BP joins consortium seeking wind power off Norway

Stephan:  Here is some interesting and, I think, on balance good news. British Petroleum (BP) seeing the writing on the wall is shifting investment to noncarbon energy technologies. Here is the latest.

OSLO, NORWAY – British oil major BP (BP.L) will join Norway’s Statkraft (STATKF.UL) and Aker Offshore Wind (AOW-ME.OL) to bid for permits to build offshore wind power projects off Norway, the companies said on Monday.

The consortium in which each partner will have a 33.3% stake plans to bid for offshore wind power projects in the Soerlige Nordsjoe II licensing area in the southern part of the North Sea, one of the two areas opened in Norway.

The area is suitable for bottom-fixed wind power platform and sits on a maritime border with Denmark, providing a potential to export electricity to neighbouring markets.

The consortium also plans to explore opportunities to provide renewable power to electrify offshore oil and gas facilities, they added.

“Our partnership with Aker and BP will create significant value and contribute towards Europe’s energy transition,” Statkraft Chief Executive Christian Rynning-Toennesen said in a statement.

Statkraft has previously been involved in developing offshore wind parks off Britain, but exited the business several years ago citing high costs.

Offshore wind has started to look more economically […]

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Heat wave enveloping West will shatter records, spark wildfires

Stephan:  Can you imagine living someplace where the temperature is above 100°F for days, even weeks, on end? Somedays reaching as high as 128°F? I spent a number of months in the Egyptian/Libyan desert doing an archaeological dig. When it got to 114° the Bedouin men who were doing the heavy labor, just put down their tools and went back to their tents. I can't really imagine what 128° would be like, except that I know it would be dangerous just to go outdoors. This rise in temperature is, I predict, one of the reasons there will be massive movement out of cities like Phoenix. These temperatures will also result in failures of the electric grid, as demand from air conditioning skyrockets, and a growing lack of water problem. The American infrastructure grid is aged and failing, yet 139 Republicans in Congress don't even believe human-mediated climate change exists.
Weather map showing record heat, in red colors, across the Southwest.
Forecast high temperatures on June 17, 2021, with boxes indicating record highs. (Weatherbell)

A dangerous and widespread mid-June heat wave is bringing blowtorch-like heat, skyrocketing power demand, and “critical” wildfire danger to much of the West Tuesday through this weekend.

Why it matters: The heat is building in a region that is experiencing a record drought, leading to dangerous fire weather conditions, straining electrical grids, and causing water supplies to dwindle further. The heat itself may prove deadly.

Threat level: While the Southwest in particular is used to hot weather, this event could break all-time records in normally hot places like Las Vegas, where the all-time high temperature of 117°F could be toppled and overnight low temperatures won’t fall below 90°F for several days.

  • The heat wave has engulfed regions from New Mexico to California, northeastward to Utah, and all the way north to the Canadian border, with temperatures approaching the century mark Tuesday in Wyoming and Montana.

Details: Heat warnings and advisories are in effect for tens of millions.

Huge disparities in vaccination rates are creating islands of vulnerability across the country

Stephan:  The rampant stupidity of people who live in MAGA world about not getting vaccinated is what is going to keep America under threat from Coivd-19 and its variants. As this report describes islands of vulnerability, particularly in the Red value states, are emerging
Maryland National Guard Sgt. Jason Grant administers a Moderna coronavirus vaccine at CASA de Maryland’s Wheaton Welcome Center on May 21 in Wheaton. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty 

Just as the United States fell into a patchwork of pandemic responses last year, the lifesaving vaccine drive has encountered troublesome zones of indifference and resistance. President Biden’s goal of at least partial vaccination for 70 percent of Americans by July Fourth now looks to be slipping away. Even more worrisome are persistent islands of vaccine hesitancy in some states and communities that could face renewed illness in the autumn.

On Monday, Republican Gov. Phil Scott announced Vermont had become the first state to vaccinate 80 percent of those eligible with at least one dose. Vermont has given out 131,473 doses per 100,000 population. By contrast, in Mississippi only 35 percent of the overall population has received at least one dose. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the Mississippi vaccination rate at less than half that of Vermont, or 61,278 administered per 100,000.

Where vaccine coverage is strong, the pandemic is receding. In the latest […]

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The Democratic Party must be anti-fascist and purge dangerous Trumpers from the government: MSNBC panelist

Stephan:  I absolutely agree with Jason Johnson. I heard him say this on MSNBC, and decided to put it in SR. What is really beginning to worry me about the Biden administration is that no one is being held accountable. They aren't cleaning house, and that is exactly what needs to be done. A personal advocacy: Every citizen should be able to vote, and it should be made as easy as possible but still secure. Also, Voting Day should become a national holiday to facilitate voting, and no postage fee should be required as long as the voting is sent to the correct address.
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New South Wales, Australia Sees Diminishing Role For Coal As Canada Plans To Phase Out Thermal Coal By 2030

Stephan:  This is another data point on the transition out of the carbon energy era, I am sad to say notice the shameful, in my opinion, position the Biden Administration took in deference to Senator Manchin.

5 years ago, the New South Wales treasury released an intergenerational report that projected the demand for coal would increase at about 1.6% a year pretty much forever. This year, the Treasury’s intergenerational report is completely different.

In a technical paper prepared for this year’s report, the NSW treasury says “global demand for coal is expected to weaken considerably. Declining global demand for coal will reduce New South Wales’ economic growth over the projection period and will have impacts both on employment and the fiscal outlook.”

“This does not necessarily mean that no coal will be used in the future — new coal generators continue to be built and net zero policies allow for offsets. Nonetheless, future coal production is now expected to be considerably weaker than was forecast for the 2016 intergenerational report”, the NSW treasury says.

How much of a decrease are we talking about here? The new report posits a number of different scenarios, the worst one projecting that coal volumes will fall to zero by 2042. Even under the middle scenario, coal volumes will fall to less than half current volumes by the mid 2046. Jobs in coal production will fall from 22,000 today […]

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