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Opinion:

¶ “Pyrolysis Is The Latest Climate-Killing Plastics Scam From ExxonMobil” • Fossil fuel companies are touting a new way to deal with plastic waste called pyrolysis, and to hear the industry spin it, it is the greatest thing since ice cream. It is nothing short of a flimflam, the point of which is to keep profits high for fossil fuel companies. [CleanTechnica]

Plastics, part of the climate crisis (Courtesy of the US DOE)

¶ “Dutton’s Nuclear Option Is Nothing But A Power Grab” • Peter Dutton’s nuclear gambit is about power but not necessarily about electricity. Those now in charge of the Coalition have judged that the path back to governing Australia is to stoke and exploit fears about power prices, cost of living, and renewables not being enough to keep the lights on. [Riotact]

Science and Technology:

¶ “What The ‘Warming Stripes’ Tell Us About Climate Change” • Created by climate scientist Ed Hawkins, the “warming stripes” are visual representations of annual or monthly temperature anomalies for a specific location or region over the past 100+ years. The visualization uses a color scale to represent anomalies of temperatures. [Earth.Org]

Warming stripes with temperatures (RCraig09, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Award-Winning Software Tool Improves Cyber Defense Using Machine Learning” • An award-winning project helps utilities and manufacturers prevent cybersecurity attacks from affecting the US electric power grid. The software identifies cybersecurity vulnerabilities in firmware and improves the defense of devices and the electric system. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Some Interesting Insights From Uganda’s 2024/2025 National Budget” • Uganda’s Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development released a national budget with some interesting features. They give us a good look into the country’s electricity generation landscape, its current state, and its plans to grow the electric mobility ecosystem. [CleanTechnica]

Kiira Motors electric coache (Courtesy of Kiira Motors)

¶ “Equinor And Oceanex Bag Licence For 2-GW Oz Floater” • The Australian government has offered Equinor and Oceanex a feasibility licence for a 2-GW floater in the Hunter offshore wind area in New South Wales. Should the project go ahead, it would employ around 3,000 workers during construction and create around 200-300 permanent local jobs. [reNews]

¶ “Europe Unveils Solar Academy” • The European Commission has launched the European Solar Academy, the first in a series of EU Academies to be set up under the Net-Zero Industry Act to develop the necessary workfoce and skills along the net zero value chains. The PV manufacturing sector is expected to need 66,000 skilled workers by 2030. [reNews]

Solar array (First Solar image)

¶ “UK Offshore Wind Farms Vulnerable To Cyberattacks” • The Alan Turing Institute issued a warning about the vulnerability of offshore wind farms to cyberattacks, highlighting potential risks to the UK’s renewable energy goals. The research shows that old software and the remote sites of wind farms put them at risk of cyber threats. [Energy Live News]

¶ “Domestic Solar Power Output Up 80% In A Year” • Electricity generated from domestic rooftops in Ireland is up 80% in a single year, a new report has found. According to the current Scale of Solar report, solar energy could power 280,000 homes this year. Overall solar power output, including energy from commercial solar farms, went up by 43%. [Newstalk]

Solar tiles in Ireland (Stephen Craven, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Europe’s Solar Power Surge Hits Prices, Exposing Storage Needs” • Wholesale power markets in most of Europe turned out zero or negative prices for a record number of hours in the first five months of this year. The mismatch between demand and supply as solar power generation soars, could potentially help shift investment to storage solutions. [MSN]

US:

¶ “EnergyX Announces Major Lithium Development In Ark-La-Tex Region” • Energy Exploration Technologies Inc (EnergyX) announced a major lithium project, Project Lonestar Lithium. The project aims to solidify EnergyX’s position as a leader in the global energy transition and bid to help secure the US battery supply chain. [CleanTechnica]

EnergyX plant (Courtesy of EnergyX)

¶ “The Electric Revolution Of Gardening Tools Is Here” • If you go to your local Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, or Farm & Fleet store, you will find brands of battery electric gardening tools that will do almost any gardening job as well or better than your old corded or gas-powered tools. Old gas-burning machines can be replaced with electric! [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Volkswagen ID.4 Is The Third Most American Car! The Tesla Model Y Is Still Number One!” • What is the car with the highest proportion of its parts produced in the USA? It’s the Tesla Model Y. The number two place is taken by the Honda Passport. But it is really interesting to see that Volkswagen took the number three place this year with the ID.4. [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagen ID.4 (Mariordo, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “NY Unveils New Onshore Solicitation” • Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a new large-scale onshore renewable energy solicitation for New York. The process seeks proposals for the development of large-scale land-based renewables projects which are expected to spur billions of dollars in clean energy investments and create thousands of jobs. [reNews]

¶ “Carter’s Nuclear Energy Measure Set To Become Law” • A bipartisan bill sponsored by US Representative Buddy Carter (R-GA) to establish requirements concerning international nuclear energy cooperation and safety is headed to the president to be signed into law as part of larger legislation, the Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023, S. 870. [Ripon Advance]

Have a harmoniously balanced day.

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

Opinion:

¶ “Isn’t Engaging In Ecocide A Crime? Shouldn’t Corporations Be Held Accountable?” • Some ‘super corporations’ cause lasting, severe, and widespread environmental devastation, but are not held accountable for the biodiversity loss and damage they cause. They are engaging in ecocide, and we should hold them liable for their actions. [CleanTechnica]

Pollution (Daniel Moqvist, Unsplash)

¶ “There’s One Real Coalition Energy Policy Now: Sabotaging Renewables” • For all the acres of words being written about Peter Dutton’s fantasy of seven nuclear plants, no such plants will ever be built in Australia. Yesterday’s announcement by Dutton […] was really about creating a cover for the one solid Coalition energy policy that currently exists. [Crikey]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Polyphase Wireless Power Transfer System Achieves 270-kW Charge, Sets A World Record for Electric Light-Duty Vehicles” • Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory successfully demonstrated the first 270-kW wireless power transfer to a light-duty EV. The demonstration used a polyphase wireless charging system developed at ORNL. [CleanTechnica]

Demonstration (Carlos Jones, ORNL, US DOE)

¶ “Climate Change Stoked US, Mexico Heatwave, A Report Says” • Human-induced climate change made recent extreme heat in the US southwest, Mexico and Central America around 35 times more likely, scientists say. The World Weather Attribution group studied excess heat between May and early June, when the US heatwave was mainly in the Southwest. [BBC]

World:

¶ “Superyachts For The Super Rich Cause A Whole Lot Of Environmental Damage” • Many of the super rich crave the unparalleled luxury that superyachts offer. While they may gratify their appetites in such floating homes, they don’t often pay much attention to the greenhouse gas emissions that they create as they do. [CleanTechnica]

Superyacht (Arno Senoner, Unsplash)

¶ “Digital Edge And Peak Energy Partner For Renewable Energy In Data Centers” • Digital Edge (Singapore) Holdings Pte Ltd and Peak Energy Investments Ltd announced a collaboration to bring renewable energy to Digital Edge’s data center operations in Asia. The initial effort is to develop a 500-MW pipeline of renewable energy capacity. [Digital News Asia]

¶ “Principle Power Inks South Korean MOU” • Principle Power signed an agreement with shipyard HSG Sungdong to advance serial manufacturing of its floating wind foundations in South Korea. The non-exclusive MOU outlines cooperation by the companies on engineering developments for mass production of the WindFloat technology. [reNews]

Manufacture of WindFloat foundations (HSG Sungdong image)

¶ “Wärtsilä Launches World’s First Large-Scale 100% Hydrogen-Ready Engine Power Plant” • Wärtsilä launched the world’s first large-scale 100% hydrogen-ready engine power plant. According to the IEA World Energy Outlook 2023, hydrogen is an essential component of future power systems to reach net zero emissions by 2050. [Green Car Congress]

¶ “European Energy Seeks Green Light For 1.1-GW Solar Plant” • The largest solar power project planned for Australia’s main electricity grid has reached a new milestone. European Energy is seeking a green light under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to build a 1.1-GW Solar Farm in Queensland. [pv magazine Australia]

Solar plant (European Energy image)

¶ “Group Will Invest $100 Billion In Energy Transition Over Next Decade: Gautam Adani” • The Adani Group plans over $100 billion of investments in energy transition projects and towards building a manufacturing base to produce the key components needed for a green energy generation, group chairman Gautam Adani said. [The New Indian Express]

US:

¶ “East Palestine Train Derailment Spread ‘Hazardous’ Pollution To 16 States: Study” • On Feb 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. It sent toxic chemicals into a region that is 14% of the US land area, where 110 million people live, a study published in Environmental Research Letters says. [ABC News]

Derailed and burnt cars (NTSB, public domain)

¶ “US DOE Leads Effort to Improve the Cybersecurity of Energy Supply Chains” • The US DOE has released new Supply Chain Cybersecurity Principles, developed in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory. The principles establish best practices for cybersecurity throughout the supply chain that supports energy infrastructure. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “One City, Two Offshore Wind Hubs, 9000 MW” • New York City’s boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island, are both set to host hubs for offshore wind farms. Both claim to be among the largest in the US. They are further evidence that that US offshore wind industry is back on its feet, despite interferance of the fossil fuel industry and other setbacks. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore wind hub (Courtesy of Atlantic Offshore Terminals)

¶ “US Energy Storage Market Soars 84% In Q1” • The US energy storage market set a first-quarter record for capacity installed in Q1 2024, with 1,265 MW deployed across all segments, according to a report from Wood Mackenzie and ACP. This is the highest storage capacity ever installed in a first quarter in the US. It is an 84% increase from Q1 2023. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Holtec Confirms Pilgrim Worker Was Contaminated” • An incident that exposed a worker at the shuttered Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station to airborne radioactive contamination has been confirmed by the spokesman for Holtec International, Patrick O’Brien. Holtec is the company that has been decommissioning the plant. [The Provincetown Independent]

Have an outstandingly merry day.

