo by Bureau of Indian Affairs)

Minute 2
¶ “Ask A Scientist: Calling Out The Companies Responsible For Western Wildfires” • The US wildfire season used to last about four months. These days, it stretches six to eight months, the US Forest Service says, and in some places it’s now a year-round affair. Just seven companies accounted for a whopping 18.7% of total emissions. [CleanTechnica]

Airplane (Pascal Meier, Unsplash)

Minute 5
¶ “France Bans Short-Haul Flights To Cut Carbon Emissions” • France has banned domestic short-haul flights where train alternatives exist, in a bid to cut carbon emissions. The law came into force two years after lawmakers had voted to end routes where the same journey could be made by train in under two-and-a-half hours. [BBC]

Ford F-150 Lightning (Ford Motor Co image)

Minute 8
¶ “Ford Signs Battery Materials Deal, Hints At Fixed Pricing Strategy” • There’s a torrent of news about Ford Motor Company this week, so let’s get you caught up on recent developments. For a start, Ford announced a long-term contract with EnergySource Minerals to purchase the lithium it needs to manufacture EV batteries. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, May 26

Wind turbines in Finland (Teemu Vehkaoja, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 10
¶ “Electricity Prices In Finland Flipped Negative On A Huge Oversupply Of Hydroelectric Power” • Finland had an unusual problem on Wednesday: clean electricity that was so abundant it sent energy prices into the negative. The price drop was driven by an unexpected glut of renewable energy, with an added new nuclear power plant. [Business Insider]

Power lines (Rob Martin, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “California Breaks Its Record For Renewable Electricity” • California has hit a new milestone in clean energy. In 2021, 37% of the state’s electricity was generated by renewable sources like solar and wind, according to numbers recently released by the California Energy Commission. This is more than double the 16% total of 2012. [The Brunswick News]

Ford Mustang Mach-E at a Tesla Supercharging station (Ford)

Minute 16
¶ “Ford Electric Cars To Have Best Fast Charging In USA With Tesla Supercharging” • Ford and Tesla announced that Ford’s EV coming to market that will include Tesla’s Supercharging port, starting in 2025. Before then, starting in early 2024, Ford will offer adapters for its EV owners so they will be able to use Tesla Superchargers. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, May 27

Ship at sea (Borderpolar Photographer, Unsplash)

Minute 19
¶ “No, There Won’t Be Nuclear-Powered Commercial Shipping This Time Either” • A while ago, the author published a sexy-practical quadrant chart for maritime shipping decarbonization. He did not even include nuclear power for commercial ships in the chart because the idea is so obviously flawed from a business perspective. [CleanTechnica]

Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm (SSE image)

Minute 22
¶ “SSE Unveils Plans To Invest £40 Billion In Clean Energy” • Scottish energy giant SSE promised to invest up to £40 billion ($49.3 billion) in green energy in the next decade after seeing its annual profits almost double. Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the pledge was a “further vote of confidence in the British economy.” [Energy Digital Magazine]

Round hut in Ethiopia (A Davey, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 24
¶ “Off-Grid Solar Brings Hope To Remote Villages” • Hundreds of millions of people live in communities without electricity. The International Energy Agency says almost 775 million people did not have access to electricity in 2022. Some of the largest of the populations are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Solar power can bring some hope. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, May 28

Mammoth in a museum (Thomas Quine, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 27
¶ “Mammoths, Sloths, And Camels Are Hurting The Renewable Revolution” • The US needs new transmission lines but faces opposition. The most recent transmission line fiasco comes in the form of the Greenlink West project, which is to pass through an area famous for the fossils of wooly mammoths, giant sloths, and ancient American camels. [Oil Price]

German bullet train (Markus Winkler, Unsplash)

Minute 30
¶ “Europe Is Trying To Ditch Planes For Trains. Here’s How That’s Going” • There’s definitely been progress in Europe for the move from planes to trains. Airlines including Dutch carrier KLM are entering into rail partnerships on certain routes, while countries like Austria and France are seeking to restrict internal routes where trains are available. [CNN]

Wind turbines at Copenhagen (Mads Eneqvist, Unsplash)

