Plus: Largest offshore windfarm in UK opens; NYC & London mayors launch fossil fuel divestment initiative
Hi Everyone,
Quite the mix of stories this week, plus some cool electric vehicle pics thrown in for fun. The innovations occurring here are rather remarkable.
Consider forwarding on to others who may be interested.
Thanks,
Peter
DVN GL predicts global energy demand to peak in 2035
Comment: Yet another consultancy with its own take on the future, DNV GL released their Energy Transition Outlook for 2018. Hundreds of pages of analysis. I will say I do like their graphs – which unlike others show an equal amount historical trends as they do forecasts.
World’s largest offshore wind farm opens in UK
Some quick facts, provided by the Engineer:
- the Walney extension adds 87 turbines to the current 102,
- 40 of the new turbines are the largest operating in the world, at 8MW each,
- the turbines are 190 meters or more than two football fields tall,
- it covers 145 square kilometers (56 square miles), and
- the extension brings the total capacity to 1.5 GW, enough to power 1.2 million UK homes.
ChargePoint pledges to deploy 2.5 million electric vehicle charge points by 2025
Excerpt: If your truck is completely autonomous, why would you need a cab? Volvo Trucks believes that you don’t and that’s why they built a new all-electric and autonomous truck without a cab called Vera. Electrek
Duke 15-year plans lean heavy on gas to replace coal
Comment: Duke is a big utility in the US, so if they are saying they are going to still rely on gas – even adding more gas plant capacity, it is worth noting.
Excerpt: Between Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Consumers, the company will add 9,534 MW of gas capacity by 2033, starting next year. Duke will add 3,671 MW of solar capacity across the same timeline. Environmental advocates praised Duke for closing down coal facilities — some ahead of schedule — but Sierra Club said the plan “doesn’t go nearly far enough” to tackle climate change. The group said wind energy and efficiency could have allowed Duke to significantly reduce fuel costs and more quickly phase out older fossil fuel plants. Utility Dive
Over £600 million of electric vehicle investment unveiled across public and private initiatives
Comment: That works out to over $1 billion Canadian. Impressive.
Excerpt: A new network of 200 fast electric vehicle charging points powered by battery storage is among the low emission transport initiatives to be announced by the private sector as part of the country’s first Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Summit. Investment totalling over £500 million has been revealed as prime minister Theresa May travelled to Birmingham to open the summit, where she also unveiled a £106 million package of measures to develop clean vehicle, refuelling and battery technology. Current
U.S. utility solar contracts ‘exploded’ in 2018 despite tariffs: report
Excerpt: Procurement of solar energy by U.S. utilities “exploded” in the first half of 2018, prompting a prominent research group to boost its five-year installation forecast on Thursday despite the Trump administration’s steep tariffs on imported panels. REUTERS
In Canada: Walmart orders 30 more electric trucks; Edmonton orders 25 electric buses
- The Edmonton Transit Service Orders 25 Proterra Electric Buses Clean Technica
- Walmart Orders 30 More Tesla Semi Electric Trucks Clean Technica
NYC, London mayors launch fossil fuel divestment initiative
Excerpt: Penning a joint Op-Ed in The Guardian, Sadiq Khan and Bill de Blasio both encouraged other cities to divest assets from fossil fuel companies and invest in renewable energy. Smart Cities Dive
A couple cool electric vehicles
This Japanese tilting electric cargo tricycle is as cute as it is functional Electrek
This new electric motorcycle does 100 mph and 186 miles – all without a rear hub Electrek
Chinese EV maker NIO: US$1B IPO; jumps 76% on second day of trading
Excerpt: Chinese electric-vehicle maker NIO Inc. closed up 76 percent on its second day of trading after its $1 billion U.S. initial public offering.
After pricing near the bottom its target range at $6.26 and a bumpy first day of trading on Wednesday, the shares rose as much as 92 percent Thursday before closing at $11.60 in New York trading. The company is backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. Bloomberg