EnviroPolitics Blog

What happens when a motorsport goes all-electric

Imagine an auto race with speed but no engine noise. That battery-powered vision is already here, with Formula E.

By Chico Harlan, Washington Post, April 23, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

MISANO, Italy — The 22 racecars took their positions, shot off the starting line, and accelerated down a straightaway through the shimmering heat. The race was on — quietly.

The racecars rocketed past the grandstands, emitting nothing more than a mechanical whir. The tires hummed. Almost nobody in the crowd wore earplugs, as they might in Formula 1. As the cars zipped through the first few turns — 27½ laps to go — they sounded no louder than electric toothbrushes.

“It’s like whistling,” said Jeroen Bos, a motorsports fan from the Netherlands.

Creating an all-electric motorsport is a bold venture. Formula 1 and NASCAR have built big, entrenched cultures based on the appeal of classic full-throttle power. Even the famed motorsports catchphrase is an ode to combustion: Gentlemen, start your engines.

But Formula E, as the championship is known, is a study in the challenges — and potential — of the electric vehicle transition. In trying to make inroads with the sporting mainstream, Formula E is still figuring out how to market the idea of battery-powered racecars — and whether to play up its similarities to the gasoline age or the parts that are different.

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Advocates warn that pipeline leak exposes carbon capture gaps

An estimated 2,548 barrels of carbon dioxide leaked from an Exxon pipeline in Louisiana on 3 April, triggering alarm among residents

By Nina Lakhani in Sulphur, Louisiana, The Guardian, Apr 2024 06.00 EDT

A major leak of CO₂ from an ExxonMobil pipeline in Louisiana exposes dangerous safety gaps that should halt the planned multibillion-dollar carbon capture industry, environmental advocates say.

An estimated 2,548 barrels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) leaked from the Exxon pipeline in Sulphur in Calcasieu parish on 3 April, triggering an emergency response and alarm among residents who live close to scores of polluting pipelines, petrochemical and fossil fuel facilities.

It took more than two hours to fix the leak, which is “unacceptable”, according to Kenneth Clarkson from the Pipeline Safety Trust non-profit.

“Any release of this size of carbon dioxide should be taken seriously, especially given the proximity to homes in Sulphur … The operator should have promptly known about the leak from the pressure loss and quickly closed the valves and, as reported, they failed to do that,” said Clarkson.

“There are dangerous gaps in the federal regulations that we hope will be addressed.”

CO₂ – a greenhouse gas released by burning fossil fuels – is an asphyxiant and intoxicant, which in large quantities can cause injury or death by replacing oxygen in the air. Potent clouds of CO₂ can hang in the air for hours, depending on the weather conditions.

About 5,000 miles of CO₂ pipelines are currently operating in the US, which are predominantly for transporting the gas to oilfields where it is used to extract hard-to-reach oil – a process known as enhanced oil recovery. The pipeline running through Sulphur is part of a network stretching more than 900 miles through Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, which ExxonMobile acquired from Denbury last year.

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Goodbye Covanta, hello Reworld

The new branding marks a shift in the company as it attempts to bolster its environmental services and sustainable materials management services.

Aerial view of an industrial building with smoke stack — *The Pasco County Resource Recovery Facility in Spring Hill, Florida, is operated by Covanta. Courtesy of Florida Waste-to-Energy Coalition*

By Jacob Wallace, Waste Dive

Waste-to-energy company Covanta is rebranding as Reworld as it looks to tout growth in both its core business and emerging segments, the company announced Tuesday. Covanta has been under the management of European investment firm EQT Infrastructure since 2021.

“With this strategic evolution, we aim to redefine partnerships in waste management, focusing on converting waste into valuable resources through advanced technological applications,” Reworld President and CEO Azeez Mohammed said in a release. “The reimagining of our company underscores Reworld’s dedication to innovation, excellence in customer service, and a collective vision for enabling the reduction, efficient reuse, recycling, and recovery of diverse waste streams.”

In 2021, Mohammed became CEO of what was then Covanta, following the EQT deal. The $5.3 billion sale was contingent on several sustainability growth metrics, including a 25% increase by 2025 in waste recycled or reused. The company was the largest operator of mass-burn combustion facilities in the U.S. at the time of the sale, and it has grown since then.

Covanta’s portfolio expanded from 50 to 90 facilities since the EQT deal, bolstered by eight acquisitions. That includes a major deal last year to acquire Circon. The move doubled the company’s water services offerings and grew its geographic footprint in the Midwest and major markets like Houston.

In part due to those acquisitions, the company has also increased the waste it diverts from landfills from about 1.5 million tons in 2021 to 3 million tons today. According to a spokesperson, Its headcount has increased from 3,800 employees to 4,500. That growth pattern is putting the company on track to meet its 2025 sustainability goals,

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ISRI Rebrands as The Recycled Materials Association

Identity Change Emphasizes Sustainable, Resilient, and Essential Nature of Recycling

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 18, 2024 – After 35 years as the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, ISRI today announced it is now the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA). The new name and logo were unveiled during the closing general session of ISRI2024 Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas, an event that saw record attendance from the US and more than 70 countries for the organization’s major annual meeting.

