World:
¶ “Data, Waves, And Wind To Be Counted In Economies” • Wind and wave power are to be included in measuring countries’ economies, in changes approved by the UN in the first update since 2008. Assets like oilfields were already factored in. This update aims to capture areas that have grown since then, such as the cost of using up natural resources. [BBC]
Wind turbine (Vasilios Muselimis, Unsplash)
¶ “Mass Blackouts As Tropical Storm Nears Australian Coast” • More than 300,000 properties are without power as a tropical storm edges closer to Australia’s east coast, lashing the region with heavy rain. Storm Alfred has been downgraded from a cyclone to a tropical low, but local authorities have warned that the threat it poses is “not over.” [BBC]
¶ “Green Hydrogen Gets A Ceramic Catalyst Makeover” • The EU is supporting green hydrogen, as it aims to cut dependence on Russian gas. The supply of hydrogen is almost all extracted from natural gas or coal, but that will change as innovators aim to extract green hydrogen from biomass, wastewater, solid waste, and other sustainable feedstocks. [CleanTechnica]
Green hydrogen (Courtesy of Stargate Hydrogen)
¶ “Super Long EV Charging Network in Australia Now Open” • The Western Australia EV Network recently “opened.” The EV charging network is the longest in Australia, extending 7,000 km (4,350 miles). The network includes 110 charging points at 49 locations. Completion of the EV Network is considered to be a major milestone. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Freja Clears Hurdle For 2.5-GW Offshore Wind Farm” • Freja Offshore got a key permit for its proposed 2500-MW Mareld offshore wind farm in Sweden. The County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland granted a Natura 2000 permit for the project. Freja Offshore is a joint venture between Hexicon and Mainstream Renewable Power. [reNews]
Floating wind power (Hexicon image)
¶ “Tata Power Signs MOU To Develop 7 GW Of Renewable Energy Projects In Andhra Pradesh” • Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to jointly explore opportunities for the development of up to 7 GW of renewable energy projects, with or without storage systems. [pv magazine India]
¶ “CDWE Kicks Off 2025 Hai Long Construction Campaign” • CDWE kicked off the 2025 construction campaign for the 1-GW Hai Long offshore wind project in Taiwan. The first installation campaign of the project was completed in last November, with the jacket foundations installed at Hai Long 2. CDWE’s heavy lift vessel Green Jade did the work. [reNews]
Heavy lift vessel Green Jade (CDWE image)
¶ “Scientists Are Rising Up To Resist Trump Policies” • There are thousands of scientists from scores of countries around the world joining together in solidarity to oppose attempts by the Trump administration to enact what they see as anti-scientific measures that threaten public health and the environment around the world. [Inside Climate News]
¶ “Hexa Renewables And Marubeni Partner For 100 MW Of Solar In Japan” • Singapore-based Hexa Renewables and the Japanese conglomerate Marubeni entered into a partnership to develop up to 100 MW of solar in Japan. Marubeni said it plans to procure about 1,000 non-feed-in tariff solar plants by the end of 2028 for Hexa. [pv magazine International]
Solar system (Nuno Marques, Unsplash)
¶ “Chernobyl: Emergency Work Completed After Drone Strike On Shelter” • The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said work to fight smouldering fires in the insulation layers of Chernobyl’s giant shelter is complete, three weeks after it was struck by a drone. The International Atomic Energy Agency says radiation levels remained normal. [World Nuclear News]
US:
¶ “US Agency Says Congress Can’t Repeal California’s 2035 ZEV Mandate” • Under the Clean Air Act, the US EPA has historically granted California waivers to set stricter air pollution regulations on vehicles, power plants, and industry on its land. Trump may think he’s king, but US agencies say California’s right to set its own rules is locked in. [CleanTechnica]
Redondo Beach (Paul Hanaoka, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Apple Legend Woz Torches Tesla UI” • After Steve Wozniak’s presentation at a big tech conference, where he criticized Big Tech taking over our lives too much and tech billionaires for becoming too directly political, CNBC interviewed the Apple co-founder and got more comments from him on Tesla, Elon Musk, and other matters. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Churches In Louisiana Installing Solar + Storage As Hurricane Prep” • A coalition named Together New Orleans that includes about fifty churches as well as a number of other community institutions is developing a network of ten solar-plus-storage centers around New Orleans. The coalition is actually calling these hubs “lighthouses.” [CleanTechnica]
New Orleans church (Rojan Maharjan, Unsplash)
¶ “Trump’s Tariffs And New State Regulation Could Increase Power Costs In Texas” • The low costs of developing renewable energy allowed Texas to lead the US in clean energy deployment. But the cost of doing business with new tariffs and rules may stall the industry’s ability to churn out the cheap power, according to developers and experts. [Inside Climate News]
¶ “Offshore Wind Turbines Promise More Power” • Wind turbines located in the deep ocean off US shores could one day generate as much as 2.8 terawatts of energy. That amount is triple what the country needs to supply all of its current electric power needs, according to the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. [ACMA]
Have a conspicuously beautiful day.
geoharvey 