How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy

[Jay McKinsey + 1,489]

1 hour ago, Ron Wagner said:

When solar data from NASA’s “ACRIM” sun-monitoring satellites are compared to reliable temperature data, for example, virtually all of the warming would be explained by the sun, with almost no role at all for human emissions.

And yet, for reasons that the study authors say are murky at best, the UN chooses to ignore the NASA ACRIM data and other data sets in favor of those that support the hypothesis of human responsibility for climate change.

ACRIM went off line 10 years ago. It was a series of three monitors and here is what was reported:

 

No correlation to temperature:

http://berkeleyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GlobalSummaryTimeSeries-2021-1024x577.png

 

Your report is just another fossil fuel funded bit of funk. The head of CERES is a famous climate denier on the oil payroll.

Soon is a climate change denier,^[4][6] disputing the scientific understanding of climate change, and contends that most global warming is caused by solar variation rather than by human activity.^[7][8] He co-wrote a paper whose methodology was widely criticised by the scientific community.^[9] Climate scientists such as Gavin Schmidt of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies have refuted Soon's arguments, and the Smithsonian does not support his conclusions. He is nonetheless frequently cited by politicians opposed to climate-change legislation.^[4][6]

From 2005 to 2015, Soon had received over $1.2 million from the fossil fuel industry, while failing to disclose that conflict of interest in most of his work.^[11] Of this industry funding, over half went on the Smithsonian's facility operating costs, with the remainder going to Soon as his salary.^[12]

Edited May 13, 2022 by Jay McKinsey

[Ecocharger + 1,374]

On 5/12/2022 at 1:07 PM, Jay McKinsey said:

They are changing supplier not increasing consumption.

Germany boosts renewables with “biggest energy policy reform in decades”

Renewables Renewable Energy Act | EEG Policy

 

 

 

 

 

The German government has increased renewables targets again - solar PV capacity is to grow by 22 GW annually as of 2026. Photo: Wettengel/CLEW.

Germany wants to fight the climate crisis and its heavy dependence on fossil fuel imports by speeding up the rollout of renewables with a massive overhaul of key energy legislation. In the “biggest energy policy reform in decades,” the coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) proposes to lift the rollout of wind and solar power “to a completely new level” in a draft law amounting to more than 500 pages. It aims to free up new land for green power production, speed up permit procedures, and massively increase wind and solar additions to achieve a nearly 100-percent renewable power supply by 2035. The energy industry welcomed the package as a good starting point for the necessary faster roll-out of wind and solar energy in Germany.

As usual, these are only PLANS which will never come into being.

Reality conflicts with dreams.

[Jay McKinsey + 1,489]

Batteries are number one at maintaining Australia’s grid frequency

 

Hornsdale Power Reserve: the large-scale BESS which in many ways kicked off the journey Australia’s market is now on. Image: Neoen.

Battery storage has become the leading provider of frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) in the National Electricity Market (NEM) which covers most of Australia.

That’s according to quarterly figures released by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). The latest edition of AEMO’s Quarterly Energy Dynamics report covers the period from 1 January to 31 March 2022, highlighting facts, statistics and the trends that are shaping the NEM’s dynamics.

For the first time ever, the largest percentage of frequency regulation provided by technology type came from battery energy storage systems (BESS), with a 31% market share across the eight different FCAS markets. It was a full 10% lead over black coal and hydro which tied for second place with a 21% share each.

Total estimated net revenues for batteries in the NEM were around A$12 million (US$8.3 million) for the first quarter – a rise of A$2 million year-on-year from A$10 million netted in Q1 2021. It was a dip from revenues raised during the rest of last year, but comparisons perhaps tend to be fairer with equivalent quarters due to seasonality of electricity demand patterns.

At the same time, the cost of providing frequency control fell to about A$43 million, which was about a third the cost recorded in Q2, Q3 and Q4 2021 and about the same as was recorded in Q1 2021. This reduction was however largely driven by the impact of transmission system upgrades in Queensland which had led to high contingency FCAS prices for the state as scheduled outages took place in the three preceding quarters.

While batteries took first place in FCAS, other relatively new frequency regulation sources such as demand response and virtual power plants (VPPs) have also started to eat into the share provided by conventional generation, AEMO noted.

Image: AEMO

Batteries being used for energy as well as power

Perhaps the biggest takeaway for the energy storage industry is that the share of revenues earned through FCAS is in fact at the same time decreasing relative to those earned through energy markets.

In the last couple of years, frequency has been by far the largest revenue-earner for battery storage, with energy applications like arbitrage a way behind. In a recent article for our quarterly technical journal, PV Tech Power, Ben Cerini, managing consultant at energy market expert group Cornwall Insight Australia, said that about 80-90% of battery revenues have been coming from FCAS and about 10-20% from energy trading.

In Q1 2022 however, AEMO found that the proportion gross revenues earned in the energy market by batteries jumped from 24% in Q1 2021 to 49%.

Several new large projects drove this increase in share, like the 300MW/450MWh Victorian Big Battery in Victoria and the Wallgrove 50MW/75MWh battery system in Sydney, New South Wales.

AEMO noted than in Victoria, volume-weighted energy arbitrage value rose from A$18/MWh to A$95/MWh compared to Q1 2021.

Pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) also had a strong quarter: a record quarterly high A$56.5 million of spot market revenue was earned, compared to just A$2.9 million in Q1 2021.

