Energy Week #563 – 3/7/2024

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 #563 – 3/7/2024

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, February 29 

Drake Well Museum (ChubbyWimbus, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

Minute 2
¶ “The End of the Oil Age” • Historians label time periods for dominant technologies. The Stone Age and the Bronze Age are well known examples. In the latter half of the 1900s, my father, a petroleum geologist, frequently referred to the 20th century as the Oil Age. But the 21st century will almost certainly be the Electricity Age. [CleanTechnica]

Fiat 500e (Alexander Migl, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 5
¶ “How Ironic Is It That Stellantis Is Now Making A Profit On Plugin Vehicles?” • Stellantis was a laggard in EVs. Former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne told customers to not buy the Fiat 500e, falsely claiming that the company was losing money on each sale. Now Stellantis is the second best-selling EV brand in the EU. [CleanTechnica]

Nevada Test Site (US Federal Government, public domain)

Minute 8
¶ “Turning An Old Nuclear Bomb Site Into A Solar Farm?” • The US DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration want commercial solar developers to build solar farms on land where nuclear bombs were tested from the 1950s to the 1990s. Who would do that, though? Apparently, six companies would, as they turned in proposals. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, March 1

Wind turbine blades (Peel Ports Clydeport)

Minute 10
¶ “Glasgow Dock Expects Record Year For Turbines” • Peel Ports Clydeport expects to see a record year for handling wind turbine components at its King George V Dock site in Glasgow as it keeps up support the renewable energy sector. The UK’s second largest port operator will process over 1000 components, weighing over 60,000 tonnes, in 2024. [reNews]

Solar power (Sungrow EMEA, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “Texas Adds Two More Utility-Scale Solar Power Projects” • In Texas, two large solar power installations came online. Clearway Energy Group said it completed the 452-MW Texas Solar Nova complex in Kent County. The Fence Post installation, in Navarro County, includes a 297-MW solar photovoltaic project paired with 86-MW of storage. [Yahoo Finance]

Wind farm (Statkraft image)

Minute 16
¶ “Statkraft Plans $6 Billion Hydro And Wind Investment In Norway” • Statkraft aims to invest kr44 billion to kr67 billion ($6.3 billion) in hydro and wind power. The company released its annual report for 2023, when Statkraft saw its net operating revenues fall kr65.3 billion ($6.1 billion) compared to 75.3 bn kroner the year before. [reNews]

Saturday, March 2

Wind farm (Alice Welch, USDA)

Minute 19
¶ “Brown University Study Documents Links Between National And Local Offshore Wind Opponents” • A study from Brown University shows in graphic detail how linkages exist between opponents of offshore wind and captive fossil fuel apologists at the national level. The national organizations have one mission: protecting fossil fuels. [CleanTechnica]

Rendering of rooftop solar system (Image by SolarFuture)

Minute 22
¶ “World’s Largest Rooftop Solar Power Plant To Be Built In Denmark” • The Danish solar company SolarFuture ApS has landed an order for a 35 MW rooftop solar power plant. The electricity production from the solar plant in Horsens, Denmark, will exceed that of all existing installations in the world, even at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada. [CleanTechnica]

Carbon emissions (Marcin Jozwiak, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 24
¶ “Energy-Related Emissions Hit A Record High Last Year Despite Renewables Surge” • Despite a decline in fossil fuel use in developed economies, global energy-related emissions rose last year to a record high as coal use rose in major developing markets hit by low hydropower generation, an International Energy Agency showed. [Oil & Gas 360]

Sunday, March 3

Camping at Rüschegg camping (Emanuelflueck, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 27
¶ “No Snow, No Tourists – Death Of A Swiss Ski Resort” • The Rüschegg Eywald ski resort is much loved. Many families spent happy days there. But this winter season, its T-bar ski lift has not once been open. At almost 1.6 miles (2.5 km), it is the fourth longest ski lift in Switzerland and not for the faint-hearted. But it has fallen victim to climate change. [BBC]

Dacia Spring (Dacia image)

Minute 30
¶ “More Affordable Electric Cars Are Starting To Arrive In More Places Around The World” • $25,000 seems to be the magical number when it comes to the upfront purchase price of EVs to get things going into overdrive in the EV world. And there has even been a lot of excitement around a potential for a $25,000 compact car from Tesla. [CleanTechnica]

Orphaned wells (USGS image)

Minute 32
¶ “Property Owners In Colorado Sue To Force Clean Up Of Orphaned Wells” • When an oil or gas company drills a well, it is supposed to post a bond, a sum of money sufficient to cap it when it is closed. Typically, those bonds are woefully inadequate, amounting to no more than a few pennies on the dollar. And so the wells stay open. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, March 4

Solar panels on an Australian school (Orderinchaos, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

Minute 35
¶ “The National Electricity Market Wasn’t Made For A Renewable Energy Future. Here’s How To Fix It” • Rooftop solar is Australia’s cheapest source of electricity. Consumers can get electricity from rooftop solar at less than a fifth of the average cost of buying it from a retailer. In 2022, total rooftop solar capacity exceeded 30 GW. Coal capacity was 21 GW. [The Conversation]

Floating solar and wind turbines (SolarDuck image)

