Energy Week #539 – 9/7/2023

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 #539 – 9/7/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, August 31 

Marquette, Michigan (Gary Meulemans, Unsplash)

Minute 2
¶ “Hope In Michigan: One Policy, Big Impact” • The Michigan legislature appears to be pursuing a clean energy standard that requires 60% of utility electricity be from renewable or nuclear energy by 2030, and 100% by 2035. This is more ambitious than what was first proposed, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she will support that effort. [CleanTechnica]

Monkey in a hot spring (Steven Diaz, Unsplash)

Minute 5
¶ “The Race Is On To Tap A Source Of Clean Energy Beneath Our Feet” • Hot, dry rocks lie below the surface everywhere on the planet. And by using advanced drilling techniques developed by the oil and gas industry, some experts think it’s possible to tap that larger store of heat and create geothermal energy almost anywhere. [The Japan Times]

Flooding from Hurricane Idalia (Andrew Heneen, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 8
¶ “Deadly Tropical Storm Idalia Floods Parts Of South Carolina After Pummeling Florida” • Idalia weakened to a tropical storm as it dumped heavy rain, unleashed strong winds and knocked out power in parts of southern Georgia and the Carolinas, just hours after pummeling Florida’s west coast and inundating communities there with floodwater. [CNN]

Friday, September 1

Emissions (Brendan O’Donnell, Unsplash)

Minute 10
¶ “Scientists Are Asked If Humans Have Broken The Earth’s Climate” • Is 2023 the year humans finally broke the climate? The Guardian recently asked 45 climate scientists. In general, they said that, despite feeling events have taken a frightening turn, the global heating seen to date is entirely in line with three decades of scientific predictions. [CleanTechnica]

Daisy (eDub Conversions)

Minute 13
¶ “Meet Daisy, The Split Screen VW T1 Camper Transformation” • Why do I keep following what Kit Lacey at eDub? Because the honesty of his passion is shining through. There are plenty of very passionate builders out there, but Kit is so easygoing that it is soothing to follow his endeavors. Also, his electric conversions of old VW campers are epic. [CleanTechnica]

Hurricanes Idalia and Franklin (NOAA-NESDIS image)

Minute 16
¶ “How Idalia’s Final Moments Dramatically Altered Its Impact On Florida And Prevented A Worse Disaster” • Hurricane Idalia caused “significant damage” as it ripped into Florida’s Big Bend with 125 mph winds and a record storm surge. But the storm’s evolution before landfall, and lucky timing with the tides, likely prevented an even worse disaster. [CNN]

Saturday, September 2

Wind turbines in Wyoming (CGP Grey, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 19
¶ “Wyoming Could Reap More Than $7 Billion If It Takes Full Advantage Of The IRA But There Are Many Challenges” • All of Wyoming’s representatives in Washington DC voted against the Inflation Reduction Act. A recent analysis by RMI shows that Wyoming could get more than $7 billion dollars by making use of it. Here is an interview. [Wyoming Public Media]

Golden Gate Bridge (Joseph Barrientos, Unsplash)

Minute 22
¶ “In Historic Vote, California Becomes Largest Economy In World To Call For Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty” • In a historic move, a resolution calling on the State of California to endorse the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty passed in the State Assembly, making California the largest economy in the world to support the proposal. [CleanTechnica]

Winter in Kentucky (Jason Pack, public domain)

Minute 24
¶ “Fossil Fuels Failed Kentucky Utility Customers During Winter Blackouts” • Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities implemented rolling blackouts for more than 50,000 customers on the coldest day of the year last winter. They had blamed the forced outages on a natural gas supply disruption, but testimony reveals coal power failed too. [WKMS]

Sunday, September 3

Dounreay nuclear plant (John, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

Minute 27
¶ “Scholz Says The Nuclear Energy Issue Is ‘A Dead Horse’ For Germany” • “Nuclear energy is over,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. “The issue of nuclear energy in Germany is a dead horse. Anyone who wanted to build new nuclear power plants would need fifteen years and would have to spend €15 to €20 billion ($16.2 to $ 21.6 billion) each.” [DW]

Skye (v2osk, Unsplash)

Minute 30
¶ “How The Scottish Highlands Are Becoming A Renewable Energy Powerhouse” • Scotland’s Highlands and Islands have long been known for its sparse population and less favored farm land. However, with renewable energy, the region has undergone a shift in fortunes, to become a thriving hub of innovation and opportunity. [Microgrid Media]

Power lines (frank pereira, Unsplash)

Minute 32
¶ “Powered By Wind, This $10 Billion Transmission Line Will Carry More Energy Than The Hoover Dam” • As CEO of Pattern Energy, Hunter Armistead said breaking ground on the SunZia transmission line marks a major milestone. The US needs to bolster its already swamped power grids as demand increases and weather events get more extreme. [KJZZ]

Monday, September 4

Renewable energy (Katie Moum, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “China Makes A ‘Major Strategic Decision’ That Will Impact The Whole World: ‘Based On Our Sense Of Responsibility’” • The Good News Network reported that the government of China outlined its intention to install 100 GW of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind in the desert regions, by 2026 in its recent Five-Year Plan. [Yahoo News]

