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Michelle Lewis

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Michelle Lewis is a writer at Electrek. She has previously worked for Fast Company, The Guardian, News Deeply, Time, and others. She lives in Massachusetts.

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Could geothermal supply up to 50% of the world’s energy by 2050?

geothermal

Geothermal supplies just 0.4% of the world’s energy today, but it could potentially supply up to 50% of the world’s energy by 2050, according to Carlos Araque, cofounder and CEO of Quaise Energy, who made that prediction at the SOSV Climate Tech Summit 2022 last week during a panel discussion called, “Is this geothermal’s moment?”

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Are these Ford custom EV builds dope or nope?

Ford custom EV

Ford teamed up with aftermarket builders and parts makers to deliver three custom EV builds – one Mustang Mach-E and two F-150 Lightnings – at the 2022 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas.

The automaker wanted to highlight how Ford EV drivers can personalize their rides with Ford Performance Parts and Ford Licensed Accessories. Electrek writer Scooter Doll and I put in our two cents below, but we want to hear from you. Tell us in the comments – are these custom EV builds hot or not?

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The largest American solar panel maker is going to build a $270M thin film PV R&D center

US largest solar panel maker

First Solar, the largest solar panel maker in the United States, today announced that it will invest around $270 million in a dedicated thin film PV R&D innovation center. The new facility, which will be in Perrysburg, Ohio, is expected to be the first of its scale in the United States.

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This US company says it can process mineral components for EV makers ‘in months’

US minerals

In order to qualify for the $7,500 tax credit, the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) requires a proportion of battery minerals in EVs to be extracted or processed in the US or free-trade partner countries. But a lot of automakers simply aren’t prepared for that requirement.

Electrek spoke with Megan O’Connor, cofounder and CEO of Nth Cycle, a Beverly, Massachusetts-based metals processing tech company, about how her company can help EV manufacturers address this challenge quickly.

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Panicking about the UN’s scary Emissions Gap Report is a waste of time – here’s what to do instead

Emissions Gap Report

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) just released its Emissions Gap Report 2022 – and let’s just say, the news isn’t good. So brace yourselves: You’re likely to see a slew of frightening, doom-mongering headlines about it today, unleashing a fresh wave of terror over those of us who care about the planet. But rather than panicking, here’s what to do instead.

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Renewables provided nearly one-quarter of US electrical generation to August 2022

renewables

Renewable energy – solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, biomass – provided almost a quarter of electrical generation in the US during the first two-thirds of 2022, according to data just released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which was reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign.

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Everything you didn’t know you should know about subsea export cables

subsea cable

You may not currently think much about subsea export cables or even know what they are. But as the offshore wind revolution ramps up for Americans in particular, all the components that transport clean energy from wind turbines to US households will become more familiar. That’s where Nexans comes in. The Paris-based global cable company is going to provide vital subsea export cables to three offshore wind projects in the United States, and those cables will bring the power to the mainland.

Electrek spoke with Ragnhild Katteland, executive vice president, subsea & land systems business group at Nexans and CEO of Nexans Norway, about the big US offshore wind projects the company is a part of, what she thinks makes the US offshore wind market unique, and what she predicts will happen in the US offshore wind market in 2023.

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How Ukraine’s power system is coping in the face of Russian strikes

Ukraine power

On October 14, Maksim Timchenko, the CEO of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private power generator, updated Economichna Pravda on the status of Ukraine’s electrical grid in the face of Russian strikes against the country’s power installations. He also talked about what the company’s future plans are for implementing renewables, despite the Russian attacks. DTEK shared that interview today with Electrek, and we have edited the English translation sent to us below for length and clarity.

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Without a grid upgrade, US electrification can’t go forward. This company is helping to fix it [Update]

grid upgrade

LineVision, based in Somerville, Massachusetts, provides “electric utilities with the real-time monitoring and analytics needed to accelerate the net zero grid.” Here’s how this company is playing a crucial role in helping to upgrade the US and international grids to ensure that the electrification revolution is a success.

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The Biden administration just announced the first-ever California offshore wind lease sale

California offshore floating wind

The US Department of the Interior today announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold an offshore wind energy lease sale on December 6, 2022, off central and northern California. It’s also the first-ever US sale to support potential commercial-scale floating offshore wind energy development.

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