Minute 38
¶ “Nautical SUNRISE Funds OranjeWind Floating Solar Farm” • The Nautical SUNRISE project will help fund a 5-MW offshore floating solar system for use on RWE’s 800-MW OranjeWind wind farm off the west coast of the Netherlands. The €8.4 million project is supported with €6.8 million of the Horizon Europe program. It kicked off in December. [reNews]

Highway in Saudi Arabia (backer Sha, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 40
¶ “OPEC+ Production Cuts Deepen With Extensions From Saudi Arabia, Russia And Other Oil Giants” • The countries in OPEC+ announced they are extending reductions in oil production of 2.2 million barrels a day. Saudi Arabia led them by extending its previously-implemented cut of 1 million barrels a day through the end of 2024’s second quarter. [ABC News]

Tuesday, March 5

Nissan Ariya (Kazyakuruma, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 43
¶ “Nissan Ariya Gets Big Price Cut – Competitive With Tesla Model Y Now?” • The Nissan Ariya, the company’s fully electric crossover, just got its base price reduced by about $3,600. Some higher-end versions of the Ariya got their MSRP absolutely shredded, by as much as $6,000. The base MSRP for the Ariya is now $39,590. [CleanTechnica]

Blizzard (Dave Hoefler, Unsplash)

Minute 46
¶ “Blizzard Slams California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, More Snow On The Way” • The snow has topped ten feet in some of the Sierra’s higher elevations. Now, yet another storm is to hit the mountains of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington with more heavy snow. It is expected to add up to two feet of snow to what has already fallen. [ABC News]

Worker at solar array (Courtesy of Shoals Technologies Group)

Minute 48
¶ “US Counties Are Blocking Renewable Energy For Themselves, But Not For Thee” • A movement is afoot to block utility-scale renewable energy development across the US, even though the cost of wind and solar power is cheaper than electricity from other sources in many areas. However, there is more than one way to deal with such things. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, March 6

Women farming in Kenya (McKay Savage, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

Minute 51
¶ “UN Warns Of Climate Impact On Farms, Rural Households Run By Women In Poor Countries” • A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization, “The Unjust Climate,” found that rural households headed by women lose on average 8% more of their income during heat waves and 3% more during floods than those headed by men. [ABC News]

MethaneSAT (Environmental Defense Fund image)

Minute 54
¶ “MethaneSAT Will Pinpoint Methane Pollution In Real Time” • MethaneSAT, a satellite brought into being by a collaboration between dozens of scientists, researchers, and private companies, is in orbit, peering down at the Earth as it circles fifteen times a day. MethaneSAT is designed to identify the sources that leak polluting methane gas. [CleanTechnica]

Solar farm (EDF Renewables image)

Minute 56

¶ “US Adds Record-Breaking 32 GW Of Solar In 2023” • The US installed a record-breaking 32 GW of solar in 2023, during the first full year of the Inflation Reduction Act. The utility-scale sector added 22.5 GW of new capacity, while nearly 800,000 Americans added solar to their homes, according to the US Solar Market Insight 2023 Year-in-Review. [reNews]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #563 – 3/7/2024

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 #562 – 2/29/2024

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 #562 – 2/29/2024

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, February 22

Gold Coast, Queensland (seb, Unsplash)

Minute 2
¶ “From Petrostate To Electrostate: Queensland’s Renewable Energy Push Shows Australia’s Governments Can Move Faster” • Queensland is not just undergoing an energy transition, but a total transformation from legacy petrostate to renewable energy superpower. Its staggering momentum has lessons for the states and the federal government. [The Guardian]

Minesto turbine (Minesto image)

Minute 5
¶ “Minesto Upgrades Faroe Tidal Plan To 200 MW” • Developer Minesto has upgraded its roadmap to a 200-MW tidal energy buildout in the Faroe Islands. The scaled-up roadmap responds to the growing demands for green energy, where unlocking the tidal opportunity enables transition to a 100% renewable power system. [reNews]

BYD electric bus (Courtesy of BYD)

Minute 8
¶ “Clean Bus Planning Awards Support Fleet Electrification With Custom Transition Plans” • The National Renewable Energy Lab announced the $5 million Clean Bus Planning Awards program. It provides free technical assistance to create comprehensive and customized bus electrification plans for US school and transit fleets through Fiscal Year 2024. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, February 23

Offshore wind farm (Equinor image)

Minute 10
¶ “Equinor Secures Final Green Light For Empire” • The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the Construction and Operations Plan for Equinor’s 2-GW Empire Wind project. With this key permitting action secured, Empire Wind is on track to begin construction in its federal lease area off the southern coast of Long Island, Equinor said. [reNews]

Canyon on the Navajo reservation (John Fowler, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “Native American Tribes Gain New Authority To Block Hydopower Projects” • Federal regulators have granted Native American tribes more power to block hydropower projects on their land. A new FERC policy allows tribes to veto proposals, forcing businesses to cooperate if they want the US government to approve projects. [ABC News]

Mayon Volcano in Albay (Seanaleta, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 16
¶ “Albay Targets Complete Renewable Energy Transition By 2030” • The Philippine province of Albay announced a goal to transition entirely to renewable energy by 2030. This move is aimed to mitigate power disruptions due to severe weather. The Governor said there is an urgent need to develop renewable energy in the province. [Power Philippines]