Tiny part of a gigawatt (NREL image)

Minute 38
¶ “How Much Power Is 1 Gigawatt?” • At the end of 2022, there were over 144 GW of wind power and 110 GW of solar PVs in the US. To help put this number in perspective, it’s important to know just how big 1 GW is. We might envision 2.469 Million PV Panels, or 310 utility wind turbines, or 1.3 million horses, or even 2,000 Corvette Z06s. [CleanTechnica]

Rufus hummingbird (VJAnderson, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

Minute 40
¶ “These Tiny Creatures Are Losing Their Battle To Survive. Here’s What We Can Do To Save Them” • Rufous Hummingbirds are magical. The male’s iridescent throat glows brighter than a shiny copper penny and it whizzes through the air curiously hovering right in front of humans who ponder them. It has lost two-thirds of its population since 1970. [CNN]

Tuesday, September 5

Solar array (Chelsea, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 43
¶ “Weekly Data: The Global Power Sector Saved $521 Billion In 2022 Thanks To Fuel Savings From Renewables” • A report from the International Renewable Energy Agency shows that in 2022, renewable power deployed globally since 2000 saved countries an estimated $521 billion in avoided fossil fuel costs in the electricity sector. [Energy Monitor]

Pollution (Jacek Dylag, Unsplash)

Minute 46
¶ “Air Pollution And Its Threat To Health Are Unequally Spread Throughout The World” • As global pollution edged upward in 2021, so did its health burden, data from the Air Quality Life Index shows. If the world permanently reduced fine particulate pollution to meet the WHO’s guideline, life expectancies would increase by 2.3 years. [CleanTechnica]

Solar on Essential Energy’s network

Minute 48
¶ “Cheaper And Quicker: Distributed Networks Put Case To Host Wind And Solar” • John Cleland, the head of Essential Energy, which covers 95% of the land area of New South Wales, says that connecting new wind and solar farms into existing local networks will be “several times” less expensive than connecting into the transmission network. [Renew Economy]

Wednesday, September 6

Offshore oil platform (Divulgação Petrobras, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 51
¶ “Forget The Rosebank Oil Field. Labour’s Renewable Energy Plans Could Save £93 Billion For UK Households” • Change is needed, but if the UK Government approves the huge Rosebank oil field off the coast of Shetland, and its potential to deliver 500 million barrels of oil, we can say goodbye to any serious hope of tackling the climate emergency. [The Scotsman]

Solid-state battery (Georgia Institute of Technology)

Minute 54
¶ “Aluminum Materials Show Promising Performance For Safer, Cheaper, More Powerful Batteries” • A team of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology is using aluminum foil to create batteries with high energy density and great stability. A report in Nature Communications shows that the batteries could hold more energy and be cheaper to make. [CleanTechnica]

After a gas explosion in New York City (Adnan Islam, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 56
¶ “US DOT Finally Suspends LNG-By-Rail Rule!” • The US Department of Transportation suspended a rule arising from the Trump epoch that allowed the transport of liquefied natural gas by rail across the country without a special permit. This is a huge victory for the planet and for those living in the potential blast zones of these rail lines. [CleanTechnica]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #539 – 9/7/2023

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 #538 – 8/31/2023

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 #538 – 8/31/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, August 24

Seafood (Max Mota, Unsplash)

Minute 2
¶ “China Bans Seafood From Japan After Tokyo Begins Releasing Treated Radioactive Water” • China announced it was banning all seafood from Japan in response to Tokyo’s decision to start the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, dramatically escalating an already tense feud between the two neighbors. [CNN]

Tropical forest (Martin Zangerl, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 5
¶ “Parts Of The Tropical Rainforests Could Get Too Hot For Photosynthesis, Study Suggests” • Some leaves in tropical forests from South America to South East Asia are getting so hot they may no longer be able to photosynthesize, with big potential consequences for the world’s forests, a study says. Photosynthesis can fail at around 46.7°C (116°F). [CNN]

Power plant (Alex Simpson, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 8
¶ “Extreme Heat Makes Electricity More Expensive, More Polluting, And Less Reliable” • Extreme heat has hit hard lately from coast to coast this year. The direct health impact of heat stress is bad enough, and dangerous. But extreme heat also hits our electricity system in ways that make it more expensive, more polluting, and less reliable. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, August 25

Part of Houston’s water supply (Alexander Hatley, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

Minute 10 ¶ “Houston Issues Mandatory Water Restrictions Due To Intense Heat, Worsening Drought” • Faced with a fast-spreading, extreme drought and blistering heat, Houston public officials announced that outdoor water restrictions are now mandatory across the city as water pressure drops. Scientists say heat and drought are both linked to climate change. [CNN]

Penguins (Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA)

Minute 13
¶ “Huge Colonies Of Emperor Penguins Saw No Chicks Survive Last Year As Sea Ice Disappears” • In the Bellingshausen Sea, four out of five emperor penguin colonies analyzed saw no chicks at all survive last year as the area experienced an enormous loss of sea ice, according to a study in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment. [CNN]

Nikki Haley in 2021 (Glenn Youngkin, public domain)