This was largely driven by the performance of Wivenhoe pumped hydro plant in Queensland, which made a lot of money due to high electricity price volatility in the state during the quarter. The plant saw its utilisation increase 551% from Q1 2021 and was able to at times get paid at spot prices higher than A$300/MWh. Just three days of extremely volatile pricing earned the plant 74% of its quarterly revenue.

Fundamental market drivers mean Australia is poised for strong growth in energy storage capacity. The country’s first new pumped storage plant in nearly 40 years is under construction and more are likely to follow. It’s in batteries though that the fastest and largest growth in activity is expected.

Approval granted for ‘coal replacement’ BESS in NSW

AEMO said that while there are now 611MW of BESS operating in the NEM, there are 26,790MW of proposed new battery storage projects.

One of those is the Eraring project in New South Wales, a BESS with up to 700MW output and four hours’ duration (2,800MWh), proposed by major integrated energy retailer and generator Origin Energy.

The project would be built at the site of Origin’s Eraring 2,880MW black coal power plant, which the company is keen to place into retirement by 2025. Its role in the local energy mix would be replaced by the BESS, 2GW of aggregated virtual power plant capacity and other resources including Origin’s existing fleet of thermal generation.

[nsdp + 449]

On 5/13/2022 at 6:05 AM, Wombat One said:

Ahem. $47,000 US is about $1 million Aussie right now?

only if the AU dollar is worth a nickel in US money.  At $1 US -1.427 OZZIE dollars or in this case around $70,000 Aussie dollars.

[Jay McKinsey + 1,489]

California EV sales skyrocket in Q1:

Model 3 is second best seller in state.

Tesla had second largest total market share:

https://www.cncda.org/wp-content/uploads/Cal-Covering-1Q-22-002.pdf

Edited May 17, 2022 by Jay McKinsey

[Jay McKinsey + 1,489]

150 GW Of Wind Power From The North Sea — Deal Just Signed In Denmark

Probably the most ambitious agreement on renewable energy ever was signed today on the harbor of the city Esbjerg in Denmark. It’s called The Esbjerg Declaration — with the subtitle on The North Sea as a Green Power Plant of Europe.

According to Statista.com, approximately 837 gigawatts (GW) of wind power capacity was installed worldwide from 2001 to 2021. The section on wind power in The Esbjerg Declaration states targets for offshore wind up to at least 150 GW by 2050. The current wind power capacity in Denmark is about 5 GW, half onshore and half offshore.

we will increasingly replace fossil fuels, including Russian oil, coal and gas, with European renewable energy from the North Sea, including offshore wind and green hydrogen, contributing to both EU climate neutrality and energy security.

To achieve this and to pave the way for the further expansion of offshore wind, we have decided to jointly develop The North Sea as a Green Power Plant of Europe, an offshore renewable energy system connecting Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands and possibly other North Sea partners, including the members of the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC). As Members of NSEC, we will build on the work already accomplished and will implement strategies to achieve our goals in close cooperation with the other regional countries and the European Commission. In doing so, we will strive for a balanced coexistence of economic and ecological needs.

The North Sea as a Green Power Plant of Europe will consist of multiple connected offshore energy projects and hubs, offshore wind production at massive scale as well as electricity and green hydrogen interconnectors. We aim for a cost-efficient buildout of offshore wind that will harvest the potential of the North Sea in the most beneficial way for both the connected countries and the European Union overall.

Together, we have set ambitious combined targets for offshore wind of at least 65 GW by 2030. Based on the North Sea as a Green Power Plant of Europe, together we aim to more than double our total capacity of offshore wind to at least 150 GW by 2050, delivering more than half of the capacity needed to reach EU climate neutrality according to the European Commission’s Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy.

This will contribute to large-scale onshore and offshore production of green hydrogen. We have set combined targets of about 20 GW production capacity already by 2030 and look to expand our production even further for 2050.

[Polyphia + 67]

2 hours ago, Wombat One said:

I hate to tell you this Boat, but I have a graph that will make you shudder. Have a look at Graph 4 please? 

Is The Global Debt Bubble About To Burst? | OilPrice.com

Unfortunately, Ron Wagner is correct. We need to take an "all of the above" approach. The explosion in energy demand since about 1950 cannot possibly be met with renewables alone. Demand has grown, and is growing, so bloody fast that no matter how quickly we build wind and solar plus hydro and nuclear, there will still be growing demand for FF's as well. In short, the world is screwed unless we can crack fusion technology, preferably cold fusion. Maybe a breakthrough in wave power would help at the margins but would not change the fate of our species. I have been an optimist until now, but since discovering that we don't even have enough lithium on the planet to replace all current ICE cars with EV's, let alone the capacity to power them with zero-emission electricity, my hopes have seriously faded. We don't even have enough Uranium for a major shift in that direction. The situation is diabolical at this point in time. Before you call me crazy, the US congress is holding an inquiry into "Unexplained Aerial Phenomena". What used to be called UFO's. The Pentagon is focusing on what threat they may pose, but as far as I am concerned, they are also our only hope, if we are lucky. There is a US corporation that claims their power source is cold fusion, based on Muscovium, a super heavy element that is believed to exist in a "nearby" star. The physics does actually say it is possible, but our chances of mining another star without extraterrestrial help are slim to say the least. I am not religious but maybe it is time to pray?

Not enough lithium?