Saturday, February 24

FedEx Express UK electric cargo bike (Courtesy of FedEx)

Minute 19
¶ “FedEx Express UK Grows Its London Fleet Of E-Cargo Delivery Bikes” • An announcement from FedEx Express UK confirms that they are serious about electric micromobility. The company just added eight more 4-wheeled e-cargo bikes to the FedEx London fleet to join the electric cargo bikes FedEx already operates there. [CleanTechnica]

Cherry blossoms (Jonathan Kim, Unsplash)

Minute 22
¶ “How climate change is thwarting travellers’ cherry blossom plans” • The rare and beautiful ten-day cherry blossom “front” is set to start ten days earlier than usual due to global warming. The travellers who arrived in Tokyo in April 2023 to see the city’s famous cherry tree petals found the blossoms opened ten days early in response to climate change. [BBC]

Solar array (Platte River Power Authority)

Minute 24
¶ “Platte River’s Path To A Clean, Reliable Energy Future” • Platte River’s primary challenge is deploying renewable resources as fast as possible against rising costs, supply chain snarls, delays due to technology and other industry-wide headwinds while still providing power people can depend on and afford. It aims to do that by 2030. [The Coloradoan]

Sunday, February 25

Jacaranda (Sincerely Media, Unsplash)

Minute 27
¶ “Early Jacaranda Bloom Sparks Debate About Climate Change In Mexico” • In spring, the streets of Mexico’s capital have always been purple with the flowering of jacaranda trees. Their bright colors not only attract the eyes of residents and tourists, but also birds, bees, and butterflies. Now, however, they are blooming in January and February. [Devdiscourse]

Power lines (Matthew Henry, Unsplash)

Minute 30
¶ “Reconductoring: The Quick Way To Double Grid Capacity” • You need more than money to build new power lines. Easements and land purchases for the wires to go across, environmental reviews, inspections, engineering approvals, permitting, and all sorts of other things are needed. An alternative is to give the old power lines new conductors. [CleanTechnica]

Ocean at Del Mar (Joshua Brown, Unsplash)

Minute 32
¶ “A Brighter Tomorrow: North County’s Clean Energy Alliance Offers Affordable Renewable Energy Options” • In California, the Clean Energy Alliance, an effort by Carlsbad, Solana Beach, and Del Mar, is setting the stage for a future where renewable energy is not just an option but the cornerstone of power consumption for about 58,000 customers. [BNN Breaking]

Monday, February 26

Nairobi (Amani Nation, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “UN Member States Are Meeting To Plan How To Tackle The World’s Environmental Crises” • The world’s top environmental body for decision making, the UN Environment Assembly, is meeting in Nairobi to discuss how countries can work together to tackle environmental crises like climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. [ABC News]

Solar array inspection (ESB Networks image)

Minute 38
¶ “1 GW Of Solar Energised On Irish Grid” • ESB Networks has confirmed it has 1GW of solar generation connected to Ireland’s grid. This includes 500 MW of utility-scale solar connections, 369 MW of which is from larger projects that are managed by EirGrid. The peak demand on Ireland’s electricity system is approximately 5.5 GW. [reNews]

Solar array (Electrify America image)

Minute 40
¶ “Electrify America Plans A Fully Renewable 75-MW Facility” • The future is here! At least that’s what Electrify America’s new 100% renewable energy-sourced EV charging network looks like. Teaming up with energy provider Terra-Gen, Electrify America announced plans for a solar powered energy generation project in San Bernardino County, California. [AOL.com]

Tuesday, February 27

CATL display (CATL image)

Minute 43
¶ “CATL, BYD To Reduce Battery Prices By 50% In 2024” • A report from CnEVPost says CATL is pushing for cost reductions that could drive the price of its VDA spec lithium iron phosphate battery cells down to $56.47 per kWh. That reduces battery prices by 50%, to a figure eerily close to a prediction made by Tony Seba a decade ago. [CleanTechnica]

Agrivoltaic project (Courtesy of BayWa r e)

Minute 46
¶ “BayWa R E And Ampt Lead Microgrid Project In Germany” • In the small town of Pfinztal, nestled in the heart of Germany, a seminal initiative is redefining the future of renewable energy. The campus of Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology, a beacon of scientific innovation, is the stage for a pioneering microgrid project. [BNN Breaking]

A walk in the rain (Nick Scheerbart, Unsplash)

Minute 48
¶ “Air Pollution Hides Increases in Rainfall” • A study led by researchers at the US DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory finds that the expected increase in rain has been largely offset by the drying effect of aerosols produced by burning fossil fuels. The research was published in the journal Nature Communications. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, February 28

Offshore wind turbines (insung yoon, Unsplash)

Minute 51
¶ “Germany Launches 5.5-GW Offshore Tender” • Germany’s Federal Network Agency has launched an offshore wind tender comprising a total of 5,500 MW on three pre-investigated areas in the North Sea. The three sites are located about 110km north-west of Borkum on the edge of the border with the Dutch exclusive economic zone. [reNews]

Small wooden satellites (JAXA image)