Minute 32
¶ “Wind Energy Has A Waste Problem. New Technologies May Be A Step Closer To Solving It” • Wind turbine blades have been difficult to recycle, but Danish wind company Vestas announced a “breakthrough solution.” New Vestas technology would allow wind turbine blades to be recycled without needing to change their design or materials. [CNN]

Monday, May 29

Overcast day in New Zealand (Antoine Barrès, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “Continuous Clean Energy: Scientists Are Pulling Power Out Of Thin Air” • In a groundbreaking study from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, engineers demonstrated the potential to produce continuous clean energy from humidity in the air. The secret is a porous structure at the nanoscale that can be put into virtually any material. [Earth.com]

North Carolina mill dam (Leslie Cross, Unsplash)

Minute 38
¶ “UCS Releases Online “Danger Season” Map” • This summer is projected by the NOAA to be hotter than normal, and the Union of Concerned Scientists launched an online “Danger Season” map, showing areas of the US that are at risk of extreme heat, wildfires, storms, or flooding. The map will be updated daily through October. [CleanTechnica]

Joshua tree and wind turbines (Brian Wangenheim, Unsplash)

Minute 40
¶ “Kern Plays Biggest Role As California Taps Renewable Energy To Avoid Blackouts” • State officials say California probably won’t suffer any power outages this year, for two reasons: Snowmelt will produce record hydroelectric power, and new solar and wind capacity and battery storage are coming online. Kern County is a leader in that. [The Bakersfield Californian]

Tuesday, May 30

Industrial-sized heat pump (MAN Energy Solutions)

Minute 43
¶ “The ‘Exploding’ Demand For Giant Heat Pumps” • Heat pumps made by MAN Energy Solutions are among the largest in the world. With a heating capacity of up to 48 MW, one of them could heat thousands of homes. We are in a time of urgent need to end the use of fossil fuels, especially in Europe. “The demand for district heating is exploding.” [BBC]

Wind turbines (Peter Beukema, Unsplash)

Minute 46
¶ “New Debt Limit Deal Commits To Speeding Up Energy Projects” • US financial markets breathed a sigh of relief after negotiators from Democratic and Republican parties reached an agreement to raise the debt limit. Among its key provisions, the new deal will make it easier for both fossil fuel and renewable energy projects to get licenses. [Yahoo Finance]

Vitesco engine (Vitesco Technologies)

Minute 48
¶ “An EV Drive Unit Built Without Rare Earth Minerals” • Vitesco Technologies came up with a really cool EV drive unit design. What really sets it apart from other designs is that it doesn’t depend on rare earth minerals and permanent magnets. The unit also has certain advantages for efficiency because it does not have permanent magnets. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, May 31

Transporting a wind turbine blade (Acroterion, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 51
¶ “What Is Permitting Reform? The Critical Energy Provision Buried In Debt-Ceiling Negotiations” • Tucked into a bipartisan debt ceiling deal is a critical energy provision that Democrats and Republicans in Washington both want, at least in theory. Energy permitting reform, which aims to cut down the time it takes for new projects to get approved. [CNN]

SpaceX launch, SpaceX, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “Japan Is On A Mission To Beam Solar Power From Space By 2025” • Japan’s decades-long mission to transmit solar power collected in space back to Earth could move a step closer to reality in just a few years. A public-private partnership wants to start a trial sometime around 2025 using small satellites launched into orbit. [TechSpot]

Wind turbine (Vestas image)

Minute 56
¶ “European Power Prices Go Negative As Renewables Soar” • Balmy springtime weather across Europe and growing renewable energy capacity has led to multiple days of negative wholesale power prices, highlighting the need for increased energy storage capacity. A number of factors have led to consistent negative wholesale power prices. [Renew Economy]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #525 – 6/1/2023

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 #524 – 5/25/2023

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 #524 – 5/25/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, May 18

El Niño in January 2016 (NOAA image)

Minute 2
¶ “‘Sounding The Alarm’: World On Track To Breach A Critical Warming Threshold In The Next Five Years” • The world is now likely to breach a key climate threshold for the first time in the next five years due to a combination of greenhouse gas pollution and a looming El Niño, according to the annual climate update of the World Meteorological Organization. [CNN]

