World:
¶ “Italy’s Firefighting Planes Return Home After Summer Of Battling Blazes All Across Europe” • After a gruelling summer skimming lakes and coastlines to dump thousands of tonnes of water on wildfires burning across a parched Europe, Italy’s fleet of bright yellow and red Canadair planes finally returned home to a base near Rome for maintenance. [Euronews]
¶ “G7 Agrees To 100 Million Barrel Emergency Oil Release Under US Pressure” • After Trump threatened a ban of diesel exports, G7 countries agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves over four months in a coordinated effort to bring down soaring energy prices, with a particular focus on diesel. [Euronews]
¶ “Africa’s Unseen Solar Energy Revolution” • According to UK-based think tank Ember, solar activity in Africa is booming, but Ember makes the case that the topline figures mask a much larger, unseen surge of growth. It says, “Half of the estimated rise in solar is missing from official statistics – because national reporting is so poor.” [CleanTechnica]
¶ “OpenAI Reveals Another Hack Into A Government Agency In Australia” • OpenAI, a company based in California, revealed a hack into a second Australian government agency, a week after the disclosure of an initial hack fueled public backlash against the ChatGPT-maker. OpenAI issued an apology for the security breach last week. [ABC News]
¶ “Germany Marks Twenty Years Of Offshore Wind” • TenneT Germany and the national industry marked twenty years since the start of Germany’s offshore wind build-out, highlighting the development from pilot projects to industrial infrastructure. TenneT’s fifteen offshore grid connection systems now provide around 10 GW of transmission capacity. [reNews]
¶ “US Coast Guard Says It Seized Ships With Thousands Of Gallons Of Oil Destined For Cuba” • The US Coast Guard announced that it had seized two ships bound for Cuba that it said were illegally carrying thousands of gallons of diesel fuel amid the ongoing fuel blockade to the country imposed by President Donald Trump. [ABC News]
¶ “Kyiv Backs 700 MW In Onshore Wind Auction” • Ukraine has selected nine developers with projects that have a total capacity of 700 MW in its latest onshore wind auction. A total of 1218 MW across 93 projects bid into the tender which had a price cap of €0.08/kWh. The next step is a verification stage that will run until 14 October. [reNews]
¶ “Australia Hits 100 Community Batteries” • Australia reached a major milestone for rooftop solar, with 100 community batteries now installed to store extra daytime power for the hours when households need it most. Community batteries differ from those for private homes as they serve multiple nearby households, but the core benefit is the same. [Yahoo]
US:
¶ “Amazon To Invest $1 Billion Into Communities Amid A Backlash Against Data Center Rollouts” • Amazon is investing more than $1 billion over five years into communities where it operates data centers for education, job training, and other local priorities as it reacts to a growing backlash to the tech industry’s rollout of the massive buildings. [ABC News]
¶ “Coalition Sues Trump Administration Over Rule Making Cars Less Fuel Efficient” • A coalition of environmental and consumer protection organizations filed a lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s final rule rolling back federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, a move that will make new vehicles less fuel efficient. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Senate Proposes New Permitting Framework. Should It Become Law?” • Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island was instrumental in getting a bill before the Senate that will alter radically how permitting for energy projects in the US gets done. In this hyper-partisan era, Democrats and Republicans worked together on proposed legislation. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “APS Wants To Resuscitate Four Corners Coal Plant Already Slated For Closure” • Arizona Public Service said it has signed a coal supply contract extension with the Navajo Transitional Energy Co that would extend operation of APS’s coal-fired Four Corners Plant past its previous 2031 closure date to 2038, going back on its retirement commitment. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Enel Acquires 270-MW US Solar Portfolio” • Enel completed the acquisition of seven operational PV plants in the US with total installed capacity of about 270 MW. Enel said the portfolio was acquired for about $140 million. The transaction is expected to add roughly $20 million per year to the Enel’s consolidated ordinary EBITDA. [reNews]
¶ “US Senators Expect Vote After Midterms On Trump’s Nuclear Power Pact With Saudi Arabia” • US senators with proliferation concerns about President Trump’s proposed nuclear power pact with Saudi Arabia said they have secured a vote on it that they expect before December 13. The Trump administration says the deal has nonproliferation measures. [AOL.com]
¶ “Could A Michigan Nuclear Plant Failure Become A Midterms’ October Surprise” • A failed DOE attempt to restart the ailing Palisades nuclear power plant may become an October surprise for the midterms. Holtech International has had trouble trying to restart the reactor. The mistakes suggest that Holtec may not be able to run a reactor safely. [CounterPunch.org]
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