Minute 54
¶ “Japan’s Wooden Satellite Shows Us That We Should Give Wood A Fresh Look” • Given the skills of Japanese woodworkers, environmental issues of re-entry of old satellites, and early test results, there are now plans for the country to put up a small wooden satellite, which will spend six months in space testing for deformation. [CleanTechnica]

Bergey Excel 15 (Josh Bauer and Brian Bechtold, NREL)

Minute 56
¶ “NREL Requests Proposals From US Manufacturers of Small And Medium Wind Turbine Technology” • Managed by NREL for the DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, CIP awards a type of subcontract and national laboratory technical support to US component suppliers and makers of wind turbines of small and mediums sizes. [CleanTechnica]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #562 – 2/29/2024

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 #561 – 2/22/2024

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 #Energy Week #561

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, February 15

Wind turbines in India (Thangaraj Kumaravel, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 2
¶ “Only Asia On Track To Triple Renewable Energy Capacity By 2030, Fuelled By Growth In India And China: Report” • Driven by growth in India and China, Asia is at this time the largest contributor to additional global renewable energy capacity needed to triple production by 2030, report from global think tank Climate Analytics said. [Swarajya]

Lake Michigan, near Muskegon, on February 11 (Jen Day, NOAA)

Minute 5
¶ “Why Ice Did Not Form In The Great Lakes This Winter” • This is the winter that wasn’t in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions. The ice cover has just kept melting away since last week’s Great Lakes ice analysis showed that it was only 5.9%. With climate change, the Great Lakes are among the fastest-warming lakes in the world. [ABC News]

Solar power (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

Minute 8
¶ “Texas Shatters Own Solar Power Record, Weird Political Situation Or Not” • Texas has emerged as the renewable energy pace-setter in the US, despite top public officials who don’t have very nice things to say about clean power. The big dollars are flowing into clean energy, and Texas now gets more electricity from the sun than from coal. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, February 16

Nuclear plant (Jonas Denil, Unsplash)

Minute 10
¶ “Is Nuclear The Answer To Australia’s Climate Crisis?” • There are four arguments against nuclear power investments: Olkiluoto 3, Flamanville 3, Hinkley Point C, and Vogtle. They are major latest-generation plants completed or nearly so in Finland, the US, the UK, and France. Their cost overruns average over 300%, with more increases to come. [menafn]

Wind turbines in Uruguay (Matias Contreras, Unsplash)

Minute 13
¶ “The Uruguay Way: Achieving Energy Sovereignty In The Developing World” • As it successfully transitions away from fossil fuels, Uruguay now generates up to 98% of its electricity from renewable sources. The country offers lessons in energy sovereignty and the importance of community engagement in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. [Earth.Org]

Expected capacity additions (EIA image)

Minute 16
¶ “Solar And Battery Storage To Make Up 81% Of New US Electric-Generating Capacity In 2024” • Developers and power plant owners plan to add 62.8 GW of electric-generating capacity in 2024, data in the EIA’s Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory shows. The largest share is solar, at 58%, followed by batteries, at 23%, and wind, at 13%. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, February 17

Stradbally (Ben Eubank, Unsplash)

Minute 19
¶ “A Green Revolution Powered By Renewable Energy” • The Electric Picnic festival, nestled in the green heart of Stradbally, County Laois, is taking a bold step forward. For the first time in its history, and perhaps in the annals of festivals across Ireland and the UK, the stage will be bathed in the glow of renewable energy. [BNN Breaking]

Silverspot butterfly (Creed Clayton, US FWS)

Minute 22
¶ “The Silverspot Butterfly, Native To Three US States, Is Inching Closer To Extinction” • The silverspot butterfly, a species native to three US states, is inching closer to extinction, prompting the federal government to take immediate action. The three main threats for butterfly populations are habitat degradation, habitat loss, and climate change. [ABC News]

 

Oregon (Nick Romero, Unsplash)

Minute 24
¶ “Oregon Power Company Requests Nearly 17% Spike In Rates” • One of Oregon’s electricity companies, Pacific Power, requested a 16.9% rate adjustment to invest in wildfire risk management, transmission infrastructure, and renewable projects. In addition to the increased wildfire risk, extreme weather events were cited as a reason for the request. [KGW]

Sunday, February 18

Ford F-150 Lightning in Norway

Minute 27
¶ “Ford F-150 Lightning Makes It To #1 EV Market In The World – How Will It Do?” • The F-150 Lightning had just a little more than 24,000 sales in the US in 2023. That’s a far cry from the 150,000 or so annual sales the company’s targeting. But now, Ford has started exporting the F-150 Lightning, and one early market is Norway. [CleanTechnica]

Australia (Elsa Guyader, Unsplash)

Minute 30
¶ “Climate Change Is Forcing Some Australians To Weigh Up Relocating” • Big environmental changes mean ever more Australians will confront the tough choice of whether to move home or risk staying put. Hotter and more humid weather, increased flood risks, droughts, and bushfires are already causing falling populations in some places. [Phys.org]

Scene of the home explosion (Loudoun County Fire Department)