Tesla Model Y (Charlie Deets, Unsplash)

Minute 5
¶ “Tesla Model Y To Be Best Selling Car In World In 2023?” • 2023 is not half over, but the Model Y is likely to win the annual sales title. According to Tesla, it was the best-selling passenger vehicle on Earth in the first quarter of the year. With production and sales expected to grow throughout the year, it’ll be tough for any other car to catch the Y. [CleanTechnica]

Traffic in New York City (Raidarmax, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 8
¶ “First US Congestion Pricing Plan Gets Closer To Reality In New York City” • New York City traffic is bad. At peak hours of the day, traffic is at a virtual standstill in many areas, and air quality and traffic noise can be terrible. New York City could soon be the first city in the US to implement its own traffic tolling system to address the problem. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, May 19

Great Salt Lake (Brent Pace, Unsplash)

Minute 10
¶ “The World’s Largest Lakes Are Shrinking Dramatically, And Scientists Say They Have Figured Out Why” • More than half of the world’s largest lakes and reservoirs have lost significant amounts of water over the last three decades, according to a new study, which pins the blame largely on climate change and excessive water use. [CNN]

Ford electric van (Courtesy of Ford)

Minute 13
¶ “Electric Work Vans Are ‘Almost Free’” • Electric work trucks may not be sexy like a Mercedes EQS or an Audi Q6 e-tron, but with super-low operating costs they can pay for themselves, or nearly so, which is what anyone in business wants to hear. And they have other advantages, such as having electric power for operating power tools. [CleanTechnica]

Vermont State House (Courtesy of University of Vermont)

Minute 16
¶ “Vermont Legislature Pushes For End To Polluting Heating Equipment” • Vermont’s boilers, furnaces, kerosene heaters, and wood stoves produce 36% of the state’s total emissions, according to recent findings by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. The Vermont legislature has passed the Affordable Heat Act (S.5) bill to reduce those emissions. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, May 20

Monhegan Island (Pixy.org, CC0)

Minute 19
¶ “The Future Of Wind Energy In The US Is Floating Turbines As Tall As 30 Rockefeller Plaza” • The first, full-sized floating offshore wind turbine in the US will tower 850 feet above the waves in the Gulf of Maine. The 15-MW turbine will be 20 miles south of Maine’s tiny Monhegan Island by the end of the decade, the first of ten turbines in an array. [CNN]

Oil well (Pixabay, Pexels, cropped)

Minute 22
¶ “Capping Oil & Gas Wells In Texas Could Create Tens Of Thousands Of Jobs” • A study from the University of Texas finds that regulating methane pollution from oil and gas sites in Texas could create up to 35,000 jobs. Texas is the top state for methane pollution, and its Permian Basin is one of the largest oil and gas producing regions in the world. [CleanTechnica]

F-150 Lightning (Courtesy of Ford, Colorado)

Minute 24
¶ “Clean Cars Could Yield $95 Billion In Benefits In Colorado” • A report finds that the total benefits for Colorado would be as much as $95 billion in 2050 from public health and climate improvements, savings to drivers of zero emissions vehicles, and utility customer savings, under a Colorado Clean Cars program, if adopted through 2035. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, May 21

Basaltic outcrop (Daniel Mayer, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

Minute 27
¶ “Can ‘Enhanced Rock Weathering’ Help Combat Climate Change?” • UN scientists are now clear that reducing greenhouse gas emissions alone won’t be enough to stop dangerous levels of warming. They say there will need to be some CO₂ removal, actively drawing it down from the atmosphere. ‘Enhanced rock weathering’ could help cool the planet. [BBC]

Pollution (Daniel Moqvist, Unsplash)

Minute 30
¶ “Time To Pay The Piper – The Cost Of Cleaning Up After Fossil Fuel Companies” • Marco Grasso and Richard Heede authored a report published by One Earth that quantifies how much each of the 21 top fossil fuel companies in the world should pay to clean up the environmental mess they have made. The total comes to $209 billion a year. [CleanTechnica]

Port of Cotonou in Benin (Fawaz.tairou, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

