1. Louisiana in ‘unique’ position to support US offshore wind

Learning: "Louisiana’s existing role in the domestic offshore wind supply chain, along with its existing oil and gas production infrastructure and workforce, will serve the state well as it builds out its offshore wind market, according to a new report published by consulting firm Xodus Group."

Implication: "However, the report gives the state’s regulatory landscape the lowest score out of any criteria it assessed. Other criteria — such as manufacturing, workforce availability and marine assets — all received a score of 'good' or better."

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2. A Giant Compressed-Air Battery has plans to build in California

Learning: "Some background on why long-duration storage matters: The grid of the near future will require a mix of energy storage resources to fill gaps when there are lulls in generation from wind and solar. Most lithium-ion battery systems run for a maximum of four hours. Energy system planners have said the grid will also need storage options that can run six, eight, and 12 hours, and some that last as long as a day or more."

Implication: "The Department of Energy has identified the need for long-duration storage as an essential part of fully decarbonizing the electricity system, and in 2021 set a goal that research, development, and investment would help to reduce the costs of the technologies by 90 percent in a decade....

California’s state government and the California Energy Commission have made clear that they want to build long-duration energy storage. The state has estimated that it will need 4 gigawatts of long-term energy storage capacity to be able to meet the goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2045.

Hydrostor and state officials want to see this project get up and running. If that happens, it could provide a showpiece to make the case for building many others."

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3. A Los Angeles neighborhood covered its roads in solar reflective paint and something amazing happened

Learning: "In the summer of 2022, more than 1 million of square feet of roads in L.A.’s Pacoima neighborhood were covered with solar reflective paint. Schoolyards, basketball courts, and parking lots were also painted, some with colorful patterns by a local artist. The results were immediate, and the paint reduced the surface temperature by about 10° Fahrenheit. A year and a half in, the results are even more compelling."

Implication: "The coating proved to have a community-wide impact. The study was carried independently of GAF and took place over 12 months, during both daytime and nighttime, and in various conditions, including an extreme heat-wave event. It showed that the larger the coated area is, the more people could feel the cooling effect. Haider Taha, who led the study, calls this a cumulative cooling effect, which occurs, as he explains it, when an air parcel travels over a coated street or surface."

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4. Hydrogen Power is Trickling into Airbus Airliners

Learning: "Hydrogen is one of the great hopes for sustainable aviation, alongside synthetic kerosene jet fuel–assuming either can be made en masse cleanly. And Airbus has been especially bullish on the lightest element–promising that it will propel smaller commercial aircraft by 2035 and even jumbo jets after 2050.

But the aviation giant is already progressing on a more modest goal of using hydrogen fuel cells to power auxiliary features such as air conditioning and other onboard electronics on its airliners. This could take the place of the kerosene-powered turbines that currently do the job."

Implication: "It’s a long way from a single demonstration to remaking airliner fleets. But there’s not exactly a need to rush, as inexpensive green hydrogen is still a ways off. Hydrogen has been used in the petroleum and chemical industries for ages. (It goes into making fertilizers, for instance.) But virtually all of this is 'gray' hydrogen, derived from fossil fuels—typically natural gas—and producing greenhouse emissions in the process."

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5. Alaska Airlines passengers can buy emissions credits

Learning: "Passengers booking with Alaska Airlines now have the option to purchase sustainable aviation fuel credits while booking travel, contributing an amount that reduces the impact of emissions by 5, 10 or 20%. Alaska's frequent flyers can also earn miles that count toward elite status on the airline."

Implication: "The new carbon offsetting option is available as an optional trip add-on during the booking process, and is powered by climate tech company, CHOOOSE. The SAF (sustainable air fuel) credit option follows the International Air Transport Association’s Recommended Practice 1726, which is a passenger CO2 calculation method.

According to IATA, SAF can lower carbon emissions by 80 percent or more and can be used in existing fuel systems and engines."