Science and Technology:
¶ “TUM Examines Thirteen Residential Heating Sources And Finds A Winner: Heat Pumps” • Researchers at the Technical University of Munich found in a study that heat pumps are often the best choice for homeowners when finances and ecology are taken into account. The findings were published in the Journal of Building Engineering. [CleanTechnica]
Heat pump (Mitsubishi image)
World:
¶ “Subsidies Halved For Controversial Drax Power Station” • The government has agreed a new funding arrangement with the controversial wood-burning Drax power station that it says will cut subsidies in half. The power station, which once burned coal, now burns wood pellets, which is considered renewable. But emissions are unabated. [BBC]
¶ “The Unavoidable Demise Of The Western Car Industry In China” • The Chinese car market is about as large as the USA and EU markets combined. At first, Western and Japanese car makers dominated that market. However, as China’s own car makers gained the ability to build quality into their cars, buyers took to their products increasingly. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai (China News Service, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Intellihub Completes Installation Of Fifty EV Chargers On Power Poles” • Where can you charge your EV when you have no off-street parking? What is a simple cost-effective way to increase access to EV charging? Intellihub is one of several companies in Australia working to solve these problems with the innovative use of existing power poles. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Van Oord Installs Emissions-Cutting Tech On Nexus” • Van Oord is taking a next step to further reduce emissions on its fleet. Five selective catalytic reduction systems has been installed on cable-laying vessel Nexus by Damen Shipyards Group, one for each engine. SCR is an advanced emissions control technology that reduces NOₓ emissions. [reNews]
Nexus (Van Oord image)
¶ “Tidal And Wave Can Deliver £8 Billion Boost To Scotland” • Tidal stream and wave energy projects in the UK have potential to deliver more than £8 billion in economic benefits to the Scottish economy by 2050, according to a report published by the University of Edinburgh, The Future Economic Potential of Tidal Stream and Wave Energy in Scotland. [reNews]
¶ “Aker Wins BalWin 1&2 Foundations Deal” • Aker Solutions has won a deal to deliver the foundations for the 2-GW BalWin1 and 2 HVDC converter stations in the German North Sea. The value of the contract from Spanish fabricator Dragados Offshore is between €130 million and €216 million. At its peak, the project will employ over 500 people. [reNews]
Converter station (Aker image)
¶ “Port And Energy Firm Team Up On Wind Farms” • Portland Port and a renewable energy firm have agreed to work together on plans to build a wind farm off the Devon and Dorset coast. Norwegian firm Source Galileo, claims the PortWind project, with 132 turbines, would be able to produce enough electricity for over three million homes. [BBC]
¶ “Partners Plan Floating Solar Projects In Australia” • Renewable energy engineering company Canopy Power and Ocean Sun partnered to bring new floating solar technology to Australia. Ocean Sun’s patented circular floating solar system has a 70 meter buoyancy ring covered by a reinforced membrane to support solar modules. [pv magazine International]
Floating solar project (Ocean Sun image)
¶ “By 2030, India Wants To Add 500 GW Renewable Energy Capacity: PM Modi” • India is set to add 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his virtual address at Indian Energy Week 2025. He emphasized that the next two decades would be crucial for the goal of developing India. [Business Standard]
US:
¶ “Utah’s Clean Solar Energy And Storage Boom” • There has been a boom in solar power production in Utah. What’s driving it? Meta’s (Facebook’s) huge data processing center is one thing. Meta has guaranteed powering its data centers entirely with renewable energy, and a massive new green energy project is nearly ready to go online. [CleanTechnica]
Arches National Park (Moriah Wolfe, Unsplash)
¶ “Bovine Methane Emissions Solution Spearheaded By US Firm” • Methane emissions from livestock make up a significant contribution to global warming. Nevada-based startup CH4 Global has been pursuing a seaweed-based solution for reducing methane emissions from livestock, and it is launching its first scale-up at a facility Australia. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Hawaiian Electric Surges To 36% Renewable Energy On Grids” • Boosted by new utility-scale and rooftop solar capacity in 2024, utility Hawaiian Electric achieved a 36% consolidated Renewable Portfolio Standard, accelerating progress toward the 2030 RPS milestone of 40%. The RPS increased by three percentage points from 2023. [Maui Now]
Solar power in Hawaii (Reegan Moen, US DOE)
¶ “EDP Renewables Signs Virtual Power Purchase Agreement With Microsoft” • EDP Renewables North America said it has delivered three utility-scale solar projects and signed a long-term virtual power purchase agreement with tech giant Microsoft. The projects generate about 400 MW, out of which Microsoft will purchase about 389 MW. [Yahoo Finance]
¶ “Environmentalists Raise Concerns, But Utah Nuclear Power Bills Advancing” • Members of the Healthy Environmental Alliance for Utah and the Sierra Club came to lobby lawmakers against bills dramatically expanding nuclear power in the state. It has been a top priority of Governor Spencer Cox and House and Senate leadership. [www.newsbreak.com]
Have an excitingly creative day.
geoharvey 
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