Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Sourcing Renewables  -  June 17, 2023

Weekend Reads: “Clean Cities” Advances Clean Tech; Take a Trip to Renewable Energy Discovery Island

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

The Success Of “Clean Cities” Shows How US Government Can Help Deploy More Clean Tech (CleanTechnica) A long-standing federal effort to decarbonize transportation proves how advanced technologies can make meaningful impacts by intertwining national goals and initiatives with community-based actions. Clean Cities coalitions implement alternative fuel and advanced transportation projects throughout the United States. A new report tells the story of Clean Cities, documenting how and why the success of Clean Cities can serve as a model for other federal efforts.

More regional transfer capacity is key to mitigating grid reliability risks: ACORE panel (Utility Dive) The retirement of thousands of megawatts of dispatchable generation while electricity demand continues to grow is a threat to grid reliability, but experts say greater transfer capacity between regions and demand management strategies can manage the long-term risk. Most of the U.S. will face an elevated risk of blackouts. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission expects much of the country to see lower energy prices and somewhat lower reliability risks compared with last year.

A planned ‘charging depot’ reveals what powering electric big rigs could look like (Grist) Dealing with the malfunctioning hardware, long lines, and slow speeds that too often plague public charging infrastructure can be a nuisance for EV drivers. Providing a smooth charging experience will be essential if California is to meet its goal of decarbonizing the 30,0000 drayage trucks. Fleet operators don’t always have the space or resources to install their own charging hardware. Some will need an entirely new type of charging network. 

Take a Trip to Renewable Energy Discovery Island (NREL) Fly over Hydro Heights, where a pumped storage hydropower station stores energy until it is needed on the grid. Dive into Tidal Town, where energy from tides drives underwater turbines. These are just a few of the fascinating stops on Renewable Energy Discovery Island. The island hosts six water-powered waystations, featuring animated videos that offer a closer look at how hydropower can create energy for the grid.

Solar grazing a family business for Northfield couple (Agweek) Northfield couple Arlo Hark and Josie Trople are the operators of Cannon Valley Graziers, a mobile-grazing service for ecosystem management on solar farms. The couple have been working on solar sites for the last three years. They have between 30-40 solar farms. "Each site is a little different size, and we do different kinds of management plans for different sites," Hark said on May 26. "We are going to be on roughly 600 acres this season."

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