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World:

¶ “BYD And Ampersand To Collaborate On Electric Motorcycles In Africa” • BYD signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ampersand, one of Africa’s leading EV energy tech companies, to collaborate in the electric motorcycle sector. Ampersand will use BYD’s high-tech battery cells to build around 40,000 electric motorcycles by the end of 2026. [CleanTechnica]

Electric motorcycle production (Ampersand image)

¶ “Queensland Pilots Local Renewable Energy Zone” • The Queensland government is piloting a Local Renewable Energy Zone in the state’s Sunshine Coast region. It is providing $40 million for the Caloundra LREZ project, which will deploy up to 18.8 MWh of battery storage at 8.4 MW and support up to 2.8 MW of added solar PVs. [Government News]

¶ “Solar PV Installations Will Reach Up To 660 GW In 2024” • Global PV installations will be 600 to 660 GW (dc) in 2024, says analysis from PV expert Bernreuter Research. “Once market participants come to the conclusion that the crash of the solar module price has reached its bottom, demand will accelerate,” says Johannes Bernreuter. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “Seven Countries Now Generate 100% Of Their Electricity From Renewable Energy” • According to newly compiled figures, seven countries, Albania, Bhutan, Nepal, Paraguay, Iceland, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, produced more than 99.7% of the electricity they consumed using hydro, solar, wind, or geothermal power. [MSN]

¶ “DTEK’s Subsidiary DRI Buys 126-MW Solar Power Project In Romania” • Renewable energy company DRI, a subsidiary DTEK Group in the EU, acquired its third project in Romania. The 126-MW solar farm in Văcărești in Dâmbovița county is expected to become operational next year. DRI’s goal for Romania is to reach 1 GW by 2028. [Balkan Green Energy News]

Solar array (DRI image)

¶ “NSW Targets Road Upgrades For Wind Blades And Towers In Big $3.5 Billion Climate And Energy Spend” • The government of New South Wales set aside $128.5 million in the state budget to upgrade roads from the port of Newcastle to renewable energy zones to support transporting giant wind turbine blades, towers, and other heavy equipment. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶ “US Acknowledges Northwest Dams Devastated The Region’s Native Tribes” • The US government acknowledged, for the first time, the harmful role it played over the past century in building and operating dams in the Pacific Northwest. Though they made electricity, he dams ruined Native American tribes by flooding villages and blocking salmon runs. [ABC News]

Columbia River (Ben Vaughn, Unsplash)

¶ “Hyundai To Start Manufacturing IONIQ 5 Electric SUVS At New Georgia Plant This Fall” • Hyundai Motor Group said it plans to start making IONIQ 5 electric SUVs at its new plant in Georgia this fall. It was the first time the South Korean car maker identified which model of EV it will produce at its $7.6 billion EV and battery plant west of Savannah. [ABC News]

¶ “Toyota And Pepco Team Up To Research Vehicle-To-Grid Technology In Maryland” • Toyota Motor North America and local energy utility Pepco are working together to research vehicle-to-grid systems for battery EVs. This effort will explore bidirectional power flow technology that will allow battery EV owners to charge or support the grid. [CleanTechnica]

Charging a Toyota (Toyota image)

¶ “Record High Temperatures Prevail As Heat Dome Spreads Across The US” • A heat dome is expected to bring temperatures in the 90s to much of the country, breaking records as it does, by this weekend. A heat dome is a ridge of high pressure that traps warm air beneath it and blocks milder weather systems from moving through. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US DOE Announces Over $41 Million In Funding To Deliver Clean Energy Solutions To Market” • The US DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions announced $41.4 million in funding for fifty impactful projects across seventeen National Laboratories to further clean energy. The funding is coorinated through a set of DOE program offices. [CleanTechnica]

Solar panes in California (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)

¶ “Octopus Energy To Invest $2 Billion In US Clean Power” • Octopus Energy, the UK’s largest electricity supplier, announced plans to invest $2 billion in renewable energy projects across the US by the end of the decade. Octopus Energy’s entry into the US clean power market begins with acquisition of two solar farms for a total capacity of 100 MW. [Business Matters]

¶ “Mississippi Just Got Its First Utility-Scale Wind Farm” • Wind energy development has long been stuck in the doldrums in the Southeastern US. Until very recently, nine states in the region had exactly 0 MW of commercial wind capacity, even as turbines spread across every other US state. Mississippi, however, has just bucked that trend. [Canary Media]

Wind turbines in Mississippi (AES Corp)

¶ “Fort Liberty Transitions To Mostly Solar Power, Clean Energy Partnering With Duke Energy” • Duke Energy and Fort Liberty say they’re partnering to use clean energy and solar power at the installation and several other military bases in the Carolinas. President Biden’s plan is to power the federal government with 100% clean electricity by 2030. [ABC11 Raleigh-Durham]

¶ “Capito-Led Nuclear Energy Bill Heads To President’s Desk” • The US Senate passed legislation that includes a bill to advance deployment of nuclear power led by Sen Shelley Moore Capito and two Democratic colleagues. It passed the House 393-13 last month and the Senate by 88-2 on Tuesday. Now it’s off to the president for his signature. [Dominion Post]

Have a noticeably superior day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Tariffs And The Volvo EX30: Who’s Winning Here?” • The Volvo EX30 is precisely the kind of electric car America needs. It’s a compact SUV that is agile, with good range and excellent power, at a price that many buyers will find affordable. It is also a target of the new US tariffs that make importing cars made in China virtually impossible. [CleanTechnica]

Volvo EX30 (Matti Blume, SA-BY-CC 4.0)

¶ “Big Batteries Are Solving A Longstanding Problem With Solar Power In California. Can They Do The Same For Australia?” • In 2019, large-scale batteries started appearing in California’s grid. The sector has seen tremendous growth, soaring 1,250% in five years, from 770 MW to 10 GW. And the batteries are starting to push gas out of the market. [menafn]

World:

¶ “$20 Billion For European Offshore Substations” • Around 137 substations will be installed in waters off continental Europe this decade, requiring $20 billion in total investment, according to Rystad Energy analysis. Offshore substations are particularly beneficial for projects over 200 MW in capacity and located more than 15 km from shore. [reNews]

Substation installation (Ørsted image)

¶ “Southern China Faces Heavy Floods, And Landslides Kill At Least Nine” • Southern China is reeling from heavy rains that triggered landslides killing at least nine people, knocking out power for entire villages, and burying crops. Meanwhile, some northern parts of China are battling drought, as the country faces two extremes of severe weather. [ABC News]

¶ “Low-Carbon Steel: Volkswagen AG & Vulcan Green Steel Enter Into Partnership” • Volkswagen AG and Vulcan Green Steel have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a partnership for low-carbon steel. The partnership is one of a series of initiatives by the Volkswagen Group to expand the use of green steel in its vehicle production. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbines (Vulcan Green Steel image)

¶ “47% of New Cars Sold in Netherlands in 2024 Have a Plug” • In a negative month in the overall market (down 14%), May’s Dutch plugin registrations also dropped by 13% YOY, to 13,174 units. The Dutch plugin vehicle market reached 47% last month, in line with the year-to-date average. Pure battery EVs represented 74% of all plugin sales. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Actis Launches Peruvian Renewables Player” • Sustainable infrastructure investor Actis has launched a renewables-focused independent power producer in Peru. The Orygen brand will commence operations with a 2.2-GW installed capacity of diversified energy, including one of Peru’s largest renewable energy portfolios. [reNews]

Solar system in Peru (Enel Generacion Peru image)

US:

¶ “Southern New Mexico Wildfire Leads To Evacuation Of Village Of 7,000” • Residents of a village in southern New Mexico were ordered to flee their homes Monday without taking time to grab any belongings due to a fast-moving wildfire. Public Service Company of New Mexico shut off power to part of the village due to the fire. [ABC News]

¶ “Judge Orders Railway To Pay Washington Tribe Nearly $400 Million For Trespassing With Oil Trains” • BNSF Railway must pay nearly $400 million to a Washington state Native American tribe. A federal judge had found that the company intentionally trespassed by running 100-car trains carrying crude oil across the tribe’s reservation repeatedly. [ABC News]

BNSF Railway (Eddie Bugajewski, Unsplash)

¶ “Wisconsin Republicans Put PFAS Polluters First, Constituents Second” • Wisconsin Republicans are showing how far they will go to protect corporate polluters. They are withholding $125 million designated for cleanup of widespread contamination by PFAS in drinking water and said they will only release the funds in exchange for immunity for polluters. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Google Agrees To Buy 115 MW Of Geothermal Power From Fervo And NV Energy” • Google signed an agreement with NV Energy to buy 115 MW of renewable energy from a geothermal facility operated by Fervo Energy. The energy will go to Nevada data centers. Fervo Energy uses horizontal drilling techniques developed by the oil and gas industry. [CleanTechnica]

Project Red (Courtesy of Fervo Energy)

¶ “Green Wave Of Renewable Energy To Crash The Red State Party” • The political divide in the US may seem pretty cut and dried in relation to renewable energy. But the energy transition is gaining steam in practically every state, regardless of their lawmakers. Louisiana and Tennessee provide the latest in a long series of examples. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Clean Energy Mandate For Vermont Utilities Becomes Law After Democrats Override Veto” • Lawmakers overrode a veto of Vermont’s renewable energy standard. It has a multi-year plan that requires utilities to have 100% renewable portfolios by 2035. It also mandates that more of the power come from in-state generation projects. [Vermont Public]

Vermont lighthouse (Gautam Krishnan, Unsplash)

¶ “Equinor Solidifies New York Offtake Contract For Empire Wind 1” • Equinor has announced the execution of the Purchase and Sale Agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for the renewable power generated by the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project. (The capacity is 2.1 GW – GHH.) [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “Scientists Say Bill Will Endanger People ‘Living Downwind’ Of Nuclear Plants” • The Senate is set to vote on a bill supporting nuclear power. One nuclear safety expert says, “This is not about making the reactor licensing process more efficient, but about weakening safety and security oversight across the board, a long-standing industry goal.” [Common Dreams]

Have an enchantingly useful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “A Window Of Opportunity Is Opening For General Motors” • After examining recent developments, Juan Diego Celemín Mojica wrote, “If I’m right, and if GM does not mess up, it may well be one of the winners in this transition and recover lost ground by the latter part of this decade. Let’s look at the factors that prompt me to say this.” [CleanTechnica]

2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV 3LT (Courtesy of GM)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Seven Things To Know About Residential Storage Batteries” • Are residential storage batteries a wise choice? The answer is, “It depends.” Canary Media, in cooperation with EnergySage, has put together a guide listing seven questions every homeowner needs to ask before making a decision on whether to add a residential storage battery to their home. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Goodbye Big Oil, Hello Big Solar” • Bloomberg contributor David Fickling has an interesting perspective on energy. He writes that the world’s seven largest solar companies are already supplying more total energy than the seven largest oil and gas companies. That is probably a surprise to most readers, so let’s look into his thinking. [CleanTechnica]

