World:
¶ “IEA Global EV Outlook 2025 Shows US Falling Behind On Electric Cars” • In it EV Global Outlook 2025 report, the IEA says that 20% of new cars sold worldwide in 2024 were electric, a definition that includes plug-in hybrids as well as battery-electric cars. And the US, which had been doing badly, is no longer even in the race. [CleanTechnica]
BYD ships (BYD image)
¶ “Powering the Future: A 30-Year Roadmap to Zero-Emission Port Operations” • European ports face an increasingly urgent mandate to reduce carbon emissions across their landside and waterside operations, driven not only by climate policies but also by local air quality concerns. The scale of the challenge is huge but manageable with good policies. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Great British Energy Bill Passes Parliament” • Legislation to establish Great British Energy passed through Parliament, setting the stage for a publicly-owned energy company to invest in clean power delivering energy security under the government’s plan for change. The Great British Energy Bill got legislative consent from all three devolved governments. [reNews]
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband (UK Government)
¶ “Why Modern Cities Are Embracing Trolleybuses Again” • The humble electric trolleybus, powered by overhead wires, had been favored for efficiency and lower emissions compared to diesel buses. Now it is enjoying an unexpected global revival, quietly returning to the spotlight in the relentless push for sustainable urban transit solutions. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Hollandse Kust Topside Set For North Sea Voyage” • Two weeks after the successful load out, the steel superstructure, or topside, for the Hollandse Kust West Beta platform will leave the port of Hoboken near Antwerp in the afternoon of Saturday, 17 May. The superstructure of the transformer platform weighs over 3,500 tonnes. [reNews]
Topside under way (TenneT image)
¶ “Pockets Of Naturally Occurring Hydrogen In The Earth’s Crust Could Be Important Source Of Clean Energy” • Scientists from the University of Oxford, Durham University, and the University of Toronto found that naturally occurring pockets of hydrogen in the Earth’s crust could be important sources of clean hydrogen. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ “CorPower To Build 5-MW Wave Project” • Wave energy developer CorPower Ocean has signed a berth agreement to build a 5-MW wave energy project at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. Scheduled for deployment in 2029, the 5-MW array is expected to become the UK’s largest wave energy project. [reNews]
Wave energy device (CorPower Ocean image)
¶ “India’s Storage-Backed Renewables To Reach Over 25 GW In Three Years” • The installed storage-backed renewable energy in India is projected to increase from almost nil to between 25 GW and 30 GW by 2028, according to Crisil Ratings. It will account for more than 20% of the total renewable energy capacity to be added over the three years. [Asian Power]
¶ “China’s CO₂ Emissions Have Started Falling – Is This Finally The Peak?” • China, the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, has seen a slight decline in those emissions over the past twelve months, even as power demand went up. This is an encouraging sign that the country’s massive investment in clean energy might have begun to displace fossil fuels. [New Scientist]
Renewable energy in China (w0zny, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Government Moves To Dismantle Power Sources Responsible For Nearly A Fifth Of Energy Production: ‘A Glimpse Into The Future'” • Spain gets 20% of its power from the seven nuclear reactors it plans to shut down within the decade. Solar panels, giant batteries, and wind turbines are being expedited to fill that gap over five years. [The Cool Down]
US:
¶ “Federal Court Rules Against Withholding Endangered Species Act Protections From Joshua Tree” • A federal court in California struck down a US Fish and Wildlife Service attempt to withhold Endangered Species Act protections for the Joshua tree. A FWS decision to not provide ESA protections for the Joshua tree is unlawful and sidesteps climate science. [ABC News]
Joshua trees (Cedric Letsch, Unsplash)
¶ “Eastern Arizona Wildfire Explodes Over 7,000 Acres Amid High Winds, Red Flag Conditions” • Crews in eastern Arizona continue to battle a wind-driven wildfire that had burned over 7,000 acres by Wednesday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The blaze was sparked Tuesday morning, and is at 0% containment amid high wind conditions. [ABC News]
¶ “GM, Ford Tease New Game Changing LMR EV Batteries” • General Motors and The Ford Motor Company are both over the moon about new lithium manganese-rich EV batteries, which GM is pitching as “a leap forward that will offer consumers EVs with an attractive combination of long range and low cost.” But Tesla is nowhere to be seen. [CleanTechnica]
Prototype LMR battery cell (Steve Fecht, General Motors)
¶ “Vermont Reverses Course On EV Sales Targets” • Phil Scott is the Republican governor of Vermont, a state known for maveric politicians. Vermonters take their obligations to sustainability and the environment seriously. But he signed an executive order to direct the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources to be in line with GOP goals. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “New Hampshire Budget Bill Would Defund State Renewable Energy Grant Program” • A sprawling budget bill working its way through the New Hampshire legislature includes some under-the-radar provisions that would redirect millions of dollars from a state renewable energy fund to the general budget and rebates for utility customers. [Canary Media]
Have an impressively facilitated day.
geoharvey 
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