World:
¶ “How Global Tourism Negatively Impacts Climate Change” • The carbon footprint from the travel industry is growing at rates never seen before. An increasing demand for international travel over the past decade has led to higher rates of carbon dioxide emissions every year, according to a paper published in Nature Communications. [ABC News]
Passenger jet (Tim Dennert, Unsplash)
¶ “China’s CATL And Stellantis To Jointly Build Electric Vehicle Battery Factory” • Chinese electric battery company CATL and automaker Stellantis will build a major battery factory in Spain, the partners announced. They said the plant will be in Zaragoza, and it will start producing lithium iron phosphate batteries by the end of 2026. [ABC News]
¶ “Italy Awards 1.5 GW For Agrivoltaics” • Italy just recently held its first ever tender for agrivoltaics, and it was big! The country awarded contracts for 1.5 GW of agrivoltaics solar projects within its borders. The tender was spread across 540 different projects, and it was oversubscribed. There were 643 bids totaling 1.7 GW of power capacity. [CleanTechnica]
Italy (Faith Crabtree, Unsplash)
¶ “Chinese EV Companies Are Getting A Warm Welcome In Mexico” • The New York Times reports that BYD, Chery, Geely, and SAIC are rushing to open dealerships in Mexico. Mexico City has some of the worst air pollution of any world city. When it gets really bad, some drivers are prohibited from operating their cars within city limits. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Zeekr Sales Increase 106% In November” • We saw XPENG sales increase 54% in November. We saw NIO sales increase 29%. We saw BYD sales increase 67% (with more than 500,000 sales in November). But Zeekr, a super young company, has got them all beat. Zeekr’s sales were 106% higher in November 2024 than they were in November 2023. [CleanTechnica]
Zeekr 007
¶ “EU Approves €2.6 Billion Estonian Aid For Offshore Wind” • The European Commission has approved a €2.6 billion Estonian scheme to support offshore wind energy to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy. The measure supports construction and operation of offshore wind farms in the areas determined by the Estonian Maritime Spatial Plan. [reNews]
¶ “SSEN Transmission Plans £22 Billion Grid Boost” • SSEN Transmission is planning to invest at least £22 billion in UK grid infrastructure over a five-year period from April 2026 to March 2031. The company, which is 75% owned by SSE plc, says the plans will support the creation of thousands of new jobs in the UK, and especially Scotland. [reNews]
Bringing a line ashore (SSEN Transmission image)
¶ “Two New Wind Farms In Victoria Start Generating Electricity” • Two new wind projects in Victoria have gone online, according to the government. The Ryan Corner Wind Farm has 52 turbines producing 218 MW, enough to power 140,000 homes. And with 23 turbines, the Hawkesdale Wind Farm can produce 97 MW to power 67,000 homes. [Asian Power]
US:
¶ “Dam Removal Revitalizes Salmon In Win For Native Tribes” • It’s only been a month since a project on the Klamath River in which four dams were removed. Now the salmon are returning. The dams impeded fish migration for almost a century, but since they came down, salmon are swimming up the river to spawn. It is a benefit to native tribes. [CleanTechnica]
Fish-friendly turbine (Andrew Baumgartner, US DOE)
¶ “Trump To Trample On USPS Electric Delivery Vehicle Contracts” • The transition team is considering cancelling the USPS contracts to electrify its delivery fleet, people familiar with the plans told Reuters. They claim the transition team is looking at ways to terminate the Postal Service’s contracts with Oshkosh Defense and Ford, among others. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Google Plans To Build Gigawatts Of Clean Power And Data Centers Together” • Big tech companies need huge amounts of clean energy for their rapidly growing data-center fleets while meeting climate goals. The grid can’t provide what they need. Google plans to spend $20 billion to build data centers close to solar, wind, and battery farms. [Canary Media]
Building a solar farm (Intersect Power)
¶ “Tesla Second Highest Selling Automaker In California” • EV sales trends in California are good, but not great. EV sales and EV market share continue to grow, but not at a very high pace for now. Tesla sales are clearly a big part of the market’s EV sales and they are down 12% in the state. Nevertheless, Tesla is the state’s second highest car seller. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Boston Doctors Prescribe Solar Energy” • The Boston Medical Center Health System has begun its Clean Power Prescription program to offer bill savings to patients who may struggle to pay for electricity during recovery. The pilot program enables the hospital’s providers to write patients prescriptions for renewable energy, reducing their bills. [pv magazine USA]
Rooftop solar system in Boston (NREL image)
¶ “Delaware Gives Onshore Nod For US Wind” • US Wind has received state permits to connect its offshore wind power to the regional electrical grid in Sussex County, Delaware. Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has approved three permit applications for the Maryland Offshore Wind project. [reNews]
¶ “Nuclear Wastewater Discharged Into Cape Cod Bay Could Linger A Month Or More” • A study conducted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution finds that any wastewater discharge allowed as part of the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station has a “high probability” of lingering in Cape Cod Bay for more than a month. [MSN]
Have an amazingly tranquil day.
geoharvey 
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