World:
¶ “Low Carbon Farming ‘Essential’ For Climate Goals” • Low carbon farming practices are “essential” to meeting Northern Ireland’s climate goals, according to the Climate Change Committee. The CCC has recommended a 77% reduction in overall emissions by 2040 in its advice on Northern Ireland’s fourth carbon budget. [BBC]
Farm in Northern Ireland (Eric Jones, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
¶ “The Drought-Resistant ‘Zombie Plants’ That Come Back From The Dead” • To protect crops from rising droughts, scientists are looking to the genes of a small group of plants that can survive months of drought then regreen within hours. One hope is that genes can be transplanted into food crops. Another hope is that the transplant will not be necessary. [BBC]
¶ “Last Decade Was Earth’s Hottest Ever As CO₂ Levels Reach An 800,000-Year High” • In its annual State of the Climate report, the World Meteorological Organization revealed an increasingly warming world with oceans at record high temperatures, glaciers retreating at record speed, and sea levels rising. Atmospheric CO₂ levels are at an 800,000-year high. [ABC News]
Ocean (Silas Baisch, Unsplash)
¶ “Adani Green Energy Arm Commissions 250-MW Solar Power Project In Rajasthan” • Adani Green Energy Twenty Four, an Adani Green Energy subsidiary, commissioned a 250-MW solar power project in Rajasthan. With this plant, Adani Green’s total operational renewable generation capacity is 12,841.1 MW, the Adani group firm said. [MSN]
¶ “New Zealand Heads for 100% Renewables!” • According to the New Zealand Electricity Authority, “New Zealand is transitioning to a highly renewable electricity system.” New Zealand’s electric grid will be 100% renewable by 2040. The change will require more investment in new generating capacity and the retirement of thermal power plants. [CleanTechnica]
Waitaki Power Station (Courtesy of Meridian Energy)
¶ “February 2025 Sales Report: 50% Plugin Vehicle Market Share In China” • Plugin vehicles are all the rage in the Chinese auto market, even in a month that is one of the slowest of the year due to the Chinese New Year celebrations. Plugins scored 686,000 sales in a 1.39-million-unit overall market. So plugin vehicles hit a 50% market share! [CleanTechnica]
¶ “British Columbia Turns Its Back On Tesla And Musk” • Elon Musk is a cheerleader for Trump’s threats to annex Canada. He wrote on his social media platform X that Canada is “not a real country.” British Columbia responded by eliminating subsidies for Tesla products. Tesla is also no longer on the list of exhibitors at the Vancouver Auto Show. [CleanTechnica]
Sunset at Vancouver (Mike Benna, Unsplash)
¶ “Big Oil Going Green At Even Faster Pace” • China’s national oil companies are accelerating their transition toward clean energy practices, focusing on the efficient use of fossil fuels and the integration of oil, gas, and renewable energy resources, company executives and industry experts have said. China’s goal is to be carbon neutral in 2060. [China Daily]
¶ “Pacific Green Closes 250-MW Oz Battery Sale” • Pacific Green Technologies has reached financial close and completed the sale of a 250-MW, 500-MWh, battery energy storage system project in South Australia. Pacific Green will continue its involvement as construction manager, directing Gransolar and Trina Storage. It is to be operational in February of 2027. [reNews]
Battery Storage System (Pacific Green image)
¶ “Abastible Signs A Long-Term Renewable Energy PPA With Zelestra In Chile” • Abastible, a Chilean electricity provider, and Zelestra, a global renewable energy company, signed a long-term power purchase agreement for the sale of electricity from a 100% renewable source. The plant has 220 MW of solar PVs, along with a 1-GWh battery system. [Yahoo Finance]
¶ “Mirova And Qualitas Energy Start JV For 250 MW Of Italian Renewable” • Mirova and Qualitas Energy signed an agreement to establish Italian Renewable Platform, a joint venture dedicated to owning, developing, building, and operating up to 250 MW of renewable energy projects in the country. The portfolio consists of 33 solar projects. [reNews]
Large solar farm (Qualitas Energy image)
¶ “Trump Floats A US Takeover Of Ukraine’s Nuclear Plants” • Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelensky that the US could own and run Ukraine’s nuclear power plants as part of his latest bid to secure a ceasefire in Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. The offer comes as military chiefs prepared for talks in Britain to discuss planning for a peacekeeping force. [Yahoo]
¶ “More ‘Beautiful, Clean Coal’ Power Coming To US Thanks To America’s Ayatollah” • Coal accounts for about 15% of electric generation in the US, down from over 50% in 2000, according to the US Energy Information Administration. But the Trump administration wants its return. He calls it “beautiful, clean coal.” It is neither beautiful nor clean. [CleanTechnica]
Coal-burner (Jason Mavrommatis, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Startup Introduces New Climate Change Tool For Rural Electric Cooperatives” • Climate change is not going away. And the climate data startup Rhizome is among those who anticipate that rural electricity providers are particularly keen to embrace affordable solutions, given their sparse ratepayer base relative to long distribution lines. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Ten Electric Vehicles Beating Gas Competitors in California” • Tesla has about 50% of the EV sales in California, but there are several other electric cars that are performing exceptionally well in the Golden State. Let’s stroll through them here and see how they are doing. We will go in order, starting with the EVs with the highest volumes. [CleanTechnica]
Have a captivatingly lovely day.
geoharvey 
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