geoharvey

World:

¶ “Do We Need Cocoa-Free Chocolate, And Is It Nice?” • The key ingredient of chocolate is cocoa, which is made from fermented, roasted and ground cacao beans. The wholesale price of cocoa increased by an astonishing 300% in 2024. This is due to climate change-related weather impacts on cacao farms, particularly in West Africa. There are alternatives. [BBC]

Cocoa beans (Etty Fidele, Unsplash)

¶ “La Niña Exits After Three Weak Months, Leaving Earth In Neutral Climate State” • La Niña, the natural cooling flip side of the better known and warmer El Niño climate phenomenon, has dwindled away after just three months. The La Niña that came into being in January, months later than forecast, was a weak one, according to NOAA. [ABC News]

¶ “Kia Concept EV2 Blends User-Focused Design With Material Innovations As A Vision For The Future Of Kia Interiors” • Kia’s designers have revealed new details on the inspiration behind its new Concept EV2’s interior design. This comes as part of the model featuring in the brand’s Transcend Journey exhibit at Milan Design Week 2025. [CleanTechnica]

Kia Concept EV2 interior (Kia Global News Center)

¶ “BYD, NIO, XPENG, And Zeekr Could Get Big Boost From Trump’s Tariff Circus” • Naturally, Trump’s massive tariffs on Chinese-produced goods are aimed at hurting China and helping the US. However, aside from the basic logic of the tariffs being in serious question, there often are side effects of our actions that we didn’t initially consider. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ireland’s Ardnacrusha Moment, Again: A Blueprint for Full Electrification” • In the 1920s, the young Irish Free State chose to spend roughly 20% of its national budget on the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric scheme. What if Ireland spent the same money on a major chunk of decarbonization technology as it did 100 years ago on that dam? [CleanTechnica]

Ardnacrusha plant (The Banner, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “ContourGlobal Commissions Chilean PV Site” • KKR-owned ContourGlobal commissioned a 221-MW solar PV plant with a 1200-MWh battery storage system that can deliver 200-MW for six hours after sunset. This milestone marks the final stage before commencing commercial operations in the coming weeks and starting to fulfil its long-term PPA. [reNews]

¶ “Ørsted Installs First Foundation At Changhua 2b And 4” • Ørsted has completed the installation of the suction bucket jacket foundation for the 920-MW Greater Changhua 2b and 4 offshore wind farms in Taiwan. The site is Ørsted first in the Asia-Pacific region to use SBJs, which minimize both installation noise and seabed disturbance. [reNews]

Installing an SBJ foundation (Ørsted via LinkedIn)

¶ “India’s Installed Renewables Capacity Reaches 220.10 GW As Of End-March” • India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said the country’s installed renewable energy capacity reached 220.10 GW as of 31 March. The ministry said the greatest part of the increase was solar, with 23.83 GW. The total installed solar capacity stands at 105.65 GW. [Asian Power]

¶ “WindEurope 2025: Irish TSO Opens €1 Billion Grid Tender” • As Ireland’s Transmission System Operator, EirGrid announced a procurement program of over €1 billion for works related to the delivery of an offshore electricity grid for Ireland. In 2021, Ireland opted to move towards a plan-led rollout of offshore renewables and infrastructure. [reNews]

Offshore substation (TenneT image)

¶ “Spain’s Nuclear Shutdown Set To Test Renewables Success Story” • Spain is ignoring various calls to reconsider its nuclear decommissioning plans, betting renewables and battery storage will make up for the upcoming energy shortfall. The country is plowing ahead with plans to shut down its seven nuclear reactors over the next decade. [Energy Connects]

US:

¶ “Greening Forms US PV And BESS JV” • Greening USA, a Greening subsidiary, has partnered with Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure in a JV to co-develop renewable energy projects in the US. The alliance will make it possible to promote PV and energy storage (BESS) systems, both by combining the two technologies and independently. [reNews]

Solar array (Greening image)

¶ “How Trump’s Executive Order On Coal Could Impact Energy Use In The US” • President Donald Trump’s quest to conduct a resurgence of coal production and use in the US is farfetched and unlikely, energy experts say. Coal power capacity has been declining here and worldwide in recent decades, mainly because we have cheaper and cleaner fuels. [ABC News]

¶ “Robots To Work With Humans To Demonstrate Solar Module Installation” • Rosendin, an electrical contracting company, has announced that its Renewable Energy Group will demonstrate its new autonomous robotic system for installing solar modules in Texas. The robotic system reportedly can install solar panels three times as fast as human workers. [pv magazine India]

Robots and humans (Rosendin Renewable Energy Group)

¶ “Businesses In New York Support Clean Trucks” • Two bills would delay the implementation and enforcement of New York’s Advanced Clean Trucks rule until 2027. They would provide a two-year pause on a policy that New York adopted in 2021 after extensive public engagement. A number of businesses signed a letter opposing them. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Why Analyst Forecasts Dropped for Tesla (TSLA) Throughout Q1” • Troy Teslike tracks Tesla’s production figures well enough that some Wall Street analysts subscribe to his work. Throughout the first quarter the analysts, inlcuding Teslike, were wrong in their expectations about Tesla’s production numbers. There are reasons why this might happen. [CleanTechnica]

Have a brilliantly pacific day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Science and Technology:

¶ “Game Over For Coal: Perovskite Solar Cells Are Here” • Oh the irony, it burns. Just one day after US President Donald Trump took steps to salvage the dying remains of the domestic coal industry, word has just dropped that new perovskite solar cells got a seal of approval from the leading solar PV manufacturer Trinasolar. [CleanTechnica]

Perovskite solar cells (courtesy of Oxford PV)

World:

¶ “Tropical Tree Species Has Evolved To Benefit From Lightning Strikes” • The tonka bean tree exhibits an ability to transfer the electricity from lightning strikes onto the parasitic vines that attach to it, according to a paper published in New Phytologist. Lightning has also been shown to damage neighboring trees that may be competing for resources. [ABC News]

¶ “BYD Announces Price Cut On Seagull – Now $7,800” • BYD has announced a significant price cut for its Seagull EV, bringing the new starting price to 56,800 yuan ($7,800). This is a large reduction from the previous starting price of 69,800 yuan ($9,500) for the Vitality Edition model. It is one of the least expensive EVs in Asia. [CleanTechnica]

BYD Seagull (Courtesy of BYD)

¶ “Blyth Battery Goes Live. The 477-MWh Asset Commissioned For Neoen In South Australia” • NHOA Energy, a global leader in the design, delivery, and servicing of utility-scale energy storage systems, announced that in partnership with Elecnor Australia it had finished and commissioned Neoen’s 238.5-MW, 477-MWh Blyth Battery. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “WindEurope 2025: OTC Presents Offshore Grid Study” • The Offshore TSO Collaboration presented initial results of a pilot study of a joint European offshore grid in the North Sea. The analysis finds that establishing the North Sea as Europe’s “green power plant” will be crucial to secure an independent, affordable, and decarbonised energy supply. [reNews]

Offshore grid (OTC image)

¶ “Researchers Find Significant Energy Market Shift ‘Shows What Consistent Policy Can Achieve'” • PV Magazine reported that 80 to 90% of operational unit subsidies associated with the Renewable Energy Sources Act have already been paid. The researchers also found that costs have greatly improved and are now competitive. [The Cool Down]

¶ “Tidal, Wave Can Deliver £8 Billion Boost To Scotland” • Tidal stream and wave energy projects in the UK could deliver over £8 billion in economic benefits to the Scottish economy by 2050, according to a report by the University of Edinburgh. The report presents a scenario with a Scottish market for up to 8.8 GW of marine energy by 2050. [reNews]

Activity on marine energy (Colin Keldie, EMEC)

¶ “India Plans 13 GW Hybrid Solar, Wind Hybrid Project” • A hybrid renewable energy park with a total capacity of 13 GW is planned for areas of the region of Ladakh, India. The project will include solar, wind, and battery storage systems, according to Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy and Power Shripad Yesso Naik. [pv magazine International]

¶ “Do New US-Iran Nuclear Talks Have Any Chance Of Success?” • The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, widely known as the Iranian Nuclear Deal, was heralded as a major diplomatic accomplishment, but only three years later, then-US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of it. Now, Trump is trying his had at dealing with the issue. [Yahoo News UK]

Tehran (Mohammad Amirahmadi, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Why The Flooding In The South, Midwest Was So Severe” • A multi-day outbreak of tornadoes, torrential rain, and flooding that killed at least two dozen people in the Midwest and South was caused by a storm system that stalled and persisted in the area. With climate change, extreme precipitation events have become about 45% more common. [ABC News]

¶ “Cleanup Underway Of The Keystone Oil Pipeline Spill In North Dakota” • When the Keystone pipeline ruptured Tuesday in southeastern North Dakota, it was shut down within two minutes by an employee who heard a mechanical bang. South Bow, which manages the pipeline, estimated the spill’s volume at 3,500 barrels, or 147,000 gallons. [ABC News]

Pipeline construction (shannonpatrick17, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Microsoft Says It’s ‘Slowing Or Pausing’ Some AI Data Center Projects” • Microsoft said it is “slowing or pausing” some of its data center construction, including a $1 billion project in Ohio, the latest sign that the demand for AI technology that drove a massive infrastructure expansion might not need quite as many powerful computers as expected. [ABC News]

¶ “Renewable Energy Still Alive And Kicking In The US” • Even with efforts to prop up the US coal industry, renewable energy projects still attract global energy investors. The loss of federal support for renewables still stings, but at least the folks overseas still believe there is money to be made from clean energy in the US. As they say, money talks. [CleanTechnica]

Renewable energy (Courtesy of Sunraycer Renewables)

¶ “Tesla Cybertruck Is A Sales Disaster” • Some people expected the Cybertruck could sell about 500,000 per year. Estimates are that it has sold about 46,000. Jalopnik says Tesla has about 2,400 Cybertrucks it can’t find buyers for, even with ridiculous sales incentives. It seem to be a dream, joining the Semi, the robotaxi, affordable models and so many others. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Plug-In Solar Now Legal In Utah Homes” • Utah has taken a significant step in expanding residential solar energy options with the passage of HB 340. Now signed into law, it introduces a new category for small, portable solar generation devices that allow residents to integrate plug-in solar systems into their homes more easily. [CleanTechnica]

Have an unfashionably sweet day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Fur Is Firmly Back In Fashion – And Even More Divisive Than Ever” • In 2017, when Gucci pledged to go fur-free, a number of designer brands followed suit. That movement was welcomed by animal rights activists, but what followed was a new problem: Much of the real fur has been replaced by synthetic alternatives that are derived from fossil fuels. [BBC]

Fur coat (Nick Monica, Unsplash)

¶ “Top Locations For Ocean Energy Production Worldwide Revealed” • Marine renewable energy development is still in its early stages compared to wind and solar power. One challenge is identifying the most feasible and economically viable locations for ocean current energy projects. A global data-based evaluation has been published. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Charting The Changes In The UK Auto Industry” • The UK government reacted to the latest round of tariff insanity in the US by altering its plans to promote the adoption of EVs. Among other things, Keir Starmer announced his country is reinstating a proposed ban on the sale of new cars powered solely by internal combustion engines as of 2030. [CleanTechnica]

BYD Sealion 7 (BYD image)

¶ “Geely Has Launched 48 New Models Since Tesla Revealed The Cybertruck!” • Tesla has quite a limited, simple product line with two mass-market models, a unique EV called a truck, and two premium models introduced more than a decade ago. BYD has introduced new models regularly. But now we see that Geely has brought out 48 new cars. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “GE And BBWind Sign Turbine Deal” • GE Vernova announced that it signed agreements with BBWind to supply three of its 6-MW, 164-m workhorse turbines to community wind farms. The deals were booked in the first quarter of 2025 to support the two-turbine 12-MW wind farm in Heiden and the 6-MW Dorsten project in North Rhine-Westphalia. [reNews]

Wind turbine (GE Vernova image)

¶ “Trump Tariffs Could Boost Demand For Renewables: Think Tank” • Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, and the resulting uncertainty, could boost demand for renewable energy, according to energy think tank Ember. Trump’s tariffs have sent energy and equities markets plummeting and stoked concerns about a global recession. [Asia Financial]

¶ “H&MV Completes Electrical Work On Blackhillock BESS” • H&MV Engineering has completed electrical and civil works for the 200-MW, 400-MWh Blackhillock battery energy storage project in Scotland. The BESS was developed by Zenobē, and it is the largest such facility in Europe. H&MV Engineering is the principal designer and contractor. [reNews]

BESS facility (H&MV Engineering image)

¶ “Solar Has Been The World’s Fastest Growing Power Source For Twenty Years Running” • Phil MacDonald, Ember’s managing director, said: “Solar power has become the engine of the global energy transition. Paired with battery storage, solar is set to be an unstoppable force. As the fastest-growing and largest source of new electricity, it is critical …” [Mother Jones]

¶ “Robot Dog Flips Crane Switch At Nuclear Site” • A robot dog has been sent into a potentially hazardous area of a nuclear power site to switch back on a mothballed piece of equipment. Due to safety restrictions, workers are not allowed to go near a switchboard to power up the machine. The crane had not been operational for about two years. [BBC]

Robot Dog at switch (Nuclear Restoration Services Image)

¶ “Thirsty Nuclear Plants ‘Could Suck Water From Farmers'” • Only one of seven nuclear power stations proposed to be built in Australia could access enough water to operate at full capacity, a study has found, and more than 200  billion litres may need to be acquired from farmers, businesses, or residents to meet the shortfall. [MSN]

US:

¶ “Trump Signs Executive Order To Expand ‘Clean’ Coal, But There’s No Such Thing” • At a White House ceremony witnessed by people wearing hard hat, Trump signed an executive order that follows the president’s recent promises to oversee a boost of coal production in the US. One action orders the Department of Interior to facilitate coal leases. [ABC News]

Coal-burning power plant (Chris LeBoutillier, Unsplash)

¶ “The Latest Leak In The Keystone Oil Pipeline Continues Its Troubled History” • The latest leak in the Keystone oil pipeline in North Dakota continues its troubled history. The 2,700 mile (4,350 km) pipeline starts in Alberta and carries tar sands oil south across the Dakotas and Nebraska before splitting to go to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas. [ABC News]

¶ “US Production Of All Types Of Coal Has Declined Over The Past Two Decades” • US coal production peaked in 2008, but by 2023, the US production fell to less than half of what it was at the peak. The decline in coal production was due to rising mining costs, environmental regulations, and competition from other sources of electric power generation. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “New York City Congestion Pricing Likely To Remain Through The Summer” • New York’s $9 congestion toll on most drivers entering Manhattan is likely to remain through the summer, and even into fall, as a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from ending the program moves forward. A briefing schedule calls for court filings as late as October. [ABC News]

¶ “Wood Mackenzie Downgrades Its Five-Year US Wind Energy Outlook” • Wood Mackenzie reduced by 40% its five-year outlook for new US wind energy projects, due to Trump administration policies and concerns about the economy. The energy research firm expects the US to install 45.1 GW of wind, both onshore and offshore, through 2029. [Offshore Engineer Magazine]

Have an extraordinarily quiet day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Science and Technology:

¶ “Dire Wolf Revived Through De-Extinction Process Of A US Company” • In a scientific breakthrough that could forever alter how humans interact with our planet, US-based biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences said it has brought back an animal that became extinct roughly 10,000 years ago: the dire wolf. The woolley mammoth may be next. [ABC News]

Rendering of dire wolf (Erwin S. Christman, public domain)

¶ “Green Oxamide Vs Green Ammonia: The Chemistry Behind A Smarter Fertilizer” • China’s latest move in green fertilizer hasn’t made headlines, but it is a quietly significant development. A facility in Xinjiang will soon produce half a million tonnes of oxamide fertilizer per year, using captured CO₂, green hydrogen, and green ammonia. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “It’s Only Early April And North India Is Bracing For Extreme Heat” • India’s weather department warned of high temperatures in parts of northern India, including the capital Delhi, for this week. The Indian Meteorological Department said some of the northern and central states can expect maximum temperatures to cross 40°C (104°F). [BBC]

India (Remi Clinton, Unsplash)

¶ “WindEurope 2025: Industry Launches Call To Action” • The wind industry launched a call to action outlining three steps to boost Europe’s energy independence and competitiveness. The Copenhagen Call to Action was revealed at the opening session of WindEurope’s annual event, which brings over 15,000 people together for a conference and exhibition. [reNews]

¶ “Ford’s South Africa Plant Starts Producing The New Ford Ranger PHEV For The Global Market” • As the transition to EVs accelerates in world automotive markets, countries where the auto industry contributes significantly to their local economies need to accelerate their EV production. An example of one such country is South Africa. [CleanTechnica]

Ford South Africa plant (Ford South Africa image)

¶ “Gulf And Asia’s ‘Natural Synergy’ Ignites A Renewables Revolution” • The Gulf Arab monarchies, long synonymous with oil wealth, are deepening energy interdependence with China and Southeast Asian nations, signing landmark agreements in recent months for tens of billions of dollars’ worth of renewable-energy projects. [South China Morning Post]

¶ “Deutsche Offshore Picks SMST Gangway For Fleet” • Deutsche Offshore Schifffahrt has chosen Dutch company SMST to supply a gangway system and crane for its fleet of service operation vessels. SMST will supply its Telescopic Access Bridge gangway system and its offshore knuckle boom crane with 3D motion compensating capability. [reNews]

Gangway system and crane (Salt Ship Design)

¶ “Ofgem Super-Charges UK Clean Power Storage” • A new era for renewable energy in the UK is beginning as Ofgem launches a plan to accelerate the development of long-duration electricity storage projects for the first time in forty years. The National Energy Systems Operator advised the government to add 2.7 GW to 7.7 GW of stored power by 2035. [reNews]

¶ “WindEurope 2025: ‘Deal to boost energy security'” • The proposed Clean Industrial Deal will boost Europe’s energy security and industrial competitiveness while providing greater certainty for wind investments, Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director-General for Energy at the European Commission, told delegates at WindEurope in Copenhagen. [reNews]

Ditte Juul Jørgensen (belgium24.eu, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Global Report Shows Up Coalition Gas And Nuclear Folly, Underlines Why Labor Should Do Better” • The latest Ember report shows the nuclear industry rising in power generation, but like gas, its share of total global power generation is decreasing every year. By comparison, wind, solar, and hydro have been steadily rising for a long time. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶ “Cute, Quirky IONNA EV Charging Consortium Ain’t Here To Play” • The IONNA EV charging station consortium came out last year with a plan to treat EV drivers in style while they charge up. And Elon Musk has handed them a golden opportunity to show their retro-chic “Rechargery” model as a welcome alternative to the Tesla Supercharger network. [CleanTechnica]

VLM brands (VLM image, cropped)

