Introducing... SPARK
Energy Terminal Weekly Newsletter
May 23rd 2023 | Issue #52 | Subscribe here
Happy Tuesday!
Welcome back to ET weekly, Energy Terminal's weekly newsletter where we cover trends, opportunities, events and updates across the energy industry.
In this issue:
😱 SPARK is officially here - and you need to check it out!
🔋 A solar storage job?!
🏇 The energy transition's horsemen
🔧 Biden's global trade vision
🚌 Electrifying school buses
🚨 Top 3 Energy Opportunities 🚨
1) Solar-Storage Systems Engineer, Geli
Geli (Growing Energy Labs, Inc.) provides software and business solutions to design, connect, and operate energy storage systems ranging in size from residential to utility-scale, as well as grid-tied, microgrid, and off-grid systems. Systems Engineers contribute to the full life cycle of projects, providing input to the design and development process and ensuring successful deployment of complex solar + energy storage control and monitoring systems.
2) Environmental Justice Analyst, GTI Energy
GTI Energy is the nation’s leading research, development, deployment, and training organization serving energy markets. The qualified candidate will support the External Engagements Team’s environmental justice (EJ) efforts in partnership with GTI Energy’s private sector partners, other stakeholders, and communities to accelerate deployment of hydrogen technologies.
3) Project Manager Internship, Tesla
Tesla is building a world powered by solar energy, running on batteries and transported by electric vehicles. The intern will oversee project management for training initiatives within Tesla Sales, Service, Delivery and Collision business units.
Introducing...
SPARK ⚡
SPARK is Energy Terminal's newest podcast series, it highlights the stories of young leaders driving the change we need in the energy industry!
In each episode, hosts Chloe Young and Michael Wood, delve into the unique stories of Gen Z working in the energy and climate space. Whether you are searching for ways to enter the industry, looking to connect with the workforce's next generation, or interested in dynamic energy stories, you don't want to miss these episodes!
⚡ Episode 1
The first SPARK episode features Will Reynolds, a recent college graduate with extensive experience in clean tech startups and environmental work. Will shares his unique career path thus far and tips for getting involved in startups. We also discuss his thoughts on individual action and the importance of everyone linking their careers to the environment.
Will shares some great insight on startup work and breaking into the energy space. Happy listening!
📚 Reading List
Transition Line Expansion Issues, Electric School Buses, + Changing the US Economy. Check out this week’s handpicked reading list to learn more about these groundbreaking energy topics 🔥
🎙️Podcasts:
Climate One, Amy Westervelt on Drilling, Denial and Disinformation
Westervelt is an investigative journalist who writes about big oil and the way that they shape public opinion and legal rulings through methods such as sustained PR campaigns
Many oil companies use the First Amendment corporate free speech argument in legal cases when it comes to climate denial, and Westervelt states that this sets a precedent that lying in the interest of shaping politics is acceptable, which is dangerous for democracy
Westervelt finishes the episode by arguing that because science literacy rates in the US are so low, “believing in science” won’t get people to care about the climate. Instead, the rhetoric should be more focused on human experiences
The Interchange Recharged, The Four Horsemen of the Energy Transition
Clean energy investment is at an all-time high but is still projected to need to increase by 3-5x to meet our 2050 targets
China is a leader in clean energy investment, representing more than half of all solar investment globally
The IRA is a big step, but much more policy and economic changes are needed to see success
Politico Energy, What Biden’s new global trade vision could mean for energy
Biden’s new industrial policies are indicative of reshaping the global economy
Biden plans to bring the production of batteries, and other critical components of the energy transition, to the US
This will help the environment, US has better labor and environmental standards
Creates good jobs for US citizens
Cuts down competition Americans face overseas
📰️ Articles:
Canary Media, How US School Buses Are Going Electric, in Four Charts
The school bus is the biggest transportation fleet in the U.S., with approximately .5 million buses, and it’s almost fully dependent on diesel fuel which is carbon-emitting
Switching to electric buses could reduce CO2 emissions by 8 million metric tons per year, in addition to benefiting local neighborhoods and the students who breathe in the harmful pollutants from the engines
There has been increased federal funding into making electric school buses more widely available, particularly in low-income, disadvantaged, and rural school districts
Electric school buses cost 3x as much as diesel buses, but these initial prices are reducing and the average lifetime cost of ownership is now almost equal for diesel and electric buses
Forbes, Why Is Mexico’s President So Hostile To Solar Energy Investment?
Mexico has to potential to produce lots of solar energy at a very competitive price
However, Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has stopped issuing permits for solar and canceled solar project auctions
His attitude towards solar production and other renewables has caused Mexico to receive only 7% of all renewable energy investment of Latin America, when in 2017 they were receiving 35% of the investments
Mexico is now going in the opposite direction of the rest of the world in terms of energy
Critics don’t think Mexico can move forward as a place for renewable investments until Lopez Obrador leaves office
The Guardian, America’s big shift to green energy has a woolly mammoth problem
For the energy transition to work, the US needs to increase the number of transmission lines by 3 times its current amount
The Greenlink West project is an impressive new transmission line project that is designed to bring clean energy north of Las Vegas, Nevada
However, opponents argue that these transmission lines cut through an area rich in ice-age fossils
This is just one example of local complaints to transmission line expansions, as the US continues to make plans to expand the grid, it will continue to see local opposition
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