World:
¶ “Three Tropical Cyclones Are Swirling In The South Pacific” • There are three tropical cyclones in the South Pacific. Scientists say this is very unusual. Tropical cyclones Rae, Seru and Alfred are all churning as the region is in the peak of a season that starts in November and ends in April. Scientists say there is extremely active weather for this time of year. [ABC News]
Three South Pacific cyclones (NOAA-21, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Half Of Homes Need Heat Pump By 2040” • Four in five cars should be EVs and half of homes should have heat pumps within fifteen years, say the Climate Change Committee, government’s independent climate advisers. By law the UK must reach ‘net zero,’ no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, by 2050. [BBC]
¶ “Bad News For Oil: Digital Twin Optimizes Wind Power To Decarbonize Cargo Ships” • The global cargo shipping industry has been looking at wind power to help push dirty bunker fuel oil out of the way. The question is how much fuel could be offset by equipping a ship with wind devices. An AI-enabled digital twin has the answers. [CleanTechnica]
Wind power on a cargo ship (Courtesy of Norsepower)
¶ “BP Set To Cut Renewable Investment And Boost Oil And Gas Production” • BP is set to reduce renewable energy investments so it can focus on increasing oil and gas production, according to reports. US President Donald Trump’s “drill baby drill” ethos has placed a renewed focus on fossil fuel and a move away from low carbon projects. [MSN]
¶ “CIP Swoops To Acquire 480-MW Morecambe” • Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has signed a deal to acquire the proposed 480-MW Morecambe offshore wind farm off north-west England from Cobra and Flotation Energy. The financial terms have not been disclosed. Closing of the transaction will follow customary approvals and conditions being met. [reNews]
Offshore installation (BOWL image)
¶ “Tata Power And Assam Government Sign MOU To Develop Renewable Energy Projects” • Tata Power signed a memorandum of understanding with the Assam government backing renewable energy and sustainable development. Over the next five years, the company will support up to 5,000 MW of renewable energy projects with a $344 million investment. [Asian Power]
¶ “Greening To Build Uniper PV Project” • Greening has been awarded an EPC contract to develop a solar park in the ash dump of the former Wilhelmshaven thermal power plant, owned by Uniper, in the federal state of Lower Saxony. The project will have an installed capacity of 17 MW and will house more than 28,500 solar modules. [reNews]
Solar farm (Greening image)
¶ “$5,000 Battery Rebate In WA: How Labor’s Plan Could Power Your Home And Cut Energy Costs” • Western Australia’s Labor government has pledged a substantial $5,000 rebate for home battery installations. This initiative aims to empower households to store excess solar energy, reduce electricity bills, and move toward a greener future. [Energy Matters]
¶ “Sonnedix Acquires Two Solar-BESS Projects” • Sonnedix has acquired two renewable energy projects in Portugal, taking its total capacity in the country to almost 500 MW. The two ready-to-build solar and battery energy storage projects will generate nearly 120 GWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of powering almost 40,000 households. [reNews]
Renewable energy (Sonnedix image)
¶ “New Report Skewers Coalition’s Contentious Nuclear Plan” • A federal parliamentary inquiry issued a report on deployment of nuclear power in Australia. It found that nuclear power would be far more expensive than shifting to mostly renewable energy. And delivering nuclear generation before the mid-2040s will be extremely challenging. [The Conversation]
US:
¶ “Electric Trucks Launched Into 2025 With A Bang” • The outlook for sales of electric passenger cars in 2025 looks pretty good considering the circumstances. The picture for electric trucks is more complicated, but the movement to electrify fleets has already gathered a head of steam that could help it outlast temporary setbacks. [CleanTechnica]
Electric truck (Courtesy of California Energy Commission)
¶ “Texas Pipeline Company’s $300 Million Lawsuit Against Greenpeace Heads To Trial” • A lawsuit of a Texas pipeline firm, which is seeking potentially hundreds of millions of dollars from Greenpeace, was set to advance with opening statements in a trial the environmental organization calls an effort to silence critics of the oil industry. [ABC News]
¶ “Planned Retirements Of US Coal-Fired Electric-Generating Capacity To Increase In 2025” • Electricity generators plan to retire 12.3 GW of capacity in 2025, a 65% increase in retirements from 2024. Last year, 7.5 GW was retired from the US grid, the least generation retired since 2011. Coal-burning makes up 66% of planned retirements. [CleanTechnica]
Retirements (US Energy Information Administration image)
¶ “Companies Seek Relief From Coal Clean-Up Rules” • Now that fossil fuel interests have hijacked all three branches of the US government, twelve utility companies want the EPA to relieve them of their obligation to prevent coal ash from contaminating groundwater. They sent a letter to Lee Zeldin, exhorting him to take “immediate action” on the matter. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US PV Firm Picks Up 121 MW Of Contracts” • US construction company Louth Callan Renewables continued its geographical expansion into the Midwest with the recent awarding of 121 MW of solar contracts for three projects in Illinois. The planning, construction, and development phases of these solar projects will create over 400 jobs. [reNews]
Have a generally goofy day.
geoharvey 