Minute 32
¶ “As The West Surges Toward Electric Cars, Here’s Where The Unwanted Gas Guzzlers Go” • As wealthy countries set aggressive goals to move consumers towards EVs to cut carbon emissions, gas-powered cars won’t necessarily go away. A stream of used cars is heading to West African ports, and it is only expected to increase with the West’s shift to EVs. [CNN]

Monday, May 22

Valle Solar Power Station (Arvydas Cetyrkovskis, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 35
¶ “Spain’s Renewable Energy Powered The Entire Country For A 9-Hour Work Day” • Spain is among a handful of countries that lead the world in the push toward renewable energy. Last week it reached a new milestone. Energy generated from wind, sun, and water met the needs of mainland Spain from 10 am to 7 pm on Tuesday, El Pais reported. [Yahoo Sport UK]

Solar array (TotalEnergies image)

Minute 38
¶ “TotalEnergies’ Spanish PV Projects Pass EIA Test” • The Spanish Ministry of Energy Transition and Autonomous Communities gave TotalEnergies a favourable Environmental Impact Assessment for an estimated 3 GW of installed solar PV capacity. The first projects are expected to be coming on stream in early 2024. [reNews]

Island of Palms, Hawaii (Courtesy of Lendlease Communities)

Minute 40
¶ “Solar-Panel “Clustering” Coming To Scores Of Army Homes On Hawaii” • Lendlease Communities operates nearly 8,000 homes on Oahu, providing housing for military families through a partnership with the US Army. They are addressing local electric rates of 44¢/kWh with solar arrays that serve clusters of four to six homes. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, May 23

Transmission lines (Matthew Henry, Unsplash)

Minute 43
¶ “The Great Electricity Transmission Debate – How Much Is Enough?” • Jigar Shah’s estimate is that the US needs 950 GW of clean energy and 225 GW of storage to clean up its electricity sector. Over 1,200 GW of clean energy and 650 GW of storage have already been proposed. The problem is how to connect the generating capacity to the grid. [CleanTechnica]

Striped Tiger Butterfly (Sonika Agarwal,Unsplash)

Minute 46
¶ “Global Loss Of Wildlife Is ‘Significantly More Alarming’ Than Previously Thought, A Study Shows” • The global loss of wildlife is “significantly more alarming” than previously thought, a study shows. Researchers at School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast found 48% the 70,000 species studied are seeing rapid population declines. [CNN]

Data collection buoy (Image courtesy of NOAA)

Minute 48
¶ “Economic Damage From Next El Niño To Total $3 Trillion” • Two researchers at Dartmouth College have published a report in the journal Science which predicts that the economic impact of the next El Niño weather event (expected to occur this year) will be $3 trillion through 2029, compared to what the same period would be without such an event. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, May 24

Power outage (Claudio Schwarz, Unsplash)

Minute 51
¶ “South Africa Load-Shedding: The Roots Of Eskom’s Power Problem” • South Africa is heading into winter with the prospect of power cuts lasting up to sixteen hours a day. The roots of the problem lie in poor management, corruption, sabotage, and gangs willing to kill anyone who threatened to clean up the coal industry or move towards renewable energy. [BBC]

Tamil Nadu in the morning (Remi Clinton, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “Global Temperature Rise Could See Billions Live In Places Where Human Life Doesn’t Flourish, Study Says” • If the current pace of global warming goes unchecked, it will push billions of people outside the “climate niche,” the temperatures where humans can flourish, according to a study published in the journal Nature Sustainability. [CNN]

Prieto battery (Prieto image)

Minute 56
¶ “Prieto Introduces Battery That Charges In Three Minutes” • Prieto, a startup based in Fort Collins, Colorado, has unveiled a prototype of a battery it says works in a range from -30°F to above 100°F. What is even more exciting about Prieto is that its 3D batteries can be fully charged from 0 to 100% in just three minutes and are nonflammable. [CleanTechnica]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #524 – 5/25/2023

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 #523 – 5/18/2023

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 #523 – 5/18/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, May 11

Wave energy converter (OceanEnergy and PNNL)

Minute 2
¶ “Pulling Power From The Ocean Is The Final Frontier For Renewable Energy” • With 70% of the Earth’s surface covered by oceans, wave power could be one of our largest untapped energy resources. The Biden administration’s Ocean Climate Action Plan reveals how the ocean holds important potential for renewable energy. [CNET]

