October 8, 2022

Weekend Reads: How to Limit the Cost of the Energy Transition; The Trouble with NYC EV Charging

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

World Acting Sooner Can Limit Energy Transition Costs, IMF Says (Bloomberg) The world needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least a quarter this decade to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, and the cost will be lower if nations act sooner, according to International Monetary Fund economists. Work toward the goal will entail short-term costs, IMF researchers wrote in a blog post published Wednesday. The longer countries wait to make the transition, the larger the costs will be, they said.

Renewable energy could be the key to hurricane-proofing Puerto Rico’s power grid (Popular Science) Its lights outs for Puerto Rico, again. After dealing with devastation to the electric grid from Hurricane Maria five years ago, the US territory has struggled to create a hurricane-proof way to protect themselves from future blackouts. Now, two weeks after Hurricane Fiona swept over the island, a quarter of Puerto Rico’s residents are still without electricity. While efforts are underway to restore power locally, there’s been a revival of interest in transitioning to renewable energy—from leaders igniting conversations to locals rallying protests. Experts say diversifying the grid will help to “climatize” the energy system, reducing the chances of another island-wide blackout while simultaneously cutting residents’ carbon footprint and energy costs.

Three Ways to Build Back Smarter After Hurricane Ian (The New York Times) The damage from Hurricane Ian will very likely run into the tens of billions of dollars and scientists say the United States can expect more severe storms like it as the planet heats up. They also say the risks of increasingly wild weather make it all the more urgent that cities and states take steps to protect people and property. One of the ways to do that is to heed lessons and rebuild wisely after big storms. In some cases, for example, it might not make sense to replace homes on low-lying land, over and over again, in areas vulnerable to storm surge.

Belgium Aims to Build World’s First Artificial Energy Island (Offshore WIND) Belgian transmission system operator (TSO) Elia has presented draft plans for what the company says ”will be the world’s first artificial energy island.” The Princess Elisabeth Island will be located almost 45 kilometres off the Belgian coast and will serve as the link between the offshore wind farms in the country’s second offshore wind zone, also called the Princess Elisabeth zone, which will have a maximum capacity of 3.5 GW, and its onshore high-voltage grid.  The energy island will also be the first building block of a European offshore electricity grid that will serve as a central hub for new interconnectors with the UK and Denmark, Elia said.

New York City Has to Install EV Chargers and It’s Going to Be a Mess (Vice) New York Gov. Kathy Huchul announced Thursday that the state will follow in California’s footsteps by banning the sale of new gas-powered cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs by 2035. As in California, it’s an important step not only to advance the state’s emission-reduction targets but also to mature and advance the electric vehicle (EV) market. That said, New York has a big challenge to transitioning the state’s cars to electric, one that California also has but on a much smaller scale. About one in every five cars registered in the state are in New York City, an EV charging desert where very few car owners have a private driveway where they can install their own charger, as is the case in much of the country including California.

Read These Related Articles:

• Weekend Reads: COP29 on Energy Efficiency; Unscrambling Hydrogen
• Weekend Reads: Five Things to Know About COP29; Rethinking Gas Stations
• Weekend Reads: Where Climate Triumphed at the Polls; Iceland Goes to Space for Solar
• Weekend Reads: Candidates Avoid Clean Energy; Costco (Cautiously) Adds EV Charging
• Weekend Reads: The Carbon Offset Debate; New Powder Captures CO2

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