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World:

¶ “UK Court Rules Government Plan To Build First New Coal Mine In Decades Unlawful On Climate Grounds” • Britain’s approval of a coal mine was unlawful, London’s High Court ruled. The same court had ruled earlier that planning authorities must consider the impact of burning fossil fuels when deciding whether to approve projects. [CNN]

Fields near Whitehaven (David Purchase, CC-BY-SS 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Climate Protesters Are Taking Action Against Big Oil, And UK Courts Are Handing Them Prison Terms Like What Thieves Get” • Two new laws give the act of planning a “public nuisance” event a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. This is similar to the punishments for violent crimes like robbery, which range from community service to twelve years’ jail. [CNN]

¶ “BYD Partners With Pilatus Motors To Launch Several Models In Zambia!” • BYD seems to launch a new market in some place every week. It’s good news for Zambia, as BYD launched in that country, giving Zambians a chance to buy some of the latest EVs from one of the world’s largest EV firms. BYD partnered with Pilatus for several models there. [CleanTechnica]

BYD on display (Courtesy of BYD)

¶ “New Manufacturing Process For High-Performance Lithium-Metal Battery” • The Horizon 2020 SOLiDIFY consortium, made up of 14 European partners, has developed a high-performance lithium-metal solid-state battery. The prototype has a unique “liquid-to-solid” processed electrolyte developed by imec, Empa and SOLVIONIC. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “AMEA Power To Develop Africa’s Largest Solar PV Project” • AMEA Power, based in Dubai, will invest $800 million more in two renewable energy projects in Egypt, boosting its promise of clean energy for the country. The projects include a 1,000-MW PV plant and a 600-MWh battery system for the largest solar PV and battery project in Africa. [Gulf Business]

Solar array (AMEA image)

¶ “EU Commission Approves State Aid For Wind Power In Belgium” • The European Commission approved a €682 million ($755 million) Belgian measure in support of renewable offshore wind energy. Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said, “This measure will help to reduce Belgium’s dependence on fossil fuels from Russia.” [Yahoo]

¶ “Big Oil Faces A Rising Number Of Climate-Focused Lawsuits, Report Finds” • Big oil is facing more and more climate-focused lawsuits, as communities demand accountability for losses due to the industry’s contributions to the climate crisis, a report says. Oil Change International and climate research organization Zero Carbon Analytic published the report. [The Guardian]

US Supreme Court Building (Joe Ravi, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Watchdog Warns Of Rust And Leaks At Nuclear Plant” • A watchdog has raised safety concerns about the state of some areas of the Dounreay nuclear power complex in Scotland. The Office for Nuclear Regulation found corroded steelwork in a building being used to store drums of radioactive sodium, and leaks from low-level radioactive waste pits. [BBC]

US:

¶ “New Poll: Overwhelming Support For US Clean Energy Incentives” • Nearly 90% of American voters support federal clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, according to polling released by Global Strategy Group, North Star, and the Solar Energy Industries Association. That includes 78% of 2020 Trump voters. [CleanTechnica]

Solar instillation in the California desert (Courtesy of BLM)

¶ “You Can Now Get Tesla Model 3 With $0 Due At Delivery” • In another effort to pull in new buyers, Tesla has just sent out a new offer. You can now buy a brand new Tesla Model 3 and pay $0 at delivery. And if you take delivery by September 30, along with this $0 due on delivery, you can get financing for as low as 2.49% APR. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Sungrow FPV Unveils High-Capacity Floating Solar Solutions At RE+ 2024” • With the growing North American PV market demand, Sungrow FPV is focused on meeting local market needs with tailored, high-capacity solutions for floating solar projects. These systems offer key advantages such as stable generating efficiency and high reliability. [CleanTechnica]

Display of panels for floating solar system (Sungrow FPV image)

¶ “As Northwest Homes And Businesses Get More Energy Efficient, It Helps The Power Grid, Report Finds” • Heat pumps, electric water heaters, solar panels, home insulation, and smart thermostats and lighting are all helping Pacific Northwest electric utilities and power regulators better balance the grid, according to a study. [Oregon Public Broadcasting]

¶ “Blending Hydrogen In New York Gas Systems Could Require 48 TWh Of Electricity: EDF” • Using hydrogen to decarbonize home heating is likely not a viable long-term strategy, raising questions about the role hydrogen blending could play in the energy transition, according to a report from the Environmental Defense Fund. [Utility Dive]

Have a truly fantastic day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Don’t Be Bamboozled By Nuclear Power” • In the face of a complex and urgent problem like climate change, it’s tempting to believe in simple solutions. Nuclear energy has been marketed as a quick fix for the socio-political problem that climate change presents. It’s said to be an essential part of the climate solution, but it is both ineffective and harmful. [Counterpunch]

Atomic Bamboozle (Film donation appeal)

World:

¶ “Trump Is Brutally Mocked By Germany Over False Debate Claim” • Germany’s Foreign Ministry delivered a brutal fact-check of Trump’s false debate claim that the country had reneged on its push to promote renewable energy sources. As with many Trump claims, this one could have been cleared up with a simple Google search. [MSNBC News]

¶ “Oil Prices Slide, Partly Due to Weakened Demand in China” • Zachary Shahan: “We write daily about cutting oil use by driving electric vehicles. However, I don’t follow what’s happening in the oil industry or trends in the price of oil. But ‘Oil prices slide under multiple pressures’ caught my attention.” China turning to EVs might be one of those pressures. [CleanTechnica]

BYD roll-on roll-off ship (BYD image)

¶ “BYD’s Share Of China’s Auto Market Rises To 20%” • BYD’s results in August stand out, as it rose to 19.9% of the Chinese auto market. That was up from 18.1% in July, which was up from 15.9% in June, which was up from 15.7% in May. So, that’s 3 months of consecutive growth, going from 15.7% to 20%! But it had a 10.2% auto market share in January. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Battery-Electric Terminal Trucks Are Deployed in Western Australia” • In an Australian first, Patrick Terminals has deployed nine battery-electric terminal trucks at the Port of Fremantle, Western Australia. This is just the first phase of their transition. Patrick had A$2.5 million ($1.68 million) in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. [CleanTechnica]

Electric terminal truck (Courtesy of ITA Fremantle)

¶ “Scatec Secures Power Purchase Deal For Egypt’s First Hybrid Solar Project” • Scatec, based in Norway, said that it had signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company for the country’s first hybrid solar power and battery storage project, a 1-GW solar plant with 100 MW of battery storage. [Gulf Business]

¶ “Construction Of First Wind Power Plant Has Begun In Kyrgyzstan” • Construction of the first wind power plant has begun in Kyrgyzstan. Russia’s Rosatom Renewable Energy JSC is developing the project. The wind project is to have a capacity of 100 MW, with the annual output expected to be approximately 290 million kWh. [24.KG]

Countryside of Kyrgyzstan (Oziel Gómez, Unsplash)

¶ “Australia Green Lights 450-MW Hazelwood North Solar Farm” • Construction of the 450-MW Hazelwood North Solar Farm in Victoria has started after it was granted planning permit approval. The $651 million project, which will be the state’s largest, will power around 150,000 homes and eliminate around 700,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. [Asian Power]

US:

¶ “GE Vernova Aims To Cut Utility-Scale Solar Costs With New Inverter” • The solar industry has been driving down costs step by step over the past decade. Now solar power has become the most cost-competitive option for new power plants, and solar power is the #1 source of new power capacity around the world. GE Vernova has made another step. [CleanTechnica]

FLEXINVERTER 2000 (Courtesy of GE Vernova)

¶ “EVs Already Reduce Electricity Rates, And They Can Do Even More” • In addition to their myriad health and direct economic benefits compared to polluting gasoline vehicles, EVs also help reduce electricity rates for all utility customers. They’ve already been doing so in California, and recent legislation can help them do more on rising electricity prices. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Hurricane Francine Knocks Energy Infrastructure Offline, But Not Clean Energy” • The US Energy Information Administration announced that an extensive array of energy infrastructure has been knocked offline by Hurricane Francine. But one thing stood out: the infrastructure hit was to the grid and fossil fuels; clean energy was not hit. [CleanTechnica]

Transmission towers (Pierre Jarry, Unsplash)

¶ “Utility Ordered To Pay $100 Million For Its Role In Ohio Bribery Scheme” • FirstEnergy Corp, the utility at the center of a $60 million, 2020 bribery scheme to bail out the Davis–Besse and Perry nuclear plants, was ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay a $100 million civil penalty for misleading investors about the scandal. [ABC News]

¶ “Energy Company Announces Plans For Nation’s First Sodium-Ion Battery Gigafactory” • Lithium has been the go-to metal for battery production for more than 30 years. Sodium is a less expensive and more sustainable alternative. Natron, a US battery maker announced plans to invest $1.4 billion in a large factory to produce sodium-ion batteries. [MSN]

Sodium-ion battery (Natron Energy image)

¶ “Ørsted Hits Sunrise Foundations Milestone” • Ørsted has announced over half of the advanced foundation components for the offshore turbines of the 924-MW Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm are now complete, as construction of the New York offshore windfarm will start in 2025. The components are being made at the Port of Coeymans. [reNews]

¶ “The Senate Race In Nevada Pits Renewable Energy Against Fossil Fuels” • Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen and Republican challenger Sam Brown differ sharply on climate policy and the development of Nevada’s solar industry. Rosen supports policies promoting clean energy. Brown advocates producing more oil and gas. [The Daily Climate]

Have an honestly magnificent day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Lessons from China’s Growing Adoption of Zero-Emission Trucks” • Getting more zero-emission trucks on the road is an important transportation shift needed to reduce air pollution and curb emissions. Transforming the entire trucking industry is challenging. It will require the establishment of government policies with ambitious targets. [CleanTechnica]

Gen-3 BYD 8TT (Courtesy of BYD)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Oxford Scientists Have Made A Remarkable Advancement With A Material That Generates Solar Power Without Traditional Panels” • In August, a team from Oxford’s physics department announced that it has developed an “ultra-thin material” that has 27% energy efficiency in converting sunlight into energy. This could be an important breakthrough. [Yahoo]

World:

¶ “Drought-Hit Danube River Reveals Scuttled German World War II Ships” • The wrecks of explosives-laden Nazi ships sunk in the Danube River during World War II have been revealed near Serbia’s river port town of Prahovo, after a drought in July and August. Due to the drought, the river’s water level drop to only 1.5 meters (4.9 feet). [CNN]

Prohovo, before the drought (Stadtigel, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “World Solar PV Installations To Grow To About 600 GW This Year” • Solar power keeps breaking records. More solar power is being installed than energy other electricity source in the US and in the world as a whole. A forecast from BloombergNEF has total solar PV power installations reaching nearly 600 GW this year, a 33% increase over the 2023 total! [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EV Battery News Just Keeps Getting Better And Better” • Some headline writers keep writing off 100% battery EVs as a passing fad, even though their sales keep rising. Faster-charging and less expensive batteries with longer range would help push things along for EVs, and that is exactly what EV battery stakeholders have in the works. [CleanTechnica]

Stellantis EV at a battery swap (Courtesy of Stellantis)

¶ “The Starmer Government Is Leading UK Away From Its Oil Addiction” • When Greenpeace appealed the decisions allowing drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea in 2022, the government of the UK opposed it. The UK’s supreme court ruled in June that “Scope 3” emissions should be taken into account. And the UK has a new government. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Aker To Design Med Wind Substations” • Aker Solutions won a contract to design the underwater substations for Med Wind, the 2,800-MW Italian floating wind project. The developer, Renexia, signed a front-end engineering and design contract with the company for the scheme off Trapani on the seabed of the Strait of Sicily. [reNews]

Submarine substation (Aker Solutions image)

¶ “Europe Adds 6.4 GW Of Wind In H1 2024” • Europe added 6,400 MW of new onshore and offshore wind capacity in the first half of 2024, according to latest data from WindEurope. In H1, 5.3 GW was onshore wind capacity and 1.1 GW was offshore. The EU is on track to build 15 GW of new wind farms this year, down slightly from 16 GW in 2023. [reNews]

¶ “Neoen And SmartestEnergy Sign Oz Solar PPA” • Neoen has signed a power purchase agreement with SmartestEnergy for 50% of the output from its 440-MW Culcairn solar farm in New South Wales. The four-year contract will enable SmartestEnergy to meet the demand for renewable energy from businesses in the state. Its term starts in 2026. [reNews]

Solar panels and sheep (Neoen image)

¶ “Regulator Grants Construction Permit For Two New Nuclear Reactors” • In South Korea, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission granted a construction permit for two new nuclear reactors, eight years after the application was submitted. The approval reverses the previous government’s nuclear phase-out policy. [KoreaTimes]

US:

¶ “Financing Solar Panels Just Became Way Easier in USA” • Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, a new financing model can make solar easier to access for low-income households and nonprofits. A church in Compton, California put it to work. A 12-kW project, soon to have a battery system, will allow the church to serve as a resiliency hub. [CleanTechnica]

Rooftop solar array (Courtesy of RE-volv)

¶ “Climate Action Plans For States Made Easier With Free Tool” • RMI and Energy Innovation’s free Energy Policy Simulator can help states craft very effective energy and climate plans. They developed EPS models for the 48 states in the continental US that estimate the environmental, economic, and human health impacts of different policies. [CleanTechnica]

“Feds Approve $2.3 Billion Solar-Plus-Storage Project” • The US Bureau of Land Management approved a $2.3 billion solar-plus-battery storage project in Nevada. Libra Solar is a 700-MW solar and 700-MW, 2.8-GW battery project being developed by Arevia Power. The project is on 5,141 acres of land in Nevada owned by the BLM. [Power Engineering]

Solar system in a desert area (Bureau of Land Management)

¶ “Warm Oceans Strengthened Hurricane Francine And Could Power More Fall Storms” • Warm water in the Gulf of Mexico helped quickly strengthen Hurricane Francine, creating danger for Louisiana residents rushing to buy supplies and secure their homes before the storm’s landfall. Warm ocean water is essential for strengthening hurricanes. [ABC News]

¶ “California Bridge Fire Updates: Newsom Expands Emergency Due To ‘Extreme Behavior'” • The Bridge Fire straddling Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties became the largest wildfire in California, as authorities battled several large blazes aided by federal assistance and the state National Guard. The Bridge Fire is threatening 2,500 structures. [ABC News]

Have a really happy day.

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Opinion:

¶ “On Fake Protest – Is The Extinction Rebellion … A Front For The Fossil Industries?” • We’ve all seen the headlines, the antics, and the absurd protests by the Extinction Rebellion. Claiming to raise awareness of the climate crisis, they glue themselves to art and disrupt sports tournaments. Are they actually doing this to discredit climate activists? [CleanTechnica]

Protest by Extinction Rebellion (Bhuwan Bansal, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “‘Out Of Control’ Fires Ravage The Amazon Region” • In the Amazon River basin, wildfires are choking swaths of Brazil, Bolivia, and Ecuador with smoke, leading to evacuations, school closures, canceled flights, and a dire threat to plant and animal life in the region. Officials say the fires are thought to be the worst in twenty years. [ABC News]

¶ “A Volkswagen ‘Earthquake’ Hits Germany” • The Volkswagen Group recently announced that it might need to close two German factories. It also might need to end the decades-old “guaranteed employment” policy it used to ensure workers they would always have jobs in the Volkswagen family. Some media called the news an “earthquake.” [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagen ID.7

¶ “Neoen Wins Backing For 170 MW Of Solar” • Neoen won 170 MW of solar capacity in Ireland’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme 4 auction. It won two projects, the 29-MW Johnstown North Solar project in County Wicklow, and the 141-MW Garr Solar project in County Offaly. They are scheduled to come online in 2027 and 2028 respectively. [reNews]

¶ “Crown Estate Launches New UK Seabed Vision” • The Crown Estate has published two blueprints to support nature recovery, enable growth in critical marine sectors, and lease 20 GW to 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Marine Delivery Routemap sets out a long-term and holistic view of how it can be used by identifying areas for various purposes. [reNews]

Sea (frank mckenna, Unsplash)

¶ “European Natural Gas Prices Drop as Wind Power Soars” • The European benchmark natural gas prices fell as the region’s first colder wave brought a lot of wind and powered a higher share of electricity in key markets. The Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures, the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, were down by 2.4% in Amsterdam. [OilPrice.com]

¶ “UK Developer Unveils 500-MW Solar Scheme” • Renewables developer Island Green Power unveiled plans for a utility-scale solar and battery project in Norfolk. With a potential generating capacity of up to 500 MW, East Pye Solar is proposed to be built across various sites near Long Stratton and would connect to an existing 400-kV overhead line. [reNews]

Solar panels (Andres Siimon, Unsplash)

¶ “Ukraine Warns Russian Strikes On Power Grid Could Spark Nuclear Crisis” • Ukraine has thousands of power substations. But there are ten nodes linked to nuclear power plants, whose destruction could plunge the country into darkness and provoke a radiological emergency, Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said. [South China Morning Post]

US:

¶ “National Guard Deployed To Help Fight Raging California Fire Threatening Thousands Of Homes” • Three major wildfires are raging across Southern California, threatening thousands of homes as firefighters and the state National Guard were battling to bring the flames under control amid a triple-digit heatwave, officials said. [ABC News]

Smoke from the Line Fire (Cal Fire image)

¶ “NREL’s Economic Impact Hits $1.9 Billion” • The economic impact of the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory topped $1.9 billion nationwide in Fiscal Year 2023, according to a study by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. Every US state felt an impact from direct or indirect spending connected to NREL. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ford EV Owners Can Now Get Paid To Support Southern California Grid” • If you own or lease a Ford EV, you can now get paid to support the electricity grid in Southern California, and you don’t need vehicle-to-grid technology. This is just in the Southern California Edison utility district, and it is initially only an option for Ford EV owners. [CleanTechnica]

Ford F-150 Lightning (Ford image)

¶ “Greg Abbott Creates A Texas Court System To Protect Polluters” • Texas seems to have a new type of court. “Greg Abbott created a boutique court for corporations where he, not the voters, gets to pick the judges,” said Adrian Shelley, director of the Texas office at Public Citizen, a progressive advocacy organization. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Renewables Surge To Drive US Grid Modernization” • The need for grid modernization has grown more urgent as US utilities prepare to accommodate more renewable energy capacity, according to a report by Black & Veatch. The 2024 Electric Report outlines the “immense opportunity” in renewables and sustainable infrastructure. [reNews]

Solar panels (Biel Morro, Unsplash)

¶ “Iberdrola Secures 791-MW Offshore Wind Project In The US” • Iberdrola, through its US subsidiary Avangrid, was awarded a contract to develop the 791-MW New England Wind 1 offshore wind farm in the US. This project will supply energy to 400,000 homes in Massachusetts. Commercial operation is scheduled for 2029. [energynews.pro]

¶ “State Signs Off On 100-MW Solar Farm In Alfred” • A New York solar farm got final state approval and is all clear to be built, Governor Kathy Hochul announced. The Alfred Oaks solar farm, a 100-MW project in Alfred, New York, was issued a final siting permit by the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission. [Hornell Evening Tribune]

Have a conscientiously considered day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “See-Through Solar Windows, Coming Soon To A Farm Near You” • Some people object to solar PVs, saying they don’t look good. Research indicates that transparent, see-through solar technology can use some sunlight while passing some. Solar cells can be the glass in a greenhouse, so a farmer’s greenhouse can generate electricity. [CleanTechnica]