Minute 32
¶ “One Firefighter Killed, Ten More Injured In ‘Catastrophic’ House Explosion In Virginia: Officials” • A firefighter was killed and ten others injured when a house in Sterling, Virginia exploded, the fire chief said. A resident had reported smelling gas. A 500-gallon underground propane tank on the side of the house was leaking gas. [ABC News]

Monday, February 19 

Misae II Solar Park in Texas (Courtesy of Greenalia)

Minute 35
¶ “The Texas Solar Energy Revolution Is Going Global” • The solar industry of Texas is in a weird situation politically, but that doesn’t seem to stop investors who want to pump money into the state’s economy. The latest news shows how manufacturers in other states and countries can base their clean power profiles on Texas renewable energy projects. [CleanTechnica]

Geothermal heat pump system (Chad Malone, ORNL, US DOE)

Minute 38
¶ “New Study Projects Geothermal Heat Pumps’ Impact On Carbon Emissions And Electrical Grid by 2050” • Modeling analysis led by the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory gives the first detailed look at how geothermal energy can relieve the electric power system and reduce carbon emissions if widely implemented across the US. [CleanTechnica]

Transmission lines (Varistor60, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 40
¶ “Greece Set to Become Major Energy Exporter to Europe” • Greece could generate billions of euros of yearly income for its economy by developing an electricity connection to central Europe and exporting the country’s vast potential in renewable energy to consumers in Germany and elsewhere, according to a recent study. [GreekReporter.com]

Tuesday, February 20

Offshore wind turbines (insung yoon, Unsplash)

Minute 43
¶ “Oz Offshore Consultation Is Kicked Off” • The Government of Australia is seeking feedback on the benefits and effects of future offshore wind development in a proposed area in the Indian Ocean off the Bunbury region in Western Australia. The area is at least 20km from the coast, has quality wind resources and some relatively shallow waters. [reNews]

Cadillac Escalade Hybrid (IFCAR, public domain)

Minute 46
¶ “Plug-in Hybrids: Are They Really A Solution To Reducing Emissions?” • Recently GM made headlines in saying they may restart production of plug-in hybrids after moving to battery EVs only in 2019. Are they moving backwards? Not necessarily. We need to move from gasoline to electricity quickly, and there may be a place for plugin-hybrids. [CleanTechnica]

Roam Air electric motorcycle (Roam image)

Minute 48
¶ “Kenyan Startup Roam Secures $24 Million in Funding to Accelerate Electric Mobility Solutions” • The transition to electric mobility is gaining momentum. The electric two-wheeler market has grown rapidly around the world over the past few years due to high fuel prices, rapid urbanization in developing countries, and the need to reduce air pollution. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, February 21

Dam (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

Minute 51
¶ “Record US Renewable Energy Investment Is Not Enough To Meet Climate Goals: Report” • US investment in wind and solar power plants hit record levels last year, but even that growth rate fell short of the level needed to meet the nation’s climate goals, an analysis shows. The US must add at least 60 GW of capacity this year to stay on track. [The Business Times]

Moving coal (Bart van Dijk, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “China’s Coal Boom Slows As Top Mining Hubs Focus On Renewable Energy” • China’s coal boom is slowing as top mining regions limit growth and steer investment to the clean energy that will replace the dirtiest fossil fuel. Seven straight years of rising output have produced a glut of coal that kept prices low. But there are other costs. [The Straits Times]

Rio Tinto train (Eddie Bugajewski, Unsplash)

Minute 56
¶ “Rio Tinto Doubles Down To Produce Renewable Aluminium” • Miner and aluminium producer Rio Tinto has doubled down on its moves to decarbonise the aluminium production chain. It announced its second renewable power purchase agreement, which will supply its Gladstone operations in Queensland. It is Australia’s largest PPA. [Australian Manufacturing Forum]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #Energy Week #561

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 #560 – 2/15/2024

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 #560 – 2/15/2024

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, February 8

Cargo ship with Rotor Sails (Courtesy of Norsepower)

Minute 2
¶ “Wind Power Returns To Cargo Ships, And Now With Plastic Bottles” • The cargo shipping industry is slowly moving towards low emission fuels, but in the meantime wind power is ready and eager to go. Various forms of high tech sails are showing up on shipping lanes, and to gild the sustainability lily, some are made with recycled plastic bottles. [CleanTechnica]

Addis Ababa (Yohannes Minas, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 5
¶ “Ethiopia Banning Non-Electric Car Imports” • Details are a little thin at this point, but the Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Logistics, Alemu Sime, recently said the country will not allow cars to enter the market unless they are EVs. “A decision has been made that automobiles cannot enter Ethiopia unless they are electric ones,” he said. [CleanTechnica]

What we are doing‽ (Marek Piwnicki, Unsplash)

Minute 8
¶ “World’s First Year-Long Breach Of Key 1.5°C Warming Limit” • For the first time, global warming has exceeded 1.5°C across an entire year, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. World leaders promised in 2015 to try to limit the long-term temperature rise to 1.5°C, which is seen as crucial to help avoid the most damaging impacts. [BBC]

Friday, February 9

Tokamak reactor, 2016 (US DOE via Wikimedia Commons)