Pumpjack (Jeff W, Unsplash)

¶ “Bolt, TRí, And Watu Partner To Provide Drivers With Electric Three-Wheeler Pilot Program In Tanzania” • It is estimated that 500,000 internal combustion engine 3-wheelers in Tanzania. The good news from Tanzania is that this important sector is being electrified. One of the leaders in this space is TRí. TRí has just unveiled the E2. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Wind And Solar Power Half The Cost Of Coal And Gas, One-Third The Cost Of Nuclear, Says Lazard” • New data out of the US has confirmed that large-scale wind and solar are significantly cheaper sources of electricity generation than coal and gas. They even undercut fossil fuels on price with the addition of energy storage, in some cases. [RenewEconomy]

Willow Springs wind farm in Texas (Ørsted image)

¶ “Analysis-Industry Fears EU Carbon Border Tax Will Penalise British Green Energy” • British wind and solar farms exporting power to continental Europe could face carbon emissions fees from 2026 – even though they don’t produce any emissions – unless the UK and European Union can agree changes around the EU’s carbon border tax. [WKZO]

¶ “Iberdrola Obtains Permit For 274-MW Portuguese Project” • Iberdrola has obtained the final environmental approval from the Portuguese government to build a 274-MW wind farm in the country. The project in Vila Real and Braga will create the largest “hybrid” clean energy scheme in Portugal, with its windpower added to a pumped storage facility. [reNews]

Wind turbine (Iberdrola image)

¶ “Assam Secretariat Goes Green with Solar Power: Achieves A First in India” • In a significant environmental move, the Assam secretariat has been declared India’s first green state government headquarters. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma marked this achievement with the inauguration of a 2.5-MW solar project on the secretariat building. [ETV Bharat]

¶ “Too Much Of A Good Thing? In Spain Green Energy Can Exceed Demand” • Spain’s total wind generation capacity, its prime renewable source in recent years, has doubled since 2008. Solar energy capacity, meanwhile, has increased by a factor of eight over the same period. But there are concerns that there are times when supply exceeds demand. [BBC]

Spanish wind turbines (Roy Luck, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “RWE Unveils 350-MW Welsh Battery Plan” • RWE has taken the wraps off a 350-MW battery storage system on its land next to Pembroke Power Station in Wales. The proposed development would be on a 5.1 hectare site south of the power station, with 212 battery containers, 106 power conversion systems, and other associated infrastructure. [reNews]

US:

¶ “Potentially Deadly Heat Wave Envelops Most Of The Nation” • More than 55 million people across the nation were under an alert for extreme heat on Sunday and through most of the week ahead as temperatures are forecast to hit triple digits in some parts of the country. An Excessive Heat Watch was issued Sunday for parts of New England. [ABC News]

Heat wave (Lucian, Unsplash)

¶ “Wildfire Near LA Spreads To Over 14,000 Acres, Sparking Evacuations” • The Post Fire, a wildfire in southern California, doubled in size overnight, causing the evacuation of more than 1,000 campers from a park, closing a popular recreation area on Father’s Day and threatening a major freeway in and out of Los Angeles, authorities said. [ABC News]

¶ “Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Restoration Projects Continue In Florida” • After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, federal and state agencies came together to form the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustee Council. It is still restoring the Gulf of Mexico to the condition it would have been in if the spill had not happened. [CleanTechnica]

Oyster restoration project (NOAA image)

¶ “Bollinger Motors Announces Sale Of Eighty Bollinger B4 Chassis Cabs To Momentum Groups” • Bollinger Motors, Inc, a manufacturer of commercial EVs, announced that it has reached an agreement to sell eighty all-electric Class 4 commercial trucks to Momentum, a leader in fleet management and EV charging systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Fifteen Years Behind China On Nuclear Power: Report” • The US is lagging behind China by up to fifteen years in the development of advanced nuclear power technology, primarily due to Beijing’s advantage due to its state-backed approach to technology and extensive financing, a report from a foundation based in Washington says. [MSN]

Have a beautifully tranquil day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Environment Canada Says It Can Now Rapidly Link High-Heat Weather Events To Climate Change” • Environment and Climate Change Canada says it can now quickly identify links between events of extreme heat and climate change. It can estimate the degree to which human-induced climate change played a role within a week. [CBC]

Where does weather come from? (NASA, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Electric Cars Reach 20% Penetration In The Australian Capital Territory” • The Australian Capital Territory, home of Canberra, the nation’s capital, has the highest rate of EV ownership per capita in the country. It is similar to that of the state of California. At the end of 2023, over 20% of new cars registered in Canberra were EVs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Honda And MC to Establish New EV Company, ALTNA Co, Ltd” • Honda Motor Co., Ltd and Mitsubishi Corporation have announced plans to establish a 50/50 joint venture company, ALTNA Co, Ltd, in July 2024. The JV arises from an MOU the two companies signed last October to discuss creating businesses to address EV market growth. [CleanTechnica]

Honda N-VAN e (Image from Honda)

¶ “UBC $23 Million Energy Hub Combines Hydro, Solar, And Hydrogen” • Metro Vancouver has a hydrogen fueling station that operates on renewable energy thanks to a new $23-million hydrogen energy centre at the University of BC. The Point Grey campus is home to the Smart Hydrogen Energy District, the first of its type in the province. [Times Colonist]

¶ “Approval Fast Tracked For First Of Huge Solar And Wind Projects To Power Giant Iron Ore Mines” • The government of Western Australia has fast-tracked approval for a 150-MW solar project, the first of at least 3 GW of wind, solar, and storage that it hopes to approve under new rules designed to accelerate its green energy transition. [RenewEconomy]

Mining (Albert Hyseni, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Wind Power The Fulcrum For Renewable Energy Companies” • Vietnam’s industrial and construction sectors are projected to have a robust growth in electricity consumption in 2025. Wind power will be a major focus in the country’s electricity sector. The share of wind power is targeted to increase greatly, from 5% in 2022 to 19% by 2030. [Theinvestor.vn]

¶ “Sindh Govt Tapping Renewable Resources To Reduce Power Tariff” • Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said his government is committed to putting renewables on the fast track so the tariff of Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority may be reduced and made more affordable for the general public. [UrduPoint]

Rural Sindh (Emmanuel Samuel, Unsplash)

¶ “Nuclear Safety, Food Security On Agenda For Second Day Of Ukraine Peace Summit” • Working groups are to discuss nuclear safety, food security, and humanitarian assistance on the second day of a two-day international peace summit on Ukraine. More than 90 countries, along with representatives of international bodies, are participating. [MSN]

US:

¶ “Severe Weather Hits Northern Plains As Major Heat Wave Set To Move Across Country” • A flood watch continues in South Florida as showers are expected after flooding. Thunder storms are hitting the northern plains, bringing a risk of tornadoes. A severe heat wave is under way in the Southwest. Another heat wave is coming to the Northeast. [ABC News]

Weather (Andras Kovacs, Unsplash)

¶ “Ford Revises Dealer Requirements To Sell Electric Cars” • In September of 2022, Ford CEO Jim Farley told Ford dealers they had to invest in the equipment and training needed to sell EVs or get shut out. That plan backfired, and Ford has gone back to the drawing board on its EV strategies, to plan more hybrid models and reduce requirements. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “NRDC Report: Cleaner Cars Drive Benefits For Health And Wallets” • The clean car policies of the Biden administration will deliver unprecedented benefits to the American people, which will include billions of dollars of savings, more vehicle options and less pollution, a new report from NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) shows. [CleanTechnica]

Mechanic with uncontrolled hair (Image from Ford)

¶ “Ten Tesla Highlights From Shareholder Meeting” • Tesla’s #1 focus is now AI and robotics, and that’s now where it will either massively succeed or fail. However, there were several highlights from the shareholder presentation that seemed worth pulling out and discussing. Here are ten key slides and some short comments about them. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Industry, Clean Power Groups Breathe A Sigh Of Relief As Senate Approves Energy Regulators” • Three nominees to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which had risked losing a quorum, were approved by the US Senate. The votes were cheered by industry, renewable power, and environmental groups alike. [Rhode Island Current]

Have a magnificently creative day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Schumer’s Embrace Of New Nuclear Power Is A Dangerous Betrayal Of Clean, Safe Renewable Energy” • A senate vote on a bad nuclear bill is coming. Wenonah Hauter said, “Every dollar wasted on unproven, enormously expensive nuclear energy schemes is a dollar not invested in truly clean, safe and efficient wind and solar power.” [Food & Water Watch]

Chuck Schumer (Office of Charles Schumer)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Building Energy Around Changing Climate” • Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed free data sets to estimate how much energy any building in the contiguous US will use in 2100. These data sets give planners a way to anticipate future energy needs as the climate changes. One month old, the system is already in use. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Ice-Cold Long Duration Energy Storage System Ready For Takeoff” • Long duration energy storage systems are the key to unlocking more global wind and solar power. The “long” in long duration is the catch, and investors have been reluctant to take a chance on breakthrough technologies. Highview Power has a solution for that. [CleanTechnica]

To reduce curtailing wind farms (Highview Power)

¶ “NIO Power Swap Station 4.0 Now Operational” • The first batch of NIO Power Swap Station 4.0 is live. This generation supports automated battery swap for various brands and models. NIO, ONVO, and all battery swap partners can access the new stations for battery swapping that is more convenient than gas refueling. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Surging Renewables Push French Energy Prices Negative, Shutting Down Nuclear Plants” • French energy prices recently plunged into negative territory, reaching a four-year low of -€5.76/MWh in an Epex Spot auction, according to Bloomberg. The surplus in renewable power led to some French nuclear plants going offline. [The UBJ]

Offshore wind farm (Rolf Otzipka for EnBW, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Offshore Windfarm Zone Off Illawarra Coast Given Green Light In Bid To ‘Power Australia’s Clean Energy Future’” • The Australian federal government gave a green light to an offshore windfarm zone south of Sydney. The country’s fourth such zone, it will have the potential to generate 2.9 GW, or enough power for 1.8 million homes. [The Guardian]

¶ “Countries With The Most Wind Energy Capacity” • Saturday, June 15, is Global Wind Day, a day to celebrate windpower. In 1997 to 2018 windpower capacity increased from 7.5 GW to 733 GW worldwide, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, an international organization dedicated to promoting renewable energy. [US News & World Report]