¶ “Tesla’s Loyal Following Has Vanished – Will Musk Capitulate?” • On Saturday Night Live this week, alum Mike Myers played Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “Suddenly, no one likes Tesla cars,” Myers muttered. “So I asked myself why, and then I answered myself: because of me.” He showed a video of “the first electric car in history to be fully self-vandalizing.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Energy Firm Gets Massive Funding Boost That Could Help Lower Household Electric Bills” • A renewable energy company received a massive investment to help increase their business, enabling them to expand their solar power and energy storage portfolio. Encore Renewable Energy secured $389 million from Brookfield Asset Management. [The Cool Down]

Solar array (Encore Renewable Energy image)

¶ “As Coal Declines, Oklahoma Continues To Replace It With Renewable Energy” • Renewable energy from wind turbines and solar panels generated more electricity in the US than coal last year, a first for the country since coal peaked in 2007. Oklahoma saw an increase in wind and solar generation, which makes up about 41% of its electricity. [The Oklahoman]

¶ “Western NY Man Admits To Threatening To Blow Up Power Plants” • A Western New York man pleaded guilty in US District Court in Buffalo to threatening to blow up power plants. Horton pleaded guilty to conveying false information and hoaxes, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a fine of $250,000. [Finger Lakes Daily News]

Have a clearly comfy day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “French And Germany Economic Councils Endorse Electric Trucks Over Hydrogen” • Michael Barnard: The French and German economic councils have weighed in. They didn’t fall for hydrogen but did what economists do best: They looked at the numbers, ran the models, and declared that battery-electric trucks are smart bet. [CleanTechnica]

BYD truck (BYD image)

World:

¶ “Australia’s Residential Batteries Plan Will Lower Utility Costs For Its Citizens” • The latest plans of the government of Australia call for subsidizing residential batteries, which it says will greatly lower the amount citizens spend each month on utility bills. The $2.3 billion program is designed to lower the cost of residential batteries by about 30%. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EVs Take 28.9% Share Of The UK – Tesla Top Battery EV Brand” • March saw plugin EVs take 28.9% share of the UK auto market, up from 22.9% year-on-year. BEVs grew volume by 43%, year over year, while plugin hybrids grew 38%. Overall auto volume was up some 12% year-on-year, at 357,103 units. Tesla was the UK’s leading BEV brand in March. [CleanTechnica]

BMW i8 coupe (Jeremy, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Renewable Bosses Say Gas Power Will Require Its Own Underwriting Scheme” • One of Australia’s leading renewable energy chiefs – a former gas executive – has broken ranks within the industry and argued that government will have to support new gas peaking generators in the main grid, or else they will simply not be built. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “DNV Backs SENSEWind To Deliver Offshore Savings” • The SENSEWind self-installing turbine assembly technology could reduce the levelized cost of energy at a large-scale fixed-bottom offshore wind farm by 4.7%, a report from accreditation agency DNV says. The savings are said to be equivalent to £1 billion over the operational life of a project. [reNews]

Self-installing turbine at work (SENSEWind image)

¶ “Celtic Sea Leasing Round 5 Enters Final Phase” • The Crown Estate concluded the first phase of a two-stage tender to award three 1.5-GW seabed plots in the Celtic Sea to floating wind developers this summer. The Crown Estate indicated that there is space for 12 GW of new capacity, of which 4 GW to 10 GW could be leased by the end of the decade. [reNews]

¶ “Construction Starts On New Zealand’s 280-GWh Agrivoltaic Project” • First Renewables, a joint venture of Harmony Energy New Zealand and energy supplier Clarus, is building largest solar farm in the country, the 202-MW Tauhei Solar Park project. It will generate 280 GWh of electric energy per year, while it also serves as a sheep farm. [pv magazine India]

Agrivoltaics (Harmony Energy image)

¶ “China Reports No Abnormalities In Fukushima Wastewater Samples” • Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said there were no abnormalities in levels of tritium, cesium-134, cesium-137, or strontium-90, found in tests of samples collected by the Chinese research institutions in February in waters near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. [China Daily]

US:

¶ “Trump’s Fraud And Efficiency Lies Bring Out Mass Protests” • Hands Off! demonstrations were organized for more than 1,300 locations in all 50 states by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans, and elections activists, according to the Associated Press. Media small and large covered the events. [CleanTechnica]

Hands Off protest in Washington (SWinxy, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Tesla Solar Sales Declined For Four Straight Quarters, Then It Stopped Publishing The Numbers” • Tesla’s solar business was in decline, with the last good quarter being the fourth of 2022, with 100 MW of solar power installed. Tesla’s installations of rooftop solar then declined for at least four quarters in a row. And then it stopped publishing the figures. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “$50 Million More For US Space Solar Startup Aetherflux ” • The idea of beaming solar energy down to Earth from space was just a dream writers until 2013, when a research team at CalTech scored $100 million in private funding to look into it. Now the space solar field is crowded. Investors put up $50 million for the California startup Aetherflux. [CleanTechnica]

Have a vastly fortunate day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “China Just Turned Off US Supplies Of Minerals Critical For Defense And Cleantech” • China just stopped selling the US its dysprosium, terbium, tungsten, indium, and yttrium. They don’t make headlines, but without them an electric car doesn’t run, a fighter jet doesn’t fly, and solar PVs go from clean energy marvels to overpriced roofing tiles. [CleanTechnica]

F/A-18 Hornet (Cédric Dhaenens, Unsplash)

¶ “EVs Take 93.2% Share In Norway” • March saw plugin EVs take 93.2% share in Norway, up from 91.5% year-on-year. Plugin hybrids saw a large pull forward ahead of a tax tightening on April 1, and thus temporarily took share from full battery EVs. Overall auto volume was 13,304 units, up some 36% YOY, though from a low base. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “BYD e-MPV To Launch At The Manila International Auto Show” • On April 10, BYD Philippines will launch the eMAX 7, an all-electric multi-purpose vehicle. The launch is scheduled for the Manila International Auto Show, but even before the formal unveiling, reservations for the eMAX 7 are being accepted at BYD dealerships nationwide. [CleanTechnica]

BYD eMAX 7 (BYD image)

¶ “Satellite Images Reveal Mass Destruction In Key Area” • A new report showed that critically endangered orangutans are losing their Indonesian habitat to palm oil plantations. The US-based Rainforest Action Network used high-resolution satellite imagery to show that it had detected a quadrupling of the deforestation rate between 2021 and 2023. [The Cool Down]

¶ “How To Build Even Better Wind Turbines” • In recent years, solar has been outpacing wind as the renewable energy leader. Recent innovations, like taller towers and longer rotor blades, which lead to increased efficiency, could unlock significantly more wind energy potential. There are some challenges in scaling turbines up, however. [DW]

Offshore wind farm (Siemens Gamesa image)

¶ “Prime Minister Seeks To Counter Dutton’s Price Of Energy Attacks With Cheaper Home Batteries” • The prime minister of Australia is countering Peter Dutton’s attacks on the price of energy with a scheme to make renewable energy cheaper. The plan would reduce the power bill for those with rooftop solar by up to $1,100 extra every year. [7NEWS]

¶ “World Must React To Russian Nuclear Threats” • Oleksandr Hryhorash, senior control inspector at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, stressed that the world is not responding adequately to Russian nuclear threats. The occupation of Ukrainian power plants by Russian forces and attacks on other nuclear facilities increase the risk of catastrophes. [MSN]

Chernobyl reactor 3, encased (Mick De Paola, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Trump Is In Violation Of An Injunction That Allows Approved Grant Funds To Flow, Says RI Judge” • Rhode Island US District Chief Judge John McConnell found the Trump administration in violation of a preliminary injunction to stop withholding grants. He ordered FEMA to notify administrators of its grants about his decision within 48 hours. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Without Insurance, Capitalism As We Know It Will Not Be Possible” • Insurance is the lubricant that keeps the gears of commerce turning. Without it, the capitalist system we all know and love grinds to a halt. Without insurance, many financial services are no longer commercially viable, but climate change might make insurance impossible. [CleanTechnica]

Pretty, but possibly hard to sell (Ian MacDonald, Unsplash)

¶ “Agrivoltaics To Rescue US Farmers” • Advocates of adrivoltaics list soil health, biodiversity opportunities, and conservation of water among the benefits of such systems, in which solar panels combine with farming activities on the same land. The extra income it brings is needed now more than ever, as farmers brace for the impact of Trump’s tariffs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Solar Farms Nationwide Owe Some Success To An Unlikely Force” • In Texas, SB Energy operates the fifth-largest US solar power plant. It uses sheep herds to keep the weeds down beneath its 900-MW, 4,000-acre array. The livestock are more nimble than lawnmowers and they’re autonomous. Combining sheep and solar has also had success in Iowa. [The Cool Down]

Have an excitingly pleasant day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Wind Energy In the Philippines Picks Up Speed In South Luzon” • The Philippines, driven by climate change initiatives and the need for energy security, is advancing its renewable energy sector rapidly. Though the number of onshore wind turbines tripled since 2016, there are no operational offshore wind turbines in the country yet. [CleanTechnica]

Red areas have greatest wind (World Bank image)

¶ “Pakistan’s 22-GW Solar Shock: How a Fragile State Went Full Clean Energy” • But by the end of 2024, Pakistan quietly went into the top tier of solar adopters, importing a jaw-dropping 22 GW worth of solar panels in a single year. That’s not a typo or a spreadsheet rounding error. That’s the kind of number that turns heads at IEA meetings. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “BYD Launches Sixth Car-Carrying Vessel!” • BYD sales keep on soaring. Its passenger vehicle sales were up 58% in the first quarter, while its electric commercial truck sales were up 1169%. Regarding full electric cars, BYD has now solidly shot past Tesla as the global leader. And the company has been releasing new model after new model. [CleanTechnica]

BYD car-carrying ships (BYD image)

¶ “Ireland Hits New Peak For Grid-Scale Solar Power” • Ireland set new records for solar power on the grid in March, with 39% of electricity coming from renewable sources last month, according to provisional figures from EirGrid. On 25 March, the country reached a new peak for grid-scale solar power with over 750 MW coming from sunshine at one point. [reNews]

¶ “UK Gives RWE Green Light For 1.2-GW Rampion 2 ” • UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has granted planning consent to RWE’s 1.2-GW Rampion 2 wind farm off south England. The 90-turbine array, an extension of the 400-MW Rampion project that has been online since 2018, will connect to the National Grid at the Bolney substation in Sussex. [reNews]

Rampion offshore wind farm (RWE image)

¶ “Spring Sunshine Brings Solar Power Record For Britain” • Great Britain had a new maximum solar generation record this week, with 12.2 GW solar power generated between 12:30 and 1:00 pm on 1 April. The record came as the Met Office confirmed that March 2025 was the sunniest since records began in 1910, totaling 185.8 hours of sunshine. [Yourweather.co.uk]

¶ “PNE Bags Permits For German Wind, Solar Projects” • The PNE Group was given the go-ahead to build two wind farms and a solar plant in Germany with a total capacity of about 185 MW. The wind farms will be built in Hesse and the PV plant is going up in Brandenburg. They will be able to supply annual electric needs of 73,000 three-person households. [reNews]

Wind turbines (PNE image)

US:

¶ “US EV Industry Collateral Damage In Trump’s Escalating Trade War” • President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz has shocked every aspect of the global economy, including the auto sector, where multi-billion-dollar plans to electrify are especially at risk in the US. Tesla held a majority of US EV market share in 2024 at 48%, but its sales are falling. [ABC News]

¶ “Hawaiian Island’s ‘Freakosystems’ Are A Warning From The Future” • Oahu’s lowland forests are now almost entirely devoid of the plants and animals that grew here for millions of years before the arrival of humans. Ecosystems which have never been seen before are being accidentally created by humans. They offer a stark look into the nature of tomorrow. [BBC]

Wilderness of Oahu (Colton Jones, Unsplash)

¶ “Repealing Federal Energy Tax Credits Will Directly Harm American Households” • A study by the Clean Energy Buyers Association estimates a family’s electric bill could increase by an average of $110 per year if energy incentives are nixed. And a report from ConservAmerica an increase by as much as $152 per year in America’s heartland. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New York Vs Tesla: The Grudge Match Is ON!” • Both the City and State of New York are considering taking legal action against Tesla based on what officials see as a lack of bona fides by Elon Musk. New York City comptroller Brad Lander, the investment adviser to the city’s five pension funds, said he thinks Tesla is misstating Musk’s work there. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla megaplace with bicycle (Tesla image)

¶ “Repealing Biden-Era Renewable Energy Investments Could Cost Western States Billions Of Dollars, Says Report” • A new economic analysis shows that repealing the Inflation Reduction Act could cost the states’ economies billions of dollars, cause them to miss out on thousands of jobs, and raise energy costs for consumers. [Aspen Public Radio]

¶ “Electric Aviation Takes Off: H55’s B23 Energic Embarks On Cross-Country US Tour” • The B23 Energic, an all-electric airplane from Swiss aviation company H55, is in the middle of a months-long tour called H55 Across America. The goal? Prove that electric flight isn’t a futuristic fantasy; it’s already here, and ready to go mainstream. [CleanTechnica]

Bristell B23 Energic (Courtesy of H55)

¶ “Scientists Urge Stein To Stop Duke Energy’s Expansion Of Fossil Fuels” • More than sixty research scientists signed an open letter urging North Carolina Governor Josh Stein to halt Duke Energy’s fossil fuel expansion and what they called “suppression of renewable energy solutions” with his executive authority, according to a press release. [NC Newsline]

¶ “‘Not admissible’: Request For Formal Hearing Challenging Palisades Re-Opening Denied” • A request to hold a full hearing on petitions that challenge plans to restart Palisades Nuclear Power Plant has been denied by a three-judge panel of the US NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board because the proposed contentions are not admissible. [The Holland Sentinel]

Have a seriously witty day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Diggers Move In To Create New Wetland” • Diggers are at work to turn 25 hectares (62 acres) of land into a wetland habitat in Cambridgeshire. The wetland will be at the Great Fen nature reserve, as part of The Great Fen project. Eventually, channels will fill with water and help turn former arable fields into reedbeds, grassland, and ponds. [BBC]

Bog (Maksim Shutov, Unsplash)

¶ “Global EV Sales Were 1.2 Million Units in February, Up 49% Year Over Year” • Global plugin vehicle registrations were up 49% YOY in February 2025, with 1.2 million registrations. More good news is that battery EVs pulled further ahead of plugin hybrids, growing 58% YOY to 814,000 units compared to plugin hybrids growing 35% to 403,000 units. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “BYD Commercial Truck Sales Up 1169%!” • While the BYD passenger electric vehicle sales are growing strongly, the non-bus commercial vehicles is where BYD is really shining. There was a short surge a few months ago, as you get with large vehicles like this. But then it held steady, and held steady, and even then rose significantly in March! [CleanTechnica]

BYD electric truck at work (BYD image)

¶ “Trump Tariffs Will Have A ‘Far Reaching’ Impact” • The renewables industry is counting the cost of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs amid warnings that the dispute will impact the renewables supply chain across Europe. One of the UK’s leading manufacturing trade organizations said the tariffs will have a “devastating” impact on manufacturing. [reNews]

¶ “Boskalis Completes Scour Job For EA3” • Boskalis completed a major job in the North Sea for the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm. Rockpiper, the company’s subsea rock installation vessel, finished a key phase of work to support the development of the wind farm for ScottishPower Renewables, installing 95 rock berms for scour protection. [reNews]

Rockpiper (Boskalis via LinkedIn)

¶ “PPC Unveils 3-GW Renewables Ambition For Greece” • PPC Group presented a €5.75 billion plan to convert former lignite sites in Western Macedonia into a green energy and technology hub for Greece and south-eastern Europe. The investment plan includes installing over 3000 MW of renewables capacity and 860 MW of storage capacity. [reNews]

¶ “Mid-2025 Start Date Set For The Orana REZ Transmission Project” • Transmission line infrastructure critical to connecting solar and wind farms in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone will begin construction in mid-2025 after the New South Wales government awarded the proponent, ACEREZ the project contract. [pv magazine Australia]

Transmission system (EnergyCo image)

¶ “RWE And Norges Bank Join Forces For Nordseecluster And Thor Offshore Wind Projects” • RWE signed an agreement with Norges Bank Investment Management to partner on the Thor and Nordseecluster offshore wind projects, which are currently under construction. NBIM will acquire a 49% stake in the two projects. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

US:

¶ “Tesla Deliveries Drop 13% Amid Backlash Against CEO Elon Musk” • Tesla reported that it produced over 362,000 vehicles and delivered over 336,000 in the first quarter of 2025. That performance marked a decline compared to the same period one year ago, when Tesla produced over 433,000 cars and delivered about 387,000. [ABC News]

Elon Musk in the Oval Office (The White House, public domain)

¶ “Americans Pay More For Clean Tech, Fossil Fuel Firms Catch Tariff Shrapnel” • In a flourish of flags and self-congratulation, the Trump campaign rolled out “reciprocal tariffs,” promising to match those of other countries. In theory, it’s about fairness. In practice, it’s a blunt-force instrument that clobbered American businesses and people. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Volvo Spots Big Opportunity For Electric Trucks As Tesla Semi Lags” • In another sign of trouble looming for Tesla’s Semi sales, Volvo Trucks introduced its Volvo on Demand “Truck-as-a-Service” plan to the US. The subscription-based arrangement is aimed at accelerating uptake of electric trucks by zeroing out up-front capital costs. [CleanTechnica]

Volvo Trucks electric truck (Volvo North America image)

¶ “The Economic Benefits Of Renewables That Donald Trump Is Ignoring” • Big Oil spent an extraordinary amount, $445 million, in the last election cycle to influence Trump and the Congress, according to advocacy group Climate Power. But air pollution, global warming, and energy insecurity are major problems for the world, and we will pay their costs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Habitat Optimizes 200-MW US BESS” • Habitat Energy and Plenitude, an Eni business, partnered to optimize the 200-MW, 200-MWh Guajillo battery energy storage system (BESS) in Texas. Sitted alongside Plenitude’s Corazon solar farm, the BESS will be one of the largest in the ERCOT South power market when it is commissioned in mid-2025. [reNews]

Work on a Texas solar farm (US DOE, public domain)

¶ “Governor Jared Polis Pushing Last-Minute Bill To Accelerate Colorado’s Shift To Renewable Energy” • Since his first run for governor, Governor Jared Polis has pledged to put Colorado on a path to 100% clean electricity by 2040, a decade sooner than currently required. His administration is pushing a bill to fulfill the campaign promise. [Colorado Public Radio]

¶ “Lawmakers Call For The Expansion Of Nuclear Power In Illinois” • Illinois Senate Republicans introduced Senate Bill 1527 to allow an expansion of nuclear power beyond small modular reactors. The measure removes provisions prohibiting building new nuclear power reactors with nameplate capacities of ovefr 300 MW of power. [The Center Square]

