World:
¶ “The World Has Entered An Era Of ‘Global Water Bankruptcy’, UN Warns. What Does It Mean?” • A report from the United Nations University warns that pollution, soil degradation, water overallocation, groundwater depletion, and deforestation have combined with global heating to cause “irreversible damage” to the planet’s water supply. [Euronews]
Irrigation (Norbert Buduczki, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “(Another) Record Month For EV Sales In China! ” • Plugins scored another million-plus sales in December, reaching a record 1.34 million units. The overall market was 2.26 million units, down a harsh 14% YOY, so the plugin vehicles’ market share was 59%, while full battery EVs reached a 35% share. The final 2025 plugin share was 54%. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “EU Leaders Talk Coordination Over Greenland As Trump Readies For Davos Meetings” • The showdown between the US and its NATO allies over Greenland looks set to be a dominant topic as leaders gather at this week’s World Economic Forum event in Davos. President Donald Trump says US ownership of the island is “imperative.” [ABC News]
Settlement in Greenland (Annie Spratt, Unsplash)
¶ “Malaysia Starts Initial Phase Of Electric Bus Re-fleeting, Targeting 1,100 Units By 2030” • Over a thousand electric buses will be put on Malaysia’s road network, starting with the capital Kuala Lumpur, as the country’s long-stalled push to decarbonize public transport is finally breaking out of pilot mode, report by Prasarana Malaysia Berhad says. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “50,000 Public EV Charging Points Operating In Spain Now” • Spain increased its total number of public EV charging points by about 10% in 2025, bringing the total number to 50,000. The number of “high-power” chargers (50kW to 250 kW) doubled, and the number of chargers able to charge at over 250 kW increased by about 85%. [CleanTechnica]
Madrid (Felipe Gabaldón, CC BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “UrbanChain Activates Largest UK PPA” • UrbanChain has gone live on its largest renewable power purchase agreement to date after signing a multi-year operational offtake deal with a major European renewable generator. The company said the corporate PPA will deliver over 120 GWh per year of offshore wind energy to the UK grid. [reNews]
¶ “NNG Launches Major Seabird Monitoring Studies” • The Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm is launching one of the most comprehensive seabird and marine monitoring studies in Scotland to gather continuous data on how key bird species behave around operational turbines. The study has a focus on the 450-MW project itself. [reNews]
Offshore wind farm (NNG EDF Power Solutions and ESB)
¶ “UK Homes To Get £15 Billion For Solar And Green Tech To Cut Energy Bills” • Households will be eligible for thousands of pounds’ worth of solar panels and other green tech to lower their energy bills, the government has announced. The long-awaited Warm Homes Plan promises to provide £15 billion to households in the UK over the next five years. [BBC]
¶ “AM Group To Set Up 1-GW AI Computer Facility Backed By Round-The-Clock Renewable Power In Uttar Pradesh” • AM Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Invest UP, the Government of Uttar Pradesh, to develop a 1-GW, $25 billion high-performance computing hub, backed by renewable energy, to serve global AI workloads. [pv magazine India]
Taj Mahal, Uttar Pradesh (Martijn Vonk, Unsplash)
¶ “Plans For A Huge Wind Farm Are Paused Over ‘Unfair’ Grid Charges” • A huge wind farm planned off the north coast of Scotland will not be built unless “unfair” transmission charges are overhauled, the developer warned. The 125-turbine West of Orkney wind farm had planned to generate enough electricity to power two million homes by 2029. [BBC]
¶ “Experts Reveal Stunning Change In Global Energy” • Energy think tank Ember has published positive new data about wind and solar energy. According to reporting by Electrek, renewable energy is growing so much that it is actually outpacing global electricity demand. And dirty power usage is predicted to remain flat. [The Cool Down]
Wind turbines (Serge Le Strat, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Japan Restarts Its Largest Nuclear Plant Thirteen Years After Fukushima” • Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Co is restarting its first nuclear reactor after the Fukushima disaster. Reactor #6 at the Kashiwasaki Kariwa power plant will be switched on after 7 pm local time, Bloomberg reported, citing a company news release. [OilPrice.com]
US:
¶ “Republicans Set To Kill Giant EV Charging Program” • Since the counterproductive decision to pull the plug on the US EV tax credit, Republicans in Congress are now looking to kill the giant US EV charging program that was created by Democrats during the Biden administration. Yes, this is the program Donald Trump tried to halt in early 2025. [CleanTechnica]
EV charging (Joint Office of Energy and Transportation image)
¶ “Rio Tinto Expands Solar Power Capacity At Kennecott” • Rio Tinto energized an 25-MW solar plant at its Kennecott copper operations in Utah, for a circular critical-minerals supply chain in which tellurium produced at the site is used to manufacture the panels now powering it. The plant expands a 5-MW solar array completed in 2023. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Former US Oil Worker Invents 3D-Printed Battery, Nails $7.1 Million in Seed Funding” • An example of real innovation comes from the Texas startup Material, which just earned $7.1 million in Seed funding to help bring its 3D-printed batteries to market, with the aim of eliminating the “dead space” and extra weight of conventional batteries. [CleanTechnica]
Have an enchantingly comical day.
geoharvey 