Westmill Wind Farm (Vieve Forward, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “RMI And GEAPP Reveal 10-Year Roadmap To Over 20 GW Of Renewable Energy Market Opportunity In Nigeria” • RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute) and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet unveiled a roadmap showing a market opportunity in Nigeria of over 20 GW of utility-enabled distributed energy over the next 10 years. [RMI]

US:

¶ “Extra Moisture On West Coast Allowing Climate-Sensitive Joshua Trees To Recover: Experts” • Populations of the iconic Joshua tree may be showing signs of recovery after several rounds of atmospheric rivers drenched the West – including deserts in California and Colorado – with record amounts of rain over the past year and a half. [ABC News]

Joshua trees (William Foley, Unsplash)

¶ “Powering 10,000 Homes: Ameresco Celebrates Commercial Solar Operations At Pearl Harbor-Hickam” • Ameresco, Inc announced the commercial operations for Kūpono Solar. The solar and battery storage facility at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam West Loch Annex, is now operational and supporting Hawaiian Electric’s grid on O‘ahu. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Behind-The-Meter Generation And Storage Offer An Efficient Route To Bus Electrification In New York” • Although adoption of electric buses is increasing, they made up only 2% of the transit bus fleet of the US in 2021. Now the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority is aiming to make all 5,800 of its buses zero-emission by 2040. [CleanTechnica]

Charging in New York (Metropolitan Transportation Authority)

¶ “AlphaStruxure And Montgomery County Break Ground On Renewable Energy-Powered Transit Depot” • AlphaStruxure and Montgomery County, Maryland. broke ground on an integrated microgrid infrastructure project featuring electric bus charging and on-site green hydrogen production powered by solar and a battery storage system. [Solar Industry]

¶ “Big Oil And Big Corn Sue EPA Over Exhaust Emissions Rule” • Big Oil has banded together with Big Corn and the nation’s auto dealers to sue the EPA because it has enacted stricter emissions standards designed to keep Americans from breathing the crud that spews forth from the tailpipes of cars powered by infernal combustion engines. [CleanTechnica]

Thank you, Big Oil (Fossil Free Media)

¶ “Solar PVs Could Make Cattle Grazing Lands More Profitable” • West Virginia University researchers are shining a light on the benefits of solar panels on small cattle farms with the support of $1.6 million from the US DOE. Prof Matt Wilson said panels can generate solar energy on grazing lands and also establish more sustainable cattle-raising practices. [Feed Strategy]

¶ “Californians Warned Of $12 Billion Nuclear Bill” • PG&E, the California-based utility company, is looking to spend nearly $12 billion to extend the life of its Diablo Canyon Power Plant until 2030, according to environmental group the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility. The claim is supported by the Environmental Working Group. [MSN]

Have a joyfully grand day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “A ‘Liquid Battery’ Advance” • Robert Waymouth, a Professor in Chemistry, is leading a Stanford team to explore an emerging technology for renewable energy storage: LOHCs, liquid organic hydrogen carriers. Hydrogen can be used to generate electricity already, but Waymouth’s team found ways to use isopropanol to contain and transport it. [Stanford Report]

Isopropanol (Yevhenii Vaskivskyi, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

World:

¶ “Earliest-Ever Heat Wave In Greece Closes Acropolis And Public Schools” • A sweltering heat wave in Greece, recorded as the season’s earliest-ever, has prompted authorities to close public schools, limit outdoor attractions and release safety alerts. In some areas of Greece, temperatures went to well over 100°F (40°C), according to officials. [ABC News]

¶ “In Auckland, Six Of Eighteen Gas Stations In City Core Closed ‘Reasonably Recently’” • New Zealand has been one of the fastest adopters of electric cars. It has some interesting news. According to the news report out of Auckland, which has a population of about 1.66 million, six out of 18 gas stations in the city core there shut down in recent years. [CleanTechnica]

Auckland (Robert Kozak, Pixabay)

¶ “New Analysis Finds Economic Impact Of Global Heating Six Times Greater Than Expected” • In 2018, William Nordhaus won a Nobel Prize for research showing an increase of 1°C in average global temperature would lead to a reduction in global economic input of between 1% and 3%. More recent analysis says the actual reduction is six times that. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Suzlon Bags 104-MW Supply Deal In India” • Suzlon secured a deal to provide 33 turbines for a 104-MW wind farm that AMPIN Energy Transition is developing in India. The manufacturer will supply 3.15 MW, S144-140 units on hybrid lattice tubular towers for the site in the Fatehgarh district in Rajasthan. Suzlon will also erect and commission them. [reNews]

Turbine blade in a factory (Suzlon image)

¶ “India Aims For 500 GW Of Renewable Energy Capacity by 2030, Requires $215 Billion Investment” • A report by Moody’s says India needs investments of $190 billion to $215 billion over the next seven years to achieve its target of 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Transmission and storage will require $150 billion to $170 billion more. [Krishi Jagran]

¶ “Japan Could Be Energy-Independent By 2060 Thanks To Renewables, Rystad Energy CEO Says” • Japan, a major coal and liquefied natural gas buyer, could be energy-independent by 2060 thanks to expansion of solar and wind power together with storage batteries, said Jarand Rystad, CEO of the Rystad Energy consultancy. [Yahoo Finance]

Mt Fuji (Manuel Cosentino, Unsplash)

¶ “Sweden: Green Light For Mareld 2.5-GW Floating Wind Farm” • The Mareld project is a major initiative of Freja Offshore, a 50/50 joint venture between Mainstream Renewable Power and Swedish company Hexicon. The 2.5-GW offshore wind farm is expected to generate 12 TWh of electricity per year when it is fully operational. [energynews.pro]

US:

¶ “DeSantis Declares State Of Emergency As More Than 25 Inches Of Rain Slam South Florida” • Over 2 feet of rain is inundating South Florida, flooding neighborhoods, canceling flights, shutting down roads and forcing residents to evacuate their homes. A flood watch is in effect until Friday evening, as more rain is expected. [ABC News]

Downpour (Christopher, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “US Treasury Department Announces More Than $1 Billion In Upfront Savings For Consumers On EV Sales” • The US Treasury Department and IRS announced consumers saved over $1 billion in upfront costs on purchases of over 150,000 clean vehicles since January 1, 2024. It is a major milestone in the work to lower transportation costs for Americans. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Archer Completes Midnight’s Transition Flight” • Archer Aviation Inc, a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, announced that on June 8th its Midnight aircraft successfully completed transition flying at a speed of over 100 mph. Archer has achieved transition with two different full-scale eVTOL aircraft. [CleanTechnica]

Archer Midnight (Archer image)

¶ “New TELO Electric Vehicle Taps Kei Cult For Inspiration” • Mini pickup trucks that conform to Japan’s strict kei-jidōsha standards have become a hot item in the US. The California EV startup TELO Truck has stepped up to fill the gap with plans to launch a mini electric pickup with a sporty, stylish silhouette and a powerful 350-mile battery. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Florida Meteorologists Integrate Climate Change Insights Into Weather Forecasts” • Jeff Berardelli, the chief meteorologist at WFLA-TV in Tampa, dedicates the ‘Berardelli Bonus,‘ a daily segment, to discuss climate-related topics. His approach reflects a broader movement among meteorologists to put context for the weather patterns. [One Green Planet]

Weather (Raquel Pedrotti, Unsplash)

¶ “Renewables Dominate US New Generating Capacity In 2024” • In April, renewables, including solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydropower, made up 99.2% of new capacity, says FERC’s “Energy Infrastructure Update.” In the year’s first four months, solar and wind added 7,899MW and 1,825MW, respectively, to make up 99.2% of new capacity. [Energy Live News]

¶ “California Legislators Break With Governor Newsom Over Loan To Keep State’s Last Nuclear Plant Running” • California Legislators signaled their intent to cancel a $400 million loan payment to help finance a longer lifespan for the Diablo Canyon plant. The Governor says the plant is critical to safeguard energy supplies in a warming climate. [ABC News]

Have an entirely fabulous day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Drilling Into Magma For Renewable Energy” • Once upon a time, Iceland trailed behind the pack as one of Europe’s most impoverished countries. It had a deprived economy reliant on imported energy sources. Now it’s 100% powered by renewable sources. But it is about to go farther, drilling into magma to get geothermal heat for energy. [CleanTechnica]

Earth burp (ELG21, Pixabay)

¶ “DER: Yet Another Reason Why Renewable Energy Wins” • Distributed energy resources refers to small-scale, local sources of energy, including energy storage. In addition to the potential for cost savings, DER management tools can enable utilities to deploy a grid mix that reduces fossil fuel inputs and maximizes renewable energy. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Surprising New Renewable Power Source Has ‘Negative Carbon Emissions’” • A surprising renewable power source has “negative carbon emissions,” a study found. By harnessing the power of photosynthesis, a team at Concordia University in Wisconsin developed micro photosynthetic power cells that generate electricity from algae. [MSN]

Algae (Nina Rumbines, Unsplash)

¶ “Aerosols May Affect Climate More Than Previously Thought” • In a study, researchers investigated the ways clouds interact with aerosols, tiny particles in the air from various sources, like dust, smoke, or pollution from cars and factories. This process, the aerosol-cloud interaction, has been identified as the forefront of climate science by the IPCC. [Phys.org]

World:

¶ “Liquid Air Energy Storage Plant To Create 700 Jobs” • Work has begun on a £300m energy plant which will store surplus electricity from wind and solar farms in the form of liquid air. The facility at Carrington near Manchester, a Highview Power design, will create more than 700 jobs in the north-west of England, the firm said. [BBC]

Highview Power has plans (Highview Power image)

¶ “EU Threatens To Hike Tariffs On Imports Of Chinese Electric Cars, Escalating Trade Spat ” • The EU moved to hike tariffs on Chinese EVs, escalating a trade dispute over Beijing’s subsidies for the exports that Brussels worries is hurting domestic car makers. Chinese car makers face duties of as much as 38%, up from the current level of 10%. [ABC News]

¶ “Tata Motors Deploys Over 100 Units Of Tata Ace EV To Magenta Mobility” • Magenta Mobility, with a fleet of EVs in India, took delivery of 100 units of the Tata Ace EV from Tata Motors, an Indian commercial vehicle maker, based on an MOU signed in October 2023. Magenta Mobility aims to deploy 10,000 EVs by September 2025. [CleanTechnica]

Tata Ace EV (Tata Motors image)