Minute 16
¶ “Republican Debate: What They Said (And Didn’t Say) About Climate” • One of the Republican debate’s most illuminating moments came 20 minutes in. The reaction to it was swift and – among some young people and scientists – angry. Nikki Haley was the only candidate who said climate change was real, in the short discussion on the subject. [BBC]

Saturday, August 26

Vermont home (GMP image)

Minute 19
¶ “Green Mountain Power Expands Residential Storage Plan To All” • Vermont utility Green Mountain Power is one of the most progressive utilities in America. In 2015, it started a small pilot program that made Tesla Powerwall residential storage batteries available to a limited number of customers. Now, the program has been expanded. [CleanTechnica]

Beaver (Erwin Weston, USDA Forest Service)

Minute 22
¶ “Partnering With Beavers To Adapt To Climate Change” • To mitigate climate change and adapt to a warming planet we need as many partners as we can get. This includes embracing nature as a key ally. Estimates suggest that nature-based solutions can provide 37% of the mitigation needed to keep climate warming to less than 2°C. [CleanTechnica]

ThankYouBigOil bilboard (Bill McKibbon, via Twitter)

Minute 24
¶ “‘Thank You, Big Oil’ Campaign Targets Fossil Fuel Companies” • This week, drivers traveling on highways in Phoenix, Austin, and Fresno will see prominent billboards displaying a map of record-breaking temperatures that have been recorded across the US this summer. Its words read, “Brought to you by Big Oil,” by ThankYouBigOil.com. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, August 27

Offshore wind farm (Ørsted image)

Minute 27
¶ “Brazil Has 189 GW Of Offshore Wind Power In The Pipeline” • Brazil has 189 GW of offshore wind projects currently under license at Ibama. Power generation from offshore wind is a still unexplored market in the country, but companies expect it to develop rapidly once the regulatory framework is approved and the first auctions begin. [Evwind]

Purmamarca (Telmo Filho, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 30
¶ “The Indigenous Groups Fighting Against The Quest For ‘White Gold’” • “Our land is drying up and our water is polluted,” said a protester at a roadblock in the village of Purmamarca, high in the Andes. The village is in what has become known as the “lithium triangle,” a stretch of mountains that holds the world’s biggest reserves of lithium. [BBC]

Protection from mosquitoes (Aarón Blanco Tejedor, Unsplash)

Minute 32
¶ “Zika, Dengue Transmission Expected To Rise With Climate Change” • There were 1,016 deaths in Brazil due to dengue hit a record high in 2022, in four digits for the first time. The sobering number is expected to be even higher in 2023. Transmission of arboviruses could increase by 20% over the next 30 years due to climate change. [The Good Men Project]

Monday, August 28

Remembering Maui (Benjamin Rascoe, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “Maui Fires: Upcoming Bankruptcy Spikes Visitor Costs To All Islands Except Kauai” • Many expect the behemoth Hawaiian Electric Company to be forced into bankruptcy by the recent Maui wildfires. HECO supplies all of Hawaii’s electricity, except for what is used on the island of Kauai, which has its own power company and uses renewables. [Beat of Hawaii]

Solar array (Courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory)

Minute 38
¶ “Can California Cropland Be Repurposed For Community Solar?” • When you think of solar power, California undoubtedly comes to mind. But surprisingly, its community solar programs haven’t been able to gain traction. Out of the 5,700 MW of all installed community solar in the country, less than 1% of that is in California. That may change. [CleanTechnica]

Farm field in Heilongjiang Province (Jay Fang, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 40
¶ “China’s Summer Of Climate Destruction” • China’s summer this year has seen both extreme heat and devastating floods, which struck areas where such weather has been unheard of. Scientists, who blame climate change, warn that the worst is yet to come. The crop loss in Heilongjiang Province alone had major impacts on the country’s food supplies. [BBC]

Tuesday, August 29

Steppe Mammoth (April Pethybridge, Unsplash)

Minute 43
¶ “Did Hunting Mammoths To Extinction Kick Off Climate Change?” • For most people interested in climate change, it all started with the industrial revolution, but that’s only when it went into overdrive. The rise of agriculture, mass deforestation, and the destruction of native species had already led to smaller but still significant changes in the climate. [CleanTechnica]

Panama Canal (Wellington Luck, Panama Canal Authority)

Minute 46“Drought Threatens Shipping On World Waterways” • Today, 90% of all goods travel by ship at some point. But thanks in part to emissions from ships, drought conditions in several parts of the world have lowered the water level in many rivers and canals to the point where ships can no longer carry some cargoes to their destinations. [CleanTechnica]

Crown Prince Haakon (Ole Jørgen Bratland, Equinor)

Minute 48
¶ “World’s Largest Floating Offshore Wind Farm Officially Opened” • The Hywind Tampen wind farm was opened recently by Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. Gullfaks and Snorre are the first oil and gas fields in the world to receive power from offshore wind, reducing CO₂ emissions. The Hywind Tampen wind farm has a capacity of 88 MW. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Wednesday, August 30

Hallstatt, Austria (Joss Woodhead, Unsplash)

