Opinion:
¶ “Why Is Europe So Obsessed With Green Hydrogen?” • The green hydrogen market has seen plenty of stumbles in its time. But interest runs high especially in Europe, where a domestic green hydrogen industry is emerging, and multiple wheels are in motion to establish points of entry from North Africa, North America, and Ukraine. [CleanTechnica]
Existing pipeline to be used for hydrogen (Hydrogen Ukraine)
¶ “Trump’s Energy Emergency Is A Gift To Fossil Fuel Firms. It’s Likely Headed To Court” • President Trump declared a national energy emergency as part of a flurry of executive orders. But the document is not an emergency for all forms of energy. It mostly supports the production of domestic fossil fuels. “We will drill, baby, drill,” Trump said. [NPR]
¶ “Solar Energy Has Already Won. Now The Real Work Begins To Bring Light To Those Left Behind” • In rural Latin America, a single solar panel can mean that a child studies by electric light rather than by candlelight, or a family with cows can keep their milk refrigerated, protecting their income and improving food security. [Welcome to the United Nations]
Studying by candle light (Nuril Ahsan, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Energy Efficient Data Centers Are Coming For Your Fossil Fuels” • The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory forecasts stormy weather unless something is done about the energy-sucking habits of data centers. NREL Researchers are exploring the use of underground thermal energy storage to reduce cooling needs. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “GM Signs Deal With Vianode For Synthetic Graphite Supply” • China controls that vast majority of battery grade graphite in the world. In the EU and the US, government policies strongly encourage battery supply chains that do not use materials or components sourced from China, and Norway’s Vianode thinks it has the answer. [CleanTechnica]
Vianode building (Vianode image)
¶ “UK Clears Path To Deliver Clean Energy Infrastructure” • The UK’s wind farms will be built quicker thanks to rule changes to stop blockers getting in the way of the Government’s Plan for Change. Major infrastructure needed for clean energy will no longer be held up in the courts, as the UK Government scraps excessive attempts to challenge decisions. [reNews]
¶ “Vestas Picks Up 384-MW Ukrainian Order” • Vestas received a 384-MW order for the second phase of DTEK’s Tyligulska project in Ukraine. This order adds to the 114-MW Tyligulska I order which Vestas received in March 2021 and successfully commissioned in the spring of 2023. For this order, Vestas will be supplying 64 wind turbines. [reNews]
Wind farm (Vestas image)
¶ “Europe Made More Electricity From Solar Than Coal In 2024” • The EU made more power from sunshine than coal last year. Solar PVs generated 11% of the EU’s electricity, but coal-burning plants generated 10%, according to data from climate thinktank Ember. And the role of fossil gas fell for the fifth year in a row to cover 16% of the electricity. [The Guardian]
¶ “Old King Coal Risks Leaving Australia ‘In The Dark’ As Aging Power Plants Grow Unreliable” • Next to avoiding rampant global warming and harnessing the cost benefits of clean technologies like ultra-cheap solar, one of the biggest motives for Australia’s shift to renewable energy is the age the remaining coal plants. They are getting really, really old. [RenewEconomy]
Vales Point Power Station (Webaware, public domain)
US:
¶ “Rain Headed To Fire-Ravaged Southern California Will Bring Threat Of Landslides” • Rain and mountain snow are expected in Southern California over the weekend. The much-anticipated rain could be headed to drought-stricken Southern California, but rainfall also brings the threat of landslides in the wake of the devastating LA fires. [ABC News]
¶ “California Fires Live Updates: New LA County Fire Explodes To Over 9,000 Acres” • The two largest fires, the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, remain active. One of the latest, the Hughes Fire in the Castaic area, now covers 9,400 acres, closed I5, and has prompted evacuation orders for tens of thousands of people. [ABC News]
After the Eaton Fire (Los Angeles County, public domain)
¶ “Toyota Whacked With Gigantic Fine For Diesel Emissions Cheating” • Toyota, that paragon of virtue who advertises its hybrid vehicles as “self charging electric cars,” has been caught with its hand in the diesel cheating cookie jar and slapped with the second largest civil and criminal fines in EPA history. They come to $1.6 billion in total. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Mt Washington Cog Railway Goes Electric!” • Mt Washington, while it is still preserving history, is also highlighting ongoing innovation. Engineering students from the University of New Hampshire are working alongside the Mt. Washington rail staff to develop an all-electric locomotive to replace its iconic steam engine. [CleanTechnica]
Mt Washington Cog Railway (Dnoahg, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Nickel And The Cleantech Revolution, Plus Alaska Energy Metals’ Role In US Energy Independence” • The EV revolution is in full swing, almost almost one out in four new vehicles had a plug in 2024. At the core of that revolution is batteries, and they need a handful of metals. Alaska Energy Metals Corporation, says that it can secure those metals. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Santee Cooper Seeks Proposals To Finish Nuclear Project That Soaked Ratepayers” • State-owned Santee Cooper said it will seek proposals to acquire and complete two nuclear reactors that were left unfinished when the power company walked away from the construction project eight years ago, leaving ratepayers on the hook amid rising costs and delays. [AOL.com]
Have a superbly wondrous day.
geoharvey 