¶ “Modular Solar Solution Helps Mining Operation Shift To Renewables” • Remote power specialist Zenith Energy completed a 16.9-MW deployment of Australian maker 5B’s prefabricated Maverick solar technology on a waste rock dump at Northern Star Resources’ Jundee gold mining operation in Western Australia. [pv magazine International]

¶ “DTEK, GE Vernova Sign Wind Power MOU” • DTEK Group announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with GE Vernova to work on wind power projects in Ukraine and the EU. They will also explore modernizing Ukraine’s electricity grid to enhance reliability, minimize energy losses, and create a more flexible future-proofed network. [reNews]

Wind farm (DTEK image)

¶ “The Boss Of The ABC Has Criticised Peter’s Dutton Nuclear Power Plan” • ABC’s chairman Kim Williams launched a searing attack on Peter Dutton’s nuclear power plan for Australia. As reported by news website Crikey, the national broadcaster’s boss said the Coalition had announced the policy ‘as a sound bite, with no detail as to emissions targets.’ [MSN]

US:

¶ “US DOE Welcomes New Round Of Innovative Leaders To Peer-Learning Cohorts On Emerging Clean Energy Strategies” • The US DOE announced a new round of leaders from 45 entities that will collaborate on common clean energy opportunities and challenges through the Clean Energy to Communities program’s peer-learning cohorts. [CleanTechnica]

Bean harvest (Werner Slocum, NREL)

¶ “One Home Builder Grows The Entire Heat Pump Water Heater Market By 30%” • Clayton, a leading single-family home builder, decided that nearly all of the 42,000 homes it builds annually will be certified ENERGY STAR and Zero Energy Ready Homes. It will use heat pump water heaters, making the market for them significantly larger. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ørsted Starts Up 518-MW Texas Hybrid” • Ørsted achieved full commercial operation at the Helena Energy Center, a 518-MW combined wind and solar project in Texas. The Helena Energy Center, in Bee County, comprises the 268-MW Helena wind farm and the 250-MW Sparta solar farm. It has secured contracts with multiple corporate off-takers. [reNews]

Wind farm (Ørsted image)

¶ “US DOE SuperTruck 3 Initiative Seeks To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Of Medium And Heavy Truck By 75%” • Building on the success of the US DOE SuperTruck 2’s efficiency gains, the SuperTruck 3 initiative seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of medium and heavy truck by 75% (lifecycle basis) and reduce the total cost of truck ownership. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “This Coal-Heavy Rural Co-Op Utility Is Buying Its First Solar Plants” • Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, one of the largest rural cooperative utilities in the US, rolled out a set of clean energy commitments it says will deliver 50% renewable electricity by the end of 2025, up from 33% in 2023. It is buying two large solar projects. [Canary Media]

Have an ingeniously inspired day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Research Details Method to Get Efficient, Environmentally Friendly Lithium” • Researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering optimized a method for extracting lithium from more dilute sources of the mineral, including seawater, groundwater, and “flowback water” from fracking and oil drilling. [CleanTechnica]

Mudpots near the Salton Buttes (Deborah Bergfeld, USGS)

¶ “World’s Heaviest Soaring Bird Inspires Wind Power Design” • When placed at the tip of a turbine blade, the c-shaped “winglet” inspired by the condor reduces drag, potentially increasing the turbine’s efficiency by up to 10% in optimal conditions, according to a study by mechanical engineers at the University of Alberta, published in the journal Energy. [Tech Xplore]

World:

¶ “Tiger Mosquitoes Behind Dengue Fever Rise In Europe” • An invasive species of mosquito has been found in thirteen EU countries, with experts linking their discovery to a rise in dengue fever in Europe. Climate change is creating favorable conditions for the tiger mosquito to spread, said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. [BBC]

Tiger mosquito (James Gathany, CDC, public domain)

¶ “Unsold Tesla Cars Are Piling Up In America, Australia, And Germany” • Reports of unsold cars started late last month when Channel 7 News in Australia aired video of unsold Teslas piling up at the port of Melbourne. It said Tesla has lowered the price of some cars by as much as A$20,000, but still there were fewer buyers than anticipated. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “VW To Use Old EV Batteries To Build Massive Grid Battery To Store Wind And Solar” • Car maker Volkswagen plans to install large battery storage capacities in northern Germany to store wind and solar power for times of little output, WirtschaftsWoche reported. The head of VW’s technology department said it will begin construction this summer. [The Driven]

Volkswagen EVs and solar garage (Volkswagen image)

¶ “Lithium Miner Switches On Australia’s Biggest Off-Grid Hybrid Renewables System” • The largest off-grid renewable energy generator in Australia, Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley remote micro-grid, is operational. The project combines a 16-MW solar farm, a 17-MW, 19-MWh battery, and ultimately 30 MW of wind capacity. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “Ørsted Takes FID On Hornsea 3 BESS” • Ørsted has taken the final investment decision on a 300-MW battery energy storage system to be installed on the same site as the onshore converter station for its Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm in Norfolk. The storage system has an energy capacity of 600 MWh. It will use Tesla batteries for storage. [reNews]

Existing Battery energy storage system (Ørsted image)

¶ “Vattenfall-CIP And SSE Winners In 4-GW Dutch Offshore Wind Tender” • The largest offshore wind tender round in Dutch history have concluded on 11 June with the award of the 2-GW Ijmuiden Ver Alpha plot to an SSE Renewables consortium and the 2-GW Ijmuiden Ver Beta site to Vattenfall and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. [reNews]

¶ “European Energy Secures Microsoft PPAs” • European Energy entered several long-term PPAs with Microsoft to offtake energy from wind and solar projects in Sweden and Denmark. They total 180.6 MW and include the region’s first large hybrid wind and solar project. The agreements will deliver over 3.6 TWh during the contract period. [reNews]

Wind farm (European Energy image)

US:

¶ “California Public Utilities Commission Crushes Community Solar With Latest Monopolistic Play” • California utilities have been on a mission to squeeze out distributed solar energy for years, and after success on the residential side with Net Metering 3.0, they moved on to limiting growth of community solar via the California PUC. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The Solar Energy Gloves Finally Come Flying Off” • The US power landscape is about to be shaken up to the tune of 4.5 GW of new solar generating and storage projects over the next five years, and three of the most asleep-at-the-solar-wheel states in the nation stand stand to get jarred awake by the sudden influx of investments in clean power. [CleanTechnica]

Entergy’s Chicot Solar Energy Center (Courtesy of Entergy)

¶ “US Department Of Interior’s Clean Energy Progress In Nevada” • The Bureau of Land Management announced that it completed environmental analysis of the proposed Greenlink West Transmission Project in Nevada. Its transmission lines could connect 4 GW of clean energy from the Nevada desert to the Western electric grid. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Key Bills Head For Veto Override Votes Next Monday” • The Vermont Legislature will reconvene next week on June 17th to vote on whether or not to override the governor’s vetoes of two important environmental bills, and possibly a third. Each will require a two-thirds majority of votes in support for the bill to be enacted. [Vermont Business Magazine]

Vermont State House (Farragutful, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Tennesseans Push Against Proposed Pipeline Extension” • A proposed gas pipeline would cut through Middle Tennessee, but an environmental group is trying to stop it. The pipeline would stretch 122 miles from Smith County to East Tennessee. TVA said the project would ensure greener energy, but activists said there are cleaner options. [Yahoo]

¶ “Gates-Backed Nuclear Plant Breaks Ground, No Guarantee It’ll Have Fuel” • Unwilling to let a little thing like reality stand in its way, Bill Gates’ TerraPower has broken ground on its Wyoming nuclear power plant without any guarantee it will have the fuel needed to run it once it’s finished. The fuel would be high-assay low-enriched uranium. [The Register]

Have a curiously pleasant day.

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World:

¶ “EVs At 18.5% Share In Germany – Backsliding On Transition” • May saw plugin EVs at 18.5% share in Germany, down from 22.9% in May 2023, after the unexpected incentive abandonment in late December. Battery EVs were down 31% in YOY volume, while Plugin Hybrids were up 2%. The best selling battery EV in May was the Volkswagen ID.3. [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagen ID.3 (Alexander-93, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Company Car Electrification Lagging Behind Private Market For Third Year In A Row” • Company cars drive twice as far as private vehicles, so they account for 74% of all new car emissions. But for the third year in a row, companies are falling behind in the conversion, despite having the financial resources to make the switch to EVs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The Climate Backlash Is Here As European Voters Reject Green Policies” • The EU has been a strong supporter for the climate policies agreed to in Paris in 2015, but the voters, particularly those in France and Germany, voted for candidates who are authoritarian and mostly opposed to the climate policies of the past. [CleanTechnica]

Makeup of European Parliament (European Parliament)

¶ “G7 Countries Face Challenges In Achieving 2035 Net Zero Grids” • According to the G7 Power Systems Scorecard, crafted by the climate think tank E3G, all G7 nations but Japan are taking major steps towards ending coal use by 2030. The report finds, however, that no country has clear policies and targets to phase out unabated use of gas. [Energy Live News]

¶ “Consenting Begins For 2-GW Scottish Pair” • Thistle Wind Partners has kicked off the consenting process for the combined 2-GW Ayre and Bowdun offshore wind farms off the coast of Scotland. Ayre is a planned 1-GW floater off the coast of Orkney, while the 1-GW Bowdun will be a fixed foundation wind farm off the coast of Aberdeen. [reNews]

Wind turbine (ABPmer, ABP)

¶ “Liberal Democrats Unveil Plan To Cut Energy Bills” • The Liberal Democrats launched their manifesto, emphasising the urgency of addressing climate change and reducing energy bills. The party describes climate change as an existential threat, citing rising temperatures, wildfires, floods, droughts, and sea levels affecting millions globally. [Energy Live News]

¶ “CEC Calls For New Policies To Support Increased Uptake Of Rooftop Solar, Home Batteries” • The Clean Energy Council is calling for a unified national strategy to “supercharge” the uptake of consumer energy resources including rooftop solar and home batteries in Australia, saying such a move would save more than $22 billion by 2050. [pv magazine Australia]

Solar installation (CEC image)

