June 1 Green Energy News

Headline News:

“An Electric Train That Never Needs Charging? It’s Real!” • NBC News recently reported on an electric train never needs to be plugged in to keep running. The train goes on battery power to a mine at the top of a mountain, where it is loaded with ore. It goes down by gravity, with regenerative breaking charging the battery again. [CleanTechnica]

Ore train in Australia (Fortescue, via Jalopnik)

“Sales Of Electric Cars Doubled To Record 6.6 Million In 2021” • Electric car sales doubled in 2021 to 6.6 million and remain strong in 2022, but future growth will demand greater efforts to diversify battery making and ensure critical mineral supplies to reduce the risks of bottlenecks and price rises, an International Energy Agency report says. [Energy Digital]
“Energy Experts Sound Alarm About US Electric Grid” • The forecasts say this will be a hotter than normal summer, and electricity experts and officials are warning that states may not have enough power to meet demand in the coming months. But many of the nation’s grid operators are also not taking climate change into account in their planning. [CNN]
“New Process Yields Super Strong Recycled Wood” • An article at New Scientist tells us about a process to recycle wood, but with a twist: the process not only means you can build something with it again, but it will have more strength than steel. The process uses wood that can be broken, even sawdust, to produce material that is amazingly strong. [CleanTechnica]
“Ford F-150 Lightning Reaches Its First Customers” • The Ford F-series trucks have been selling really, really well for decades, so it made sense to simply adapt an F-150, a vehicle millions have purchased, to the EV platform. Now they are being delivered. Nick Schmidt, who just got the first of the new Lightnings, shared some of his first impressions. [CleanTechnica]

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