Have a charmingly enthusiastic day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “UK’s First Kelp Conference Held In Brighton” • Kelp forests have many environmental benefits, but trawler fishing and storms destroyed 96% of the kelp forests covering the Sussex seabed by 2019. Now, with trawlers banned from the area, the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project is hosting Kelp Summit 2025 at the University of Sussex. [BBC]

Kelp at low tide (Shane Stagner, Unsplash)

¶ “How Could Peatlands Fall Victim To Climate Change?” • Historic damage caused by human activities like farming, forestry, and peat cutting has left 87% of England’s peatlands degraded and dried out. Efforts are under way to restore them, but scientists are warning that it might be difficult as the climate turns warmer and drier. [BBC]

¶ “In The Last Two Weeks, BYD Opened Pre-Sale of Four New Electric SUVs” • BYD has surged past Tesla in full battery EV sales. While Tesla has had a lack of new models over the years, Chinese EV producers have been excelling. In particular, BYD has been introducing new battery EV models, and their sales have been soaring. [CleanTechnica]

BYD Denza N9 (BYD image)

¶ “Palm Oil in Disguise?” • After a decade of biofuel policies contributing to global deforestation, the EU is shifting toward waste-based alternatives. But the increasing reliance on these waste materials has raised concerns, particularly over imports that may be questionable. A T&E report examines trends in the use of Palm Oil Mill Effluents. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EVs Take 24.4% Share In France – Renault 5 Unassailable?” • March auto sales saw plugin EVs take 24.4% share in France, a drop from 27.9% year-on-year. The YOY baseline was elevated by a pull-forward ahead of incentive cut-offs, so the comparison is temporarily skewed. On a normalized basis, battery EVs continue to climb, albeit slowly. [CleanTechnica]

Renault 5 (Renault image)

¶ “Schroders Capital, Apple Launch China Push” • Schroders Capital announced the first close of a China renewable energy strategy after a $100 million anchor investment commitment from Apple. The strategy targets wind and solar projects in late-stage development and construction across China, aiming to deliver attractive returns. [reNews]

¶ “DeepOcean Bags O&M Gig On Vattenfall Portfolio” • Ocean services provider DeepOcean was awarded agreements for the provision of subsea cable operations and maintenance services for Vattenfall’s European offshore wind portfolio. DeepOcean mobilized the subsea vessel Olympic Ares, which was converted to lay cable, for the assignments. [reNews]

Olympic Ares (DeepOcean image)

¶ “Asian Bank To Invest £10 Billion In UK” • A collaboration of the UK government and a bank in Southeast Asia is expected to unlock £10 billion of investment in the UK, including its clean energy. Minister for Investment Baroness Poppy Gustafsson and the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp’s head of global corporate banking Elaine Lam signed the MOU. [reNews]

¶ “India Adds 25 GW Of Renewable Energy In FY 2024-25” • An unprecedented 25 GW of renewable energy capacity was added by India in FY 2024-25, marking an increase of nearly 35% over the previous year’s 18.57 GW. India’s solar power sector led the renewable energy growth, with capacity additions of nearly 21 GW in FY25. [Indian Chemical News]

Solar park in Maharashtra (Thomas Lloyd Group, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Indian Heavy Industries Present 20 GW Open Access Solar Opportunity” • Indian heavy industries, including steel, cement, and aluminum, present a 20 GW opportunity in the solar open access market despite relying on captive coal generation, an analysis by Ember found. The steel sector accounts for 9.4 GW of the total. [pv magazine International]

US:

¶ “Water Recycling Could Ease Shrinking Of Colorado River, Report Finds” • Water recycling can significantly lessen burdens on the Colorado River Basin, but just 26% of treated municipal wastewater is reused across the seven states that depend on the overdrawn river, according to an analysis by the University of California Los Angeles. [ABC News]

Bathtub ring on the Colorado River (Jorge Vidales, Unsplash)

¶ “Once-In-A-Generation Storm With Tornadoes And Historic Flooding” • A once-in-a-generation extreme weather event, with a tornado outbreak and dangerous flooding, is pounding a region from Arkansas to Illinois. A rare high severe weather risk, level 5 of 5, was issued, warning of dangerous thunderstorms and wind gusts, with possible strong tornadoes. [ABC News]

¶ “World’s Most Powerful Tidal Energy Turbine Headed To US Waters, Eventually” • Tidal energy innovators have faced many obstacles, but finally signs of commercial application are starting to emerge. In an interesting twist, the US could be among the first nations to take advantage of the reliable, 24/7 renewable energy potential of tides. [CleanTechnica]

Floating tidal turbine (Courtesy of Lloyd’s Register)

¶ “How Alienating American Allies And Emptying US Wallets Reduced Jet Fuel Burn” • Donald Trump has managed to do what no climate policy has done: reduce emissions from transborder aviation. It seems if you turn enough allies into adversaries and threaten the economy, planes don’t fly full, routes get cancelled, and jet fuel stays in the ground. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “NRC: Proposed Steam Generator Fix At Palisades Will Take Longer To Review” • In a letter, the NRC said it expects to take until September 30 to evaluate the Holtec’s plans for repairing damaged steam generator tubes. Holtec wants to do that through a process called sleeving, in which Framatome Alloy 690 sleeves are inserted into the tubes. [Toledo Blade]

Have a consequentially productive day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Last Year ‘One Of The Worst For UK Butterflies'” • According to conservationists, last year was one of the worst on record for the UK’s butterflies. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme found for the first time more than half of their species in the UK are in long-term decline. And even the most common butterflies are suffering losses. [BBC]

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly (Janesca, Unsplash)

¶ “Free Hot Water Project To Help With Fuel Poverty” • A device that will heat tenants’ hot water tank for free is being piloted in some Housing Executive properties in Northern Ireland. It is hoped that the devices, which use excess locally-generated renewable energy, will help mitigate fuel poverty, which afflicts 22% of the country’s households. [BBC]

¶ “Corporate Travel Reduced By A Third On 2019 Levels Despite Increased Flying By Some Companies” • Business travel by the world’s biggest companies fell by 34% between 2019 and 2023, the fourth edition of the Travel Smart Ranking finds. Even so, some big companies are bucking that trend, and 44% of the 326 in the ranking have no travel target. [CleanTechnica]

Airport (Ashim D’Silva, Unsplash)

¶ “XPENG Scores 331% Sales Growth! ” • For the first quarter of 2025, XPENG logged 94,008 deliveries, 331% more than in the 1st quarter of 2024. And XPENG notes that this is the fifth month in a row when XPENG delivered over 30,000 vehicles to customers. It even achieved that result through the always-tough Chinese New Year period. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “BYD Announces Home Solar-Powered Humanoid Robot For $10,000!” • BYD seems to be telling Tesla and everyone else in the market, “What you can do, I can do better, and cheaper.” With 110,000 R&D engineers, who is surprised? BYD may have delayed entry into the humanoid robot market, but it’s coming in with the biggest bang imaginable. [CleanTechnica]

Robot (Maximalfocus, Unsplash)

¶ “New Agreement To Drive Renewables Roll-Out In Europe” • A landmark agreement is set to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy across Europe. The Fast and Fair Renewables & Grids agreement aims to address the problem of local opposition holding up renewable energy projects. The EU aims to reach 42.5% renewable energy by 2030. [reNews]

¶ “Swedes Grant Nod For 2.8-GW Skyborn Project” • Skyborn Renewables cleared a crucial hurdle in its plans for an offshore wind farm in Sweden. The County Administrative Board of Uppsala recommended that the Swedish government approve the 2.8-GW Fyrskeppet offshore wind project. The project is to have up to 187 wind turbines. [reNews]

Offshore wind farm (Skyborn Renewables image)

¶ “Octopus Energy Unlocks French Green Power For 150,000 Homes” • Octopus Energy’s generation arm is powering ahead with its green energy push in France, striking four deals in solar and wind energy to power 150,000 homes. Octopus is now building or managing  500 MW of green power in over 30 wind and solar farms in France. [energy-pedia]

¶ “NYK And Partners to Develop Renewable Energy-Powered Floating Data Center” • NYK Line, NTT Facilities, Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation, MUFG Bank, and the city of Yokohama signed a memorandum of understanding for a demonstration project of an offshore green data center with a mini-float as a disaster countermeasure. [Offshore Engineer Magazine]

Offshore Floating Green Data Center (NYK Line image)

¶ “Finland Ending Use Of Coal As Last Utility-Scale Plant Shuts Down” • Finland is transitioning to renewable energy, including solar and wind. In recent years, the country’s use of coal has been falling after government officials in 2019 passed a law banning the use of coal after 2029. The 175-MW Salmisaari plant has shut down, ending use of coal. [POWER Magazine]

US:

¶ “Over 1,900 Researchers Describe ‘Assault’ On Science By The White House” • Scientists, engineers, and researchers sent an open letter to President Donald Trump’s administration, calling for a stop to its “assault” on science. Nearly 2,000 signators called out the administration for defunding research, firing scientists, and ending public access to data. [ABC News]

White House (Kristina Volgenau, Unsplash)

¶ “US Carmakers Crush It On Q1 EV Sales (Except You-Know-Who)” • EV sales in the US continued to increase during the first three months of this year. Well, aside from Tesla’s. Some analysts surmise that buyers are rushing to lock in prices before tariffs take effect or the federal EV tax credit gets the axe, or both. Time and Q2 sales will tell. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Tesla Board Asks Elon Musk to Step Down” • The Tesla board of directors hasn’t been exactly reasonable and independent. Musk has been allowed to tarnish the Tesla brand (that he once was critical in building up) and drive sales down, down, down as the board has remained silent and seemingly useless. That is, until now. [CleanTechnica]

Elon Musk selling a Tesla (White House, public domain)

¶ “Contract Negotiations Paused With Maine Floater” • Pine Tree Offshore Wind has paused negotiations with the US state of Maine over a 144-MW floating project in the Gulf of Maine. The consortium is pausing the project “due to recent shifts in the energy landscape that have in particular caused uncertainty in the offshore wind industry.” [reNews]

¶ “Nuclear Is Now “Clean Energy” In Colorado After Governor Polis Signs Bill” • Governor Jared Polis signed a bill to crack open the door to a new nuclear energy era in Colorado, disregarding a coalition of environmental groups asking for a veto. HB25-1040, redefines nuclear as a “clean energy resource,” despite the lack of storage for its radioactive waste. [Colorado Public Radio]

Have a fabulously interesting day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Science and Technology:

¶ “InductEV Answers Your Wireless EV Charging Questions ” • Last week, CleanTechnica recapped some of the latest progress in wireless EV charging, featuring InductEV, a company based in Pennsylvania. Our readers had lots of comments and questions about wireless EV charging. The folks at InductEV read them and offered their additional insights. [CleanTechnica]

In-road wireless charging system (InductEV image, screenshot)

World:

¶ “Some Super Cool Electric Bus News In March From East And Southern Africa” • Rwanda is seeing some cool progress in the electrification of public transport. BasiGo, the leading provider of electric bus solutions in East Africa, announced a significant expansion of its operations with the upcoming delivery of 28 new electric buses. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Antarctic Iceberg The Size Of Chicago Breaks Off, Revealing Thriving Undersea Ecosystem” • An iceberg the size of Chicago broke off of an Antarctic ice shelf, revealing a thriving ecosystem beneath it, researchers say. They found a “beautiful, thriving ecosystem” on the sea floor where it had been, possibly brought nutrients by ocean currents. [ABC News]

Iceberg (Tina Rolf, Unsplash)

¶ “Sterling And Wilson RE Wins Solar And Hybrid Projects Worth ₹1,470 Crore” • Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Ltd announced that it received letters of award for two projects and has been declared lowest bidder for a 200-MW AC solar project. The total order value of the three domestic projects combined is ₹1,470 crore. [pv magazine India]

¶ “Hyme Energy Advances Molten Salt Battery Technology” • In Denmark, Hyme Energy has a new take on storing renewable energy using molten salt. It’s a variation on the concentrated solar power idea. Hyme Energy worked with Sulzer, a Swiss fluid engineering specialist, to create a molten salts demonstrator plant in Esbjerg, Denmark. [CleanTechnica]

Molten salt plant (Hyme Energy image)

¶ “Using Surplus Solar Power To Pre-Cool, Pre-Heat Homes” • Researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia investigated how excess solar power from rooftop PV can be used for solar pre-cooling and pre-heating in residential buildings. They simulated the thermal performances of nine building types in four Australian cities. [pv magazine International]

¶ “Vestas Confirms 1-GW Nordlicht Turbine Order” • Vestas has confirmed an order for 68 15-MW wind turbines for Vattenfall’s Nordlicht 1 offshore wind project in the German North Sea. The order includes just over 1 GW in total capacity: grid connection capacity of 980 MW and an excess capacity of 40 MW to make the connection as efficient as possible. [reNews]

Vestas wind turbine (Vestas image)

¶ “Using Surplus Solar Power To Pre-Cool, Pre-Heat Homes” • Scientists in Australia have shown how to implement pre-cooling and pre-heating in Australian buildings by using the support of excess solar power. Through their analysis, they demonstrated that summer has the highest potential for air conditioning demand reduction. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “OW Picks Crist For BC-Wind Offshore Substation” • Ocean Winds has chosen Crist Offshore to supply the 2,000-tonne, offshore electrical substation for the up to 500-MW BC-Wind project in Poland. According to OW, the deal marks a milestone as it is the first time that key offshore infrastructure will be built by a Polish company.  [reNews]

Substation (Ocean Winds via LinkedIn)

US:

¶ “A Rallying Call For The UAW To Reject Trump’s Tariffs And Protectionism” • The UAW leadership has taken a position of support for Trump on tariffs and protectionism. US-focused worker advocacy group Solidarity is challenging that position, saying that tariffs and nationalism raise prices, especially hurting workers and the poor. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Silver Fire In California Spreads Beyond 1,500 Acres, Prompts Evacuations” • A vegetation fire in California rapidly spread to nearly 1,600 acres after prompting evacuations of parts of two counties. It was at 1,589 acres and 47% contained as of 10:00 pm Monday. “Firefighters have successfully stopped the forward spread of the fire,” Cal Fire. [ABC News]

Wildfire (Cal Fire image)

¶ “More Sodium Batteries To Challenge Tesla On Energy Storage Business” • Tesla CEO Elon Musk may have mentioned sodium batteries coming this year, but don’t hold your breath. Lately, he has been busily meddling in state elections while attending to his number one business of helping Trump manage things around the White House. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “More Offtake Delays For New England Offshore Projects” • In Massachusetts, finalization of offtake contracts with two offshore wind developers was delayed again. Offtake contracts between the state, Iberdrola’s 791-MW New England 1, and Ocean Winds’ 1.3-GW SouthCoast Wind, previously delayed until 31 March, are now again delayed until 30 June. [reNews]

Nantucket (Keenan Shepard, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Tariffs Will Be ‘Armageddon’ For US Auto Industry” • The US government plan to impose 25% tariffs on all imported cars and trucks is to go into effect on April 3, with tariffs on imported car parts to follow shortly. An analyst for Wedbush Securities, Dan Ives, told Bloomberg that the tariffs are “Armageddon” for the automotive industry. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Uranium Market Faces Disruption Amid Tariff Threats” • The uranium market in the US is facing a slowdown as nuclear power companies hold off on purchases and delay new contracts following President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, according to Bloomberg. The US has 94 nuclear reactors, but it sources 95% of its nuclear fuel from abroad. [Yahoo Finance]

Have a generally flawless day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “The Swedish City Fined For Missing An Environmental Target” • In 2022, the City of Gothenburg became what may be the first local government on Earth to take out a “sustainability linked loan.” For each of four categories, meet agreed annual improvement levels Gothenburg gets a discount on the yearly fee it pays for the loan. Miss, and pay a fine. [BBC]

Gothenburg (Miguel Bernardo, Unsplash)

¶ “Firm Trials Sustainable Algae Fertilizer For Crops” • NouriSol creates sustainable fertilizers from microalgae already present in farm fields. Its trials suggest it has led to a 21% increase in yield compared to a chemical fertilizer. Making it does not generate carbon emissions, while conventional fertilizers are the source of 3% of greenhouse gas emissions. [BBC]

¶ “Shell Discontinues Solar, Wind Projects In Brazil” • Shell has confirmed it is discontinuing its centralized solar and onshore wind energy projects in Brazil. The decision was taken as part of a portfolio adjustment, the company said. The firm said it will continue to operate Prime Energy, which has smaller solar power assets in Brazil. [reNews]

Solar farm in Brazil (CoyoteBR, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Geely Says Riddara Will Enter A New Phase Of Expansion In 2025, Including South Africa!” • At a conference held by Geely Riddara, distributor representatives from over fifty countries gathered to review the achievements of last year and witness the launch of the 2025 Geely Riddara global strategy. The brand is pushing global expansion. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Pollution Hurts Solar Power Efficiency In India” • While India has made significant strides in adopting solar energy, it also has a severe air pollution. Smog and dust particles in the atmosphere scatter sunlight, directly reducing the amount of solar radiation reaching panels. Some solar installations in northern India have reported output losses of up to 30%. [Wion]

Burning rice straw (Neil Palmer, CIAT, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “CKPower Expands RECs Operations To Accelerate Global Clean Energy Adoption” • CK Power Public Company Limited, one of Southeast Asia’s largest producers of renewable electricity, is expanding its Renewable Energy Certificates business for the accelerating global transition toward clean energy and greater sustainability commitments. [The Manila Times]

¶ “Mexico Announces Battery Storage Mandate For Renewable Energy Plants” • A month after India introduced an energy storage mandate for renewable energy plants and China ended its own, Mexico has stepped forward with an ambitious 30% capacity requirement, alongside plans to add a further 574 MW of batteries by 2028. [pv magazine International]

Mexico (Andrés Sanz, Unsplash)

¶ “Infrastructure Investment Megatrends Eye Renewable Energy And Data Centers” • The integration of renewable energy and digital infrastructure is a growing area attracting investors, an IMF Investors report found. Its survey shows 80% of respondents plan to increase their infrastructure equity in renewable energy and environmental options. [pv magazine Australia]

¶ “Leaders Play Power Games In Election Skirmish Over Gas” • Campaigning on opposite sides of Australia, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton spent the third day of the election lead-up bolstering their credentials in bringing down energy bills with the use of gas. Peter Dutton called for a reservation of gas ahead of planned nuclear reactors. [MSN]

Peter Dutton (M Chan, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

US:

¶ “Insurance Industry Predicts More Future Losses – Now Tariffs Add To The Impact Of Climate Claims ” • It’s more than climate claims that have upended what it means to have insurance. The Trump administration’s insistence on radical tariffs has caused insurers to boost the expected costs of climate claims, which is further upsetting just about everyone. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Aptera Takes Its First Road Trip: Jennifer Sensiba” • Recently, Aptera’s people did something I’ve said they should do for years: take the show on the road! In a YouTube video, the company showed a road trip from Flagstaff, Arizona, back to California in the latest version of the solar-charging two-seater. This is the production-intent build of the vehicle. [CleanTechnica]