¶ “Dutton’s Nuclear Plan Wouldn’t Even Meet Net Zero By 2050 Target, Report Finds” • The federal Coalition’s nuclear energy proposal would not just result in the tearing up of Australia’s commitment to the Paris climate treaty, it wouldn’t even be able to deliver net zero emissions on Australia’s main electricity grid by 2050, a report found. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶ “US Department of Energy Announces National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building” • The US DOE last week announced a National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building to advance public and private sector efforts to decarbonize the buildings sector, which is responsible for more than one-third of total US greenhouse gas emissions. [CleanTechnica]

Installation of secondary glazing (Al Hicks, NREL)

¶ “The Most Recent EV Cost Of Ownership Analyses Are Very Appealing” • Vincentric provides the automotive industry with cost of ownership data. Its EV Cost of Ownership Analysis for 2024 found that 20 of 41 (49%) EVs studied had a lower total cost of ownership over five years than their internal combustion engine counterparts. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Maui Kūihelani Solar-Plus-Storage Has Begun Generating Electricity” • AES Hawaiʻi commenced operations on Hawaii’s largest solar facility – Kūihelani Solar-plus-Storage on Maui – a project generating enough power for 27,000 homes at 8¢/kWh, the lowest renewable energy cost in the state, according to a company announcement. [Maui Now]

Kuihelani Solar-plus-Storage facility (AES Hawaiʻi image)

¶ “Offshore Wind Staging Site Breaks Ground In Brooklyn” • Equinor broke ground on construction at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, kicking off the revitalization of the venerable port facility into a hub for offshore wind on the East Coast and a critical contributor to New York’s ambitious renewable energy plans. [Windpower Engineering & Development]

¶ “Massive Solar Farm With 80 MWh Of Storage Goes Online In Lone Star State” • West of San Antonio, Texas, a 208-MW solar farm has come online, an article published in Electrek says. The facility has 80 MWh of storage and can power 41,600 homes. The Zier solar facility is Cypress Creek Renewable’s largest solar project to date. [The Cool Down]

Solar farm (Cypress Creek Renewables)

¶ “Wyoming Breaks Ground On Bill Gates’ Next-Gen Nuclear Facility” • TerraPower began construction on what is positioned to become America’s first next-generation nuclear power facility, in Kemmerer, Wyoming. It is called the world’s most advanced nuclear facility. The new facility is next to a coal-burning power plant that will switch to gas in 2026. [OilPrice.com]

¶ “Nuclear Power Is ‘Overblown’ As An Energy Source For Data Centers, Power Company CEO Says” • The euphoria over nuclear energy as a power source for data centers is “overblown,” the CEO of a major power provider for large tech companies told CNBC in an interview. AES Corporation CEO Andrés Gluski said renewable energy is the future. [CNBC]

Have a expressly beautiful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Dutton Confirms Nuclear Push And Climate Denial Go Hand In Hand: The Pretence Has Gone” • Let there now be no doubt or confusion: Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton confirmed that his Coalition’s push for nuclear energy is firmly linked with his party’s rigid denial of climate science. The pretence that it is anything else is now gone. [RenewEconomy]

Nuclear plant (Jametlene Reskp, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Nuclear Tech Like Bill Gates’ Terra Power Can Be ‘Easily Weaponized’” • An analysis conducted by scientists in the US has found that contrary to popular belief, high-assay low-enriched uranium, touted as the fuel for the next generation of small nuclear reactors, can be easily weaponized. The scientists used material in the public domain for the study. [MSN]

World:

¶ “Diesel Prices Jump 56% As Malaysia Revamps Decades-Old Fuel Subsidies” • Diesel price in Malaysia jumped by more than 50% on Monday as part of a revamp of decades-old fuel subsidies to tighten government spending and save billions of ringgits annually. The restructuring eliminates blanket energy subsidies and redirects them to the needy. [ABC News]

Smog over Kuala Lumpur (Meriç Dağlı, Unsplash)

¶ “As The Need For Copper Rises, Cable Manufacturers Recycle More” • In an industrial suburb of Montreal, a mill owned by Nexans, a cable-making company, has made copper rod from ore for nearly a century. Now it makes an increasing amount of it from used copper, with the rods containing some 14% recycled metal. It hopes to get to 20%. [ABC News]

¶ “EVs Take 24.1% Share In France – Popular BEVs Hit By Stop In Incentives” • May’s auto sales saw plugin EVs take 24.1% share in France, roughly flat from 24.3% year-on-year. The battery EV share was up, while the plugin hybrid share fell. Overall auto sales volume was 141,298, down by 3% YOY. The Peugeot e-208 has a strong lead among battery EVs. [CleanTechnica]

Peugeot e-208 (Miloslav Rejha, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Elli Enters the Industrial Energy Storage Business” • The Volkswagen Group is entering a new business segment with the Elli charging and energy brand, to develop, build, and operate large storage systems together with partners along the value chain. Elli’s storage systems will supply customers and be for arbitrage transactions. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Wind Farms Have Generated More Than A Third Of Ireland’s Electricity So Far This Year” • Wind farms generated 35% of Ireland’s electricity in the first five months of this year. The May Wind Energy Report from Wind Energy Ireland has highlighted how renewable energy had powered thousands of Irish homes and businesses. [The Irish Independent]

Wind turbines in Ireland (RTG, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Gulf And AIS To Build Solar-Power Stations For Mountain Villages” • Thai energy company Gulf Energy Development announced on Friday it has launched an initiative with local telco AIS and the Highland Research and Development Institute to build up solar-powered infrastructure in Thailand’s remote mountainous regions. [Developing Telecoms]

¶ “Swiss Approve Law Boosting Renewable Energy Generation” • Switzerland approved a law aimed at accelerating development of renewable energies, as part of the country’s bid to attain carbon neutrality by 2050. Official results showed that just under 69% of Swiss voters backed the law on “a secure electricity supply based on renewable energies.” [MSN]

Solar power in Switzerland (Dominique.bugmann, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

US:

¶ “Base Power Will Install A Residential Storage Battery For $2,000. What’s The Catch?” • Base Power sells batteries cheaply so it can create a vast network of batteries that it can tap into. Its software monitors the fluctuations in energy prices so it can fill up the batteries when energy is cheap and draw from them when it’s expensive. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Agrivoltaics Hitches A Ride On The Community Solar Train” • The SunSmart Ames Community Solar Project in Ames, Iowa, is a good example of a community solar project that incorporates agrivoltaics for additional benefits. SunSmart was commissioned in 2020. Since that time, it has started to employ fifty sheep to keep the grass down. [CleanTechnica]

Agrivoltaics in Hawaii (Merrill Smith, US DOE, public domain)

¶ “State Senator Pitches Bill That Would Expand Access To Solar Power” • In Pennsylvania, state Senator Dan Laughlin (R-49) has reintroduced legislation that would expand access to solar power through a local voluntary program while ensuring adequate ratepayer protection. Senate Bill 1227 would create the PA Local Solar program. [PennWatch]

¶ “Engineers Deploy Off-Grid Solar Tracking Technology To Power EV Charging Station” • A new solar-powered electric vehicle charger installed at Dartmouth College is helping drive us toward a cleaner, healthier future, according to Electrek. This innovative off-grid charging station was designed by Solaflect Energy. [The Cool Down]

Have a radically gorgeous day.

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Interview:

¶ “Climate Scientist Susan Solomon: ‘Let’s Not Give Up Now – We’re Right On The Cusp Of Success’” • MIT professor Susan Solomon is the author of three books, the latest of which, Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again, applies lessons from past environmental successes to the climate crisis. [The Guardian]

Susan Solomon in 2004 (NOAA, public domain)

World:

¶ “Indigenous Communities Are Increasingly Teaming Up With Scientists To Conserve Marine Ecosystems” • Scientists turn to Indigenous communities increasingly for marine conservation. Indigenous peoples make up only 6% of the global population, but they safeguarde 80% of the planet’s biodiversity, a report by The World Bank says. [ABC News]

¶ “In Mexican Heat Wave, Monkeys Are Still Dying And Birds Are Getting Air Conditioning” • A heat dome is still blocking clouds from forming, causing extensive sunshine and hot temperatures all across Mexico and into the US. Howler monkeys are falling out of the trees with heatstroke, and over 250 have probably died. Some birds have been rescued. [ABC News]

Howler monkey (Rafael Saldaña, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Falling Sales? Global EV Sales Grow 25% In April!” • Global plugin vehicle registrations were up 25% in April 2024 compared to April 2023. There were 1.2 million registrations. Battery EVs were up by 14% YOY, while plugin hybrids jumped 51% YOY. In the end, plugins represented 18% share of the overall auto market (12% battery EV share alone). [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Hitachi Energy Pledges $4.5 Billion For The Electrification Movement” • Fossil energy stakeholder doom is clearer, as well-heeled legacy engineering firms jump into the electrification field. The latest is Hitachi Energy, with a 3-year, $4.5 billion pledge to accelerate essential elements of the net-zero economy of the future. [CleanTechnica]

Advanced EV charging station (Courtesy of Hitachi Energy)

¶ “Baku’s Renewable Push Gains Momentum With New Solar And Wind Projects” • Azerbaijan launched the country’s biggest renewable energy investment project to date: the construction of two solar plants and a wind power plant. It marks a major step in Baku’s ambitious plan to generate 30% of its power needs with renewable sources by 2030. [OilPrice.com]

¶ “World’s First In-Flight Study of Commercial Aircraft Using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel” • Results from the world’s first in-flight study of the impact of using 100% sustainable aviation fuel in both engines of a commercial aircraft show a reduction in soot particles and formation of contrail ice crystals compared to using conventional fuel. [CleanTechnica]

Airbus A350 and DLR Falcon (Airbus and S.Ramadier)

¶ “MSP’s Claim Of Support For Nuclear Power In Highlands Challenged” • An anti-nuclear campaigner hit out at a claim by Highland MSP Edward Mountain that people in the region want nuclear power. Tor Justad, chair of Highlands Against Nuclear Power, challenged the claim that a meeting’s support for nuclear reflected public opinion. [John O’Groat Journal]

US:

¶ “Renewable Energy Will Be The Predominant Power Source For Data Centers, Nextracker CEO Says” • The surging power needs of artificial intelligence and data centers will be primarily met with renewable energy and not fossil fuels, according to the CEO of Nextracker, a solar company. He cited the low cost and rapid deployment of solar power. [MSN]

Solar array (Nextracker image)

