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Energy Week #573 – 5/16/2024
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, May 9
Wind turbines (City of Goleta)
Minute 2
¶ “Goleta City Facilities Move To 100% Renewable Energy” • The City of Goleta is poised to meet and exceed municipal renewable energy goals earlier than expected. The Goleta City Council unanimously approved powering all City facilities with 100% clean, renewable energy through the City’s Community Choice Aggregator, starting in July. [News Channel 3-12]
Fort Myers Beach, Florida (Nick Nolan, Unsplash)
Minute 5
¶ “A Surge In Sea Level Rise Threatens Southern States” • Sea levels in the Gulf of Mexico have risen by six inches or more in the past 10 years. Most oceanographers expected that amount of change would not happen until the end of this century, and only if global warming was to surpass 2ºC. Scientists are scrambling to determine the cause. [CleanTechnica]
The Pivotal Helix light eVTOL (Courtesy of Pivotal)
Minute 8
¶ “Got $200K And Want To Fly Electric? This Ultralight eVTOL Ships In July And Doesn’t Require A Pilot License” • For about $200,000, you might be able to attain the ultimate in e-mobility early adopter status. The Pivotal Helix eVTOL is available for order in the US, with deliveries starting in July, and you don’t even need a pilot license. [CleanTechnica]
Friday, May 10
San Francisco in 2020 after fires (Patrick Perkins, Unsplash, cropped)
Minute 10
¶ “2.5ºC Is Now The Best Case Scenario, Climate Scientists Tell The Guardian” • Recently, The Guardian reached out to every lead author or review editor of IPCC reports since 2018 to ask them how the fight against global heating was going. Of the 380 people who responded, many expect climate havoc to unfold in coming decades. [CleanTechnica]
Solar site (Courtesy of Queequeg Renewables)
Minute 13
¶ “Companies Partner To Boost Biodiversity At UK Renewable Energy Sites” • Two companies are working together on five solar+battery projects in the UK to ensure that each site meets its biodiversity net gain targets. The targets require improvements in the habitat as part of The Environment Act 2021 that came into force this year. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Eli ZERO (Courtesy of Eli)
Minute 16
¶ “Eli Opens Reservations For Its $12K ZERO Electric Microcar In The US” • If you’ve been waiting for a super-cheap EV that can handle all of your daily driving needs, you’re in luck. Eli Electric Vehicles is taking reservations in the US for its flagship vehicle, the $12,000 ZERO microcar, and sales are expected to begin in the third quarter of this year. [CleanTechnica]
Saturday, May 11
Donald Trump (Liam Enea, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
Minute 19
¶ “Trump Promises Oil & Gas Execs Free Rein, If They Put $1 Billion Into His Campaign” • At a Mar-A-Lago meeting with fossil fuel executives in April, Trump suggested they get together and donate $1 billion to get him re-elected. Giving $1 billion would be a “deal,” Trump said, because of the taxation and regulation they would avoid. [CleanTechnica]
EU electricity generation by source (Ember)
Minute 22
¶ “Coal And Gas Supplied Just 21% Of Europe’s Power Last Month” • Together, coal and gas generated only 21% of electricity in the EU last month. The buildout of wind and solar in Europe is continuing apace, while hydropower is recovering from an extended drought. These sources produced 49% of electricity in the EU in April, data from Ember shows. [Yale E360]
Maui, not a good place for a drought (Katie Musial, Unsplash)
Minute 24
¶ “Hawaii Officials Outline Efforts To Prevent More Devastating Wildfires Ahead Of A Dry Season” • As Maui continues to recover from the deadliest US wildfire in over a century, Hawaii officials are looking at preventing more disasters. Climate change has been causing more drought in Hawaii, and wildfires, once rare, are more frequent. [ABC News]
Sunday, May 12
Solar panels in New Zealand (Thomas Coker, Unsplash)
Minute 27
¶ “Solar Prices Drop Up To 25%” • Solar prices in Pakistan have dropped by 15% to 25% due to widespread imports and increased supply relative to consumption in the country. Market sources suggest that one reason for the decrease in the prices of solar panels is the halt in imports of solar panels from China to the US, the EU, and India. [The Express Tribune]
Volvo electric trucks (Courtesy of Amazon)
Minute 30