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02222-1

[specinho + 439]

On 4/14/2022 at 12:20 PM, Jay McKinsey said:

Germany’s bold and ambitious 100% renewable power plan

Solar panels in a field in Offingen, Germany. Photo by Andreas Gücklhorn on Unsplash.

the grass behind those might be gone in a week?

would the heat arisen from the barren land heats up the panels and renders them no longer sensitive to the radiation from the sun? Hot temperature increases resistance in  conductivity? (this is deduced from an observation that it takes much longer time to charge a battery when it is very hot).........

Or low converting efficiency due to impurity that could possibly be amidst the panels unintentionally when things are produced massively, quickly?

One solution to a problem might have created other unintended problems instead?

 

[specinho + 439]

On 5/14/2022 at 3:14 AM, Ron Wagner said:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/challenging-un-study-finds-sun-not-co2-may-be-behind-global-warming_3950089.html

The IPCC claims its models accurately portray the impact of all the forces that affect the climate and that nothing else could have caused the warming over the last 40 years except human emissions, he explained.

 

@Jay McKinsey also

the problem might be this:

all of us might have developed excellent ultra concentration ability from task specialization that we usually narrow down our focus into a singular issue/ factor only........ and deny the rest........

Why has it been not easy to accept that both natural factors and human activities are contributing to climate change?

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by specinho

[Ecocharger + 1,374]

On 5/17/2022 at 6:29 PM, Jay McKinsey said:

California EV sales skyrocket in Q1:

Model 3 is second best seller in state.

Tesla had second largest total market share:

https://www.cncda.org/wp-content/uploads/Cal-Covering-1Q-22-002.pdf

Again, these numbers are not realistic, EV sales are less than 1% of the total vehicle market.

[Ecocharger + 1,374]

On 5/19/2022 at 12:29 PM, Jay McKinsey said:

150 GW Of Wind Power From The North Sea — Deal Just Signed In Denmark

Probably the most ambitious agreement on renewable energy ever was signed today on the harbor of the city Esbjerg in Denmark. It’s called The Esbjerg Declaration — with the subtitle on The North Sea as a Green Power Plant of Europe.

According to Statista.com, approximately 837 gigawatts (GW) of wind power capacity was installed worldwide from 2001 to 2021. The section on wind power in The Esbjerg Declaration states targets for offshore wind up to at least 150 GW by 2050. The current wind power capacity in Denmark is about 5 GW, half onshore and half offshore.

we will increasingly replace fossil fuels, including Russian oil, coal and gas, with European renewable energy from the North Sea, including offshore wind and green hydrogen, contributing to both EU climate neutrality and energy security.

To achieve this and to pave the way for the further expansion of offshore wind, we have decided to jointly develop The North Sea as a Green Power Plant of Europe, an offshore renewable energy system connecting Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands and possibly other North Sea partners, including the members of the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC). As Members of NSEC, we will build on the work already accomplished and will implement strategies to achieve our goals in close cooperation with the other regional countries and the European Commission. In doing so, we will strive for a balanced coexistence of economic and ecological needs.

The North Sea as a Green Power Plant of Europe will consist of multiple connected offshore energy projects and hubs, offshore wind production at massive scale as well as electricity and green hydrogen interconnectors. We aim for a cost-efficient buildout of offshore wind that will harvest the potential of the North Sea in the most beneficial way for both the connected countries and the European Union overall.

Together, we have set ambitious combined targets for offshore wind of at least 65 GW by 2030. Based on the North Sea as a Green Power Plant of Europe, together we aim to more than double our total capacity of offshore wind to at least 150 GW by 2050, delivering more than half of the capacity needed to reach EU climate neutrality according to the European Commission’s Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy.

This will contribute to large-scale onshore and offshore production of green hydrogen. We have set combined targets of about 20 GW production capacity already by 2030 and look to expand our production even further for 2050.

Wind power doesn't work when the wind stops blowing, as the Europeans discovered this year.

Then you need coal.

[Jay McKinsey + 1,489]

45 minutes ago, Ecocharger said:

Wind power doesn't work when the wind stops blowing, as the Europeans discovered this year.

Then you need coal.

No, that is when you use batteries or green hydrogen.

If we are to meet our climate goals, and end our dependence on Russian fossil fuels, we must ramp up our ambition. That is why the European Commission, in its new plan, REPowerEU, has doubled the EU hydrogen targets for 2030 to ten million tons of renewable hydrogen produced annually in the EU by 2030. And another 10 million tons in annual imports. We must complete the construction of the European hydrogen economy so that we offer your industry the conditions to move faster.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_22_3185

But even without hydrogen the situation would be 50 weeks a year of green energy and two weeks a year of coal. That isn't much of a coal industry.

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by Jay McKinsey

[Rob Plant + 2,601]

22 hours ago, Wombat One said:

There is a US corporation that claims their power source is cold fusion, based on Muscovium, a super heavy element that is believed to exist in a "nearby" star. The physics does actually say it is possible, but our chances of mining another star without extraterrestrial help are slim to say the least.

@Wombat That must be some serious shit you're smoking! 

[notsonice + 1,063]

4 hours ago, Ecocharger said:

Again, these numbers are not realistic, EV sales are less than 1% of the total vehicle market.

And now in the US 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2022....

U.S. electric vehicle sales rose 76 percent in the first quarter, which was enough to double EVs’ share of the market to 5.2 percent

Rome was not built in a day..

