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Energy Week #551 – 12/7/2023
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, November 30
Minute 2
¶ “GOP Bill Would Pull Farmland Tax Credits From Farmers Hosting Solar Power Installations” • Farm fields with solar PVs would no longer qualify for state tax credits under a Republican bill. GOP lawmakers claim it’s about protecting farmland from “nonsense” renewable projects, and Wisconsin should pursue nuclear energy instead. [Wisconsin Public Radio]
Minute 5
¶ “US Discovers Lithium Bonanza For EV Batteries Right In Its Own Backyard” • The DOE released the results of an analysis of Salton Sea lithium resources by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Direct Lithium Extraction technology could lead to production of more than 3,400 kilotons of lithium, enough for over 375 million EV batteries. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 8
¶ “Fervo Energy Revs Up Its First Geothermal Generating Station” • Fervo Energy is using the horizontal drilling perfected by the oil and gas industry to access regions where it is hot enough to make superheated steam for generating electricity. The drilling can be expensive, but once a heat source is tapped, free energy can be had for years. [CleanTechnica]
Friday, December 1
Minute 10
¶ “Vestas 15-MW Prototype Certified” • Vestas has received a type certificate for its V236-15MW offshore wind turbine. The turbine manufacturer installed the first prototype unit at the beginning of the year. After reaching it nominal power rating of 15 MW in April, the turbine broke the world record for power produced by one turbine in a 24-hour period – 363 MWh. [reNews]
Minute 13
¶ “Why Hold UN Climate Talks 28 Times? Do The Talks Even Matter?” • The Conference of Parties process gives every nation in the world, whether rich or poor, large or small, a seat at the table to discuss how climate change is impacting them and how they believe the world should confront it. And ultimately, COP is the only game in town. [ABC News]
Minute 16
¶ “COP28: Poor Countries Win 30-Year Fight For Climate Cash” • In a surprise, COP28 delegates agreed to launch a long-awaited fund to pay for damage from storms and drought worsened by climate change. Such deals are normally sealed last minute after days of negotiations, but COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber put the decision on the floor on day one. [BBC]
Saturday, December 2
Minute 19
¶ “Record-Low EV Battery Prices In 2023” • Thanks to a variety of factors, lithium-ion battery packs are at record low prices. After dropping 14%, they are down to $139/kWh. The steep price drop and record low average price come on the heels of price increases in 2022 that had brought battery prices back to 2020 levels. The world changes fast. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 22
¶ “New England’s Decades-Old Shrimp Fishery, A Victim Of Climate Change, To Remain Closed Indefinitely” • In New England, the shrimp business fell victim to warming waters in 2013 because of a moritorium by regulators. A healthy shimp population needs cold water. The moratorium will remain in place indefinitely, fishery regulators ruled. [ABC News]
Minute 24
¶ “Lower US CO₂ Emissions Due In Part To Shifts In Power Generation Sources” • A forecast by the US Energy Information Administration is for the US energy sector to emit about 4,790 million metric tons of CO₂ in 2023, a 3% decrease from 2022. Much of this decline results from lower electricity generation from coal-fired power plants. [CleanTechnica]
Sunday, December 3
Minute 27
¶ “New CO₂ Energy Storage System Could Blow Past Li-Ion” • Carbon dioxide reaches a liquid state when compressed and it expands with a pop when released, and now the Italian startup Energy Dome is ready to harness the action for a new energy storage system that could provide far more storage at far less cost than lithium-ion batteries. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 30
¶ “Climate Change Is Costing The US $150 Billion A Year” • In total, extreme weather events cost the US $150 billion per year, due to direct impacts such as infrastructure damage,injuries, and agricultural losses, the authors of a report estimate. And the cost of extreme weather events is expected to grow in the near term as sea levels and temperatures rise. [CNN]
Minute 32
¶ “How The US, Oil Industry Plans To Drastically Cut Methane Emissions” • Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp said the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Compact requires oil firms to reduce their methane emissions by 80% to 90% over the next five years while providing monitoring records to an international verification body. [ABC News]
Monday, December 4
Minute 35
¶ “Indonesia Eyes ‘Phenomenal’ Geothermal Power Potential” • Indonesia is home to 40% of global geothermal resources and is keen to harvest energy from the Earth’s crust. But experts do not agree about whether the industry will be able to hit its ambitious goals to generate large amounts of energy given the costs and lack of incentives. [South China Morning Post]
Minute 38
¶ “World’s Largest Floating Solar Power Plant Taking Shape On Hydropower Plant” • The plans for the world’s largest floating solar power plant show how quickly the floating solar field can grow. The project is to expand an existing 145-MW floating solar array at the Cirata hydropower reservoir in West Java, Indonesia, to reach up to 500 MW. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 40
¶ “GM Expects Its Electric Vehicles To Become Profitable In 2025” • When GM chief financial officer Paul Jacobson spoke to analysts at a Barclays conference, he admitted the company had not found the pace it had expected to meet its EV making goals. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence that GM’s EVs would be profitable in 2025. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, December 5
Minute 43
¶ “Fossil Fuel Industry Nearly Quadrupled Registrations At Climate Summit Since Last Year, Watchdog Report Says” • More than 2,400 people connected to the fossil fuel industry registered to attend the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. That’s nearly four times the number that signed up for last year’s climate gathering, according to an analysis. [CNN]
Minute 46
¶ “Autonomous Electric Truck Transports GE Appliances” • Einride is one of many startups that have been built on big goals regarding autonomous, electric transport. Most of them never get far and never make much of an impact. Einride got a deal actually putting its autonomous truck to work … in Selmer, Tennessee, of all places. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 48
¶ “New York Developer Launches $1.2 Billion Renewable Energy Fund For USA” • Fresh off the launch of the New York Climate Exchange, New York City is becoming an epicenter of renewable energy development. Though space for new wind turbines and solar panels within the city is limited, the $1.2 billion fund will set up clean power assets across the US. [CleanTechnica]
Wednesday, December 6
Minute 51
¶ “Is the world about to promise to ditch fossil fuels?” • COP28 may be close to a big breakthrough on reducing the gases heating our planet, its UAE hosts believe. Showing “cautious optimism”, the UAE negotiating team believes COP28 is getting ready to commit to phasing down fossil fuels over coming decades. Or even ditching them altogether. [BBC]
Minute 54
¶ “EVs Take 90.6% Share In Norway” • November saw plugin EVs take 90.6% share in Norway, up from 89.3% year on year. Petrol-only vehicles saw record low share of 0.6% of the auto market. Overall auto volume was 10,348 units, somewhat below seasonal norms. The Tesla Model Y was again September’s bestseller, and several new models debuted. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 56
¶ “‘Our Future Is Electric,’ But GM’s Chief Sustainability Officer Wants More EV Infrastructure Support” • Kristen Siemen, chief sustainability officer at General Motors , appealed for EV policy support and infrastructure to help make our transportation all electric. A robust EV infrastructure is needed for of profitable plug-in passenger vehicles. [CleanTechnica]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #551 – 12/7/2023
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