Future Tesla lithium refinery (Courtesy of Tesla)

Minute 5
¶ “Tesla Produces 5000 Model Y In One Week In Texas And Launches Lithium Refining Site” • Tesla is on a roll this week. To keep up with its almost constantly growing sales, Tesla has been ramping up Model Y production at sites around the world. It has also just broken ground on a lithium refinery project. The news on both fronts comes from Texas. [CleanTechnica]

The 500-MW Roseland Solar project (Hecate Energy image)

Minute 8
¶ “Texas Proposes Tightened Renewable Energy Permits” • The utility-scale solar and wind market was dealt a blow to the head when a Texas senate group voted 21-9 in favor of SB 624, a state bill which would enforce permitting restrictions and fines on solar and wind projects in the state. A companion bill now heads to the state’s House for approval. [pv magazine USA]

Friday, May 12

Smoke from Canada (NOAA image)

Minute 10
¶ “Wildfire Smoke From Alberta And British Columbia Reaches US” • Much of Canada and parts of the US are blanketed by smoke as wildfires in Alberta rage. As of Thursday, there are 75 active wildfires in Alberta, 23 of which are considered out of control. Early May is typically the start of wildfire season in the region, but this level activity is unusual. [BBC]

Power plants (Untitled Photo, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “EPA Proposes New Rules That Would Dramatically Slash Planet-Warming Pollution From Power Plants” • The EPA has proposed one of its most highly anticipated climate rules to date, compelling nearly all US power plants that generate the nation’s electricity to capture or otherwise greatly reducue their planet-warming fossil fuel emissions. [CNN]

Hydrogen and ammonia plant

Minute 16
¶ “NextEra Blows Green Hydrogen Raspberry At Renewable Energy Foes” • The Florida energy firm NextEra Energy Partners has decided to ditch its natural gas pipelines and transform itself into a pure-play renewable energy investment opportunity. If all goes according to plan, green hydrogen will come to Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, too. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, May 13

Wind turbines (Serge Le Strat, Unsplash)

Minute 19
¶ “Renewables Revolution: The US Green Energy Is Poised For ‘Staggering’ Growth, According To BloombergNEF Report” • The US clean energy sector is set to deliver a record-breaking 600 GW of solar, wind, and energy storage capacity by the end of the decade, according to BloombergNEF’s latest Clean Energy Market Outlook. [Yahoo Finance]

Climate Envoy John Kerry (US Embassy Dhaka, public domain)

Minute 22
¶ “Why John Kerry Is Confident Biden’s Climate Policies Can Survive A Republican President” • Former Secretary of State John Kerry is confident that if a Republican is elected president, Biden administration’s wins on climate change and clean energy will still not be reversed. He believes the markets would reject a challenge to the US path to clean energy. [CNN]

Porsche e-fuels facility in Chile (Courtesy of Porsche)

Minute 24
¶ “E-Fuels, Renewable Natural Gas, And Carbon Capture Are Deep Fakes” • The problem is, all of them hold some kernel of potential, but they are just another way for fossil fuel firms to keep on doing what they have always done – make high profits from extracting, transporting, refining, distributing, and burning coal, oil, and methane gas. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, May 14

Badly parked Tesla Model 3 (Stefan Lehner, Unsplash)

Minute 27
¶ “Can Tesla’s Price War Accelerate Electrification?” • Tesla’s price reductions in the first quarter of the year have sent some waves through the auto industry. As legacy automakers and startups both try to catch up to Tesla’s EV dominance, some wonder whether the automaker’s price cuts could actually spur on a quicker transition to EVs. [CleanTechnica]

Collapse due to melting permafrost (NPS Climate Change Response, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 30
¶ “Climate Crisis Deniers Target Scientists For Vicious Abuse On Musk’s Twitter” • Some of the UK’s top scientists are struggling to deal with what they describe as a huge rise in abuse from climate crisis deniers on Twitter since the social media platform was taken over by Elon Musk last year. Twitter’s sustainability arm has vanished since then. [The Guardian]