Glass solar PV (Courtesy of Michigan State University)

World:

¶ “Indonesia’s Palm Oil B50 Biodiesel Blend Aims For Green Energy Without Risking Global Palm Oil Supply” • Indonesia, the world’s leading palm oil producer, aims to harness its vast reserves as a renewable energy source. Since 2008, the country has been blending palm oil with fossil fuel-based diesel to create biodiesel. [The Independent Singapore News]

¶ “Tata Power Commences Production Of Solar PVs At India’s Largest Solar Manufacturing Plant” • TP Solar Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd, announced the opening of commercial production from the 2-GW solar cell line at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. The plant will benefit India’s economy. [Tata Power]

Tata Power Manufacturing Plant (Tata Power image)

¶ “Panel Installation Complete At Solar And Battery Project Built To Power Pilbara Mining Giants” • Leading Australian energy infrastructure business APA Group announced that it completed installation of all solar panels at the 45-MW Port Hedland solar farm, which will also feature a 35-MW, 36.7-MWh battery energy storage system. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “India Announces Country’s Largest Wind Energy Project To Power 3 Million Households” • India has announced its largest wind energy project, which will power 3 million households, Asian News International reported. The government-owned NTPC Green Energy Limited has partnered with Suzlon Group for the 1,166-MW project. [Energy Central]

Indian wind farm (Sharada Prasad, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Telstra Signs Up To Buy Half The Output From Big Riverina Solar Farm, Sheep Not Included” • Australian telecoms giant Telstra signed a deal to buy 50% of the electricity generated by the Glenellen solar farm, a 260-MW project under construction in New South Wales. The solar project will allow ongoing grazing within its area. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “Great Britain Generates Over 80% Of Summer Electricity From Renewables” • Great Britain had its greenest summer on record, with roughly a fifth of electricity from non-renewable sources, data commissioned by The Guardian shows. Data from Ember shows fossil fuel use was just over 62% in 2014, but it fell to about 21% for August 2024. [EcoWatch]

Unloading turbine blades (Flickr.com, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “At Japan’s Fukushima, A High-Stakes Recovery Of Deadly Radioactive Debris Resumes” • In Japan, an extendable robot resumed its mission to retrieve a fragment of melted fuel debris from one of three damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, nearly three weeks after an earlier attempt was suspended. [South China Morning Post]

Sweden:

¶ “Sweden To Introduce Wind Incentives” • The government of Sweden is to implement proposals to help expand wind power. The plans include a provision that municipalities where wind farms are built will receive support in an amount equivalent to the property taxes on the array. The trade body has pursued the issue for over 10 years. [reNews]

Wind farm (Waldemar, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “The World’s First Electric Timber Truck With A Crane Takes Sustainable Forestry To The Next Level ” • The forestry industry just saw a major leap towards sustainability with the debut of the world’s first electric timber truck with a crane. It was unveiled in Sweden at the Elmia Lastbil fair. It is the result of a collaboration between SCA and Scania. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Northvolt’s Initial Outcomes From Its Strategic Review” • Northvolt announced it will focus its resources on sustainable large-scale cell manufacturing. This endeavor entails ramping up the first phase of the Northvolt Ett gigafactory in Sweden, whilst continuing to leverage the world-class R&D facility Northvolt Labs, in Västerås, Sweden. [CleanTechnica]

Northvolt Ett factory (Courtesy of Northvolt)

US:

¶ “The US Is Dismantling Nuclear Warheads To Power The Next Generation Of Reactors” • Inside a highly classified facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, workers are turning old, unexploded nuclear warheads into fuel that will power cities. The process involves melting weapons-grade uranium with low-enriched uranium in a crucible at around 2,500°F. [CNN]

¶ “US Solar Power Booms Under Biden” • A report published by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie highlights how effective the Biden-Harris administration has been in advancing solar power in the US, and especially solar panel production capacity. Solar module production capacity has risen above 31 GW per year. [CleanTechnica]

Solar power (Karl Callwood, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Clean Energy’s Secret Weapon: Rural Electric Cooperatives” • In one of the great ironies of American political life, many of the conservative rural communities in the continental US get their electricity from ratepayer-owned, not-for-profit utilities called rural electric cooperatives. These rural areas had once been left in the dark by for-profit utilities. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Biden Administration OKs Major Nevada Power Project” • The Biden administration announced it is approving a major transmission project as well as a solar project in Nevada. The Greenlink West Transmission Project will run power lines from North Las Vegas to Reno. It could transmit enough electricity for 4.8 million homes. [The Hill]

Have a scrupulously improvised day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Most Of Us Breathe Unsafe Air? What Can We Do About It?” • Universally, governments need to help everyday citizens to fight unsafe air by collaborating across borders, sectors, and silos. The most efficient way to reduce air pollution is through collective investments of time, resources, and efforts. But individuals have opportunities to fight unsafe air. [CleanTechnica]

Candle (Jarl Schmidt, Unsplash)

¶ “Amprius Claims Big Step Forward On Next-Gen Li-ion Batteries” • Amprius, created from Stanford University, has been trudging along, developing world-changing technology. Here’s an interview Zachary Shahan of CleanTechnica had with its CTO, Constantin Ionel Stefan, so you can dive into the company’s vision and progress: [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Solar Power Vs The Darkness Of Trump” • To understand the stakes in this year’s election, and to understand the very exciting possibility for rapid progress in the climate fight, a new set of numbers is extremely useful. They come courtesy of Electrek’s Michelle Lewis, reporting on Ken Bossong’s analysis of the data on electric generation. [Common Dreams]

Dawn (NEOM, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “The Controversial Plan To Turn A Desert Green” • There are numerous projects to regreen deserts, and one of them is to turn the Sinai green. There are enormous benefits to greening deserts, ranging from local economics to drawing down carbon dioxide globally. But there are issues with the plan and controversy based on real issues. [CNN]

World:

¶ “Bridge Collapses As More Rain Falls In Vietnam And Storm Deaths Rise To 21” • A bridge collapsed as more rain fell on northern Vietnam from a former typhoon that caused landslides, flooding, and at least 21 deaths. Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit Vietnam in decades when it made landfall with winds up to 149 kph (92 mph). [ABC News]

Damage by Yagi in China (Anna Frodesiak, public domain)

¶ “EVs Take 20.6% Share In Germany” • August saw plugin EVs take 20.6% share in Germany, down from (an outlier) 37.0% share YOY. Battery EVs are now around the level they were in 2022, but the plugin hybrid EV share has halved since then. Overall auto volume was 197,322 units, down some 28% YOY, and far below 2015–2019 seasonal norms. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “NTPC Green Energy And Suzlon Sign Deal For India’s Largest 1,166-MW Wind Power Project” • NTPC Green Energy partnered with Suzlon Group, for India’s largest wind energy order to date, totaling 1,166 MW. According to Suzlon Energy, this project will have 370 wind turbines, each with a rated capacity of 3.15 MW, in three sites in Gujarat. [BW Businessworld]

Suzlon wind farm (Suzlon image)

¶ “Voltalia Wins A 128-MW Contract For A Solar Power Plant In Ireland” • Ørsted awarded Voltalia an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for its first solar power plant in Ireland. This 128-MW project marks Ørsted’s entry into the Irish solar sector, which had previously focused on wind power. The project is in County Carlow. [energynews.pro]

¶ “Uzbekistan’s Green Energy Revolution” • A green-energy project in Uzbekistan to stabilize the system distributing the country’s electricity has taken a major step toward launching before the end of 2024. The Podrobno.uz news outlet reports that installation of a battery system with a capacity of 150-MW, 300-MWh was completed. [OilPrice.com]

Tashkent (Farhodjon Chinberdiev, Unsplash)

¶ “Ramokgopa Withdraws Nuclear Determination, Undoing More Mantashe Policy” • South Africa’s Minister of Electricity and Energy withdrew a key determination under the Electricity Regulation Act. While the cost of renewable energy is falling, nuclear energy projects are often expensive and require long-term investments. [Bizcommunity]

US:

¶ “New Fleet Of Electric Buses For US National Park” • National Parks are in the spotlight this week as Nat Geo TV unspools the new National Geographic series National Parks: USA, featuring Indigenous stories that weave the wildlife of Zion, Yellowstone, Katmai, the Everglades, and Olympic into a human framework that goes back millennia. [CleanTechnica]

Katmai National Park, Alaska (Emilio Borraz Ortega, Unsplash)

¶ “Solar Power Takes Big Bite Out Of Sullivan’s Emissions” • It has been ten years since the Sullivan County Legislature set out to reduce by 2020 half of the greenhouse gas emitted by the county government. Since then, step by step, the New York county has been installing solar power of various types and reducing its emissions. [The River Reporter]

¶ “New Life For Abandoned Offshore Wind Leases?” • Ørsted abandoned its plans for a massive wind farm off the Jersey Shore nearly a year ago. Now industry analysts and others say that the offshore wind industry may be poised to buy up the ocean leases that could generate enough power for some 1 million New Jersey homes. [NJ Spotlight News]

Offshore windfarm (Jesse De Meulenaere, Unsplash)

¶ “Report Reveals Which US States Will Reach 100% Renewable Energy By 2035 – And Which Won’t” • Not all states are created equal when it comes to clean energy progress. The EPA recently released data detailing which US states are on track to reach 100% renewable energy by 2035. The three best states are Washington, South Dakota, and Vermont. [MSN]

¶ “Five Companies Become Eligible To Bid On Oregon First Offshore Wind Energy Projects Next Month” • Five companies are eligible to bid in Oregon’s first offshore wind energy lease auction in mid-October, a federal document says. Published by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, is the final step before the auction. [YachatsNews.com]

Have a fascinatingly lovely day.

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Opinion:

¶ “The Geothermal Energy Solution To The Kamala Harris Fracking Dilemma” • Vice President Kamala Harris does not support a ban on fracking. But if proven cost-effective, enhanced geothermal systems would expand the US geothermal energy footprint by a wide margin, from a few GW to over 100 GW a 2006 calculation by MIT shows. [CleanTechnica]

Fracking (Courtesy of US DOE)

World:

¶ “How The Balkans Region Grappled With The Hottest Summer In Over A Century” • Meteorologists say the summer of 2024 in the Balkans was the hottest since measurements started over 130 years ago. Long periods with temperatures above 30°C (86°F) that didn’t fall below 20°C (68°F) overnight have pushed the average temperatures to new highs. [ABC News]

¶ “Scientists Search The Underside Of Glaciers For Clues To Sea Level Rise” • With knowledge about the undersides of glaciers at the ocean edge, scientists could predict how they interact with warmer ocean waters. That will give us better understanding of how much increase in sea levels we can expect and when, giving world cities time to prepare. [CleanTechnica]

Robotic submarine (Jackson School of Geosciences)

¶ “India’s Power Sector To Increase By 2.2 Times To $280 Billion By FY30: Report” • India’s power generation and transmission sectors are poised for substantial growth, and as the country goes into a phase of GDP growth driven by capital expenditure, the power intensity should increase, according to Jefferies in its latest September report. [Times of Oman]

¶ “Goliath Solid State Battery ‘Exceeded Our Expectations’ On Safety Test” • The race for the solid state EV battery of tomorrow is crowded, and here comes yet another startup. The UK firm Ilika just dropped word that its Goliath P1 prototype cells have passed a crucial safety test by failing to reach dangerously high heat when impaled by a nail. [CleanTechnica]

Goliath prototype solid state battery (Courtesy of Ilika)

Australia:

¶ “Australia ‘Wasting’ Record Amounts Of Renewable Energy As Share Of Wind And Solar Soars” • Australia already generates so much renewable energy that more than a quarter of the wind and solar potential has to be curtailed. At one point, the amount of curtailed renewable power was equal to the entire output from coal-fired power stations in NSW. [MSN]

¶ “Australia Launches Construction Of The World’s Largest Solar Power Plant” • Australia is set to build the world’s largest solar farm. SunCable will have a capacity of 6 GW, of which 4 GW is to power three million Australian homes, while the remaining 2 GW will be exported to Singapore via a 4,500-kilometer (about 2,796 miles) submarine cable. [Techno-Science.net]

Northern Territory (PeterWH, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

¶ “Like Running Hazelwood Coal Plant For 106 Years” • The government evaluated data from the 2024 Integrated System Plan by the Australian Energy Market Operator. It says emissions from coal and gas could grow by 1.7 billion tonnes by 2050 if their use is extended another 15 years, as required under the Coalition’s nuclear power plans. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶ “Wildfire Burning East Of Los Angeles Forces Evacuation In California Town” • Officials in San Bernardino County issued an evacuation order and declared a local emergency after a wildfire burning in the hills east of the city grew to over 7,000 acres. The Line Fire was 0% contained as of Saturday afternoon, roughly two days after it started. [ABC News]

Line Fire (Cal Fire image)

¶ “Go Electric Colorado Helps Homeowners In Colorado And Around The Country Transition To Fossil-Free Buildings” • In Colorado, the Denver-based non-profit Go Electric Colorado is gaining power. This initiative has set its sights on transforming how the state’s people power their homes and commutes, for a sustainable, electric future. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Landslides Are Destroying Multimillion-Dollar Homes In California, And They’re Getting Worse” • The deep landslides beneath the multimillion-dollar homes in Rancho Palos Verdes moved at an almost glacial pace, until they didn’t. Scientists warn they are set to become more frequent as the climate crisis fuels heavier rainfall and more powerful storms. [CNN]

Have an impressively graceful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Farmland And PVs: It Might Not Be What I Expected” • How many acres of land would be needed for enough solar PV to provide the US with all of its energy, including electricity, heat, transportation, industry, and whatever else we use energy for? How many acres are being used for corn for ethanol? How do they compare? [CleanTechnica]

Corn field (Gaspar Uhas, Unsplash)

¶ “Europe Is Leading On Green Hydrogen. The US Will Follow Soon After” • Recent examples of EU hydrogen project activity: BP announced that they are moving forward with their 200-MW project in Castellon, Spain, and a smaller 10-MW project in Aberdeen, Scotland. We’ve seen this before. Europe leads, and the US quickly catches up. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “This Hurricane Season Is Confounding Experts And Defying Forecasts.” • Forecasters had predicted this hurricane season was going to be bad. Instead, the Atlantic Ocean is enveloped in a rare and strange calm that has flummoxed forecasters and reset their expectations. It could be a glimpse at what’s to come as the planet gets hotter. [CNN]

Weather (Ish Consul, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “One Of The Year’s Strongest Typhoons Kills Two In Hainan Before Hitting Vietnam” • One of this year’s most powerful storms made landfall in northern Vietnam, after killing at least two and injuring dozens on the Chinese island of Hainan. With wind speeds of 230 km/h (140 mph), Typhoon Yagi was as strong as a Category 4 hurricane. [CNN]

¶ “Tesla GigaTrain Begins Operations In Germany” • The absolute best way to transport people from Point A to Point B at the lowest possible coat per mile is by train. Tesla recently started operating a battery-powered passenger and freight train from Erkner station southeast of Berlin to the Tesla gigafactory in Grünhiede, 6 km to the east. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla GigaTrain (NEB image)

¶ “EVs Take 29.4% Share In The UK” • August’s auto market saw plugin EVs take 29.4% share in the UK, up from 27.8% year on year. Battery EVs grew in volume, whilst plugin hybrids shrank. Overall auto volume was 84,575 units, down 1% YOY and in line with pre-2020 norms. The UK’s leading BEV brand in August was Tesla, with a 16% BEV market share. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Putin Issues Nuclear Power Plant Strike Warning: ‘One Can Only Imagine'” • Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a fresh nuclear warning about an alleged Ukrainian attack on a nuclear power plant in Russia’s border Kursk region. “One can only imagine what will happen if we strike back; what will happen in Europe,” Putin said. [MSN]

Vladimir Putin (kremlin.ru, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

US:

¶ “A Hurricane-Damaged Louisiana Skyscraper Is Set To Be Demolished” • An abandoned, 22-story building in Lake Charles, Louisiana is scheduled to be demolished Saturday after sitting vacant for nearly four years. The Hertz Tower, once an icon in the city, had become instead a symbol of destruction from hurricanes Laura and Delta. [ABC News]

¶ “Offshore Wind Foes Finally Give Up The Ghost … Or Did They?” • The rough-and-tumble world of the Atlantic coast offshore wind industry has been eerily quiet this summer. Projects in three New England states and in Maryland are moving ahead quietly. Blockades by outraged citizens are absent. The silence is deafening. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore wind farm (Maryland Energy Administration image)

¶ “More Than 150,000 EV Chargers Are Now Installed In California” • The State of California has installed more than 150,000 electric vehicle chargers. The total number of US EV chargers is about 192,000, according to the US Transportation Department. It should be no surprise that California has most of the EV chargers in the country. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Massachusetts and Rhode Island To Buy Power From Three New Offshore Wind Farms” • Massachusetts and Rhode Island officials announced that they plan to buy power from three new offshore wind farms, signaling that energy regulators in both states still consider the renewable energy source economically viable in New England. [The Public’s Radio]

Windpower activity at New Bedford (Vineyard Wind image)

¶ “Federal Agency Selects GVEA For Renewable-Energy Grants, Loans” • The Biden-Harris administration said that Golden Valley Electric Association, based in Fairbanks, Alaska, is one of sixteen electric cooperatives around the nation to be selected for funds intended to help co-ops pay to install renewable energy such as wind and solar. [KUAC]

¶ “Maryland Offshore Wind Project To Generate Power For Peninsula” • The US Department of the Interior approved US Wind’s plan for 114 wind turbines that would generate more than 2 GW of clean energy. The wind farm is slated for federal wind lease areas that were created through Maryland legislation back in 2013. [Delaware Business Times]

Rendering of wind farm (US BOEM image)

¶ “Solar Is bigger In Texas” • Texas passed California as the state with the most capacity from big solar projects, new industry data shows. Growth of these utility-scale arrays highlights the wider trend that Texas is a lab for almost every aspect of the energy and climate future. Long the country’s biggest wind producer, Texas is now second in battery storage too. [Axios]

¶ “Sixteen US Rural Electric Co-Ops To Get $7.3 Billion For Clean Energy” • The US government announced more than $7.3 billion in financing for sixteen rural electric cooperatives to build clean energy for rural communities in the country. The funds come from the Inflation Reduction Act’s Empowering Rural America program. [Renewables Now]

Have a gratifyingly peaceful day.