Try to stay up with the times.......ICE vehicles are on the way out..... 

 

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28042022/inside-clean-energy-electric-vehicles-elon-musk-tesla-ford/

Inside Clean Energy: US Electric Vehicle Sales Soared in First Quarter, while Overall Auto Sales Slid

Tesla led the way in an EV sales surge that’s just getting started as the Ford F-150 Lightning arrives on the market.

By Dan Gearino

April 28, 2022

In a challenging few months for the auto industry, sales of electric vehicles are rising while just about every other category is falling.

U.S. electric vehicle sales rose 76 percent in the first quarter, which was enough to double EVs’ share of the market to 5.2 percent, up from 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Overall sales of new cars and trucks were down 15.7 percent for the quarter as automakers dealt with shortages of computer chips and other vital supplies, leading to slowdowns in production.

Clean energy advocates have reason to be excited that EVs are getting closer to the mainstream of the U.S. market, which is essential if the country is going to reduce emissions from transportation. Notably, the strong first-quarter results came before the most anticipated EV debut of the year, the Ford F-150 Lightning pickup, which began mass production on Tuesday.

Reaching 5 percent market share is an important milestone, said Matthew Degan, an editor for Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader. “This is just the beginning” of the ramp-up in EV sales, he told me.

But I don’t want to overstate the significance for the entire EV category, since the strong results were largely because one company—Tesla—had an incredible quarter. Tesla continues to expand and has been creative in finding ways to avoid delays due to parts shortages.

Even with strong financial results, Tesla’s share price took a beating on Tuesday because of investor concerns about how CEO Elon Musk’s plan to buy Twitter Inc. may affect the automaker. Tesla lost about $120 billion in market value in two days.

In the first quarter, Tesla sold 71,358 units of its top-seller, the Model Y, an increase of 89 percent from the prior-year quarter. Of all the EVs sold in the United States during the quarter, 41 percent were the Model Y—more than all of the non-Tesla EVs combined. The runner-up was the Tesla Model 3, with 46,707 vehicles sold, an increase of 126 percent.

Tesla has been more nimble than its peers in devising workarounds to parts shortages, especially of computer chips. The company rewrote software to accommodate new suppliers of computer chips that were filling the gap left by suppliers that are unable to fill orders, as Automotive News has reported. Also, the company has tweaked some of its designs to eliminate the need for some chips, according to CNBC.

Tesla’s success is pulling up the entire EV category, while progress by other automakers is more modest.

But competition is about to intensify.

Ford held a launch event Tuesday to mark the beginning of mass production of the F-150 Lightning at the company’s flagship Rouge assembly complex in Dearborn, Michigan.

“Whenever the world needed us, we met the moment with American ingenuity and American muscle,” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said at the event. “And right now, the world needs zero-emissions vehicles, and more importantly it needs us to bring them to the many, not just the few.”

Ford said customers have made 200,000 reservations. The company is already playing catch-up to meet demand, with some customers unlikely to see their orders filled until late this year or into 2023.

Other automakers have also stepped up their games on EVs.

The Hyundai Ioniq5 ranked fifth on the EV best-seller chart in the first quarter, with 6,244 vehicles sold, and the Kia EV6 ranked sixth, with 5,281 vehicles sold. The models were released last year and have gotten good reviews.

Hyundai and Kia are the two largest automakers in South Korea, with some overlap in ownership. The companies are working together on electric vehicles, with Hyundai developing a battery and motor system that is being used in both of the new models.

Degan said the Ioniq5 and EV6, with prices that start at about $40,000 before tax credits, are EVs that a typical new-car buyer can afford. Each model is eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit.

“Not everybody can afford to pay the price for a Tesla,” he said. For example, the Model Y has a starting price of about $62,000.

There have also been some disappointing performers. Among them is the Volkswagen ID.4, the first model from the company’s ID line of electric vehicles to be sold in the United States. The ID.4 was 11th on the best-seller list, with 2,755 vehicles sold.

Despite lots of talk about the potential of the ID line and some good reviews, sales of the ID.4 have suffered because of Volkswagen’s difficulties obtaining parts. Among the challenges, the production of the vehicle slowed down because the company couldn’t get parts from a supplier in Ukraine, a spokesman said.

Keep Environmental Journalism Alive

ICN provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going.

Donate Now

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, the F-150 Lightning should start going on sale in larger numbers, and Tesla should continue to increase its output at new plants, including the one opened this month in Texas. And many new models are scheduled to go on sale, including crossover SUVs from major brands: the Nissan Ariya and the “near-twin” models jointly developed by Subaru and Toyota, the Subaru Soltera and the Toyota bZ4X.

But since most of the growth is coming from Tesla, I’m going to give Musk the last word on the topic of his company’s ambitions.

“We only crossed 1 million units in the past 12 months recently,” said CEO Elon Musk about global production, in an April 20 presentation about Tesla’s first quarter financial performance. “We aspire to head to 20 million units a year. So, we’re basically 5 percent along the way towards our goal. And we are growing very, very rapidly year-over-year.”

---

Other stories about the energy transition to take note of this week:

Washington State to Require Electric Heating in Building Code Update: Washington has adopted rules to require all-electric heating and water heating in new commercial and multifamily buildings, the first state to take this step to cut emissions from buildings. The Washington State Building Code Council voted 11-3 to add the requirements to the state building code that will go into effect in 2023, as Tom DiChristopher reports for S&P Global Market Intelligence. “A strong energy code is a critical tool to ensure buildings are part of the climate solution, and Washington’s new energy code can be a model for other states,” Rachel Koller, a coordinator for Shift Zero, a building decarbonization advocacy group, told S&P.

