[GWSG] ALNa battery; squid windows; IEA's 3-year projection; R&R tool; moon dust; high times for fossil guys

[Tilley, Al]

1. A new sodium-aluminum battery promises to provide medium term grid power storage (10-24 hours) at a lower cost, using common materials, at a lower operating temperature than conventional molten sodium batteries. It is intended to help integrate solar and wind power into a controlled power flow.  https://cleantechnica.com/2023/02/07/new-sodium-aluminum-battery-aims-to-integrate-renewables-for-grid-resiliency/

2.  Retrofitting buildings with liquid-filled panels as windows able to change how they let light through could lower heating, cooling, and lighting costs by well over 40%. The smart windows are inspired by a squid’s ability to change color. “Buildings consume about a third of the world’s energy.” https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2023/02/squid-inspired-smart-windows-could-cut-building-energy-use/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=squid-inspired-smart-windows-could-cut-building-energy-use

3. The International Energy Agency projects that renewables will be the world’s top electricity source within three years. Within that period most demand growth will be met with renewables. The growth will be concentrated in Asia. By 2025 renewables’ share of global power supply is anticipated to be 35%.  https://www.carbonbrief.org/renewables-will-be-worlds-top-electricity-source-within-three-years-iea-data-reveals/?utm_source=cbnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2023-02-08&utm_campaign=Daily+Briefing+08+02+2023

4. The Argonne National Laboratory has a new risk and resilience tool which projects future heat conditions in an interactive display. They plan to project at increasingly smaller scales and to add other risks such as flooding, drought, and wildfires. The portal is meant to provide non-technical information to assist local authorities in resilience planning, and is available to the general public. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-applications-newly-resilience-tool.html

5. What if we mined moon dust and shot it into space to shield the earth from some of the sun’s radiation? A group of astrophysicists explore the possibility in a new paper. What if we ceased burning coal, oil, and methane? Might moon mining distract us from the plain task at hand?  https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/feb/08/moon-dust-moonshot-geoengineering-climate-crisis

6. Last year was the most profitable yet for the fossil fuel industry. A trillion dollars was spent on developing new supplies of their stuff. BP considers that it is only facilitating an orderly transition to renewables. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/09/profits-energy-fossil-fuel-resurgence-climate-crisis-shell-exxon-bp-chevron-totalenergies

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