Refinery in Wyoming (Tara Crooker, public domain)

Minute 32
¶ “Federal Delays Cost Wyoming More Than 6,000 Oil And Gas Wells” • Wyoming oil and gas production could be much higher were it not for projects involving more than 6,000 wells being canceled after lengthy waits for permits. One Wyoming project had 5,161 planned wells canceled after waiting eight years for approval. [Cowboy State Daily]

Monday, May 15

Ocean ice (John Salvino, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 35
¶ “Oceans Have Been Absorbing The World’s Extra Heat. But There’s A Huge Payback” • In March, the surface temperature of the world’s oceans was above anything seen in the forty years that satellites have been measuring it. But two kilometers below the surface, heat has been rising relentlessly for decades, thanks to burning fossil fuels. [The Guardian]

Indoor cycling superhighway (URB image)

Minute 38
¶ “‘World’s Largest Ocean Restoration Project’ Designed For Dubai” • In a city known for superlatives, it’s no surprise that someone in Dubai plans to build another of the “world’s largest.” But unlike the tallest skyscraper or the deepest pool, the latest proposed project is not simply an architectural feat, it’s a win for ocean conservation too. [CNN]

Bubble Curtain (Vineyard Wind image)

Minute 40
¶ “This US Offshore Wind Farm Is Piloting A Bubble Curtain – What It Is And Why It’s Cool” • Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts will pilot a secondary bubble curtain, on a project with the local firm ThayerMahan, which specializes in seabed surveys, acoustic mitigation, and monitoring. Here’s what that is and why it’s great for the undersea environment. [Electrek]

Tuesday, May 16

Solar farm (Tom Fisk, Pexels, cropped)

Minute 43
¶ “Renewables Supplied 65% Of New US Utility-Scale Generating Capacity In Q1 2023” • Renewables provided almost two-thirds (64.64%) of new US utility-scale generating capacity added in the first quarter of 2023, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission data shows. Renewable energy now accounts for 27.67% of total installed utility-scale generating capacity. [Electrek]

Wildfire (Annemarie Sutterfield, Pixy.org, CC0)

Minute 46
¶ “More Than A Third Of The Area Charred By Wildfires In Western North America Can Be Traced Back To Fossil Fuels, Scientists Find” • Millions of acres scorched by wildfires in the Western US and Canada can be traced back to carbon pollution from the world’s largest fossil fuel and cement companies, scientists reported. [CNN]

Carbon dioxide reactor (Image courtesy of UCLA)

Minute 48
¶ “UCLA Says We Can Hack The Ocean To Store Carbon Dioxide” • A proposed pathway that could help extract billions of metric tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere each year was suggested by UCLA researchers. Instead of directly capturing atmospheric CO₂, the technology would extract it from seawater, enabling the seawater to absorb more. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, May 17

Ocean Waves (Pixy.org, CC0)

Minute 51
¶ “Rising Ocean Temperatures Are A Threat To Human Survival” • The ocean is like the cooling system in a conventional car. It is amazing at absorbing waste heat, but once it reaches its limit, watch out. There is a full-fledged disaster ahead that most are unaware of it because accurate information about what is going on in the ocean is so hard to get. [CleanTechnica]

Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (Courtesy of Wuling Hongguang)

Minute 54
¶ “Wuling Hongguang Mini EV Now Available For Just $2,838 Plus $28 Per Month For The Battery Plan” • The SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture launched a monthly battery payment plan for the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV. The plan allows customers to buy the EV starting at just $2,838, and then pay $28 per month for the battery for 5 years. [CleanTechnica]

Image from Tesla shareholders meeting video (Tesla, screenshot)

Minute 56
¶ “Tesla Leads Auto World In Operating Margin, Model Y Is The Best Selling Car In World – Tesla Meeting Highlights” • Tesla had its 2023 annual shareholder meeting. Some things were already in the company’s Master Plan Part 3, Investor Day presentation, and previous quarterly shareholder conference calls. Here’s a look at some highlights. [CleanTechnica]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #523 – 5/18/2023

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 #522 – 5/11/2023

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 #522 – 5/11/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, May 4

RWE offshore wind farm (RWE image)

