World:
¶ “China Begins Building World’s Largest Dam, Fuelling Fears In India” • China is building what will be the largest hydropower dam in the world. The project, in Tibetan territory, has India and Bangladesh concerned. It is criticised for its potential to impact millions of Indians and Bangladeshis living downriver, the local Tibetans, and the environment. [BBC]
Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (mayanming, CC BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “‘It’s A Lifesaver’: Making Solar Power Affordable In South Africa” • Despite recent improvements in South Africa’s power grid, outages persist. For fifteen years, the country has had “load-shedding” blackouts to ease pressure on its ageing infrastructure. The crisis prevents economic growth, destroys job, and threatens lives. Affordable solar power can be a savior. [BBC]
¶ “France’s Increase In Nuclear And Hydropower In 2024 Led To More Electricity Exports” • In 2024, France increased its cross-border electricity deliveries by 48%, from 70 TWh in 2023 to 103 TWh in 2024. The rise in French electricity generation reduced the country’s need for gross electricity imports, which fell by 50% in 2024. [CleanTechnica]
Please click on the image to enlarge it.
¶ “EV Share In China Is 53%! – June 2025 Sales Report” • June saw the continuation of the growth of the Chinese EV market, with plugins scoring over 1.1 million sales in June, out of 2.1 million in the overall market. The fastest growing technology was battery EVs, up 33% to over 660,000 units. There may be 10 million EVs sold in China this year. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Rezolv Secures €331 Million Financing For Vifor” • Rezolv Energy secured financing of up to €331 million to build the 269-MW second phase of its Vifor wind farm in Romania. The Actis-backed company has signed incremental project finance facilities for Phase 2, which will take the project in Buzău County to its full 461-MW capacity. [reNews]
Building a wind turbine base (Rezolv image)
¶ “EV Charging Stations in Manila to Be Made ‘Sustainable and Convenient'” • Charging technology company Evro signed an agreement with Shell Pilipinas for “improved EV charging experiences” in the Philippines. The Evro–Shell collaboration allows users to use Shell’s chargers and those of other networks through a single platform. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Engie Secures €90 Million Loan From EBRD” • The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is supporting the expansion of renewable energy in Romania with a €90 million loan to Engie. The EBRD’s financing will enable Engie Romania to develop renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of at least 250MW by 2028. [reNews]
Solar and wind (Engie image)
¶ “DP Energy To Develop 1.4-GW Oz Wind Farm” • Irish developer DP Energy is planning to build a 1,400-MW wind farm and 500-MW battery system in Queensland. It will have about 197 wind turbines with an installed capacity of up to 1.4 GW and will be supported by battery facilities of around 500 MW and 2,000 MWh. [reNews]
¶ “Negative Price Hours Rise In Europe” • Around 28% of the potential solar power generation in Germany occurred during periods of negative electricity prices from January to May, according to Enervis. The share is expected to continue to rise as battery storage deployment keeps lagging behind renewable energy growth. [pv magazine International]
Solar farm (ダモ リ, Unsplash)
¶ “UK Gives Final Go-Ahead To £38 Billion Nuclear Plant” • The government has given the final go-ahead for a £38 billion ($51.2 billiion) nuclear power plant in Suffolk. The Sizewell C project will be jointly funded by Canadian pension fund La Caisse, UK energy firm Centrica, and Amber Infrastructure. It will deliver enough electricity for six million homes. [MSN]
US:
¶ “NASA To Launch Two New Satellites To Help Forecast Solar Storms” • The northern lights have been captivating stargazers for generations. But the same charged particles from the Sun’s atmosphere responsible for this brilliant celestial display can also damage and destroy electrical and communications systems in large parts of the Earth. [ABC News]
TRACERS spacecraft (Millennium Space Systems
and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center)
¶ “Governor Greg Abbott Calls Special Legislative Session For Flood Emergency Planning” • Governor Greg Abbott has called a special session for the Texas legislature to discuss emergency procedures and early warning systems in the wake of the deadly flooding earlier this month. “We must ensure better preparation in the future,” Abbott said. [ABC News]
¶ “Texas Is Rolling In New Solar Power Plants” • Despite the current downwards spiral in energy policy, large solar power projects keep streaming into Texas, at least for the time being. The flood could turn into a trickle, and that’s up to the voters, but even if ratepayers are asleep at the wheel, leading corporate energy consumers are not. [CleanTechnica]
Solar power in Texas (Courtesy of Primergy)
¶ “Uber, Lucid, And Nuro Join Forces On Robotaxis” • Uber announced it intends to get back into robotaxis in collaboration with Lucid and Nuro. In a press release, Uber said it expects the first robotaxis using Lucid Gravity electric cars equipped with Level 4 self-driving technology from Nuro to begin operating in a major US city in 2026. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Solar Supply Chain Facing Critical Crossroads” • US solar industry faces an increasingly complex web of tariffs and policy restrictions that are fundamentally reshaping the global supply chains, a report from Wood Mackenzie has warned. China is dominating the market through regional subsidiaries despite diversification efforts. [reNews]
Have a totally copacetic day.
geoharvey 