World:
¶ “At Least 22 Killed In Protests Against Fuel Price Hikes In Angola” • Angola is one of Africa’s largest oil producers, but its refineries cannot meet domestic demand, so it imports oil and gasoline at high prices. At least 22 people were killed in protests sparked by the government’s decision to raise the price of fuel, the president’s office says. [Euronews]
President Lourenço (© Olaf Kosinsky, CC By-SA 3.0 DE, cropped)
¶ “The Ocean Cleanup And Kia Support Guatemala with An Initiative to Stop Plastic Pollution From Reaching the World’s Oceans ” • Kia, its partner The Ocean Cleanup, Guatemala’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and others have joined to stop one of the world’s largest plastic pollution flows from reaching the ocean. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Japan Assigns Two Sites For Upcoming Offshore Wind Auctions ” • Japan’s industry and land ministers designated Matsumae and Hiyama, areas off the island of Hokkaido, as promotion zones for upcoming offshore wind power auctions, aiming to bolster the country’s renewable energy goals. There is no auction timetable yet. [Offshore Engineer Magazine]
Hokkaido (Zion C, Unsplash)
¶ “EET Launches New Intelligent Plug-And-Play Storage System For Balcony Power Plants” • Efficient Energy Technology GmbH introduced an innovative energy storage system designed for the use and storage of solar energy, especially for balcony systems. SolMate 3 plugs directly into a standard socket and just operates, immediately. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ “DOE Moves To Power Last-Mile Homes, Schools With Solar” • The Philippine Department of Energy is ramping up efforts to reach full household electrification through microgrids and solar home systems, aligning with President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr’s directive in his 2025 State of the Nation Address. About 12,000 households are targeted. [powerphilippines.com]
President Marcos (Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs)
¶ “New Renewables Capacity Doubles In First Half” • China’s newly installed renewable capacity nearly doubled YOY for the first half of the year. New power generating capacity during the first six months reached 290 GW, with new solar installations rising 107.1% year-on-year to 210 GW, and new wind power installations up 98.9% to 50 GW. [China Daily]
¶ “A Battery Project At A Former Nuclear Facility To Stabilise German Grid” • German energy company EnBW announced a 400-MW, 800-MWh battery project at a former nuclear power plant site, feeding renewable power into the grid when it is needed. EnBW says the facility will be one of Germany’s largest storage projects. [Smart Energy International]
Closed nuclear site (Lothar Neumann, CC BY-SA 2.5, cropped)
¶ “IAEA Reports Nuclear Sites Stable After Earthquake Off The Coast Of Russia” • The UN nuclear watchdog reported nuclear conditions remained stable at facilities along Japan’s Pacific coast, after a powerful earthquake off Russia’s east coast. Conditions are also stable at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. [Xinhua]
US:
¶ “Why EVs Are Better In Hurricanes” • A Kia salesperson noted recently that EVs are much better than gas cars when hurricanes hit. CleanTechnica has dealt with this before, but we should return to the topic as we go into hurricane season. Here we go into it in four parts: Charging Both Before And After a Storm, Evacuation, Backup Power, and Flooding. [CleanTechnica]
Bidirectional EV charging (Courtesy of GM)
¶ “Radioactive Wasp Nest Found At Site Where US Once Made Nuclear Bombs” • Workers at a site in South Carolina that once made key parts for nuclear bombs, and is to make nuclear fuel, found a radioactive wasp nest. The nest at the Savannah River Site is near tanks where liquid nuclear waste is stored. Officials said there is no danger. [ABC News]
¶ “NREL Technical Support Empowers Local Governments And Tribes To Boost Energy Efficiency And Cut Costs” • From the capital cities in the East to Alaskan villages in the West, NREL is advancing community-driven energy solutions from coast to coast through the US DOE Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. [CleanTechnica]
Native Village of Chenega, Alaska (NREL image)
¶ “A US Clean Energy Developer Sees Promise Where Others See Ashes” • The US saw $22 billion in clean energy investments go up in smoke over the past six months, and yet the energy transition persists. A case in point is Texas-based Treaty Oak Clean Energy with a 17.3-GW pipeline of solar, wind, and battery storage projects. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “A New Nissan Ariya For $31,000?” • After hearing a person, a progressive Democrat, say that EVs cost $187,000, implying that fossil fuels aren’t that bad, we checked. In less than five minutes, we found a new Nissan Ariya at a Nissan dealer near where the person lived. With no government incentives taken into account, the price was $31,000. [CleanTechnica]
Nissan Ariya (Elizbeth smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
¶ “Increasing Solar Energy Adoption By Just 15% Could Yield Considerable Emissions Reductions” • Ramping up US solar energy production by just 15% could help the country make significant progress toward achieving national goals for emissions reductions, a study has found. The research was published in the journal Science Advances. [The Hill]
¶ “Primergy Announces The Commissioning Of Ash Creek Solar In Texas” • Primergy Solar LLC announced that the 408-MW Ash Creek Solar project, Hill County, Texas, reached commercial operation, and is now delivering affordable energy to the grid in partnership with Microsoft through a long-term power purchase agreement. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Have an unusually graceful day.
geoharvey 