July 17 NEC Energy News
¶ “Modern Hurricanes Are Rewriting The Rules Of Extreme Storms” • Hurricanes are fuelled by heat from ocean waters. Ocean temperatures are now breaking all records, and these “engines” are responding accordingly, cutting different paths across the ocean, slowing down, and becoming less predictable and more dangerous. [BBC]
¶ “Chris Bowen Warns Nuclear Power Will Stifle Renewables Investment” • Energy Minister Chris Bowen says that a taxpayer subsidised nuclear power plant program would put investment in renewables on ice, stalling Australia’s energy transition by at least eleven years. He says Labor is already investing billions of dollars to modernise the grid. [pv magazine Australia]
¶ “Solar, Wind Surpass 20% US Generation Capacity” • Between them, solar and wind now constitute more than one-fifth of the total available installed utility-scale generating capacity in the US. A review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by FERC reveals that the mix of renewable energy sources is nearly 30% of US generating capacity. [reNews]
¶ “China’s Carbon Emissions Fall As Economy Slows, While Other Emissions Rise” • Carbon dioxide emissions in China are on track for their first annual decline since 2016, a signal the world’s top polluter may have already hit a peak in its output of greenhouse gases, Bloomberg reports. Coal use for generating power plunged last month. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Statkraft And Boralex Sign Scottish Wind PPA” • Statkraft has signed a fixed-price power purchase agreement with Boralex for a 106-MW wind farm in Scotland. The transmission-connected Limekiln wind farm, to be sited in the Scottish Highlands south of Reay, is under construction and will be commissioned by the end of 2024. [reNews]
¶ “California’s Grid Passed The Reliability Test This Heat Wave. It’s All About Giant Batteries” • California’s power grid emerged from a nearly three weeklong record-setting heat wave relatively unscathed, and officials credit years of investment in renewable energy, especially giant batteries that store power for use when the sun is not up. [The Spokesman-Review]
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