Daily Standup Top Stories
India’s power output grows at fastest pace in 33 years, fuelled by coal
Intense summer heatwaves, a colder-than-normal winter in northern India, and an economic rebound caused a rise in electricity consumption, India is forced to increase output from coal plants to prevent power outages. SINGAPORE, April 5 […]
Biden wants coal country to rise like a phoenix
The Biden administration is trying to herd renewable energy companies toward communities where coal-fired power plants and mines have shuttered. The latest carrot to tease that interest? A bonus tax credit for clean energy projects. […]
Emerging Markets Grapple With Rising Solar Panel Costs
With high energy prices and supply chain disruptions creating shortages of key renewable energy components and materials, emerging markets are reassessing how to build out utility-scale solar power to accelerate their energy transitions. After more […]
NYC is behind in meeting its solar energy goals. Can it catch up?
New York City has pledged to reach 1,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2030 — enough energy to power 250,000 homes, according to the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Justice. But state data shows that its […]
Why Minnesota’s push to electrify government vehicles is going slower than expected
A lack of inventory from auto manufacturers and a shortage of fast-charging options in rural areas are among the factors slowing progress toward Minnesota’s state government fleet electrification goal. The Minnesota Department of Administration […]
Highlights of the Podcast
00:00 – Intro
02:21 – India’s Power output grows at the fastest pace in 33 years fueled by coal
04:54 – Biden wants coal country to rise like a Phenix
06:50 – Emerging Markets grapple with rising Solar Panel costs
08:22 – New York City is behind in meeting its solar energy goals can it catch up?
10:45 – Why Minnesota’s push to electrify government vehicles is going slower than expected
13:52 – Outro
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Video Transcription edited for grammar. We disavow any errors unless they make us look better or smarter.
Stuart Turley: [00:00:15] Hey, Everybody, Welcome to the Energy News Beat Daily Stand up. My Name’s Stuart Turley President and CEO of the Sandstone Group. Today is an interesting day going on around the world. And today is April 6th just a crazy day for political as well as energy things going on around the world got some interesting stories for you here. [00:00:37][22.6]
Stuart Turley: [00:00:38] India’s power output grows at a fastest pace in 33 years but it’s fueled by coal. lots of interesting stands on that article. Next story coming around the corner is. Biden wants coal country to rise like a Phenix kind of cool we’ll talk about that in a sec. [00:00:58][20.0]
Stuart Turley: [00:00:59] Then we have Emerging markets grapple with rising Solar panel costs. There’s a lot in this article, and it’s really about the supply chain and other. Issues coming along with that. Next. Article along the same lines with that is New York City is behind in meeting and solar energy goals cannot catch up? There’s another twist. In this article that relates to the whether or not the markets can have happen with the rising solar panel costs. [00:01:32][32.8]
Stuart Turley: [00:01:32] In this article The Will Why Minnesota’s push to electrifying government vehicles going slower than expected. All three of those have several key components that are on a macro actually look across the U.S. what the U.S. is facing on that. [00:01:53][20.1]
Stuart Turley: [00:01:53] So before I get started on the stories here, make sure that you like subscribe or leave us great. Reviews. Tell your friends, put a note on your refrigerator to listen to it our Show is just going Bonkers. And we really do appreciate it. You listening to the Daily Stand up as well as our interviews with our CEOs and other industry thought leaders. [00:02:18][25.1]
Stuart Turley: [00:02:19] First article coming around the corner is India’s Power output grows at the fastest pace in 33 years fueled by coal. Intense summer heat waves and a colder than usual winter in Northern India, up that with an economic recovery led to the jump in electricity demand, not only just demand in additional people, but forcing India to crank up output from coal plants and solar farms as it scrambled to avoid power cuts. Can you kind of get a message about the theme of today’s show? And that would be solar and renewable. [00:02:58][39.2]