Wind Energy Industry Is Reeling as Major Manufacturers Stumble: Demand for wind turbines is growing, but turbine manufacturers are struggling to turn soaring demand into profit. Companies like Vestas Wind Systems A/S, General Electric Co. and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA are facing financial pressure on several fronts, as Will Mathis, Ryan Beene, and Josh Saul report for Bloomberg Green. The companies are dealing with rising costs of raw materials and pressure from buyers to cut prices. “What I’m seeing is a colossal market failure,” said Ben Backwell, CEO of the trade group Global Wind Energy Council, about the mismatch between government targets for new wind power and what’s happening in the market.

Despite Assurances that Captured Carbon Is Safe, States Are Transferring Long-Term Liability to the Public: As companies explore a variety of carbon storage projects, at least four states have passed laws over the last year that allow the businesses to transfer responsibility for the projects to state governments after the operations are shut down. At least three other states have similar statutes on the books, enacted years earlier. Some environmental advocates warn these states are setting a dangerous precedent, as my colleague Nick Kusnetz reports for ICN. “Statutes that relieve operators of liability without due regard to existing legal principles create an incentive for sloppy management, leaks and public opposition,” said Scott Anderson, senior director of energy transition at the Environmental Defense Fund.

A New Federal Proposal Would Task Grid Operators, States and Utilities with Planning a Grid that Can Support Clean Energy: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has begun the process of approving a plan to require owners of interstate power lines to develop new ways of planning for large projects and sharing costs. The idea is to build a grid capable of handling the transition to increased use of renewable energy, as Jeff St. John reports for Canary Media. The commission has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which begins a process in which interested parties can make comments and suggest revisions ahead of a final vote on the rule, which could happen before the end of the year.

Florida’s DeSantis Vetoes a Closely Watched Anti-Solar Bill: In a surprise move on Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have reduced the financial benefits of rooftop solar. DeSantis, a Republican, vetoed a measure that had passed the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and was a top priority for the state’s largest utility, Florida Power & Light, as Christie Zizo reports for WKMG News 6. He said he could not support a bill that would impose additional charges on customers at a time when many families are dealing with high prices for gasoline and groceries. The veto is a blow to utility companies that have sought to rein in the growth of rooftop solar, and a victory for the solar industry, which views Florida as one of its most important growth markets.

Inside Clean Energy is ICN’s weekly bulletin of news and analysis about the energy transition. Send news tips and questions to dan.gearino@insideclimatenews.org.

 

[Ecocharger + 1,374]

19 hours ago, notsonice said:

And now in the US 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2022....

U.S. electric vehicle sales rose 76 percent in the first quarter, which was enough to double EVs’ share of the market to 5.2 percent

Rome was not built in a day..

Try to stay up with the times.......ICE vehicles are on the way out..... 

 

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28042022/inside-clean-energy-electric-vehicles-elon-musk-tesla-ford/

Inside Clean Energy: US Electric Vehicle Sales Soared in First Quarter, while Overall Auto Sales Slid

Tesla led the way in an EV sales surge that’s just getting started as the Ford F-150 Lightning arrives on the market.

By Dan Gearino

April 28, 2022

In a challenging few months for the auto industry, sales of electric vehicles are rising while just about every other category is falling.

U.S. electric vehicle sales rose 76 percent in the first quarter, which was enough to double EVs’ share of the market to 5.2 percent, up from 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Overall sales of new cars and trucks were down 15.7 percent for the quarter as automakers dealt with shortages of computer chips and other vital supplies, leading to slowdowns in production.

Clean energy advocates have reason to be excited that EVs are getting closer to the mainstream of the U.S. market, which is essential if the country is going to reduce emissions from transportation. Notably, the strong first-quarter results came before the most anticipated EV debut of the year, the Ford F-150 Lightning pickup, which began mass production on Tuesday.

Reaching 5 percent market share is an important milestone, said Matthew Degan, an editor for Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader. “This is just the beginning” of the ramp-up in EV sales, he told me.

But I don’t want to overstate the significance for the entire EV category, since the strong results were largely because one company—Tesla—had an incredible quarter. Tesla continues to expand and has been creative in finding ways to avoid delays due to parts shortages.

Even with strong financial results, Tesla’s share price took a beating on Tuesday because of investor concerns about how CEO Elon Musk’s plan to buy Twitter Inc. may affect the automaker. Tesla lost about $120 billion in market value in two days.

In the first quarter, Tesla sold 71,358 units of its top-seller, the Model Y, an increase of 89 percent from the prior-year quarter. Of all the EVs sold in the United States during the quarter, 41 percent were the Model Y—more than all of the non-Tesla EVs combined. The runner-up was the Tesla Model 3, with 46,707 vehicles sold, an increase of 126 percent.

Tesla has been more nimble than its peers in devising workarounds to parts shortages, especially of computer chips. The company rewrote software to accommodate new suppliers of computer chips that were filling the gap left by suppliers that are unable to fill orders, as Automotive News has reported. Also, the company has tweaked some of its designs to eliminate the need for some chips, according to CNBC.

Tesla’s success is pulling up the entire EV category, while progress by other automakers is more modest.

