Opinion:
¶ “Elon Can’t Save Tesla By Leaving Washington” • With Tesla’s disastrous quarterly results, it’s pretty clear that the company is actually in trouble. With years of poor product decisions, the company’s strengths could only compensate for so much. Elon Musk now says he’s going to spend less time in Washington, and more time on Tesla It won’t be enough. [CleanTechnica]
X, a symbol of what once was (Fachrizal Maulana, Unsplash)
¶ “Remembering Chernobyl: Why Not Developing Wylfa B Is A No-Brainer” • April 26 2025 marks the 39th anniversary of the catastrophic explosion in the Chernobyl nuclear plant, now in Ukraine. The rain that fell in Wales after the explosion caused radioactive pollution, with effects on agriculture, even though we were 1,600 miles away. [Nation.Cymru]
Science and Technology:
¶ “New Flow Battery Aims Energy Storage Dagger At The Heart Of Fossil Fuels” • Next-level energy storage systems are starting to provide more space to store wind and solar energy for longer times. The California flow battery startup Quino Energy is in the mix, gearing up for the first ever commercial deployment of its organic, water-based system. [CleanTechnica]
Flow battery (Courtesy of Quino via CleanTechnica archive)
World:
¶ “Plugin Vehicle Market Share In China At 52%” • March signals the end of the low season in the Chinese EV market. Plugins scored almost a million units in the last month of the quarter (in a 1.9-million-unit overall market). They had a 39% growth rate, in a total market that grew 12% YOY. Sales of fuel-burning cars fell by 76,000 units. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Switzerland Unveils World’s First Operational Solar Railway Project” • Switzerland established the world’s first solar power plant installed directly on an active railway line. Developed by Swiss startup Sun-Ways, the project features removable solar PV panels laid between the rails, marking a significant advancement in renewable energy integration. [CleanTechnica]
Solar array between rails (Sun-Ways image)
¶ “A Third Of China’s Farms Are Sprayed By Drones, Marking Agricultural Revolution” • Drone spraying has not just reached scale. It has arguably become transformative and is reshaping the world’s farms. Nothing highlights this more vividly than DJI’s remarkable assertion: DJI agricultural drones now spray a third of all farmland in China. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “EnBW Installs First He Dreiht Turbine” • EnBW announced that the first of 64 wind turbines at its 960-MW He Dreiht wind farm in Germany is in place. This is the first time Vestas’ 15-MW wind turbine is being used in a commercial project. A single rotation of the rotor will be enough to supply four households with electricity for a day. [reNews]
Turbine installation (EnBW image)
¶ “Growth Of Solar Power In Dublin: A Sustainable Revolution” • Solar power is picking up steam in Dublin as the city is stepping up its climate action and sustainability. The Dublin City Council set goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 and being climate neutral by 2050, so Dublin is a renewable energy focal point. [Blue and Green Tomorrow]
US:
¶ “Big Tech’s Soaring Energy Demands Are Making Coal-Fired Power Plant Sites Attractive” • Coal-fired power plants, long an increasingly money-losing proposition in the US, are becoming more valuable now that the suddenly strong demand for electric power to run Big Tech’s cloud and AI applications has set off a race to find new energy sources. [ABC News]
Coal-fired power plant (Stephen Kong, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Drone Video Shows Wildfires At State Forest In Pennsylvania” • Two wildfires are burning at in the Michaux State Forest in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. At least 1,350 acres, including the Kings Gap Environmental Education Center and Pine Grove Furnace State Park, have been impacted. The heavy smoke from the wildfires may cause air quality alerts. [ABC News]
¶ “Slate Electric Pickup Truck Is The Anti-Cybertruck” • By every measure, Slate’s electric pickup truck is the exact opposite of the Cybertruck. It is light, affordable, and basic. Tesla’s Cybertruck is heavy, expensive, and loaded with technology. The Slate popped out of stealth mode this week, and so we know a lot more about it now than we did two weeks ago. [CleanTechnica]
Slate pickup (Slate image)
¶ “Trump Deep Sea Mining Order Violates Law, China Says” • Donald Trump signed a controversial executive order aimed at stepping up deep-sea mining polymetallic nodules in both US and international waters. The nodules are rich in such minerals as cobalt and rare earths. China condemned the move, which said it “violates” international law. [BBC]
¶ “RWE Is Ending US Offshore Operations” • RWE has ceased its US offshore wind operations, citing US regulatory uncertainty under the Trump administration. CEO Marcus Krebber will say RWE has stopped offshore activities “for the time being” in a speech to be delivered to shareholders at the company’s Annual General Meeting in Essen on 30 April. [reNews]
Marcus Krebber (RWE image)
¶ “Chugach Electric Customers Can Sign Up For Community Solar” • Chugach Electric, based in Anchorage, is launching its community solar program for customers this summer. Though solar energy typically saves consumers money in the long run, the initial cost of a solar system can be high. Community solar, a subscription service, avoids that. [Alaska’s News Source]
¶ “Proterra’s Innovative Battery Pack Optimised For Heavy-Duty Trucks” • Leading innovator in commercial vehicle electrification technology Proterra Powered LLC announced the debut of its H2-23 battery pack as part of the Company’s new Onyx Strata series, engineered for Class 8 trucks and similar commercial applications. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Have a surprisingly rewarding day.
geoharvey 