Minute 51
¶ “Fossil Fuels’ Share In EU Power Mix At Lowest Level Since Records Began” • Fossil fuels produced just 33% of EU power in the first half of 2023, the lowest share in records going back to 1990, think tank Ember said. The main reason was lower demand for electricity, which meant the rising renewable energy output could meet more of the demand. [Reuters]

Cyanobacteria (Luke Thompson and Nikki Watson, CC1)

Minute 54
¶ “The Bacteria That Can Capture Carbon” • Scientists have recently discovered a microbe, a type of cyanobacteria, off the coast of a volcanic island near Sicily, that eats carbon dioxide “astonishingly quickly.” The microbes found in September 2022 are “hyper-efficient at taking up CO₂ through photosynthesis,” one scientist said. [BBC]

Great Wall (Hanson Lu, Unsplash)

Minute 56
“Chinese People Are Living Two Years Longer Thanks To ‘War On Pollution,’ Report Says” • Ten years ago, China’s capital was often covered in thick yellow and gray smog. The air quality was so bad that Chinese leaders launched a multibillion-dollar “war against pollution.” A decade on, China’s pollution levels had fallen 42%. [CNN]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #538 – 8/31/2023

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 #537 – 8/24/2023

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 #537 – 8/24/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, August 17

Floating offshore wind turbines (Ocean Winds image)

Minute 2 ¶ “Mainstream, Ocean Winds Partner On Second Scots Floater” • Mainstream Renewable Power and Ocean Winds partnered to develop a site east of Shetland, bringing the total capacity of the Arven offshore wind farm to 2300 MW. The partnership is to develope one Arven site, with a capacity of 1,800 MW. Ocean Winds is developing the other alone. [reNews]

Firefighters (Government of the Northwest Territory)

Minute 5
“Race To Evacuate City As Blaze Approaches” • One of the largest cities in Canada’s far north is being evacuated amid warnings that a wildfire could reach it by the weekend. The 20,000 residents of Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, have until noon Friday to leave. Scientists say climate change increases the risk of wildfires. [BBC]

Ute solar workers (GRID Alternatives Tribal Program)

Minute 8

¶ “US Energy Jobs Have Increased In Nearly Every County” • The DOE released county-level data on energy employment across the country. The data show that energy jobs grew in nearly every US county in 2022. The release comes on the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, which has already spurred over $110 billion of clean energy investments. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, August 18

Wildfire (Mike Newbry, Unsplash)

Minute 10
¶ “How Canada’s Wildfires Are Warming The Stratosphere” • Research has shown that wildfires’ likelihood and intensity have already increased due to human-caused global warming. There is still a lot we don’t understand about these powerful phenomena, however. Not least is the ability of wildfires to alter and disrupt climate systems long after they die out. [BBC]

Rich (Charles C Collingwood, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “America’s Richest 10% Are Responsible For 40% Of Its Planet-Heating Pollution” • America’s wealthiest people are also some of the world’s biggest polluters, not only because of their massive homes and private jets, but because of the fossil fuels generated by the companies they invest their money in, a study published in the journal PLOS Climate shows. [CNN]

Venomous snake (Courtesy of the Australian Reptile Park)

Minute 16
¶ “Snake season starts early as unusually high temperatures hit Australia” • Snakes are active in warm weather, and as Australia’s east coast experiences one of its warmest winters on record, snake season appears to have started early. The Australian Reptile Park has issued an “urgent warning” for people to be on the look out for venomous snakes. [CNN]

Saturday, August 19

Olive grove (David Boca, Unsplash)

Minute 19
¶ “Olive Oil Is In Trouble As Extreme Heat And Drought Push The Industry Into Crisis” • There is a crisis brewing in the olive oil industry. The scorching temperatures that swept southern Europe this summer claimed lives and led to intense wildfires, but they’re also very bad news for olive trees. Olive industry experts warning of potential shortages. [CNN]

Hurricane Hillary rainfall forecast (NOAA image)

Minute 22
¶ “Hurricane Hilary Sparks Rare Storm Watch For California” • A Category 4 storm called Hilary is predicted to first make landfall in Baja California on Saturday morning. Forecasters say it will move on towards southern California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah as a tropical storm. It would be the first tropical storm to hit California in over 80 years. [BBC]

Solar panels (Asia Chang, Unsplash)

Minute 24
¶ “Feds Determine Five Chinese Solar Panel Companies Have Been Skirting US Tariffs” • After an investigation lasting over a year, officials concluded that five Chinese solar PV makers were skirting US tariff laws by routing their operations through four other Southeast Asian countries. Higher tariffs will be delayed until 2024 so installers can find other sources. [CNN]

Sunday, August 20

Hurricane Hilary (Lauren Dauphin, NASA Earth Observatory)

Minute 27
¶ “Tropical Storms Like Hurricane Hilary Could Significantly Change Southern California’s Coast” • Experts say that over a year’s worth of rain could fall within a couple of days in some areas of Southern California this weekend. Southern California hasn’t had a tropical storm since 1939, but if more are coming, they could alter the coast. [CleanTechnica]

Agrivoltaics (Werner Slocum, NREL)