Minute 2
¶ “RWE Turns Sod On Thor Onshore Substation” • RWE has started building the onshore substation for its 1GW Danish offshore wind farm Thor. The onshore substation will be built in the municipality of Lemvig. RWE will build Thor offshore wind farm in the Danish part of the North Sea, approximately 22 km off the coast of Thorsminde. [reNews]

Ford Mustang Mach-E (Courtesy of Ford)

Minute 5
¶ “Ford Mustang Mach-E Now Has More Range And Lower Prices” • Ford announced that it is granting EV enthusiasts their wishes for longer range and lower costs. Ford had stopped accepting orders for the Mustang Mach-E until it could fill more of its existing orders. Now it says it is ready to open the order books once again. [CleanTechnica]

Cooking with gas (Henrique Malaguti, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 8
¶ “New York Becomes The First State To Ban Natural Gas Stoves And Furnaces In Most New Buildings” • New York is the first state in the country to ban natural gas and other fossil fuels in most new buildings – a major win for climate advocates, but a move that could spark pushback from fossil fuel interests. The law was push by climate-minded voters. [CNN]

Friday, May 5

Lawn mower (Courtesy of Husqvarna)

Minute 10
¶ “It’s Time To Retire Those Gas-Powered Lawnmowers And Leafblowers” • Spring has come, and it’s time tend to lawns and gardens. It is also time to switch to electric lawn tools. Those gas-powered lawnmowers and leafblowers have got to go! According to the EPA, gas-burning lawn tools account for 4% of US carbon dioxide emissions. [CleanTechnica]

Volvo CE excavator (Volvo CE image)

Minute 13
¶ “Volvo CE Introduces Battery-Electric 23-Ton Excavator” • Volvo Construction Equipment is moving rapidly on plans to offer battery-powered heavy duty machines. Earlier this year, it announced it was investing millions of dollars into expanding its manufacturing site in South Korea, so it can make the battery packs for those heavy duty machines. [CleanTechnica]

Luvly 0 Electric Car (Luvly image)

Minute 16
¶ “Luvly 0 Electric Car From Sweden Is Basic Transportation. Very Basic” • Is there a place in the world for an electric city car that is simple, efficient, and low cost? Sweden’s Håkan Lutz thinks so. He has started Luvly, a company that will make a car so basic that it will have only one function: transporting up to two people in a 4-wheel weatherproof cocoon. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, May 6

Alberta Wildfire (Government of Alberta)

Minute 19
¶ “More Than 13,000 People In Western Canada Evacuated As Wildfires Rage Across Region Amid Hot Weather And High Winds” • More than 13,000 people who live in the Canadian province of Alberta have been evacuated as wildfires rage across the region, which is seeing abnormally hot weather and high winds, emergency officials said.[CNN]

Tesla Model Y (Charlie Deets, Unsplash)

Minute 22
¶ “Tesla Model Y Now Cheaper Than Average US Vehicle” • Tesla has been setting the bar for vehicle pricing in the auto industry, as many automakers work to scale their first few EVs. After Tesla’s sweeping price reductions since the beginning of the year, the price of the company’s Model Y SUV dipped below that of the average car in the US. [CleanTechnica]

Rosenbauer RTX fire engine (Rosenbauer image)

Minute 24
¶ “Boulder, Colorado, Buys First Electric Fire Engine” • Buses are far from the only vehicles that could benefit a city by switching to electrid. If you think about it, they could all benefit from going electric. The Boulder Fire-Rescue team acquired a Rosenbauer RTX fire engine, which is the first electric vehicle of its kind in the state of Colorado. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, May 7

Solar array (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

Minute 27
¶ “Analysis Points To Massive Photovoltaic Deployment To Meet Decarbonization Target” • An “unprecedented ramp-up of production capacity” over the next two decades is needed to provide enough solar power to completely decarbonize the global electrical system, but that goal can be achieved, an analysis led by NREL researchers says. [CleanTechnica]

Frito Lay’s electric truck (Frito Lay image)

Minute 30
¶ “Colorado’s Win For Clean Trucks” • In April, Colorado voted to adopt two historic standards to promote clean trucks in the state: the Advanced Clean Trucks rule and the Low-NOx ruler. Together, these protective standards will reduce emissions, provide millions of dollars in economic benefits in the state, and safeguard vulnerable communities. [CleanTechnica]

