Distributed Energy Resources, GHG Emissions, Solar, Sourcing Renewables  -  September 2, 2023

Weekend Reads: Climate Change Myths; Satellites Search Out Methane

It’s the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web:

Americans are misguided on what they think individuals can do to fight climate change (Washington Post)  A slim majority of Americans think their individual actions can reduce the effects of climate change, according to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll. But do they know which actions are the most effective? Not quite.

Solar panel shipments set a record high in 2022 as capacity continued to grow (EIA)  In 2022, solar photovoltaic panel shipments in the United States increased 10% from 2021, setting another annual record (31.7 million peak kilowatts [kWp]), based on the EIA's latest published data. U.S. solar panel shipments have been growing as solar capacity continues to rise.

Oil companies hire satellites to look for leaky methane pipes (Newsweek)  High in the sunlit silence 300 miles out in space, a small satellite scans the Earth for methane — from refineries, drilling rigs, landfills and myriad other sources. It is one of a fleet of nine such orbiters, with three more planned for launch by year's end. They are spy satellites, if you will, sent to protect the climate from greenhouse gases, or GHGs.

How automakers’ disappointment in Electrify America drove them into Tesla’s arms (Charged EV)  The last year has seen more change in the EV charging landscape than at any time since the VW Group agreed in June 2016 to pay $2 billion to set up a nationwide fast charging network in the US to settle its Dieselgate scandal. In November 2022, Tesla released specifications for what it dubbed the North American Charging Standard (NACS), essentially offering it to the EV industry at large. Tesla fans hailed the move as another stroke of genius by the company that proved to the world that long-range EVs could be viable, attractive and profitable. The rest of the world likely paid little attention.

How much wave energy is in our oceans? (NREL)  In a recent study published in Renewable Energy, researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory present a more comprehensive and accurate methodology to measure the wave energy available in ocean sites around the world. But they also identified another challenge: Existing wave energy data sets, the ones the team used to build their new methodology, may not be as reliable as previously thought.

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