Minute 30
¶ “Agrivoltaics Is Making Friends Across Partisan Lines, Thanks To Farmers” • US farmers are warming up to agrivoltaics, which co-locates solar arrays with grazing fields, row crops, pollinator habitats, and other forms of agricultural activity. The rise of this dual-use movement comes at a good time for both farmers and solar advocates. [CleanTechnica]

Chicago (Brad Knight, Unsplash)

Minute 32
¶ “US Can Cut Building Emissions By Up To 91%, Saving $100 Billion Per Year In Energy-Related Costs” • In a paper publishied in the journal One Earth, a team of researchers found that the US can achieve its climate goals, decrease building emissions by 91% from their 2005 peak, and save over $100 billion each year on energy costs. [Eurasia Review]

Monday, August 21

Death Valley (Photographersnature, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 35
¶ “Floods Hit Death Valley As Storm Hilary Peaks In California” • Hilary is the first tropical storm to hit California in 84 years. It has brought record rains, flooding Los Angeles and desert areas like Palm Springs and Death Valley. Experts say recent abnormal weather events hitting the US and other countries are influenced by human-caused climate change. [BBC]

Föhn clouds over La Palma (Tigerente, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

Minute 38
¶ “The Weird Wind That Can Supercharge Heatwaves And Wildfires” • In German, “Föhn” means hairdryer, but can also be a wierd hot wind. The Föhn effect is a hot, dry wind that sweeps down a mountainside, baking everything in its path. It can take place anywhere on Earth, and it can cause local temperatures to rise by over 28°C (50°F) in one hour. [BBC]

Wildfire in BC (British Columbia Wildfire Service)

Minute 40
¶ “Canada’s Northwest Territories Set A Record For Its Hottest Temperature” • With a Saturday temperature of 37.4C, Fort Good Hope in the NWT saw “the hottest temperature recorded that far north in Canada,” says Environment Canada meteorologist Jesse Wagar. She added that the new records smashed the previous ones “often by several degrees.” [BBC]

Tuesday, August 22

Form Energy battery (Form Energy image)

Minute 43
¶ “Multi-Day Energy Storage Increases Grid Capacity By Factor Of Ten” • Form Energy announced it has been awarded a $12 million grant from NYSERDA for a 10-MW, 1000-MWh pilot battery project in New York by 2026. This will be Form Energy’s first grid-scale project in New York. Similar projects are going up in Colorado and Minnesota. [pv magazine USA]

Greenhouse with ClearView windows (Courtesy of ClearVue)

Minute 46
¶ “Peer Reviewed Research Confirms ClearVue Solar Window Benefits” • ClearVue, based in Perth, Australia, makes PV solar windows. In a two-year study of ClearVue windows installed in the roof and vertical walls of greenhouse at Murdoch University, researchers found that ClearVue’s clear solar glazing produces consistent energy generation. [CleanTechnica]

Predicted Flooding (Andrew Orrison, Weather Prediction Center)

Minute 48
¶ “Storm Hilary: Flooding Cuts Off Palm Springs” • Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit southern California in 84 years, cut off the desert city of Palm Springs after dumping a year’s worth of rain. Flooding closed major roads in and out of Palm Springs after 3.18 in (8 cm) of rain fell. Death Valley National Park got a full year’s worth of rain in one day. [BBC]

Wednesday, August 23

Graph provided by the US Energy Information Administration

Minute 51
¶ “86% Of New US Electric Utility Generation Capacity Coming From Non-Fossil Fuels In 2023” • Efforts to decarbonize the US power grid are evident in planned additions and retirement of utility-scale generating capacity. For 2023, new capacity will be primarily from solar (52%) and wind (13%), while batteries for stored energy will provide 17%. [CleanTechnica]

Dulles International Airport (Tripod, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 54
¶ “Dominion And Dulles Break Ground On Nation’s Largest Renewable Energy Project At An Airport” • Dominion Energy and Virginia officials broke ground at Dulles International Airport for a solar, battery, and EV project they said will be largest such project at an airport. It will have 100 MW of solar capacity and a 50 MW battery. [Virginia Mercury]

Graph provided by the California Energy Commission

Minute 56
¶ “Solar Up 20X, Fossil Fuel Use Down In California” • According to data from the California Energy Commission, the state made significant strides to meet goals to develop a resilient grid, attain 100% clean electricity, and meet its carbon neutrality objectives. In the last decade, solar generation grew from 2,609 GWh to an astounding 48,950 GWh. [CleanTechnica]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #537 – 8/24/2023

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 #536 – 8/17/2023

 

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 #536 – 8/17/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, August 10

Concept of community solar (Massachusetts Clean Energy Center)

Minute 2
¶ “Community Solar: Panels Without A Roof” • As the cost of solar decreases each year, all forms of solar are within reach of more people. One form, community solar, is growing especially fast. According to the National Renewable Energy Lab, capacity has grown by 121% year-over-year since 2010. That trend that is expected to continue. [CleanTechnica]

Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls’ School (Diana Kellogg Architects)