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World:

¶ “The Planet Endures Its Hottest Summer On Record, For The Second Straight Year” • Summer broke global heat records for the second straight year, putting 2024 firmly on track to be the hottest year in since records began in 1940, according to data from Copernicus, Europe’s climate change service. This summer passed the previous record by 0.03°C. [CNN]

Sunset (Yevhenii Aihubov, Unsplash)

¶ “Highest Court In South Korea Rules In Favor Of Climate Activists” • According to Reuters, South Korea has been kicking the can down the road on climate action. The Constitutional Court of South Korea ruled recently that the country’s climate change law did not protect basic human rights and lacks targets to shield future generations. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “China Ramping Renewables And Slamming Brakes On Coal Could Mean Massive CO₂ Reductions By 2030” • China is still building coal-burning plants, but it only permitted 10 GW of new coal capacity in the first half of 2024, a drop of 83%. And capacity factors for its coal plants keep falling, as deployment of wind and solar set records each year. [CleanTechnica]

Chuanshan wind farm (Siyuwj, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Industry Hails Approval Of ‘UK’s Largest’ Solar Farm” • The UK gave the green light to its largest solar project, the 600-MW Cottam solar farm. The Cottam solar farm will be in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire and is projected to supply power to around 180,000 homes annually. The decision was positively received by the solar industry. [Energy Live News]

¶ “Consultancy Unveils Maintenance Jack-Up” • Knud E Hansen designed an offshore turbine maintenance platform. The vessel is designed for all kinds of maintenance work on machines up to 20 MW, including replacement of nacelles weighing as much as 1000 tonnes at a hub height of 175 metres and managing blades up to 130 metres long. [reNews]

Jack-up vessel (Knud E Hansen image)

¶ “Poland Targets 56% Renewables In Its Energy Mix By 2030” • Poland is aiming for 56% renewable energy in its electricity by 2030, with an investment of 792 billion zlotys ($205.76 billion), according to the draft national plan submitted to the EU. Before going to the European Commission, the plan must be approved by the government cabinet. [energynews.pro]

¶ “Iberdrola Begins 556-MW Oz Hybrid Build” • Iberdrola Australia announced that construction is underway at the 556-MW Broadsound Solar and Battery, the company’s first project in Queensland. The 376-MW Broadsound solar farm is co-located with a 180-MW battery system at Clarke Creek. It is expected power 145,000 homes. [reNews]

Solar panels (Iberdrola image)

¶ “IAEA Warns About The Safety Of Nuclear Power Plants In Conflict Zones” • The safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, at Zaporizhzhia and Kursk, is a major concern as fighting intensifies in these regions. The conflict in Ukraine is putting the security of nuclear facilities under severe strain, heightening the risk of serious incidents. [energynews.pro]

US:

¶ “Phoenix Set To Break Record For 110-Degree Days” • Phoenix has surpassed 110°F 55 times this summer, tying the record set just last year. Phoenix is expected to break that all-time record again as temperatures are forecast to reach near 114°F. Over the last 30 years, Phoenix has seen an average of just 21 days a year over 110°F. [ABC News]

Downtown Phoenix (Gabriel Valdez, Unsplash)

¶ “Persistent Power Outages In Puerto Rico Spark Outrage” • A growing number of Puerto Rican government officials demanded answers from two private electric companies as the US territory struggles with persistent power outages. Tens of thousands of customers were left without electricity this week amid selective power cuts. [ABC News]

¶ “Batteries Plus And Green Bay Packers Partner To Launch Battery Recycling Initiative” • The Green Bay Packers, with the winningest record in NFL history, has a devoted fanbase and a huge stadium, so it’s kind of a no-brainer for another Green Bay organization to parter with the team. Batteries Plus opened its first store in Green Bay in 1988. [CleanTechnica]

Packers playing Patriots (gjbender1, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Solar Power Meets Hydropower On Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Ancestral Land” • A network of innovative 115-kW, fish-safe hydropower systems is under construction on irrigated farmland owned by a Ute Tribe in Colorado. That’s just the tip of the clean energy iceberg for the sovereign nation, which is also planing a solar project topping 900 MW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Berkeley Plans New Strategy To Eliminate Methane” • The city of Berkeley, California had pursued a plan to ban methane, but the idea was found illegal by the courts. Now the city has seen the power of a taxation plan it agreed on with Chevron for a refinery, and it intends to use a similar plan to deal with the problem of methane gas. [CleanTechnica]

UC Berkeley (Georg Eiermann, Unsplash)

¶ “US Adds 11 GW Of Renewables In Q2” • In a record-breaking second quarter, US developers added 11 GW of clean power capacity, marking a 91% increase on Q2 2023. The American Clean Power Association released its “Clean Power Quarterly Market Report, Q2 2024,” revealing “extraordinary growth and milestones” across the US. [reNews]

¶ “Sixteen Electric Cooperatives Will Leverage $7.3 Billion In Federal Funding To Deliver More Affordable, Reliable Electricity To Their Members” • The sixteen rural electric co-ops selected to receive the USDA’s ERA funding are planning to leverage their awards to deploy carbon-free energy to help power five million homes across 23 states. [RMI]

Have an inconceivably beautiful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Nuclear Won’t Cut It: CCA Says Australia Must Go All In On Renewables To Meet Climate Targets” • Australia will not reach net zero emissions by 2050 under the federal Coalition’s nuclear power plan, according to a comprehensive report that puts the shift to 100% renewables at the centre of all plausible pathways to meet the global climate target. [RenewEconomy]

Wind farm (William DeHoogh, Unsplash, cropped)

World:

¶ “Volvo Scales Back Electric Vehicle Ambitions, Eases Goal To At Least 90% By 2030” • Volvo Cars, based in Sweden, eased off on its pledge to stop selling cars with internal combustion motors by 2030, saying slow rollout of places to charge up and withdrawal of purchase incentives will leave room for a few cars that still need fossil fuels. [ABC News]

¶ “Sunken Village Emerges In Greece As Drought Dries Up Lake” • From beneath the shrinking Lake Mornos in central Greece, the muddied remains of homes are reemerging nearly 45 years after the village that once stood here was covered with water. Drought brought the lake to its lowest level in decades. It supplies water to nearly half the Greek population. [CNN]

Lake Mornos (Bougalis Nikolaos, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Used EVs Are Now Cheaper And More Efficient In UK Than Their Gasoline Or Diesel Counterparts” • HPI data shows that the average retail cost of an EV is lower than for combustion vehicles by about 8.5% at three years and 14% at four years. Prices for used EVs have fallen sharply in the past two years to provide motorists with bargains. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EVs Take 95.7% Share In Norway – End-Game Emerging” • In Norway, the August auto market saw plugin EVs take 95.7% share, a new record, up from 90.0% year on year. Battery EVs alone took 94.3% share, with all other powertrains only collecting crumbs. Overall auto volume in August was 11,114 units, flat YOY. The top battery EV was the Tesla Model Y. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model Y (Michal Lauko, Unsplash)

¶ “CIP Inaugurates The 300-MW Zhong Neng” • Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners inaugurated the 300-MW Zhong Neng offshore wind farm off the coast of Taiwan. Full grid connection is expected by the end of the year. CIP claimed that Zhong Neng is the first offshore wind farm in Taiwan to be completed ahead of schedule. [reNews]

¶ “Rezolv Inks Offtake For 229-MW Bulgarian Solar” • Rezolv Energy entered into a solar virtual power purchase agreement with Ardagh Glass Packaging-Europe. The VPPA covers output from Rezolv Energy’s 229-MW St George solar project in Bulgaria. The St George solar park will be built on a brownfield site, the former Silistra airport. [reNews]

Solar Panels (Chelsea, Unsplash)

¶ “Spanish Energy Giant Starts Building New Solar And Big Battery Hybrid Project In Queensland” • Iberdrola says it has begun building a solar and battery hybrid project in Queensland, the first facility it is to built in the state. The Broadsound solar and battery project will feature a 376-MW solar array and a 180-MW, 360-MWh battery facility. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “Wave Energy Converter To Be Deployed Off Albany” • The M4 converter, the focus of a Western Australian research project, is designed to harness renewable energy from the ocean. The Albany M4 Wave Energy Demonstration Project will deploy the device in the waters of King George Sound to test the region’s potential for wave energy. [The Daily Cargo News]

M4 wave energy converter (The University of Western Australia)

¶ “Zaporizhzhya Plant Cooling Tower Requires Demolition After Fire: IAEA” • The International Atomic Energy Agency said that a cooling tower damaged in a fire at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, occupied by Russia, will likely require demolition. “This big structure is not usable in the future,” IAEA director Rafael Grossi said during a visit. [Yahoo]

US:

¶ “Sheep Thrive In Solar Project Opponents Tried To Kill” • A 485-megawatt solar project in Virginia is running smoothing while playing host to a flock of sheep, creating new opportunities for local farmers while pumping out clean kilowatts. The project almost died in an assault linked to fossil industry stakeholders, but persistence paid off. [CleanTechnica]

Virginia solar project (Courtesy of AES via YouTube)

¶ “Former Tesla Exec Notes That Trump Was Bad For Tesla And Biden Was Much Better” • Party policies on EVs, climate action, and solar are extremely different. Rohan Patel worked for Tesla for over seven years and was its Vice President of Global Public Policy and Business Development. He felt the need to keep the discussion on track. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Developer Powers Up 220-MW PV Project” • Mill Creek Renewables has started commercial operations at Great Cove Solar, a 220-MW project encompassing two solar facilities stretching over 1,600 acres in Pennsylvania. As the largest solar project in the state, Great Cove Solar has over 485,000 panels, enough to power about 38,060 homes. [reNews]

Solar farm (Mill Creek Renewables image)

¶ “Sungrow And Spearmint Energy Partner To Add Over 1 GWh Of Energy Storage Capacity In Texas” • After Spearmint Energy commissioned its first major battery energy storage project in Texas, a 150-MW, 300-MWh system using Sungrow’s PowerTitan Series storage, the two companies agreed to deploy over 1 GWh of added storage there. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Fracking Led The US To Pump More Oil Than Any Country In History” • The US produced more oil in 2023 than has ever been produced in any year by any country, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Big Oil has become more productive as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have seen technology breakthroughs. [CNBC]

Have an undistractedly thoughtful day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Are Batteries The Best Option For Energy Storage?” • Various technologies are used to store renewable energy. Pumped hydro is a form of energy storage accounts for more than 90% of the globe’s current high-capacity energy storage. Lithium-ion batteries are improving, and other battery technologies are being developed. [pv magazine International]

Pumped hydro system (Nareeta Martin, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Drought Forces Kenya’s Maasai And Other Cattle Herders To Consider Fish And Camels” • The blood, milk and meat of cattle have long been staple foods for Maasai pastoralists in Kenya, perhaps the country’s most recognizable community. But the changing climate is forcing the Maasai to contemplate a very different dish: fish. [ABC News]

¶ “Volkswagen Considers Closing Factories In Germany” • Volkswagen dropped a bombshell on the German economy. According to Bloomberg, it is considering closing some factories in Germany for the first time in its 87-year history, a move that risks a feud with unions. Doing so would expose the deep woes roiling Europe’s auto industry. [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagen ID.7 (Courtesy of Volkswagen)

¶ “EVs At 22.4% Share In France – Stuck In The Slow Lane” • The August auto market saw plugin EVs at 22.4% share in France, down from 25.7% year on year. Sales volumes of both battery EVs and plugin hybrid EVs were down by over 33% YOY, declining more than the overall market drop. Overall auto volume was down 24.3% YoY. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ireland Breaks August Record For Renewables” • Last month saw record amounts of renewable energy produced for August in Ireland, provisional data from grid operator EirGrid suggests. Around 898 GWh of electricity was generated from wind farms in August, the highest-ever figure recorded for that month, and 34% of electricity used in Ireland. [reNews]

Wind farm (Abby Anaday, Unsplash)

¶ “Important Battery Electric Vehicle Milestone Reached In Denmark” • Mobility Denmark has reported that data from bilstatistisk.dk show Denmark’s battery EV fleet reached 10% in August, backed by record sales of 55% BEVs. Several decisive factors have made it economically attractive for Danes to choose an electric car. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Australian Renewable Investments Surging, Says Clean Energy Council” • Renewable energy sector industry body CEC’s second-quarter report shows that the first half of 2024 has overtaken the entirety of 2023 in terms of generation projects reaching their financial commitments, with 1.6 GW added, compared to 1.3 GW for all of last year. [pv magazine International]

Solar panels (Avi Waxman, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Wind And Solar Dominated South Australia Overtakes Tasmania As Australia’s Most Renewable State” • Tasmania is widely regarded as Australia’s long time leader in renewables, thanks to its huge hydro resources. But in the past few months, Tasmania has been beat by South Australia, which has no hydro, but does have wind and solar. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “Italy’s Renewable Power Output Overtakes Fossil Fuels For First Time” • In the first six months of 2024, Italy produced more energy from renewable sources than from fossil fuels for the first time ever, the power grid operator Terna said. Italy plans for 63% of its electricity to come from renewable sources by the end of this decade. [Yahoo Finance UK]

Wind turbines (Totoyba2, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “IAEA Chief: Situation At Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant ‘Very Fragile'” • Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, called the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant in Ukraine as “very fragile”. And the situation could change at any time, Grossi said in Kiev before his departure to the power plant. [blue News]

US:

¶ “Phoenix’s Streak Of Over 100-Degree Temperatures Reaches 100th Day” • Phoenix reached a sweltering milestone Tuesday, with Arizona’s capital city logging its 100th straight day of over 100-degree weather. The National Weather Service Phoenix warned that the dangerously high temperatures are forecast to continue. [ABC News]

Phoenix (Walter Martin, Unsplash)

¶ “New York State’s Largest Electrified Bus Depot Now Operating in Buffalo” • Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the largest electrified bus depot in New York State is operational in Buffalo, advancing the transition to clean public transit that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and improves the air for residents in congested urban areas. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “California To Begin Hydrogen-Powered Passenger Train Service In San Bernardino” • The California Department of Transportation plans to convert its fleet of intercity locomotives to zero emission technology by 2035. The agency says hydrogen power will put California’s passenger trains on the fastest track to a zero emission future. [CleanTechnica]

Electric train (Stadler, Inc)

¶ “Methane Gas-Fired Electricity Generation Increased During Heat Waves in New England” • Electricity generation using fossil fuels increased in New England to meet the additional demand for air-conditioning during heat waves in June and July. Natural gas-fired electricity generation peaked at 61% of New England’s generation mix on June 22. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Solar-Plus-Storage Project Brings New Energy to California” • Clearway Energy Group’s Daggett Solar + Storage project in California is among the largest projects of its type in the U.S. It has 482 MW of solar capacity, and 280 MW of battery energy storage. It was built adjacent to a retired 636-MW power plant that burned natural gas. [POWER Magazine]

Have a bonifiably great day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Politics And Pollution: Trump Judges Take A Sledgehammer To Environmental Justice” • The Trump strategy that led to Roe vs Wade being overturned was continued by a court that severely restricted the ability of the federal government to function. It limited the power of federal agencies to protect the health and safety of the people of the US. [CleanTechnica]

Supreme Court building (Adam Michael Szuscik, Unsplash)

¶ “Achieving Net-Zero: Is Nuclear The Answer?” • Nuclear is not the answer, by Professor MV Ramana of the University of British Columbia, is a comprehensive and well-researched contribution to the debate on the relevance of nuclear power. It is a timely work relevant to the concerted global campaign to use nuclear to help address global warming. [Pearls and Irritations]

World:

¶ “Global EV Sales: Record Month For Plugin Hybrids!” • Global plugin vehicle registrations were up 22% in July 2024, year over year. There were 1.3 million registrations. Battery EVs were up by just 5% YOY, but plugin hybrids jumped 58% YOY, selling more than 540,000 units, which is the second record month in a row for this technology. [CleanTechnica]

EV (Jon Flobrant, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Elbil Thinks Electric Car Sales In Norway Could Hit 100% By Next Year” • While the rest of the world laments that the EV revolution is stalling, electric car sales in Norway are increasing, and Christina Bu, the head of Elbil – the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association – thinks every new car sold in Norway could be electric as soon as next year. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Who Is Paying To Subsidize Oil Companies? You Are” • Oil Change International has published “Funding Failure: Carbon Capture and Fossil Hydrogen Subsidies Exposed.” The report details how much money is spent by world governments to promote carbon capture and various hydrogen schemes it says waste money, time, and effort. [CleanTechnica]

Oil well in a corn field (Dwight Burdette, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Enfinity Global Secures €190 Million Financing For A 157-MW Solar Power Portfolio In Italy” • Enfinity Global Inc announced that it has closed €189.6 million in financing for the construction of 157.1-MW in eight solar power plants in the regions of Lazio and Emilia Romagna, which are expected to become operational in 2025. [Yahoo Finance Canada]

¶ “Renewables Raise Share In Chile’s Power Mix To 36.7% In July” • Non-conventional renewables generated 36.7% of Chile’s electricity in July, increasing their gross monthly share from 34.1% in June, according to new data from the Chilean national energy commission. Non-conventional renewables are those other than hydro power. [Renewables Now]

El Manzano solar farm (Enel Chile)

¶ “Finland Unveils World’s First Deep-Earth Repository To Bury Nuclear Waste” • Nuclear energy has set of major drawbacks including high costs, high-profile nuclear accidents, and the waste from nuclear energy production. Finland is trying to address the thousands of metric tons of used solid fuel from nuclear power plants worldwide. [OilPrice.com]

UK:

¶ “Offshore Wind Returns In 9.6-GW CFD6” • Offshore wind developers secured contracts for around 5,300 MW of capacity in the UK government’s Allocation Round 6 renewables auction. The strike price for fixed offshore wind projects was between £54.23/MWh and £58.87/MWh. The technology had been set a £73/MWh bid ceiling prior to the auction. [reNews]

Offshore wind farm (RWE image)

¶ “Onshore Wind Takes 990 MW In AR6” • Around 990 MW of onshore wind capacity was secured under the UK’s Allocation Round 6 auction. A total of 21 projects were awarded the 15-year government backed contracts at a strike price of £50.90/MWh. That clearing price came in well below the £64/MWh bid ceiling set prior to the tender. [reNews]

¶ “Solar Shines With 3-GW Haul In UK Auction” • Solar projects totalling over 3 GW have secured Contracts for Difference in the UK government’s latest renewables auction, making solar the second highest backed technology after offshore wind. Around 1 GW is to be delivered in 2026-27 and just over 2 GW in 2027-28, with a total of 3,288.31 MW allocated. [reNews]

Solar farm (EDF Renewables image)

¶ “Tidal Stream Wins Contracts For 28 MW In AR6” • Tidal stream pulled in just 28 MW of projects split across six contracts in the sixth allocation round of CFD from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Five contracts are in Scotland, and one in Wales. The strike price was £172/MWh, down from the £198/MWh in the previous round. [reNews]

US:

¶ “Bureau of Land Management Releases Proposed Western Solar Plan” • The Bureau of Land Management announced its proposed roadmap for solar energy development on public lands. The plan is designed to expand permitting for efficient and environmentally responsible solar projects on public lands across the West. [CleanTechnica]

Solar system in Nevada (BLM Southern Nevada District Office)

¶ “LNG Terminals Are Dangerous To Your Health” • There is a facet of the methane gas story that does not get the attention we should be giving it. It is the subject of a recent report published by Greenpeace that has the title “Permit To Kill – Potential Health and Economic Impacts from US LNG Export Terminal Permitted Emissions.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Waymo Takes To The Streets In More Cities” • Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet, offered its autonomous rideshare service first on the streets of San Francisco earlier this year. The company recently expanded to Los Angeles. Waymo’s electric Jaguar I-Pace SUVs operate as taxis, except no one is in the driver’s seat. [ABC News]

Have a satisfactorily perfect day.

