World:
¶ “Positive Environmental Stories Of 2025” • Stress, fear, anger and grief are among all the negative feelings that can come up when we are confronted with the reality of a warming Earth. With constant stories of lives lost or ruined by extreme weather, it’s hard to escape the gravity of climate change. But there also are stories of hope. Here are some. [Euronews]
Lowest cost? Solar power (Dad hotel, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Copper And Silver Prices Suggest Gains For Renewables And EVs” • Solar panel manufacturing uses about 20% of the world’s supply of silver, which is vital for converting solar energy into electricity. EVs also rely on silver and copper. Increase for copper and silver futures may indicate anticipation of future trends in manufacturing. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Saudi Arabia Opens Pathway For Electric Air Taxis” • Electric air taxis may work in some markets, and Saudi Arabia may be one of them. Authorities there certainly seem to think so. The country’s aviation regulator, General Authority of Civil Aviation, signed an agreement with Archer Aviation for electric vertical takeoff and landing operations. [CleanTechnica]
Electric VTOL vehicle (Archer Aviation image)
¶ “Vestas Banks 289 MW In Turbine Seals In Europe” • Vestas has secured four onshore wind orders totaling 289 MW in southern Europe, led by a 125-MW contract for ERG’s wind projects in Italy. Vestas said the Italian order covers eighteen 4.5-MW, six 4.5-MW, and four 4.2-MW turbines for the Carlentini and Greci-Montaguto sites. [reNews]
¶ “Vestas Wins 862-MW Of Turbine Deals” • Vestas has secured 862 MW of turbine orders in Australia, the USA and Canada as part of its fourth quarter intake. Vestas said an undisclosed customer in Australia will receive forty 7.2-MW units. The manufacturer has also received orders for 574 MW of turbines from the US and Canada. [reNews]
Wind turbine (Vestas image)
¶ “Construction Of Major UHV Project Gets Underway” • China has broken ground on an ultra-high voltage transmission project, a key green artery designed to transmit huge amounts of energy from renewable sources in the western parts of Inner Mongolia autonomous region to the industrial heartland of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province. [Ecns.cn]
¶ “India’s 2025 Renewable Energy Sector Review” • From barely 40 GW of non-hydro renewable capacity in the mid-2010s, India has surged past the 203-GW mark by November 2025, driven largely by the rapid deployment of solar and windpower. Utility-scale renewables have transformed India into one of the world’s lowest-cost RE markets. [pv magazine India]
Acme Solar PV project (Acme Solar image)
¶ “Taiwan Is On Track To Deploy 31.2 GW Of Solar By 2035” • Taiwan is on track to reach 31.2 GW of solar by 2035, according to figures from UK consulting company GlobalData. The firm projects annual growth additions between 1 GW and 2 GW over the analyzed period, helping Taiwan to surpass 20 GW of solar in 2029 and 30 GW in 2035. [pv magazine India]
¶ “Ed Miliband ‘To Spend Billions On Solar Power’ In Scramble To Meet Energy Bills Pledge” • The Energy Secretary is expected to set out proposals to allocate up to £13 billion over four years as part of the Government’s warm homes plan. The Times reports that billions of pounds are to go to household grants for solar PVs, heat pumps, and battery storage. [MSN]
Rooftop solar in the UK (Frank Chan, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “What Lies Ahead For Ukraine’s Contested Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant?” • The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest nuclear plant in Europe. It is also one of the main sticking points in US President Trump’s peace plan to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine. The issue is a bit complicated. [The Business Standard]
US:
¶ “Maryland’s Largest Solar Project Launches On An Old Coal Mine” • Marylanders seem to have been good and nice this year. Rather than getting coal for Christmas, they got a large solar power plant installed on the site of a retired coal mine. CPV Renewable Power launched the 160-MW CPV Backbone Solar project just before Christmas. [CleanTechnica]
Solar array (CVP image)
¶ “IRS Sued Over Anti-Solar And Anti-Wind Tax Rules” • A broad array of groups with interests in clean and affordable energy sued the IRS and Treasury Department over new rules for tax credits that unfairly and illegally discriminate against wind and solar projects. This lawsuit asks the court to declare the rules arbitrary and capricious. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Dominion Sues Over CVOW Stoppage” • Dominion Energy filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the order came to stop work on all five US wind farms currently under construction. Dominion said it has already spent roughly $8.9 billion for the $11.2 billion, 2.6-GW Costal Virginia Offshore Wind project. [reNews]
Staging area for CVOW (Dominion Energy image)
¶ “So Much Winning … For Renewable Energy, That Is” • US President Trump threw everything he had against renewable energy in 2025, killing off thousands of new clean power jobs, eviscerating billions in new investments, and needlessly raising electricity costs, to boot. But for all the pain he created, he failed to stop solar and windpower. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Residential Solar Tax Credit Is Expiring, But New Programs Are Ahead For Colorado Customers” • Solar installers reported a huge rise in sales in 2025, as consumers raced to take advantage of the US tax credit before it ends. The solar industry is bracing for a slowdown next year, but state and local incentives still exist in Colorado. [Colorado Public Radio]
Have a marvelously simple day.
geoharvey 