Minute 5
¶ “How This School In The Indian Desert Stays Cool Even In Extreme Heat” • In the north Indian desert town of Jaisalmer, temperatures can reach approximately 120°F (49°C) at the height of summer. Here, buildings have long been designed to adapt to the heat. New York architect Diana Kellogg used that tradition for the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls’ School. [CNN]

Minute 8
¶ “Extreme Heat Will Make Grand Canyon Visits Dramatically More Risky In The Future, Study Says” • Extreme heat fueled by climate change will significantly increase the risk of heat-related illness for the people who visit Grand Canyon National Park each year, a National Park Service study found. The increase could be 137% by 2100, in a worst case scenario. [CNN]

Grand Canyon (Omer Nezih Gerek, Unsplash)

Friday, August 11

“You mean they’re lying?” (Ben White, Unsplash)

Minute 10
¶ “Videos Denying Climate Science Approved By Florida As State Curriculum” • Videos that compare climate activists to Nazis, portray solar and wind energy as environmentally ruinous, and claim that global heating is part of natural long-term cycles will be made available to young schoolchildren in Florida, after they were approved for use in public schools. [The Guardian]

Storm (Luka Vovk, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “Ocean Heat Is Off The Charts, So Where Are The Hurricanes? Forecasters Warn A Change Is Coming” • Record ocean heat has set the stage for an active Atlantic hurricane season, but so far we have had no storms. There have been no tropical storms in the Atlantic basin in nearly a month, and none have come close to the US. That could soon change. [CNN]

Proterra bus (Courtesy of Proterra)

Minute 16
¶ “In A Surprise Move, Proterra Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection” • In a statement, Proterra said has voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in the District of Delaware in an effort to strengthen its financial position through a recapitalization or going-concern sale. The firm said it will continue to operate. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, August 12

Cordova, Alaska (USDA Forest Service Alaska Region)

Minute 19
¶ “Cordova And NREL Push The Envelope Of Microgrid Design” • Cordova, like so many other cities in Alaska, is not connected to a larger energy system. Its 2,700 residents live in a microgrid that copes with earthquakes, tsunamis, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, and winter superstorms. Cordova is collaborating with NREL to create a model for microgrids. [CleanTechnica]

Lahaina (US Civil Air Patrol)

Minute 22
¶ “Why Weren’t Maui Residents Warned Sooner?” • Local evacuations first took place on Tuesday, then an announcement came that the flames were “100% contained.” By the next day, however, fast-moving flames had engulfed Lahaina. Residents reported that strong winds knocked out the communications systems hours before the fires arrived. [BBC]

Carbon capture (Courtesy of Climeworks)

Minute 24
¶ “DOE Funds Two Direct Air Capture Carbon Removal Projects” • The DOE announced $1.1 billion in funding for two direct air capture projects, one in Texas and the other in Louisiana. The Washington Post reports they will be used to develop and test the machinery. In total, the Biden administration has earmarked $3.5 billion for US direct air capture projects. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, August 13

Charging a car (Michael Fousert, Unsplash)

Minute 27
¶ “Why Electric Car Tech Could Drive Down Power Prices” • What if every light in your home along with your television, computer, smartphone, swimming pool, and all cleaning, cooking, and cooling appliances could be powered by one source? And what if that source was the battery on wheels you parked in your garage each night? [The Driven]

Candela C-8 moving really fast (Candela image)

Minute 30
“Taking Flight With The Candela C-8” • The Candela C-8 is finally available for customers to purchase. Instead of a loud, inefficient combustion engine, the Candela C-8 has a torpedo-shaped C-Pod motor assembly. It is lifted out of the water on the hydrofoils for a smoother ride and around 80% less drag. It’s is super fast and super quiet. [CleanTechnica]

GOES-16 satellite image of Hurricane Don (NOAA image)

Minute 32
¶ “Updated 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook Increases Prediction To ‘Above Normal’ Level Of Activity” • Due to current ocean and atmospheric conditions, including record-warm sea surface temperatures, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has increased the prediction for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season to an “above normal” level of activity. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, August 14

Wind turbines (Anna Jiménez Calaf, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “The US Passed A Major Climate Law One Year Ago. Here’s How It’s Going” • A year ago this week, the Inflation Reduction Act, the first major federal climate legislation in US history, was signed into law. The act is just the first step on the way for the US to meet its climate goals. But it has kicked off a stunning boom in clean energy. [Canary Media]

Deforestation (Sebastian Pichler, Unsplash)

Minute 38
¶ “UK Biomass Strategy Won’t Stop The Destruction Of North American Forests” • The growing wood pellet industry, driven by UK demand, is damaging some of the most important forests on the North American continent, and the biodiversity they support. The UK government has a new Biomass Strategy, but it has very little in it to improve the situation. [CleanTechnica]

Rendering of V236-15 MW turbines (Vestas image)

Minute 40
¶ “Vestas Turbine Sets World Record” • Vestas’s V236-15 MW prototype wind turbine set a world record for the most power output by a single unit. The Danish manufacturer’s wind turbine racked up 363 MWh in 24 hours. The prototype was installed at the offshore Østerild National test center for large wind turbines in Denmark, in December 2022. [reNews]

Tuesday, August 15

Solar panels in Italy (Sungrow EMEA, Unsplash)

