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Energy Week #531 – 7/13/2023
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, July 6
Napa Valley vineyard (Gabriel Tovar, Unsplash)
Minute 2
¶ “Californian Winemakers Learning Firefighting Techniques” • Northern California’s Napa Valley had a historic wildfire season in 2020. The first blaze erupted in August, consuming hundreds of thousands of acres and killing five people. Vinyard owners had to adapt to learn not only firefighting techniques, but how to deal with wine flavored by smoke. [BBC]
Caterpillar 793 electric truck (Courtesy of Caterpillar)
Minute 5
¶ “Australian Mining Companies Chose Battery-Electric Over Hydrogen Fuel Cell Mining Trucks” • Both batteries and fuel cells provide the electricity needed to turn electric motors, so which is better? The companies have done their research. For them, the answer is clear. Battery-powered mining trucks are the way to go. Why? Efficiency. [CleanTechnica]
LionGlass (Courtesy of Penn State University)
Minute 8
¶ “Penn State’s New LionGlass Is 10 Times Tougher And Has Half The Carbon Emissions” • Penn State University announced a new product, LionGlass, which is ten times more resistant to damage than soda lime silicate glass. And it uses about half the energy to manufacture, because the melting temperatures are lowered by about 300°C to 400°C. [CleanTechnica]
Friday, July 7
Rendering of a 56-MW iron-air battery (Form Energy image)
Minute 10
¶ “State Regulators Approve Xcel Energy’s Plan For Battery Storage In Becker” • The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved an Xcel Energy project that will test a 10-MW Form Energy iron-air battery system. Xcel expects will begin operating in late 2025. The system will be able to store a 100 hour supply of energy. [MPR News]
Surface air temperature (CCCS & ECMWF)
Minute 13
¶ “Last Month Was The Planet’s Hottest June On Record By A Huge Margin” • Earth’s temperature was off the charts in June. An Analysis from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service found that last month was the hottest June by a “substantial margin” above the previous record. The nine hottest Junes have all occurred in the last nine years. [CNN]
Areas with risk of shortfall (EIA, Today in Energy)
Minute 16
¶ “High Summer Heat Means ⅔ Of North America At Risk Of Energy Shortfalls” • If temperatures spike this summer, parts of the US could face electricity supply shortages. The latest summer reliability report from NERC warns that two-thirds of North America is at risk of energy shortfalls this summer in times of extremely high electricity demand. [CleanTechnica]
Saturday, July 8
Monopiles ready to go (Courtesy of EEW)
Minute 19
¶ “New Jersey’s Zombie Offshore Wind Industry Finally Sees Light Of Day” • New Jersey inched one step closer to its first offshore wind farm when a helpful tax bill squeaked through the legislature by the skin of its teeth. Passage of the bill should help launch the 1,100-MW Ocean Wind 1 project, though there still may be trouble. [CleanTechnica]
Model of sailing ship (Oceanbird image)
Minute 22
¶ “What Would Net-Zero Shipping Look Like?” • At a United Nations summit, countries agreed to curb shipping emissions to net-zero “by or around 2050.” Shipping is a highly polluting industry, producing nearly 3% of global emissions. If it were a country, the shipping industry would be the sixth largest polluter in the world. [BBC]
Spot power prices (European Power Exchange image)
Minute 24
¶ “Negative Power Prices Reveal Market Is Still Unprepared To Tap On Full Renewables Potential” • Over the weekend electricity producers on European power exchanges offered to pay up to €500 per MWh to anyone taking their electricity. The record negative prices reflect the dynamic changes brought about by renewable energy. [Balkan Green Energy News]
Sunday, July 9
Wind farm (Johanna Montoya, Unsplash)
Minute 27
¶ “1 GW In 1 Quarter: India’s Wind Energy Capacity Addition Sees Unprecedented Jump” • India’s installations of wind energy capacity have seen an unprecedented jump in the first quarter of the current fiscal as projects totalling 1.13 GW were installed in the country. This is more than the installations achieved annually for the last six years. [PSU Watch]
Sunset (Jason Blackeye, Unsplash)
Minute 30
