Energy Shift: UK considers net zero 2050 commitment

Plus: 1000 km electric vehicle range? A 50 km/h e-bike; A $13.6B giant solar park in Dubai

Hi Everyone,

The first article below has a cryptic headline, but I invite you to read my comments and reflect on the context.

I may have missed some headlines being off recently. For those in Canada, another source for you to consider is the weekly email from Clean Energy Canada. I have a busy couple weeks ahead, so look for the next update in two weeks, on May19th.

Send me your comments and encourage others you know to subscribe.
Thanks,
Peter

CCC’s net zero ultimatum a put up or shut up moment for HMG | Current News

Comment: Imagine a government that establishes a panel of experts to provide advice on what to do about climate change, with that panel submitting a 250 page roadmap report that recommends the country pursue a pathway to net zero by 2050, and to only put legislation in place if also paired with the other important policy moves needed to take meaningful first steps on that journey. Now imagine that country’s capital paralyzed for days by mass climate change protests urgently calling for the government to do something, with over 700 protestors willingly being arrested for the cause.

This is not my imagination. It’s what’s been unfolding in the UK. And while many cities and state level governments have made similar commitments, what sets this situation apart is the panel essentially saying ‘don’t commit to net zero unless you’re serious about making the changes necessary’. By the way, HMG stands for Her (or His) Majesty’s Government.

Innolith Energy Technology Brings 1000km EV Within Range

Comment: I am always skeptical when I read material like this – especially when it comes from the company promoting its own progress, Innolith Energy. That said, there has been such an incredible investment in improving batteries, one has to wonder if somebody is finally going to come up with a breakthrough. Is this one of those breakthrough? Hard to tell.

$13.6B record-breaking solar park rises from Dubai desert | CNN

Click the CNN link above to check out the 21 pictures of various large scale solar parks around the world.

Tesla warns of upcoming shortages of battery minerals, like nickel, copper, & lithium | Electrek

Comment: It might be an uncomfortable reality, but EVs require a lot of mining – yet an important opportunity for my home country of Canada to help meet global demand, providing good jobs and economic rents for governments – revenue needed for making the transition over the next few decades.

Southern California Edison Picks 195MW Battery Portfolio in Place of Puente Gas Plant

Excerpt: How a California community succeeded in pushing for a reliability fix that will see the installation of storage projects rather than a natural-gas peaker plant. …more from Greentech Media

The grid of the future will be powered by … giant subterranean bagpipes? | Digital Trends

I’ve reported on Hydrostor’s ‘Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage’ (A-CAES) technology before, but this provides a good overview and an animated explainer as well. I’ve read about a couple commercial scale demonstration projects, though have yet to read about an economically viable commercial scale deployment.

All-electric Gig Car Share launching in Sacramento, CA | Smart Cities Dive

Excerpt: President Jason Haight said the 260-vehicle fleet of Chevy Bolts will be the largest electric shared fleet in the country.

Equinor strengthens its commitment to climate leadership | E quinor.com

Comment: Among the things I picked out in their list of stronger commitments: linking executive pay to meeting GHG targets, reviewing affiliations to industry associations, reporting on the emissions of the products it sells to consumers and further investing in renewables.

Excerpt: Climate performance is a key performance indicator in Equinor and part of the basis for executive remuneration. Equinor will further strengthen the link between its climate-related targets and remuneration for senior executives and employees once the new targets have been defined in 2020.

A 30-mph e-bike to compete with cars in cities? Investors just bet $20 million on it | TechCrunch

Excerpt: Electric mopeds like that of Scoot have a top speed of 30 miles per hour and they only require a bit of in-app instruction. Yet Bond doesn’t see these as direct competitors either, perhaps because they must be parked in legal parking spaces, whereas dockless electric bikes can be parked nearly anywhere (for better or worse).

Google Maps adds live EV charger information | Smart Cities Dive

Excerpt: Drivers can search for nearby charging stations, as well as real-time information charger availability, the type of port and charging speeds.

Comment: The real-time availability is a big plus. Now can we have that in other countries besides just the US?

Electric vehicle study sees opportunity for utilities

Comment: The study is by the Boston Consulting Group, so could be worth a look.

Excerpt: The study’s authors suggested that utilities consider expanding their range of services and explore such options as subscription services that impose a flat EV charging fee while providing customers with a free home charger that automatically charges a vehicle overnight and during periods of off-peak demand.

Utilities also were urged to consider offering consulting services, as well as software solutions to both consumer and commercial customers for energy and fleet management. …more from Reuters