But competition is about to intensify.

Ford held a launch event Tuesday to mark the beginning of mass production of the F-150 Lightning at the company’s flagship Rouge assembly complex in Dearborn, Michigan.

“Whenever the world needed us, we met the moment with American ingenuity and American muscle,” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said at the event. “And right now, the world needs zero-emissions vehicles, and more importantly it needs us to bring them to the many, not just the few.”

Ford said customers have made 200,000 reservations. The company is already playing catch-up to meet demand, with some customers unlikely to see their orders filled until late this year or into 2023.

Other automakers have also stepped up their games on EVs.

The Hyundai Ioniq5 ranked fifth on the EV best-seller chart in the first quarter, with 6,244 vehicles sold, and the Kia EV6 ranked sixth, with 5,281 vehicles sold. The models were released last year and have gotten good reviews.

Hyundai and Kia are the two largest automakers in South Korea, with some overlap in ownership. The companies are working together on electric vehicles, with Hyundai developing a battery and motor system that is being used in both of the new models.

Degan said the Ioniq5 and EV6, with prices that start at about $40,000 before tax credits, are EVs that a typical new-car buyer can afford. Each model is eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit.

“Not everybody can afford to pay the price for a Tesla,” he said. For example, the Model Y has a starting price of about $62,000.

There have also been some disappointing performers. Among them is the Volkswagen ID.4, the first model from the company’s ID line of electric vehicles to be sold in the United States. The ID.4 was 11th on the best-seller list, with 2,755 vehicles sold.

Despite lots of talk about the potential of the ID line and some good reviews, sales of the ID.4 have suffered because of Volkswagen’s difficulties obtaining parts. Among the challenges, the production of the vehicle slowed down because the company couldn’t get parts from a supplier in Ukraine, a spokesman said.

Keep Environmental Journalism Alive

ICN provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going.

Donate Now

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, the F-150 Lightning should start going on sale in larger numbers, and Tesla should continue to increase its output at new plants, including the one opened this month in Texas. And many new models are scheduled to go on sale, including crossover SUVs from major brands: the Nissan Ariya and the “near-twin” models jointly developed by Subaru and Toyota, the Subaru Soltera and the Toyota bZ4X.

But since most of the growth is coming from Tesla, I’m going to give Musk the last word on the topic of his company’s ambitions.

“We only crossed 1 million units in the past 12 months recently,” said CEO Elon Musk about global production, in an April 20 presentation about Tesla’s first quarter financial performance. “We aspire to head to 20 million units a year. So, we’re basically 5 percent along the way towards our goal. And we are growing very, very rapidly year-over-year.”

---

Other stories about the energy transition to take note of this week:

Washington State to Require Electric Heating in Building Code Update: Washington has adopted rules to require all-electric heating and water heating in new commercial and multifamily buildings, the first state to take this step to cut emissions from buildings. The Washington State Building Code Council voted 11-3 to add the requirements to the state building code that will go into effect in 2023, as Tom DiChristopher reports for S&P Global Market Intelligence. “A strong energy code is a critical tool to ensure buildings are part of the climate solution, and Washington’s new energy code can be a model for other states,” Rachel Koller, a coordinator for Shift Zero, a building decarbonization advocacy group, told S&P.

Wind Energy Industry Is Reeling as Major Manufacturers Stumble: Demand for wind turbines is growing, but turbine manufacturers are struggling to turn soaring demand into profit. Companies like Vestas Wind Systems A/S, General Electric Co. and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA are facing financial pressure on several fronts, as Will Mathis, Ryan Beene, and Josh Saul report for Bloomberg Green. The companies are dealing with rising costs of raw materials and pressure from buyers to cut prices. “What I’m seeing is a colossal market failure,” said Ben Backwell, CEO of the trade group Global Wind Energy Council, about the mismatch between government targets for new wind power and what’s happening in the market.

Despite Assurances that Captured Carbon Is Safe, States Are Transferring Long-Term Liability to the Public: As companies explore a variety of carbon storage projects, at least four states have passed laws over the last year that allow the businesses to transfer responsibility for the projects to state governments after the operations are shut down. At least three other states have similar statutes on the books, enacted years earlier. Some environmental advocates warn these states are setting a dangerous precedent, as my colleague Nick Kusnetz reports for ICN. “Statutes that relieve operators of liability without due regard to existing legal principles create an incentive for sloppy management, leaks and public opposition,” said Scott Anderson, senior director of energy transition at the Environmental Defense Fund.

A New Federal Proposal Would Task Grid Operators, States and Utilities with Planning a Grid that Can Support Clean Energy: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has begun the process of approving a plan to require owners of interstate power lines to develop new ways of planning for large projects and sharing costs. The idea is to build a grid capable of handling the transition to increased use of renewable energy, as Jeff St. John reports for Canary Media. The commission has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which begins a process in which interested parties can make comments and suggest revisions ahead of a final vote on the rule, which could happen before the end of the year.

Florida’s DeSantis Vetoes a Closely Watched Anti-Solar Bill: In a surprise move on Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have reduced the financial benefits of rooftop solar. DeSantis, a Republican, vetoed a measure that had passed the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and was a top priority for the state’s largest utility, Florida Power & Light, as Christie Zizo reports for WKMG News 6. He said he could not support a bill that would impose additional charges on customers at a time when many families are dealing with high prices for gasoline and groceries. The veto is a blow to utility companies that have sought to rein in the growth of rooftop solar, and a victory for the solar industry, which views Florida as one of its most important growth markets.