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(, CC-BY-SA 3.0) km² CO₂ NH₃ CH₄ ₹ NOₓ ‽ ♦♦♦♦♦

Science and Technology:

¶ “EV Battery Makers Have Been Doing It Wrong This Whole Time” • Our of the blue, we have new and important news on lithium batteries. In the past, lithium-ion batteries got their first charge at low power. Researchers recently found that while some lithium was lost when the first charge was at high power, battery life was extended an average of 50%. [CleanTechnica]

Weird trick (Greg Stewart, SLAC National Accelerator Lab)

World:

¶ “Europe EV Sales Report: After a Small Sales Rush in June, a Small Sales Hangover in July” • Some 220,000 plugin vehicles were registered in Europe in July. That is a 6% decline, YOY, as the overall market rose 2% YOY. Taking a more focused look at the market, at -6% YOY, battery EVs behaved slightly better than plugin hybrids, which fell by 8%. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Most Car Sales in China Are Now Plugins! Full Report” • In China’s auto market, plugin vehicles scored 887,000 sales, to get 51% of a 1.73-million-unit overall market. That figure is up 33% year over year. In fact, it is the second best month ever, while the overall market is down 3% YOY. And we expect August to be a record month. [CleanTechnica]

Charging an EV (Michael Fousert, Unsplash)

¶ “QatarEnergy Unveils 2-GW Solar Project” • State-owned petroleum company QatarEnergy unveiled a plan for a 2-GW solar power plant that will more than double the emirate’s solar energy production and enable the nation to reach its 2030 target. Qatar will have nearly 4 GW by 2030, making up about 30% of the country’s total capacity. [Renewables Now]

¶ “Cero’s 100-MW Greek Solar Farm Goes Live” • The 100-MW Delfini solar farm in Greece has reached commercial operation, Cero Generation announced. The project will generate 157 GWh of electricity annually, equivalent to powering 58,140 homes and avoiding 65,300 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The PV array was built on mountainous terrain. [reNews]

Delfini solar farm (Cero Generation image)

¶ “UK Onshore Wind Pipeline Doubles Growth” • The UK’s onshore wind project pipeline has expanded by 4.2 GW over the past year, bringing the total from 38.5 GW to 42.7 GW, according to a report by RenewableUK. The report suggests that the growth is double the amount recorded in the previous year, which saw a rise of 1.5 GW. [Energy Live News]

¶ “Sunshine State’s Solar Recycling Plans Power Up A Circular Economy” • The Queensland government launched a solar panel recycling project with the first of 15 collection sites it plans to establish. The program is expected to save 26 tonnes of broken or end-of-life solar panels from landfill annually and may inform a nationwide effort. [pv magazine Australia]

Solar farm in Queensland (Kgbo, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Australia Sets 11.4-GW Offshore Wind Zone” • Australia has declared the Bunbury offshore wind zone in the Indian Ocean. The Albanese government’s said its Reliable Renewables Plan is being rolled out across Western Australia, with the 11.4 GW area off the coast of Bunbury. This new industry will help secure WA’s energy future. [reNews]

US:

¶ “The Largest Dam Removal Project In The US Is Completed – A Major Win For Indigenous Tribes” • The largest dam removal project in US history is finally complete, after crews demolished the last of the four dams on the Klamath River. It’s a significant win for tribal nations on the Oregon-California border who for decades have fought to restore the river. [CNN]

Wetlands on the Klamath River (David Menke, US F&W)

¶ “Green Hydrogen To Chase Diesel From Waste Hauling Business” • In California, a first-of-its-kind hydrogen fuel cell garbage truck is being tested. Instead of blasting neighborhoods with fumes, it runs on electricity generated by green hydrogen in the fuel cell, setting a new standard for thousands of heavy duty work trucks across the US. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “DNV Completes First Stage Of US HVDC Project” • The internationally accredited registrar and classification society DNV has concluded the first phase of its high voltage direct current transmission (HVDC) Standards joint industry project. The project was conducted to identify deficiencies in standards for HVDC systems in the US. [reNews]

Transmission cable (SSEN Transmission image)

¶ “Three Blade Failures Unrelated, GE Vernova Says” • GE Vernova said three recent turbine blade failures are unrelated. Two of the blades failed under unusual conditions that came up while work was being done on the turbines. The first of the three was the failure that happened at the Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. [reNews]

¶ “Michigan Plotting To Re-Open Shuttered 1970s Nuclear Plant” • After shutting it down in 2022, Michigan is making an abrupt u-turn and is now planning to reopen the Palisades nuclear plant, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move has serious money behind it: The federal government and the state are pouring $2 billion into the plant. [Futurism]

Have an invitingly gleeful day.

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World:

¶ “BYD Is Leading The EV Revolution, And Now Autonomous Driving Too?” • BYD outperforms Tesla in several critical areas according to ABI Research. Now, the news is that BYD will put Qiankun ADS 3.0 self-driving technology from Huawei in the Fang Cheng Bao Bao 8, a second production vehicle from an upscale BYD sub-brand. [CleanTechnica]

BYD Shark plugin hybrid EV pickup (Courtesy of BYD)

¶ “Getting Solar For Your Home In Zimbabwe Now As Easy As Getting A TV!” • Families in Zimbabwe can get a solar system installed at low cost. Eight years ago, it could have cost $15,000, but today it costs 20% of that. But on top of the reduction in cost, it is an almost entirely frictionless process. You can by the kit at a furniture and appliance store. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “A Four-In-One Agrivoltaics Solution For Central Europe Farm Crisis” • A study focusing on the potential for solar development in four Central European nations indicates that agrivoltaics can improve both crop yields and income, offering a four-in-one solution that benefits farmers, food supplies, biodiversity, and energy resilience. [CleanTechnica]

Solar arrays and agriculture (Courtesy of Ember)

¶ “Highlighting Scientific Consensus On Climate Change Shifts Beliefs” • A study by European researchers suggests that actively showing the extent of the nearly unanimous scientific agreement to the public can effectively change perceptions, promoting great awareness and strengthening belief in the severity and urgency of climate change. [Earth.com]

¶ “ACWA Power Secures $2.6 Billion Funding For Three Solar Projects In Saudi Arabia” • ACWA Power has signed financing agreements worth 9.7 billion Saudi riyals ($2.6 billion) with a consortium of banks for three PV solar projects. The funding will be used for the development, design, construction, and operation of the projects, the company said. [ZAWYA]

Countryside in Saudi Arabia (shoroq, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “India’s Wind, Solar Power Generation Grow As Payment Delays Decrease: Report” • Wind and solar power generation in India increased in FY24 as payment delays from distribution companies were reduced, according to a report by Fitch Ratings. This development brings the country closer to achieving its renewable energy targets. [BW Businessworld]

¶ “NEA Receives Applications To Produce 3,600 MW Of Solar Power, Surpassing The Target By Four Times” • Recently, the Nepal Electricity Authority issued a call for power purchase agreements for 800 MW of solar power. The state-owned power utility received applications for 3,600 MW, more than four times the amount it initially sought. [myRepublica]

Namche, Nepal (Kalle Kortelainen, Unsplash)

¶ “How To Hide Something Dangerous For Tens Of Thousands Of Years” • Imagine you have enough nuclear waste to fill St Paul’s Cathedral five times over. Where are you going to put it? In the early days, the UK got rid of its nuclear waste by chucking it in the sea near the Channel Islands. Soon, the UK could ship it to Finland, where it could go underground. [Metro.co.uk]

US:

¶ “Florida’s Citizens Lose Out On Federal Climate Funding Due To DeSantis’ Trickery” • Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced that the Great Outdoors Initiative would commercialize several of the state’s largest parks with hotels, golf courses, and even pickleball courts on state park lands. [CleanTechnica]

Florida park sign (Florida-Guidebook.com, Unsplash)

¶ “Governor DeSantis Scraps Plan For Additions At State Parks” • The plan to add new amenities to some Florida State Parks is off the table. The plan led to large protests by people concerned over damage it would do. When asked about the plan, Governor DeSantis said, “This is something that was leaked. It was never approved by me, I never saw that.” [MSN]

¶ “Navajo Nation Adopts Changes To Tribal Law Regulating The Transportation Of Uranium Across Its Land” • In response to the revival of a uranium mining, the Navajo Nation has approved emergency legislation to strengthen a tribal law regulating the transportation of radioactive material across the largest Native American reservation in the US. [ABC News]

 Have a vastly contented day.

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World:

¶ “The Small Caribbean Island Of Saint Lucia Is Taking On Climate Change And Inspiring Others” • The Caribbean Island of St Lucia is known for its beautiful beaches, lush rainforests, and colorful coral reefs. But for some of the almost 200,000 people that live on the island, solar power is another resource is affecting their daily lives. [CleanTechnica]

St Lucia (JR Harris, Unsplash)

¶ “BYD Cruises Past Tesla To First Place In ABI Research’s EV Manufacturers Competitive Ranking” • A competitive assessment by global technology intelligence firm ABI Research found that BYD is the leading EV Original Equipment Manufacturer, just beating Tesla for the top spot. Nine criteria were chosen for the analysis. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Global Investment In Clean Energy Surges, But Developing Nations Risk Falling Behind” • Investment in clean energy is concentrated in Europe, the US, and China. Developing nations get only 15% of the $2 trillion investment, largely due to the high cost of capital, which hampers development of renewable energy in these regions. [Environment+Energy Leader]

Wind turbines (Tony Pham, Unsplash)

¶ “Free Solar Power Systems Announced For These Cities” • A private news channel says the Punjab, Pakistan, government has made progress in its solarization project. The working plan for providing free solar systems is now fully prepared. In this initial phase, solar systems will be provided at no cost to consumers who use up to 200 units of electricity. [ProPakistani]

¶ “Global Solar Generation Overtakes Wind For Longest Ever Stretch” • Global electricity generation from solar farms has exceeded generation from wind farms since May, marking the longest ever stretch when solar power has been the top source of utility-scale renewable electricity worldwide, according to energy think tank Ember. [Reuters]

Wind turbine (Kshithij Chandrashekar, Unsplash)

¶ “Germany Rejigs Spread Of Costs Of Adding More Renewable Power To Energy Grid” • Germany’s network agency plans to spread the cost of compensating grid operators for investments to integrate renewable sources more evenly among consumers. Germany faces an estimated €450 billion ($498.4 billion) in grid expansion costs by 2045. [Reuters]

¶ “Ukraine Warns Of Escalating Nuclear Threats Amid Intense Russian Strikes” • The Ukrainian mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency raised alarms about the escalating threat to the country’s nuclear power sector amid greatly increased Russian military strikes by missiles and drones. The IAEA is the UN’s nuclear watchdog. [Caspian News]

Drone (Ian Usher, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Reality Check: Generator-Centric Disaster Response Is Out Of Gas” • As Hurricane Beryl demonstrated earlier this summer, access to electricity can become an extremely serious matter. Contrary to the comments from the the disaster response status quo, the generators enlisted to help are a band-aid solution. They do not provide real resilience. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “When A Summer Drought Begins In The Winter: Investigating Snow Drought” • A lack of water is most obvious in the summer. But problems with such watersheds as the Colorado River’s don’t start in the summer or even the spring. In fact, they begin in the winter, when snow isn’t building up in the Rocky Mountains as it once did. [CleanTechnica]

Inserting a probe into a stream (Jeremy Snyder, LBNL)

¶ “Researchers Demystify Polymer Binders to Pave Way for Better Sulfide Solid-State Electrolyte Membranes” • Using a polymer to make a strong yet springy thin film, scientists led by the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are speeding arrival of next-generation solid-state batteries with flexible, durable sheets of solid-state electrolytes. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Nevada Solar-Plus-Storage Project Gets Greenlight To Use Public Land” • In the desert northeast of Las Vegas, a solar farm will soon be installed atop an ancient lake bed. The Dry Lake East Energy Center, a 200-MW solar project with 600 MW of on-site battery storage, was cleared to begin construction by the Bureau of Land Management. [Canary Media]

MGM Mega Solar Array (Bureau of Land Management)

¶ “Southern Company And PGA TOUR Again Partner To Power TOUR Championship With 100% Renewable Energy” • Southern Company announced that it is delivering 100% renewable energy for the TOUR Championship, professional golf’s season-ending event. It will be driving sustainability measures for the third consecutive year. [PR Newswire]

¶ “BLM Considering 31 Million Acres Of US Public Lands For Solar Power Development” • The Bureau of Land Management published a plan to make millions of acres of public lands in the western US available for development of solar power. The plan is to make 31 million acres of public lands available for potential solar energy development. [POWER Magazine]

Desert (Jeremy Bishop, Unsplash)

¶ “Qcells And NPH Bring Solar Power To Navajo Nation Homes” • Qcells, the foremost US solar panel manufacturer, joined forces with Navajo Power Home, which focuses on off-grid homes on Navajo and Hopi lands. Together, they are set to deliver reliable electricity to an estimated 300 homes within the Navajo Nation reservation. [Environment+Energy Leader]

¶ “Ex-Regulatory Chief And Two Execs Indicted In Sprawling Ohio Nuclear Power Bribe Case” • The former head of the Ohio PUC and two energy company executives were indicted in a sprawling political corruption scandal, authorities announced. Allegedly, state officials were bribed to approve bailouts of two nuclear plants. [Yahoo News Canada]

Have a simply extraordinary day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “InductEV And EO Charging in Partnership To Advance High-Power Wireless Charging For Commercial EV Fleets” • InductEV, Inc, a leader in wireless charging, and EO Charging , a pioneer in charging for depot-based fleets, are evaluating use of InductEV’s inductive wireless charging technology in EO’s suite of charging systems for commercial fleets. [CleanTechnica]

Wireless charging (Image from Induct.com)

World:

¶ “Ariel Unveils The All-Electric E-Nomad Sports Car” • Ariel has unveiled the Ariel E-Nomad, an off-road beast for those who prefer electric motors instead of infernal combustion engines. Although it is just a concept, the company told ArsTechnica it will definitely use customer interest to gauge whether to build a production version. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Enercon Erects 6-MW Prototype” • Enercon has installed the prototype of its 6-MW wind turbine in Germany. The E-175 EP5 machine, which has a rotor diameter of 175 metres, was installed at a site in Borchen-Etteln, in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is designed for medium to light wind sites. Commissioning is now underway at the site. [reNews]

Installing the turbine (Enercon image)

¶ “Nation Helps Drive Global Transition To Green Energy” • From 2014 to 2023, the share of nonfossil fuels in global energy consumption rose from 13.6% to 18.5%, with China accounting for 45.2% of the increase. Today, China is collaborating with more than 100 countries and regions on green energy projects, a white paper noted. [People’s Daily Online]

¶ “Mingyang Installs 20-MW Turbine” • Mingyang Smart Energy installed its 20-MW offshore wind turbine in China. The turbine has been installed onshore by the coast. It has a rotor diameter of 260-292 meters. According to Mingyang, at an average wind speed of 8.5 meters per second the MySE 18.X-20 MW turbine can generate 80 GWh annually. [reNews]

New wind turbine (Mingyang image)

¶ “Buffalo Plains delivers first power” • The 495-MW Buffalo Plains wind farm in Alberta has delivered its first power to the grid. The first turbine in the Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ wind project was installed in April and more than a third of the wind turbines are now up. Completion of the remaining work is expected in the fourth quarter of 2024. [reNews]

¶ “Heerema Completes Sofia Substation Installation” • RWE’s contractor Heerema completed the installation of the offshore substation for the 1400-MW Sofia offshore wind project off the UK. The installation on site was carried out by Heerema with the heavy-lift vessel Sleipnir as a subcontractor of the consortium between GE Vernova and Seatrium. [reNews]

Substation installation (RWE image)

¶ “Russia’s Attacks On Ukraine’s Power Sector Pose Risk To Nuclear Facilities, Kyiv Says” • A Russian drone and missile attack forced Ukraine to disconnect several nuclear power units from the grid, posing a risk to the nuclear power sector, a Ukrainian mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Russian is continuing attacks on Ukraine’s grid. [MSN]

US:

¶ “First Wind Lease Sale Offshore Oregon” • The Department of the Interior announced that it will hold an offshore wind energy lease sale off southern Oregon. The two areas to be auctioned on October 15, 2024, by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management could generate more than 3.1 GW if fully developed and could power about a million homes. [CleanTechnica]

Installation ship (Rob Webbon, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Harris And Walz Expected To Take A Tougher Stance On ‘Forever Chemicals'” • Public health advocates are hoping that a Harris/Walz victory in the election will lead to greater regulation of toxic “forever chemicals,” so-called because they can take decades or even centuries to break down after they get released into the environment. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Four Kinds of Solar Workers Powering The Clean Energy Transition” • The solar industry has 330,000 employees. The US DOE expects it will grow to between 500,000 and 1,500,000 workers by 2035 to meet the country’s decarbonization goals. The jobs will be for installers, manufacturing workers, corporate professionals, and researchers. [CleanTechnica]

Technician at work (Joe DelNero, NREL)

¶ “Arizona Is A Magnet For Renewable Energy Investment” • It’s is a pro-business state and its commitment to free enterprise has attracted jobs and investment from many different industries, including technology, health care, and aerospace. But now you can also add renewable energy to the list of industries that are booming in Arizona. [Arizona Capitol Times]

¶ “Former Croplands Could Be ‘Sweet Spot’ For Renewable Energy Production” • Researchers mapped American croplands that have fallen out of production in hopes of inspiring new uses for them, such as for renewable energy. Roughly 30 million acres of croplands in the US have been abandoned since the 1980s, a recent paper says. [MSN]

Farmland (Vladimir Kudinov, Unsplash)

¶ “Trump Bizarrely Claims People Have Stopped Eating Bacon Because Of Wind Power” • While taking questions at his latest campaign speech in Wisconsin, Donald Trump bizarrely claimed people don’t eat bacon anymore because of wind power. “You can always tell when Trump goes off teleprompter,” one person wrote on X/Twitter. [Yahoo]

¶ “Last Energy Nabs $40 Million To Realize Its Vision Of Super-Small Nuclear Reactors” • Last Energy, a startup next-generation nuclear company based in Washington, DC, announced that it closed a $40 million Series B funding round. The move will add more financial and human capital to the reinvigorated nuclear sector. [Canary Media]

Have a noticeably glorious day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Advocates For Nuclear Power Should Heed The Lessons From Kursk” • People have short memories, and tend to forget the dimensions of historic nuclear disasters and near disasters. The Kursk nuclear complex is approximately 30 kilometres from a fluid military situation between invading Ukrainian forces and Russian defenders. [Pearls and Irritations]

Nuclear plant (John McArthur, Unsplash, cropped)

World:

¶ “Namibia Plans To Kill More Than 700 Animals, Including Elephants And Hippos, And Distribute The Meat” • Namibia is planning to kill more than 700 wild animals, including elephants, zebras and hippos, and distribute the meat to people who are struggling with food insecurity as the country grapples with its worst drought in 100 years. [CNN]

¶ “Volvo Penta And Northern Offshore Services Christen First New Ship Using New Professional IPS To Advance Offshore Wind” • Volvo Penta, in collaboration with Northern Offshore Services, introduced the world’s first commercial application of the Inboard Performance System Professional Platform. The first use will be at a UK offshore wind farm. [CleanTechnica]

Volvo Penta And Northern Offshore Services Collaboration

¶ “NDB Approves $2.3 Billion In Loans For Renewable Energy Projects” • The New Development Bank approved a total of $2.3 billion for ten renewable energy projects in South Africa. They cover technologies such as solar PV, onshore and offshore wind, hydropower, biomass, and hybrid systems with storage. They will integrate 670 MW to the country’s grid. [IOL]

