EV Musings Newsletter 124
China's coin-sized nuclear battery, EV Shopping beats ICE shopping, Germany reports lowest emissions in 70 years, and Queensland rejects bid to build 'carbon neutral' coal-fired power stations.
Intro
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Let's get into it.
This week's podcast
Just the one episode this week as we're at the last episode of the season.
The podcast is taking a short break during which this segment will be filled with selected items from the archives.
In Episode 166 Gary talks with an insurance expert about EV insurance and how premiums are calculated. Find out why you should ALWAYS call your insurer when your premium is up for renewal.
Top 5 EV or Renewable Stories
China Unveils Coin-Sized Nuclear Battery That Lasts for 50 Years
As we move towards wholesale electrification of as many things as we can the technology that underpins this electrification will come under more and more scrutiny. That's why potential breakthroughs such as a cain-sized nuclear battery are intriguing.
The device, developed in China naturally, has a small voltage but a huge lifespan (50 years). This moves the needle on battery tech very much towards the place it needs to be with electric cars.
Whether someone wants a nuclear powered electric car or not is another issue.
EV Shopping Beats Buying an ICE Vehicle, According to Buyers
Only 43% of car buyers completed in-store and online, yet 71% preferred the approach. Meanwhile, 21% said it would be best for an entirely online process, while only 8% prefer all in-person
Germany Reports Lowest Emissions in 70 Years but That’s Not the End of the Story
In the move towards decarbonisaiton it's always good to hear of countries where their greenhouse gas emissions are falling. Germany reported some encouraging figures for last year.
A 45% decrease since the reference year of 1990 and a huge drop in coal usage (down to the lowest level since the 1960s) contributed towards the drop, although it has to be mentioned that some of the reduction related to a drop in manufacturing due to an economic downturn.
Range Rovers Plummet in Value Despite $13 Million Push to Theft-Proof SUVs
Range Rovers - the Chelsea tractors which curse the school run and manage to both slow traffic down, increase pollution and block roads - are three times as likely to be stolen as the next most stolen vehicle brand, Mercedes-Benz
This has caused insurance issues for them (shame) which has only being exacerbated after it was discovered a Range Rover was the also the cause of the recent Luton Airport car park fire that destroyed dozens of cars and lead to structural failure of the car park itself.
Oh dear.
Queensland Rejects Clive Palmer’s Bid to Build ‘Carbon Neutral’ Coal-Fired Power Station
In a triumph of common sense of capitalism Queensland authorities have blocked Clive Palmer’s plans to build a large coal-fired power station on an outback cattle property, citing climate impacts and rejecting his company’s claims it would be “carbon neutral”. Palmer - CEO of Waratah Coal argued that using carbon capture tech, offsets and carbon credits would make his coal -fired power station carbon neutral.
Which is, of course, rubbish.
A Cool Thing
From Episode 166
Record levels of solar energy generation saved the EU almost $29 billion in fossil gas imports this summer, according to a new report.
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine severely threatening gas supplies to Europe, and both gas and electricity prices at record highs, the figures show the critical importance of solar power as part of Europe’s energy mix, Ember, an energy think tank says.
Ember’s analysis of monthly electricity generation data shows a record 12.2% of the EU’s electricity mix was generated from solar power between May and August this year.
This exceeds the electricity generated from wind (11.7%) and hydro (11%) and is not far off the 16.5% of electricity generated from coal.
The record 99.4 terawatt hours the EU generated in solar electricity this summer meant it didn’t need to buy 20 billion cubic metres of fossil gas.
Based on average daily gas prices from May to August, this equates to almost $29 billion in avoided gas costs, Ember calculates.
Final Thoughts
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