8 minute read
Clean energy
General Motors is recalling at least 68,000 Chevy Bolt vehicles due to several accounts of battery fires in the model. The 2020 Bolt uses a 150 kW, 201.2 hp (203.9 ps) permanent magnet synchronous motor located in the front of the vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into the matter back in October. GM “had already been investigating these reports prior to that announcement, in cooperation with NHTSA,” it says in an undated statement on its website:
“We wanted you to hear directly from Chevrolet about your vehicle and what you can expect from us,” the notice read. “General Motors and Chevrolet have decided to voluntarily recall select 2017-2019 model-year Chevrolet Bolt EVs with high voltage batteries produced at LG Chem’s Ochang, Korea, facility that may pose a risk of fire when charged to full, or very close to full, capacity.”
GM provided a software update beginning Nov. 17 that limited the charge for all the vehicles in this population to 90%. It also offers specific precautionary measures for Bolt owners on the Chevy website.
Despite being only the eighth highest-selling EV in the U.S. in 2019, the model had moved up three spots since 2016, according to data obtained by InsideEVs.com. The latest on the story details a class action lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Illinois, as first reported by The Verge. The lawsuit accuses the company of fraud, negligent practices, and “knowingly introducing defective vehicles into the marketplace and defrauding consumers across the country.” The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages.
The Bolt is a five-door, all-electric small hatchback marketed by Chevrolet and developed and manufactured in partnership with LG Corp. MSRP value for the vehicle runs from $36,620 to $41,020 globally, with used models averaging around $17,000.
Blanketing carbon emissions
In a key state for renewable energy advancement, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced the appointment of Eric Blank to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Dec. 11.
“Eric has a deep understanding of Colorado’s energy system and will play an integral role at the PUC in advancing the market and consumer-driven transition to a cleaner, more affordable renewable energy future,” said Gov. Polis. Blank has spent his career working in the renewable energy and non-profit sectors and is considered “an entrepreneur and thought leader,” the office added.
“Eric has a number of impressive qualifications for the position; in particular, his background in business and his legal experience would be assets to the PUC. We look forward to considering this well-qualified nominee when he comes before the Senate,” said Senate President Leroy Garica.
“I’m honored to be chosen by Governor Polis for this position,” Blank said. “Largely because of the leadership of Governor Polis and the state legislature, I believe Colorado has a compelling opportunity to decarbonize energy systems and to do it in a way that benefits all customers and grows the economy.”
TerraScale’s Big Data center.
— TerraScale photo
We shall build on the deserts
Culver City, Calif.-based renewables company TerraScale is planning a Churchillian effort in Nevada that would be (another) record-setter. Developing 3,700 acres of land in Churchill County and next to the Reno/Sparks Interstate I-80 corridor, Energos Reno would “be the largest industrial/ commercial/residential development in the U.S. powered by hybrid renewable energy,” according to TerraScale. With the fiber optic trunk line and co-located geothermal and solar already complete, the project is touted for its zoning and locational benefits moving forward. It could provide direct access to five major ports on the West Coast and one-day shipping to 11 states.
One-third of the property is in an opportunity zone, and the entire asset is located in a designated Federal Foreign Trade Zone. Energos Reno is located adjacent to TRIC, said to be the largest industrial park in the world, where Blockchain, Tesla, Switch, Apple, and Google, among other companies, have established facilities, data centers, and more.
The company’s “ultimate” plan includes building the first green data center powered solely by renewable energy and to jointly develop the largest carbon-neutral park in the U.S.
Amazon claims top spot
The Amazon rainforest has long been the poster child for environmentalists in its push to prevent major corporations from destroying natural areas. It would be a fitting irony, then, that a company named after the rainforest — one that originally sold books made from trees and is one of the largest corporations in the world, no less — became the world’s largest supplier of renewable energy.
Amazon recently announced plans to add 26 utility-scale wind and solar energy projects, totaling 3.4 GW of electricity production capacity, bringing its total investment in renewable energy in 2020 to 35 projects and more than 4 GW of capacity — said to the largest corporate investment in renewable energy in a single year. These new projects will make the company the largest-ever corporate purchaser of renewable energy, Amazon said in December.
The 26 new wind and solar projects are located in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, the U.K., and the U.S. The new projects are Amazon’s first in France, Germany, Italy, and South Africa. In the U.S., Amazon has now enabled wind and solar projects in California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. The company has a total of 127 renewable energy projects globally, including 59 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects, and 68 solar rooftops on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the globe.
“Amazon is helping fight climate change by moving quickly to power our businesses with renewable energy,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO. “With a total of 127 solar and wind projects, Amazon is now the biggest corporate buyer of renewable energy ever. We are on a path to running 100% of our business on renewable energy by 2025 — five years ahead of our original target of 2030. This is just one of the many steps we’re taking that will help us meet our climate pledge. I couldn’t be more proud of all the teams across Amazon that continue to work hard, smart, and fast to get these projects up and running.”
H2-Orange: a clean energy triumvirate
“Green hydrogen” is making waves as the new big thing in renewables. The market for green hydrogen is expected to grow exponentially in the coming decade, experts recently told ABC News in a market report.
“It puts the spotlight on [hydrogen] gas for the first time,” a study published in Nature stated in July. “And the gas industry is turning to hydrogen for a new lease on life.”
A trio featuring an industrial-tech conglomerate, a utilities provider, and a highly regarded university are betting on those projections.
Siemens Energy, Duke Energy, and Clemson University have teamed up to study the use of hydrogen for energy storage and as a low- or no-carbon fuel source to produce energy at Duke Energy’s combined heat and power plant located at Clemson University in South Carolina.
The U.S. Dept. of Energy announced in December that it awarded Siemens Energy a $200,000 grant for the research initiative.
The pilot project, called H2-Orange – a nod to hydrogen gas and the collaboration with Clemson University – will ramp up in March 2021 and include studies on hydrogen production, storage, and co-firing with natural gas. The studies will evaluate multiple forms of hydrogen production, including green hydrogen, which is created from water and has no byproducts. Hydrogen also has the potential to store larger quantities of energy more efficiently and for longer durations than current lithium-ion batteries.
“We look forward to developing an advanced hydrogen energy storage system to reduce the carbon footprint on the Clemson University campus, while optimizing the cost of energy for the campus and microgrid,” said Richard Voorberg, vice president of global service operations at Siemens Energy.
“We want to be a driver of the energy transition,” he added, “and this is a great step toward building reliable and efficient clean energy infrastructure in the U.S.” — Charlie Barks EA
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