EGEB
EGEB = Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political roundup/analysis of news about green energy, such as wind, solar, sustainable technology, and electric vehicles.
Ireland and France will connect their electricity grids – here’s how
France and Ireland signed contracts on Friday to advance the Celtic Interconnector, a subsea electricity link to allow the exchange of electricity between the two EU countries. It will be the first interconnector between continental Europe and Ireland.
Expand Expanding CloseAlaska oil and gas lease sale is on because Joe Manchin insisted
The US Interior Department today announced that an oil and gas lease sale for Alaska’s Cook Inlet will take place on December 30 – a concession made to Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) so that he’d vote for the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Expand Expanding CloseRenewables outproduced coal by 15.5% in the US during first 3 quarters of 2022
Renewable energy provided almost 23% of electrical generation in the US during the first three quarters of 2022, according to new data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign.
Expand Expanding CloseFrance’s first offshore wind farm is now fully online
France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, the 480 megawatt (MW) Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm, is now fully up and running.
Expand Expanding CloseThe US’s largest solar provider reveals its fleet of Ford F-150 Lightnings
San Francisco-headquartered Sunrun, the largest residential solar and battery storage installer in the US, yesterday posted on social media that its transition to electric fleet vehicles is under way with a photo of Sunrun-branded Ford F-150 Lightnings.
Expand Expanding CloseSwell Energy raises $120M to expand its virtual power plants
Swell Energy today announced that it has raised $120 million to grow its virtual power plants (VPPs). Virtual power plants allow clean energy to be quickly added to the grid to address frequency and voltage imbalances, local disruptions, and keep the grid stable.
Expand Expanding CloseHere’s how deep geothermal drilling might be clean energy’s future
Quaise Energy is on a mission to prove that deep geothermal drilling could provide more than enough clean energy to meet the world’s needs as we move away from fossil fuels. Matt Houde, cofounder at Quaise Energy, explained its potential at the TEDX Boston Planetary Stewardship Event last week.
Expand Expanding CloseWhite House announces $13B to modernize the US power grid
The Biden administration, through the US Department of Energy (DOE), today announced that applications are now open to states, tribes, and utilities to tap into $13 billion in new financing opportunities for the expansion and modernization of the US power grid.
Expand Expanding CloseEnel is going to build one of the largest solar panel and cell factories in the US
Enel North America, through its affiliate 3Sun USA, today announced that it will build one of the largest solar PV factories in the US. Initially, it’s expected to produce at least 3 gigawatts (GW) and scale up to 6 GW of high-performance bifacial PV modules and cells annually. This facility will be among the first in the US to produce solar cells, a vital part of the supply chain.
Expand Expanding CloseThe largest American solar panel maker pledges to build $1B factory in US Southeast [Update]
First Solar, the largest American solar panel maker, will invest up to $1.2 billion to ramp up production of US-made solar panels. The announcement follows the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in August, which incentivizes domestic clean energy manufacturing.
Expand Expanding CloseWind turbines made entirely of wood are coming
In just two years, Northern European companies have taken wooden wind turbines from prototype to commercialization. Now Finnish renewable product maker Stora Enso, one of the largest private forest owners in the world, is partnering up with German start-up Voodin Blade Technology to make sustainable wooden wind turbine blades.
Expand Expanding CloseDandelion Energy closes a $70M funding round to scale geothermal – but it left Vermont
Dandelion Energy today announced the closure of a $70 million B1 funding round to scale geothermal in the US, but it quietly left Vermont in the fall.
Expand Expanding CloseWorld’s largest floating offshore wind farm is now online
Hywind Tampen, the world’s largest and Norway’s first floating offshore wind farm, powered up yesterday for the first time.
Expand Expanding CloseTVA pilots solar on a coal ash site, a US first, but there’s still a long way to go
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) – the largest utility in the United States – will launch a first-of-its-kind pilot program to determine whether closed coal ash storage sites can host utility-scale solar.
Expand Expanding CloseThis is how government overreach could bring the US solar industry to its knees [Update]
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the nonprofit trade association of the US solar industry, just flagged a proposed change to the 2024 International Building Code by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that would do more harm than good to the US solar industry.
Expand Expanding CloseThis rooftop wind-powered microgrid withstood 105 mph gusts
Dallas-based Hover Energy, which makes wind-powered microgrids with solar and storage, is going to begin commercial-scale production in January 2023. And potential customers can feel confident about the resiliency of the company’s rooftop-mounted microgrids – one survived 105 mph winds during Hurricane Ian.
Expand Expanding CloseHeat pumps are now mandatory in new homes in Washington State
Washington State will require new homes and apartments to have heat pumps installed from July 2023, the State Building Code Council ruled on Friday.
Expand Expanding CloseThese energy giants are joining forces to ramp up renewable power
Global sustainable energy giants Hitachi Energy and Equinor today announced that they have signed a strategic collaboration agreement. They’re going to join forces on global electrification, renewable power generation, and low-carbon initiatives.
Expand Expanding CloseJapan’s government wants to remotely control private ACs to avoid power outages
The Japanese government is discussing the possibility of remotely controlling privately owned ACs and water heaters in order to avoid power outages as the country switches to renewables.
Expand Expanding CloseFrance to require all large parking lots to be covered by solar panels
In France, solar just got a huge boost from new legislation approved through the Senate this week that will require all parking lots with spaces for at least 80 vehicles – both existing and new – to be covered by solar panels.
Expand Expanding CloseA quarter of US coal-fired power will retire by end of 2029 – and gas may have peaked
Nearly a quarter of the 200,568 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired capacity currently operating in the US has reported plans to retire by the end of 2029, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported today.
Expand Expanding CloseCheck out this offshore wind farm’s massive gravity-based foundations
All 72 of the 5,000-tonne gravity-based foundations for France’s 500-megawatt (MW) Fécamp offshore wind farm are now complete.
Expand Expanding CloseThis clear window coating could cool buildings without using energy
Scientists have used advanced computing tech and AI to design a clear window coating that could lower the temperature inside buildings, thus saving a whole lot of cooling energy.
Expand Expanding CloseHere’s how US rooftop solar adoption breaks down by income – it might surprise you
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) analyzed roughly 2.8 million residential rooftop solar systems installed through 2021, representing 86% of all US systems. Here are the latest trends based on income among American solar adopters, according to the data.
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