Peak Coal: 2013. Peak Oil: 2023. Peak Natural Gas: Definitely before 2033. Peak Carbon: Before you know it. Where will the Greenwashers and the Oil and Gaslighters retreat to next? Saudi Oil Minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani once noted that
The Stone Age came to an end, but not for lack of stones.
Like the flint above.
The renewable energy revolution is happening faster than you think
Both China and the US, the world's top carbon emitters, are racing ahead with solar panels and wind turbines. It is even looking like we may soon see the beginning of the end for fossil fuels
The main body of the article is paywalled. But this isn’t.
NYT: The Clean Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think
The United States is pivoting away from fossil fuels and toward wind, solar and other renewable energy, even in areas dominated by the oil and gas industries.
Across the country, a profound shift is taking place that is nearly invisible to most Americans. The nation that burned coal, oil and gas for more than a century to become the richest economy on the planet, as well as historically the most polluting, is rapidly shifting away from fossil fuels.
A similar energy transition is already well underway in Europe and elsewhere. But the United States is catching up, and globally, change is happening at a pace that is surprising even the experts who track it closely.
Wind and solar power are breaking records, and renewables are now expected to overtake coal by 2025 as the world’s largest source of electricity. Automakers have made electric vehicles central to their business strategies and are openly talking about an expiration date on the internal combustion engine. Heating, cooling, cooking and some manufacturing are going electric.
More than $1.7 trillion worldwide is expected to be invested in technologies such as wind, solar power, electric vehicles and batteries globally this year, according to the I.E.A., compared with just over $1 trillion in fossil fuels. That is by far the most ever spent on clean energy in a year.
More manufacturing than you think: Carbon-neutral cement, steel, and ammonia, for example. Even carbon-negative cement is being tested. Long-distance electric aircraft, which we have looked at before, as soon as the battery power density is great enough.
And thousands of times as much sun as it needs. It is going to be a major supplier to Europe via undersea cables at Gibraltar, Sicily, and elsewhere.
India reduces emissions by 33% over 14 years
EU blindsided by spectacular Solar roll out
Large majority of EU countries will hit 2030 solar targets ahead of schedule, [by 2027, or even sooner] according to new data.
The bloc added 41 gigawatts of new solar capacity in 2022 — a 40 percent increase on 2021. That's expected to rise to over 50 GW this year.
In June, the International Energy Agency was forced to upwardly revise its renewable energy deployment forecasts for the EU by 38 percent, most of which was driven by a rise in residential and commercial solar installations.
“To be honest, we've never been very good … our most optimistic predictions have nearly always undershot the market,” said Jenny Chase, a solar analyst at BloombergNEF who has closely followed the sector for almost two decades.
Yup. The IEA is infamous for making inadequate projections.
Some Good News in Energy Transition
A car ferry in Alabama has been converted from diesel to battery electric drive. The Gee’s Bend Ferry, under contract with the Alabama DOT (ALDOT) has received USCG certification and resumed service between Gee’s Bend and Camden.
Vineyard's $4B offshore wind farm set to start generating green energy in Oct.
At first, the project will send power generated by a string of six turbines onto the grid, totaling about 78 megawatts, with plans to ramp the project up to between 200 and 300 MW by the end of the year and full commercial operations of 806 MW expected by mid-2024, according to Sy Oytan, Avangrid's chief operating officer for offshore wind.
BrightNight to build 800MW solar plant on former Kentucky coal mine
I really like how this project highlights the ability of renewables to turn a retired coal pit into a deep green source of energy.
It is expected to be the largest renewable energy project in the state and one of the largest in the country to be built on former coal mining land. When completed, it will generate enough electricity to power more than 170,000 households annually.
The project will also include a 20-mile (32km) transmission line, which will enable the transmission of an additional 1GW of local renewable projects, to be built in the future.
Wyoming, long known as a top coal producing state, makes a big move into wind energy
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm today celebrated the groundbreaking of the TransWest Express Transmission Project, a new high-voltage interregional transmission line that will extend from south-central Wyoming through northwestern Colorado and central Utah, ending in southern Nevada. The transmission line will add more than 1,000 jobs during construction and, once complete, will provide 3,000 megawatts of new transmission capacity.
The TransWest Express Project will carry electricity generated by the largest onshore wind generation project in North America: the over 3-gigawatt Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project, located in Carbon County, Wyoming. Like the TransWest Express Project, the 600-turbine Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind project is partially located on public lands managed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. The BLM is currently processing 74 utility-scale onshore clean energy projects proposed on public lands in the western United States.
FERC Transmission Reform Paves Way for Adding New Energy Resources to Grid
At the end of 2022, more than 2,000 gigawatts of generation and storage were waiting in interconnection queues throughout the country – that is as much electricity generation capacity as all the power plants now operating around the country. Projects now face an average wait of up to five years to connect to the grid.
That’s 2 terawatts ready to connect whenever. I said four years ago that The First Green Terawatt Was the Hardest.
GM says its EV’s will be able to power your home by 2026
Some other EVs can do it now.
The Sun Shines On New York’s Community Solar Power Deal
Climate Strike -- Restorative Justice (week 58)
Renewable (Information) Resources
Meteor Blades: Each week’s Renewable Tuesday gets linked and excerpted in the Spotlight on DK climate and eco-diaries (8/7-13/23). Thanks, MB. (He and I both worked on this line for years before he retired.)
Origis Obtains $750 Million Financing for Large-Scale Solar
Cooperative buying programs open whole communities to solar installation
Last decade saw solar generation boom, natural gas slowdown in California
Since 2012:
- Solar generation increased nearly twentyfold from 2,609 gigawatt-hours (GWh) to 48,950 GWh.
- Wind generation grew by 63%.
- Natural gas generation decreased 20%.
- Coal has been nearly phased out of the power mix.
Hoosiers To Lead Rural Solar Power Revolution
Indiana has been drifting around in the solar power doldrums, but it is poised to lead the transition to agrivoltaics throughout the US agricultural industry.
US farms are beginning to transition from energy-sucking, water-guzzling, habitat destroying epicenters of greenhouse gas emissions into hosts for solar power plants, biodiversity havens, and carbon sinks. That can translate into an economic lifeline for farmers, and that explains why the rural solar power movement is steamrolling ahead, with Indiana providing a good example despite its red-state political profile.
Now to turn that into votes.
Disinformation
Deniers Bug Out Over Biden Calling Climate Change An 'Existential Threat by ClimateDenierRoundup.
Guardian: How electric cars became a battleground in the culture wars
In my coastal district, Nancy Mace voted against combating the climate crisis.
Cowboy State Daily Takes Advantage Of Local News Deserts to Launder Climate Disinfo
Sign the petition: The fossil fuel industry broke the law with their lies. Hold them accountable!
The fossil fuel industry has advanced lies, deceit, and the climate crisis for too long by Erin Tulley.
Earth Matters: Mike Huckabee pushes climate BS on kids by Meteor Blades.