Top Clean Energy & EV Innovations: Volvo, Google, Wind Turbines, and More!

Is the 9-5 workday dead, or is remote work truly the future? Get ready to uncover the groundbreaking innovations reshaping the energy landscape this week. We'll explore Volvo's cutting-edge EV battery passport for the EX90 SUV, setting a new standard in transparency and sustainability. We'll also discuss their game-changing truck-as-a-service model, Volvo On Demand, which aims to revolutionize electric truck accessibility. Plus, we'll delve into the astonishing feats in the offshore wind sector, from China's colossal 18-megawatt turbine to New York's pivotal South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

Join us as we dissect Google's ambitious geothermal energy project in collaboration with NV Energy, potentially setting a new industry benchmark with its clean transition tariff. Similarly, we'll highlight Duke Energy's initiative attracting tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon. To top it all off, we'll spotlight Highview Power's $383 million venture into liquid air energy storage in Manchester, promising to extend energy storage solutions beyond the typical limits of lithium-ion batteries. Tune in to grasp the future of energy and the disruptive projects leading the charge.

Transcript

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I've got your energy stories for this. The third week of June 2024, and on the first one, swedish carmaker Volvo is starting the world's first EV battery passport for its soon-to-be produced EX90 SUV. The passport will track the origins of raw materials, components, recycled content and carbon footprint of the vehicles. Beginning 2027, all EVs sold in the EU will need similar passports and while Audi and Tesla have developed prototypes, volvo is the first one out the door. Volvo owners can use a QR code on the inside of the driver's door to see a simplified version with a more complete version to be delivered to regulators. Future state passports will also include continuous information on battery health. Future state passports will also include continuous information on battery health. Volvo's partner is UK-based Circular, and Volvo will pay about $10 per EV for 15 years of monitoring. The Circular system can trace the battery materials from mine to vehicle using blockchain, while auditing suppliers' monthly energy bills to calculate a total carbon footprint. In the United States, volvo Trucks North America and Volvo Financial Services have launched a truck-as-a-service business model called Volvo On Demand, so that customers can utilize electric trucks without the big upfront investments. The service will start with 25 Class 8 Volvo VNR electric trucks, with customers enrolling for periods as short as 12 months and paying largely depending on mileage driven. The 25e trucks will include 26x4 tractors with a 6 battery configuration and 5 4x2 tractors with a 4 battery configuration. Volvo is betting in part that this try-before-you-buy approach will boost overall sales as customers can gain experience before making capital purchases In offshore wind.

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Chinese state-owned Dongfang Electric Corporation has installed an 18-megawatt offshore wind turbine it claims is the world's largest, with a 260-meter rotor diameter. Sticking with offshore wind. But here in the US, the 73-acre South Brooklyn Marine Terminal had its groundbreaking with the $860 million project, soon to be a staging ground for New York's offshore wind industry, starting with the 810-megawatt 54-turbine Empire Wind 1 project 15 miles off Long Island that is estimated to be commissioned in 2026. Let's hope that more projects follow soon in its wake. So the economics on this one pencil. Google has entered into an agreement with utility Envy Energy to buy 115 megawatts of enhanced geothermal energy for its Nevada data centers. The deal must still be approved by Nevada state utility regulators and would boost geothermal from developer Fervil Energy from a current 3.5 pilot deal to 115 megawatts in about six years. Google worked with NV Energy's power generation resource planning team to develop a so-called clean transition tariff that it hopes to see replicated in other utility service territories. Southeastern utility Duke Energy announced a similar tariff approach last month, with Google, microsoft and Amazon signing on.

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And finally, longer duration, but not really longer. Storage company Highview Power has secured a $383 million investment for its first commercial-scale liquid air energy storage plant in Manchester in the UK. The facility liquefies air and then warms it, so it expands 700-fold and creates pressure to spin turbines delivering 50 megawatts for up to six hours, so it's a bit longer than most lithium-ion projects, which generally limit out at around four hours. Construction will start in June, with plant commissioning by early 2026. So we're starting to see more of these longer, longish duration projects around the world beginning to creep into the marketplace, with expected growth to be much more significant in the near future. Well, thanks for watching this week and we'll see you again next week.