Minute 43
¶ “Solar Power Surges In Europe And Is Set To Double By 2030” • The EU is moving fast to deploy solar power in response to the energy crisis. A report by the lobby group SolarPower Europe found the bloc would have over 400 GW of solar power installed by the end of the decade, almost double the 208 GW of solar power produced today. [ZME Science]

Rice field in Himachal Pradesh (7018412375, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

Minute 46
¶ “Back To The Future For India’s Rice Farmers” • One farmer said, “Most of the people from the village are farmers but with major climatic changes we started facing a lot of problems. Our crops got destroyed because of unseasonal rains or scarcity of water.” Hybrid rice and heavy use of fertilizer make things worse. Some farmers are going back to old ways. [BBC]

Montana (Tony Reid, Unsplash)

Minute 48
¶ “Montana Judge Hands Young Plaintiffs Significant Victory In Landmark Climate Trial” • A Montana judge handed a significant victory to more than a dozen young plaintiffs in the nation’s first constitutional climate trial, as extreme weather gets more deadly and scientists warn the climate crisis is eroding our environment and natural resources. [CNN]

Wednesday, August 16

Past and expected Spot oil prices (EIA image)

Minute 51
“Crude Oil Prices Will Increase Through 2024 As Demand Rises Above Supply, US EIA Says” • The US Energy Information Administration forecasts higher crude oil prices in the second half of 2023 and into 2024 in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook due to moderate but persistent inventory drawdowns with demand exceeeding supply. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore oil rig (Jan-Rune Smenes Reite, Pexels, cropped)

Minute 54
¶ “Multitrillion-Dollar Carbon Bubble? Climate Chief Warns World Leaders Over Fossil Fuel Plans” • The head of the IPCC says world leaders face a multitrillion-dollar threat by pushing plans for fossil fuel production. The UN climate panel estimated that fossil fuel investors could be at risk of losing $1 trillion to $4 trillion if governments limit global warming. [CNBC]

Colorado River (Westwind Air Service, Unsplash)

Minute 56
¶ “Feds Ease Water Cuts On Colorado River After Blockbuster Winter” • Federal officials are easing water restrictions on the Colorado River next year, after above-average winter snowpack helped lift water levels at the nation’s two largest reservoirs. Lake Mead has shown “significant improvement” because of the good winter and water conservation efforts by states. [CNN]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #536 – 8/17/2023

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 #535 – 8/10/2023

 

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 #535 – 8/10/2023

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, August 3

Turbines off Block Island (Alex DeCiccio, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 2
¶ “How Offshore Wind Can Supply 25% Of US Electricity By 2050” • Currently, six turbines off the coast of Rhode Island account for the lion’s share of the US’s offshore wind energy production. But researchers believe massive offshore turbines could be producing more than 10,000 times as much energy in less than three decades. [Time]

EHang & GZDG Vertiport (Courtesy of EHang)

Minute 5
¶ “Electric VTOL Aircraft – China’s New Technology Lead” • FutureFlight‘s Jennifer Meszaros says, “The Bao’an district of the vast city of Shenzhen in China’s Guangdong province is set to become a hub for advanced air mobility services, with its district government now having signed partnership agreements with three eVTOL aircraft developers.” [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbines in Texas (USDA NRCS Texas, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 8
¶ “Texas Power Use Hits Record High For Seventh Day This Summer” • Power demand in Texas has hit a record high for the second day in a row and the seventh day this summer, as ongoing heat waves have kept air conditioning systems on. ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said it has enough resources to meet soaring demand. [Power Technology]

Friday, August 4

Fire in British Columbia (BC Wildfire Service image)

Minute 10
¶ “Devastating Wildfires Spur New Detection Systems” • Almost 900 forest fires were active in Canada during the week of July 17, burning a total of 10 million hectares. OroraTech, a German company, has eight satellites with special infrared sensors that monitor temperatures in grids of four-by-four meters. They can detect fires and issue warnings. [BBC]

Ocean (Joseph Barrientos, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “Ocean Heat Record Broken, With Grim Implications For The Planet” • The oceans hit their hottest temperature ever recorded as they soak up warmth from climate change. The implications for our planet’s health are dire. The average global sea surface temperature of 20.96°C, beating a 2016 record, according to the EU’s climate change service Copernicus. [BBC]

Ford F-150 Lightning (WMrapids, public domain)

Minute 16
¶ “Electric Vehicles And The US Economy: A Win-Win Situation” • We know that electrifying vehicles will help the environment. What we haven’t heard much about is the positive influence that EVs will have on the US economy. New research indicates that EVs are going to be really, really good for the US economy, and for a variety of reasons. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, August 5

Return to base (Arnold Price, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 19
¶ “Offshore Wind Resources Could Meet 25% Of US Demand” • The US has one of the best offshore wind resources in the world, a new report from UC Berkeley, Energy Innovation, and Grid Lab finds. With good near-term policy actions, those resources could account for up to a quarter of US electricity generation in less than 30 years. [CleanTechnica]

Amazon rainforest (Ivars Utināns, Unsplash)

