World:
¶ “EU’s Carbon Border Tax On Heavy Industry Goods Goes Into Effect Risking Trade Escalation” • Steel and aluminium exporters to the EU will start paying for the CO₂ emissions linked to their production as of 1 January 2026. The bloc is seeking to protect EU manufacturers facing more stringent obligations compared to foreign peers. [Euronews]
Steel making (yasin hemmati, Unsplash)
¶ “Australia Gives Go-Ahead For Large Solar And 1-GWh Battery Project Despite Local Opposition” • The hybrid Meadow Creek Solar Farm and utility battery passed all the regulatory hurdles put in place by the government, despite some local opposition. The A$490 million project will consist of a 332-MW solar farm and a 1-GWh battery system. [Energies Media]
¶ “Wildfires, Floods And Extreme Heat: These Are The Biggest Weather Stories Of 2025” • Devastating wildfires, flooding, and extreme heat events took place during the past year, several resulting in mass fatalities. Experts link some of the worst events to human-amplified climate change. Here are the year’s biggest weather stories. [ABC News]
Water over road (Wes Warren, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “What Falling Sales? Battery EVs Jump 37% YOY in November in Europe!” • EVs are picking up in Europe, with some 370,000 plugin vehicles registered in November, 258,000 of which are battery EVs. Overall, plugin vehicles were up 36% year on year. We can expect December 2025 to establish a record, maybe even above the 425,000 unit mark. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “China Gets World’s Largest Offshore Solar PV Project” • This month, the largest offshore solar PV project build in the open sea (not a lake) was deployed, and it’s rated at 1,000 MW. Naturally, this project was not built in the US, but in China. The offshore solar PV project was built in shallow water 8 km off the coast of Dongying in the Yellow Sea. [CleanTechnica]
Yellow Sea (Ludger Heide, CC BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Adani Green Adds 307.4 MW Of Renewable Power Capacity At Khavda” • Adani Green Energy Limited has brought 307.4 MW of renewable energy projects into operation at Khavda in Gujarat through subsidiaries, the company said in a regulatory filing. AGEL’s total operational renewable energy capacity has risen to over 17,237 MW. [BioEnergy Times]
¶ “China’s Biggest Solar Farm Is Changing The Desert, Not Just Making Power” • China is home to the world’s largest group of solar farms, on the Tibetan Plateau. This massive solar cluster can generate nearly 17,000 MW of electricity. While its main job is to produce clean electricity, scientists found it is improving its environment also. [Renewable Affairs]
Farm on the Steppe (Popolon, CC BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Bangladesh Seeking Contractors For 220-MW Solar Project” • Bangladesh‘s EGCB is inviting construction and consulting firms interested in working on the 220-MW Sonagazi solar project to contact the company for further details. The 220-MW Sonagazi plant will be built in southeast Bangladesh near an existing 75-MW facility. [pv magazine International]
US:
¶ “Austin Cuts Pedestrian Crashes At Sixteen Intersections About 50%” • Cutting car crashes, injuries, and deaths is a perennial goal in city after city and state after state. Things get implemented to help, sometimes big things, but it’s never enough. However, the city of Austin seems to be on to something, for at least some of the problem areas. [CleanTechnica]
Intersection in Austin (Courtesy of the City of Austin)
¶ “Google AI Giving Wrong Information On US EV Tax Credit” • Part of the problem with Google AI is that the answers come in an authoritative way that implies 100% accuracy and infallibility. People think, “Okay, I got the answer,” and move on. But there are a lot of mistakes in the AI answers. And one that could cost a lot is about EV tax credits. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “NYC Congestion Pricing Cut Air Pollution 22% In Just Six Months!” • It took years, but New York City finally implemented congestion pricing on January 5, 2025. Paul Day of Air Quality News wrote that a Cornell University study has found that air pollution was cut 22% in Manhattan’s new congestion pricing zone in the first six months. [CleanTechnica]
Brooklyn Bridge (Michał Ludwiczak, Pexels)
¶ “Trump Administration Orders A Colorado Coal-Fired Power Generator To Stay Open” • The Trump administration has told another coal-fired power facility to remain open. It ordered the owners of the Craig Station unit to keep it running beyond its retirement date at the end of 2025. The plant stopped operating on December 19 because it needs a repair. [ABC News]
¶ “Biggest Obstacle To Care For Creation Is Not Denial But Confusion, Says Evangelical Climate Scientist” • As concerns about climate change increase, the greatest obstacle to action is not denial but confusion over what to do, according to leading climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe, climate ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance. [christiandaily.com]
Katherine Hayhoe (umseas, CC BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “REI Co-Op Throws Support Behind Renewable Energy Projects Nationwide” • REI is supporting a 2.5-MW community solar project in Woodbury, Minnesota, developed by US Solar. The project will set aside 500 spots for low- to moderate-income households to subscribe to the renewable energy as well as add clean power to the grid. [Solar Power World]
¶ “Illinois Bill Aims To Speed Nuclear Power Plant Production To Meet AI Energy Needs” • Data centers powering generative AI are creating a demand for massive amounts of electricity, and a Republican Illinois lawmaker thinks nuclear energy may be an answer. Proposed projects face local pushback due to concerns about high electricity bills. [25 News Now]
Have an objectively wonderful day.
geoharvey 