World:
¶ “‘Will European Cities Become Unlivable?” • Due to the “heat island” effect, cities are especially affected by heat. Cities can be 10°C to 15°C (18°F to 27°F) hotter than rural areas around them during summer. There are green solutions, and many cities are adapting, but if CO₂ emissions are not reduced to zero, experts warn cities could become unlivable. [Euronews]
Montmartre (Bastien Nvs, Unsplash)
¶ “Which EU Country Was The Worst Affected By Wildfires In 2024?” • Human behaviour drives the vast majority of wildfires in Europe, but climate change makes them more frequent and intense. Europe’s hottest year since records began in 1940 was 2024. Portugal had the largest burned area in the EU in 2024, with nearly 450 km² of land ruined. [Euronews]
¶ “Leapmotor Gets Its Own Ocean Vessel For Vehicle Shipments” • Leapmotor is really excelling and deserves more of a nod. It is a Chinese EV brand that is seeing soaring overseas sales, especially in Europe. Now it has its own ship, Grande Tianjin, leased by Grimaldi Group, to deliver cars. It’s new EV, B10, has a starting price of 99,800 yuan ($13,900). [CleanTechnica]
Grande Tianjin (Leapmotor image)
¶ “A Moment Of Opportunity To Embrace Renewables Is Smart Economics” • Smart economics is the driving factor for global renewable adoption. That is the argument behind a speech titled “A Moment of Opportunity” by UN Secretary General António Guterres. He described how “we are on the cusp of a new era” of powering our lives. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Germany Clears 86 MW Of New Wind Capacity” • Two wind energy projects in Germany totaling over 86 MW have secured approval, developers confirmed. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Ladenthin scheme will feature six V162 turbines with a total capacity of 43.2 MW. The Kerspleben repowering project will have 43.2 MW in Thuringia. [reNews]
Wind farm (Eurowind Energy image)
¶ “OX2 Sells Romanian Wind Project” • OX2 has sold its 96-MW Ansthall wind farm in eastern Romania to Helleniq Renewables, a wholly owned subsidiary of Helleniq Energy Holdings. The project will feature 15 Vestas 6.4-MW turbines. Construction is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2025. Commissioning is planned for 2027. [reNews]
¶ “SRE Signs 15-Year SOV Deal With DFO” • Synera Renewable Energy Group has awarded a 15-year service operations vessel contract to Dong Fang Offshore, marking the longest such deal in Taiwan’s offshore wind sector. DFO will supply a newly built, Taiwan-flagged SOV to support the operations and maintenance of SRE’s assets. [reNews]
Service Operations Vessel (SRE image)
US:
¶ “Lowering Energy Bills Will Be More Difficult With EPA Cut, Groups Say” • The EPA announced that it is ending Solar for All, a $7 billion grant program to help pay for resident solar projects. The decision to cancel the solar grant program will hinder efforts to reduce energy bills for middle to low-income households, say several environmental groups. [ABC News]
¶ “Over 50 Million People On Alert For Dangerous Heat In The Southwest” • Extreme heat warnings remain in effect for parts of the desert Southwest. Phoenix has already seen a high of 118°F. This not only was the hottest temperature ever recorded in the month of August, it is also tied for the ninth-hottest day all time since records began in 1895. [ABC News]
Phoenix (Walter Martin, Unsplash)
¶ “General Motors Weathers Tariff Storm To Pursue #1 Spot In EV Sales” • General Motors is proud of its #2 slot in domestic EV sales, second only to Tesla, but it plans for better things. In the latest news, GM intends to import low cost LFP batteries from the Chinese company CATL over the next two years, pending the rampup of a US source. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Blue Bird Delivers Electric School Bus Fleet To Little Rock School District In Arkansas” • Blue Bird Corporation, a leader in electric and low-emission school buses, is delivering 25 electric school buses to Little Rock School District. The zero-emission school bus fleet marks a new era of clean student transportation for the school district. [CleanTechnica]
Blue Bird electric bus (Little Rock School District image)
¶ “Solar Farms In Mississippi” • The sun has been a resource for Mississippi, drawing tourists to the Gulf and Magnolia State lakes and reservoirs. Farmers need it most of all to nurture the work they do. Increasingly, they are investing in solar power, though as yet, it only provides about 1% of the electricity used in the state, according to the US EIA. [Mississippi Business Journal]
¶ “In US Autonomous Robotaxi Wars, It’s Zoox 1, Tesla 0” • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it has “issued an exemption for Zoox driverless vehicles under its newly expanded Automated Vehicle Exemption Program. This is the first-ever exemption for American-built vehicles under the program.” [CleanTechnica]
Zoox Fully Autonomous all-electric robotaxi
¶ “Administration Rescinds Biden Approval of 1,000 MW Wind Farm In Idaho” • The Trump administration rescinded approvals for a proposed 1,000 MW wind energy facility in southern Idaho that had been the object of controversy due to its proximity to a site where Japanese Americans were interned in government camps during World War II. [The Well News]
¶ “Thrust Fault At Diablo Power Plant Concerns Seismic Expert” • As PG&E’s aging Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is up for a 20-year federal license renewal, one scientist cites new GPS data to suggest there’s a looming seismic threat from an active thrust fault that extends under the plant. There is some controversy about his opinion, however. [NBC Bay Area]
Have a simply marvelous day.
geoharvey 