June 13 NEC Energy News
¶ “$19 Billion For Energy Transition In Queensland Budget As It Pushes State Ownership, Milks Coal” • Queensland’s government has allocated A$19 billion ($12.9 billion) to deliver on its energy transition plan, with a focus on public ownership of energy assets. Queensland’s flush financial position was enabled by an increase in coal royalties. [pv magazine Australia]
¶ “Fukushima Operator Starts Tests Before Releasing Treated Radioactive Wastewater” • TEPCO, the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, began tests on newly constructed facilities for discharging treated radioactive wastewater into the sea. The plan is strongly opposed by local fishing communities and neighboring countries. [The Manila Times]
¶ “Nuclear Power Is No Silver Bullet To Wean Us From Fossil Fuels” • A growing chorus in Washington says weaning the US off killer fossil fuels means relying heavily on new nuclear power plants. We have compelling reasons to drop that silver bullet thinking about nuclear power. Among them are high cost and lack of reliability. [Chicago Sun-Times]
¶ “Fossil Fuels Now Account For Less Than Half Of China’s Power Capacity” • In 2021, China set a goal for renewable capacity, by which it means wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear, to exceed fossil fuel capacity by 2025. Those capacity resources now make up 50.9% of the country’s power capacity, Reuters reports. China hit its goal two years early. [Yale E360]
¶ “Volkswagen Claims Dry Battery Process Will Save Hundreds Of Dollars Per Car” • Volkswagen intends to bring a new dry coating process for EV batteries into large-scale production, according to Der Spiegel. Dry coating reduces consumption of energy in the production of battery cells by 30%, which could lower the cost of EVs. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “SSEN Transmission To Invest £10 Billion In UK Grid” • SSEN Transmission announced a £10 billion program of investment into the network across the north of Scotland. This will play a key role in enabling connection of up to 11 GW of new offshore wind capacity through ScotWind projects, enough to power more than 10 million homes. [reNews]
¶ “Last Week’s Haze May Be Just The Beginning Of A New ‘Summer Of Smoke’” • What we saw unfold along the Eastern Seaboard last week was surreal. But just because the smoke has mostly cleared for now doesn’t mean those apocalyptic scenes won’t be back. Canada’s fire season is just getting going, this could be a summer of smoke. [CNN]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.