Stuart Turley: [00:02:59] Power generation rose from. 11.5% to rose 11.5% to 1591.Billion kilowatts. Hours or. Units in the fiscal year ending March 2023. That’s crazy. That’s a lot of power, and India the output actually raised the fastest in 33 years. [00:03:31][31.5]
Stuart Turley: [00:03:32] 1990, coal was being was13.6% of india’s production and now it is 11.5 even with all of the renewable gas and other. That’s just mind. Boggling to me. 11.5% of their total energy is popularly power usage is from coal. Here’s why they’re having do that. [00:04:04][32.0]
Stuart Turley: [00:04:04] India wide 23 Power shortage is the highest since F1 17. So 2017 they’ve had more power outages in this year than they had in previous years. And they’re looking at the chart which is on an EnergyNewsBeat.com, it’s amazing story. They’re having to really balance out their power for their population hats off to the indian leaders for trying to do the best they can while trying to just get power to everybody there. We have to get the lowest cost kilowatt per hour to all people of the planet, and that also means using coal. [00:04:50][46.0]
Stuart Turley: [00:04:51] So next article coming around the corner is Biden wants coal country to rise like a Phenix. I think that’s a great idea. But on this, why is Biden focusing on coal country? One of the big reasons on that is Union Coal Country’s got a lot. Of union. Members out there. And I’ve. I think that it’s a. Great thing to try to work the union jobs. But are the union jobs just nuts and bolts and can they work over to the other jobs that are available? [00:05:24][32.5]
Stuart Turley: [00:05:25] The article says right here, both environment advocates and clean energy investors say numerous challenges remain. Tom Kaufman’s executive director of the environmental group Appalachian Voices. Called a. Revitalization a herculean effort that would require the federal government to commit ongoing collaboration with communities and that’s very critical for this statement coming up right below. [00:05:54][28.8]
Stuart Turley: [00:05:55] It is a hard thing to do, said Martin, whose company operates renewable energy projects. You have to find hundreds of people that are willing to do the work that is available. So it’s not just saying oh, here’s a shovel ready jobs you have to match the abilities and the want to in order to even do those jobs. [00:06:17][22.7]
Stuart Turley: [00:06:18] So are you going to take a truck driver that was driving in a coal mine and then having hand him a screwdriver and say, oh, by the.Way, start assembling The solar panels. So there’s going to be a matchup there with. Skill sets and that is what they’re talking about. Matching skill sets and Dollars that’s going to be a tough job to do. I like the way they’re thinking but I boy, that’s a tough job and we’ll keep an eye on that. [00:06:48][29.9]
Stuart Turley: [00:06:48] Next one coming around the corner as Emerging Markets grapple with rising Solar Panel costs. We’ve known. For a long. Time that the supply chain has been broken. China is accounted for 80% of all manufacturing stages and solar panels. That’s just unheard of. [00:07:09][20.9]
Stuart Turley: [00:07:09] So China. Controls how the pricing goes, you’ve been hearing for a long time that the renewable energy of solar and wind per kilowatt per hour has been coming down that has not been actually true when you consider the increasing in prices for the commodities in the designs going in. [00:07:34][24.8]
Stuart Turley: [00:07:35] We ran a story two weeks ago that just because you have the money from the infrastructure bill doesn’t mean that you’re going to be able to implement any of this because of the supply chain problems. [00:07:48][12.8]
Stuart Turley: [00:07:48] Well, when you have a shortage of something the price is going to go up. And when you have China controlling 80% of it the price is going to go up. So the article says Supply and Demand dynamics. This goes. Through a wonderful description of why there is a very huge problem coming around the corner and prices for solar are going to be going up. This article really articulates that really well. [00:08:19][30.9]
Stuart Turley: [00:08:20] Next article coming around the corner is New York City is behind in meeting its solar energy goals can it catch up? New York City has pledged to reach a thousand megawatts of solar energy by. 2030, enough to power 250,000 homes according to the mayor’s office. Now, that’s during the daylight hours unless it’s got moon I’m just kidding. [00:08:44][24.4]
