Science and Technology:
¶ “Terravis Energy Unveals a Heat Pump That Defies Freezing! Down to -57°F Below” • Terravis’ AetherLux heat pump system stands out from all others. This new groundbreaking system operates from -57°F to 131°F, eliminates defrost cycles, and paves the way for a new era in energy efficiency. It has no competition in its temperature range. [CleanTechnica]
Trane heat pump test (Watkins Heating & Cooling)
World:
¶ “Nearly Everyone Breathes Bad Air. This Is What You Can Do To Lower Your Risk” • While air quality varies dramatically from place to place and day to day, nearly the entire world – about 99% of the global population – is exposed to air at some point that doesn’t meet the strict standards set by the World Health Organization, the agency reported. [ABC News]
¶ “The BYD News Is Cool, But Not What Headlines Claim” • BYD is will put a new ADAS (advanced driver assist system), “God’s Eye,” into every single one of its new models by default. That means even the low-cost BYD Seagull (about $9,600) will have advanced driver-assist capabilities. But that does not mean is that BYDs will drive themselves. [CleanTechnica]
BYD Seagull production (Courtesy of BYD)
¶ “EVs Take 30.3% Share of The UK” • January saw plugin EVs take 30.3% share of the UK auto market, up from 23.0% year-on-year. Battery EVs grew volume by 42% YoY, while plugin hybrid EVs grew 5.5%. Plugin growth comes despite overall auto volume down 2.5% year-on-year, at 139,345 units. Volkswagen was the leading battery EV brand. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Transporting Cargo Across The Atlantic With Wind Power: Grain De Sail” • Some CleanTechnica readers have written in article comments that they wonder why we can’t go back to wind-dominant cargo shipping, at least in part. We have seen one company doing that. Now, Grain de Sail is another company to add to a short but growing list. [CleanTechnica]
Sailing cargo ship (Grain de Sail image)
¶ “Gold Fields Awards Contract For Another Wind Farm At Remote WA Gold Mine” • South African gold mining company Gold Fields has awarded a wind turbine supply contract to Chinese manufacturer Goldwind for a 42-MW wind farm to be built at its St Ives gold mine in Western Australia, just south of Kalgoorlie. [RenewEconomy]
¶ “Ampyr And Rockwool Sign 10-Year Solar PPA” • Ampyr Solar Europe and Rockwool have signed a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement for electric energy from a 96-MW solar park in the Netherlands. Under the deal, Ampyr will supply more than 50 GWh annually from its new Noordoostpolder solar facility in Flevoland, starting in 2026. [reNews]
Noordoostpolder solar facility (Ampyr image)
¶ “Biggest Coal Generator Has Zero Appetite For Nuclear In A Market Where Grid Flexibility Is King” • AGL Energy, Australia’s biggest baseload electricity generator, confirmed it has no plans to branch into nuclear power, but instead remains focused on replacing its coal generation fleet with assets underpinned by big investments in big batteries. [RenewEconomy]
US:
¶ “California’s Insurer For People Without Private Coverage Needs $1 Billion More For LA Fires Claims” • The FAIR Plan, California’s plan that provides insurance to homeowners who can’t get private coverage, needs $1 billion more to pay out claims related to the Los Angeles wildfires, according to the state Insurance Department. [ABC News]
Eaton Fire (USDA, public domain)
¶ “Trump EPA Guts Environmental Justice” • Environmental protection is hardly Donald Trump’s cup of tea, or Elon Musk’s for that matter. Unsurprisingly, the Trump EPA announced a gutting of its environmental justice arm today, but more focused on the smaller DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) arm, which was also gutted. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Trump Promised to ‘Drill, Baby, Drill.’ Big Oil Won’t Let Him” • “Drill, Baby, Drill” was supposed to create an abundance of oil, bringing its price down. But it seems the realities on the ground were far different from what Trump expected, and his promises of “unleashing America’s energy” will not go far. Big Oil will drill, but only if the price is right. [CleanTechnica]
Nodding donkey (David Thielen, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Automakers Lay Low And Watch The Trump Tide Ebb And Flow” • Automakers seem to have blocked their news feeds from headlines about EVs. A common sentiment is they will likely cut production capacity in 2025 as they face emissions targets and tariffs. Meanwhile, China’s EV dominance increases due to its edge in software and electrification. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Tariffs Could Spur 7% Rise In Onshore Wind Costs” • A report from Wood Mackenzie, ‘Trade war hits US onshore wind power’, warns that tariffs could threaten project viability and potentially slow growth in the wind industry. It finds that US proposed tariffs could increase US onshore wind turbine costs by 7% and overall project costs by 5%. [reNews]
Wind farm (Ørsted image)
¶ “Why The ‘Redheaded Stepchild’ Of Renewable Energy Is Poised To Rise Under Trump” • President Trump’s call to “drill, baby, drill” may be intended to benefit the Oil & Gas industry, but Secretary of Energy Chris Wright named geothermal energy, which uses underground heat to generate clean electricity and heat, as a prime area for R&D. [The Hill]
¶ “Louisiana Lawmakers Look To Nuclear To Meet Energy Needs” • Louisiana’s two nuclear power plants support about 20% of the state’s energy demands. With the advent of data centers, AI, bitcoin mining, and other advancements in big tech, the energy needs are increasing and lawmakers seek to position the state as an energy leader. [WAFB]
Have a wholly enchanting day.
geoharvey 