Minute 22
¶ “Amazon Deforestation At Six-Year Low In Brazil After 66% Plunge In July” • Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 66% last month compared to July 2022 and is now at its lowest rate in six years, according to preliminary data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research. Surveillance has increased and perpetrators are being fined. [CNN]

Mountains in Chile (Rodrigo Flores, Unsplash)

Minute 24
¶ “Parts Of South America Are Sweltering Under A ‘Fierce’ Heatwave – And It’s The Middle Of Winter” • Southern Cone countries including Chile and Argentina are having summer-like conditions as a heat wave pushed temperatures higher than 38°C (100°F) in places. This is winter. One climatologist said the event is “rewriting all climatic books.” [CNN]

Sunday, August 6

Jack-up ship (Dogger Bank Wind Farm image)

Minute 27
¶ “Installation Of Turbine Twice The Height Of London Eye Begins At World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm” • Wind turbines, each of 13 MW, are being installed 80 miles off the Yorkshire coast at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm. The work is being done by the largest jack-up turbine installation vessel, a Jan de Nul’s ship with a lifting capacity of 3,200 tonnes. [Marine Insight]

Pump jacks in storage (Larry D Moore, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 30
¶ “Pension Wealth In Peril!” • A recent Carbon Tracker report alerts us to the possibility that Pension wealth appears to be in Peril. The report, Loading the Dice against Pension Funds, says that the global financial system is in danger of having to support the stranded assets of fossil fuel companies as national economies go green. [CleanTechnica]

Andes (Alexander Schimmeck, Unsplash)

Minute 32
¶ “Winter Heatwave In Andes Is A Sign Of Things To Come, Scientists Warn” • The record-breaking winter heatwave in the Andean mountains of South America has surged to 37°C (98.6°F), prompting local scientists to warn the worst may be yet to come as human-caused climate disruption and El Niño cause havoc across the region. [The Guardian]

Monday, August 7

Solar array (Sungrow EMEA, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “Solar Power: Expected To Eclipse Oil In 2023” • Renewable energy has become an increasingly important topic in recent years as we work towards a more environmentally-friendly and sustainable future. A recent Forbes article highlights an exciting trend toward solar power investment, which is set to eclipse oil this year. [Digital Journal]

MV Sea Change, a zero-emissions ferry (All American Marine)

Minute 38
¶ “Full Clean Ahead: Can Shipping Finally Steer Away From Fossil Fuels?” • Nearly half (43%) of all voyages made along the longest shipping corridor between China and the US could be powered by hydrogen without adding any fuel capacity or extra port calls, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. [The Guardian]

Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls, Juneau (Enrico Blasutto, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 40
¶ “Glacier Basin Flooding Destroys Two Structures In Alaskan Capital Of Juneau And Prompts Local Emergency Declaration” • Record-breaking river flooding destroyed at least two structures in Juneau and prompted local evacuations. This was the result of a sudden outburst from a glacier-dammed lake that inundated the region, officials say. [CNN]

Tuesday, August 8

VoloCity (Volocopter image)

Minute 43
¶ “Will Electric Flying Taxis Live Up To Their Promise?” • If all goes to plan, Volocopter’s two-seater electric aircraft, VoloCity, will be carrying passengers around Paris in time for the 2024 Olympics. It will be the first service in Europe to use an electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) aircraft, but the company needs to show it has a market. [BBC]

Erupting volcano (Yosh Ginsu, Unsplash)

Minute 46
¶ “Humans Emitting Carbon Dioxide 200 Times Faster Than Supervolcanic Eruptions That Caused Earth’s Most Severe Mass Extinctions” • Lead researcher Dr Qiang Jiang, a Curtin PhD graduate from Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the findings were vital to understanding how to prevent future climate disasters. [CleanTechnica]

Smoke from a wildfire (Steve Brown, NOAA)

Minute 48
¶ “Fanning The Flames: Wildfires Emit Potent Climate-Warming Organic Particles” • A study published in Nature Geoscience, found that wildfires are causing a much greater warming effect than had been accounted for by climate scientists. The study highlights an urgent need to revise climate models and update approaches for the changing environment. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, August 9

Sign at project (Retrieved from Twitter)

Minute 51
¶ “Red States, Do You Know That You’ve Benefited More From Climate Funding Than Blue States?” • Four-fifths of all the clean energy investments under the Inflation Reduction Act have gone to districts held by House Republicans, but every one of them voted last spring to repeal the incentives that encouraged those investments. [CleanTechnica]

Protesting insufficient action (Mika Baumeister, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “July Hit A Crucial Warming Threshold That Scientists Have Warned The World Should Stay Under” • The world got its first preview last month of what summer will be like at 1.5 degrees of global warming – a threshold that scientists warn the planet should stay under, yet one that it has flown increasingly close to in recent years. [CNN]

Deforested area of Brazil (Ibama, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 56
¶ “Amazon Nations Fall Short Of Agreement On A Goal To End Deforestation” • The eight countries that share the Amazon basin have fallen short of an agreed goal to end deforestation. At their first summit in fourteen years, they issued a joint declaration that created an alliance to combat deforestation, but it left the details of actions up to individual countries. [BBC]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #535 – 8/10/2023

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