¶ “Follow in the Footsteps of Communities With Working Solar Deployment” • The Solar Energy Innovation Network is run by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The SEIN program helps communities learn how to build from insights developed by a SEIN project team, based on blueprints already developed fully in similar places. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Agrivoltaic Solar Arrays Will Win The Rural Solar War, With Insects” • The war against solar power is erupting in rural areas across the US, but evidence increasingly supports agrivoltaics as an effective way to benefit crops and preserve insect populations, too. New York State has seen enough evidence to kickstart an agrivoltaic revolution. [CleanTechnica]

Tomatoes under solar panels (Asurnipal, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “USDOT Finalizes New Fuel Economy Standards for Model Years 2027–2031” • The US DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued new fuel economy standards that will save Americans over $23 billion in fuel costs while reducing pollution. Light vehicles should reach 50.4 miles per gallon by model year 2031. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Over 300,000 Alaska Residents May See 10%-20% Savings On Energy Bills” • The Alaska legislature approved a bipartisan bill that will bring affordable, nonpolluting energy to thousands of renters and low-income residents. Senate Bill 152 is expected to make community solar power available to over 339,000 Alaskans below the federal poverty line. [The Cool Down]

Have an impressively pensive day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Estimating The Growth Of Electric Vehicles And Tesla Sales, An Exploration Of S-Curves” • Some say EV growth has stalled. Others acknowledge growth, but imagine that it’s linear, when in fact it’s exponential. Over-zealous advocates, on the other hand, assume that exponential growth will last forever, which of course is also not true. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model 3 (Vlad Tchompalov, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Thermal Energy Storage To Beat Natural Gas In Northeast US” • Israeli startup Brenmiller made an agreement with the New York firm Rock Energy Storage, aimed to deploy its thermal battery to push natural gas out of the industrial energy market in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Bidirectional On-Board Chargers: Smaller, Faster, Cheaper” • Fraunhofer IZM managed to bring together some innovative ideas for a new generation of on-board chargers. Twice the performance at half the size, bidirectional capabilities, and efficiently made: The result is the economical ticket to the fast lane into the future. [CleanTechnica]

IZM on-board charger (Volker Mai, © Fraunhofer IZM)

World:

¶ “EV Sales in Australia Show Slight Improvement” • EV sales in Australia showed a slight improvement in May. Although, the battery EV penetration of the market was steady at about 8% in May in a rising market for all vehicles. There were 8,974 battery EV sales, up from April’s 6,194 units sold and also greater than May 2023 (8,124 units sold). [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EVs Take 25.7% Share of the UK” • May saw plugin EVs take 25.7% of the UK auto market, up from 23.1% YOY. Most of the gain was from plugin hybrids, whilst battery EVs barely improved. Overall auto volume was 147,678 units, up by some 2% YOY, and still below pre-2020 norms (~175,000). The UK’s leading battery EV brand in May was Tesla. [CleanTechnica]

Electric car (myenergi, Unsplash)

¶ “Adani Group To Invest Over $1 Billion In Sri Lankan Wind Projects” • Adani Group is set to invest over $1 billion in Sri Lanka, marking the nation’s largest foreign direct investment and its biggest power project to date. Sources say that Adani Green Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of Adani Group, plans to build two wind farms in Sri Lanka. [News Track]

¶ “Clean Energy Investment Set To Run At Double Fossil Fuel Spending” • Investment in clean energy technologies will climb to $2 trillion this year, almost double the amount spent on fossil fuels, the International Energy Agency has said. The $1 trillion that will go to coal, gas and oil is far too much to conform with global climate goals. [Mining.com]

Wind turbines (Image from Pxhere, CC0)

¶ “TotalEnergies, Air Products Ink Hydrogen Deal” • Air Products and TotalEnergies signed a 15-year agreement to supply Europe with 70,000 tons of green hydrogen annually starting in 2030. This first long-term deal follows TotalEnergies’s call for tenders for the supply of 500,000 tons per year of green hydrogen to decarbonize its European refineries. [reNews]

¶ “RWE Inaugurates 44-MW Nouvions” • RWE has inaugurated its 44-MW Nouvions onshore wind in the Aisne department of Hauts-de-France. The array features 11 turbines, each with a capacity of 4 MW and will meet the annual electricity needs of around 19,000 households. The N149 hardware are the first of their kind to be installed in France. [reNews]

Wind turbines (Nordex image)

¶ “Dutton’s Climate Target Opposition Labelled ‘Disaster’” • Australian Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says a Coalition government would dump Australia’s legally binding climate target to cut emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by 2030. The move follows his vow to deploy nuclear energy to reach net zero by 2050. [Yahoo]

US:

¶ “New Steps to Advance Offshore Wind Progress in Maryland” • The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Maryland to support the coordinated development of wind energy generation offshore Maryland, the Department of Interior announced. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore windfarm (Jesse De Meulenaere, Unsplash)

¶ “Robyn Denholm Warns Musk Might ‘Step Back’ If Pay Package Is Not Restored” • On June 13, 2024, the world as we know it may be profoundly altered. That’s the day Tesla shareholders will decide whether to reinstate the $55.8 billion pay package for Elon Musk that Chancellor Kathaleen St Jude McCormick of Delaware invalidated four months ago. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Washington Wants To Hear Rural Communities’ Thoughts On Renewable Energy” • Washington officials had an online meeting to find out what rural residents think about renewable energy development. People from across the state asked questions about tax rates, farm and forest land use and views they said could be obstructed. [Northwest Public Broadcasting]

Windfarm (royharryman, Pixabay)

¶ “NV Energy Enters Power Purchase Agreement On $2.3 Billion 700-MW Solar Project” • Utility-scale solar developer Arevia Power signed a power purchase agreement with NV Energy, a Nevada utility, for one of the largest solar and energy storage projects in the state. The utility will buy power generated by the 700-MW Libra solar project. [pv magazine USA]

¶ “US May Revive Some Shut Nuclear Plants To Help Meet Goal For Emissions” • The US could revive some of its recently retired nuclear power plants or add reactors to existing sites to help meet rising demand for zero-emissions electricity, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said. The industry is hindered by the high cost of new construction. [MSN]

Have a gorgeously restful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Opposition’s Nuclear-Energy Policy Would Increase Defence Risk” • The Australian Liberal-National opposition’s proposal to build nuclear power stations on the sites of old coal-fired plants is misguided. It would perpetuate Australia’s concentration of electricity generation and worsen our vulnerability to air and missile attack. [The Strategist]

Coal-burning plant (Jason Mavrommatis, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “The Mysterious X Factor Behind A Year Of Unbelievable Heat” • As 2023 began, climate scientists at four organizations forecast that the year would be marginally hotter than the year before, with the consensus falling around 1.2°C of warming (2.2°F) above preindustrial temperatures. But it reached an estimated 1.5°C (2.7°F), and they don’t know why. [Grist.org]

World:

¶ “Seabird Populations At Risk Amid Increased Hurricanes And Extreme Weather: Study” • As the frequency and intensity of hurricanes increase, seabird species suffer, researchers warn. A study published in Nature examines the aftermath for seabird populations after Cyclone Ilsa, which hit Bedout Island, Western Australia in 2023. [ABC News]

Gull (henry perks, Unsplash)

¶ “The History of Carbon Dioxide Emissions” • Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are now higher than at any point in our history. In fact, recent data reveals that global CO₂ emissions were 182 times higher in 2022 than they were in 1850, around the time the industrial revolution was underway. How did we arrive here? [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Two-Thirds of European Green Shipping Fuel Projects At Risk: Analysis” • E-fuels could power about 4% of European shipping by 2030, a study by Transport & Environment shows. But just a third of these projects are guaranteed as fuel suppliers fear a lack of demand. Two-thirds of European green shipping fuel projects are at risk. [CleanTechnica]

Container ship (Borderpolar Photographer, Unsplash)

¶ “Clean Energy Council Releases Quarterly Report” • Australia’s Clean Energy Council released its Renewable Projects Quarterly Report for Q1 2024, highlighting positive signs for renewables recovery and storage projects. Q1 2024 was the best quarter for financial commitments for large renewable energy generating capacity since the end of 2022. [Energy Magazine]

¶ “AMEA Power Closes South African Solar Financing” • Middle Eastern developer AMEA Power has reached financial close on its 120-MW Doornhoek solar project in South Africa. AMEA Power partnered two companies owned by African women on the $120 million project. It will be the company’s first operational asset in the country, when it is commissioned. [reNews]

Solar panels (Chelsea, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Aluminium Smelter Power Supply Deal Paves Way For Second Largest Wind Farm In NZ” • One week after Rio Tinto sealed a groundbreaking electricity deal to power its New Zealand Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, which will keep it from being shut down, plans to build a new 155-MW wind farm have been given the all-clear. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “Almost 60% Of Germany’s Public Electricity Supply Came From Renewables In Early 2024” • Nearly 60% of all electricity fed into the German grid in the first three months of 2024 came from renewable sources, data from the country’s statistical office shows. Renewable power production grew to a first-quarter share of 58.4%, a record. [RenewEconomy]

Sunset at a wind farm (Filipe Resmini, Unsplash)

¶ “Mercury Expands Kaiwera Downs Wind Farm After Tiwai Deal” • Power company Mercury is expanding its Kaiwera Downs wind farm near Gore, New Zealand. It comes after last week’s long-term agreement to provide power for the New Zealand Aluminium Smelters at Tiwai Point. Mercury said it would spend $486 million on the wind farm project. [RNZ]

¶ “Viking Achieves First Power” • First power has been produced at the 443-MW Viking wind farm on Shetland island, Scotland. The milestone comes as Shetland gears up to be fully connected to the GB electricity transmission grid for the first time. The 260 km Shetland High Voltage Direct Current subsea cable project is to be energized later this summer. [reNews]

Viking wind farm (SSE Renewables image)

US:

¶ “Dangerous Heat Wave Hits California, Arizona, Nevada And More” • An early season heat dome is bringing life-threatening temperatures to 30 million people from Texas to California, and north as far as Oregon. The hottest temperature in the US on Wednesday was recorded in Death Valley, California, where it reached a scorching 118°F. [ABC News]

¶ “USA Solar Panel Manufacturing Capacity Soared 71% In Q1 2024” • A record 11 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity came online in the US during Q1 2024. It was the largest quarter of solar manufacturing growth in US history. The total solar module manufacturing capacity in the US now exceeds 26 GW annually, a report says. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “Solar Power Is Booming As End Of US Tariff Pause Puts Developers Under Pressure” • On June 6, 2024, the two-year pause on tariffs for imported solar panels put in place by Pres Biden expired. US warehouses are bulging with 35 GW of solar panels, but they must be installed within 180 days to avoid the tariffs. Then costs will go up. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “GM Says Second-Gen Chevy Bolt Will Be Most Affordable EV In The US” • Marissa West, General Motors senior vice president and president of the GM global markets leadership team, said, “We’re really excited to get the Bolt with the Ultium architecture underpinnings to have the most affordable vehicle on the market by 2025.” [CleanTechnica]