Aptera on the road (Aptera image)

¶ “From Phoenix to Vegas on Solar Power (Mostly)” • E-bikes are great for local commuting in decent weather and great for fun rides, but they’re not great at all for road trips. Limited battery range, low speeds, and exposure to the elements can make for a not-so-great experience. However, in a YouTube video, at least one of these problems was tackled. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Solar Waves System Taps Into $30 Million Californian Canal Canopy Trial” • Green Energy Systems, based in Sydney, was selected to trial its “Solar Waves” system with Project Nexus, which aims to install solar canopies over its extensive network of irrigation canals in California. Green Energy Systems will put up 120 kW for approval. [pv magazine Australia]

Have a totally copacetic day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “More Beavers Set To Be Released” • A breeding pair of beavers will be released into a new 6.5-hectare (16-acre) enclosure in the Shropshire Hills in the headwaters of the River Clun. The river and its tributaries are a “critical and fragile ecosystem,” and the species within them, like Atlantic Salmon, benefit from beaver dams, which create sediment-free water. [BBC]

Beaver (Dušan veverkolog, Unsplash)

¶ “Uruguay EV Sales Report: 300% Growth In A Record February Brings BEV Market Share Over 15%” • Uruguay has consistently been the second most advanced country in Latin America as far as electrification goes, behind Costa Rica. As far as the auto sales go, EVs and plugin hybrids had a combined market share of 15.4% in February. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Norway’s New Industrial Policy Pivots Away From Hydrogen For Energy” • In 2020, Norway jumped into hydrogen like it was the next North Sea oil rush. The government released a national hydrogen strategy full of ambitions and buzzwords. A problem with such an approach is that physics and economics refuse to read the press releases. [CleanTechnica]

Bergen (Ignacio Ceballos, Unsplash)

¶ “UK Reconsidering Tesla Subsidies After Trump Tariffs” • US President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on imported cars (again), and one reaction from the UK is to reconsider its policy on EV subsidies, especially since it is providing so much money to Tesla buyers. The subsidies have come to £188 million in the last nine years. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Researchers Reveal Surprising Financial Twist Tied To New Energy Rollout” • Your electric bill might be more stable in the future than you think. A study from the University of Cambridge predicts that meeting green energy goals could have a surprising benefit: fewer price spikes and more predictable costs for homes across Europe. [The Cool Down]

Solar panels (yue chan, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Russia Could Offer Nuclear Power Plant For Mars Mission Of ‘Great Visionary’ Elon Musk, Says Putin’s Envoy” • Russia may provide a small nuclear power plant for a Mars mission planned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, said Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy for international cooperation. He said Moscow could discuss the offer with Musk via video conference. [MSN]

US:

¶ “Anonymous Survey Of Oil & Gas Executives Says Geopolitical Uncertainty Clouds Their Outlook” • Out of all the constituent groups in the US, wouldn’t you think that oil and gas executives would be supporting President Donald J. Trump’s policies? Well, an anonymous survey released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says otherwise. [CleanTechnica]

Meeting in the Oval Office (White House, public domain)

¶ “‘Range Anxiety Will Go Away’: How The Mercedes CLA Sedan Could Upend Americans’ Views On EVs” • Americans have two demands when buying an EV: long range and rapid charging. German automaker Mercedes-Benz may have a solution: the upcoming electric CLA sedan. It has a 500-mile range and adds 200 miles in ten minutes of charging. [ABC News]

¶ “Florida Surpasses California In New Solar Installations” • Last May, Florida enacted a law deleting any reference to climate change from most of its state policies. It was a move Republican Governor Ron DeSantis described as ​“restoring sanity …” Oddly enough, against this backdrop of ignorance, Florida has become a national leader in solar power. [CleanTechnica]

Solar array with batteries (NextEra Energy image)

¶ “Major Electric Company Secures Loan To Make A Shift That Could Save Its Customers Money” • Arizona Public Service Company secured a conditional $1.81 billion loan that will help the shift toward renewable energy. The utility company hopes to source 45% of its energy from renewables by 2030 and cease coal-fired generating by 2031. [The Cool Down]

¶ “RWE Expands Renewable Energy In West Texas To Power The Oilfield” • Rising power demand encouraged RWE to expand its renewable energy capacity in West Texas. RWE and GE Vernova are partnering on 109 2.82-MW wind turbines for two projects that, combined, will provide 308 MW of new and upgraded power capacity. [Midland Reporter-Telegram]

Have a superbly relaxing day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Renewable Energy Provided More Than 50% Of UK Electricity In 2024” • Renewable’s share of electricity generation was 50.8% in 2024, the first time that over half of the electricity came from renewables. It was the result of growth in renewable generation and a fall in nonrenewable generation. In 2024, a total 4.2 GW of renewable capacity was added. [CleanTechnica]

Dorenell wind farm (EDF Renewables image)

¶ “VinFast: The EV Revolution Needs More Than Cars” • VinFast isn’t just manufacturing EVs. It is also investing in EV support infrastructure. Across its home market of Vietnam, VinFast has set up charging stations every 3.5 km in cities, far denser than typical urban targets elsewhere. On highways, VinFast stations appear every 65 km. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Vestas Confirms 495-MW Fengmiao 1 Deal” • Vestas has taken a 495-MW order from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners for the Fengmiao 1 offshore wind project off the coast of Taiwan. The deal covers 33 turbines, each of 15 MW, and a long-term service agreement designed to ensure optimized performance of the assets, the OEM said. [reNews]

Vestas wind turbine (Vestas image)

¶ “Eolus And Hydro Rein Complete 260 M W Swedish Wind Farm” • Eolus and Hydro Rein have completed construction of the 260-MW Stor-Skälsjön onshore wind farm in Sweden. The wind farm is in Sundsvall and Timrå municipalities in northern Sweden. It has 42 Siemens Gamesa turbines and a total capacity of 260 MW. [reNews]

¶ “Adani Green Energy’ Subsidiary Starts 37.5-MW Solar Power Project In Gujarat’s Khavda” • Adani Green Energy Ltd said in a regulatory filing that a subsidiary, Adani Renewable Energy Fifty Seven Ltd, has commissioned a 37.5-MW solar power project at Khavda in Gujarat. Adani’s total renewable energy capacity has risen to 13,737.8 MW. [TradingView]

Owl on a solar panel (Erik Karits, Unsplash)

¶ “Renewables Capacity Hits 2 Billion kW Mark” • China’s non-fossil fuel power generation capacity reached a historic 2 billion kW (2,000 GW) milestone by the end of February, solidifying the country’s global leadership in the transition away from fossil fuels and marking a pivotal step toward its ambitious climate goals, said industry experts. [China Daily]

US:

¶ “Three Dead After Storms Bring Record-Breaking Texas Floods” • At least three people have died after heavy rain brought record-breaking flooding to South Texas, according to officials. The deaths occurred in Hidalgo County, where officials issued a disaster declaration as a result of the flooding due to rain that fell over the last 24 hours. [ABC News]

Flood (Wade Austin Ellis, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Carolina Wildfires: High Winds, Low Humidity Significantly Increase Threat” • Strong winds and low humidity made big problems for firefighters in the Carolinas, as wildfires have raged in both states. Red flag warnings were up in the western regions of the states, with wind gusts of 30 mph and relative humidity as low as 20%, officials said. [ABC News]

¶ “PG&E Advancing $43 Million For Nine New Community Microgrids In Northern California” • Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced its intent to award up to $43 million in Microgrid Incentive Program grant funding for the development of nine new community microgrids in its Northern and Central California service area. [CleanTechnica]

Sacramento (Basil D Soufi, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “New Long-Duration Energy Storage System To Challenge Tesla Megapack” • Lithium-ion battery systems are usually made to discharge for a few hours at full capacity. The DOE has been scouting for energy storage technologies that can keep going for days, weeks, or even whole seasons. And battery innovators have been responding to the call. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Annapolis Gets Battery Electric Buses From RIDE/BYD” • At a cermony, city officials in Annapolis, Maryland, unveiled two new RIDE battery electric buses. Based in Lancaster, California, RIDE, which was founded in 2023, is the US spinoff of BYD and builds heavy-duty vehicles including school buses, coaches, and trucks for the US market. [CleanTechnica]

BYD electric bus in Chile (Carlos Figueroa Rojas, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Philadelphia Gas Works Looking At Geothermal Energy To Heat And Cool Schools ” • Philadelphia Gas Works is looking at geothermal energy to help keep kids cool in school. The utility issued a Request for Proposals for a firm to conduct a geothermal site survey and feasibility study in conjunction with the School District of Philadelphia. [The Well News]

¶ “US States Race To Attract Smaller, Cheaper Nuclear Reactors For AI Development” • With the promise of newer, cheaper nuclear power on the horizon, U.S. states are vying to position themselves to build and supply the industry’s next generation as policymakers consider expanding subsidies and paving over regulatory obstacles. [NBC New York]

Have an interestingly contemplative day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Fears 19th Century Canal Could Start To Run Dry In Days” • There are fears one of Wales’ most popular canals could start to dry up within a week, prompting calls for the Welsh government to intervene. Operators of the 225-year-old Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal have warned of an “urgent” water shortage without the prospect of imminent rainfall. [BBC]

The Wharf, Brecon (Philip Pankhurst, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Tesla FSD Banned In UK, Trial Ends In China After One Week” • Tesla continues to bang the drum for its misleadingly named Full Self Driving technology package. The problem is that it is not even close to offering full self driving capability. That convinced the UK’s Department for Transport to disallow most Tesla driver-assist features. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “XPENG Prioritizes AI-Powered Experience-First Strategy at Bangkok International Motorshow” • XPENG, a high-tech car maker, strengthens Thailand premium smart EV leadership with AI-powered experience-first strategy, cutting edge supercharging networks, and better value proposition at the 46th Bangkok International Motorshow. [CleanTechnica]

XPENG showroom (YEING Luwem Hai Wangs, public domain)

¶ “China Announces Controversial Plan To Address Its Massive Power Needs: ‘New Energy Bases'” • While some renewable energy projects go in the right direction, other proposed plans spark controversy. One is a hydropower facility in Tibet. Experts point out it would have the potential to “impact on downstream water flows,” Reuters reported. [The Cool Down]

¶ “First Turbine Installed At 1.4-GW Sofia Wind Farm” • Cadeler successfully installed the first of 100 turbines at RWE’s 1.4-GW Sofia wind farm off east England. Jack-up Wind Peak arrived at the site on 22 March after being loaded out with the first batch of six Siemens Gamesa 14-MW machines at the turbine maker’s blade factory in Hull. [reNews]

Wind Peak (Cadeler image)

¶ “Even As New Clean Energy Breaks Records, Energy Emissions Rise” • Over 700 GW of clean energy capacity were installed last year worldwide, a March International Energy Agency report says. That’s more than double the amount built in 2022. Despite the growth of carbon-free power, emissions from the energy sector rose by nearly 1%. [Canary Media]

¶ “CDWE Installs Hai Long OSS Topside” • CDWE installed the HL3 OSS topside on the jacket for the 1-GW Hai Long offshore wind project, off Taiwan. This marks completion of two offshore substations (OSS) following the OSS installation campaign from last year for the offshore wind farm. The installation was carried out by the vessel Green Jade. [reNews]

OSS installation (CDWE image)

¶ “Scotland Generated Record Amount Of Renewable Electricity In 2024” • Scotland generated a record amount of energy from renewables last year. Data shows the electricity generated north of the Border helped power the rest of the UK. The majority of energy was produced by wind turbines, with 30.1 TWh coming from wind projects. [The National Scot]

¶ “Vindr To Deliver 600-MW Latvian High-Five” • Renewable energy company Vindr has secured five new wind park development areas in Latvia. The Nordic developer plans to invest up to €600m in the wind farms, with the total capacity exceeding 600 MW. The five development areas are Cēsis, Jēkabpils, Līvāni, Saldus, and Valmiera. [reNews]

Wind turbines (Abby Anaday, Unsplash)

¶ “Why a Diesel Tank Failure at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Is a Global Threat” • The latest incident – the failure of an emergency diesel tank at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant – threatens the stability of the plant’s operation and could lead to a catastrophe similar to the accident at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi NPP. [Fakti.bg]

US:

¶ “US Geothermal Energy Startup Pre-Qualified By US Air Force, Eyes Scaleup” • The geothermal energy startup XGS Energy is a Texas-based firm is part of a cohort of geothermal innovators pre-qualified to bid on Department of of Defense contracts. It just secured another $13 million to help speed its way to commercialization. [CleanTechnica]

Geothermal energy innovation (XGS Energy image)

¶ “New York City Indoor Pollution Law Upheld By Federal Court” • A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by plumbing and building trade groups against the New York City ban on methane gas in new buildings. Legal experts say the decision is a strong legal footing for all types of local policies to phase out gas in buildings. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Hyundai, Kia, And Genesis Plant That Can Produce 500,000 Electric And Hybrid Vehicles Opens In Georgia” • Hyundai Motor Group invested $12.6 billion to build the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia. Now it’s open. Hyundai says it will produce up to 500,000 Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis electric and hybrid vehicles per year. [CleanTechnica]

Metaplant America (Hyundai Motor America image)

¶ “Southwest Power Pool Can Hit 90% Renewables By 2050, Says Brattle Group” • High shares of renewable generation could enable the grid operator Southwest Power Pool to serve its customers with no increase in inflation-adjusted costs per megawatt-hour of electricity through 2050, a Brattle Group study has found. [pv magazine International]

¶ “Farmers In Trump Country Were Counting On Clean Energy Grants. Then The Goalposts Were Moved” • The Department of Agriculture announced it will release previously authorized grant funds to farmers and rural business owners to build renewable energy projects, but only if they rewrite applications to comply with the president’s priorities. [The Allegheny Front]

Have a decidedly goodly day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Climate Change And Overfishing Threaten Vietnam’s Ancient Tradition” • Fish sauce is recognized by Vietnam as a central part of the country’s heritage. But that heritage is in danger. Climate change and overfishing make it harder to catch the anchovies essential to the condiment that underlies so much of Vietnam and southeast Asia’s food. [ABC News]

Anchovies (engin akyurt, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “How China’s Sinopec Is Escaping The Gas Utility Death Spiral” • When Sinopec, China’s petroleum giant, decided to start drilling geothermal wells instead of oil wells, it was initially greeted with skepticism. Renewable energy? Surely not the first place you’d expect an oil-and-gas colossus to stake its future. But Sinopec wasn’t dabbling. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “92.5% of New Power Capacity Added Worldwide in 2024 Was from Renewables” • Some 92.5% of new power capacity added to the grid in 2024 came from renewable energy sources. This is not even a competition anymore. And that’s great, because we’re still running behind schedule when it comes to decarbonizing the world. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it (IRENA image)

¶ “Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners Makes 2.3-GW Italian BESS Pact” • CIP, through its Flagship Fund CI V, entered into a partnership with Italian developer GC Storage Services for a 2,300-MW pipeline of large-scale batteries in Italy. The projects are in Northern and Southern Italy, with the first expected to be in a ready-to-build in 2025. [reNews]

¶ “Biggest Solar Project in the World Gets UK Investment Boost” • In the Philippines, what is set to become the world’s largest solar and battery storage facility, the Meralco Terra Solar Project got a boost to hasten its completion when UK-based global investment firm Actis closed a 348 billion peso ($600 million) investment recently. [CleanTechnica]

Solar project in the Philippines (Solar Philippines image)

¶ “Vattenfall Gets Nod For Ourack Wind Farm” • Vattenfall’s Ourack wind farm in the Scottish Highlands was granted consent by Scottish Ministers. The Ourack wind farm will consist of seventeen wind turbines and have a capacity of around 100 MW, generating enough electricity to meet the requirements of about 64,000 households. [reNews]

¶ “Software Empowering Farmers To Reap Renewable Benefits” • A project partly funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency is set to help landowners make best use of their land for renewable energy. The $500,000 investment will help RELA Australia improve software that helps assess the land’s potential for wind and solar capacity. [Energy Magazine]

Wind turbine (Grahame Jenkins, Unsplash)

¶ “‘Cheapest Domestic Energy There’s Ever Been:’ How Rooftop Solar Has Reduced Bills For All” • A report released last week to showcase the downward impact of renewables on power prices contained a stunning and timely reminder: Nothing has crushed household energy bills quite like rooftop solar, and not just for solar households. [One Step Off The Grid]

US:

¶ “Honey Bee Colonies Could Face 70% Losses In 2025” • Honey bee colonies across the US are facing record-breaking losses in 2025. Scientists warn there could be an impact on agricultural production. Washington State University entomologists project that commercial honey bee colony losses are to be between 60% and 70% this year. [ABC News]

Honey bee (Gaurav Kumar, Unsplash)

¶ “These Are The Impacts Some Scientists Fear Most From EPA Deregulation” • Several of the environmental freedoms that Americans experience today – clean air, clean water and clean rain among them – could soon be in jeopardy from the plans to deregulate the Environmental Protection Agency, several experts told ABC News. [ABC News]

¶ “Solar Canals Are Coming For Your Fossil Fuels” • The US is ripe with opportunities to establish itself as a leader in the solar canal movement, which opens up sites to develop solar power on existing water infrastructure. In California, researchers are hot on the trail of best cases for site selection among the state’s 4,000 miles of irrigation canals. [CleanTechnica]

Solar panels over a canal (TID Water and Power)

¶ “NYS Takes Over Solar Energy Project In Fort Edward” • A renewable energy project will soon be underway in Washington County, New York, Governor Kathy Hochul announced. The project will reportedly create more than 100 jobs. The New York Power Authority has acquired full ownership of the Somers Solar Project in the town of Fort Edward. [NEWS10 ABC]

¶ “Fast Track For One New Agrivoltaic Project In California, More To Follow” • Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he fast tracked the Cornucopia Hybrid Project for construction under the California Environmental Quality Act. It consists of a 300-MW solar array and a 300-MW battery energy storage, with provisions for solar grazing. [CleanTechnica]

Agrivoltaic project in California (Courtesy of Baywa RE)

¶ “DOE Reissues $900 Million Nuclear SMR Opportunity, Scraps Community Criteria To Focus On Technical Merit” • The US DOE reissued a $900 million funding opportunity to accelerate deployment of Generation III+ small modular reactors. It is removing community benefit requirements and shifting the focus solely to technical merit. [POWER Magazine]

¶ “Palisades Nuclear Plant Revival Sparks Industry Interest” • Last year, Holtec International, the private owner of the Palisades Power Plant in Covert, Michigan, announced plans to reopen the facility after it closed in 2022. If it is successful, the Palisades Nuclear Plant could provide a blueprint that other energy companies could follow. [OilPrice.com]

Have a curiously inspirational day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “BYD Advances Its ‘All EVs Great And Small’ Strategy” • BYD is having a breakout year. In 2024, it sold $107 billion worth of automobiles, trucks, and buses, up 29% from the prior year. People who make their living guessing about such things had estimated the company’s revenue would be less by about 11 billion yuan ($1.5 billion). [CleanTechnica]