Minute 10
¶ “Scientists Set New Record Of Nuclear Fusion” • Using the Joint European Torus, a large toroidal device known as a tokamak, scientists sustained a record 69 megajoules of fusion energy for five seconds, using only 0.2 milligrams of fuel. This amount of energy is sufficient to power approximately 12,000 households for the same duration. [NEWS.am TECH]

Wind farm (Orkney Islands Council)

Minute 13
¶ “Council Approves West Of Orkney Wind Farm” • Orkney Island Council’s Development and Infrastructure Committee gave its backing to the 2000-MW West of Orkney offshore wind farm. The West of Orkney wind farm will have up to 125 turbines on fixed foundations 30 km west of the Orkney Mainland. First power is planned for 2029. [reNews]

Wind turbines (Lloyd Wilson, Sandia Labs via Flickr)

Minute 16
¶ “Bill Would Create New Tax Credits For Renewable Energy Facilities” • A New Mexico Senate bill aims to make the state more attractive for renewable manufacturing. The Advanced Equipment Income Tax Credit bill would create a tax credit for qualified manufacturing facilities related to solar and wind energy components. [KUNM]

Saturday, February 10

Atlantic Ocean (Jacob Buller, Unsplash)

Minute 19
¶ “Critical Atlantic Ocean Current System Is Showing Early Signs Of Collapse, Prompting Warning From Scientists” • A crucial system of ocean currents may already be on course to collapse, a report says. The implications are alarming for sea level rise and global weather, with temperatures that plunge dramatically in some regions and rise in others. [CNN]

Wind turbines (Harry Cunningham, Unsplash)

Minute 22
¶ “Greece Breaks Records In Renewable Energy For 2023” • The share of renewable electricity production, including hydropower plants, reached a historic high in 2023 in Greece at 57%. It was the first time more than half of the Greek electricity was generated by renewable resources. This came about as Greek windpower capacity exceeded 5 GW. [Greek Herald]

Michael Mann (Oregon State University, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 24
¶ “Michael Mann Awarded $1 Million By Jury In Defamation Suit” • Climate scientist Michael Mann is known for developing the image called the “hockey stick” graph. That image has been used in many papers and reports over the years. It also induced attacks on Mann that were funded by fossil fuel interests. Mann sued his attackers and won. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, February 11

Forest on the Columbia River (Elena Kuchko, Unsplash)

Minute 27
¶ “UK Largest Renewable Energy Supplier Building Longview Plant Along Columbia River” • Drax, the self-described largest power station in the UK, is building a plant along the Columbia River in Longview, Washington, to harvest wood pellets for Asia to generate power. Drax aims to use Pacific Northwest forests to replace coal overseas. [Longview Daily News]

Olivine (Hannes Grobe, AWI, CC-BY-SA 2.5)

Minute 30
¶ “Olivine: Natural Solution To Combat Climate Change” • Sahit Muja, the Founder and CEO of Global Mining, Green Minerals, and Albanian Minerals, emphasizes magnesium olivine’s role as an eco-friendly building block poised to eliminate 1 trillion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. It could be a natural solution to climate change challenges. [EIN News]

Steel making (Morteza Mohammadi, Unsplash)

Minute 32
¶ “Transforming The US Steel Industry: A Great Lakes Memo Series” • The Great Lakes, from Minnesota to Pennsylvania, are a regional powerhouse of steel-making. The region has 60% of all steel production capacity in the US and 100% of coal-based steel production. RMI has produced a series of state-specific memos on reducing emissions. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, February 12

Ships powered by Norsepower Rotor Sails

Minute 35
¶ “Future Fleet Of Low-Emission RoRos To Use Norsepower Rotor Sails” • French shipowner, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs SAS and the Finnish mechanical sail company, Norsepower Oy Ltd, announced that Norsepower Rotor Sail™ technology will be installed on a low-emission roll-on/roll-off fleet that will be chartered to Airbus. [CleanTechnica]

Monarch butterfly (Gary Bendig, Unsplash)

Minute 38
¶ “Why There May Be Much Fewer Monarch Butterfly Sightings In The US This Summer” • Monarch butterfly sightings may be sparser than usual in the US and Canada following a drastic drop in populations wintering in Mexico, researchers told ABC News. The biggest threats monarchs face are habitat loss and changes in weather patterns. [ABC News]

Lądek-Zdrój (Aktron, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Minute 40
¶ “Poland: Spa Town Turns To Renewable Energy For Cleaner Air” • Smog enveloping the Polish spa town of Ladek-Zdroj was anathema to it’s image as a health resort. After choking on polluted air for many years, the town turned to renewables to clean up its act and improve its air quality. It managed to reduce electricity costs a lot in the process. [DW]

Tuesday, February 13

Wind turbine construction (Atlas Copco image)

Minute 43
¶ “Atlas Copco Powers Up 16-MW Offshore Turbine” • Atlas Copco has supplied a QES 60 power generator for the successful installation of the world’s first 16-MW offshore wind turbine in south-east China’s Fujian Province. The 16-MW unit has the world’s longest turbine blades at 123 metres (403.5 feet), with each blade weighing 54 tonnes. [reNews]

Electric truck (Courtesy of Mars and Einride)

