"Renewable power is defying the difficulties caused by the pandemic, showing robust growth while other fuels struggle. The resilience and positive prospects of the sector are clearly reflected by continued strong appetite from investors — and the future looks even brighter with new capacity additions on course to set fresh records this year and next."
Articles from Around the Web
GM adding 3,000 tech jobs to accelerate electric vehicle push
“General Motors is pulling ahead the launch of two future electric vehicles and plans to add 3,000 new software jobs by early next year as it races to get electric vehicles on the road faster.”
How to unleash agtech in the fight against climate change
“We’re believers that there’s no comprehensive solution to climate change without major changes to the agricultural system. There will be multiple unicorn-level outcomes as companies begin reshaping the $7 trillion food industry while removing gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere. For those startups and investors fortunate enough to remain standing now, the ag industry just got a lot riper for disruption.”
How Buffett’s $10 Billion Pipeline Deal Is Doing Environmental Double Duty Helping Dominion Energy Turn Acres Of Manure Into Clean Power
“Over the next decade, Dominion aims to invest $650 million into agriculture-derived gas projects. Smithfield will contribute another $250 million. The expected result: 8 billion cubic feet per year of livestock gas—thus preventing the emissions equivalent of 3.5 million tons per year of carbon dioxide. That’s like taking 750,000 cars permanently off the road, or planting 60 million new trees every year.”
The Combined Power Of Floating Solar On Hydro Reservoirs Shows New Potential
“While floating PV (FPV) is 10%-15% higher in upfront capital costs and per-kilowatt cost compared to conventional PV, FPV used in conjunction with hydropower provides a host of other benefits. These include reduced transmission costs by linking to a common substation, reduced evaporation, reduced algae growth on hydro reservoirs, and increased efficiency of panels due to its water-cooling effect.”
Australia Picks Massive Tesla-Supplied Battery to Ease Transmission Constraint
“The battery is set to come online by November 2021, fulfilling a System Integrity Protection Scheme contract with AEMO through 2032. That grid jargon means that the battery will guarantee instantaneous power in case the transmission network suffers an unexpected outage.”
Walmart has a grand plan to help suppliers club together to buy green energy
“Walmart aims to reduce emissions from its supply chain by 1 gigaton by 2030 via its Project Gigaton initiative, and it is now extending its buying power to its suppliers, who will be able to group together to buy renewable energy via its Gigaton PPA Program that launched in September. Smaller companies can be priced out of the market for renewable energy, and there are only around 100 corporates buying renewable energy in this way, according to Walmart’s calculations and data from the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance.”
Green-Power Giant Capitalizes on Energy Transition With $88 Billion Investment
“This year has seen the rise of clean power companies—including Iberdrola, Enel and, in the U.S., NextEra Energy Inc. —into the upper echelons of the world’s most valuable energy companies. That has come as traditional oil majors grapple with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, which has decimated demand for crude and tanked prices. There is also broader support from companies, investors and governments for low-carbon energy.”
Researchers discover a new way to produce hydrogen using microwaves
“The technology developed and patented by the UPV and CSIC is based on the phenomenon of the microwave reduction of solid materials. This method makes it possible to carry out electrochemical processes directly without requiring electrodes, which simplifies and significantly cheapens its practical use, as it provides more freedom in the design of the structure of the device and choosing the operation conditions, mainly the temperature."
For a Climate-Concerned President and a Hostile Senate, One Technology May Provide Common Ground
"‘If you look at wind, that was the result of a whole bunch of different, really aggressive policy actions,’ said Rich Powell, executive director of ClearPath, a nonprofit that advocates for conservative clean energy policies. He noted that a combination of federal tax breaks and renewable electricity standards at the state level drove down the cost of wind over decades, and that the same has happened for solar over the past 15 years. ‘We're only seeing the beginnings of all those things for carbon capture.’"