BYD EV (BYD image)

¶ “Tesla Sales Fall By 49% In Europe Even As The Electric Vehicle Market Grows” • European sales of Tesla EVs tumbled 49% in the first two months of the year compared with a year earlier even as overall sales of EVs grew, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. As Tesla sales are down, BYD’s EV and hybrid sales are up 40%. [ABC News]

¶ “Vattenfall Makes FID On The 1.6-GW Nordlicht Cluster” • Vattenfall made the final investment decision on the 1600-MW Nordlicht cluster in Germany, with BASF securing long-term access to renewable electricity. Construction of the Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farms in the North Sea is due to begin in 2026 and they are expected to be operational in 2028. [reNews]

Offshore wind turbine (Vattenfall image)

¶ “Solar Becomes Spain’s Top Source Of New Power In 2024” • Spain generated 148,999 GWh of renewable energy in 2024, which is 56.8% of total electricity production, according to grid operator Red Eléctrica de España. Wind power accounted for 23.2% of total generation, followed by nuclear at 20%. Solar, at 17%, grew the most. [pv magazine International]

¶ “Repsol Invests In 400-MW Spanish Portfolio” • Repsol has joined forces with Schroders Greencoat as a 49% partner in a 400-MW wind and solar portfolio, valued at €580 million. The portfolio includes eight wind farms, totaling 300 MW, in the northern Spain. The agreement also includes two solar plants, totaling 100 MW. [reNews]

Wind farm (Repsol image)

¶ “Renewables Surged Globally In 2024, New Data Shows” • Renewable energy capacity around the world surged last year, particularly in the US and China, according to a report. The data shows that renewables, including wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro power sources are growing far faster than traditional power, but not fast enough. [Axios]

¶ “Quanta To Build Solar Farms For Stellantis” • Quanta Energy will build almost 58 MW of solar farms for Stellantis. The car company, owner of such brands as Citroën, Fiat, and Peugeot, chose Quanta Energy to support decarbonizeation of its facilities in Poland. The first of the solar farms is already operating, three months ahead of schedule. [reNews]

Quanta solar farm (Quanta image)

¶ “BluPine Energy Gets ₹1,787 Crore From NaBFID To Increase Renewable Energy Portfolio” • BluPine Energy closed a deal of ₹1,787 crore ($287 million) with the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development. The funding will allow BluPine to optimize financial structuring, enhance operational efficiency, and fuel portfolio expansion. [pv magazine India]

¶ “CEFC Commitment Of $2 Billion Banks On Future Clean Energy Investments” • The Clean Energy Finance Corporation was allocated A$2 billion ($1.2 billion) in the 2025-26 Federal Budget to invest in renewable power and storage, efficiency, and other low emissions technology. The sum will support further private sector investment. [pv magazine Australia]

Solar system (Potentia Energy image)

¶ “Moscow Says Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Part Of Russia – Rules Out Return To Ukraine” • The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Moscow “does not consider it possible” to transfer the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to Ukraine or any other country, and joint operation with another country is unacceptable. [Kyiv Post]

US:

¶ “How Americans Could Suffer If The National Weather Service Is Privatized” • The NWS provides basic, integral information with the aim to protect the public rather than make a profit, said ABC News Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee. The NWS costs each American about $4 per year. One meteorology professor said the return on investment is about 73 to 1. [ABC News]

Weather (NOAA, Unsplash)

¶ “In 50 Of 82 Days in 2025, Solar, Wind, And Water Surpass 100% Of Electric Demand In California For Part Of Day” • Prof Mark Z Jacobson, of Stanford University, shared on BlueSky that in 50 of the first 82 days of 2025, wind, water, and solar power supplied over 100% of California’s electricity demand for at least part of the day. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Kia Protecting Freshwater In USA” • When we talk and write about cleantech, we often refer to technologies that help prevent global heating and climate crisis. However, there are other things to protect too, like water. Kia America has teamed up with The Nature Conservancy to help with freshwater conservation around the US. [CleanTechnica]

Freshwater (Robin Nguyen, Unsplash)

¶ “Waymo DC” • Waymo has been expanding faster and faster in the past couple of years, and it seemed certain that the company would bring its robotaxis to a new major market in 2025. In fact, Waymo could expand into more than one city, but the big news has come of its latest expansion. Waymo One is going to start working in Washington, DC. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Solar Power Is Now The Fastest-Growing Source Of Electricity In The US” • The Energy Information Administration confirmed the exciting news in a 2024 “Electric Power Monthly” report, which showed that the combination of utility-scale and rooftop solar increased by roughly 27% compared to the same period in 2023, according to Electrek. [The Cool Down]

Have an entirely enjoyable day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “The Actual Problem with Airplane Contrails” • Conspiracy theories around airplane contrails have been around for years, saying nefarious hidden forces are spraying slow-killing poison on us via “chemtrails.” Unfortunately, aviation contrails add to climate change, significantly. It’s just not the conspiracy theory some would like to believe. [CleanTechnica]

Contrail (Fr Daniel Ciucci, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “3D Nanotech Blankets Offer New Path To Clean Drinking Water” • Researchers developed a material that can use sunlight to clear water of dangerous pollutants. Created by combining soft chemistry gels and electrospinning the team constructed thin fiber-like strips of titanium dioxide (TiO₂), which is often used for self-cleaning technologies. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “BESS + Solar Farm + Blueberries = Energy Resilience In New Zealand” • Meridian Energy announced that it is about to begin construction of the 130-MW Ruakākā Solar Farm, to the south of Whangārei. This will be the company’s first solar farm in New Zealand. Whangarei is the northernmost city in the country, situated on the North Island. [CleanTechnica]

Ruakākā (Courtesy of Meridian Energy)

¶ “Trump Says Countries That Buy Venezuelan Oil Will Face 25% Tariff” • President Donald Trump said he would be placing a 25% tariff on all imports from any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela as well as imposing new tariffs on the South American country itself. In a Truth Social post, he said said Venezuela has been “very hostile” to the US. [ABC News]

¶ “Kent Wins Contract To Aid UK Energy Transition” • Kent, an engineering and project services company, has won a framework contract to support the UK government’s energy transition. Kent was awarded a place on the UK’s Department for Energy Security & Net Zero ENZPS framework to provide strategic expertise and management advice. [reNews]

Offshore infrastructure (Kent image)

¶ “Copperbelt To Invest $500 Million In Solar Power And Transmission Line Upgrades” • Zambia-based Copperbelt Energy Corporation plans to invest $500 million up to 2026 to boost solar power generation and increase the capacity of its power transmission line link to the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Reuters. [Yahoo Finance]

¶ “Offshore Substation Installed For Changhua 2b&4” • The offshore substation for Ørsted’s 920-MW Greater Changhua 2b and 4 wind farms in Taiwan has been installed. The company hailed the installation as a “landmark milestone” for the construction of the offshore wind project. Ørsted also did the first export cable selection for the project. [reNews]

Substation (Ørsted via LinkedIn)

¶ “Research Shows Germany’s Investments In Renewables Are ‘Paying Back’” • In a recently published study, researchers at the Brandenburg University of Technology in Germany reported that the “majority of subsidies” required to reach the costs associated with the Renewable Energy Sources Act have already been covered. [pv magazine International]

¶ “Nexans Secures €1 Billion Framework Deal With RTE” • Cable manufacturer Nexans secured a framework agreement with RTE, the French transmission system operator, to help connect three offshore wind farms to the grid. The agreement covers supply, installation, and commissioning of 450 km of HVDC subsea cables and 280 km of HVDC onshore cables. [reNews]

Nexans ship (Nexans image)

¶ “Climate-Related Heatwaves Pushed Up The Energy Sector’s Emissions In 2024, Despite Record Wind And Solar” • Climate change-created heat waves were behind a rise in energy-related carbon emissions last year, according to an International Energy Agency report. The need for cooling was one of the key drivers of final energy demand in 2024. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶ “Texas Senate Votes To Shred Renewable Energy Rules” • The Texas senate, obeying the demands of the fossil fuel industries, passed SB 388, which sets a target for 50% of new power plant capacity to be ​“sourced from dispatchable generation other than battery energy storage.” Companies that invest their money any other way will have to buy credits. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbines (Octopus Energy image)

¶ “Deep Geothermal Energy Production Progress in Utah” • The University of Utah, with support of the US DOE, is conducting the FORGE (Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy) experiment in Utah. For the project, wells are drilled deep into the Earth so geothermal energy can be extracted. This can be done nearly anywhere. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Trump Dumps On Heat Pumps, But They’re Coming” • Pres Trump withdrew heat pumps from federal support through the Defense Production Act. It is intended to stimulate key domestic manufacturing sectors vital to the national interest. So, will the DPA revocation stop the heat pump revolution? Probably not (note the emphasis). [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it. (US DOE image)

¶ “Washington DC’s Iconic Cherry Blossoms Are Days Away From Peak Bloom” • Extreme warm or cool temperatures have caused the DC blooms to occur as early as March 15 and as late as April 18, the NPS said. In 2024, peak bloom occurred on March 17, the second-earliest peak bloom on record, due to climate change and warmer temperatures. [ABC News]

¶ “Environmental Groups Urge Governor Polis To Veto Bill That Would Define Nuclear Energy As ‘Clean’” • Environmental groups are asking Colorado Governor Jared Polis to veto a bill approved by the state legislature to classify nuclear power as a clean energy source. It is the third attempt in three years by lawmakers to pass such a bill. [AspenTimes.com]

Have an honestly ideal day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Nuclear Power Will Be The Radioactive Cousin Of The Fossil Fuel Industry” • With the threat of climate change becoming a more widely acknowledged reality, lobbyists persuade decision makers and the public that nuclear reactors can help us. Sadly, nuclear power will just prove to be the radioactive cousin of the fossil fuel industry. [Colorado Newsline]

Nuclear plant in France (Jametlene Reskp, Unsplash)

¶ “Human Contribution To Climate Change” • The fact that climate change is driven by human activities is an established scientific reality. Journalists need to be aware of the scientific facts and ensure that they don’t try to ‘balance’ coverage by treating differing views in the global warming debate as having equal credibility. [Media Helping Media]

World:

¶ “Can Underground Thermal Batteries Warm Northern Cities in Deep Winter?” • Seasonal thermal energy storage with ground-source geothermal captures summer heat, whether from solar thermal panels, surplus renewable electricity, or waste industrial heat, and stores it underground, retrieving it months later when temperatures plunge. [CleanTechnica]

Calgary (Priscilla Du Preez, Unsplash)

¶ “Great British Energy Is Bringing Renewables To Schools, Hospitals, And Local Governments” • The first project for the UK’s new state-owned Great British Energy will be to invest £200 million to put rooftop solar panels on schools and hospitals all over the county to help save hundreds of millions of pounds on their energy bills. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Stardust’s Creating Geoengineering Technology” • According to Wired, Israeli startup Stardust is developing geoengineering technology that would help block the sun’s rays from reaching the Earth. The theory is that the Earth would be cooled a bit by the new technology, just as the awnings and window shades kept houses cooler in times past. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.
(courtesy of Union of Concerned Scientists)

¶ “Equis Starts Construction Of 250-MW Australian BESS” • Equis Australia started building a 250-MW, 500-MWh energy storage facility in New South Wales after it reached financial close. The Calala battery energy storage system is expected to be fully operational by 2027 and will have enough power to supply electricity for up to 115,000 homes. [reNews]

¶ “SFE Installs First Jacket At 300-MW Offshore Wind Farm” • Shinfox Far East Energy has installed the first jacket foundation for a 300-MW offshore wind farm in Taiwan. The jacket, which is taller than a 20-storey building, is now standing on the seabed of the wind farm. The foundations are being installed by the crane vessel SFE Hercules. [reNews]

SFE Hercules (Image via LinkedIn)

¶ “Bangladesh Launches 2.65-GW Solar Tender” • A tender for 2.65 GW of solar capacity was issued by the Bangladesh Power Development Board, as the country’s government aims to develop fourteen solar plants, each between 105 MW and 250 MW. BPDB will award selected developers 20-year power purchase agreements. [pv magazine International]

¶ “European Energy Inaugurates Oz Solar Park” • European Energy inaugurated its first operational Australian solar project after completing it ahead of schedule. The 58-MW Mokoan Solar Park in Winton, Victoria marks the opening step in European Energy’s 9-GW pipeline in Australia. Commercial operation is due to begin in June 2025. [reNews]

Australian solar park (European Energy image)

¶ “RPower Inks First Long-Term PPA in Romania” • RPower has signed its first long-term Power Purchase Agreement in Romania for the supply of 357-GWh of green energy with a local trading company. RPower, based in Poland, said the 2026-2036 contract marks an important step in its expansion into the European renewable energy market. [reNews]

US:

¶ “Monsanto Parent Ordered To Pay Nearly $2.1 Billion In Roundup Weedkiller Lawsuit” • A jury in Georgia ordered Bayer, the parent of Monsanto, to pay nearly $2.1 billion in damages to a man who says the company’s Roundup weed killer caused his cancer, according to attorneys representing the plaintiff. In is just the latest verdict against Monsanto. [ABC News]

Corn field (Stefano Marinelli, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “‘Fun On The Road Or Trail’: Why Rugged EVs Are Now In Demand” • Automakers are now targeting niche markets to boost sales. Instead of highlighting such things as range, selling points include an EV’s off-road capability and weekend warrior cred. Plus, the latest electrics have the brawny, boxlike styling that consumers seek. [ABC News]

¶ “ORPC Files Draft License For Alaska Tidal Energy Project” • US-based Ocean Renewable Power Company has submitted a draft pilot license application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for its East Foreland Tidal Energy Project in Cook Inlet, Alaska. The site is recognized as having the highest tidal energy potential in the US. [Offshore-Energy.biz]

Cook Inlet (Meg von Haartman, Unsplash)

¶ “A $7.50 Monthly Credit For Off-Peak EV Charging, Imagine Doing That With Your Gasmobile” • In Florida, 3,000 EV owners decided that $7.50 was enough for them to rush into an off-peak pilot project Duke Energy created. The test program was quickly oversubscribed and now Duke is offering it to everyone in their Florida territory. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Renewable Energy To Reach 37.4% Of US Generating Capacity By 2028” • By February 1, 2028, renewable energy sources are projected to make up 37.4% of the total installed utility-scale generating capacity in the US, trailing only natural gas at 40.2%, according to the latest data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. [Softonic]

Have an exquisitely fine day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Trump Is Powerless To Stop The Community Solar Movement From Spreading” • Trump eliminated federal funding allocated for cleantech through the Defense Production Act. The sweeping gesture generated a few headlines for the attention-seeking 47th President of the US, but the reality behind the headlines tells a different story. [CleanTechnica]

Community solar project (Courtesy of Dimension Energy)

¶ “Building Nuclear Involves Killing More People” • In Australia, building nuclear power plants requires keeping air-polluting coal power going for an extra 25 years, which would kill 3000-10,000 people. Nuclear plants are considered too expensive, too slow, too risky, too little expertise and not necessary when there are better alternatives. [Pearls and Irritations]

World:

¶ “Plans For New Marine Nature Reserve Revealed” • There are plans to establish a marine nature reserve off the east coast of the Isle of Man to protect newly discovered eelgrass beds. Under the Manx Wildlife Act, the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture is obliged to protect eelgrass by creating marine nature reserves and conservation zones. [BBC]

Eelgrass (Olivier Dugornay, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Trees Felled By Storm ‘Helping Support Nature'” • Exmoor National Park Authority said in December Storm Darragh, which brought winds of up to 88 mph (142 km/h), caused “significant damage and disruption” to the park. Trees thay fell at the national park in Devon during the storm are helping support insects, conservationists have said. [BBC]

¶ “Europe’s Electricity Crisis: From Heathrow’s Blackout To A Continental Wake-Up Call” • A fire that shut down Heathrow Airpor didn’t just cancel flights. A single substation failure near a busy transport hub brought European air traffic to a standstill, just because a complex of hardware that links transmission to distribution at a single site failed. [CleanTechnica]

Jet (John McArthur, Unsplash)

¶ “The Share Of Renewable Energy In The EU Increased To 46.9% In 2024” • In 2024, 46.9% of all electricity in the EU was generated from renewable sources. A Eurostat press release says Denmark is the leader in the share of green electricity among EU countries, with 88.4% of its electricity generation coming from wind farms. [GMK Center]

US:

¶ “Experts Say US Weather Forecasts Will Worsen As DOGE Cuts Balloon Launches” • With massive job cuts, the National Weather Service is eliminating or reducing vital weather balloon launches in eight northern locations, which meteorologists and former agency leaders said will degrade the accuracy of forecasts just as severe weather season kicks in. [ABC News]

Weather balloon launch (NOAA, Unsplash)

¶ “Tariff Anxiety Makes Honda And Toyota Strange Bedfellows” • Toyota is building a $14 billion battery factory in North Carolina, but it won’t need all those batteries for its own vehicles until sometime in the middle future. Honda, in an unexpected move as it navigates US tariff rules, will buy batteries from Toyota for its hybrid offerings . [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Big Oil Lobbying Congress For Immunity From Climate Lawsuits” • Big Oil, along with its conjoined methane producers, is lobbying Congress to shield it from liability for destroying the environment. Pay attention to this: The fossil fuel industry is asking to be let off the hook for decades of lying and cheating that cost thousands of lives. [CleanTechnica]

Sign in Maryland Statehouse (Daniel Huizinga, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Solar Manufacturing Accelerates In Texas … With Freyr Battery In The Mix (‽)” • Texas has been growing its solar manufacturing profile even as state lawmakers try to obstruct the Texas energy transition. Among the news makers is Freyr Battery, which had ditched plans for a $2.6 billion battery factory in Georgia just a few weeks ago. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The 28 States Where Clean Energy Beats Coal” • The US hit a major energy-transition milestone last year: For the first time ever, it produced more electricity from wind and solar than from coal. Over half of U.S. states get more power from wind turbines and solar panels than they do from polluting, planet-warming coal, an Ember report says. [Canary Media]

Have a magnificently tranquil day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Science and Technology:

¶ “BlueShift Electro-Chemical Process Extracts Critical Minerals From Industrial Waste And Seawater” • There are many minerals and other valuable components in wastewater. But extraction can be  costly and have negative environmental impacts. BlueShift, a startup, says it has answers to those problems and has landed $2.1 million in seed money for a pilot project. [CleanTechnica]

BlueShift cell (BlueShift image)

World:

¶ “Ocean Dumping – Or Climate Solution? An Industry Bets On The Ocean To Capture Carbon” • From the grounds of a gas-fired power plant on the eastern shores of Canada, a little-known company is pumping a mixture of water and magnesium oxide into the ocean in the name of stopping climate change. Whether it’s pollution or a silver bullet that will save the planet may depend on whom you ask. [ABC News]

