Opinion:
¶ “Taylor’s Nuclear Spin Is An Intense Form Of Greenwashing From A Party Hellbent On Fossil Fuels” • The Coalition’s plan to keep Australian coal and gas at their maximum levels over the coming decades has been offering a false, manufactured vision of nuclear power for the future. Honestly, it’s an intense form of greenwashing. [RenewEconomy]
Angus Taylor (Australian Government, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
World:
¶ “Scientists Plan To Use Plants To Save Italy’s Historic Mussel Farming Sea” • Decades of industrial pollution at Italy’s Mar Piccolo have brought mussel farming to its knees. The climate crisis made things worse with water temperatures at 31.5°C (89°F), which can be fatal to mussels. Can harnessing the power of plants bring back a traditional way of life? [BBC]
¶ “Hydrogen Versus Battery Buses: A European Transit Reality Check” • A number of European cities have had experience with hydrogen-powered buses. The great problem with hydrogen is how expensive and difficult to source green hydrogen is. But also, many cities find it far easier to increase the numbers of battery electric buses. [CleanTechnica]
Electric bus in Yorkshire (Joseph Mama, Unsplash)
¶ “China’s Solar Industry Absolutely Crushing It On Solar Conversion Efficiency” • Intentionally or not, the malevolently incompetent Commander-in-Chief who occupies the White House has all but guaranteed that China will continue to dominate the global solar industry, leaving the US behind in the dustbin of history. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “A Headache For Fossil Fuels: Liquid Air Energy Storage” • The UK startup Highview Power planned to bring its liquid air system to the US back in 2019, providing the kind of scaled-up and long duration energy storage needed to support more wind and solar power on the grid. Now Highview has headed back home where the grass is greener. [CleanTechnica]
Liquid air energy storage system (Courtesy of Highview Power)
¶ “Ofgem Backs Overhaul Of UK Grid Connections” • Ofgem has approved a package of major reforms to the UK grid connection process, enabling viable clean energy projects to connect more quickly and support the transition to net zero. The proposals, submitted in December 2024, were developed by a colaboration of the energy industry, government, and regulator. [reNews]
¶ “Iberdrola Secures European Investment Bank Green Loans” • The EIB has signed two green loans with Iberdrola totaling €108 million to improve the pumping capacity of the Valdecañas hydro complex, which includes the Torrejón and the Valdecañas power plants. The loans are from the bank itself and from the Regional Resilience Fund. [reNews]
Valdecañas hydroelectric complex (Iberdrola image)
¶ “RWE To Start Work On German Wind Farm” • RWE has been successful in a EEG tender for a 60-MW wind farm, which it will start building this month on recultivated areas of an opencast mine with the city of Bedburg, Germany. With the Bedburg 3 wind farm, RWE and Bedburg will operate a total of 156 MW of wind power in the city. [reNews]
¶ “Cubico Doubles Down On Queensland With Another Major Wind And Battery Project” • Despite the new Queensland LNP government’s about-face on renewable energy, developer Cubico is doubling down on the state with a proposal of another major wind and battery project. It is a 792-MW wind farm with 200 MWh of battery storage. [RenewEconomy]
Wind farm (Cubico Sustainable Developments Australia image)
¶ “Bringing Renewables To Mines In Western Australia” • South African mining company Gold Fields approved a renewables project at the St Ives mine in Western Australia, its largest to date. It will integrate 42 MW of wind power and 35 MW of solar power capacity, which is expected to cover 73% of the mine’s electricity needs and cut emissions by 50%. [Mining Technology]
US:
¶ “Tesla Model Y And Model 3 Continue To Dominate US EV Market – But …” • CleanTechnica just looked at overall EV sales in the US for the first quarter, comparing 2025 with the previous four years. Overall, the sales trend is great. Sales of fully EVs were up 200% from Q1 2021. While Tesla still accounts for 43% of the market, it saw its share decline. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Model Y (Michal Lauko, Unsplash)
¶ “Non-Tesla US EV Sales Up 472% Since 2021!” • US EV sales keep growing. Pure battery EV sales were up 200% in Q1 2025 from Q1 2021, up 66% from to Q1 2022, up 12% from Q1 2023, and up 11% from Q1 2024. Non-Tesla EVs powered the increases, however, as they were up 472% for the quarter from 2021, while Tesla sales fell. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Electrathon America Comes To Homestead-Miami Raceway” • Electrathon America provides participants hands-on ways to learn about STEM principles as they design and build an EV for competition. Each contestant starts the race with a the same amount of electrical energy, and the winner is the car that goes the farthest in one hour. [CleanTechnica]
Electrathon America racers (Courtesy of Florida Power & Light)
¶ “Enlight Reaches Financial Close On US PV Site” • Enlight Renewable Energy announced the financial close for its Quail Ranch project, near Albuquerque, as it secured $243 million in financing commitments. With 128 MW solar capacity and 400 MWh of battery storage, Quail Ranch is scheduled to be finished towards the end of 2025. [reNews]
¶ “Why Wind Power Is Booming In The US, Despite Trump’s Hatred” • President Donald Trump has a long-standing grudge against wind power. So it wasn’t surprising that when he took office in January, he promptly started to fight the wind industry. But despite the policy change, some wind developers say their business is still booming. [Fast Company]
Have a triumphantly affable day.
geoharvey 