¶ “More Electric Trucks Coming To US, But China Still Leads” • In the US, the transition to electric trucks is picking up speed, especially in Southern California. SoCal is where the majority of products manufactured in foreign countries enter the US, and the exhaust from all those diesel trucks in the area is a really oppressive burden. [CleanTechnica]
Afghanistan (EJ Wolfson, Unsplash)
Minute 32
¶ “Flash Floods Kill Hundreds And Injure Many Others In Afghanistan” • Flash floods from unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have killed more than 300 people and destroyed over 1,000 houses, the The World Food Program said. The UN agency said it is distributing fortified biscuits to survivors of one of the floods that hit Afghanistan. [ABC News]
Monday, May 13
Solar farm in Portugal (muffinn, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
Minute 35
¶ “Renewable Energy Averages 95% Share In Portugal In April” • The first four months of 2024 saw “historic” levels of renewable energy generation in Portugal, culminating in an “historic” 94.9% of consumption being met by renewables in April. It is the fourth consecutive month that has seen renewable energy values cover over 80% of demand. [RenewEconomy]
Cost to drive 100 km in Ethiopia (Courtesy of AfricaNEV)
Minute 38
¶ “Ethiopia Shows Us Just How Fast The Transition To Electric Mobility Can Happen In Africa” • Ethiopia had a ten-year target to see 148,000 electric cars and close to 50,000 electric buses on Ethiopia’s roads by 2030. It has made amazing progress. The Ministry of Transport and Logistics said it has 100,000 EVs in just the first two years! [CleanTechnica]
The ECO EDISON (Ørsted image)
Minute 40
¶ “First-Ever American-Built Offshore Wind Service Operations Vessel” • America’s offshore wind energy supply chain is marking a milestone, with the launch of the first wind service operations vessel built, owned, and crewed by Americans. It will play a key role in enabling domestic energy production and strengthening America’s energy independence. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, May 14
Transmission lines (Ernest Brillo, Unsplash)
Minute 43
¶ “Landmark Transmission Reform Could Dramatically Speed US Energy Transition” • FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, issued a sweeping reform to transmission grid planning, one that proponents say is a major, much-needed win for the effort to transition the country’s power sector away from fossil fuels. [Canary Media]
EV battery production (Image from SKODA)
Minute 46
“European Made Batteries Could Be 60% Less Carbon Intensive Than Chinese: Analysis” • Onshoring the EV supply chain to Europe would cut the emissions of producing a battery by 37% compared to a China-controlled supply chain, analysis by T&E shows. This carbon saving rises to over 60% when renewable electricity is used. [CleanTechnica]
Cape Cod Canal Train Bridge (Astoddard73, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 48
¶ “Cape Cod Canal Site Gets Federal OK To Test Water-Powered Turbines” • Cape Codders and Islanders know about harnessing offshore windpower to create renewable energy. Now Cape Cod may be on the cusp of being a national trail blazer for another green technology, one that uses the power of the ocean tides to make electricity. [Cape Cod Times]
Wednesday, May 15
Contrails (Fr Daniel Ciucci, Unsplash)
Minute 51
¶ “‘Magical Thinking’: Hopes For Sustainable Jet Fuel Are Not Realistic” • There is currently “no realistic or scalable alternative” to standard kerosene-based jet fuels, and the touted “sustainable aviation fuels” are well off track to replace them in a timeframe needed to avert dangerous climate change, according to a report by the Institute for Policy Studies. [The Guardian]
Offshore wind turbines (Marcel Strauß, Unsplash)
Minute 54
¶ “Trump Pledges To Scrap Offshore Wind Projects On ‘Day One’ Of Presidency” • Donald Trump vowed to immediately halt offshore wind energy projects “on day one” of a new term as US president, in his most explicit threat yet to the industry and the latest in a series of promises to undo key aspects of the transition to cleaner energy. [The Guardian]
Base of a tower (Maryland Energy Administration)
Minute 56
¶ “Maryland Signs New Offshore Wind Law” • The state of Maryland has signed new legislation aimed at keeping the state’s offshore wind goals on track. The law allows qualified offshore wind developers to apply for outstanding Offshore Renewable Energy Credits created as a result of changes in the market and to add additional capacity to existing projects. [reNews]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #573 – 5/16/2024
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 with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 