Science and Technology:
¶ “Battery Maker Achieves 600,000-Mile EV Battery Life” • EV batteries mostly rely on graphite anodes, but researchers are developing silicon-anode batteries, partly because silicon can hold up to ten times more energy than graphite. StoreDot says it has integrated a silicon-dominant anode into a proprietary battery cell design. [The Cool Down]
Automotive battery (Gereon Meyer, CC BY-SA 4.0)
World:
¶ “Giant 1.5-GW Wind Farm Planned for France – Its Biggest Clean Energy Project Yet” • TotalEnergies and RWE have been selected to build the largest clean energy power plant in France, the 1.5-GW Centre Manche 2 offshore wind farm. It’s interesting that fossil fuel giant TotalEnergies shifted enough to be chosen for such a large wind project. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Bifacial Rooftop Vertical Solar PanelsIn Norway” • Tromsø, a city in Norway, is north of the Arctic Circle. Most might think that makes it a poor choice for solar power, but, in fact, the roof of Tromsøterminalen, a cold storage facility at the city’s port facility, has the world’s largest installation of vertically mounted bifacial solar panels. [CleanTechnica]
Vertical solar system in Tromsø (Over Easy Solar image)
¶ “Japan Faces Fresh Energy Challenge As It Seeks To Expand Power-Hungry Data Centers” • Japan’s current industrial strategy centers around courting AI firms and chipmakers to build data centers and semiconductor plants in the nation. That will require a lot of electricity. But at the same time, Japan has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050. [The Japan Times]
¶ “New Solar Energy Project Approved For Wexford – ‘This Is A Fundamental Piece Of The Jigsaw’” • Ørsted Onshore Ireland is bringing a solar project to Wexford after securing a 109-MW solar contract in the Irish Government’s fifth onshore renewable energy support scheme auction. The project will supply enough electricity for over 34,000 homes. [MSN]
Solar power (Chelsea, Unsplash)
¶ “Ukraine Accuses Russia Of Disconnecting Power From The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant” • Ukraine announced that Russia disconnected the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe, from the electrical grid, with the intent of stealing the facility and reconnecting it to a network under its control. It is in its fourth day without power. [The Peninsula Qatar]
US:
¶ “Why Even Fossil Fuel Executives Are Opposing Trump’s Offshore Wind Crackdown” • The Trump administration has tried to shut down offshore wind projects. But opposition to this strategy isn’t just from environmentalists and clean energy advocates. Some fossil fuel executives are pushing back out of economic pragmatism. [EVWorld.com]
Offshore gas and wind (©Rossographer, CC BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Arizona Flooding Kills Four, Causes 1,000 Propane Tanks To Wash Away In Hazmat Concern” • At least four people have been confirmed dead and two remain unaccounted for amid intense flooding in parts of Arizona. The flooding washed about 1,000 propane tanks to wash away from a distribution facility, creating a serious hazmat concern. [ABC News]
¶ “Ivanpah And Heliogen: Lessons From Concentrated Solar’s Decline” • When Ivanpah opened in the Mojave Desert in 2014, with its three towers glowing like beacons and almost 400 MW of capacity, it was the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world. Today, it is a cautionary tale. The story of the Heliogen project is similar. [CleanTechnica]
Ivanpah power plant (Laura Ockel, Unsplash)
¶ “EV Sales And The Ick Factor Converge As Epstein Scandal Widens” • Tesla sales were in decline long before the Epstein scandal came into public view, as consumers reacted to the role Musk took in right-wing politics in both the US and Europe. Then the ick factor came to light last month, when a photo of Musk and Jeffrey Epstein surfaced. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Ocasio-Cortez And Tonko Lead New York Democrats In Support Of NY Power Authority’s Renewable Energy Plan” • Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Paul Tonko, along with several New York Democratic colleagues, expressed support for the New York Power Authority’s plan to develop 7 GW of renewable energy by 2030. [Quiver Quantitative]
Have a wholly enthusiastic day.
geoharvey 
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