Opinion:
¶ “Farmers Are Choosing Solar to Maintain their Farms. That Choice Shouldn’t Be Taken Away” • Today, thousands of farms are choosing to add or lease solar to stabilize their income and restore soils during this period of uncertainty. It’s an opportunity that each farmer should be allowed to consider and a decision that should be the landowner’s. [CleanTechnica]
Sheep grazing (Illiya Vjestica, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Croatia Signs US-Backed Deal To Expand Balkan Gas System Amid EU Climate Concerns” • Croatia signed a deal with the US to boost the expansion of gas pipelines and energy infrastructure throughout the Balkans, a step that could bind the country to long-term reliance on fossil fuels and threaten the EU’s energy and climate objectives. [Euronews]
¶ “In Colombia, 57 Nations Chart A Path To A Future Without Fossil Fuels” • The Guardian, unlike most mainstream media, covered the climate talks in some detail and reported that the participating governments were asked to develop national “road maps” that set forth how they will end the production and use of fossil fuels. France was one that did that. [CleanTechnica]
Conference (Transition Away Conference image)
¶ “The First Toyota Plant to Go Carbon Neutral” • The Tahara Plant is in Tahara City, Aichi, Japan. About 9,000 people work at the plant, which spans 4.03 million square meters and is one of Toyota’s largest production sites in the country. In FY 2026, this enormous plant became Toyota’s first to attain carbon neutrality at the plant level. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Rice Is A Greenhouse Gas Emitter” • Rice farming has long been a major source of methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas formed when organic matter decomposes in flooded soils deprived of oxygen. Traditional rice paddies create exactly these conditions, making the crop one of the largest global agricultural contributors of methane. [CleanTechnica]
Rice farm (Prahlad Inala, Unsplash)
¶ “Installation Of World’s First Purpose-Built Offshore Platform For Ocean Heat Energy Completed” • UK-based Global OTEC, a pioneer in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion development, has installed the world’s first taylored offshore platform designed to unlock renewable energy from the temperature difference in the ocean. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ “Qualitas Energy Secures 59-MW Of German Permits” • Qualitas Energy has secured permits for two wind projects in Germany with a combined capacity of 59 MW. The company said the approvals cover 10 turbines across Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony. They will generate enough electricity to supply more than 39,000 households. [reNews]
Wind turbines (Qualitas Energy image)
¶ “Renewable Developer Looks To Australian Outback For 10 GW Of Wind, Solar And Battery Projects” • A leading Australian renewable energy developer is looking at the Australian Outback to find up to 10 GW of wind and solar projects. Tilt Renewables says it is looking to tap the far west of NSW. Its plans do depend on more transmission lines. [Renew Economy]
¶ “Northland Signs Long-Term Hai Long PPA” • Northland Power has signed a power purchase agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company for the offshore wind project. The 30-year agreement will see TSMC offtake 100% of the Hai Long project’s generating capacity once administrative procedures are completed later in 2026. [reNews]
Wind turbines (Hai Long image)
¶ “The Immense Cost Of Iran’s Nuclear Program” • The peace talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad failed to deliver an agreement, with one key issue proving to be the main sticking point: Iran’s nuclear program. This week, US Vice President JD Vance said Washington’s core demand is that Tehran commits “to not having a nuclear weapon.” [DW.com]
US:
¶ “Grid Connection Requested For US Fusion Power Plant” • Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinout company, has applied for grid connection. CFS said the application is the first request from a grid-scale fusion power plant developer to a major regional transmission organisation. [World Nuclear News]
Fusion power plant (CFS image)
¶ “Some Drivers Seeking Workarounds As Gas Soars To Highest Prices In Four Years” • With the US average for a gallon of gas hitting the highest prices in four years, some consumers say they are finding it difficult to afford to fill their tanks. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline hit $4.30, a jump $1.33 per gallon since the war in Iran began. [ABC News]
¶ “Sierra Club: Nippon Investment In DRI In The South A Good First Step, Must Not Overlook Greening Steel” • US Steel said it will invest nearly $2 billion to build a direct reduced iron facility at Big River Steel Works in Osceola, Arkansas. The DRI will provide a cleaner input to feed into the company’s electric arc furnaces that produce steel. [CleanTechnica]
Big River Steel Works in Arkansas (US Steel image)
¶ “CPUC Protects The Ratepayers, Rejects SoCalGas’ Attempt To Charge Customers For Hydrogen Pipeline” • The California PUC, in a written decision, denied a SoCalGas application that would have charged customers $266 million to fund the Angeles Link Project pipeline. SoCalGas can either fund the controversial project itself or drop it entirely. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “House, Senate Negotiators Reach Deal On Next-Generation Nuclear, Solar Net Metering” • Lawmakers in Concord reached a deal to lay the groundwork for next-generation nuclear power in New Hampshire. If small, modular reactors are to be an energy source, New Hampshire lawmakers said they don’t want state laws or officials to get in the way. [WMUR]
Have a totally copacetic day.
geoharvey 