Inside Clean Energy is ICN’s weekly bulletin of news and analysis about the energy transition. Send news tips and questions to dan.gearino@insideclimatenews.org.

 

No, it is still below 1% of sales for the vehicle markets.

[Ecocharger + 1,374]

23 hours ago, Jay McKinsey said:

No, that is when you use batteries or green hydrogen.

If we are to meet our climate goals, and end our dependence on Russian fossil fuels, we must ramp up our ambition. That is why the European Commission, in its new plan, REPowerEU, has doubled the EU hydrogen targets for 2030 to ten million tons of renewable hydrogen produced annually in the EU by 2030. And another 10 million tons in annual imports. We must complete the construction of the European hydrogen economy so that we offer your industry the conditions to move faster.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_22_3185

But even without hydrogen the situation would be 50 weeks a year of green energy and two weeks a year of coal. That isn't much of a coal industry.

 

The so-called "climate goals" are based on an obsolete science. 

We need CO2 for our planet to remain green.

[notsonice + 1,063]

7 minutes ago, Ecocharger said:

 

10 minutes ago, Ecocharger said:

No, it is still below 1% of sales for the vehicle markets.

 

love the source Kelly Blue book....and your source for info????? babbling 24/7 is not a source.....

 

Please post your source that backs up your claim .......No, it is still below 1% of sales for the vehicle markets.????? 

 

otherwise you have nothing as usual

 

U.S. electric vehicle sales rose 76 percent in the first quarter, which was enough to double EVs’ share of the market to 5.2 percent, up from 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021, according to Kelley Blue Book

 

[Jay McKinsey + 1,489]

21 minutes ago, Ecocharger said:

The so-called "climate goals" are based on an obsolete science. 

We need CO2 for our planet to remain green.

We don't need more CO2 than we had in pre- industrial periods. It is a very simple concept.

Edited May 24, 2022 by Jay McKinsey

[Eyes Wide Open + 3,537]

Looks like the EU would be trending in the opposite direction? Go figure that out!

Germany reactivates coal power plants amid Russian gas supply threats

Macron says France will build new nuclear energy reactors

Some EU members turn back to coal to cut reliance on Russian gas

Published on 15/03/2022, 10:53am

Czechia, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy and Germany have indicated they might burn more coal in the short term in response to Vladimir Putin’s war

Just one question, just where is this Green Energy in the EU?

 

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by Eyes Wide Open

[specinho + 439]

On 5/22/2022 at 6:02 PM, Wombat One said:

I hate to tell you this Boat, but I have a graph that will make you shudder. Have a look at Graph 4 please? 

Is The Global Debt Bubble About To Burst? | OilPrice.com

Unfortunately, Ron Wagner is correct. We need to take an "all of the above" approach. The explosion in energy demand since about 1950 cannot possibly be met with renewables alone. Demand has grown, and is growing, so bloody fast that no matter how quickly we build wind and solar plus hydro and nuclear, there will still be growing demand for FF's as well. In short, the world is screwed unless we can crack fusion technology, preferably cold fusion. Maybe a breakthrough in wave power would help at the margins but would not change the fate of our species. I have been an optimist until now, but since discovering that we don't even have enough lithium on the planet to replace all current ICE cars with EV's, let alone the capacity to power them with zero-emission electricity, my hopes have seriously faded. We don't even have enough Uranium for a major shift in that direction. The situation is diabolical at this point in time. Before you call me crazy, the US congress is holding an inquiry into "Unexplained Aerial Phenomena". What used to be called UFO's. The Pentagon is focusing on what threat they may pose, but as far as I am concerned, they are also our only hope, if we are lucky. There is a US corporation that claims their power source is cold fusion, based on Muscovium, a super heavy element that is believed to exist in a "nearby" star. The physics does actually say it is possible, but our chances of mining another star without extraterrestrial help are slim to say the least. I am not religious but maybe it is time to pray?

 

On 5/23/2022 at 12:32 PM, Jay McKinsey said:

No, that is when you use batteries or green hydrogen.

If we are to meet our climate goals, and end our dependence on Russian fossil fuels, we must ramp up our ambition. That is why the European Commission, in its new plan, REPowerEU, has doubled the EU hydrogen targets for 2030 to ten million tons of renewable hydrogen produced annually in the EU by 2030. And another 10 million tons in annual imports. We must complete the construction of the European hydrogen economy so that we offer your industry the conditions to move faster.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_22_3185

But even without hydrogen the situation would be 50 weeks a year of green energy and two weeks a year of coal. That isn't much of a coal industry.

 

we could probably have a look at the highlights........ and realize

1. we ara extrapolating the demand ( of energy, of housing, of almost everything), as modern statistics or modelling software teaches us to

2. we know we do not have unlimited resources of raw meterial for the ideal changes ( e.g. all EVs, batteries, hydrogen power, nuclear power etc) we intended but we insist each of them is the only way...........

What if, there are alternatives e.g. the way we think, the way we find solution, the way we create and not follow blindly with trends............??