¶ “New Agrivoltaic Project Pairs High-Tech Solar Panels With Shrimp-Shaped Yams” • Leading Chinese firm Trinasolar just put the finishing touches on its latest agrivoltaic project, on a yam farm in Japan. The panels are expected to enhance growing conditions and serve as a research center leading to more solar-plus-agriculture projects. [CleanTechnica]

Agrivoltaics project in Kyoto (Courtesy of Trinasolar)

¶ “Shetland Wind Farm And 160-Mile Long Subsea Cable Project Completed” • Energy giants at SSE announced the completion of what is expected to be the most productive onshore wind farm in the UK, along with a 160-mile long subsea link to take power from its island home to the mainland. Together, the windfarm and cable cost £1 billion. [The National.scot]

¶ “Scotland’s Wind Can Power 13 Million Homes As Milestone Is Hit” • With the opening of the Viking Wind Farm in Shetland, Scottish turbines have the capacity to power almost 13 million homes. The development also brought the UK’s total wind power generation capacity over 30 GW, with 48% coming from Scottish developments. [The National.scot]

Viking wind farm (SSE image)

¶ “EDF, Fred Olsen Seawind To File For Codling Permit” • The 1,300-MW Codling Wind Park is the largest Phase 1 offshore renewable energy project in Ireland. Its developers will submit the planning application to An Bord Pleanala early next week. The project is a 50/50 joint venture between Fred Olsen Seawind and EDF Renewables. [reNews]

¶ “‘Investors Are Hesitating’: Why EVs And Green Energy Move Slowly” • Facing macroeconomic shocks, political instability, and “weak” business cases, key technologies in the transition from fossil fuels are falling behind, a study says. In it, US consulting giant McKinsey & Company warns of a “reality gap” between ambitions and outcomes. [Yahoo Finance Canada]

Counting dollars (Alexander Grey, Unsplash)

¶ “Finland Will Soon Bury Nuclear Waste In A Geological Tomb That’s Built To Last For 100,000 Years” • Finland is on the verge of burying spent nuclear fuel in the world’s first geological tomb, where it will be stored for 100,000 years. At some point either next year or in early 2026, spent nuclear fuel will be deposited into the bedrock of southwest Finland. [CNBC]

US:

¶ “FEMA Opens Disaster Recovery Centers In Vermont After Last Month’s Floods” • The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened disaster recovery centers in Vermont communities hit hard by flooding in mid-July while Gov Phil Scott said he sought another federal disaster declaration for the second bout of severe flooding that came later in the month. [ABC News]

Montpelier, 2023 (Sgt Denis Nunez, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “China’s WeRide Can Now Test Robotaxis In California” • A company based in China, WeRide, got approval to test robotaxis in California. Okay, it may not be the first company that comes to mind when you think of robotaxis, but it has operated a self-driving fleet for over 1700 days. WeRide has twelve vehicles in California for testing. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Clean Energy Jobs Growing At More Than Twice The Rate Of Overall US Employment” • Clean energy employment increased by 142,000 jobs in 2023, accounting for more than half of new energy sector jobs and growing at a rate more than twice as large as that for the rest of the energy sector and the US economy overall. [CleanTechnica]

Solar panels (Sungrow EMEA, Unsplash)

¶ “DOE Announces $5 Million To Help Expand Solar Power In Navajo Nation” • The US DOE announced a multimillion-dollar investment to help provide hundreds of homes on the Navajo Nation with solar panels. On the vast Navajo Nation, reliable electricity can be an issue. Even today, around 15,000 homes lack access to proper electricity. [KOLD]

¶ “State Assembly Passes Legislation To Maximize California’s Electric Capacity” • The California Assembly passed legislation by a 58:0 vote to increase efficiency of the state’s electric grid and speed up the deployment of renewable energy resources in the state. If the California Senate passes the bill, it will then go to the governor to sign. [Environment America]

Have an authentically jolly day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “PV Floor’s Walkable Panels Put Solar Underfoot In Both Residential And Commercial Applications” • Turkey’s largest solar manufacturer, Ankara Solar, recently came out with a line of walkable solar panels, a building-integrated PV option with a durable non-slip glass surface, that can be installed in floors and open areas both inside and out. [CleanTechnica]

Screenshot of brochure (Courtesy of Ankara Solar Energy)

World:

¶ “Tap Water In Parts Of A Drought-Stricken Spanish Tourist Hot Spot Is Now Too Salty To Drink” • Tap water in parts of a Spanish tourist hot spot is so salty it’s become undrinkable. Residents and visitors having to line up for bottled or tanked-in drinking water as the region struggles with severe and prolonged drought along the Mediterranean coast. [CNN]

¶ “With $17,000 Car, Can Xpeng Reach 500,000 Sales A Year?” • Xpeng rolled out a market-shaking electric car, the M03. Simply being as sleek and premium-looking as it is and coming in at just 120,000 yuan ($16,833), one has to think it will sell in volume. It is a very affordable car from one of the leading smart EV makers in the world. [CleanTechnica]

Xpeng M03

¶ “European Oil Majors’ Wish-List For Investing In Renewable Projects” • Speaking at a conference in Norway, executives from Shell, TotalEnergies, and Equinor insisted that they could invest in renewable and low carbon projects if benchmarks of capital discipline and profitability are met and they generate adequate returns. [Latest renewable energy news]

¶ “Solar And Wind Made Up 91% Of New Power Capacity In 2023” • In 2023 wind and solar represented nearly 91% of net new power capacity additions in 2023, up from 83% the year before, according to BloombergNEF. And the renewable energy industry looks set for a similar feat again in 2024, as renewable energy projects secured similar new investments. [reNews]

Solar array (Antonio Garcia, Unsplash)

¶ “Germany’s Far Right Targets Renewable Energy In Bid For First Election Wins” • Germany’s far-right AfD party, hoping to clinch its first wins in two east German state elections on September 1, is trying to pick up countryside votes by making opposition to renewable energy projects a centerpiece of its campaign. [Voice of America]

¶ “Lightsource BP Completes And Sells UK Solar-Plus-Battery Project” • Lightsource BP completed its largest UK solar project to date. It then sold the project and co-located energy storage scheme to investment manager Schroders Greencoat. Tiln Farm is a 49.9-MW solar project near Retford in Nottinghamshire with a 25-MW, 50-MWh battery. [reNews]

Wildflowers under solar panels (Lightsource BP image)

¶ “Victorian Utility Almost Doubles Annual Energy Needs With Switch To 100% Renewables” • Victorian government-owned water corporation Barwon Water is using 100% renewables to power its drinking water, sewerage, and recycled water services. But with its investment in renewables, it is exporting the energy it doesn’t need to the grid. [pv magazine Australia]

¶ “EU Reveals 18% Gas Reduction And 46% Renewable Energy Surge In REPowerEU Success Story” • The REPowerEU Plan of the European Commission aims to transform Europe’s energy by reducing reliance on Russian fossil fuels and boosting renewable energy production. Europe is producing more electricity from renewables than from gas. [ESG News]

European wind turbine (Dietmar Rabich, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “UN Watchdog Says Fighting Poses Serious Risk To Russian Nuclear Plant” • The director general at the International Atomic Energy Agency spoke after visiting the plant in Russia’s western Kursk region, Rafael Grossi warned of the risk of an accident the Kursk nuclear plant because of fighting nearby between Russian and Ukrainian forces. [MSN]

¶ “Russia Criticises UN Nuclear Watchdog After Trip To Plant Close To Fighting” • Russia said it wanted the International Atomic Energy Agency to take a “more objective and clearer” stance on nuclear safety, a day after the head of the agency visited a Russian nuclear plant close to where Ukraine has mounted an incursion into the country. [Reuters]

Rafeal Grossi (IAEA Imagebank, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “Summer Scorcher: Dangerous Heat To Head To Northeast After Slamming Midwest” • The heat index – what temperature it feels like with humidity – soared to a scorching 115°F in Chicago on Tuesday. The actual temperature hit 99°F breaking the city’s record of 97°F for the day. Now the heat will move east, hitting Washington and New York City. [ABC News]

¶ “Misinformation Clouds Legislative Hearing On Solar Energy Development In Louisiana” • The Legislature of Louisiana has been asked to consider policy to pave the way for alternative energy. This has led to some resistance from lawmakers with deep ties to oil and gas. And it has led to misinformation about solar energy for lawmakers. [CleanTechnica]

Baton Rouge (Vladimir Oprisko, Unsplash)

¶ “Investing in America: Electric Vehicle Chargers Have Doubled Since Start of Biden–Harris Administration” • The Biden–Harris Administration announced $521 million in grants to continue building out EV charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in 29 states, two Federally Recognized Tribes, and the District of Columbia. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Valley Green Energy Launches New Programs Allowing Customers To Use 100% Renewable Energy” • Valley Green Energy will launch programs this fall that will allow customers in Amherst, Northampton, and Pelham, Massachusetts to use 100% renewable energy. The state government has approved group electricity buying programs. [WWLP]

Have a unassailably outstanding day.

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World:

¶ “UN Chief Issues Global SOS As New Reports Warn Pacific Sea-Level Rise Outstrips Global Average” • UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a global call from the Pacific Island nation of Tonga with a plea to the world to “massively increase finance and support for vulnerable countries” in grave danger of the human-caused climate crisis. [CNN]

António Guterres (US State Department, public domain)

¶ “Google Ireland Data Centre Refused Planning Permission Due To Insufficient Capacity On Power Grid” • South Dublin County Council has refused planning permission to Google Ireland for a new data center. The Council cited the insufficient capacity in the electricity grid and the lack of significant on-site renewable energy as reasons. [BreakingNews.ie]

¶ “Green Hydrogen To Be Featured In World’s First Nationwide ‘Hydrogen Valley'” • Estonia has launched an ambitious 100% renewable energy goal for 2030. As part of that goal, energy industry stakeholders plan to showcase the entire country as the world’s first nationwide, integrated “hydrogen valley” hub, with a focus on green hydrogen. [CleanTechnica]

Running on green hydrogen (Courtesy of Invest Estonia)

¶ “UK Set For Record Solar Power This Summer” • Great Britain is expected to set a record for solar power this summer. Forecasts by ICIS indicate that from June to August, solar power output will outperform the high achieved in 2022, despite relatively poor weather conditions. Production will increase about 16% from the previous summer record. [Energy Live News]

¶ “Topsoe Opens Danish PtX Plant” • Topsoe and its partners Skovgaard Energy and Vestas have opened a green ammonia plant in Ramme, Denmark. The plant will demonstrate how renewable power can be coupled directly to an electrolyser while taking the fluctuations in power production into account, to produce green ammonia. [reNews]

Green ammonia plant (Topsoe image)

¶ “JSW Energy Arm To Build 250-MW Wind Power Project” • JSW Neo Energy Limited, a subsidiary of JSW Energy Limited, has received the letter of award from Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited for setting up a 250-MW wind power project. JSW Energy said the grid-connected project was secured following a tariff-based competitive bid. [Asian Power]

¶ “Sunly Bags €300 Million For Baltics Hybrids Buildout” • Renewables producer Sunly has raised €300 million in debt financing to accelerate the construction of 1300 MW of solar, wind, storage, and hybrid parks across the Baltics and Poland. One of the first projects to benefit from this financing is the 244-MW Risti solar park in Estonia. [reNews]

Solar panels (Sunly image)

¶ “India Adds Record 15 GW Of Solar Power Capacity In First Six Months Of 2024” • India’s addition to solar power capacity grew by 282% to nearly 15 GW in the first half of 2024, the highest-ever half-yearly installation, according to a report by Mercom India Research. As of June 2024, India’s solar capacity was 19.5% of the total energy mix. [Ommcom News]

¶ “Aggreko Expands Renewable Energy And Battery Storage At Gold Fields’ Granny Smith Mine” • Aggreko advanced the mine’s power system in 2019 by adding 7.7 MW of solar panels and a 2-MW, 1-MWh battery system. Aggreko is set to expand the solar farm and battery, reducing the carbon intensity of Granny Smith mine and its energy cost. [Mining.com]

Solar panels at Granny Smith gold mine (Courtesy of Aggreko)

¶ “IAEA’s Head Arrives In Russia To Inspect Kursk Nuclear Power Plant Safety” • International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi arrived in the Russian town of Kurchatov to inspect the safety of the Kursk nuclear plant. Moscow has repeatedly stated the plant was attacked by Ukrainian forces in recent weeks after their incursion into the Kursk region. [Yeni Şafak]

US:

¶ “Hydropower Generation Projected To Rise, But Climate Change Brings Uncertain Future” • In a new study assessing how climate change might alter hydropower generation across the continental US, researchers show that with the exception of some parts of the Southwest, hydropower generation is expected to rise in the future. [CleanTechnica]

Hydro dam (Andrea Starr, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

¶ “$31 Million To Reduce Costs And Expand Clean, Renewable Geothermal Energy In USA” • The US DOE announced that six projects will receive up to $31 million for advancing its goals of reducing costs of enhanced geothermal systems by 90% by 2035 and developing cost-competitive industrial heat with at least 85% lower emissions by 2035. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Electric School Buses In Oakland With Bidirectional Chargers Will Both Save And Make Money” • PG&E and Zum deployed the largest electric school bus fleet in Oakland? Oakland hopes to transform kids’ health and tackle climate change at the same time as the new electric school buses replace the current highly polluting, old diesel vehicle fleet. [CleanTechnica]

Boarding a bus (Courtesy of Zum)

¶ “US Agency To Reexamine Permit For Hyundai’s $7.6 Billion EV Plant In Georgia” • The Army Corps of Engineers said state and local agencies that applied for Hyundai’s $7.6 billion EV plant in Georgia 2022 permit never mentioned Hyundai would withdraw up to 6.6 million gallons per day from an aquifer that’s a major source of drinking water. [ABC News]

¶ “General Motors To Lean On Solar Power For Three Assembly Plants” • General Motors signed a 15-year renewable power purchase agreement with NorthStar Clean Energy, which helps companies work toward their sustainability goals, the automaker announced this month. The deal will support GM’s operations at three US assembly plants. [Automotive Dive]

Have a greatly appreciated day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “NREL Advances Method for Recyclable Wind Turbine Blades” • Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the US DOE see a realistic path forward to the manufacture of bio-derivable wind blades that can be chemically recycled with components reused, ending the practice of old blades winding up in landfills. [CleanTechnica]

Cubes of PECAN resin (Werner Slocum, NREL)

¶ “Coating Clothes With This Simple Material Could Cool Your Body By Up To 8°F” • University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers developed a flexible, chalk-based coating to add to fabrics. In tests, they found it reduced the temperature under clothes by up to 8°F compared to the air, and by up to 15°F compared to untreated fabrics. [CNN]

World:

¶ “Kenya Power Adds More Electric Vehicles To Its Fleet” • There is a growing number of utility companies in Africa that are adding EVs to their fleet. Fleet operators have some of the best use cases for electrification, and why pay someone else for some diesel and petrol when you could just consume some of your own electricity? [CleanTechnica]

New EV (Courtesy of Simba Corporation)

¶ “Malaysia Needs 62,000 Workforce In RE If Targets Are To Be Achieved” • Malaysia needs 62,000 competent renewable energy workers to achieve the goal of having it generate 56 GW or 70% of the energy sector by 2050, according to a Deputy Prime Minister. This estimate is based on projections for growth in the energy transition technology. [BusinessToday]

¶ “Evren To Invest $5 Billion In 3.5 GW Of Solar, 5.5 GW Of Wind In India” • Evren, a partnership of Brookfield and Axis Energy, agreed to invest $5 billion to develop renewable energy in Andhra Pradesh. The investment will focus on 3.5 GW of solar and 5.5 GW of wind assets, with 3 GW to be commissioned by the end of 2026. [pv magazine International]

Drying peppers in Andhra Pradesh (Anudeep, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Ukraine Approves $20 Billion Plan To Increase Renewable Energy Production By 2030” • Ukraine will need $20 billion in investments to develop its renewable sector under a plan which seeks to boost its share in the country’s energy mix to 27% by 2030, the government said. Ukraine lost half of its generating capacity due to Russian attacks. [Yahoo Finance UK]

¶ “40°C In August? A Climate Expert Explains Why Australia Is Ridiculously Hot Right Now” • It’s winter in Australia, but the weather is unusual, nearing 40°C (104°F) in one place. It’s no secret the world is warming, and 2024 may be the hottest year on record. Climate change is upon us. Historical averages are just that: a thing of the past. [The Conversation]

Oodnadatta, South Australia (Stephen Mabbs, Unsplash)

¶ “TenneT, GIGA Sign First Time-Bound Deal” • GIGA Storage and grid operator TenneT have signed the first time-bound connection and transmission agreement in the Netherlands. The contract enables GIGA Storage to connect its 300-MW battery project GIGA Leopard with a storage capacity of up to 1200-MWh to the electricity grid. [reNews]

¶ “Sweden Risks Jobs, Tax Revenue And Climate Goals With Narrow Focus On Nuclear, Wind Sector Warns” • Sweden must quickly expand its renewable power generation instead of one-sidedly betting on nuclear power that takes much longer to build. It risks losing jobs, tax revenue, and missing climate goals, Svensk Vindenergi said. [Latest renewable energy news]

Wind turbines in Sweden (Molgreen, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Russia Wants Bangladesh To Resume Interest Payment” • The Russian ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Mantytskiy asked the government of Bangladesh to resume payments of interest on a $11.38 billion loan for the Rooppur nuclear plant, which is under construction. The payments have been deferred following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. [New Age bd]

US:

¶ “Walz Lays Foundation For Climate Influence If Harris Wins” • Minnesota Gov Tim Walz’s effort to resolve issues on permitting for clean energy transition has got attention nationwide since he was tapped as Kamala Harris’ running mate. His experience with such laws could make him a leader on climate issues if Harris wins in November. [ABC News]

Tim Walz (Staff Sgt Mahsima Alkamooneh, National Guard)

¶ “Tools And Technologies to Help Industry Leaders And Partners Meet Energy Demand” • The DOE released a resource hub outlining the suite of tools available to support stakeholders, including utilities and data center owners and operators, in meeting growing demand while maintaining system reliability, affordability, and security. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Another Bridge Gets Destroyed By Fossil Fuels, But People Think This Is Normal” • It is a story that happens over and over. A tanker truck crashes under a bridge and the otherwise strong materials in the bridge are compromised by the resulting fire. The steel does not have to melt to be weakened, and concrete has no strength after being heated. [CleanTechnica]

Replacement for a bridge destroyed by tanker fire (Arizona DOT)

¶ “Wind, PV ‘Fastest Growing US Energy Sources'” • Wind and solar energy are the fastest growing sources of electricity in the US, according to research. A review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data newly published by the US DOE’s Energy Information Administration found renewables output increased by nearly 10% in the first half of the year. [reNews]

¶ “Toyota Tsusho America And Avantus Launch 159-MW Solar Project In Texas” • Toyota Tsusho America, a subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, is partnering with Avantus to build a major solar project in Runnels County, Texas. The 159-MW Norton project is now in the construction phase following the November 2023 sale by Avantus. [energynews.pro]

Have an appropriately enthusiastic day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Storm That Sank Bayesian Was The Result Of Global Heating” • The real culprit when Bayesian sank may be global heating that made the Mediterranean Sea hotter than ever before. Luca Mercalli, the president of the Italian Meteorological Society, told The Guardian the heat was a tremendous amount of energy that made the storms more intense. [CleanTechnica]

