Weekly-ish News - Episode 25 (August 22, 2021)

What's the Alternative?

If you have any feedback or suggestions, please feel free to find me on Twitter @archduketyler

Electric Vehicles:

Chevy has recalled all Bolts made for battery issues.

• Around 140k Bolts were recalled for battery replacement.
• If they manage to find another solution, they can implement that, but the current plan is replacing the batteries.
• Chevy is seeking reimbursement from LG Chem, their battery supplier.

Nissan has joined the ranks of automotive companies stating their EV sales goals: 40% battery-electric by 2030!

• This is 40% all-electric, this doesn't include hybrids and such.
• The rest of their lineup will be at least hybrid, too!

NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Safety Administration) is opening an investigation into Tesla's Autopilot system.

• This is happening after a series of accidents when Autopilot was engaged.

KORE Power is building a battery plant in Maricopa County, Arizona that will produce up to 12GWh of batteries per year.

• Production is planned to begin in 2023.
• They also plan to be a net-zero carbon facility.

Tesla AI Day Full Presentation

Tesla AI Day, just the robot part.

Energy:

Solar installations in Indiana plummeted when the state canceled its incentive program.

• Installations have dropped by around half.
• This is not a surprise.

The Vistra Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility just got an upgrade that made it the largest battery energy storage system in the world.

• New capacity is 400MW and 1.6GWh
• This is enough to power 300k homes
• This will eventually expand to 750MW and 3GWh

A new study suggests that methane emissions are around twice what EPA reports.

• The EPA relies on self-reporting and local monitoring.
• This study used aircraft flyovers and satellite tracking.

Exxon dude talks about the silliness they've done to undermine climate change efforts.

10min video about the interview (contains some swearing and such).