We know extrapolation with statistics and software posts a risky situation i.e. GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT. The baseline data, variable used, etc determine the outcomes. With method of  trial and error, we can possibly get all kinds of outcomes, from down to earth science to the way we want it to be known. We can CREATE scenes that make things seem very serious to be of concern........... to get attention and/or fund, yes? When we deviate from facts and common sense, change truth to suit our so called scientific calculations, we might be leading the crowd onto a path of fruitless pursue, worse, with much unwanted side problems................

This brings us to a reflection on new energy stations built after 1960s or 70s...... Could anyone recall how many newly added since then?

For a small remote country with name unknown to many, if not most, western citizens of monolingual, there might have not been any new construction announced over the past 60 years despite heavy development increasing demand drastically over the decades. This country was aided to build them. Hence, other countries with more advanced engineering works might have done the same somewhere. Could this mean, due to the foresight of the pioneer generations, the old settings might have more than enough energy that could sustain the needs even decades later?

This brings us to a point to ponder:

What if, we could cut random massive construction projects that of low demand and may be overpriced? What if we control how many permit to be allocated so that the demand is always below the capacity of energy supply?

What if, population could be self regulated if we do not encourage random behaviour?

Not sure if the following image or info is correct, but if it is, you might know why controlling wanted and unwanted pregnancies of random sex don't always work...

 

 Someone mentioned in a feedback to a newsletter received that this world works by COPYing good models; duplicating successful acts of a person by others etc......... At the beginning, this method worked fine, executed with the right attitude by those mostly struggled in lives, but aided to prosper with the right person(s) or network. No one could succeed on one own........ yes?  When it turns out 99.9% of us are merely copycats,  we rarely find genuine solutions to problems faced. We rush into trends because free money is there and there is no responsibility required to the outcomes. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, nobody might care enough to ask or to know..........

What if, anything started with finite resources might not be a good idea is true? Then batteries, hydrogen, limited sunlight, dwindling wind etc could run out if we do not know how to regenerate or sustain the sources...... What would become the left over batteries, equipment etc that could no longer be reused, renewed or needed to be recycled?

What if, there could be other alternatives, genuine and functional, awaiting to be tested out? Why must we shut the doors to possibilities because the trends and money are in the few technologies created in the 50s and yet to be adopted by us 80 years later? What are we thinking and doing, diverging but focus seperately with closed minds?

[Jay McKinsey + 1,489]

Tesla battery research group unveils paper on new high-energy-density battery that could last 100 years

 

 

Single crystal Li[Ni_0.5Mn_0.3Co_0.2]O₂//graphite (NMC532) pouch cells with only sufficient graphite for operation to 3.80 V (rather than ≥4.2 V) were cycled with charging to either 3.65 V or 3.80 V to facilitate comparison with LiFePO₄//graphite (LFP) pouch cells on the grounds of similar maximum charging potential and similar negative electrode utilization. The NMC532 cells, when constructed with only sufficient graphite to be charged to 3.80 V, have an energy density that exceeds that of the LFP cells and a cycle-life that greatly exceeds that of the LFP cells at 40 °C, 55 °C and 70 °C. Excellent lifetime at high temperature is demonstrated with electrolytes that contain lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) salt, well beyond those provided by conventional LiPF₆ electrolytes.

https://electrek.co/2022/05/24/tesla-battery-research-paper-high-energy-density-battery-last-100-years/

[TailingsPond + 460]

On 5/13/2022 at 1:14 PM, Ron Wagner said:

Study Finds Sun—Not CO2—May Be Behind Global Warming

New peer-reviewed paper finds evidence of systemic bias in UN IPCC's data selection to support climate-change narrative

 

That was a literature review (not a study).  Their concern was that there is possibly some bias as the vast majority of scientists accept the anthropogenic climate change explanation.  

Good job posting a paper confirming most scientists disagree with you nutjobs. 

Read the actual paper - not the biased review of it with a wrong conclusion; you actually weakened your position.

Edited May 24, 2022 by TailingsPond

[Polyphia + 67]

2 hours ago, TailingsPond said:

That was a literature review (not a study).  Their concern was that there is possibly some bias as the vast majority of scientists accept the anthropogenic climate change explanation.  

Good job posting a paper confirming most scientists disagree with you nutjobs. 

Read the actual paper - not the biased review of it with a wrong conclusion; you actually weakened your position.

The author of that article (Alex Newman) has written some other interesting pieces:

https://libertysentinel.org/how-i-left-the-evolution-religion

https://libertysentinel.org/freedom-and-biblical-christianity-are-inseparable

[Ecocharger + 1,374]

22 hours ago, notsonice said:

 

love the source Kelly Blue book....and your source for info????? babbling 24/7 is not a source.....

 

Please post your source that backs up your claim .......No, it is still below 1% of sales for the vehicle markets.????? 

 

otherwise you have nothing as usual

 

U.S. electric vehicle sales rose 76 percent in the first quarter, which was enough to double EVs’ share of the market to 5.2 percent, up from 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021, according to Kelley Blue Book

 

No, that is still below 1% of the total vehicle market. Do your own arithmetic, and stop relying on foolish propaganda.

[Ecocharger + 1,374]

22 hours ago, Jay McKinsey said:

We don't need more CO2 than we had in pre- industrial periods. It is a very simple concept.

We need much more CO2 to increase agricultural productivity to supply food for the extra mouths which now exist, and more CO2 to increase the supply of oxygen for the new mouths to breathe in.

Without food and without oxygen, you would not have the strength to babble on with your usual nonsense, Jay.

What would happen to the planet without your pearls of wisdom?