Today everyone was talking about President-elect Joe Biden unveiling his $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan with the goal of speeding up vaccines and increasing financial aid to those struggling from the pandemic’s prolonged economic fallout.
Despite this news, global shares fell as this potential boost was overpowered by the likelihood of stricter lockdowns in Europe and a reappearance of COVID-19 cases in China.
Earlier this week, the Energy Information Administration’s outlook provided the first projection for U.S. output in 2022. According to the EIA, U.S. production reached around 13 million barrels per day at the beginning of 2020 but then fell precipitously as COVID-19 caused demand and prices to decline.
We also saw a report this week showing how the pandemic slowdown led to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions falling by 10 percent according to a new report. Fortunately, the U.S. was already leading in global emissions reductions even before the coronavirus lockdowns began earlier this year.
Looking for more good news? Here are our five favorite stories to help you start your weekend!
5Energy companies explore using tiny satellites to monitor hard-to-reach wind farms
More than a dozen startups are building their own network of nanosatellites that can be used to monitor and connect everything from wind farms, shipping containers and even cattle to the internet. The Wall Street Journal explains how for a fraction of the cost of earlier satellite tracking systems, people, companies and organizations can access satellite tracking capabilities that were previously unattainable from a budget perspective.
4California brewery poised to brew 6 million cases of beer annually using solar energy
Duke Energy and Firestone Walker Brewing Company have finished a new solar array and solar carport in Paso Robles, California that will generate most of the energy needed for the brewery. Renewable Energy World reports that the array will generate enough energy for the brewery to make and bottle 6 million cases of beer annually!
3United Airlines announces initiative to suck carbon dioxide from the sky
United Airlines is the first U.S. carrier to invest in carbon capture, a technology that essentially sucks the carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. Crain’s reports that United’s contribution to the initiative is expected to draw as much CO₂ out of the air every year as 40 million trees do.
2Researchers produce sustainable hydrogen fuel with nickel
Researchers have recently proposed a way to efficiently produce hydrogen fuel via water-electrolysis using nickel as the catalyst. Science Daily explains how this new method of utilizing abundant and readily available nickel is a game changer for hydrogen production, making it more affordable and more efficient than ever.
1Wind turbines the size of the Eiffel Tower?
The most powerful wind turbine is nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower, has blades as long a football field, and could be coming to a coast near you. The World explains how each of these mega turbines can power about 16,000 homes.