Waterspouts (NOAA image)

¶ “NREL Advances Method for Recyclable Wind Turbine Blades” • Researchers at the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory see a realistic path forward to the manufacture of bio-derivable wind blades that can be chemically recycled and the components reused, ending the practice of blades winding up in landfills. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Solar Power Surges In Europe, The UK, And Texas” • The energy the Earth gets from the sun every day could generate enough electricity to meet the needs of humanity for a year. All we have to do is harvest it wisely and efficiently. Today, solar power is starting to become the primary source of electricity in Europe, the UK, and Texas. [CleanTechnica]

Solar array in Italy (Sungrow EMEA, Unsplash)

¶ “South Africa Celebrates 150 Days Without Loadshedding. New Utility-Scale Solar PV Auction Oversubscribed” • Here is some good news for South Africans. Eskom, South Africa’s national electricity company, announced that it had gone 150 consecutive days without loadshedding. Consumers had seen up to twelve hours of loadshedding per day, [CleanTechnica]

¶ “India To Spend Up To $385 Billion To Meet Renewable Energy Target, Moody’s Ratings Estimates” • India will have to invest as much as $385 billion to meet its target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, but coal will remain a key source of electricity generation for the next decade, according to estimates published by Moody’s Ratings. [sg yahoo finance]

Solar plant in India (Citizenmj, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Uttar Pradesh Push To Renewable Energy: Three Solar Parks Commissioned, Six More To Follow Soon” • Responding to greater electricity demand and rising prices, the Uttar Pradesh government is promoting solar energy, a spokesman said. The state has seen the development of nine solar parks with a total capacity of 3,710 MW. [Hindustan Times]

¶ “How The Crown Estate Is Using Britain’s Seabed For Wind Power” • The Crown Estate has a stake in windpower because it manages the monarchy’s £15.5 billion asset portfolio, although it is independent from the government. Along with many other properties, it holds rights to renewable energy in the seas around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. [The Times]

Offshore substation and wind farm (Ashley Coates, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Small Towns In SA Can Benefit From Renewable Energy Projects” • The South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme accepts bids from independent power producers and decides which can go ahead. The bids are assessed based on the tariffs the company will charge and economic development. [Moneyweb]

¶ “‘We Need To Start Moving People And Key Infrastructure Away From Our Coasts,’ Warns Climate Scientist” • Ireland is going to have to move property and key infrastructure such as railway lines away from coastal areas due to climate breakdown, according to Prof Karen Wiltshire, Trinity College Dublin’s first chair of climate science. [The Irish Independent]

Coast of Ireland (Jamieson Gordon, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Head Of IAEA Confirms His Intention To Visit Kursk Nuclear Power Plant” • The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, confirmed that he plans to visit the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant next week, according to IAEA. It also noted that Russia alleged that remains of a drone were found on territory of the Kursk nuclear plant. [MSN]

US:

¶ “Seventeen US States And Territories To Receive $66 Million In Revolving Loan Funds” • The US DOE announced that seventeen states and territories are to receive awards totaling $66 million from the Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund Capitalization Grant Program as part of the Investing in America agenda of the Biden-Harris Administration. [CleanTechnica]

Solar Array (National Park Foundation, US Virgin Islands)

¶ “Billions Pouring Into US Offshore Wind Despite Setbacks” • The US is expected to invest around $65 billion in offshore wind farms by the end of the decade, creating approximately 56,000 jobs. There is around 56 GW of wind energy currently under development across 37 leases, which could power around 22 million homes. [OilPrice.com]

¶ “Federal Funds Back Renewable Energy, Efficiency Upgrades For Nebraska Agriculture, Small Business” • Nebraska farming producers and small businesses have until September 30 to apply for the latest funding round of the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program, part of the Farm Bill providing funding for renewable energy. [Sandhills Express]

Have a wonderfully inspiring day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Solar Power Can Help Indigenous Communities, Where ‘Fuel Poverty’ Is A Real Issue” • Tribal communities face the same economic issues as many other marginalized groups. But often these issues are exponentially worse in Native communities that face limited income and employment opportunities and an ever-present energy burden. [MinnPost]

Solar power (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Floating Solar Meets Fish Farming” • Fish farmers are starting to deploy floating solar panels at their facilities, as a cost-cutting renewable energy resource that provides significant additional benefits to the fish farm. The floating solar-plus-fish movement demonstrates that the benefits of 21st century renewable energy go beyond reducing emissions. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Chinese EV Companies Continue The Trend Toward Plugin Hybrids” • Plugin hybrids are on an uptrend in China. Adding to the surprising explosion in popularity of the Li Auto models, BYD is selling a lot of plugin hybrids. In fact, plugin hybrid sales grew 70% in June 2024 versus June 2023. Meanwhile, pure battery EV sales grew 1%. [CleanTechnica]

Avatr 07 EREV

¶ “Colombia EV Sales Report: 240% Growth Brings The Country Back Onto The Regional Podium! ” • Months after they arrived in Brazil, Colombia got its own affordable EVs. Now they have arrived, and the country is once again rising in sales, surpassing Brazil in July 2024 and reaching and all-time high share of 5.3% (4.7% battery EV). [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Danger Of Thwaites Glacier Collapse Less Likely Than Feared – For Now” • If rapid decomposition of the Thwaites Glacier happens, the increase in sea levels would be so rapid that there would not be time to protect coastal cities from flooding. A study published in Science Advances says the Thwaites Glacier probably won’t break up in this century. [CleanTechnica]

Tiny bit of Thwaites Glacier (NASA, public domain)

¶ “Energy-Hungry Singapore Eyes Malaysia’s Rainforests And Australia’s Deserts For Clean Power” • With huge data centers set to drive up its already large demand for energy, tiny Singapore is looking to Australia’s deserts and Malaysia’s rainforests for clean power. Singapore aims to hit peak carbon emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. [South China Morning Post]

¶ “Germany Generated More Solar Power Than Ever Before In July 2024″ • In July 2024, Germany produced more solar power than in any month before. Economics Minister Robert Habeck said, “Around 10 TWh of solar power were produced, more than ever before in a single month, even though solar radiation was lower than last year.” [IamExpat in Germany]

Solar panels in Germany (Michael Förtsch, Unsplash)

¶ “Plans Lodged For New Solar Farm Estimated To Power Almost 26,000 Homes, Creating 375 Jobs” • Hartlepool Borough Council got an application from Enviromena Project Management UK for construction and operation of a grid connected solar farm, with a capacity of 49.9 MW, and a battery energy storage system, with a capacity of 25 MW. [Yahoo News UK]

¶ “UK’s $5.6 Billion Electricity ‘Superhighway’ Gets Green Light” • After years of stagnation, the UK’s green transition appears to be underway, with support from the country’s new government. Plans for an electricity ‘superhighway’ between Scotland and England have been approved, supported by new wind and solar energy projects. [OilPrice.com]

Transmission lines (Matthew Henry, Unsplash)

¶ “One Year On: Japan Has Released 55,000 Tonnes Of Nuclear Wastewater Into The Sea” • Japan began discharging water that is nuclear-contaminated into the ocean one year ago. So far, it has released 55,000 tonnes, data from TEPCO shows. Despite anger and anxiety from observers, TEPCO plans to discharge the water for the next thirty years. [CGTN]

US:

¶ “Two bodies found in Missouri home leveled by explosion” • Two bodies were found in the rubble of a Missouri home that was leveled in an explosion. Nothing was left standing in the house after the explosion, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. The Missouri Propane Safety Commission is investigating the explosion. [ABC News]

First responders at the scene (Clay County Sheriff’s Office)

¶ “Report Highlights Advancements in Wind Technology And Supply Chains” • Though 2023 was a relatively slow year for wind power deployment in the US, the industry is still seeing attractive prices, growth, solid performance, and expanding supply chains, according to a report just prepared for the US DOE by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The Killer Combo Of Agrivoltaics And Community Solar Is Coming For Your Fossil Fuels” • Two trends that emerged in the US are agrivoltaics and community solar. For the most part they have been operating on separate tracks, but a raft of new projects in Massachusetts indicates that they are merging into a powerful new super-trend. [CleanTechnica]

Agrivoltaic projects in Massachusetts (Courtesy of BlueWave)

¶ “California Hits Milestones Toward 100% Clean Energy But Has A Long Way To Go” • California has given the US a glimpse at what running a large economy on renewable energy might look like, as it went 100 days in a row on 100% carbon-free electricity for part of each day. But the state faces a huge challenge in the coming years. [The Santa Barbara Independent]

¶ “Former Golf Course Now Hosts A 9.4-MW Solar Project In Rhode Island” • Nexamp and TurningPoint Energy celebrated completion of a 9.4-MW solar farm in Warren, Rhode Island. The solar farm, which includes two co-located solar arrays, represents a unique repurposing of acreage that was previously developed as a golf course. [Solar Power World]

Have a uniquely dreamy day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Microgrids Could Help Solve Challenges Of Renewable Energy” • Issues such as variability and surplus generation have so far created headaches in the move to full use of renewable energy. Research led by Murdoch University Associate Professor Ali Arefi found that using interconnected scattered microgrids may be the answer. [MSN]

Solar settlement (Andrewglaser, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)

World:

¶ “1,500 Policies To Fix Global Warming Were Implemented In 41 Countries. Here Are Those That Worked Best” • Researchers from European climate institutions analyzed the effectiveness of 1,500 climate policies across 41 countries over the past twenty years, in a study published in the journal Science. They found just 63 “success stories.” [CNN]

¶ “This Superyacht Hot Spot For The Uber-Wealthy Is Heating Up And Becoming More Dangerous” • The storm that sank the “Bayesian,” a luxury yacht anchored off the coast of Sicily, was sudden, violent and deadly. Scientists say it may be a warning of what’s to come as global warming fuels more extreme weather in the Mediterranean. [CNN]

Mediterranean (Ernesto Solla, Unsplash)

¶ “Vena Energy Moves Ahead With 550 MW Of Solar In The Philippines” • Vena Energy has signed an investment agreement with MGen Renewable Energy for the joint construction of a 550-MW solar plant in the Philippines. They will build the solar project in the municipality of Bugallon, which is on the island of Luzon. [pv magazine International]

¶ “Energiekontor Secures German Wind Permits” • In August of 2024, three building permits for wind park projects in Germany with a total generation volume of approximately 116 MW were awarded to Energiekontor. Construction work on the Lower Saxony projects will start shortly, according to the German developer. [reNews]

German wind turbines (Tony Webster, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Collgar Eyes 1.7 GW Of Wind Power Projects In Western Australia” • Collgar Renewables, which operates the largest wind farm in Western Australia, has announced plans to beef up its portfolio by building five new wind projects across the Australian state. In a statement, the company said the five projects will have a total capacity of 1.7 GW. [Asian Power]

¶ “Skyborn Completes Foundation Installation At Yunlin” • A Skyborn Renewables subsidiary, Yunneng Wind Power, has announced that all of the 80 foundations have been installed at the 640-MW Yunlin offshore wind project in Taiwan. Reaching this milestone means the project is on track to be completed by the end of 2024. [reNews]

Foundation (Skyborn Renewables image)

¶ “Kuwait Targets 17-GW Renewables Fleet By 2050” • KBR was awarded an advisory contract by Kuwait Oil Company to develop a strategy for delivering 17 GW of renewable energy and 25 GW of green hydrogen capacity by 2050. The company will devise a phased approach to deployment of wind and solar generation with power storage. [reNews]

¶ “Global Offshore Wind To Breach 520 GW By 2040” • Despite setbacks, global offshore wind installations grew 7% in 2023 and are projected to rapidly expand, surpassing 520 GW by 2040, excluding China, according to Rystad Energy. Rystad Energy said Europe will drive the growth as it heavily depends on floating wind to meet national targets. [Asian Power]

Offshore windfarm (Tony Exley, Unsplash)

¶ “China Hits Xi Jinping’s Renewable Power Target Six Years Early” • China passed another benchmark for its wind and solar capacity, surpassing a target set by President Xi Jinping almost six years earlier than planned. China added 25 GW in July, bringing its capacity to 1,206 GW. Xi had set a goal in December 2020 for 1,200 GW of clean energy by 2030. [Yahoo Finance]

¶ “Ukrainian Official Rejects Putin’s Accusations Of Attempted Attack On Kursk Nuclear Plant” • A top counter-disinformation official from Ukraine refuted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s accusations that Kyiv attempted to attack the Kursk Nuclear Plant. Putin alleged that Ukraine tried to strike the nuclear plant, but provided no evidence. [The Kyiv Independent]

Kursk nuclear plant (Dmitriy 92, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Multiple Drones Seen Over Nuclear Power Plant In Germany, Russia Suspected” • Drones were seen flying over an industrial area in Schleswig-Holstein. They may have been launched by Russian agents, Bild reports. They flew over an industrial area, which has a nuclear power plant, a liquefied natural gas terminal, and chemical plants, at high speed. [MSN]

US:

¶ “Las Vegas Looks To Solar Power To Keep Streetlights On, Thieves Away” • Solar powered streetlights installed in the Las Vegas valley could help deter copper wire theft and keep home lights on. More than a million feet of copper wiring has been stolen from Clark County since early 2002, with 500,000 feet of that just in the last two years. [KLAS 8 News Now]

Solar powered street light (Robert Ashworth, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Historic Heat Breaking All-Time Records In Texas” • Texas has been baking in record heat since last weekend, and the heat will continue all week. Record highs were forecast from Roswell, New Mexico, to Galveston, Texas. Heat alerts have been issued by the National Weather Service for Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Florida on Thursday. [ABC News]

¶ “California Regulator Backs 7.6-GW Floater Plan” • California’s Public Utilities Commission voted in favour of procuring up to 7,600 MW of floating offshore windpower. Under Assembly Bill 1373, the commission directed the Department of Water Resources to procure electrical resources with long lead times, such as offshore wind. [reNews]

Have an unprecedentedly enjoyable day.

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World:

¶ “No Solar Energy? No Problem! Gigantic Undersea Cable Will Make It Happen” • The Australian government green-lighted the massive Australia-Asia Power Link solar energy project. Under the purview of the startup SunCable, AAPowerLink will connect Australia’s vast solar resources to the energy-hungry island of Singapore by undersea cable. [CleanTechnica]

Cable route (Courtesy of SunCable)

¶ “Argonne And The University Of Münster Join Forces To Advance Essential Battery Materials And Technology” • The US DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Münster signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on advanced battery materials. The MOU was signed on July 8 in a ceremony at Argonne. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “O&G Windfall Tax Hike Will Hit Floating Wind Investment” • In an open letter to the treasury, issued by Offshore Energies UK, over forty member companies have warned that official plans threaten £200 billion of investment not just in Oil & Gas but also in offshore renewables and hydrogen. Oil & Gas companies invest in offshore wind. [reNews]

Offshore wind farm (Equinor image)

¶ “No Special Treatment When It Comes To ICE Ban, Ethiopia Tells Diplomats • Diplomats get a lot of special privileges all over the world, which must be nice, but there are no special privileges when it comes to allowing imports of new combustion vehicles in Ethiopia, it seems. Ethiopia is the first country in the world to ban importing them. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “ACWA Breaks Ground On 200-MW Wind Farm” • Saudi-listed ACWA Power has broke ground on the Beruniy Wind Independent Power Plant project which includes construction of a 200-MW wind power plant and a 100-MW battery energy storage system. The project is in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan. [reNews]

Dominion Energy installation ship (Dominion Energy image)

¶ “China Authorises Eleven New Nuclear Reactors In $31 Billion Investment” • China’s State Council has approved eleven nuclear reactors across five sites in the provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Guangxi. With a total investment of 220 billion yuan ($31 billion), construction is expected to take about five years. [Yahoo Finance]

US:

¶ “Scientists Have More Evidence To Explain Why Billions Of Crabs Vanished Around Alaska” • Fishermen and scientists were alarmed when billions of crabs vanished from the Bering Sea near Alaska in 2022. It wasn’t overfishing, scientists explained. It was likely that shockingly warm water sent the crabs’ metabolism into overdrive and starved them to death. [CNN]

Crabs in a market (Nathan Cima, Unsplash)

¶ “America’s Growing Wind Energy Future: Three Reports” • In the past year, the US wind energy sector showcased its resilience and potential, as detailed in 2024 editions of the annual market reports released by the US DOE. The reports show that the Inflation Reduction Act led to significant increases in near-term wind deployment forecasts. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Eversource Secures Federal Funding For Offshore Wind Hub In Southeastern Connecticut In Collaboration With New England States” • Eversource Energy announced that its Huntsbrook Offshore Wind Hub project was recently awarded $89 million in federal grant funding through the second round of the US DOE’s Grid Innovation Program. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore wind farm and wind hub (Eversource image)

¶ “Renewables Now 30% Of US Power Capacity” • Renewable energy sources are now 30% of total US electrical generating capacity, according to SUN DAY Campaign analysis. Solar has been the largest source of new capacity ten months in a row and is on track to be the second-largest source of capacity, behind only natural gas, within three years. [reNews]

¶ “EVLO Puts Into Operation Its First Battery Energy Project In The United States” • EVLO Energy Storage Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, announced that it has completed the commissioning of a first utility-scale battery energy storage system in the US. The contracted 3-MW, 12-MWh installation is in Troy, Vermont. [CleanTechnica]

EVLO’s BESS project in Troy, Vermont (Courtesy of EVLO)

¶ “Process Starts For BOEM To Define More Central Atlantic Wind Power Areas” • The process to define the next round of offshore wind power areas on the Central Atlantic coast is about to begin. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will open a 60-day comment period while soliciting input to lead to a future lease auction. [The Maritime Executive]

¶ “US Offshore Wind Pipeline Hits 80 GW” • The US offshore wind pipeline now stands at just over 80 GW, up 53% year-on-year, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Offshore Wind Market Report 2024. This includes almost 4.1 GW that is now under construction, more than four times what was being built in 2023. [reNews]

Wind turbine and flag (Dominion image)

¶ “As Dangerous Heat Grips Texas, Solar Power And Batteries Keep The Electric Grid Humming Along” • With temperatures climbing over 100°F in much of the state, the Texas electric grid set an all-time record for energy demand. Despite the heat wave, ERCOT has yet to ask people to conserve electricity. The reason is solar power and batteries. [KUT]

¶ “Enel Brings 326-MW Solar, 86-MW Storage Project Online For Nestlé In Texas” • Enel North America began operations at the 326-MW Stampede solar+storage project in Hopkins County, Texas. Nestlé is the sole tax equity investor for the project and will purchase the renewable energy attributes from the entire output of the solar plant. [Solar Power World]

Have a perfectly grand day.

