EV supporters respond to attack from Saudi oil refinery, more

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In today's Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

  • EV supporters tweet about the attack of a drone by a Saudi oil refinery.
  • South Africa launches a green energy initiative worth 11 billion US dollars.
  • A South Carolina lists the benefits of solar power for its state.
  • Green energy is important, but the batteries that store it are too.

The Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB): Review / technical analysis, financial and daily policy of important news in the field of green energy.

On Saturday morning, drones attacked the factories of Saudi oil company Aramco in Abqaiq and Khurais. (Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility, but the US accuses Iran of denying responsibility, Saudi Arabia says Iranian weapons have been used.)

Abqaiq is the largest processing plant in the world and Saudi Arabia is the largest oil exporter in the world. The fires that followed the attacks halved nearly half of Saudi Arabia's oil production. This represents 5% of the daily oil supply.

This morning, the media reported a "surge in oil prices." The International Energy Agency says it is the biggest disruption in oil production ever recorded, but Saudi Arabia says it can tap into its stocks to maintain its supply.

So, I scrolled through Twitter to see what electric vehicle drivers and their supporters thought of this major disruption of fossil fuel supply. (Gas prices are likely to "go up" this fall, an oil analyst said.)

Mark Brownstein, vice president of energy at the Environmental Defense Fund, said that efficiency and diversification were important considerations for the United States:

Securing the Future Energy of the United States (SAFE), a non-partisan organization that aims to reduce US dependence on oil, has seized this opportunity to promote electric vehicles as a long-term solution:

Australia's Renew Economy, an independent news and commentary site on clean energy and climate change, cited Australia's dependence on imported oil as a weakness and the country's need for 'adapt to electric vehicles'.

And when it's about saving fuel on individual drivers, David McLeod, Tesla Pilot, and the EV Society of Sudbury, Ont., Said:

Drivers of electric vehicles often say how much they do not miss going to the gas station. The Saudi incident just drives this house (no pun intended).

Green Initiative of South Africa

South Africa is developing a plan to implement the largest green energy financing initiative in the world.

Cape Town Meridian Economics Focus Group:

… is considering the establishment of an $ 11 billion financing facility supported by development finance institutions and private donors. The new entity would lend money to Eskom at a price slightly lower than commercial rates, provided that it accelerates the closure of polluting coal plants to make way for renewable energies …

Eskom supplies about 95% of South Africa's energy and turned to the government for help remaining solvent after raising [around US$30 billion] debt.

South Africa is the world's 14th largest producer of greenhouse gases and the government is under pressure to meet its 2009 commitment to reduce emissions by 42% by 2025.

Several major financial development institutions, climate funds and philanthropic organizations have shown their initial interest in participating in the initiative. [said climate economist Emily Tyler of Meridian].

South Carolina solar

The South Carolina Energy Freedom Act, passed in May 2019, has strongly boosted solar energy in Palmetto State.

Shelley Hudson Robbins is the director of energy and national politics for Upstate Forever, a nonprofit conservation association based in Greenville, South Carolina. Robbins wrote about the benefits of green energy for the state in the Greenville News. Here are some notable excerpts from his editorial, which notes that Solar:

The increase in solar capacity of South Carolina must become a priority if we want to protect citizens and businesses from the risk of commodity prices of fossil fuels, if we want to build county coffers without increasing expenses and if we want to attract the best corporate partners. State.

Solar energy is the best choice for the environment – that's obvious – but also for the economic health of the state.

EnlightenSC, a South Carolina energy education program, states that 3.4% of all electricity generated in South Carolina comes from renewable resources, though hydropower is included. Obviously, improvements are possible, so it's a growing interest.

Do not forget the batteries!

Ellen Wald at Forbes rightly points out that in the world, solar and wind energy offers great potential in terms of green energy, but that "we have to find a way to effectively store the energy". energy produced … At present, our batteries can not store this type of energy in the long run, recharge regularly and last for years. Investment and innovation in energy storage technologies and batteries are still needed before we can move away from fossil fuels. "

My catch

All right, Mrs. Wald. I have solar energy here in Florida and a lot of sun to accompany it. But what I really want is an incredibly good battery to store my energy in cloudy weather, or, God forbid, the power goes out due to extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes. During the last five days, I did not have power to Irma because the power lines were down and the transformers exploded, and I do not want to use a gas generator. They are polluting and noisy.

I'll let you know what I find (Tesla Powerwall, I'm looking for you), and if you have any ideas you'd like to share on high-quality, affordable, high-capacity batteries, please comment below.

Photo credit: Reuters

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