World:
¶ “Scorching Heat And Canada Wildfires Could Be Tied To ‘Wavy, Blocky’ Jet Stream” • Scientists say an atmospheric pattern – the jet stream – is behind both the Canadian wildfires and the scorching heat in Texas, raising questions about how it shapes extreme weather events and whether its flow is being disrupted by climate change. [NBC News]
US jet stream on March 2, 2012 (NOAA, public domain)
¶ “China Is Set To Shatter Its Wind And Solar Target Five Years Early” • China is on track to double its wind and solar capacity, hitting its 2030 clean energy targets five years early, a Global Energy Monitor report found. It is expected to produce 1,200 GW of solar and wind power by 2025 if all projects are built and commissioned. [CNN]
¶ “The Mosquito Era: As The World Warms, These Insects Are Thriving – And Bringing Disease” • There aren’t many winners in the climate crisis, but scientists are pretty sure mosquitoes are one. Climate change means more frequent and more severe heat waves. Storms and floods leave pools of stagnant water to breed in. It’s boom time for mosquitoes. [CNN]
Mosquito on a poppy (Lucas van Oort, Unsplash)
¶ “Solar Provides 44% Of New Electricity Capacity In China In 2022” • Solar power growth is massive around the world, and nowhere a bigger piece of the pie than in Spain, but in terms of pure volume growth, China is absolutely in a league of its own. China installed 96.6 GW of solar capacity in 2022. That’s 42% of the world total of 231 GW. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Solar Provides 82% Of Power Capacity Growth In India In 2022!” • In 2022, India installed 13 GW (AC) of solar capacity. That is 27% more than it installed in 2021, which had been its best year ever. And India crushes probably everyone else in one way: Solar PV capacity growth accounted for 82% of the country’s total power capacity growth. [CleanTechnica]
Farm with solar PVs (VD Photography, Unsplash)
¶ “Canada Invests $50 Million in Indigenous-Led Wind Power in Saskatchewan” • Canada is pursuing a prosperous low-carbon future. The federal government is partnering with Indigenous communities, supporting self-determination and climate action to enable a clean, affordable, and reliable grid, powering homes, businesses, and communities. [Mirage News]
¶ “Scatec Reaches FID On 273-MW SA Solar” • Renewable energy company Scatec reached financial close for three Grootfontein solar projects in South Africa, totalling 273 MW. The solar plants will be the first Scatec assets in the country’s Western Cape province. Once operational the projects will deliver renewable energy under a 20-year PPA. [reNews]
Solar installation (Scatec image)
¶ “Russian Forces Begin To Flee Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant” • The Russian invaders have begun to gradually leave the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and some ZNPP employees, who have signed contracts with Rosatom, have also been told to leave the plant by 5 July, according to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. [Yahoo News]
US:
¶ “A Massive Storm Is Plowing Through The Midwest, Clearing Out Smoke With Hurricane-Force Wind Gusts” • A powerful thunderstorm complex raced across the Midwest, blowing through the harmful smoke from Canada’s wildfires and clearing the air in its wake. A wind gust of 88 mph in western Illinois, led to power outages. [CNN]
Shelf cloud (Timfrakes, public domain)
¶ “Climate Event El Niño Could Hit The Economy From Food Prices To Clothing Sales This Year” • El Niño generally has a wide-ranging impact on weather conditions for 9 to 12 months. But combined with climate change, El Niño this year could dent economic growth, potentially impacting everything from food prices to the winter clothing sales. [CNN]
¶ “Killer Heat Threatens 75 Million People In US South” • Today climate change has set a Danger Season record: 76 million people in the US, which is or 23% of the total population, are currently under extreme weather alerts, including alerts for heat, flooding, storms, and wildfire weather conditions. Almost all of those alerts are for extreme heat. [CleanTechnica]
Dallas (Erin Hervey, Unsplash)
¶ “Jennings Hails (Delaware) Supreme Court’s Monsanto Ruling” • The Delaware Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Attorney General Kathy Jennings’ case against Monsanto can proceed in Superior Court. Jennings first filed suit against Monsanto and two corporate spinoffs in September 2021, citing long-lasting damage to Delaware’s natural resources. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Disney And Netflix Join On New Clean Power Initiative” • Netflix and The Walt Disney Company launched the Clean Mobile Power Initiative with the support of RMI and its global climate tech accelerator, Third Derivative. The initiative aims to develop cost-competitive, zero-emissions mobile power at scale for the entertainment industry. [CleanTechnica]
Magic Kingdom (Jaime Creixems, Unsplash)
¶ “EPA Launches $7 Billion Grant Fund For Solar Power” • The EPA launched a $7 billion grant competition to increase solar power for low-income households. The program, the Solar for All competition, was announced in Waterbury, Vermont, by EPA Administrator Michael S Regan with US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. [Environment + Energy Leader]
¶ “Can Solar Power And Farming Coexist? This Partnership Between UW And Alliant Aims To Find A Way” • A solar farm is being developed by the University of Wisconsin and Alliant Energy on land UW owns southwest of Madison. The project has the aim of finding a better balance between green energy and agriculture. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Have a seriously jolly day.
geoharvey 