Science and Technology:
¶ “Armstrong Templok Shows Potential For Thermal Energy Storage With Phase Change Materials” • The Phase Change Material in Templok ceiling tiles absorbs heat as it becomes a liquid and releases heat as it solidifies, in this case, the process is dissolution/crystallization, not melting/freezing. The ceiling tiles don’t look unusual in any way. [CleanTechnica]
Room with Armstrong Templok ceiling (Armstrong image)
World:
¶ “Is Europe Sleepwalking Into Its Worst Gas Crisis Since 2022?” • European gas prices have surged 70% and storage is running low. Supply disruptions, rising inflation and the prospect of ECB tightening are raising fears of a repeat of the 2022 energy crisis. In a matter of weeks, the Iran conflict has rewritten Europe’s energy calculus. [Euronews]
¶ “UK Vows To Give Homeowners ‘Free Electricity’ Instead Of Curtailing Wind Turbines” • The UK’s Energy Department has unveiled plans to supply homes with discounted power on windy days. “Rather than paying wind farms to switch off we’re trialling a new system where people who live near these constrained areas get cheaper – or even free – electricity.” [Euronews]
Hafoty Sion Llwyd (ClwydianRanger, CC BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “As It Boosts Renewables, China Still Can’t Break Its Coal Addiction” • China is at the same time the biggest installer of renewable energy, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, and the biggest user of coal. One explanation for this conundrum is a national concern over energy security: Coal is the only fossil fuel that China is not obliged to import. [Yale E360]
¶ “Trump Extends Deadline Second Time For Iran To Open The Strait Of Hormuz As Talks Continue” • For the second time this week, US President Trump extended an ultimatum for Iran to completely open the Strait of Hormuz, saying peace talks “are going very well.” Iran rejected his proposal. Regime officials said negotiations were not happening. [ABC News]
Trump creating an anti-fraud task force (The White House)
¶ “Crown Estate Is To Launch 6-GW Leasing Round 6” • The Crown Estate has confirmed plans to launch a Round 6 offshore wind lease auction in the first half of 2027. The tender will bring around 6 GW to market. Plots will be located predominantly off the coast of north-eastern England in water depths suitable for fixed-bottom wind. [reNews]
¶ “Enersea Completes Hornsea 3 Jacket Design” • Enersea has completed the design of two offshore substation jackets for the Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm. The jackets, Link 01 and Link 02, weigh about 3,500 tonnes each and will support substations of around 9,000 tonnes. The Link 01 jacket is already in place, and Link 02 is expected in August 2026. [reNews]
Jacket (Enersea image)
¶ “Sonnedix Tops 1 GW With Deal In Italy” • Sonnedix surpassed 1 GW of operating capacity in Italy after acquiring the 194-MW Akira solar PV portfolio. The company said the deal includes six projects it has acquired from EOS Investment Management and Capital Dynamics. Five of these are operational and one 12-MW project is under construction. [reNews]
¶ “Saudi Arabia Adds Around 7.8 GW Of Solar In 2025” • Saudi Arabia’s solar capacity increased from 4,665 MW at the end of 2024 to an estimated 12,465 MW at the end of 2025, GlobalData says. The growth is the largest in a calendar year in Saudi Arabia to date. At 13 GW, solar is now the dominant form of renewables in the country. [pv magazine India]
Solar PVs in Arabia (Phoenix Solar AG, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
¶ “Iran Threatens To Strike UAE’s Energy And Nuclear Sites If US Deployed Ground Troops In Middle East” • Amid reports of the US gearing up to deploy troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East and a possible ground operation in the Kharg Island, Iran has threatened to strike key energy and infrastructure installations in the UAE. [WION]
US:
¶ “From Fuel Shock To Financial Stability In Hawaii” • Reports on the Gulf shock tied to the Iran war makes clear that oil and gas disruptions cascadd into electricity, transport, and prices worldwide. For Hawaii, a transition to sustainability can replace a volatile, externally controlled cost stream with local assets and a resilient economy. [CleanTechnica]
Waikiki (AussieActive, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “West Virginia Agencies Shielding Details On $1.44 Billion DOE Coal Bail-Out Loan From Public” • After two postponements, the West Virginia Department of Commerce informed Sierra Club’s West Virginia Chapter that it has “no non-exempt records” for the Club’s FOIA request for DOE plans to loan local utilities $1.44 billion for coal-fired power plants. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Here Comes More Lithium For EV Batteries, Made In The USA” • The US doesn’t have a shortage of lithium per se. The stuff is practically everywhere. The problem is extracting it and refining it into a chemical that can be used in stationary energy storage and EV batteries. Startup EnergyX says it could have a solution to that problem. [CleanTechnica]
Texas Demonstration facility (EnergyX image via email)
¶ “Investigators Find Gas Utility Pipes Separated Before Deadly Mississippi Explosions” • Separate natural gas explosions in January 2024 that destroyed two homes in Jackson, Mississippi resulted from underground pipes pulling loose from their fittings as spongy clay soil expanded and contracted with rainfall, according to a federal report. [ABC News]
¶ “Satellite Observations Suggest Methane Emissions From US Urban Areas ‘Widely’ Underestimated” • Satellite observations suggest that methane emissions in urban areas may be “widely underestimated” – up to 80% higher than noted in the US EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory, according to an paper published in the journal Science. [ABC News]
Have a meticulously magnificent day.
geoharvey 