Science and Technology:
¶ “Geothermal Has A Moment In The Sun, But Black Swans Are Casting Shade” • Geothermal energy is touted as the renewable savior, generating clean, reliable, and essential baseload power. But globally, its growth has been modest at best. In the current wave of enthusiasm, it’s prudent to ask: will geothermal revival actually deliver? [CleanTechnica]
Geothermal plant in Iceland (Tommy Kwak, Unsplash, cropped)
World:
¶ “BMW Spots An EV Sales Opportunity As Tesla Tumbles” • BMW expects to continue growing its sales this year, including EV sales. The competition will be stiff as other automakers also ramp up their EV offerings, but BMW’s top brass dropped a hint that at least one other competitor will likely be sidelined. Now, who could that be? [CleanTechnica]
¶ “The Japanese Town Turning Cowpats Into Hydrogen Fuel” • Founded in 2015, a project on Hokkaido aims to convert local agricultural by-products into hydrogen. The manure and urine and collected from dairy farms and fed into a anaerobic digester. Bacteria use the waste to produce fertilizer and biogas, which is used to make hydrogen. [BBC]
Cows (Priscilla Du Preez, Unsplash)
¶ “The UK’s Solar Revolution Mapped, With 3,500 Projects In The Pipeline” • The UK is in a new era for solar power with nearly 3,500 solar farms being planned, new figures show. With the sharply falling cost of solar panels over the past decade and rapid increases in efficiency, solar is now the cheapest way to produce electricity in the UK. [The i Paper]
¶ “The Future Of Nigeria’s Energy Sector Remains Unclear” • President Donald Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright pledged to support fossil fuel development across Africa, which could encourage countries such as Nigeria to continue exploiting their oil and gas resources. Wright included coal, which he said would provide energy security. [OilPrice.com]
Oil processing facility (—=XEON=—, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Essex’s Revolutionary Pay-As-You-Use Solar Energy Program” • The county of Essex rolled out a program that changes how people use and pay for solar energy. A Pay As You Use scheme allows households to install solar panels and batteries without paying all the cost upfront. Users pay a fixed rate of 16.8p/kWh for what they use. [Microgrid Media]
¶ “India Strives For 500 GW Non-Fossil Power by 2030“ • India has been courting investment in its clean energy industry in an effort to shore up energy security and meet the nation’s lofty decarbonization goals. But a report reveals that while India has offered up record-breaking clean energy tenders, they have been met with weak demand. [OilPrice.com]
Renewable energy in India (Thomas Lloyd Group, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Russian-Occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Part Of Peace Talks, Trump Says” • The US and Ukraine discussed control of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as part of a potential peace deal, US President Donald Trump said. With six reactors, the Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. [The Kyiv Independent]
US:
¶ “Critics Warn Cuts At Agencies Overseeing US Dams Could Put Public Safety At Risk” • Trump administration workforce cuts at federal agencies overseeing US dams are threatening their ability to provide electricity, supply farmers with water, and protect communities from floods, employees and industry experts warn. Nearly 400 people have lost their jobs. [ABC News]
Dam (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)
¶ “Forty Tornadoes Leave 34 Dead In Cross-Country Storm System” • Millions of Americans were put on alert for a severe weather outbreak as long-track tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail went across the Midwest and South in a cross-country storm. Overall, at least 34 deaths have been recorded from the cross-country storm system. [ABC News]
¶ “New Agrivoltaic Tool Optimizes Solar Generation And Crop Production” • Disaster was inflicted on US farmers when trade wars came during Trump’s first term in office. Now America has empowered him to do it all over again. But farmers elsewhere around the globe are pouncing on abandoned US markets, with help from agrivoltaics. [CleanTechnica]
Solar farm with hay production (Tobi Kellner, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “JP Morgan Reduces Tesla Sales Forecast, Predicts Stock Will Fall To $120 Per Share” • JP Morgan issued a strongly negative prediction for Tesla. It said Q1 deliveries will be the lowest the company has seen in three years. It also thinks that the free fall Tesla stock still has a long way to go, potentially hitting $120 per share, about half its current price. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “More Than Seventy Agencies Participating In Training Drill Simulating Nuclear Power Plant Accident” • An exercise called Cobalt Magnet 2025 is underway in Michigan, according to the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management, and Homeland Security. Over 3,000 individuals from seventy US and Canadian agencies are participating in the project. [MSN]
Have an objectively outstanding day.
geoharvey 