| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Generate | | By Ben Geman and Andrew Freedman · Sep 01, 2022 | | 🥞 Good morning! Today's newsletter, edited by Carlos Cunha, has a Smart Brevity count of 1,197 words, 4.5 minutes. 🛢️G7 finance ministers will discuss proposals tomorrow to cap Russian oil prices in a move to cut Kremlin revenues, the White House said. Go deeper 🎶 On this date in 1981 Hall & Oates released the album "Private Eyes," which provides today's intro tune... | | | | | | 1 big thing: Record-setting Western heat |  | | | Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios | | | | A sprawling heat dome is causing the most intense, longest-lasting heat wave of the summer in parts of the West, Andrew writes. The big picture: This heat wave will be a record-breaking event lasting well into next week in California and surrounding states. - It brings with it serious public health dangers, electric grid challenges and wildfire risks, officials warn.
- Research shows heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense due to human-caused global warming.
In California, excessive heat warnings, the most urgent hot weather alert in the arsenal of the National Weather Service's (NWS), are in effect from San Diego all the way north to Redding through at least Tuesday. - In Los Angeles, which could hit 105°F Sunday, the city has opened cooling shelters for those without access to air conditioning.
- Nighttime lows across the heat wave region are forecast to set records of their own, which will deprive people of the opportunity to cool down, raising the risk of heat-related illness.
By the numbers: The Sacramento Valley region will bake through the weekend and into midweek, with highs at or above 105 to 110°F. The heat will make for unsafe conditions for outdoor labor. - Death Valley, California, could make a run at its September high temperature record of 124°F, and possibly even reach 126°F, Friday through the weekend, the NWS predicts.
- If the latter figure is reached, it would tie the hottest temperature recorded on Earth during the month of September.
Threat level: The NWS forecast office in Sacramento is rating the heat risk level as "very high," its top category for the Sunday through Tuesday period. The intrigue: California ISO, which operates California's electricity grid, is warning that energy demand could set a record for the year during this extreme heat event. - Cal ISO began issuing Flex Alerts yesterday and anticipates continuing to do so between 4pm and 9pm local time throughout the event.
- "The top three conservation actions are to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights," California ISO stated.
Between the lines: The mention of car charging a week after California passed regulations to stop selling gasoline-powered cars beyond 2035 stirred ridicule on social media yesterday, particularly from critics of the state's new policies. - The heat and drought in nearby states may limit the amount of power California can import to supplement its own supplies.
Read more |     | | | | | | 2. A key nuclear plant may stay open |  | | | Illustration: Rebecca Zisser / Axios | | | | California's lawmakers voted overnight to extend the life of Diablo Canyon, the state's last operating nuclear power plant, Ben writes. Driving the news: The endorsement of Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan means the plant may keep running until 2030, five years beyond the previously planned shut down. Why it matters: Policymakers in multiple countries are rethinking nuclear phase-outs as they grapple with climate change and strained power grids. Yes, but: AP reports that "uncertainties remain" with the effort, noting Pacific Gas & Electric still needs permission from federal regulators to keep it running. - The company will also seek to tap a $6 billion program in the bipartisan infrastructure law to keep nuclear plants open, they report.
| | | | | | | | 3. 🏃🏽♀️Catch up fast on tech finance | | ⬇️ Corporate renewable power purchase deals are slated for their first down year since 2016, BloombergNEF said in a new report, Ben writes. - The big picture: The research firm cited global supply chain bottlenecks, higher market prices worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and inflation.
- Why it matters: Clean power procurement deals by big companies are an important driver of solar, wind and other climate-friendly energy expansions.
- Zoom in: Corporate deals are down but still substantial, at 14.8 gigawatts worth of power purchase agreements (PPAs) through July. But that's down 24% compared to last year. Go deeper
⚡Uber and Moove, a Nigeria-based mobility finance startup, this morning announced a plan to deploy 10,000 electric vehicles in London, "available with no upfront costs or deposits." Bloomberg has more 🚚 Bosch is investing $200 million to produce fuel cell stacks for heavy trucks at its South Carolina facility, the industrial giant announced yesterday. Reuters has more 🌆 Populus, a transportation analytics startup that works with cities, landed $11 million in Series A funding led by Zero Infinity Partners and Climactic. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | NEW: Subscribe to Axios Codebook | | |  | | | | Decode key cybersecurity news and insights. Dive into breaking news and long-term trends in the field, from ransomware and phishing to privacy and data protection to national security and disinformation. Subscribe for free | | | | | | 4. Europe's gas market gets weirder |  Data: FactSet; Chart: Axios Visuals In the latest example of the seemingly absurd state of Europe's energy markets, natural gas prices plunged 30% this week — just as Russia officially cut off supplies, Matt Phillips writes in Axios Markets. Why it matters: The juxtaposition of cratering prices, just as Europe's biggest supplier of gas turns off the taps, underscores how Europe's market-based energy system has been fundamentally broken amid the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. State of play: Last week prices rose an astonishing 40%. As of now, they're still more than 10 times higher than they were at the start of 2021. - Russia says the latest supply cutoff is for maintenance purposes. Few believe it. The pipeline has been running at just 20% capacity of late.
What's next: European regulators say they're going to step in and take action, likely imposing some sort of price controls. | | | | | | | | 5. Global snapshot of global-warming sentiment |  Data: Pew Research Center; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals Growing shares of people in advanced economies see climate change as a "major threat" to their nations, a new Pew Research Center poll shows, Ben writes. The big picture: A median of 75% in 19 countries surveyed in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific hold that view. Some of the trend-line is captured above. - That puts it above the four other topics polled, including the spread of infectious diseases and online misinformation.
- Pew analysts say that in Europe, more people see climate as a "major threat" in many countries than at any time over the past decade.
Yes, but: "Concerns are relatively muted in the U.S., as they have been for years," the analysis notes. - "54% of people say climate change is a major threat, which is the lowest such rating among the five threats tested."
- That hides a huge partisan gulf, and, overall, the poll shows a far wider left-right divide in the U.S. than other nations.
| | | | | | | | 6. Get ready for "smart glass" |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | Among the new climate law's little-noticed yet potentially game-changing provisions: a big incentive for "smart glass," which can make buildings significantly more energy efficient, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick reports. Why it matters: Buildings account for 27% of annual global carbon dioxide emissions, by one estimate. Driving the news: The law includes a 30% smart glass tax credit. It stands to increase adoption by reducing the effective cost of retrofitting old buildings or using smart glass in new construction. How it works: Smart glass, also called "dynamic glass" or "electrochromic glass," has tint levels that can be adjusted on demand — think Transitions glasses, but for buildings. - Smart glass contains thin layers of metal oxide. When small amounts of electricity are applied to those layers, ions move between them, changing the tint level.
- When the summer sun is hitting the side of a building, the tint can be increased, allowing visible light to pass but blocking some solar radiation — thereby reducing incoming heat.
- Conversely, the tint can be decreased in colder seasons, allowing more natural heat to pass through.
Read the whole story | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | NEW: Subscribe to Axios Codebook | | | | | | | | Decode key cybersecurity news and insights. Dive into breaking news and long-term trends in the field, from ransomware and phishing to privacy and data protection to national security and disinformation. Subscribe for free | | | | 📬 Did a friend send you this newsletter? Welcome, please sign up. Thanks for reading and we'll see you back here tomorrow. |  | | Why stop here? Let's go Pro. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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