A new report by Climate Central shows how US capacity to generate renewable energy shot up last year – and surprisingly, red states lead the nation in solar and wind power production.




National wind and solar capacity grew 16% compared to 2021. All told, renewables generated enough electricity to power 64m American households. The report comes as the Biden administration starts to make billions of dollars available for renewable energy projects. The administration has committed to decarbonizing the grid completely by 2030 and getting the US to net zero emissions by mid-century.

Chung Eui-sun, left, executive chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, and Jose Munoz, president and COO of Hyundai, celebrate with a champagne toast during the official groundbreaking for the Hyundai Meta Plant in Ellabell, Georgia in October 2022

“We are moving closer to the goals we need to reach in order to hit net zero,” said Jennifer Brady, a senior data analyst at Climate Central. “We have a free natural resource in the form of weather that can be captured to generate power.”

Climate action has often been stymied at the local and federal levels by Republican leaders. But the new report shows Iowa and Oklahoma – all of which have Republican governors and majority Republican state legislatures – led the nation in wind power production, while California and Florida were the largest producers of solar power. Texas is a leader in both solar and wind power.





In the past five years, the share of wind energy more than doubled from 15% to 34%. Over that same time, gas production has fallen from 49% to 34%.

__________




Minesto, leading ocean energy developer, and Taiwan Cement Green Energy (TCCGE) have entered into a collaboration agreement to pursue tidal and ocean current energy build out in Taiwan. The agreement covers assessments of economic and technical feasibility of selected sites, site development, and applications for feed in tariffs.

The energy transition agenda in Taiwan is ambitious but with significant challenges given the large share of fossils currently relied on (95%) The available ocean energy resource, when matched with the right technologies, opens up an opportunity to move forward rapidly and with higher ambitions. In 2022, a new Ocean Energy electricity feed-in tariff was introduced to support the transition into renewable energy.

"Taiwan Cement is an experienced and successful developer of renewable energy production in Taiwan with a strong focus on pioneering projects and an openness for new technologies. Minesto's Dragons are still in the early stage of commercial deployment and that makes this collaboration even more valuable for us, them and Taiwan," says Dr Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto.

"Our long-term commitment to Taiwan can finally bear fruit. We are looking forward to working with one of the strongest and most renowned companies in Taiwan to seek synergies in local production and supporting infrastructure, while leveraging on Taiwanese manufacturing and technology strengths," says Dr Yung-Lung Chen, Project Manager of Minesto Taiwan.

___________




Newcastle Airport, in New South Wales, has boldly moved towards sustainability by signing up for 100% renewable energy through a deal with energy retailer Flow Power. The airport has committed to this transition seven years earlier than originally planned, demonstrating its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and mitigating the effects of climate change.

According to Newcastle Airport CEO Dr Peter Cock, “Newcastle Airport is expanding to deliver growth to the Hunter region, and sustainability is key to everything we do.

“We’re delighted to partner with Flow Power. By offsetting grid consumption with green generation certificates, they’ll help us significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and help us achieve our 100% renewable energy strategy well ahead of our 2030 target.”

The switch to renewable energy is a significant step for Newcastle Airport, which is one of the busiest regional airports in Australia, servicing over 1.2 million passengers annually. The airport has pledged to source all of its energy from renewable sources, which include wind, solar PV systems, and hydropower. This will ensure that the airport’s energy consumption does not contribute to the release of greenhouse gases, which are known to have a significant impact on the environment.

____________



West Virginia's governor on Friday signed a bill that gives $105 million in state funding for a renewable energy battery plant in a former steel town.

Gov. Jim Justice signed the bill at the site of Form Energy's planned manufacturing facility in the Northern Panhandle community of Weirton. The 55-acre plant will produce iron-air batteries and is anticipated to create at least 750 jobs in a $760 million investment.

"It will transform this community in every positive way you can imagine," Justice said.

The state's total commitment for the project is $290 million, including $75 million already invested in purchasing the property and to start infrastructure work.

Weirton Steel, which operated a nearly 800-acre property along the Ohio River in the town of about 19,000 residents, employed about 13,000 workers around the start of World War II. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003.

"We are honored to pick up the legacy of this historic location and carry forward the tradition on manufacturing on this phenomenal site," Form Energy CEO Mateo Jaramillo said. "The model of the town of Weirton is success and unity, and that’s how we see this project going forward. We’re committed to the long haul."

__________

  • VW, Mercedes urge Berlin to accelerate EV charging network expansion, report says


Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Group have urged the government to do more to scale up the number of electric-vehicle charging stations across the country, German paper Bild am Sonntag reported.

"To speed up the change (to electric vehicles), we need to be sure that the charging station infrastructure is being built up," Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius was quoted as saying by the paper on Sunday.

"That is also a question for politics."

VW CEO Oliver Blume agreed more speed was needed and that the construction of charging stations was "a common task of the economy, federal government and communes."

The German government last October approved a plan to spend 6.3 billion euros ($6.74 billion) to rapidly scale up the number of charging stations across the country, as part of its push towards net zero emissions. The plan included speeding up state approvals to build charging points.

Industry associations, which have long complained the government has not kept pace with the rapid expansion of electric vehicles, said the implementation of the proposals was key.

"The future of the car is electric," Kallenius was quoted as saying. "By the end of this decade, we want to be ready to completely transition to electric cars in our market segment, wherever the market conditions allow it," he said.

"It's not a foregone conclusion, rather it will require a gigantic industrial conversion."

https://europe.autonews.com/automake...infrastructure

__________

  • The end of range anxiety: how has the range of electric cars changed over time?


If you’re looking for an electric vehicle today, you have a menu to choose from.

From small, two-seater convertibles to large four-wheel drives. From small-battery city drives to long-range country-wide rides.

This is a dramatic transformation from the market a decade ago. Then, there were just a handful of car models, and small-battery city drives were your only option. Going further than 50 miles was a precarious mission to map out the charging points along the way. And those chargers were few and far between.

We can see how the electric vehicle market has changed from a simple line chart of their average range. This data comes from the International Energy Agency (IEA): each car is weighted by its global sales, so a top-selling car’s range is better reflected in the average.1 We can see that the average range has almost tripled. In 2010, it was just under 80 miles. By 2021, it was hitting 220 miles.

This is much further than the average car drives on most days. In the UK, drivers cover around 20 miles per day (this is even less if a family owns a second car).2 Most people’s range anxiety isn’t about day-to-day driving: it’s about those rare long trips for a holiday or special occasion.




https://hannahritchie.substack.com/p/electric-car-range