California celebrates wins during ‘very good climate week’

CalPortland Co. has created a new carbon reduction team that will work at the Jurupa Valley plant and focus on research and development for a decarbonization project implementation. Hamed Maraghechi, the company’s vice-president of research and Development and Hartmut Riess, vice-president of carbon reduction implementation, will lead the team, with a goal of completing projects netting innovative carbon reduction for the cement and concrete industries.

“CalPortland has made an unwavering commitment to decarbonizing cement production through the research of carbon reduction opportunities,” CalPortland CEO Allen Hamblen said in a statement. “By creating a team strategically focused on science-based strategies, we will achieve significant carbon reduction and surpass our sustainability goals.”

The company is also recognized for developing innovative technology to cut emissions by capturing the carbon dioxide from when the cement is made and using it to make more cement.

It’s an announcement, California officials noted during “a very good climate week” recognizing the significance of several projects, including:

• $75 million for clean water innovation. California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is pioneering cutting-edge technologies to produce more clean water, everything from wastewater recycling to desalination to water efficiency. The U.S. Department of Energy announced $75 million to continue these innovations, on top of $2.5 million the state invested in this program.
• Leading the country in solar power. A new report showed that California is a solarsuperpower, leading the nation with 68,816 gigawatt-hours of electricity produced by the sun – a 9% increase from the previous year. And, the state’s grid broke a record for solar generation, with 17,170 megawatts on Wednesday afternoon; the next day another record was set by the grid, with 86% of demand being served by solar generation.
• First EV freight truck crosses the U.S.-Mexico border. New EV charging infrastructure, which was funded by a California climate grant, and a partnership between SDG&E and Bali Express has resulted in a significant milestone in binational relations and clean energy – the first of many EV freight trucks to transport goods between the United States and Mexico.