“From everyday items to our essential infrastructure, recycled materials power the manufacturing supply chain that makes our economy stronger, our planet more sustainable, and our lives better,” said Robin Wiener, President of the Recycled Materials Association. “Our new name, the Recycled Materials Association, clearly and accurately describes who we are as an organization and who we represent. I am excited to unveil our dynamic new name and logo to stakeholders around the world.”

ISRI Outgoing Chair Brian Henesey said, “The Recycled Materials Association is the culmination of years of work in refining how we present our industry to the world. It has been an honor to Chair this organization through this endeavor and a privilege to be one of the ongoing chain of leaders working to make us more successful tomorrow than we are today.”

Recycled Materials Association Incoming Chair Colin Kelly remarked, “With the introduction of this new brand identity, we embark on an exciting future for our organization that reflects our evolution, our values, and our vision. This new name represents our dedication to rethinking how we approach recycling, pushing the boundaries of what is possible, and striving for a world where recycling is at the heart of sustainable development.”

The organization’s new identity includes a new tagline – Sustainable. Resilient. Essential. – which emphasizes the industry’s core benefits to society and attributes. The recycled materials industry is Sustainable – helping protect the environment. It is Resilient – providing materials that strengthen the economy. It is also Essential – by ensuring the things we need are there to make everyday life better.

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The U.S. just changed how it manages a tenth of its land

The Interior Department puts conservation and clean energy development on par with drilling, mining, and resource extraction

By Maxine Joselow, Washington Post, Updated April 18, 2024 at 1:57 p.m.

For decades, the federal government has prioritized oil and gas drilling, hard rock mining, and livestock grazing on public lands. That could soon change under a far-reaching Interior Department rule that puts conservation, recreation, and renewable energy development on equal footing with resource extraction.

The final rule released Thursday represents a seismic shift in the management of roughly 245 million acres of public property — about one-tenth of the nation’s land mass. It is expected to draw praise from conservationists and legal challenges from fossil fuel industry groups and Republican officials, some of whom have lambasted the move as a “land grab.”

Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, known as the nation’s largest landlord, has long offered leases to oil and gas companies, mining firms, and ranchers. For the first time, the nearly 80-year-old agency will auction off “restoration leases” and “mitigation leases” to entities with plans to restore or conserve public lands.

“Today’s final rule helps restore balance to our public lands as we continue using the best-available science to restore habitats, guide strategic and responsible development, and sustain our public lands for generations to come,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.

Under President Biden, the BLM has put a greater emphasis on protecting public lands from the twin threats of climate change and development. Tracy Stone-Manning, the bureau’s director, has warned that hotter, drier climates are driving longer and more intense wildfires and droughts across the American West. At the same time, development has fragmented and destroyed wildlife habitat and migratory corridors.

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If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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NJ reverses course, grants approval to a raft of solar projects

By Tom Johnson, NJ Spotlight News

The state Board of Public Utilities Wednesday approved more than 300 megawatts of solar projects across the state, a big step boosting one of New Jersey’s most important sources of renewable energy and a key component of Gov. Phil Murphy’s clean-energy agenda.

In a solicitation overseen by the BPU, commissioners quickly approved eight projects across seven counties. That outcome marks a complete reversal of a similar proceeding last summer when the agency rejected all bids that had been submitted because they were deemed too expensive.

In Wednesday’s meeting, the board approved eight of 14 bids submitted by developers as well as a project to build 80 megawatts of energy storage capacity, believed to be the largest project of its kind to move forward in New Jersey.

Welcome news for developers, advocates

There was little comment by the board on its vote, but solar developers and clean-energy advocates were thrilled with the decision.

“Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised,’’ said Fred DeSanti, executive director of the New Jersey Solar Energy Coalition. “This is a signal that the New Jersey grid-supply market is very strong.’’

Most of the approvals were for grid supply projects, which are solar systems that are much more cost-effective because of their scale and thus are less expensive to utility customers who wind up supporting the projects on their monthly bills through incentives to the developers.

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What happens when a motorsport goes all-electric

Imagine an auto race with speed but no engine noise. That battery-powered vision is already here, with Formula E.

Advocates warn that pipeline leak exposes carbon capture gaps

An estimated 2,548 barrels of carbon dioxide leaked from an Exxon pipeline in Louisiana on 3 April, triggering alarm among residents

Goodbye Covanta, hello Reworld

ISRI Rebrands as The Recycled Materials Association

The U.S. just changed how it manages a tenth of its land

NJ reverses course, grants approval to a raft of solar projects

Welcome news for developers, advocates

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