Science and Technology:
¶ “High-Efficiency Energy Storage Device” • Researchers have created technology for high-performance supercapacitors. It could mean better, faster, and more stable energy supplies, especially where consistent power is hard to come by. A nickle foam improves both how much energy can be stored and how quickly it can be delivered. [AOL.com]
Theoretical supercapacitor (Elcap, public domain)
¶ “Longi Achieves 34.85% Efficiency For Two-Terminal Tandem Perovskite Solar Cell” • Chinese solar module maker Longi said it hit a power conversion efficiency of 34.85% for a two-terminal tandem perovskite solar cell. The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory certified the result, which represents a world record for the typology. [pv magazine International]
World:
¶ “How Climate Change Could Affect Arsenic In Rice” • Rice is a staple food for over half of the global population. It is consumed on a daily basis by more people than either wheat or maize. So it is with some concern that scientists have unveiled a finding: As carbon emissions rise and the Earth continues to warm, the levels of arsenic in rice rise also. [BBC]
Paddy (Prahlad Inala, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Project To Suck Carbon Out Of Sea Begins In UK” • A project to suck carbon out of the sea has started operating on England’s south coast. The small pilot scheme, SeaCURE, is funded by the UK government, as it searches for technologies that fight climate change. SeaCure is testing whether it is more efficient to pull CO₂ from the sea as opposed to the air. [BBC]
¶ “Endangered Sea Turtle Populations Show Signs Of Recovery In Much Of The World: Survey” • Endangered sea turtles show signs of recovery in a majority of places where they’re found, a survey shows. It looked at 48 populations of sea turtles around the world and measured the impacts of threats such as hunting, pollution, development, and climate change. [ABC News]
Sea turtle (Wexor Tmg, Unsplash)
¶ “How Broadband Over Power Lines Can Support Electrical Grids” • Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) is a technology that enables high-speed data communication over existing electric lines. At Corinex, field-proven BPL-based solutions provide high data rate, edge computing capabilities, and load balancing in real time on low voltage grid lines. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “World Bank Approves $110 Million For Caribbean Nations’ Renewable Energy” • To improve both energy costs and climate resilience, the World Bank approved the Caribbean Resilient Renewable Energy Infrastructure Investment Facility. It aims to speed up clean energy in Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. [Caribbean National Weekly]
Grenada (georama, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
¶ “Solar Farm That Will Power 11,000 Homes Approved” • A solar farm that will generate enough energy to supply annual needs of about 11,000 homes was allowed when developers won an appeal. The company may now build the 30-MW PV system at Manor Farm. The planning inspector has said the “weight of beneficial considerations” meant it should go ahead. [BBC]
China:
¶ “What Global Investors Must Know About China In 2025” • The world is in the middle of a structural reset. Global capital can no longer pretend geopolitics, climate, and industrial policy are background noise. Jefferies investment bank is hosting an event with a lineup of experts who bring unusually grounded insight into China’s role. [CleanTechnica]
Great Wall (William Olivieri, Unsplash)
¶ “China Walks Away: US LNG Expansion Plans Unravel As Trade War Escalates” • China has just suspended all LNG imports from the United States. No warning, no phasedown, apparently just a state directive that Chinese buyers, including the national oil companies, were no longer to sign, lift, or receive US liquefied natural gas. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “China Bans Deceptive Autonomous Driving Claims” • After a particularly bad accident, in which three women in a car with autonomous driving were killed in a fire, China will now ban car manufacturers from using the phrases “intelligent driving” and “autonomous driving” when they advertise computerized driver assistance functions. [CleanTechnica]
Ship at anchor (Ian Simmonds, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “Kia EV4 And Subaru Trailseeker – Two New EVs Coming Soon To The US” • Two new EVs will debut in the US at the New York Auto Show this year. One of them is from Kia, which announced it will bring the Kia EV4 to America next year. It is expected to start at around $37,000 before incentives, about $5,000 less than the Tesla Model 3. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “There Is More To Equinor Than The Empire Wind Offshore Wind Project” • Interior Secretary Doug Burgum really stepped in it when he ordered Equinor to stop work at its Empire Wind offshore wind project. The project had been greenlit by the first Trump administration, but the real issue is damage Burgum did to a leading US natural gas producer. [CleanTechnica]
Penn Station Reconstruction Project (Courtesy of MTA)
¶ “The Road To Renewable Energy Continues On, Even Against The Political Tide” • If you worry that the US road to renewable energy will halt under the Trump administration, you do so with reason. But there is also hope. A series of new analyses indicate that the US renewable energy transition will slow down, but it has a force too strong to stop. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Puebloans Lobby For Renewable Energy Instead Of Nuclear At Comanche 3 Site” • Several Pueblo County residents spoke at a Colorado PUC hearing to advocate replacing Xcel’s Comanche 3 coal plant with renewable energy. The idea to have a renewable energy park originated at Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan think tank specializing in climate policy. [Pueblo Chieftain]
Have a radically uncomplicated day.
geoharvey 