World:
¶ “Sawfish Inspire Drive To Preserve Marine Life” • An aquarium announced it is expanding its work to protect the world’s marine life by entering into a partnership with a wildlife biobank. The Deep, in Hull, said the collaboration with Nature’s SAFE would help to preserve more marine and freshwater species such as the green sawfish. [BBC]
Green Sawfish (Courtesy of The Deep)
¶ “Canada’s Cities Deploying Electric Buses And Toying With Hydrogen” • The Canadian transition to electric buses is gaining momentum, as a number of cities adopt zero-emission vehicles to enhance sustainability in public transit. While hydrogen has often been getting the attention, what has really been happening is lots of electric buses. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “EU To Gift Weaker Climate Targets To Car Industry In Return For No Commitments” • The EU Commission will weaken the 2025 CO₂ target for carmakers by allowing them to comply over three years instead of one, President Ursula von der Leyen said. The measure still needs to be passed by EU governments and Members of European Parliament. [CleanTechnica]
Renault 5 EV (Image courtesy of Renault)
¶ “Record Year For Renewable PPAs Features Two Mega-Deals” • Corporate PPAs have directly contracted for almost 40% of capacity and supported projects that account for 70% of capacity installed. In other words, only 30% of the renewable energy capacity installed since 2017 has not been supported at some stage by a Corporate PPA. [RenewEconomy]
¶ “Half Of New EU City Buses Were Zero-Emission In 2024” • Of all new EU city buses, 49% were zero-emission in 2024, making city buses one of the early success stories of the European Green Deal. Sales exceeded T&E’s projection made last year, despite its assumption of exponential growth. This is due in part to quick uptake of fuel cell buses. [CleanTechnica]
Articulated bus of Warsaw’s MZA (MZA image)
¶ “China’s New Renewables Account For 86% Of New Power In 2024” • China’s newly installed renewable energy capacity was 86% of its total additions in 2024, the government said. The total installed capacity of renewable energy made up a record high of 56% of all of China’s capacity. Renewables installed so far reached a total of 1,889 GW. [Asian Business Review]
¶ “TotalEnergies Inaugurates 640-MW Offshore Wind Farm In Taiwan” • TotalEnergies and its partners have put the 640-MW Yunlin offshore wind farm in Taiwan into commission. The wind farm consists of 80 wind turbines, each with a 8-MW capacity. It will produce 2.4 TWh of renewable electricity per year, powering over 600,000 households. [reNews]
Yunlin offshore wind farm (TotalEnergies image)
¶ “Renewables Provided Over Half Of Electricity In February” • Renewable sources provided over half of Ireland’s electricity in February. Data from grid operator EirGrid showed that wind power alone accounted for just over 48% of all electricity used in Ireland. Including grid-scale solar and hydropower, renewables provided 54.5% of electricity in February. [RTE.ie]
¶ “Iberdrola Inks Italian Solar PPA” • Iberdrola and Italian retail group Pam Panorama signed a ten year solar power purchase agreement. The PPA will supply the retail operations of the Pam, Panorama, Pam local, and Pam City brands in Italy with electric energy. By the end of 2025, Iberdrola will have around 400 MW of capacity operating in Italy. [reNews]
Solar panels (Iberdrola image)
¶ “Northwest Europe Power Prices Plunge Below Zero On Strong Solar Output” • The strongest solar generation in Germany since September sent the power prices in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands to below zero for the early Monday afternoon, in yet another spate of negative prices that undermine investment in renewable energy capacity. [OilPrice.com]
¶ “Blackhillock BESS Uses Kraken Tech Platform” • Europe’s biggest operating Battery Energy Storage System uses Kraken’s smart operating system. The 200-MW, 400-MWh Blackhillock site in Moray, Scotland, owned by Zenobe, has gone live and is using the tech platform developed by Kraken Technologies, part of Octopus Energy Group. [reNews]
Blackhillock battery system (Kraken image)
¶ “Peter Dutton’s Nuclear Plan Could Blow Out Household Electricity Bills By Up To $600 A Year By 2030” • A report has torpedoed Peter Dutton’s claim that the Coalition’s nuclear plan for Australia would be 44% cheaper than Labor renewables plan, finding instead that it would inflate average consumer electricity bills by up to 41% by 2030. [RenewEconomy]
US:
¶ “The US Enters Its ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Era. Here’s What A Top Energy Leader Has To Say” • Some industry observers speculate that energy prices and other market forces may deter energy companies from increasing drilling, noting that the US has been the world’s top crude oil and liquefied natural gas producer for several years now. [The World Economic Forum]
Abandoned pump jack (Strange Happenings, Unsplash)
¶ “Tesla Sales Drop Could Put Emissions Credit Revenue At Risk, Too” • According to reporting by Politico reporter Jordyn Dahl, Tesla made a total of $2.76 billion in emissions credit revenue in 2024, over 50% more than the previous year. Tesla is paid by car makers who buy credits to hit emissions targets. As Tesla’s sales fall, the revenue is in question. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Demand Response Could Reduce The Burden Data Centers Put On Electrical Grids ” • Powering data centers is getting to be a significant issue in the US as the demand for electricity to run them increases dramatically. To cope, utility companies plan for new gas-fired plants and even nuclear power. Demand response is an alternative. [CleanTechnica]
Have an absolutely perfect day.
geoharvey 
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