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How a battery shortage is hampering the U.S. switch to wind, solar power
U.S. renewable energy developers have delayed or scrapped several big battery projects meant to store electrical power on the grid in recent months, scuttling plans to replace fossil fuels with wind and solar energy. At least a dozen storage projects meant to support growing renewable energy supplies have been postponed, canceled or renegotiated as labor and transport bottlenecks, soaring minerals prices, and competition from the electric vehicle industry crimp supply. [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
How Wind-Prediction Tech Will Change Clean Energy
Last week, French utility Engie SA announced that it will use Google’s AI-powered wind-prediction capabilities to optimize operations of its German wind assets. The pilot program is an extension of Google’s in-house work that it says allows it to capture higher revenues by scheduling hourly wind-power commitments to the grid up to one day in advance. A Google executive calls this offering “a trading recommendations tool,” which it is — but it is also a source of intriguing and important strategic questions for Google, Engie, and Big Tech in energy in general. [ read more … ]
Solar Energy
Solar-Panel Makers Scorn ‘Pittance’ of Aid in Biden Relief Plan
President Joe Biden’s plan to kick-start domestic solar-panel manufacturingdepends for now on a federal fund with less than a half billion dollars that’s already being tapped to pay for products including military drones and baby formula. That funding—even if fully dedicated to solar production—would only be enough to open a few factories capable of cranking out a fraction of the panels the US currently imports each year, according to manufacturers. [ read more … ]
Battery Storage
CO2 battery cracks the code for clean grid, startup says
“We can now provide an answer to the most pressing issue of our time: climate change,” Energy Dome founder and CEO Claudio Spadacini said in a statement. “Our breakthrough technology, the CO2 Battery, is now commercially available to make cost-effective renewable energy dispatchable on a global scale.” Long-duration storage has long been viewed as a holy grail by green-minded grid planners, who see it as necessary for storing excess renewable generation to be used at times when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Utility-scale grid storage is growing rapidly today, with most systems using lithium-ion batteries. [ read more … ]
SCOTUS
Big Oil tees up next Supreme Court climate showdown
Climate liability lawsuits from state and local governments against fossil fuel companies could be headed to the Supreme Court for a second time. Suncor Energy Inc. and Exxon Mobil Corp. yesterday petitioned the justices to review a lower court decision that delivered a procedural victory to Colorado governments suing fossil fuel companies for climate damages. The February finding by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the case should be heard by a state judge — rather than a federal bench, as industry wants — was the first in a string of legal losses for oil and gas companies after the Supreme Court said last year that appellate judges could consider a larger set of arguments in favor of federal jurisdiction. [ read more … ]
EVs
Biden Administration to Set Rules of the Road for Charging Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicle charging stations built with federal dollars should be positioned along Interstates every 50 miles, be able to recharge cars quickly and be located no more than a mile from a major highway, according to new rules proposed by the Biden administration on Thursday. “EV drivers should be able to count on finding a place to recharge easily wherever they go,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters Wednesday. Administration officials said they believe the charging station hurdle is on its way to being solved. Mr. Biden has set a goal of building 500,000 charging stations across the country by 2030. [ read more … ]
EU lawmakers back ban on new fossil-fuel cars from 2035
European Parliament lawmakers on Wednesday voted to support an effective EU ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, rejecting attempts to weaken the proposal to speed Europe’s shift to electric vehicles. The vote upholds a key pillar of the European Union’s plans to cut net planet-warming emissions 55% by 2030, from 1990 levels – a target that requires faster emissions reductions from industry, energy and transport. [ read more … ]
Do Democrats have an EV messaging problem?
Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow this week said owning an electric vehicle has insulated her from rising gas prices, which immediately drew the ire of Republican lawmakers and right-wing commentators who accused “elite” Democrats of being out of touch with the reality of everyday Americans. And in recent weeks, both Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Vice President Kamala Harris have gotten similar pushback as they touted the administration’s EV spending, amid soaring gas prices. President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure law allocated up to $7.5 billion to build out a national network of electric vehicle charging ports.
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Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.