Minute 46
¶ “Mars Will Bring 300 Electric Heavy-Duty Trucks To Its European Fleet By 2030” • Mars Inc recently partnered with freight technology company Einride to add 300 electric heavy-duty trucks to the Mars European fleet. Bjoern Anderseck, Mars Global Supply Chain Transformation Lead, answered some questions for CleanTechnica. [CleanTechnica]

2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV 3LT (Courtesy of GM)

Minute 48
¶ “$34,995 Chevy Equinox EV Coming Later This Year” • People will be able to buy the 1LT base model of the Equinox EV at a starting price of $34,995 plus a destination fee of $1395 later this year, Chevrolet says. The Equinox EV will be eligible for the full $7500 federal tax credit/rebate, making the net cost $31,090, well below the average US new car cost. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, February 14

Wind turbines in Xinjiang (Chris Lim, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Minute 51
¶ “China’s Renewable Installations Surpass Expectations, But Potential Utilization Risks Exist” • China is set to reach its 2030 wind and solar capacity target of 1.2 TW six years early, with installed capacity already reaching 1.1 TW by end-2023, Fitch Ratings says. The China Electricity Council forecasts 260 GW of new installations in 2024. [Mettis Global]

Loy Yang power plant (Billy Joachim, Unsplash)

Minute 54
¶ “AGL And AEMO Search For Answers On Loy Yang Outage” • In Victoria, storms tore down at least six transmission towers on one of the main 500 kV transmission lines, triggering a massive frequency excursion that took 2,700 MW of generation capacity, including the Loy Yang A brown coal generator owned by AGL Energy. [RenewEconomy]

Transformer (Jasonbook99, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

Minute 56
¶ “Siemens Invests In US Transformer Factory” • Siemens Energy is investing $150 million in a power transformer factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, creating almost 600 local jobs. Today, only 20% of US large power transformer demand is met by domestic supply with lead times of up to five years, according to the company. [reNews]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #560 – 2/15/2024

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 #559 – 2/8/2024

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 #559 – 2/8/2024

Minute 0: Introduction

Thursday, February 1

Solar array (Raphael Cruz, Unsplash)

Minute 2
¶ “IEA’s Report Reveals 50% Surge In Global Renewable Capacity In 2023, Bringing Global Total To Nearly 510 GW” • A report by the International Energy Agency shows that the world added 50% more renewable energy capacity in 2023 than in 2022, bringing the global total to nearly 510 GW. Of the new capacity, 75% was solar PVs. [SolarQuarter]

Sea otters (Kedar Gadge, Unsplash)

Minute 5
¶ “Sea Otters, Once Hunted To Near Extinction, Are Preventing Coastal Erosion As Their Populations Grow, Study Finds” • A recent discovery is that sea otters are Mother Nature’s solution to the prevention of coastal erosion. The sea otters eat burrowing crabs that have no other major predators. Crab burrows make coastal lands unstable. [ABC News]

Utility worker (USDA, public domain)

Minute 8
¶ “Renewed US National Movement to Convert Private Utilities to Public Utilities” • A renewed US movement is afoot to replace corporate utilities with public, citizen-owned utilities. There have been energy cooperatives in the Midwest for nearly a century and a half. The American Public Power Association gives support for public power companies. [CleanTechnica]

Friday, February 2

Xcel Energy solar system (Xcel Energy image)

Minute 10
¶ “Xcel Energy To Build 3.6 GW Of Renewable Capacity And 600 MW Of Storage In Minnesota” • Utility Xcel Energy announced plans to decarbonise its operations in the Midwest. The plans involve the construction of 3.6 GW of new renewable power generating capacity and 600 MW of new battery energy storage system facilities. [PV Tech]

Straw panel installation (EcoCocon image)

Minute 13
¶ “Should More British Homes Be Built Using Straw?” • This year, straw from Lithuania will envelop a building in a quiet town in West Yorkshire. The panels will be supplied by a Slovakian firm, EcoCocon. Each timber-framed panel is around 400 mm thick and contains a mass of chopped straw. They help meet a rising demand for insulation and sustainability. [BBC]

Smog in Los Angeles (Lan56, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

Minute 16
¶ “Carbon Dioxide, Radio Isotopes, The Keeling Curve, And The Greatest Cover Up In History” • Seventy years ago, Los Angeles had an air pollution problem that led to the word ‘smog’ being coined. Petroleum and automotive companies came to realize that pollution is a problem, and they created a massive cover-up to protect their profits. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, February 3

Wyoming wind farm (Courtesy AES Corp)

¶ “$230 Million Wind Farm Near Glenrock Could Bring 200 Jobs And Power 44,000 Homes” • AES Corp, a Virginia-based energy behemoth shedding coal-fired plants as part of a yearslong restructuring effort to focus on renewables, unveiled plans to build a $230 million wind farm south of Glenrock, Wyoming. Its capacity will be 150 MW. [Cowboy State Daily]

Aptera (Aptera image)

Minute 19

¶ “The Solar Electric Car That Looks Like An Airplane Is Almost Ready For Takeoff” • The Aptera has been a long time coming. It was launched in 2006, only to hit a wall in 2011. A relaunch in 2020 got the gears in motion again, and now the long-awaited, futuristic, solar-powered three-wheeled electric car is almost ready to hit the road. [CleanTechnica]