¶ “Konect: Transforming Australian Service Stations into Multi-Fuel Convenience Hubs” • Gilbarco Veeder-Root introduced Konect, a fully integrated EV charging ecosystem for Australian fuel retailers. GVR describes Konect as an end-to-end offering for electrification, calling it a “golden opportunity to deliver the EV charging experience Australians crave.” [CleanTechnica]

Multi fuel servo future (Courtesy of Konect)

¶ “Brazil EV Sales Report: In February, For Five Months In A Row, EV Sales Surpassed 10,000” • EV sales in February grew by 55% YOY in Brazil. The country broke record after record. It sold over 100,000 EVs in 2024, making it one of the few countries worldwide to reach that number. In February 2025, it sold over 10,000 EVs for the fifth month in a row. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “China Is Scaling Geothermal District Heating And The World Should Pay Attention” • When China starts scaling a technology at massive levels, the rest of the world should take notice. That’s not a geopolitical statement, it’s a thermodynamic and logistical one. China doesn’t mess around when it comes to heat, power, and infrastructure. [CleanTechnica]

Village in China (Diem Nhi Nguyen, Unsplash)

¶ “Subsea7 Renewables Unit Sees 2024 Earnings Rise” • In 2024, Subsea7’s renewables business unit saw its adjusted earnings rise to $185 million, up from $103 million in the previous year. Revenue increased by 29% to $1.2 billion in 2024, while net operating income was $53 million, up from a prior year loss of $74 million. [reNews]
Subsea7 at work (Subsea7 image)

¶ “Adani Wins $325 Million Green Hydrogen Transmission Gig” • Indian company Adani Energy Solutions has won a $325 million (₹2800 crore) power transmission project in the state of Gujarat. The project will supply green electricity for manufacturing green hydrogen and green ammonia in Mundra and will be completed in three years. [reNews]

Transmission lines (Adani Energy Solutions image)

¶ “Red Tape Hinders Global Clean Energy Goals” • Analyses from Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the International Energy Agency find that the goal of tripling renewable capacity by the end of the decade is feasible if governments cut down on lengthy permitting processes. For example, the US has overlapping state and federal requirements. [OilPrice.com]

¶ “Robots To Retrieve Radioactive Sandbags At Fukushima Plant” • Robots will begin moving sandbags that were used to absorb radiation-contaminated water at Fukushima as soon as next week, a spokesman said. Radiation levels on the sandbags’ surface are as high as 4.4 sieverts per hour, which means “humans can die if they approach” them. [The Peninsula Qatar]

Fukushima, before the disaster (IAEA Imagebank, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “Bill McKibben Sees Trouble Ahead For Tesla And Big Oil” • Bill McKibben, in a Substack post, suggested that Tesla and Big Oil have a common weakness. He says both are way behind the technological curve. The proof? BYD announced a few days ago that it has developed a battery for an electric car that can be recharged in just five minutes. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Renewable Energy To Beat Gas For Three More Years (Or More)” • Fossil fuels were already losing ground in the power generation industry during the first Trump administration. They are set to fall further behind as renewable energy dominates grid capacity additions over the next three years, according to the latest data compiled by FERC. [CleanTechnica]

Solar farm with sheep (Courtesy of NREL)

¶ “Electric Car Options Have Exploded In Number In The USA” • Many of us have been following the EV market for several years. We’ve seen the market go from just a few options (and none of them great) to dozens of options today. The electric car options on the market have exploded in number, especially in the past few years. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Solar Exceeds 10% Of US Electric Generating Capacity” • Solar currently represents 10.53% of total available installed generating capacity in the US, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Solar capacity is approaching that of its renewable energy counterpart in wind, which is now 11.77% of available capacity. [pv magazine USA]

Solar panels (Moritz Kindler, Unsplash)

¶ “Nofar And Qcells Agree To Develop 350-MW Of Texan BESS Projects” • Nofar and Qcells have signed an agreement to develop two Texas energy storage projects featuring a combined capacity of 350 MW. The battery energy storage systems (BESS), which will have a two-hour duration (700 MWh), are targeted to come online in 2027. [reNews]

¶ “Government Announces $1.2 Billion Investment For Key Region To Modernize Grid” • The US DOE plans to replace dirty fuel plants in Puerto Rico with solar power and battery storage. The Loan Programs Office granted one loan and conditionally granted two to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. They total over $1.2 billion. [The Cool Down]

Have a certifiably gorgeous day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “AI Bubble?” • Huge tech companies are going after AI. It is going to solve countless problems at it gets smarter and more useful. We just need to build bigger and bigger datacenters. But Futurism just referenced a survey of AI researchers. It shows that 76% of experts said the brute force approach to general AI was ‘unlikely’ or ‘very unlikely’ to succeed. [CleanTechnica]

Turing Test weakness (CharlesTGillingham, public domain)

¶ “Will Tesla’s Pivot To MAGA Crash The Company? Has Musk’s Reach Exceeded His Grasp?” • Musk’s public profile and his talk about Tesla’s innovations, excellence, and exceptionalism were key ingredients for investors and car buyers alike. No more. Musk is clear: he doesn’t like them who brought him to the dance. And he’s still at it. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Lidar’s Wicked Cost Drop” • An article from China Daily on the growing autonomous driving market and dropping costs, says this: “A LiDAR unit, for instance, used to cost 30,000 yuan (about $4,100), but now it costs only around 1,000 yuan (about $138).” The extra cost is minimal now if it provides much better safety and results in fewer accidents. [CleanTechnica]

Hesai lidar unit (Courtesy of Hesai Technology)

¶ “Schools And Hospitals Get £180 Million Solar Investment” • Hundreds of schools and hospitals in the UK are to receive £180 million for solar panels from the government’s state-owned energy company. The first major investment from Great British Energy was announced as part of government efforts to reduce planet-warming emissions. [BBC]

¶ “Siemens Gamesa To Deliver Egyptian Wind Farm” • Siemens Gamesa entered into an agreement to deliver a large wind farm in Egypt. Under the agreement with the Egyptian government, the turbine maker will build, finance, and operate a 500-MW wind farm to help the country achieve clean energy targets. The wind farm will be built near the Gulf of Suez. [reNews]

Wind farm (Siemens Gamesa image)

¶ “Zelestra To Build 500-MW Hybrid Plant In India” • Zelestra has signed a contract to supply dispatchable renewable energy in India, enabling the construction of a portfolio of 500 MW of wind, solar and battery capacity. The hybrid multi-technology project will deliver 24/7 clean energy generation with wind, solar, and battery storage technology. [reNews]

¶ “Schroders Greencoat Hits 2-GW UK Solar Milestone” • The firm Schroders Greencoat hit a landmark 2 GW in operating UK solar capacity, equivalent to supplying annual needs of around 730,000 homes. With over 200 solar projects operating in the UK, Schroders Greencoat’s portfolio has around one fifth of the UK’s total ground mount solar capacity. [reNews]

Solar panels in Devon (Partonez, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Solar To Take Lead As India Targets 500 GW Of Renewables By 2030” • India’s goal is to have 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, which aligns with its pledge at COP26 to reach net-zero emissions by 2070. Among various renewable energy sources, solar power is poised to play a leading role in realizing this target. [pv magazine International]

¶ “Why Solar And Batteries Are Now The Engine Room Of The Energy Transition” • Quinbrook Infrastructure Investors,one of the world’s biggest investors in renewable energy systems, says the falling cost of solar and batteries is pushing the green energy transition to a “tipping point.” It will underpin massive new green metals industries. [RenewEconomy]

Solar plus batteries (blmcalifornia, public domain)

¶ “Zelenskyy: Nuclear Power Plants ‘Belong To The People Of Ukraine'” • A day after US President Donald Trump, in which Trump reportedly suggested that Ukraine consider transferring ownership of its power plants to the US for long-term security, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s nuclear plants are not a private but a national asset. [Yahoo News UK]

US:

¶ “Commercial Operations Begin At New US Green Hydrogen Plant” • The sudden shift in federal energy policy has not been good news for US hydrogen stakeholders, which were cut off when the federal Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program was suspended. Still, fresh activity in the green hydrogen industry continues to crop up. [CleanTechnica]

Green hydrogen plant (Courtesy of Invenergy)

¶ “Nissan To Get US-Made Batteries From SK On” • The EV market is growing everywhere, even in the USA, and various dynamics are encouraging automakers to get batteries locally, wherever they are. So, it is no surprise at all to learn that Nissan and SK On have just announced a big battery supply agreement for Nissan in North America. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The Sustainability Sparks Fly When Geothermal Energy, Orphan Wells, And CAES All Come Together” • In a new twist on geothermal energy, a research team at Penn State University has developed an economical model that leverages the natural heat in unused oil and gas wells for compressed air energy storage to support wind and solar. [CleanTechnica]

Wind and solar (Werner Slocum, NREL via PSU)

¶ “Cutting Clean Energy Won’t Lower New England Utility Bills, Advocates Say” • The are efforts from Maine to Massachusetts to cut clean energy programs to save money. Advocates for clean energy say the irony is that many of the threatened investments contribute relatively little to customers’ monthly bills and save everyone money in the long run. [Canary Media]

¶ “Green Investors Are Finding Bargains in Trump’s Big Oil Era” • Private infrastructure investors are snatching up green bargains in what seems to be a buyer’s market for wind, solar, and battery projects. Brookfield is among the asset managers betting that rising energy consumption and competitive economics will drive demand toward renewables. [Yahoo Finance]

Have a truly great day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Low Carbon Farming ‘Essential’ For Climate Goals” • Low carbon farming practices are “essential” to meeting Northern Ireland’s climate goals, according to the Climate Change Committee. The CCC has recommended a 77% reduction in overall emissions by 2040 in its advice on Northern Ireland’s fourth carbon budget. [BBC]

Farm in Northern Ireland (Eric Jones, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “The Drought-Resistant ‘Zombie Plants’ That Come Back From The Dead” • To protect crops from rising droughts, scientists are looking to the genes of a small group of plants that can survive months of drought then regreen within hours. One hope is that genes can be transplanted into food crops. Another hope is that the transplant will not be necessary. [BBC]

¶ “Last Decade Was Earth’s Hottest Ever As CO₂ Levels Reach An 800,000-Year High” • In its annual State of the Climate report, the World Meteorological Organization revealed an increasingly warming world with oceans at record high temperatures, glaciers retreating at record speed, and sea levels rising. Atmospheric CO₂ levels are at an 800,000-year high. [ABC News]

Ocean (Silas Baisch, Unsplash)

¶ “Adani Green Energy Arm Commissions 250-MW Solar Power Project In Rajasthan” • Adani Green Energy Twenty Four, an Adani Green Energy subsidiary, commissioned a 250-MW solar power project in Rajasthan. With this plant, Adani Green’s total operational renewable generation capacity is 12,841.1 MW, the Adani group firm said. [MSN]

¶ “New Zealand Heads for 100% Renewables!” • According to the New Zealand Electricity Authority, “New Zealand is transitioning to a highly renewable electricity system.” New Zealand’s electric grid will be 100% renewable by 2040. The change will require more investment in new generating capacity and the retirement of thermal power plants. [CleanTechnica]

Waitaki Power Station (Courtesy of Meridian Energy)

¶ “February 2025 Sales Report: 50% Plugin Vehicle Market Share In China” • Plugin vehicles are all the rage in the Chinese auto market, even in a month that is one of the slowest of the year due to the Chinese New Year celebrations. Plugins scored 686,000 sales in a 1.39-million-unit overall market. So plugin vehicles hit a 50% market share! [CleanTechnica]

¶ “British Columbia Turns Its Back On Tesla And Musk” • Elon Musk is a cheerleader for Trump’s threats to annex Canada. He wrote on his social media platform X that Canada is “not a real country.” British Columbia responded by eliminating subsidies for Tesla products. Tesla is also no longer on the list of exhibitors at the Vancouver Auto Show. [CleanTechnica]

Sunset at Vancouver (Mike Benna, Unsplash)

¶ “Big Oil Going Green At Even Faster Pace” • China’s national oil companies are accelerating their transition toward clean energy practices, focusing on the efficient use of fossil fuels and the integration of oil, gas, and renewable energy resources, company executives and industry experts have said. China’s goal is to be carbon neutral in 2060. [China Daily]

¶ “Pacific Green Closes 250-MW Oz Battery Sale” • Pacific Green Technologies has reached financial close and completed the sale of a 250-MW, 500-MWh, battery energy storage system project in South Australia. Pacific Green will continue its involvement as construction manager, directing Gransolar and Trina Storage. It is to be operational in February of 2027. [reNews]

Battery Storage System (Pacific Green image)

¶ “Abastible Signs A Long-Term Renewable Energy PPA With Zelestra In Chile” • Abastible, a Chilean electricity provider, and Zelestra, a global renewable energy company, signed a long-term power purchase agreement for the sale of electricity from a 100% renewable source. The plant has 220 MW of solar PVs, along with a 1-GWh battery system. [Yahoo Finance]

¶ “Mirova And Qualitas Energy Start JV For 250 MW Of Italian Renewable” • Mirova and Qualitas Energy signed an agreement to establish Italian Renewable Platform, a joint venture dedicated to owning, developing, building, and operating up to 250 MW of renewable energy projects in the country. The portfolio consists of 33 solar projects. [reNews]

Large solar farm (Qualitas Energy image)

¶ “Trump Floats A US Takeover Of Ukraine’s Nuclear Plants” • Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelensky that the US could own and run Ukraine’s nuclear power plants as part of his latest bid to secure a ceasefire in Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. The offer comes as military chiefs prepared for talks in Britain to discuss planning for a peacekeeping force. [Yahoo]

¶ “More ‘Beautiful, Clean Coal’ Power Coming To US Thanks To America’s Ayatollah” • Coal accounts for about 15% of electric generation in the US, down from over 50% in 2000, according to the US Energy Information Administration. But the Trump administration wants its return. He calls it “beautiful, clean coal.” It is neither beautiful nor clean. [CleanTechnica]

Coal-burner (Jason Mavrommatis, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Startup Introduces New Climate Change Tool For Rural Electric Cooperatives” • Climate change is not going away. And the climate data startup Rhizome is among those who anticipate that rural electricity providers are particularly keen to embrace affordable solutions, given their sparse ratepayer base relative to long distribution lines. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ten Electric Vehicles Beating Gas Competitors in California” • Tesla has about 50% of the EV sales in California, but there are several other electric cars that are performing exceptionally well in the Golden State. Let’s stroll through them here and see how they are doing. We will go in order, starting with the EVs with the highest volumes. [CleanTechnica]

Have a captivatingly lovely day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “The End Of The Gas-Powered Vehicle Era: Take A Look At The Numbers” • EV adoption has been underway for some years now. The adoption wave consists of two elements: the decline of internal combustion sales, and  the adoption of EVs. In the US, gas vehicle sales declines began in 2018 and are continuing, as EV sales growth is fully underway. [CleanTechnica]

Ford Mustang Mach-E (Mariordo, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

World:

¶ “Green Waste Biochar Plant Set To Be Approved” • A plan for a plant to make biochar from green waste has been recommended for approval. A Shropshire Council planning committee wants to turn a former anaerobic digester into a plant making the biochar. The biochar will be made from green waste, wood, and compost oversize materials. [BBC]

¶ “The European Towns That Give Away Free Chickens” • At around Easter in 2015, the small French village of Colmar started handing out free chickens to its residents in an experimental scheme to reduce food waste. The project was started by the waste collection department in a small village in north eastern France, Colmar Agglomération. [BBC]

Colmar Agglomération (Aswathy N, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Could A BMW i3 Be The Last Car You Ever Own?” • Jennifer Sensiba: I recently came across an article at The Autopian about some aging EVs that are coming back from the dead. How? By getting new batteries! Aside from batteries, EVs really have very little that can go wrong with them. Most motors and electronics could easily go 500,000 or more miles. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “More Than 150 ‘Unprecedented’ Climate Disasters Struck World In 2024, Says UN” • The devastating impacts of the climate crisis reached new heights in 2024, with scores of unprecedented heatwaves, floods, and storms across the globe, according to a report by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization. [The Guardian]

Flood (Chris Gallagher, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “India’s NTPC Allocates 1.2 GW Wind-Solar Hybrid Capacity At 3.9¢/kWh” • Indian state-owned power producer NTPC closed an auction of 1.2 GW of wind-solar hybrid capacity connected to the interstate transmission system at an average price of ₹3.35/kWh (3.9¢/kWh). The winning developers will build, own, and operate the projects. [pv magazine International]

US:

¶ “Trump Wants ‘Clean’ Coal, But There Is No Such Thing” • President Donald Trump has called for the expansion of US coal production. He claims that an increase of “clean” coal produced in the US will soon take place. He said that he is authorizing to begin producing energy with clean coal. The fact that no such thing exists seems not to be a problem. [ABC News]

Clean coal? (Bart van Dijk, Unsplash)

¶ “California Electric Vehicle Sales Rose To 22% Share In 2024, Dominated By (A Declining) Tesla” • California accounted for 31.1% of US EV sales in 2024. Unfortunately, EV market share in California just barely increased in 2024, from 21.7% to 22%. That is a little complicated, so we will get into the details here and see what’s happening. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Don’t Say ‘Climate Resilient’ If You Want US Federal Funding” • Farmers and ranchers are finding themselves in a battle over the way they choose words as they hope to keep federal funding. A USDA spreadsheet obtained by The Washington Post shows that over $400 million of climate resilient projects are under review for possible termination. [CleanTechnica]

Cattle Ranch in Winter (Rennett Stowe, Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

¶ “Another Leading US Bank Downgraded Tesla Stock” • JP Morgan made a big splash when it downgraded Tesla’s stock to $120. Other banks have done the same thing. In a less-reported move Wells Fargo also did some trimming around the edges to arrive at a price point of $130. And financial firms UBS and Redburn Atlantic piled on as well. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “GE Vernova And RWE Agree On Texan Deal” • GE Vernova has entered into an agreement with RWE to provide 109 wind turbines to power the Honey Mesquite wind farm in Glasscock County, Texas and repower the Forest Creek Wind Farm near Big Spring, Texas. Deliveries of the 2.8-MW wind turbines for the two projects are to begin this year. [reNews]

Wind farm (GE Vernova image)

¶ “Solar Power Installations Are Trending Up, Hawaiian Electric Reports” • The number of private rooftop solar systems on the Hawaiian Electric grids continued to grow in 2024. Now, there are nearly 114,000 rooftop solar systems installed across the five islands, according to the utility. Most of the 7,976 solar systems in 2024 were residentia. [Maui Now]

¶ “US Firm Fires Up Mississippi PV Project” • Deriva Energy’s 100-MW Wildflower Solar project is online in Mississippi. The project employed close to 300 construction workers during installation and will continue to offer long-term employment while contributing to the local tax base and selling renewable power to Toyota Motor North America. [reNews]

Solar farm (Deriva Energy image)