¶ “Global Heat In ‘Uncharted Territory’ As Scientists Warn 2023 Could Be The Hottest Year On Record” • The world is blasting through climate records as scientists sound the alarm: The likelihood is growing that 2023 could be the hottest year on record, and the climate crisis could be altering our weather in ways they don’t yet understand. [CNN]
Johannesburg (tebogo losaba, Unsplash)
Minute 32
¶ “Reduced Eskom Load-Shedding Is Here To Stay, Electricity Minister Assures” • Speaking to reporters, the South African electricity minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said improvements in the amount of load shedding are due to increased energy availability factor and the fact that Eskom has needed to burn less coal. [MyBroadband]
Monday, July 10
Daffodils (Mike Cassidy, Unsplash)
Minute 35
¶ “Daffodils Eaten By Livestock Could Address Climate Change” • Methane is considered the second most common greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, and it is released by cows and sheep whenever they burp. A report on the BBC said that a chemical which can be extracted from daffodils could reduce methane production by a third. [Nature World News]
Salt field in Taiwan (Timo Volz, Unsplash)
Minute 38
¶ “South Korean Shoppers Hoard Salt And Seafood Ahead Of Japan’s Release Of Treated Radioactive Water ” • For the past month, Korea has struggled with severe sea salt shortages as shoppers snap it up in bulk, reflecting heightened public anxiety ahead of the planned release of treated radioactive water from Fukushima, Japan. [CNN]
Nautilus (Shaun Low, Unsplash)
Minute 40
¶ “Crunch Talks Due On Deep-Sea Mining Controversy” • At global talks in Jamaica, deep-sea mining will be one of the hot topics. Scientists fear a possible “goldrush” for precious metals on the ocean floor could have devastating effects on marine life. But supporters argue that these minerals are needed if the world is to meet the demand for green technologies. [BBC]
Tuesday, July 11
Lightning (Leon Contreras, Unsplash)
Minute 43
¶ “How Harvesting Electricity From Humid Air Could One Day Power Our Devices” • It’s an idea that has been around for many years. Nikola Tesla and others have investigated it in the past but never achieved promising results. However, that could be about to change. Research groups around the world are finding ways to glean electricity from humid air. [BBC]
Ambulance (Jonas Augustin, Unsplash)
Minute 46
¶ “Nearly 62,000 People Died From Record-Breaking Heat In Europe Last Summer. It’s A Lesson For The US, Too” • Nearly 62,000 people died heat-related deaths last year during Europe’s hottest summer on record, a study published in Nature Medicine found. It is heartbreaking evidence that heat is a silent killer, and its victims are greatly under-counted. [CNN]
Scientists at work (Courtesy of Lawrence Berkeley Lab)
Minute 48
¶ “Better Batteries From Lawrence Berkeley Lab Research” • A research team led by Gao Liu, a senior scientist in the Energy Technologies Area at Lawrence Berkeley Lab, published a paper in the journal Nature Energy recently in which they report on new technology that could lower the cost of lithium-ion batteries and extend their service life. [CleanTechnica]
Wednesday, July 12
Flooding in Vermont (National Weather Service)
Minute 51
¶ “US Storms: Vermont Governor Calls Floods ‘Historic And Catastrophic’” • Vermont has suffered “historic and catastrophic” flash flooding, the governor said after up to two months worth of rain fell in two days. Over 100 rescues have been conducted by emergency crews in the state, and over 100 roads were closed because of the inundation. [BBC]
Storm (NOAA, Unsplash)
Minute 54
¶ “A ‘Perfect Storm’ Unfolding This Summer Is ‘Supercharging’ The Weather, Scientist Says” • A “perfect storm” is unfolding this summer, as atmospheric ingredients combine to create record-breaking weather. As the arctic temperatures rise faster than those in warmer areas, the reduced difference can make the jet stream get “stuck,” prolonging weather events. [CNN]
John Kerry (US Embassy Bern, Switzerland, public domain)
Minute 56
¶ “US Climate Envoy John Kerry Set To Travel To Beijing This Weekend” • US climate envoy John Kerry is set to travel to Beijing this weekend for climate talks with his counterparts in China, a Biden administration official told CNN. The meeting comes as the US and China seek ways to work together on the climate crisis. [CNN]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #531 – 7/13/2023
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
Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 