Charging an EV (Andrew Roberts, Unsplash)

Minute 22
¶ “The US Added 1.2 Million EVs To The Grid Last Year, And Electricity Use Went Down” • 2023 set another record for EV sales in the US. About 1.2 million vehicles, or 7.6% of all sales, were electric according to Kelley Blue Book. Nevertheless, the data on electricity use through November 2023 shows that it was down by 1.1%. [CleanTechnica]

Minute 24

Sunday, February 4

Tea garden (Rupeshsarkar, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Minute 27
¶ “Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited Illuminates Asia’s Largest Tea Estate With Innovative Solar Technology” • Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited commissioned a 1040-kW bifacial solar system at Chengmari Tea Estate, Asia’s largest tea estate. This project is the first deployment of on-ground bifacial modules in eastern India. [SolarQuarter]

Google data center in Eemshaven, Netherlands (Google image)

Minute 30
¶ “Google Signs Its Largest Offshore Wind Power Agreement To Date” • Google has signed power purchase agreements with CrossWind and Ecowende consortia, joint ventures of energy companies Shell and Eneco. This announcement is in line with its goal to achieve net-zero emissions across all of its operations and value chains by 2030. [Inceptive Mind]

Desert in Nevada (D Lok, Unsplash)

Minute 32
¶ “Nevada Supreme Court Ruling Says That Surface Water And Groundwater Are One And The Same” • The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled in a unanimous decision that the state may restrict new groundwater pumping if it will impact other users and wildlife. The decision will change how the state manages its groundwater. [CleanTechnica]

Monday, February 5

Storm damage (Mick Haupt, Unsplash)

Minute 35
¶ “Average Cost Of Car Insurance Up More Than 20% In Last Year” • Yahoo! Finance reports that car insurance costs were 20.3% higher in December than they were a year earlier, with the average annual premium costing $2,542, according to Bankrate. Part of that increase is due to inflation. But part of it is due to the weather brought by climate change. [CleanTechnica]

Tangerine on a tree (Mateus Bandeira, Unsplash)

Minute 38
¶ “How Fruit Farmers In Tohoku Are Coping With Climate Change” • The area of Yamamoto and Watari, in southern part of Miyagi Prefecture, is known for its relatively warm climate. But the unusual sight of tangerines, which are vulnerable to cold, coexisting with apples, which are vulnerable to heat, may be a symbol of rapid global warming. [The Japan Times]

Fire whirl in Colorado (Kyle Miller, US BLM)

Minute 40
¶ “Sandia Uses Electric Grid Analytics To Combat Wildfire Risks And Aid Post-Wildfire Recovery” • Sandia National Labs’ wildfire grid resilience program aims to determine and mitigate risk of ignition, reduce wildfire spread, and decrease consequences of major wildfires through new tools and better informed decision making. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, February 6

Solar installation in Pennsylvania (US DA, Public domain)

Minute 43
¶ “Increasing Alternative Energy Standards Would Bring Billions In Investment To Pennsylvania” • The governor of Pennsylvania pledge 30% renewable energy by 2030. Three business groups crunched the numbers and found that if that happens, more than $13.1 billion could be invested in Pennsylvania over the next seven years. [pv magazine USA]

No planet B (Markus Spiske, Unsplash)

Minute 46
¶ “Rising Temperatures And Rising Authoritarianism – Trends That Are Intertwined” • As Earth’s annual average temperatures push against the 1.5º C limit, social scientists warn that we may move into a dangerous new era in human history. Research shows the increasing climate shocks could trigger unrest and authoritarian backlashes. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model Y (Murphy Zheng, Unsplash, cropped)

Minute 48
¶ “World EV Sales Report – Tesla Model Y Is The Best Selling Model In The World!” • The last months of 2023 brought a record-fest for world plugin vehicle sales, with three months out of the last four setting new sales records. December had over 1,550,000 registrations. In the overall market, the Tesla Model Y was the global best seller. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, February 7

Wind farm (Tyler Casey, Unsplash)

Minute 51
¶ “‘Unprecedented Collapse’ In EU Coal And Gas Electricity Generation Last Year, Report Reveals” • According to a report by Ember, more of Europe’s electricity came from wind power than fossil gas for the first time last year. Wind and solar produced a record 27% of the bloc’s electricity in 2023. Coal and gas took corresponding nosedives. [Euronews]

Atmospheric river (Naval Research Laboratory, public domain)

Minute 54
¶ “What Is The Pineapple Express And Why Has It Drenched California?” • Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow bands of rain that hit the west coast of the US and Canada endwise, bringing lots of rain. If one starts near Hawaii, it is called the “Pineapple Express.” Studies from NOAA suggest that they will bring more rain with climate change. [BBC]

Affordable Ford (Ford Motor Company image)

Minute 56

¶ “Ford Teases Not-So-Secret Affordable EV, Again” • Word leaked out that the Ford Motor Company has assigned a secret task force to develop an affordable EV, aimed at competing with the low-cost lineup of Tesla and various Chinese auto makers. It’s pretty much the same secret that CleanTechnica’s Jennifer Sensiba noted in May of 2022, [CleanTechnica]

Minute 59: Finis

Notes: Energy Week #559 – 2/8/2024

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