Opinion:
¶ “Government Clown Denies That Energy Storage Exists In Space And Time” • Comparing a member of the US cabinet to a clown may be an insult to clowns, but what other word is there for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum after an appearance on Fox Business Thursday, when he conjured up a world in which every sunset is a “catastrophic failure”? [CleanTechnica]
Reid Gardner Battery System (Sig Chiocciola, CC0 1.0)
World:
¶ “Virtual Power Plant Drives ‘Zero Down’ Home Solar And Battery Installations” • Alinta Energy and National Renewable Network have launched a distributed energy virtual power plant program. The Solar Together program will offer households solar and battery systems with no upfront cost, financing or repayments. [pv magazine International]
¶ “Jellyfish Forced Shutdown Of French Nuclear Plant” • EDF confirmed that four of the six reactors at the Gravelines nuclear plant were shut down by jellyfish clogging the cooling system. Their abundance was tied to sea temperatures raised by climate change. The remaining reactors were down for maintenance already, so all 5.4 GW were offline. [Euronews]
Jellyfish (Jack B, Unsplash)
¶ “Poll Reveals Strong Public Backing For Renewables” • Eight in ten people in the UK support expanding the country’s renewable energy infrastructure, YouGov polling commissioned by Friends of the Earth shows. The YouGove survey found 65% of Reform supporters and 83% of Conservative supporters back increased clean energy generation. [reNews]
¶ “These Five Countries Have 71% Of World’s Nuclear Power Capacity” • Five countries account for more than two-thirds of the world’s total nuclear electricity generation capacity. The US has the most capacity, followed by France, China, Russia, and South Korea, according to International Atomic Energy Agency data of June 2025. [CleanTechnica]
Five countries’ nuclear power systems (EIA image)
¶ “India’s Unique Path To Electric Mobility” • India’s EV market is developing in a context that is different from the US, Europe, or China. Car ownership per capita is low, two-wheelers provide most personal mobility, and three-wheelers are integral to urban and peri-urban transport. Fueling and maintaining combustion vehicles outside of cities is patchy. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Offshore Wind Gains Momentum In Atlantic Canada” • In parts of Newfoundland winds regularly reach a Category 3 hurricane’s power, and offshore winds are higher and steadier. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston proposed the Wind West project to develop 40 GW of offshore capacity, enough to meet 27% of Canada’s demand. [The Energy Mix]
Offshore windpower (Casey Horner, Unsplash)
¶ “China Begins Building World’s Largest Pure-Hydrogen Power Project In Inner Mongolia” • China started building the world’s largest pure-hydrogen power project, integrating a 30-MW hydrogen-fired turbine into a renewable energy generating and storage system in the Otoke High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in Inner Mongolia. [Fuel Cells Works]
¶ “Vestas Takes 40-MW Turbine Order In Poland” • Vestas has secured a 40-MW contract in Poland from a customer who has not been disclosed as yet. The deal covers supply, installation, and commissioning of ten V138-4.2MW turbines operating in 4.0-MW mode. The contract also includes a 20-year AOM 5000 service agreement. [reNews]
Sunrise on wind turbines (Vestas image)
US:
¶ “California VPP Links 100,000 Residential Storage Batteries” • At 7:00 pm on July 29, 2025, history was made in California. PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E tapped 100,000 residential storage batteries installed by Tesla and Sunrun to form a first of its kind virtual power plant. Together, those batteries supplied about 535 MW of electricity to the grid. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Banks Cut Fossil Fuel Financing As The Market Outweighs Politics” • Wall Street’s six largest banks cut their financing to oil, gas, and coal projects by 25% year-over-year through August 1, 2025. In dollar terms, that means a cut from roughly $97 billion in 2024 to $73 billion this year. Morgan Stanley cut its fossil fuel lending by more than half. [CleanTechnica]
Wall Street (Patrick Weissenberger, Unsplash)
¶ “Ford Unveils Affordable EV Plan: ‘Lower Cost Of Ownership Over Five Years Than A Three-Year-Old Used Tesla Model Y'” • The time has finally come for us to learn what the “skunkworks” affordable EV project was all about. Ford higher-ups gathered at the sprawling Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky for an all-electric “Model T Moment.” [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Vestas Secures 950 MW Of US Orders” • Vestas has received orders totaling 950MW for undisclosed wind energy projects in the US. The company did not disclose project details or turbine models, but said the orders form part of its latest intake in the region. The announcement follows yesterday’s news that Vestas won a 40MW order in Poland. [reNews]
Wind turbines (Vestas image)
¶ “Next Massachusetts Solicitation Delayed” • Massachusetts officials delayed their fifth round of offshore wind procurement until next year. A Department of Energy Resources memo said that feedback from developers overwhelmingly recommended that the next request for proposals for offshore wind projects not be issued until 2026 at the earliest. [reNews]
¶ “Abandoned US Nuclear Site To Host 16,000 MT Polysilicon Plant” • Pivotal Manufacturing bought 140 acres where a nuclear plant was abandoned 40% into construction leaving over $2.6 billion in debt. It signed a ground lease with Highland Materials for a polysilicon advanced manufacturing facility and a campus of other energy projects. [pv magazine India]
Have a deliciously satisfying day.
geoharvey 