June 4, 2022

Weekend Reads: Using Skyscrapers For Energy Storage; US Looks to Gulf of Mexico As Next Wind Hub

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

DOE launches grid interconnection initiative to cut ‘gridlock’ hampering clean energy progress (Utility Dive) In an effort to spur clean energy development, the U.S. Department of Energy is launching a program to improve the grid interconnection process through a partnership with utilities, grid operators, state and tribal governments, clean energy developers, energy justice organizations and other stakeholders. The Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) initiative will develop solutions for faster, simpler and fairer grid interconnection through better data, roadmap development and technical assistance, the DOE said Tuesday.

America's next wind powerhouse: The Gulf of Mexico? (Politico) A home base of the oil and gas industry wants in on offshore wind. The Gulf of Mexico has spent eight decades as one of the nation’s prime petroleum hubs, home to thousands of rigs, platforms and other structures that drill, store and ship fossil fuels. Now the Biden administration is reviewing 30 million acres of Gulf waters near Texas and Louisiana for potential wind turbines — a development that could dovetail with proposals to generate other clean energy sources, such as hydrogen.

Oil’s Displacement as a Road Fuel Is About to Ramp Up, BNEF Says (Bloomberg) The displacement of oil as a road fuel will accelerate through 2025 as the uptake of electric vehicles ramps up, according to a new report. Electric passenger car numbers are seen surging to 77 million over the next four years, according to BloombergNEF’s latest outlook on the sector, up from about 20 million now. That almost four-fold increase will push the amount of oil that EVs curb from transport use as high as 2.5 million barrels a day by 2025, up from about 1.5 million barrels a day now.

Skyscrapers would be energy storage device with new breakthrough method (Interesting Engineering) Researchers at the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Vienna, Austria, have suggested a nifty idea of converting skyscrapers into storage units for energy generated through renewable sources, New Atlas reported. This can be done for existing skyscrapers as well as those that will be built in the future. Renewable energy is a promising source that can be used to meet our energy demands in a carbon-free way. One of the significant hurdles in relying on this source is the intermittent nature of how energy is generated using this method.

DeLorean is back (to the future) with an electric car, and some caveats (NPR) In 1985, the movie Back To The Future made a DMC DeLorean into both a time machine and a household name. Almost four decades and several corporate iterations later, the latest carmaker to bear the DeLorean name is getting closer to launching its highly anticipated electric vehicle. The DeLorean Motor Company revealed new images and details about the car, the Alpha5, to early-access subscribers on Monday, before its website went public the next day. The concept car – which was first teased back in February – is set to premiere at the prestigious California car show Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in mid-August, with limited production set to begin in 2024.

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