Google’s Plan to Power Data Centers with Geothermal

Current conditions: Extreme flooding has displaced hundreds of people in Chile • Schools and tourist sites are closed across Greece due to dangerously high temperatures • A heat wave is settling over the Midwest and could last through next weekend.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Tesla shareholders vote on Musk’s pay package

We’ll know today whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk gets to keep his $56 billion pay package. The compensation deal was originally approved in 2018, but a Delaware court voided it earlier this year, saying it was “deeply flawed” and that shareholders weren’t made fully aware of its details. So the board is letting shareholders have their say once more. Remote voting closed at midnight last night. This morning Musk “ leaked ” the early vote results, claiming the resolution – along with a ballot measure to move the company from Delaware to Texas – was passing by a wide margin.

2. Google to buy geothermal energy from Nevada utility to power data centers

Google is teaming up with Nevada utility NV Energy Inc., and startup Fervo Energy, to power its data centers in the state with enhanced geothermal energy. The deal still needs to be approved by state regulators, but if it goes through, Fervo would develop a geothermal power plant to supply 115 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to NV Energy, which the utility would sell to Google. It represents “a new way that companies with very large emerging electricity loads and climate goals may get their power in regulated power markets,” Reuters explained . Fervo is already supplying Google with about 3.5 MW of power as part of a pilot program. Its enhanced geothermal process involves drilling down beneath the Earth’s surface to harness the constant heat that radiates there.

3. Fires ravage world’s largest tropical wetland

Brazil’s tropical wetlands are on fire. The Pantanal, in central-western Brazil, spans an area twice the size of Portugal, making it the world’s largest tropical wetland. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a refuge for wildlife including the world’s largest species of jaguar, approximately 10 million caiman crocodiles, giant anteaters, and many monkeys. But all those creatures are in danger. Thanks to climate change and the El Niño weather pattern, ongoing drought in the region has led to early-season wildfires of epic proportions. In the first five months of the year there have been more than 1,300 fires , a huge increase over the 127 fires reported in the same period last year. The “real” wildfire season doesn’t start until next month and won’t peak until August or September.

4. New report quantifies climate impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused $32 billion in climate damages and has a greenhouse gas footprint equivalent to releasing at least 175 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a new report published by Ukraine's environment ministry and several climate NGOs. This is more than the annual emissions of The Netherlands, and would be like putting 90 million new combustion engine vehicles on the road. The calculation includes “reconstruction” emissions that will be generated from rebuilding infrastructure, which requires carbon-intensive materials like steel and cement.

Initiative on GHG accounting of war

5. Ford is reportedly building a ‘secretive low-cost EV team’

Ford has reportedly been snapping up workers from its rivals to beef up its own EV talent. The company is building a “secretive low-cost EV team,” according to TechCrunch . The 300-person team includes around 50 former Rivian workers, 20 former Tesla employees, as well as people from Lucid Motors and Apple’s ill-fated EV project. Internally, Ford’s EV team is known as “Ford Advanced EV.” Doug Field, Ford’s chief EV, digital and design officer, told TechCrunch that “this team is leading the development of breakthrough EV products and technologies.”

THE KICKER

“Conservation shouldn’t just happen in ‘pristine’ and ‘untouched’ landscapes, but in areas where wildlife have used and adapted to the human-induced changes in habitats.” –Emilie Hardouin, a conservation geneticist at Bournemouth University in the U.K., advocates for better conservation efforts in cities.

Read more: This Is How You Die of Extreme Heat