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World:

¶ “Cash For Clunkers Program In China Will Boost Electric Car Industry As EU Tariffs Bite” • Last month the government of China announced it would double trade-in subsidies introduced in April to boost demand for cars after sales growth slowed. The cash for clunkers trade-in program could drive total electric car sales to over 10 million this year. [CleanTechnica]

Volvo EX30 (Courtesy of Volvocars)

¶ “Lithium And Politics Clash In Serbia” • If the future of clean energy depends on lots of batteries, the world will need lots of lithium. When China realized that early in this century, it started securing lithium supplies globally. Now that is having effects, as other nations do not want to be beholden to China for a supply of the critical resource. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The Energy Transition is Slowed by Growth in Consumption” • Renewable energy is a strong runner. Its growth rate far exceeds that of global energy consumption. But it has started from a low base and so its absolute growth, in exajoules per year, has so far been less than that of consumption. Fossil fuels are still growing just a bit slower than renewables. [CleanTechnica]

A race (Andreas N on Pixabay)

¶ “Australia Greenlights World’s ‘Largest’ Solar Hub” • Australia approved plans for a massive solar and battery farm that would export energy to Singapore, a project billed as the “largest solar precinct in the world.” The project will eventually include a cable linking Australia with Singapore. It is backed by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes. [Yahoo Finance UK]

¶ “KGAL Fund Bags 50-MW Czech Solar Project” • KGAL fund ESPF 5 has entered the Czech market with the purchase of the 50-MW solar project PVPP Saxonie near the northern Bohemian city of Most. The Czech Republic is developing into a highly attractive market for investors, with its climate targets having been increased several times, KGAL said. [reNews]

PVPP Saxonie solar project (KGAL image)

¶ “Negative Power Prices Hit Europe As Renewable Energy Floods The Grid” • European power markets are experiencing a notable shift as renewable energy sources, particularly wind and solar, become a larger part of the energy mix. On Wednesday, power prices in several European markets dipped below zero due to a surge in green power production. [OilPrice.com]

¶ “Australia Needs 126 GW Of Solar, Wind By 2030 To Hit Net Zero By 2050” • Modeling from BNEF shows that Australia must rapidly decarbonize its power sector to reach net-zero by 2050. An investment of A$3.56 trillion ($2.4 trillion) is needed by 2030, as renewable energy capacity needs to grow by 135% to more than 126 GW. [pv magazine International]

Wind farm (FNQ, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

US:

¶ “Tens Of Thousands Remain Without Power In Puerto Rico After Tropical Storm” • Tens of thousands of customers are without power in Puerto Rico, a week after Ernesto swiped the US territory as a tropical storm. Authorities pledged to restore power to everyone by the weekend, as the National Weather Service issued another heat advisory. [ABC News]

¶ “US Power Grid Added 20.2 GW of Generating Capacity In First Half of 2024 – Almost Entirely Clean Energy” • According to the EIA’s Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, there were 20.2 GW of utility-scale electric generating capacity added in the US during the first half of 2024. Of that, 18.7 GW was solar, wind, and battery power. [CleanTechnica]

Solar array (Harisankar, Unsplash)

¶ “Household Vehicles Were Parked 95% On A Typical Day In 2022” • Household vehicles were driven an average of 64.6 minutes on a typical day in 2022 (including all trips made that day) and parked for the remainder of the time (95%). Household vehicles being parked for 95% of a 24-hour day offers a lot of time for EV charging. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Thin Film Solar Deployed In Biggest-Ever Solar Farm In The US East” • New thin film solar technology has been a long time breaking into widespread use, but its day is coming, along with the promise of low costs and a small environmental footprint. The latest example is the huge 800-MW Double Black Diamond solar farm in Illinois. [CleanTechnica]

Thin film solar PVs (Courtesy of Swift Current Energy)

¶ “Unitil Launches New Hampshire’s Largest Solar Project, Expected To Power 1,200 Homes” • Officials with Unitil, an electric and natural gas provider based in Hampton, New Hampshire, have broken ground on a first-of-its-kind project in the state. Construction is underway on what will become New Hampshire’s largest solar project. [WMUR]

¶ “HEA Board Approves Buying Energy From What Will Be Alaska’s Largest Solar Farm” • The Homer Electric Association board unanimously approved a contract with Renewable IPP, which has built several large solar farms in Alaska. Jenn Miller, CEO of Renewable IPP, said it is working to give Alaskans energy options beyond natural gas. [KBBI AM 890]

Homer Spit, Homer Alaska (Grace Simoneau, Unsplash)

¶ “California Advances Flexible Demand To Absorb Renewable Power” • The California Energy Commission expects to issue flexible demand appliance standards for electric storage water heaters, “hopefully” within months, said Michael Sokol, director of the efficiency division at the California Energy Commission. He was speaking on a webinar. [pv magazine USA]

¶ “Holtec To DEP: State Has No Authority To Ban Radioactive Water Discharge Into Cape Cod Bay” • The company that owns the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Holtec International, filed an appeal seeking to discharge radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay. Last month, the state denied Holtec a permit to release nearly 1 million gallons of water. [capeandislands.org]

Have a reasonably amusing day.

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Opinion:

¶ “The International Court Of Justice Needs Global Support To Protect The Climate” • In the Paris climate agreement, which is legally binding, nations pledged to keep average temperatures within 1.5°C of pre-industrial levels. The Paris agreement lacks its own enforcement, so international court is where those bodies should go for failed climate promises. [CleanTechnica]

Forest in Sierra (pine watt, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Improved Direct Air Capture Of CO₂ Leads A Small Chemical Change To Reap Big Climate Reward” • Amino acids, which react readily with CO₂ and are environmentally friendly. They could be used in liquid-based DAC, but they aren’t naturally drawn to surfaces where they might interact with environmental CO2. A team from ORNL fixed that. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Texas EV Battery Startup Aims To Break Texas Oil Industry” • Austin startup Group1 is launching a potassium-based energy storage formula aimed at supporting the high performing, lower cost, and more environmentally friendly battery of the future. The company has big plans for the potassium EV battery it has developed. [CleanTechnica]

Group1 batteries (Courtesy of Group1)

World:

¶ “Renewable Energy Partners Tables Plan For 5-GW Wind Farm In Queensland” • Queensland is set to become home to a 5-GW wind power complex under a proposal by Brisbane-based power generator Renewable Energy Partners. The Bogunda wind farm is planned to be installed in phases near Hughenden, about 385 km west of Townsville. [Renewables Now]

¶ “One Country Is Making Progress On Electrifying Everything” • China started increasing the percentage of energy services delivered via electricity in 1990 and in 2005 started increasing it rapidly. In the past three years it has accelerated again. The peak in Chinese emissions is predicted to be this year, six years ahead of the its target. [CleanTechnica]

Great Wall in autumn (Hanson Lu, Unsplash)

¶ “UK Powers Up Green Energy Push” • The Prime Minister and the First Minister of Wales have announced plans to strengthen collaboration on clean energy. During a visit to a wind farm in West Wales, both leaders emphasised the value of investing in renewable energy for economic growth, job creation, and the UK’s energy independence. [Energy Live News]

¶ “Lightsource BP To Develop 500-MW Of Solar In Germany” • Lightsource BP and Kajoni Energie have signed an agreement to jointly develop more than 500 MW of utility-scale solar projects in Germany. The 500-MW pipeline will be realised over the next two to three years. It will focus on projects that are at least 20 MW in size. [reNews]

Solar farm (Lightsource BP image)

¶ “Maharashtra: First Solar Village To Provide Zero Electricity Bills And Free Power To Farmers” • In a first, the government of Maharashtra launched the Solar Village Scheme, to provide 100% solar-powered electricity to 100 villages. Manyachiwadi, a village in Satara has become the first village in the state to be electrified 100% by solar power. [WION]

¶ “Through Colonial Patterns Of Extractivism: Self-Governance As A Sustainable Path Forward” • The Arctic is transforming due to the amplifying effects of climate change, warming four times faster than the rest of the world. As the region grapples with a dangerously changing climate, there is a growing inclination to embrace sustainable solutions. [The Arctic Institute]

Wind farm (Jason Mavrommatis, Unsplash)

¶ “Russia’s Nuclear Blackmail At Zaporizhzhia Raises Global Alarm” • Russia is blackmailing the world with the threat of a catastrophe at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared on Monday. He said only the return of the power plant to Ukrainian control would ensure safety. [MSN]

US:

¶ “Federal Government Grants First Floating Offshore Wind Power Research Lease To Maine” • The federal government issued the nation’s first floating offshore wind research lease to the state of Maine. At about 23 square miles, the array will have up to a dozen turbines generating a total of up to 144 MW nearly 30 miles southeast of Portland. [ABC News]

JFloating offshore wind turbine (US DOE, public domain)

¶ “Connecticut Floods Leave Two Dead And Over 100 Evacuated; State Of Emergency Declared” • Heavy rainfall and flooding in Connecticut left two people dead and over 100 evacuated as the governor declared a state of emergency. State police announced that two residents were found dead after flooding swept them away from their vehicles. [ABC News]

¶ “Balto Energy Has A Plan To Move The Electrify Everything Agenda Forward” • New California rules incentivize homeowners to install residential storage batteries to supplement their rooftop solar systems, and Balto Energy CEO James Quazi believes doing so opens up a whole new area: converting homes to all-electric systems. [CleanTechnica]

The Future is Electric (Balto Energy image)

¶ “Tesla’s Favorability With Liberals/Democrats Dropped From 39% To 16% In 6 Months – Among Conservatives/Republicans Also” • Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s dramatic, public departure into deep right-wing political culture has been turning many buyers and shareholders off from Tesla. And demand for Tesla’s cars seems to be taking a hit. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Trump Pledges To End Pollution Rule, Block Steel Merger” • Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged to rescind a Biden administration rule limiting pollution from power plants. In his most detailed economic remarks in the campaign so far, he reiterated a promise to block Nippon Steel’s planned purchase of US Steel. [Reuters]

Have a totally copacetic day.

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Opinion:

¶ “How Would A Harris Presidency Affect US Adoption Of EVs?” • Vice President Kamala Harris established her climate positions by endorsing hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits and rebates for renewable energy and EVs. By all indicators, a Harris presidency would continue to implement policies in support of the adoption of them. [CleanTechnica]

Kamala Harris (Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Tesla Is Over 100,000 Workers, Not Just Elon Musk” • Many Democrats have gone from wanting to support a company focused on stopping global heating to not wanting to support a company CEO who is spreading right-wing conspiracy theories, endorsing Donald Trump, and falsely downplaying the threats of global heating and climate crisis. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Agrivoltaics: Use It Where It Works, Don’t Use It Where It Doesn’t” • In some cases, solar PVs and farming can be combined to increase the total land productivity. In other cases, the synergy between solar and farming is less successful. But there are more positive use cases for agrivoltaics than previously thought, recent developments show. [CleanTechnica]

Agrivoltaics with sheep (Reagan Costa, Enel North America)

World:

¶ “Municipal Tax Dollars From Renewable Energy Projects Nearly Double” • Alberta municipalities have seen a big jump in tax revenues from renewable energy projects in the past year. Driven by twenty new projects, annual tax revenues have shot up to $54 million in 2024 from $28 million last year, a 92% increase, according to a report. [MSN]

¶ “Melting Permafrost Releasing Toxic Mercury Into The Arctic, Scientists Say” • Melting permafrost in the Arctic is releasing toxic mercury into the water system, potentially impacting the food chain, scientists say. Arctic permafrost is melting at rapid rates, potentially putting the food chain and the communities who depend on it in “grave danger.” [ABC News]

Yukon River (Kalen Emsley, Unsplash)

¶ “AMEA Inks PPA For Aysha-1 Array In Ethiopia” • AMEA Power has announced the signing of a Power Purchase Agreement and Implementation Agreement with Ethiopian Electric Power for development and operation of a 300-MW Aysha-1 wind energy project in Ethiopia. Costing $620 million, the project is expected to power over 4 million households. [reNews]

¶ “Rānui Starts Work On 31-MW Twin Rivers Site” • In New Zealand, solar developer Rānui Generation has begun on-site works at the 31-MW Twin Rivers solar farm in Pamapuria, near Kaitaia. The array is the first of four PV sites in its development pipeline and is capable of delivering enough electricity to power 6,000 households or 25,000 EVs annually. [reNews]

Solar PVs and flowers (Dulas image)

¶ “Can Saudi Arabia Break Free From Using Oil For Power Generation?” • Despite also consuming prodigious quantities of natural gas, Saudi Arabia uses nearly 1.4 million barrels of oil per day in summer to generate power and water. But Riyadh may be about to turn the corner, with nearly 13 GW of renewables to come on line by the end of next year. [The National]

¶ “Wärtsilä Signs Decarbonisation Agreement For Madagascan Power Plant” • Wärtsilä’s renewal of its existing Operations and Maintenance agreement with QIT Madagascar Minerals SA part of the Rio Tinto group, has been expanded to include a novel Decarbonisation Agreement. Wärtsilä is to reduce emissions as it produces notable cost savings. [Wärtsilä]

Power plant (Wärtsilä image)

¶ “Zelenskyy: Russia Uses Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant For Strikes On Nikopol And Equipment Storage” • The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia is using the territory of the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant for launching strikes on Nikopol and other areas, and for storing ammunition and military equipment. [Ukrainska Pravda]

US:

¶ “Solar Energy Revolution Brewing In Arkansas, With An Assist From GM” • Last week, General Motors dropped word that it will power three of its assembly plants with electricity from a solar farm in Arkansas, but that’s just the tip of a solar energy boom washing over the state. Arkansas has been shaking the dust off its renewable energy profile. [CleanTechnica]

Arkansas solar array (Courtesy of General Motors)

¶ “An Unwelcome Fast Start To The US Severe Weather Season” • Severe storms have set a fast pace for the first half of 2024. It was an extremely active first half for severe convective storms. We had the second-highest number of tornado reports of any year in the past 15 years, the fifth worst year for hail, and the second most damaging windstorms. [WTW]

¶ “Louisiana Looks To Idaho National Laboratory For A Nuclear Strategy” • Louisiana leaders are working with Idaho National Laboratory’s Frontiers Initiative to help the state become a national leader in advanced nuclear energy. INL experts will help the state develop a strategic plan to use nuclear energy to support growing grid-scale electrical demands. [East Idaho News]

Have an appropriately easy day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Those Denying Climate Crisis Ignore that Moderate Climate Migration Is Freaking Them Out” • Sadly, climate disruption is going to get worse and worse in coming years. More and more people will desperately leave their homes due to drought, floods, bigger and more damaging hurricanes, and crop disruption. How are we going to deal with that? [CleanTechnica]

Temperature anomaly (Courtesy of Earth Observatory, NASA)

¶ “Arizona Needs All The Power It Can Find” • This month, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called for more interstate cooperation to ensure a robust and flexible power grid. When one area is experiencing extreme heat or a plant failure, other areas can quickly support the increased need. [The Arizona Republic]

Science and Technology:

¶ “New Silicon EV Battery From CalTech Spinoff Is The Best Thing Ever” • Sienza Energy, a spinoff from CalTech, has come up with a silicon EV battery that does away with cobalt, a mineral that is baggage-laden but once thought essential for EV energy storage. The secret is a nanoscale structure that delivers on cost, performance, and safety. [CleanTechnica]

Nanostructure (Courtesy of Sienza Energy)

World:

¶ “Wildfires Rage In Western Turkey For A Third Straight Day, Exacerbated By Windy And Dry Weather” • Wildfires raged across western Turkey for a third straight day, worsened by high winds and warm temperatures, authorities said. Over 130 fires broke out across the country in the past week, though most have been brought under control. [ABC News]

¶ “EVs Are Starting To Overtake Gas-Powered Cars In A Place That’s Surprising” • There are around 100,000 EVs in Ethiopia, and the government estimates the number will quadruple at least by 2032. That’s largely because the national government took the extraordinary step earlier this year of banning the import of all gas-powered passenger vehicles. [CNN]

Adis Ababba (Hawi Getachew, Unsplash)

¶ “Commbank Follows Super Funds In Curbing Investment In Fossil Fuels” • Commonwealth Bank will no longer lend to fossil fuel companies without emissions plans that are genuine. “Until today’s announcement, I would have considered these as ‘just words.’ But it appears that the bank is prepared to put its money where its mouth is.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Twenty Years Of Policy Initiatives By China Have Created A Manufacturing And Technology Colossus” • A recent article in the New York Times shines a light on how China has been able to dominate battery and electric car production. Beijing’s challenge to US technological leadership can be seen in China’s classrooms and corporate budgets. [CleanTechnica]

Shanghai (Denys Nevozhai, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Masdar To Help Power Up Egypt With 200-MW Wind Project” • Egypt has partnered with a consortium led by Infinity Power and the UAE’s Masdar to build a 200-MW wind power plant in the Gulf of Suez. The consortium, comprising Egypt’s Infinity Group and UAE-based Masdar, will develop, finance, and operate the onshore wind project. [Gulf Business]

¶ “Supreme Court Grants India’s States Power To Tax Mining Operations, Retrospectively From 2005” • A full bench of India’s Supreme Court has ruled the states have the right to levy taxes on mining operations. The court made the ruling retrospective from 2005, opening up a Pandora’s box of fresh costs for mining companies. [The New Indian Express]

Coal mine in West Bengal (Choti hussain, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Safety Deteriorating At Ukraine Nuclear Plant After Nearby Drone Strike, UN Watchdog Says” • The UN’s nuclear watchdog warned the safety situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was “deteriorating” following a nearby drone strike. The plant, which was seized by Russia’s forces early in the war, has come under repeated attacks. [MSN]

US:

¶ “Drought In US West Has Cost Hydropower Industry Billions In Losses” • Two decades of persistent drought in the West has limited the amount of electricity hydropower dams can generate, costing the industry and the region billions in revenue. Drought cost the sector about 300 million MWh of power generation between 2003 and 2020. [CleanTechnica]

Lake Oroville on October 28, 2021 (Andrew Innerarity, CDWR)

¶ “One hundred Attendees Treated For Heat-Related Illness, Ten Hospitalized At Colorado Air Show” • At least ten people were hospitalized and a hundred others were treated for heat-related illness at a sold-out airshow in Colorado on Saturday, officials said. Some 30,000 people were expected to attend the two-day Pikes Peak Air Show in 96°F heat. [ABC News]

¶ “Senator Markey Says It Makes No Sense To Cede Our Clean Energy Future To China” • Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has promoted US climate action for much of his long career. Part of that work is to keep track of renewable energy projects, wherever they be. “Economically, it makes no sense to just cede the future to China,” Markey argues. [CleanTechnica]

Senator Ed Markey (Karen Smith Murphy, CC-BY-ND 2.0)

¶ “California Legislative Committee Gives Green Light To EV Battery Recycling Bill” • Proposed legislation in California to ensure the responsible recycling of batteries once EVs retire was approved by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. Senate Bill 615 would require EV makers to make sure that the batteries are ultimately recycled. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Federal Funds To Help Fuel ‘Next-Gen’ Wyoming Nuclear Plant” • TerraPower aims to have the $4 billion project operating by 2030. This project and others are getting federal boosts from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, which provide billions of dollars for clean-energy projects with various incentives. [Kiowa County Press]

Have a quietly celebratory day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Exploding Homes And Forever Fires: What Rural Solar Power Critics Want You To Forget” • Rural solar power projects in the US have been encountering more and more opposition driven by misinformation. With that in mind, we should review some of the changes that fossil energy extraction has wrought on rural communities. [CleanTechnica]

Agrivoltaics (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Sodium-Ion Battery News From The US And China” • Sodium has none of the disadvantages of lithium for batteries. It is found abundantly everywhere around the world, and it is cheap. While sodium-ion batteries do not perform as well as the best lithium-ion batteries, they have important advantages over their lithium-based cousins. Their time has come. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “China Now Doing “Extensive” Vehicle-to-Grid Trials” • China’s EV market is about the same size as the EV market in rest of the world combined. The country can also make big top-down changes faster than any other major economy. It is no surprise that one of the first very large-scale vehicle-to-grid programs would be implemented in China. [CleanTechnica]