Stuart Turley: [00:08:46] So when you sit down and take a look and get a crayon that is a lot. You’re also going to need the storage in order to run that or you’re going to Need a consistent power supply like nuclear or storage. So nuclear natural gas in New. York has banned natural gas. [00:09:09][23.1]
Stuart Turley: [00:09:09] So they are importing their natural gas right now from LNG From the European market because they won’t connected to the Pennsylvania marcellus. Unbelievable on that they can really put in their solar panels, connect it to natural gas pipeline system. The infrastructure’s. Already there but they just need to run one pipeline and they can make that happen. [00:09:36][27.0]
Stuart Turley: [00:09:37] The quote here is we’re ramping up and everybody in the city, at least our competitors and contemporaries, are very busy as well, said hatch. Last month on.A rooftop on a 24 apartment building in Clinton Hill. Surrounded by dozens of newly installed solar panels. [00:09:55][17.8]
Stuart Turley: [00:09:55] The panels will produce around 4250 kilowatt hours of energy per month and save the building 600 to 650 monthly energy bills once complete. This one over 4000. 500 projects underway to turn solar arrays into energy across the five boroughs. [00:10:16][21.1]
Stuart Turley: [00:10:17] I’m not sure if 4 to 600 on a building of a 24 unit apartment building are in the numbers and that did not seem like it really made a dent on the individual users but I’m going to try to verify that for you. That’s a lot of money to spend for the. Savings on that if you divide it by the 24 units not sure that it will really help out. [00:10:42][25.2]
Stuart Turley: [00:10:43] Let’s come around the corner to Minnesota, Why Minnesota’s push to electrify government vehicles is going slower than expected you know it is really a great goal by the government of Minnesota to try to electrify their vehicles. I have to hand it to them and when you do, say the Minnesota Department of Administration sets a target in 2020 to make 20% of its vehicle fleet. Electric by 2027. [00:11:09][26.3]
Stuart Turley: [00:11:11] That is almost impossible when you consider the state also has snow plows. They have all these kind of trucks and they were only going after the original the small trucks, cars and hybrids. This is some really good thinking on their part. In 2021, the state’s light duty category was dominated by flex fuel vehicles capable of running on high ethanol blends, accounting for 55% hybrids followed at. 22% and regular internal combustion at 15%, the rest were electric. Plug in Hybrid and Diesel run models. [00:11:50][39.5]
Stuart Turley: [00:11:51] I got to hand it to the city not often do we hear the plans of hybrids I love hybrids I love the plug in hybrid especially because you are able to run fossil fuels get the benefit of high, high gasoline mileage. But yet you’re not using all of the battery technology and critical minerals that you need. [00:12:16][24.9]
Stuart Turley: [00:12:16] So my hat’s off to them for trying but I also have to hand it to them that they’re. Admitting that it is going to be tough so when we sit back and take a look at the quotes our plow trucks have to be run and run 24 hours a day. So there’s a lot of technology to crack before they can even use those in the batteries. [00:12:37][21.0]
Stuart Turley: [00:12:39] I have to hand it to them and again, hats off to Minnesota and they are going to continue to go down that road and getting the charging stations for a city or municipality or a state facility is a lot. Easier than the consumer because the states can then put the charging facilities in the parking lots or at the offices of those buildings. But it’s. Not the same for housing for apartment complexes or those others. So that’s why I personally like the hybrids and the ability to do that. [00:13:15][36.0]
[00:13:15] So with that, folks, I’ll let you get. Back to work. Have an absolutely fantastic day and thank you for listening to the Energy News Beat Daily Stand up. My Name is Stuart Turley Like. Subscribe. And visit at EnergyNewsBeat.com if you’re an industry thought leader and you want to be on my CEO interviews and my Industry thought Leadership podcast series jump out and let me know at any time. Thanks. Look forward to talking to you soon. [00:13:15][0.0]
