World:
¶ “Plans Lodged For ‘Largest’ Floating Solar Farm” • Plans were submitted for what is described as the UK’s largest floating solar farm. Associated British Ports has plans to install 47,000 panels covering around a third of the available water area of Cavendish Dock in Barrow, Cumbria. The plant’s annual production would be equal to the needs of about 14,000 homes. [BBC]
Proposed solar farm (ABP image)
¶ “Solar Farm To Power 13,000 Homes Gets Go-Ahead” • A solar farm that will generate power for about 13,000 homes will go ahead despite a council previously refusing planning permission for it. Land at Burcot Farm in Oxfordshire, will be used for the 49.9-MW solar farm after the proposal, originally rejected, was successfully appealed. [BBC]
¶ “2,325 BYD Electric Bus Chassis Ordered For Use In India” • Indian electric bus manufacturer Olectra Greentech has ordered 2,325 electric bus chassis from BYD because it says the Blade battery from the Chinese company has earned a reputation for superior safety and performance. The Blade battery has passed rigorous safety tests. [CleanTechnica]
BYD buses (BYD image)
¶ “EVs Take 33.9% Share In The UK – Tesla Takes Two Of Top Three” • February’s auto market saw plugin EVs take 33.9% share in the UK, up from 24.8% year-on-year. BEVs grew in volume by 42% YOY, with PHEVs close to 20% growth. Overall auto volume was 84,054 units, almost flat YOY. The UK’s leading BEV brand in February was Tesla. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “President Makes Historic Move On Controversial Energy Sources” • In January, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a law to authorize offshore wind farms, Reuters reported. This could enable incentives to develop wind farms in Brazil’s territorial waters, where wind speeds can be stronger and more consistent than over land. [The Cool Down]
Lula da Silva (Partido dos Trabalhadores, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “The End Of Diesel: Europe’s Buses Are Going Fully Electric – Fast” • Electric buses are transforming the European public transportation system faster than many policymakers expected. In 2024, nearly half of all new city buses sold in the EU were battery-electric, a report from clean energy advocate Transport & Environment says. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “‘Bully’: Iran’s Khamenei Rejects Trump Demands For Nuclear Talks” • The US is not seeking negotiations with Iran but rather imposing demands on it, said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in response to US President Trump, who had announced that he had sent a letter to the Iranian leadership to initiate talks on a nuclear deal. [Al Jazeera]
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (khamenei.ir, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
US:
¶ “New Zinc Battery Delivers Three To Twelve Hours Of Utility-Scale Energy Storage” • Startup Eos Energy Enterprises is scaling up production of its new Z3 aqueous zinc battery, aiming to supply the booming energy storage market in Texas and other parts of the US. The zinc battery is a fire-safe alternative to the lithium-ion battery. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “The Great American Insurance Retreat: Climate Change, Uninsurable Homes, And The Future Of Real Estate” • The US insurance industry is in crisis. If you own a home or business in some parts of the country, your ability to get coverage (let alone afford it) may soon disappear entirely. And this isn’t some far-off projection. It’s happening now. [CleanTechnica]
Hurricane wreckage (NOAA image)
¶ “South Dakota Rejects Pipeline Proposal” • Summit Carbon Solutions plans to construct an $8.9 billion, 2,500-mile pipeline to carry CO₂ from the dozens of ethanol facilities in the Midwest to sites in North Dakota for injection deep underground. But to get to North Dakota, it has to go through South Dakota, which developed an aversion to CO₂. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Plan To Relaunch Michigan Nuclear Plant With New Reactors Sparks More Backlash” • Holtec International said it is to revive Palisades later this year, after it was shut down in 2022, and in five years, install the nation’s first small modular reactors. Critics warned the reactors would still have problems with radioactive waste and accident risks. [Kiowa County Press]
Have a marvelously rewarding day.
geoharvey 