World:
¶ “Cold Europe And Burning South: At Both Ends Of The Planet, January Shows Climate Extremes” • While much of Europe and the US braced against frigid cold, the Southern Hemisphere had extreme heat, with wildfires and floods. Global temperatures were at near record highs last month, on average, to make it the fifth-warmest January on record. [Euronews]
Hot day in Australia (Enguerrand Photography, Unsplash)
¶ “Oil Exports Were A Cash Cow For Russia, But Not Any More” • Oil and gas exports have sustained Russia’s finances through its war on Ukraine. But as the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion nears, those cash flows have dwindled to lows not seen in years. President Vladimir Putin is borrowing from Russian banks and raising taxes. [ABC News]
¶ “Black Carbon Needs To Be Regulated To Save The Arctic, But Geopolitical Are In The Way” • As rising global temperatures speed up the melting of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, it’s set off a boom of ships taking routes that previously were frozen and not traversable. But the soot that spews from ships and makes the ice melt even faster. [Euronews]
Ship in the Arctic (Ale, Unsplash)
¶ “Syncraft Builds Second Climate-Positive Power Plant For PurEnergy In Austria” • PurEnergy has decided to order a second climate-positive Syncraft power plant after the success of their first joint project. Syncraft will deliver another power plant that will produce renewable energy and permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Canada Blows A Big, Fat Offshore Wind Raspberry At Trump” • US President Trump tried and failed to prevent construction of five offshore windfarms along the US East Coast. Now, Canada is proposing a connection between offshore wind farms in Nova Scotia and New England. And Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is all for it. [CleanTechnica]
Offshore windfarm (雙 film, Unsplash)
¶ “VinFast Hastens Indonesian Green Transition With E-Scooter Launch” • VinFast is entering Indonesia’s e-scooter market. It is not a soft market test, but a scale play aimed directly at a market long dominated by internal combustion engines. The VinFast Subang manufacturing complex in West Java operational, and it is taking a clear position. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “UK Awards 6.2-GW Of CFDs In Onshore Bonanza” • The UK government has awarded Contracts for Difference agreements to 6.2 MW of onshore wind, solar and tidal stream projects in the Allocation Round 7a renewable energy auction. Solar PV secured the largest haul, with 4.9 GW of awarded deals at a clearing price of £65.23/MWh (in 2024 prices). [reNews]
Ed Miliband at a solar farm (DESNZ image via Flickr)
¶ “China To Invest 5 Trillion Yuan In Power Grid Over Next Five Years” • China is set to pour a record-high 5 trillion yuan ($722 billion) into its power grid over the next five years, a massive investment in infrastructure designed to eliminate renewable energy bottlenecks and propel the nation toward its 2030 carbon peak goal. [China Daily]
¶ “Tidal Nabs 20 MW In UK Auction” • Four tidal stream projects totaling 20 MW nabbed Contracts for Difference in AR7a. The projects cleared the round at £265/MWh in 2024 prices. Three of the projects are in Wales, with the largest of 10-MW capacity. The 5.5-MW Mor Energy GO3 Phase 2 and 3-MW Morlais tidal projects also won CFDs. [reNews]
Orbital Marine generator (Orbital image)
¶ “Japan Restarts Unit At World’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant” • The world’s biggest nuclear power plant is onvr again operating, after an earlier attempt to bring the facility back online was suspended due to an equipment problem. The Unit 6 reactor of the Kashiwazaka-Kariwa plant in the Niigata region in Japan has been restarted. [Yahoo News Canada]
US:
¶ “Record Snow Drought In The West Raises Concern For Water Shortages And Wildfires” • Record snow drought and record heat are hitting most of the American West, depleting future water supplies, making it more vulnerable to wildfires and hurting winter tourism and recreation. Both snow cover and depth are at the lowest level in decades. [ABC News]
Lack of snow (Zhaoli JIN, Unsplash)
¶ “Electric Cars Are Simply Better, Subsidies Or Not” • There are still huge reasons to buy electric cars, subsidy or not. First of all, electric cars are simply much more convenient, contrary to what most people think. Second, they drive smoother. And there are other reasons, including low fuel and operating costs. EVs are better, even in the US. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Leading US Utility Goes Rogue, Offers New Round Of EV Funding” • Exelon’s ComEd branch announced another $70 million round of funds to support EV uptake in its territory in Illinois. The initial round totaled more than $160 million in EV funding. ComEd credits the program with more than 10,000 EV charger installations in Illinois. [CleanTechnica]
ComEd EV (Courtesy of ComEd, cropped)
¶ “Are Faked Public Comments About To Tank An Ohio Solar Farm?” • Ohio is poised to block a 94-MW solar farm because of local pushback, even though a large number of public comments opposing the installation appear to be fake. At least 34 public comments, all negative, came from people who provided false names or residences. [Ohio Capital Journal]
¶ “National Lab Of The Rockies, Formerly NREL, Lays Off More Than 130 Employees” • Weeks after changing its name, the National Laboratory of the Rockies, which had been known as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is also shedding workers. The cuts impacted 134 employees, a spokesman says in an emailed statement. [Colorado Public Radio]
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