¶ “North Tonawanda Votes To Restrict Nuclear Energy” • In a unanimous vote, the city council of North Tonawanda, New York restricted the use of nuclear energy for cryptocurrency mining. Rresidents said the move is a win for environmental protection and public health. The vote prohibits micro-nuclear energy facilities within city limits. [WKBW]

¶ “Indiana Utilities Want Ratepayers To Fork Out For Small Nuclear Reactors” • Indiana legislators are considering multiple bills to promote small modular nuclear reactors, including a controversial provision that would let utilities charge ratepayers for projects that may never be built. Critics argue that the technology is untested. [Canary Media]

Have an enchantingly engaging day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Don’t Worry, US Investors Can Still Make Offshore Wind Happen … Somewhere” • US President Donald Trump did the domestic offshore wind industry no favors when he abruptly suspended the federal offshore lease program upon taking office. But activity continues apace elsewhere around the globe. Wind investors can still invest abroad. [CleanTechnica]

Goldwind 16-MW turbine (Goldwind image)

World:

¶ “Disasters Spur Investment In Flood And Fire Risk Tech” • As climate change increases the likelihood and intensity of natural disasters such as floods, wildfires, and hurricanes, new tools are being developed to help people and companies assess climate risk. Government agencies and various firms are improving the tools they make available. [BBC]

¶ “Huge Ship Set To Carry Turbines To North Sea Farm” • The Wind Peak, a purpose-built vessel, has arrived in Hull to carry components across 80 miles (129 km) of the North Sea to the site on the Dogger Bank. Officials said the vessel, which is 162 meters (530 ft) long and 60 meters wide, was capable of transporting and installing seven turbine sets per load. [BBC]

The Wind Peak (Courtesy of RWE)

¶ “Europe Set To Save 20 Million Tonnes Of CO₂ This Year Thanks To Switch to EVs” • Europe is set to save 20 million tonnes of CO₂ this year thanks to more electric cars being on the road, according to T&E analysis. T&E’s latest State of European Transport reveals that transport emissions are structurally falling, despite growth in air travel. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New Battery Recycling Process From China Recovers 99.99% Of Lithium” • A team of researchers in China developed a way to recover nearly all valuable materials from depleted lithium ion batteries. The eco-friendly process uses glycine, an amino acid, to extract 99.99% of lithium and significant percentages of other metals in just 15 minutes. [CleanTechnica]

Battery research (Marilyn Sargent, Berkeley Lab)

¶ “Oil Majors Are Still Going Green, Honest” • With renewables expected to make up over 40% of the energy mix by 2030, oil majors are setting themselves up to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving market. Despite such things as the ‘Trump effect,’ such companies as BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies are expanding their clean energy portfolios. [Energy Live News]

¶ “Acciona Closes Oz PV Plant Finance” • Acciona Energía has closed a syndicated loan worth A$453 million ($289 million) to finance the construction of the 408-MW Aldoga solar plant on the central coast of Queensland. Work on the plant had already begun at the end of 2023, and the plan is that it will come into operation in mid-2026. [reNews]

Solar farm (Acciona Energía image)

¶ “The Role Of Solar In India’s 500-GW Renewable Energy Target By 2030” • India has a goal of achieving 500 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, a commitment that aligns with its pledge at COP26 to reach net-zero emissions by 2070. Among various renewable energy sources, solar power is poised to play a leading role in realizing this target. [pv magazine India]

¶ “Study To Probe UK-Built Wind Ship Market” • The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult is to work with a leading shipbuilder to analyze the future market opportunity for UK-built vessels in offshore wind. Over 850 GW of offshore windpower is expected to be installed globally by 2050, and operators need many more service operation vessels. [reNews]

Service operation vessel (Bibby Marine image)

¶ “Japan Begins Dismantling A Commercial Nuclear Reactor For First Time” • A Japanese power company began dismantling a nuclear reactor in Shizuoka Prefecture, local media reported. It is the first commercial reactor in the country to undergo the process. Disassembly began with by removing the top lid of the pressure vessel. [Yeni Şafak]

US:

¶ “NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center Facility Among Planned DOGE Cuts” • The Storm Prediction Center issues severe weather forecasts across the nation and identifies threat zones where dangerous thunderstorms and tornadoes could move through days in advance. There is considerable question as to whether DOGE will close it. [ABC News]

Tornado (Daphne Zaras, NOAA)

¶ “Potential Impacts Of Electric Vehicle Tax Credit Repeal On US Vehicle Market And Manufacturing” • President Trump intends to eliminate federal regulations aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, repeal subsidies for EV purchases, and halt or redirect federal grant programs for EV charging systems. The REPEAT project is analyzing this. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “GM Pitches Home EV Charging As Tesla Stock Slithers Down” • There may be gloom and doom over Tesla’s falling EV sales, and Tesla stock keeps falling, but the competition sees Tesla’s woes as a ripe opportunity to sell more EVs. That competition includes General Motors, which is doubling down on its home EV charging pitch. [CleanTechnica]

Bidirectional charging at home (GM image)

¶ “California Has A Plan To Install 6 Million Heat Pumps By 2030” • The California Heat Pump Partnership announced the nation’s first statewide blueprint for deploying heat pumps, a critical technology for decarbonizing buildings and improving public health. California’s goal is to deploy 6 million heat pump units by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Atlantic Shores Permit Pulled Back For Review” • Shell and EDF joint venture Atlantic Shores has been dealt another blow, this time by the appeals division of the EPA. The appeals board, which reviews and adjudicates complaints to the EPA,  directed the EPA to review an air quality permit issued to the project, which has a capacity of up to 2.8 GW. [reNews]

Have a simply magnificent day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Small Electric Cars Were Said To Be The Future, But SUVs Now Rule The Road” •  Globally, 54% of the cars sold in 2024 were SUVs. This is an increase of three percentage points from 2023, according to GlobalData. The UN we must inevitable pivot towards smaller vehicles because of the urgency of the climate crisis and the rising cost of living. [BBC]

SUV (Ryan, Unsplash)

¶ “Nordex Nets 94-MW Turbine Order In Canada” • Nordex Group received a wind turbine order totaling 94 MW in Canada. An energy project developer placed an order for the supply and installation of 16 N163/5.X turbines, each with a nominal 5.9-MW capacity, for a wind project in Novia Scotia. The Nordex Group will supply the turbines from mid-2026. [reNews]

¶ “Solar Farm Could Boost Wildlife And Reduce Bills” • An East Sussex village could soon have a solar farm that would generate clean energy and help residents reduce their bills, according to developers. Plans for a solar farm in Crowhurst would provide for annual needs of 2,500 homes a year, with surrounding land transformed into a nature reserve. [BBC]

Solar farm (John Feltwell, Energise Sussex Coast)

¶ “Quinbrook Closes Record Debt Financing For Cleve Hill” • Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has closed a record-breaking project financing for Cleve Hill Solar Park, the UK’s largest PV and battery storage project. Up to £238.5 million has been secured for the 373-MW solar and 150-MW battery energy storage system in Kent. [reNews]

¶ “Towngas Smart Energy’s Renewable Unit Boosts 2024 Profit” •Towngas subsidiary Towngas Smart Energy Company Limited has reported growth in 2024, thanks to its renewable energy business whose net profit jumped five-fold to $479 million. As of 31 December 2024, Towngas Smart Energy’s total PV capacity reached 2.3 GW. [Asian Power]

PVs on a Shenzhen auto plant (Towngas Smart energy)

Australia:

¶ “Edify Energy To Build Solar And Battery System For Rio Tinto” • Rio Tinto and Edify Energy signed two agreements to supply renewable energy to Rio Tinto’s Gladstone aluminium operations in Queensland. Two solar power stations will generate a total of 600 MW of solar power and provide 600 MW, 2,400 MWh, of battery storage. [Australian Manufacturing]

¶ “Network Partners Sought To Build Poles, Wires, And Trust In Hotly Contested Renewable Zone” • The government of New South Wales is searching for the best network operator for one of the most hotly contested renewable energy zones in the state, in a move looks beyond the incumbent operators of the zone’s poles and wires. [RenewEconomy]

Power lines in Victoria (Marcus Wong, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Newcastle Coal To Power Facility With Solar” • Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group entered into a power purchase agreement with Lightsource BP for its Kooragang Island facility. The PPA enables the facility to run renewable electricity by 2030. The power will be supplied by a 585-MW solar project being built in the Upper Hunter region. [Sharecafe]

US:

¶ “China Will Help Build US Offshore Wind Farms” • China is sending an offshore wind construction vessel to the US, and work continues apace on a major project that escaped the Trump chopping block so far. But word is that the Clean Air Act permit for the massive Atlantic Shores project was sent back to the EPA for further review. [CleanTechnica]

Service ship Wind Pace (Cadeler image)

¶ “Private Equity Investment In US Solar Energy Declines While Global Inflows In The Sector Rebound” • Private equity and venture capital activity in the US solar industry is on track to reach its lowest level in the past four years. This contrasts with significant global private equity inflows into the sector during 2024, according to a report by S&P. [Funds Society]

¶ “NorthStar Closes California Nuclear Center Decommissioning Agreement” • NorthStar Group Services made an agreement to take ownership of the 1600-acre Vallecitos Nuclear Center from GE Vernova and GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas. The US NRC approved the transfer, and NorthStar can go ahead with the California site’s decontamination. [Power Technology]

Have an endearingly graceful day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Science and Technology:

¶ “Geothermal Has A Moment In The Sun, But Black Swans Are Casting Shade” • Geothermal energy is touted as the renewable savior, generating clean, reliable, and essential baseload power. But globally, its growth has been modest at best. In the current wave of enthusiasm, it’s prudent to ask: will geothermal revival actually deliver? [CleanTechnica]

Geothermal plant in Iceland (Tommy Kwak, Unsplash, cropped)

World:

¶ “BMW Spots An EV Sales Opportunity As Tesla Tumbles” • BMW expects to continue growing its sales this year, including EV sales. The competition will be stiff as other automakers also ramp up their EV offerings, but BMW’s top brass dropped a hint that at least one other competitor will likely be sidelined. Now, who could that be? [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The Japanese Town Turning Cowpats Into Hydrogen Fuel” • Founded in 2015, a project on Hokkaido aims to convert local agricultural by-products into hydrogen. The manure and urine and collected from dairy farms and fed into a anaerobic digester. Bacteria use the waste to produce fertilizer and biogas, which is used to make hydrogen. [BBC]

Cows (Priscilla Du Preez, Unsplash)

¶ “The UK’s Solar Revolution Mapped, With 3,500 Projects In The Pipeline” • The UK is in a new era for solar power with nearly 3,500 solar farms being planned, new figures show. With the sharply falling cost of solar panels over the past decade and rapid increases in efficiency, solar is now the cheapest way to produce electricity in the UK. [The i Paper]

¶ “The Future Of Nigeria’s Energy Sector Remains Unclear” • President Donald Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright pledged to support fossil fuel development across Africa, which could encourage countries such as Nigeria to continue exploiting their oil and gas resources. Wright included coal, which he said would provide energy security. [OilPrice.com]

Oil processing facility (—=XEON=—, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Essex’s Revolutionary Pay-As-You-Use Solar Energy Program” • The county of Essex rolled out a program that changes how people use and pay for solar energy. A Pay As You Use scheme allows households to install solar panels and batteries without paying all the cost upfront. Users pay a fixed rate of 16.8p/kWh for what they use. [Microgrid Media]

¶ “India Strives For 500 GW Non-Fossil Power by 2030“ • India has been courting investment in its clean energy industry in an effort to shore up energy security and meet the nation’s lofty decarbonization goals. But a report reveals that while India has offered up record-breaking clean energy tenders, they have been met with weak demand. [OilPrice.com]

Renewable energy in India (Thomas Lloyd Group, CC-BY-SA  4.0)

¶ “Russian-Occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Part Of Peace Talks, Trump Says” • The US and Ukraine discussed control of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as part of a potential peace deal, US President Donald Trump said. With six reactors, the Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. [The Kyiv Independent]

US:

¶ “Critics Warn Cuts At Agencies Overseeing US Dams Could Put Public Safety At Risk” • Trump administration workforce cuts at federal agencies overseeing US dams are threatening their ability to provide electricity, supply farmers with water, and protect communities from floods, employees and industry experts warn. Nearly 400 people have lost their jobs. [ABC News]

Dam (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

¶ “Forty Tornadoes Leave 34 Dead In Cross-Country Storm System” • Millions of Americans were put on alert for a severe weather outbreak as long-track tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail went across the Midwest and South in a cross-country storm. Overall, at least 34 deaths have been recorded from the cross-country storm system. [ABC News]

¶ “New Agrivoltaic Tool Optimizes Solar Generation And Crop Production” • Disaster was inflicted on US farmers when trade wars came during Trump’s first term in office. Now America has empowered him to do it all over again. But farmers elsewhere around the globe are pouncing on abandoned US markets, with help from agrivoltaics. [CleanTechnica]

Solar farm with hay production (Tobi Kellner, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “JP Morgan Reduces Tesla Sales Forecast, Predicts Stock Will Fall To $120 Per Share” • JP Morgan issued a strongly negative prediction for Tesla. It said Q1 deliveries will be the lowest the company has seen in three years. It also thinks that the free fall Tesla stock still has a long way to go, potentially hitting $120 per share, about half its current price. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “More Than Seventy Agencies Participating In Training Drill Simulating Nuclear Power Plant Accident” • An exercise called Cobalt Magnet 2025 is underway in Michigan, according to the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management, and Homeland Security. Over 3,000 individuals from seventy US and Canadian agencies are participating in the project. [MSN]

Have an objectively outstanding day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Global Sea Level Rose Faster Than Expected In 2024, NASA Analysis Says” • Climate change was a major driver to an unexpected level of sea level rise in 2024, according to a new NASA analysis. Global sea levels rose 0.23 inches in 2024, satellite records show, compared to the predicted 0.17 inches expected for the year. [ABC News]

Pacific Ocean (NASA image)

¶ “Tesla Developing Lower Priced Model Y In China, ‘Market Response To Tesla’s Latest Model Y Is Not Optimistic'” • China is the first country to get the new Model Y. We can look there for some clues on how things are going. One clue suggests that demand for the Tesla Model Y isn’t great: Tesla is working on a low-priced version. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “France Prepares For 4ºC By 2100” • While Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, is telling people that global heating doesn’t even make his Top Ten list of things to worry about, but France unveiled a climate adaptation plan based on the assumption that that the average temperature of the Earth will spike by as much as 4° C by 2100. [CleanTechnica]

Arc de Triomphe (Rodrigo Kugnharski, Unsplash)

¶ “RWE To Build 600 MW Of Battery Parks” • RWE is to build three battery parks in Germany with a total installed capacity of around 600 MW. The new battery energy storage systems will be built on the site of the Westfalen power plant in Hamm. RWE has invested a multi-million euro sum to build the battery sites, which will store 1.2 GWh. [reNews]

¶ “First Foundations Arrive For 1.6-GW Nordseecluster” • RWE received the first foundations for the 1600-MW Nordseecluster offshore wind project in the German North Sea. The eight foundations have arrived and been offloaded in the Dutch base port Eemshaven. They are around 85 meters long on average and weigh about 1500 tonnes each. [reNews]

Foundations arriving (RWE image)

¶ “Goldwind Bags 242-MW Turbine Order” • Goldwind is to supply 242 MW of turbines for Red Rocket’s Overberg Wind Farm project in South Africa. As part of the deal, Goldwind will supply the wind farm with 39 units of its 6.2-MW medium-speed permanent magnet turbines. When it is finised, the wind farm will have a capacity of 380 MW. [reNews]

US:

¶ “Community Solar Gets Thumbs-Up From Global Investors” • Community solar started off slowly when the cost of solar energy was high. But costs are down, and community solar spread from individuals to include commercial and industrial stakeholders. The global investment community noticed the opportunity in the US energy transition. [CleanTechnica]

Community solar (Courtesy of Catalyze via businesswire.com)

¶ “Tesla Says Trump’s Tariffs May Have A Harmful Impact On Its Company And Other Automakers” • What a difference a day makes. Tesla now says that Trump’s tariffs are bad for business. How can this public statement make any sense at all, with the company’s CEO leading the federal dismemberment? Here is a look at illogical events. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Two-Tiered Resistance Hits Tesla” • Recent news from a Tesla retail and service location in Oregon is shocking. Not only are there protests, but bullets are flying. Literally. Pro-Elon people may tell us that Tesla is facing a violent intimidation campaign by evil leftists, but most people protesting against Elon Musk have nothing to do with violence. [CleanTechnica]

Sign at a protest (DanielGoldhorn, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “More Members Of Congress Join A Call To Defend Clean Energy Tax Credits” • Some 21 Republican congressmen and women released a letter requesting that the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits be preserved. They are supporting a comprehensive energy approach, including traditional and renewable energy sources. [Environment America]

¶ “Trump Plans To Shut Down A Climate Research Facility That Tracks Emissions” • The Trump administration plans to cancel its lease for a government laboratory in Hilo, Hawaii, crucial for tracking rising greenhouse gas levels. The Global Monitoring Laboratory helps maintain the Mauna Loa Observatory, a key site for monitoring CO₂ levels. [Ground Report]

Mauna Loa Observatory (Susan Cobb, NOAA)

¶ “Massachusetts Company’s Program To Fund Community Solar Projects” • With the federal dollars for renewable energy slowing, or stopping altogether, Solstice, a company based in Cambridge, is looking to provide funding for community solar projects in underserved areas through a new renewable energy credit program. [Commonwealth Beacon]

¶ “Northern North Dakota Farmers Push Back On A Bill That Would Allow Study Of Nuclear Waste” • The legislative push to build nuclear power plants in North Dakota could run up against perennial problems – the US lacks a long-term solution for the storage of nuclear waste, and proposals to permit them have been controversial. [The Bismarck Tribune]

Have a thoroughly delightful day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Mercedes CLA With EQ Technology Gets Rave Reviews” • According to Jalopnik, the new CLA is built by Mercedes for both fully electric and hybrid powertrains, but with the primary emphasis on battery electric versions. It incorporates many of the features of the Mercedes EQXX, which means the goal is maximum efficiency. [CleanTechnica]

Mercedes CLA (Mercedes image)

¶ “Green Hydrogen Cross-Border Collaborations Persist Despite Trump’s Trade War” • Not all US-Canada economic activity has halted. A case in point is the ambitious North American green hydrogen plan being hatched by the Montreal-based Canadian startup Charbone Hydrogen in collaboration with the leading Swiss legacy engineering firm ABB. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “With Tesla EVs Down, Toyota Is Teasing A Super Cute Solar-Powered Micro Car” • Tesla CEO Elon Musk has torched the brand reputation of the world’s most popular electric car, but EV sales keep surging upwards, and Toyota is among the automakers stepping in to snap up niche markets neglected by Tesla, and that even includes teenagers. [CleanTechnica]