Charging (Juice, Unsplash)

¶ “China’s Renewable Energy Surge” • China’s renewable energy sector is set to surpass its original wind and solar capacity targets much earlier than anticipated. This accelerated growth is driven by the dual objectives of enhancing national energy security and asserting a dominant position in the global green industry, one researcher says. [Asian Power]

¶ “Farm Site Proposed For Solar Farm” • Environmena proposes to build a solar farm on 0.26 sq km on nine irregular fields in North Dorset. It said the solar farm could produce up to 12 MW of power, connected to the National Grid via an overhead power line in the area. Trees and shrubs would planted across the site, with wildlife areas around the edges. [BBC]

Dorset countryside (Nick Fewings, Unsplash)

¶ “RBC To Boost Renewable Energy Lending To Reach Climate Goals” • Royal Bank of Canada said it plans to triple loans for renewable energy to C$15 billion ($11 billion) by 2030 as part of its efforts to achieve net zero emissions in its lending practices by 2050. RBC has come under attack for being one of the biggest fossil fuel financiers. [Yahoo News Canada]

¶ “Moldova To Build Wind Farms For Energy Independence” • To improve its energy independence, the Republic of Moldova announced its first tender for the construction of onshore wind power facilities with capacities of up to 105 MW. Moldova found itself in an “incredibly vulnerable position” when Russia invaded Ukraine, in February 2022. [Ukrainska Pravda]

Farm in Moldova (Ghenadie Cebanu, Unsplash)

¶ “Paks Nuclear Plant Cuts Output Amid Record Danube Temperatures” • The nuclear power plant in Paks, Hungary, reduced its output by 240 MW due to the heat in the Danube water. The ministry had permitted the limits on the heating of water discharged from the power plant into the river to be exceeded just the day before. [MSN]

US:

¶ “Americans Have Saved Billions With A Law They Know Next To Nothing About” • Two years after President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, millions of Americans have used it to save millions of dollars on solar panels, appliances and home insulation. More than 3.4 million households claimed $8.4 billion for upgrades relating to energy. [CNN]

Rooftop solar system (Giorgio Trovato, Unsplash)

¶ “Perspective Pivot: Mapping a Landscape of Voices in Oahu Changes Energy Planning” • Over the course of six weeks, a team of people from NREL, the Hawaiian Electric utility, and Hawaii Natural Energy Institute travelled across Oahu to hear how people perceived hybrid microgrids. Their work will be used for Oahu-wide energy planning. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Archer Gets Two Big Orders For Its Electric Aircraft” • News from Archer is moving on quickly. The latest announcements are that Archer has landed two big orders. Future Flight Global has signed an agreement with Archer and plans to buy 116 electric “Midnight” aircraft from Archer. And the US Airforce is buying aircraft worth $142 million. [CleanTechnica]

Archer eVTOL (Courtesy of Archer Aviation)

¶ “Nearly $100 Million Awarded To Expand Sales And Use Of Renewable Fuels, Renewable Energy In Upper Midwest” • US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA is funding 160 projects in 26 states to expand access to clean energy systems and increase the availability of domestic biofuels. More than half of the projects are in Minnesota. [Agweek]

¶ “Form Energy To Build World’s Largest Battery Energy Storage System In Maine” • Form Energy, headed by Matteo Jaramillo, a former Tesla engineer, makes batteries that can supply the grid for up to 100 hours. It says it will build an 85-MW, 8500-MWh battery storage system on the site of a former paper mill near Bangor, Maine. [CleanTechnica]

Form Energy battery facility (Form Energy image)

¶ “Electric Reliability Council of Texas Could Get A Geothermal Project” • Sage Geosystems, a geothermal baseload and energy storage company, announced the site of its “first-of-its-kind” project, the first geothermal project in ERCOT territory. The 3-MW EarthStore system will be near the San Miguel Electric Cooperative coal power plant. [Power Engineering]

¶ “In Wyoming, Bill Gates Moves Ahead With Nuclear Project Aimed At Revolutionizing Power Generation” • Bill Gates and his energy company are starting construction at their Wyoming site for a next-generation nuclear power plant that he believes will “revolutionize” how power is generated. Gates went to Wyoming for the groundbreaking. [The Wyoming Truth]

Have a decidedly fantastic day.

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World:

¶ “Alarming Southern Africa Agriculture Statistic Should Spring Regional Leaders Into Decisive Action” • A serious drought is affecting a countries in southern Africa. Some reports say it is the worst drought in over 100 years. Close to 70% of the southern African population relies on rain-fed agriculture and harvests were decimated. [CleanTechnica]

Solar PVs for pumping water (WRI image)

¶ “Diesel Consumption Drops in China!” • EIA estimates of diesel consumption in China totaled 3.9 million barrels per day in June 2024, a decline of 11% from the same month last year and the largest year-over-year decline in consumption for any month since July 2021. This is despite China’s GDP growth of 4.7% from last year in the second quarter. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “BMW Group Mexico Invests In EV Charging In Mexico” • BMW Group Mexico, aiming to promote electric mobility in Mexico, has consolidated a new strategic alliance with VEMO, which joins other strategic allies in order to amplify the charging structure on public roads for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the country. [CleanTechnica]

Charging station (Courtesy of BMW)

¶ “Hai Long Offshore Wind Project Launches Nacelle Production Line” • The Hai Long Offshore Wind Project, along with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, started production at the company’s expanded Taichung Nacelle Plant. The collaboration includes an upgrade by Siemens Gamesa to meet the demand for 14-MW wind turbines. [North American Windpower]

¶ “Lightsource BP Gets Financing For New Zealand PV Project” • Lightsource BP has NZ$267 million ($161 million) of financing on its 168-MW Kōwhai Park solar project in New Zealand. It will be one of New Zealand’s largest solar farms, with around 300,000 solar panels. Kōwhai Park is the first phase of the Christchurch Airport’s renewable energy precinct. [reNews]

Solar array (Lightsource BP image)

¶ “US IPP Powers Up Canadian PV Site” • Independent power producer Silicon Ranch has announced that its 58-MW Scotford Solar Farm has reached commercial operation near Edmonton, Alberta. It is Silicon Ranch’s first international solar project and the first large-scale PV facility installed in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. [reNews]
Scotford Solar Farm (Silicon Ranch image)

¶ “‘We Should Have Better Answers By Now’: Climate Scientists Baffled By Unexpected Pace Of Heating” • In a candid essay in the journal Nature this March, one of the top climatologists in the world posited the possibility that global heating may be moving beyond the ability of experts to predict what happens next. Now it’s August, and things may have changed. [The Guardian]

Weather balloon (NOAA, Unsplash)

¶ “Finland’s Fortum Says New Nuclear Not Feasible At Current Prices” • Fortum doesn’t believe investing in new nuclear power capacity is feasible at current low Nordic power prices, its chief executive said. The utility is among the power companies under consideration for building 2,500 MW of new nuclear power plants for Sweden. [Yahoo]

US:

¶ “Jordanian Citizen Arrested For Allegedly Attacking Florida Solar Energy Facility, Threatening Pro-Israeli Businesses” • A Jordanian citizen living in Florida was arrested and charged for allegedly carrying out multiple attacks on businesses in Orlando, as well as a solar facility, based on their perceived support for Israel, the DOJ announced. [ABC News]

Some of the damaged solar panels (US DOJ image)

¶ “American Cities Are Getting Unbearably Hot. These Ones Are Roasting The Most” • No, it’s not your imagination – summers in the US really are getting hotter. And longer. Phoenix reached 158 days above 95°F on average in 2023. But Las Vegas comes out on top for heat. It roasted this summer. Every day in July the high was over 105°F, and it topped out at 120°F. [CNN]

¶ “New York City Is Home To Largest Passive House Building In The US” • The Sendero Verde 709-unit apartment complex in New York City is the largest certified passive house building in the US. Its champions say it can serve as a model for other cities and states that are trying to tackle both the housing crisis and the climate crisis. [CleanTechnica]

Sendero Verde (Courtesy of New York City)

¶ “Never Been Better Time To Buy A Used EV – Prices Drop 20.5%!” • Been thinking about getting an electric car but not sure when to jump in? If, like many others, you’re shopping for a good used car, it seems your time has come! Used electric car prices were down 20.5% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the second quarter of 2023! [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Revolution Wind Delayed To 2026” • Ørsted has delayed the commercial operation date for its 704-MW Revolution Wind from 2025 to 2026. The company blamed a construction delay at the onshore substation, which is being built by Eversource. The substation is located on a former Naval base, where the soil is contaminated. [reNews]

Wind turbine mast (Ørsted image)

¶ “The GOP’s Efforts To Repeal The Clean Energy Plan Are Anti-Worker And Will Hurt Arizona” • The Biden-Harris clean energy plan has been swept up in politics, as Republicans in Congress argue to repeal the the Inflation Reduction Act. But there isn’t anything controversial about creating more good jobs and giving Americans more energy choices. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Trump Flunks Basic Science Yet Again In Speech Insulting Harris’ Intelligence” • During his speech in North Carolina, which Trump claimed would focus on the economy, he claimed Harris is “not smart.” It’s hard to take the insults seriously when Trump himself fails to grasp some fairly basic concepts involving science and economics. [MSNBC News]

Have a slyly rewarding day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Project 2025 Aims To Break The US Government And Ignore The Climate Crisis If Trump Is Elected” • Project 2025’s aim is to dismantle US government as much as possible. One supporter said, “If the American people elect a conservative president, his administration will have to eradicate climate change references from absolutely everywhere.” [CleanTechnica]

The White House (Jacob Morch, Unsplash, cropped)

World:

¶ “The New Acronym In The EV Revolution Is EREV” • The Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) has become the fastest growing propulsion system for cars in China. EREV sales have more than doubled in that country in the past year and now account for 30% of the country’s plug-in hybrid sales, according to research service BNEF. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Top EV Markets Around The World – H1 2024 Summaries” • This article highlights the main EV markets and brings to light a few others that are usually under the radar. It includes the Big Three markets, China, Europe, and North America, but it also includes how things are doing in ten markets around the world that usually go unnoticed. [CleanTechnica]

Electric Mini Cooper (Severin Demchuk, Unsplash)

¶ “India’s Renewable Storage Capacity To Rise By 6 GW By Fiscal 2028” • Ratings agency Crisil said that it expects India’s energy storage capacity to grow by 6 GW by fiscal 2028, from less than 1 GW operating as of March 2024. It said energy storage capacity additions will be driven by a robust pipeline of projects and a healthy auction pace. [pv magazine International]

¶ “Renewable Energy Powers Up India’s $10 Trillion Future” • With a goal to be energy independent by 2047 and achieve net zero emissions by 2070, India is rapidly expanding its renewable energy capacity and ramping up adoption of green energy, while consolidating its presence in clean energy manufacturing, supply chain, R&D, and innovation. [Gulf News]

Indian wind farm (Debasish1974, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Indonesia Eases Local Content Requirements For Solar Power Projects” • Indonesia relaxed local content requirements for solar projects financed by foreign investors, as it seeks to expedite its renewable energy development and boost the domestic solar panel industry. The move will help Indonesia unlock funding for renewable energy. [Theinvestor.vn]

¶ “AGL Hails Performance Of First Big Battery, Says Waiting For Nuclear Would Put It Out Of Business” • AGL has hailed the performance of its first operating big battery, at Torrens Island in South Australia, saying it was a key to its transition to flexible capacity supporting wind and solar. It also reiterated its total disinterest in nuclear power. [RenewEconomy]

Torrens Island big battery (AGL image)

¶ “Hinkley Point C Nuclear Plant ‘Could Cost Up To £35 Billion’” • The final cost of the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in Somerset could be as much as £35 billion, up from most recent £26 billion, developer EDF said. The start of electricity production had been scheduled for June 2027 – but the completion date could now be up to three years later. [Yahoo News UK]

US:

¶ “Experts On The Musk-Trump Interview” • Donald Trump and Elon Musk both made assertions about global heating, including that rising sea levels would create “more oceanfront property” and that there is no urgent need to cut carbon emissions, during an interview. Bill McKibben wrote it was “the dumbest climate conversation of all time.” [The Guardian]

Polluting emissions (Chris LeBoutillier, Unsplash)

¶ “Ernesto Becomes Hurricane After Leaving 728,000 Without Power In Puerto Rico” • Ernesto became a Category 1 hurricane after hitting Puerto Rico overnight and leaving power outages and flooding in its wake. While it was a tropical storm, Ernesto’s center passed within 40 miles of San Juan, producing strong winds and heavy rain. [ABC News]

¶ “$775 Million From “Investing In America” Agenda For States To Plug Orphaned Oil And Gas Wells” • The Department of the Interior announced the availability of $775 million for 21 states to clean up legacy pollution. These historic resources to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells and well sites, reducing risks while creating jobs. [CleanTechnica]

Abandoned gas well (Steve Hillebrand, USFWS, public domain)

¶ “Central Atlantic Offshore Wind Lease Sale Yields Nearly $93 Million To Power Over 2.2 Million Homes” • After completion of the fifth offshore wind lease sale, the Department of the Interior announced the results from the BOEM’s wind energy auction for two lease areas in waters off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “NRDC Report: Climate Law To Slash Power Sector Emissions” • The climate legislation and pollution standards adopted during the Biden administration have put the US power sector on track to make unprecedented progress in cutting CO₂ emissions. The power sector is on track for a 65% cut in emissions by 2030 from 2005, and 80% by 2040. [CleanTechnica]

ARIES platform (Josh Bauer and Bryan Bechtold, NREL)

¶ “Construction Finishes On Converting Retired Coal Plant Into Massive Commercial Solar Project” • A new 200-MW solar farm in New Mexico started operations on June 1, supplying enough clean energy to power 63,000 homes and avoid 322,000 metric tons of CO₂ pollution. The project replaced a decommissioned coal-fired power plant. [The Cool Down]

¶ “Meta Signs 374-MW Solar PPA” • The energy firm RWE has announced that social media giant Meta signed a deal to offtake from two solar farms in development in Louisiana and Illinois. Construction is underway at RWE’s 274-MW County Run Solar in Illinois and 100-MW Lafitte Solar in Louisiana – both are due live in late 2025. [Data Centre Dynamics]

Have a generally flawless day.

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World:

¶ “BYD’s Other New Factory – In Uzbekistan” • BYD is constantly in the news, thanks to its fast rise in EV sales, almost continual rollout of new plugin car models, and expansion into more and more countries around the world. BYD has also opened a new factory and began high-volume vehicle production at a factory in Uzbekistan. [CleanTechnica]

BYD factory in Uzbekistan (Courtesy of BYD)

¶ “NIO Sales Popping – 44% Growth!” • NIO can boast about strong sales growth year over year. In July 2024, the company delivered 20,498 EVs, the only kind of vehicles it produces. NIO delivered 107,924 vehicles in the first seven months of the year combined. And that total indicates a 43.9% increase over January through July of 2023. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “World Investing Almost Twice More Into Clean Energy As Fossil Fuels Now!” • In recent years, investments in clean energy have been growing, especially since 2021. On the other hand, investments in fossil fuels are well below what they were in 2015. The result: Clean energy investments are nearly double fossil fuel investments in 2024. [CleanTechnica]

Break free from fossil fuels (Eelco Böhtlingk, Unsplash)

¶ “Luxcara Confirms 1.5-GW Win In German Auction” • Luxcara has confirmed it has secured a 1500-MW project zone in the North Sea in the latest German offshore wind auction. Luxcara’s Waterekke Energy GmbH won the right based off of social and ecological criteria, the company said. The site is in the German North Sea’s Exclusive Economic Zone. [reNews]

¶ “Crown Launches Second Phase Of Celtic Sea Leasing” • The UK government’s Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 moved into its second phase, aimed at developing floating wind in the Celtic Sea off the coast of South Wales and South West England. The new phase kicked off on 8 August, and will see bidders set out their plans for delivering wind farms. [reNews]

Towing a floating turbine (Wind Europe image)

¶ “Radioactive Water Leaks Reported At Japan’s Crippled Fukushima Power Plant” • About 25 tons of radioactive water leaked in the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the plant’s operator has reported, a week after the latest round of ocean discharge started. TEPCO said the water had not escaped outside the reactor building. [Shanghai Daily]

¶ “Why Almost Nobody Is Buying Green Hydrogen” • As a carbon-free fuel, hydrogen’s potential has provoked no end of excitement. The gas can be produced cleanly by using wind or solar power in a process that splits the gas from water. But the vast majority of those projects don’t have a single customer stepping up to buy the fuel. [The Japan Times]

Toyota hydrogen fuel cell concept (Darren Halstead, Unsplash)

¶ “The Fire At The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Was Probably Not Caused By A Drone Attack, IAEA Says” • The International Atomic Energy Agency said its experts visited the damaged cooling tower at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and found no remains of the drone. No remains of a drone were found in the inxpection. [Sarajevo Times]

US:

¶ “SEIA Statement On President Biden Action To Support US Manufacturers Of Solar Cells” • President Biden issued a proclamation to raise the Section 201 tariff rate quota for imported solar cells from 5 GW annually to 12.5 GW. “SEIA strongly commends President Biden’s decisive action to support American solar module manufacturers.” [CleanTechnica]

Solar panels (Courtesy of US Department of Energy)

¶ “LA 2028 Olympics To Use Public Transit Only, Will Be A ‘No-Car’ Games” • Even as one Summer Olympics ends, the planning for the next one is already in the works. The LA 2028 Summer Games could also be host to an ambitious goal: a “no-car Games.” That is certainly one solution to the “notorious” gridlocked traffic in Los Angeles. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ford And TXU Offer Texas Residents Free EV Charging During Off-Peak Hours” • Ford and TXU Energy announced they have teamed up to create a first-of-its-kind retail energy offering for Ford electric SUV and truck customers in Texas. The program offers Ford EV drivers the opportunity to charge their vehicle at home entirely for free. [CleanTechnica]

Charging an F150 Lightning in Texas (Courtesy of Ford)

¶ “Wind Power Now Generates More Electricity Than Coal Plants” • According to a report from the government, the amount of electricity generated by wind farms, such as those spread all over Oklahoma, is now more than from coal-fired generating plants. Operators plan to retire 2.8 GW of coal-fired capacity in 2024, EIA data show. [Oklahoma Energy Today]

¶ “RWE Picks Up Two PPAs From Meta” • RWE has signed two long-term PPAs with Meta to offtake energy from two solar farms under construction in the US. Onsite construction is underway on RWE’s 274-MW County Run Solar project in Illinois and its 100-MW Lafitte Solar project in Louisiana, with commissioning planned for both sites in late 2025. [reNews]

Solar array (RWE image)

¶ “Supporters: Lower Power Bills Could Be Part Of New ‘Net Meeting’ Law Signed By Dunleavy” • Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy signed into law a piece of legislation designed to increase renewable energy options, lower utility costs, and reduce the state’s dependence on natural gas through a system known as “net metering.” [Alaska’s News Source]

¶ “Southern Oregon Floating Offshore Windpower Clears One Bureaucratic Hurdle In A Long Process” • The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced it finished an environmental assessment that looked at potential impacts from developing floating offshore wind in Oregon. But local opposition to the projects remains. [Oregon Public Broadcasting]

Have a beautifully interesting day.

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geoharvey is not tax-deductible.