Science and Technology:
¶ “‘Wind Theft’: The Mysterious Effect Plaguing Wind Farms” • As offshore wind farms are expanding around the world in the race to meet net zero climate targets, a worrying phenomenon is attracting growing attention: in some conditions, wind farms can “steal” each other’s wind. Simply put, one wind farm creates a wake, slowing the wind for another. [BBC]
Offshore wind farm (Brigitta Schneiter, Unsplash)
¶ “Critical Minerals Bottleneck Unblocked By Seaweed” • Metals, valuable minerals, and rare earths can be extracted from algae, and researchers have figured out how to make such extraction work on a commercial level. The tricky part is to find or develop the plant species that have a superior ability to concentrate the critical minerals. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “EVs Take 63.3% Share In Sweden” • April saw plugin EVs take 63.3% market share in Sweden, up from 56.9% year on year. This growth was primarily driven by a rise in battery EV volumes, while plugin hybrids also experienced an increase. Overall auto volume was 24,292 units, up some 11% YOY. The Volkswagen ID.7 was the best-selling BEV in April. [CleanTechnica]
Volkswagen ID.7 (Alexander Migl, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Geely EX5: Excitement, Curiosity, and Anxious Questions” • Every time a new car is released on to the Australian market, someone starts a Facebook group and the cycle repeats. The Geely EX5 is making a splash, and although only a few have been delivered, thousands are on order, and new customers are on the edge of their seats. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Vattenfall Starts Turbine Installation In Sweden” • Vattenfall is installing 21 wind turbines at its 140-MW Bruzaholm onshore wind farm in Sweden. The company is transporting the 83-metre-long turbine blades by special transport on the roads of southern Sweden. The large crane has arrived and is starting the main installation phase. [reNews]
Transporting a blade (Vattenfall image)
¶ “Three BayWa RE UK PV Sites Get Nod” • BayWa’s renewables division has received three planning permissions for solar farms in the UK. All three projects include habitat management plans, which are designed to improve biodiversity, helping wildlife by planting and maintenance of trees, hedgerows, grassland, and wildflower meadows. [reNews]
¶ “7.15 GW Of Renewables And Energy Storage Awarded Rights To Connect To NSW REZ” • The New South Wales government has awarded ten renewable energy projects with a combined 7.15 GW of energy generation and storage capacity access rights to connect to network infrastructure in what will be the state’s first renewable energy zone. [pv magazine Australia]
Solar array (Lightsource bp image)
¶ “Scottish Power Given £1.35 Billion To Build Cables Carrying Wind Power To England” • Scottish Power is being loaned £1.35 billion to upgrade the power grid between Scotland and England. The loan from the UK’s National Wealth Fund and several banks will help pay for offshore cabling projects carrying electricity from wind farms in Scotland to England. [STV News]
US:
¶ “Why It Feels Like Allergy Season Is Getting Longer And More Severe” • Research shows that allergy seasons may be hitting people harder by starting earlier, lasting longer, and creating more pollen than they did 30 years ago, according to a report from the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America. As pollen increases, so does hay fever. [ABC News]
Bee collecting pollen (Jenna Lee, Unsplash)
¶ “Milwaukee Struggles Through Growing Lead Crisis – With Federal Help Nowhere To Be Found” • Milwaukee is in a lead crisis that began late last year, when a young student’s high blood lead levels were traced back to the student’s school. The federal government won’t help. Health and Human Services staff was cut by 10,000 to save money. [ABC News]
¶ “EvoLectric Repowers Medium-Duty Trucks To Keep Costs Down & Air Quality Up” • EvoLectric, a company based in California, has developed a business model in which they take class 3, 4, and 5 Isuzu N-series trucks, strip out the existing diesel powertrains, and replace them with an upgraded battery-electric powertrain. [CleanTechnica]
EvoLectric electric truck (From the EvoLectric website)
¶ “Waymo Scaling Up With US Manufacturing And Partnering With Uber” • Waymo announced that it is providing more than 250,000 paid robotaxi trips per week, in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. But that’s going to increase a lot soon. Waymo will be launching its robotaxi services in Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, DC. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “EDPR Inaugurates 200-MW US PV Project” • EDP Renewables North America inaugurated its 200-MW Scarlet 2 Solar Energy Park, in Fresno County, California. The project follows EDPR NA’s Scarlet 1 Solar Energy Park, which has 200 MW of solar and a 40-MW, 160-MWh of battery system that achieved commercial operation in 2024. [reNews]
Solar array (EDPR image)
¶ “Utilities’ Efforts To Undermine Rooftop Solar Meet Stiff Opposition” • Virginia’s investor-owned utilities thought 2025 would be the year they put an end to net metering, and with it, rooftop solar installers’ small competition with their monopoly. A proposal by APCo generated fierce opposition from advocates and solar installers. [Virginia Mercury]
¶ “Google Will Fund Three Nuclear Projects With Elementl Power” • A nuclear developer said it has a deal with Google, with the technology company agreeing to commit funding for at least three projects, each with 600 MW of electric generating capacity. Google has thoughts to build more, with a possible goal of 10 GW by 2035. [POWER Magazine]
Have a nicely relaxing day.
geoharvey 
Leave a comment