Urban electric micro-car (Screenshot courtesy of Toyota)

¶ “CIP’s Fifth Flagship Fund Smashes €12 Billion Target” • CIP, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, has announced that its fifth flagship fund surpassed its target size of €12 billion. CIP says investor interest in large-scale greenfield energy infrastructure investments is strong, as commitments exceeding the €12 billion target, excluding capital for co-investments. [reNews]

¶ “Enercon Unveils Taller Towers” • Enercon is developing additional and taller Hybrid Steel Towers for its EP5 turbine. With the additional steel tower variants, the tower portfolio will be expanded, so Enercon can offer towers with high hub heights worldwide. The technology has already proven itself in practice and is to be delivered as early as 2026. [reNews]

Tower construction (Enercon image)

¶ “Czech Law To Speed Up Permitting Process Of Wind Power” • The Czech government approved the Act on Accelerating the Use of Renewable Energy Sources. The legislation simplifies the permitting processes for construction of solar and wind power plants, especially through the designation of areas as so-called acceleration zones. [ceenergynews]

¶ “How To Reduce Mining Emissions Easily” • According to the Climate Change Authority’s 2024 ‘Sector Pathway Review,’ emissions from Australia’s resources sector equaled 99 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2022, representing 23% of the country’s total emissions in that year. This is key to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. [Australian Mining]

Solar array at Australian mine (Aggreko image)

¶ “Nuclear Fusion Race Intensifies With Chinese Breakthrough” • Scientists in China announced that the nation’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, achieved a sustained temperature of 100 million °C, shattering previous records and bringing nuclear fusion closer to reality. China aims for viability of fusion energy by 2050. [Oil Price]

¶ “Octopus Energy expands in France” • Octopus Energy’s generation arm is expanding its green energy push in France, striking four deals in solar and wind energy. France is Octopus’ largest clean generation market in continental Europe, and these deals mark the step in Octopus’ €1 billion investment plans for France’s renewables market. [reNews]

Solar array (Octopus Energy image)

US:

¶ “Driving Intelligence Into Action On The Road To A Smarter, More Resilient Grid” • Cable faults can create outages that are difficult to find and correct if insufficient intelligence is not built into the system. This is where S&C’s EdgeRestore® system plays a crucial role. The system provides rapid restoration to minimize customer outages. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Breathe Deep, America. Carbon Dioxide Is Good For You!” • Energy secretary Chris Wright is telling African leaders that burning coal is good for them because it worked well for the US a hundred years ago. And EPA administrator Lee Zeldin proudly announced 31 separate actions to roll back restrictions on air and water pollution. [CleanTechnica]

San Miguel lignite power plant (SMECI via LinkedIn)

¶ “US Floating Platform Achieves Milestone” • US outfit ECO TLP has achieved another step towards commercial readiness of its floating offshore wind platform. The company has recently secured, from the American Bureau of Shipping, a non-site-specific FEED (front-end engineering design) approval for the Hybrid Spar-TLP platform. [reNews]

¶ “First Substation Installed At CVOW” • The first substation for the 2600-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is in place. Last November, Dominion Energy said the offshore substation foundations and were installed in the first installation season. The 2.6-GW offshore wind farm is being built 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. [reNews]

Substation installation (Dominion Energy image)

¶ “Renewable Energy Isn’t The Cause Of Electric Bills Spiking In Delaware” • If you were told that renewable energy is to blame for soaring electric bills this winter, you were told a lie. Colder temperatures led to heating systems running longer and harder, and gas rates went up for Delmarva customers, while electric rates decreased slightly. [The News Journal]

¶ “Small Nuclear Power Struggles At Cusp Of US Electricity Demand Boom” • The players pushing SMRs are not utilities with decades of experience dealing with the intricacies and safety requirements of nuclear plants, but rather AI companies, the data center community, and vendors. This was pointed out by Greg Jaczko, former NRC chairman. [MSN]

Have a spectacularly cozy day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

World:

¶ “Pursuing The Sound Of Every Bird In Ireland” • Over half of Ireland’s birds at risk of extinction, and Seán Ronayne is using recordings he made to advocate for their preservation. He has made about 12,000 recordings of Irish birds and other wildlife. He says “It’s not just birds that are at risk of extinction, these are a symptom of something much greater.” [BBC]

Grey partridge (Åsa Berndtsson, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Hydrogen Plant Promises Jobs At Old Nuclear Site” • A green hydrogen project hopes to deliver dozens of jobs next to the site of a former nuclear plant in southern Scotland. According to Green Cat Hydrogen, the plant it proposes for Chapelcross could help decarbonize local businesses. The nuclear plant stopped generating electricity in 2004. [BBC]

¶ “VinFast Ships 2,500 Electric Vehicles To Indonesia” • VinFast’s dedicated cargo ship, the Silver Queen, has docked at the Jakarta port and is unloading 2,500 VinFast electric vehicles. This latest shipment is the fourth and largest delivery of VinFast vehicles to Indonesia, occurring one year after the company’s initial market entry in February 2024. [CleanTechnica]

VinFast shipment (VinFast image)

¶ “Toyota EVs Tromp On Tesla’s Toes In Europe” • In an epic case of strategic timing, or maybe just a coincidence, Toyota has taken a meaningful plunge into the market for 100% battery EVs in Europe, where auto buyers have begun scouting alternatives to the politically toxic Tesla brand. Toyota EVs will now have three new models in Europe. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Voltalia Signs 526-MW PPA With Uzbekistan” • Voltalia has signed a PPA for its 526-MW hybrid project in Uzbekistan with the state-owned JSC Uzenergosotis. The Artemisya project combines 126 MW of solar, 300 MW of wind and 100 MW, 200 MWh of battery storage. The PPA covers 25 years for solar and wind and 15 years for storage. [reNews]

Solar plant (Voltalia image)

¶ “Scottish Council Backs West Of Orkney Plans” • The Highland Council is backing plans for the offshore 2-GW West of Orkney Windfarm being developed by a joint venture comprising Corio Generation, Renewable Infrastructure Development Group, and TotalEnergies. The project, with up to 125 turbines, is expected to be operational in 2029. [reNews]

¶ “South Korean Project Secures Permit” • Deep Wind Offshore Korea has successfully secured another Public Waters Occupancy and Use Permit for the 1500-MW Abalone Offshore Wind project. The project forms part of Deep Wind Offshore and BP’s partnership to build 6 GW of offshore windpower projects in South Korea. [reNews]

Offshore windfarm (Nicholas Doherty, Unsplash)

¶ “Iran Rejects Nuclear Talks As UAE Delivers Trump’s Letter” • Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected any idea of negotiations with the US over its nuclear program, as Tehran confirmed receiving a letter from President Donald Trump. The letter was delivered by an official from the United Arab Emirates, but Khamenei dismissed it as deceptive. [BBC]

US:

¶ “Why The Trump Administration Is Wrong About An Energy Crisis In The US” • The Trump administration is attempting to push the idea of a looming energy crisis in the US, but its claims couldn’t be further from reality, according to several experts who spoke to ABC News. There isn’t even the slightest hint of an energy crisis in the US. [ABC News]

Wind energy (Abby Anaday, Unsplash)

¶ “EPA Takes Aim At Water, Air And Toxics Protections As Part Of Massive Deregulation Campaign” • Calling it the “biggest deregulatory action in US history,” the Environmental Protection Agency rolled out moves aimed at walking back environmental protections and eliminating a host of climate change regulations, some decades old. [ABC News]

¶ “NOAA Braces For Mass Layoffs, With Concerns About Vitally Important Weather Services” • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is preparing to lay off more than 1,000 workers as part of the Trump administration’s mandate for agencies to prepare “reductions in force,” according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. [ABC News]

NOAA has functions (NOAA, Unsplash)

¶ “US Wants To Restart Shuttered Coal-Fired Generating Plants” • Last week, Chris Wright, the putative “energy secretary” for the US told African leaders that coal is the solution to a widespread lack of energy access in Africa, dismissing the challenge posed by climate change and saying there is too much emphasis on calling burning coal “destructive.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Battery Capacity Increased 66% In 2024” • In the US, cumulative utility-scale battery storage capacity exceeded 26 GW in 2024, according to the January 2025 Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. Generators added 10.4 GW of battery storage capacity in 2024, the second-largest generating capacity addition after solar. [CleanTechnica]

US battery capacity (EIA image)

¶ “X-Elio Secures Six US VPPAs” • X-Elio and the Net Zero Consortium for Buyers announced that they signed six virtual PPAs for a combined total capacity of 172 MW in the US. This came about through the efforts of Sustainability Roundtable, a pioneering organization for corporate sustainability. The energy will be generated by solar farms in Texas. [reNews]

¶ “Amazon, Google, Meta And Dow Back Goal To Triple Nuclear Capacity” • Tech giants and other major energy users Amazon, Google, Meta, Dow, Occidental, Allseas, and OSGE have signed a pledge supporting the goal of at least tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050, according to an announcement, at CERAWeek 2025 in Houston, Texas. [World Nuclear News]

Have an easily managed day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Was Toyota Right To Prioritize Hybrids Over Full Electric Cars?” • Paul Fosse: When I heard Toyota decided to prioritize hybrids over full EVs, I was skeptical. But after digging into the data and studying how this strategy plays out in different markets – China, Europe, emerging markets, and the US – I realized the answer isn’t black-and-white. [CleanTechnica]

Toyota charging (Toyota image)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Bi-Directional Charging News From Kia And Mercedes ” • Wallbox began US pre-sales of its Quasar 2 bi-directional charger for the Kia EV9, which will enable customers to use the electric SUV for energy storage. The vehicle to home service will initially be available in California, Washington, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, and Illinois. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Flood And Drought Risk Increasing In Cities” • The world’s 100 most populated cities are becoming increasingly exposed to both flooding and drought, according to new research. Charity WaterAid worked on a study with the University of Bristol and Cardiff University and found 17% of the cities studied were at risk from “climate whiplash.” [BBC]

Flood (Don Lodge, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “City Hopes To Become ‘Pollinator Capital'” • Avon Wildlife Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society are working with people in Bristol and Bath to create a 43 mile (70km) “bee-line” for the Pollinator Pathways Project. Shelly Easton of the Avon Wildlife Trust said: “The focus this time is on hoverflies because they’re vital for food security.” [BBC]

¶ “Premiere Of New Toyota C-HR+, bZ4X, And Lexus RZ In Europe” • Toyota Motor Corporation announced that it will be expanding its battery EV lineup in Europe as part of its multi-pathway approach to achieving a carbon-neutral society. Toyota is committed to product and region-centered management with the aim of making ever-better cars. [CleanTechnica]

Toyota bZ4X – European specifications (Toyota image)

¶ “Solar Farms Can Host Up To Three Times As Many Birds As Crop Fields” • Building solar farms should be done carefully to avoid exacerbating a reduction in biodiversity. We found that solar farms in East Anglia that were managed for biodiversity had more bird species, and more birds overall, than surrounding cropland. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “BayWa RE Seeks Consent For 500-MW BESS” • BayWa’s renewable energy arm is seeking consent for a 500-MW battery energy storage system in Scotland, the largest in its portfolio. The Glasgow-based renewable energy company submitted an application to the Scottish government for the Redshaw BESS project in South Lanarkshire. [reNews]

Battery storage (BayWa image)

¶ “Europe Seeks To Avoid Russian Energy If Sanctions Eased, Ministers And Execs Say” • European buyers are unlikely to return to Russia’s energy sector if sanctions are lifted, as the bloc has diversified its power mix with both renewable energy and alternative gas suppliers, ministers and executives said at a conference in Houston. [Yahoo News UK]

¶ “Chinese PV Industry Brief: Huaneng, TBEA Have Announced GW-Scale Renewables Clusters” • TBEA has announced plans to invest in a 1-GW solar power plant and a 2-GW wind power project, both with energy storage. And China Huaneng signed a framework agreement for a 2.7-GW renewable project in Inner Mongolia. [pv magazine International]

Wind turbines on a hill (Ludovico Ceroseis, Unsplash)

¶ “‘Nervous And Rushed’: Massive Fukushima Plant Cleanup Workers Exposed To Radiation And Stress” • Radiation levels at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have dropped a lot since the cataclysmic meltdown fourteen years ago. Some workers walk around in wearing only surgical masks and regular clothes. It’s a different story for other workers. [The Japan News]

US:

¶ “Trump Or No Trump, EV Charging Is Getting Easier Than Ever” • The occupant of the White House is determined to take down the entire US auto industry, EVs and all. Presidents come and go, and this one will be gone four years hence. Meanwhile, EV charging stakeholders continue to lay the groundwork for the electrified future of the US. [CleanTechnica]

EV charger (Courtesy of Xcharge North America)

¶ “Tesla Cybertruck Hitch Tested To Failure: It Could Be A Problem For Heavier Trailers” • Last year, extreme torture tests by WhistlinDiesel got a lot of attention. When put through testing far beyond real-world conditions, the Cybertruck came to fail spectacularly. Then came stories of people hauling trailers and seeing similar failures. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Installed Record 50 GW Of Solar In 2024” • Figures shot the US installed 50 GW of new solar capacity in 2024. It is the largest single year of new capacity added by any technology in over two decades. Solar and storage account for 84% of all new capacity added to the US grid last year, according to the US Solar Market Insight 2024 Year in Review report. [reNews]

Solar array (SunPower image)

¶ “The US Solar Industry Is Setting Records, But The Dark Clouds Of Doom Are Gathering” • The US solar industry had another record setting year in 2024, according to data compiled by the Solar Energy Industries Association. All else being equal, the boom times will continue. Of course, with President Trump and Elon Musk nothing is certain. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “RWE Cuts US Offshore Workforce” • RWE confirmed that it is laying off workers of its US offshore team, the latest developer to scale back its US ambitions in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s federal permitting freeze. RWE has 5.9 GW of offshore lease holdings in the US, and in November RWE CEO Markus Krebber announced delays. [reNews]

Have a really inspired day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.

Opinion:

¶ “Who Will Buy Tesla When It Goes Bankrupt?” • Tesla insiders are racing to unload their shares in the company while they still can. The insiders are bailing out like rats deserting a sinking ship. Do you think their doing so has anything to do with proprietary knowledge gained by being inside the Tesla board room? Nah, no one would be that blatant, would they? [CleanTechnica]

Elon Musk at the ready (MSNBC via YouTube)

World:

¶ “How Global Warming Could Threaten Satellites, According To Study” • Global warming is causing space debris to linger above the planet for longer periods of time, leaving less space for functioning satellites and posing a growing problem for the long-term use of Earth’s orbital space, a study published in Nature Sustainability found. [ABC News]

¶ “Billionaire Carlos Slim Cancels $22 Billion In Starlink Orders Due To Elon Musk’s Outburst” • Aside from aligning himself with Trump and his incessant attacks on Mexico, Musk implied in January that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim was involved in drug cartels in Mexico. Slim soon decided to cancel $22 billion of funds heading to Starlink. [CleanTechnica]

Starlink operating (Official SpaceX Photos, CC0)

¶ “Carney Takes The Helm: What’s Next For Canada’s Carbon Policy?” • With Mark Carney stepping in as the new leader of the federal Liberal Party, Canada’s carbon pricing system faces a critical juncture. Carney recognizes that the consumer carbon price is unsalvageable in its current form. He has been a leading voice in climate finance, however. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EVs Take 27.3% Share In Germany — Volkswagen ID.7 Still Leading” • In February, EVs took a 27.3% share in Germany, up from 19.3% share YOY. Battery EVs were back to decent volume compared to 2024, though only modestly ahead of February 2023 figures. Plugin hybrids stepped up modestly. Overall auto volume was down 6% YOY. [CleanTechnica]

VW ID.7 (Ssu, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Renewco Strikes 2.2-GW Spanish Battery Energy Storage Systems Deal” • Renewco Power has entered into an agreement with Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure to develop up to 2,200 MW of standalone battery projects across Spain. Renewco will develop the projects to ready-to-build status, while Atlantica will build and manage the portfolio. [reNews]

¶ “50Hertz To Invest €23 Billion In Grid Expansion” • 50Hertz is to invest almost €23 billion to improve its transmission grid in Germany to 2028. This is to facilitate the energy transition. The €23 billion is being spent on overhead lines, submarine and land cables, substations, digitalisation, and other technologies in the period 2024 to 2028. [reNews]

Offshore generating station (50Hertz image)

¶ “Gujarat Targets 37,350 MW Renewable Energy Generating Capacity By 2026” • By 2026, state of Gujarat’s solar, wind, and solar-wind hybrid power capacity will be 37,350 MW. This will develop from an investment of ₹1.50 lakh crore ($17.2 billion). Gujarat Power Corporation Limited is the nodal agency for the renewable energy initiative. [DeshGujarat]

¶ “Renewables Accounted For 54.1% Of Total Energy In Spain In February” • In February, renewables generated 11,543 GWh in Spain and reached a share of 54.1% of the total. The month’s first source of production was nuclear (22.1%), then hydroelectric (20.2%). These were followed next by wind power (17.3%), and solar PVs (14%). [pv magazine International]

Solar farm in Spain (kallerna, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Premier Reaffirms Green Energy Push, Leaves Door Open To Nuclear” • The government of Taiwan remains committed to developing diverse green energy sources while keeping the door open to “new” nuclear power under certain conditions, Premier Cho Jung-tai said. Reducing carbon emissions is the priority and achieving net zero is the goal. [Focus Taiwan]

US:

¶ “SCOTUS Rejects Republican Effort To Halt Climate Lawsuits In Democrat-Led States” • The Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit from Republican attorneys general in nineteen states aimed at blocking climate change suits against the oil and gas industry in Democratic-led states. The complaint was that the Democratic states are trying to set US energy policy. [ABC News]

Supreme Court Building (TheAgency, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Trump’s Tariffs Are Wrecking America’s Supply Chain For Critical Minerals” • Nickel, cobalt, and platinum-group elements are needed for the US economy. These metals power everything from electric vehicle batteries to jet engines and oil refineries. But the US has to rely on imports, often from nations it targets with trade restrictions. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Renewables Set Records In Texas” • Canary Media reports that Texas is setting records with its fleet of renewables that include wind, solar, and grid-scale energy storage. But Republicans in Congress can’t wait to roll back the federal incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act that have made many of those renewables possible. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbines (USDA NRCS Texas, public domain)

¶ “Business Leaders Target The Trump-Musk White House For Damaging Profitability Margins” • Instead of embracing the Trump-Musk administration and its supposed pro-business ideology, companies are warning investors that the effects of federal change in Washington are unsettling and likely to hurt profitability margins. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Michigan Lawmakers Explore Nuclear Energy” • Lawmakers are looking to make Michigan a better place for nuclear energy. Bipartisan bills in the House of Representatives will create tax credits and university grants that incentivize nuclear research and energy production. Michigan is to start phasing out use of natural gas in 2030. [WZMQ 19 News]

Have a perfectly easy day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.