Solar farm owned by Amazon (Amazon image)

Minute 32
¶ “Amazon Is The Giant When It Comes To Corporate Buying Of Wind And Solar Power” • Big Tech companies are dominating the purchase of clean power. But Amazon is lapping all of the Big Tech companies many times over. In 2022, Amazon bought 10.9 GW of clean power, more than four times the amount number two buyer Facebook bought. [CNBC]

Monday, May 8

Cameron Parish, Louisiana (Steve Hillebrand, USFW)

Minute 35
¶ “Climate Change Is Bad For Everyone. But This Is Where It’s Expected To Be Worst In The US” • “There are no winners in a world where climate change gets worse,” said Alex Kamins, director of regional economics at Moody’s Analytics and author of a recent study on climate risks in the US. But different places face different risks from climate change. [USA Today]

Waubra Wind Farm (Ed Dunens, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 38
¶ “Not Enough Wind In Australia’s Grid” • As of October 2022, there were 94 operational wind farms in Australia, totaling 9,234 MW in capacity. But the country needs more wind to balance the grid and add power at night to reduce use of gas. Why encourage wind in this sunny continent? Because wind plus trasmission is cheaper than solar plus storage. [CleanTechnica]

Wildfire in Alberta (Government of Alberta)

Minute 40
¶ “Canadian Province Of Alberta Declares Wildfire Emergency” • Alberta has declared a state of emergency after wildfires spread across the western Canadian province, driving nearly 25,000 people from their homes. Faced with more than 100 wildfires, Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith called the situation in the province “unprecedented.” [BBC]

Tuesday, May 9

Petermann Glacier (Jesse Allen & Robert Simmon, NASA, public domain)

Minute 43
¶ “A Major Greenland Glacier Is Melting Away With The Tide, Which Could Signal Faster Sea Level Rise, Study Finds” • A major glacier in northwest Greenland is interacting with the ocean tides, scientists reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. This resulted in previously unaccounted-for melting and potentially faster sea level rise. [CNN]

Conversion kit installed (Courtesy of Electrogenic)

Minute 46
¶ “Electrogenic Expands Its Range Of Drop-In, Plug-And-Play EV Conversion Kits” • UK-based Electrogenic wants to make the process of converting fueled vehicles to EVs fast and seamless, to speed up the conversion to EVs, by offering drop-in, plug-and-play kits for popular vehicles such as the Land Rover Defenders, Porsche 911s, and Jaguar E-Types. [CleanTechnica]

Miami (Jose Garcia, Unsplash)

Minute 48
¶ “Can It Be True? Florida’s Climate Resilience Plan Is Real?” • The Environmental Defense Fund has come out in favor of Florida’s new legislation that advances the prioritization of climate resilience. Moving through the Senate with unanimous House approval, this bill exemplifies a bipartisan effort to build climate and flood resilience in Florida. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, May 10

Brienz (ETH Library, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

Minute 51
¶ “Swiss Village Of Brienz Told To Flee Imminent Monster Rockslide” • Residents of the tiny Swiss village of Brienz have to pack their bags and leave immediately. Two million cubic metres of rock from the mountain above them is set to come loose and crash down to the valley in the next few days. This is becauase of permafrost melting due to global warming. [BCC]

Wind turbines (Master Wen, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “British Wind Outperforms Gas In Q1 2023” • Britain’s wind turbines generated more electricity than gas-fired power stations for the first time in Q1 2023, new data released by Drax Electric Insights has found. Almost a third (32.4%) of Britain’s electricity was supplied from wind power during the first quarter of 2023, outpacing gas which delivered 31.7%. [reNews]

Not enough water (Chester Ho, Unsplash)

Minute 56
¶ “Water Scarcity Keeps Legislators And Private Companies Finding New Solutions” • As the planet warms and populations grow, the UN expects a 40% shortfall in the world’s water supply just seven years from now. Partnerships and cooperation are essential to realize the human right to water, and sometimes they form in unusual places. [CleanTechnica]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #522 – 5/11/2023

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