Have a totally copacetic day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Making Electric Motors More Efficient And Affordable By 3D-Printing Magnets” • Electric motors are responsible for more than half of the world’s electricity consumption, according to the International Energy Agency. A $2.6 million project led by the University of Michigan is researching ways to improve efficiency with 3D-printed magnets. [CleanTechnica]

Rotor with printed magnets (Image from University of Michigan)

World:

¶ “Ban Fossil Fuel Ads To Save Climate, Says UN Chief” • The world’s fossil fuel industries should be banned from advertising to help stop climate change, UN Secretary General António Guterres said. He called coal, oil, and gas corporations the “godfathers of climate chaos” who had distorted the truth and deceived the public for decades. [BBC]

¶ “Climate Officials At World Environment Day Announce Twelve Months Of Record High Temperatures” • New climate warnings have been announced by the World Meteorological Organization. One of them says the planet  has experienced its warmest May ever, making it the twelfth month in a row to set such a record, the WMO report says. [ABC News]

Crystal ball on a hot day (Melvin, Unsplash)

¶ “EV Sales Boom In Nepal, Helping To Save On Oil Imports, Alleviate Smog” • Nepal’s abundant hydroelectric power is helping the Himalayan nation cut its oil imports and clean up its air, thanks to a boom in sales of EVs. The country is quickly expanding charging networks and imports of EVs have doubled in each of the past two years. [ABC News]

¶ “Women Leading The Way: Channeling Female Leadership For Sustainable Land Management In Kenya” • Kenya is a nation where land is not only a precious resource but also a cultural heritage. Sustainable land management and conservation are pivotal for preserving Kenya’s natural wealth. Women are at the forefront of these efforts.  [CleanTechnica]

Solar array (Photo from Power Africa)

¶ “South Africa Gets A Duck Curve!” • South Africans have been ramping up installations of distributed solar greatly to shield themselves from frequent electricity rationing cycles. Now it seems that they have now installed a significant amount of solar generating capacity, and we are starting to see the early signs of a prominent duck curve. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “India To Spend Up To $385 Billion To Meet Renewable Energy Target, Moody’s Ratings Estimates” • India will have to invest up to $385 billion to meet its target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, but coal will remain a key source of electricity for the decade, Moody’s Ratings said. India aims to ramp up renewables at 50 GW per year. [Yahoo News Singapore]

Solar and wind (Adani Green Energy Limited)

¶ “Queensland Promises $26 Billion Renewables Splurge In State Budget” • Australia’s largest renewable energy investment, $26 billion, will be unveiled in Queensland’s budget. Premier Steven Miles said his only option was to make the record injection, with almost 100,000 job losses forecast if Queensland wavered from its renewables path. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶ “Volvo Cars Starts Production of Fully Electric EX90 SUV in Charleston, South Carolina” • Volvo Car Group said, “We are in a celebratory mood this week, as our factory outside Charleston, South Carolina has now started building our new electric flagship SUV, and the first customer deliveries are scheduled for the second half of this year.” [CleanTechnica]

Volvo EX90 SOP (Volvo Car Group)

¶ “Electric Shuttle Buses, Wireless Charging, And Autonomous Service: Next Steps In Support Transport” • The US EPA awarded nearly $900 million in rebates to help over 500 school districts buy about 3,400 clean school buses, 92% of which are electric. But it is not just schools that are switching to electric buses. They are going to airports and cities. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The US Is Putting Enough Solar To Power 70,000 Homes On Old Nuclear Weapons Sites” • The US DOE hopes to repurpose sites previously used in the nuclear weapons program into solar farms. DOE is negotiating leases with two developers for a total of 400 MW of solar farms within the 890-square-mile Idaho National Laboratory site. [Electrek]

Former nuclear site at Idaho National Laboratory (US DOE)

¶ “Virginia Gov Says State Will Abandon California Emissions Standards By End Of Year” • Gov Glenn Youngkin announced that Virginia will abandon California’s stringent rules on vehicle emissions, which aim at reducing carbon pollution, at the end of the year when that state’s current regulations expire, citing an attorney general opinion. [ABC News]

¶ “Airiva Vertical ‘Fence’ Wind Turbine Aims To Make Wind Power More Accessible” • The Airiva is a modular vertical wind turbine set to be available for commercial installations in 2025. Airiva, a US-based company founded  in 2022, created the wind fence to help the world reduce fossil fuel dependency and make wind power energy more accessible. [MSN]

Airiva wind energy system (Airiva image)

¶ “US Solar Installations Hit Quarterly Record, Making Up 75% Of New Power Added, Report Says” • Solar accounted for 75% of electricity generation capacity added to the US power grid early this year as installations of panels rose to a quarterly record, according to a report published by Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association. [Reuters]

¶ “US May Revive Some Shut Nuclear Plants To Help Meet Emissions Goal, Energy Chief Says” • The US could revive some of its recently retired nuclear power plants to help meet rising demand for zero-emissions electricity, or it could add reactors to existing sites, according to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in an interview. [MSN]

Have a miraculously wonderful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Australia Wants To Become A Renewable Energy Superpower. Can It?” • Australia aims to be a “renewable energy superpower” by investing in homegrown green industries. The prime minister said, “We have to get cracking. We have unlimited potential, but we do not have unlimited time.” But some experts the effort might not be enough. [BBC]

Alpha HPA scientists (Alpha HPA image)

Science and Technology:

¶ “How Do Wind Turbines Survive Severe Storms?” • June starts hurricane season, an unsettling time for some people living near our nation’s shorelines. Strong winds also put America’s growing fleet of wind turbines to the test. Wind turbines need to protect themselves just as our communities do during tropical storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Mass Production Of New All-Electric Explorer Starts At Ford’s EV Assembly Plant In Cologne” • Ford started mass production of the new all-electric Ford Explorer at its first dedicated EV manufacturing plant in Europe, after a $2 billion investment transformed a historic plant into a factory of the future. The first cars are already rolling out. [CleanTechnica]

Ford Explorer in the assembly plant (Ford image)

¶ “Fortum Battery Recycling Oy And Marubeni Corporation Sign MOU Demand For Recycled Raw Materials” • Fortum Battery Recycling has entered into a preliminary agreement and signed a memorandum of understanding with Marubeni Corporation to build a sustainable lithium-ion battery recycling chain, focusing on graphite recycling. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EV Makers Hitting Targets For Petrol-Free Car Sales In UK” • New AutoMotive credits itself with advocating for passage of the UK’s world-leading ban on internal combustion engines. The law requires automakers to phase out sales of new cars with internal combustion engines in the UK by 2030, with a phaseout of new hybrids in 2035. [CleanTechnica]

BMW EV (Courtesy of BMW Group)

¶ “Philippines Considers Securing ₱31 Trillion In Renewable Energy Investments By 2040” • To support the country’s clean energy goal, the Philippines is considering getting up to ₱31 trillion ($527 billion) in renewable energy investments by 2040. The country’s goal is 10% EV adoption, 5% energy savings, and 50% renewable energy by 2040. [Power Philippines]

¶ “China Commissions 5-GW Solar Project, World’s Largest” • China commissioned the world’s largest solar project, a massive 5-GW facility in the north-west of the Xinjiang region. China now holds the world’s three largest solar projects by capacity, as the Ningxia Tenggeli and Golmud Wutumeiren projects each have a capacity of 3 GW. [PV Tech]

Solar array in western China (GCL New Energy image)

¶ “Experts Want More Big Solar Projects, Less Nuke Talk” • The Australian governments and industry bodies need to stop getting distracted by debates over nuclear power and start investing in large-scale solar projects to keep up with electricity demand, the Clean Energy Council’s Australian Large-Scale Solar and Storage Summit was told. [Katherine Times]

US:

¶ “US Invests $9.5 Million to Study the Social Dynamics of Large-Scale Solar Siting And Permitting” • The US DOE has invested $9.5 million in four new projects supporting social science research that examines the ways that siting practices can influence public attitudes toward and permitting of large-scale solar facilities. [CleanTechnica]

Solar power (Antonio Garcia, Unsplash)

¶ “Eversource Ready To Begin Geothermal Heat Pump Trial In Massachusetts” • This week, Eversource, the city gas utility that supplies Framingham, Massachusetts, will begin operating a first in the nation underground thermal energy network. The $14 million project includes a one-mile loop of pipes to will heat buildings in the city. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Edison Birthplace Goes Solar, Thanks To SolarEdge And Meyer Burger” • Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio in 1847. Solar power was not available when he started his experiments with electricity, but to honor his forward thinking, SolarEdge and Meyer Burger have installed solar panels at the house where Edison was born. [CleanTechnica]

Thomas Edison birthplace, 1934 (Carl Waite, public domain)

¶ “Colorado Co-op Tri-State Buying Two Solar Power Projects” • Colorado-based electric cooperative Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association purchased renewable energy projects that will provide power for its members for the first time. It is buying two solar projects in western Colorado with a combined capacity of 255 MW. [POWER Magazine]

¶ “Offshore Wind To Save New England Families $630M On Electricity Annually” • Offshore wind is critical to achieve New England’s climate goals, reduce local energy costs, and protect New Englanders from volatile gas prices, a report authored by Synapse Energy Economics, Inc says. It examined developing 9 GW of offshore wind by 2030. [Sierra Club]

Block Island Wind Farm (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)

¶ “ICC Adopts Illinois’ First Renewable Energy Access Plan” • The Illinois Commerce Commission adopted the state’s Renewable Energy Access Plan, an actionable roadmap to ensure Illinois meets its policy requirements for an equitable, reliable, and cost-effective clean electricity system. It is a tool to encourage faster development of transmission systems. [WSIU]

¶ “Plant Vogtle Cost Overruns May Worsen Energy Poverty In Georgia” • Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle has come under fire since beginning construction in 2009. A new report criticizes the role of the Georgia Public Service Commission, which allowed the nuclear plant to move forward. It also questions the impact of the plant on consumers. [WUGA]

Have an altogether elated day.

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Opinion:

¶ “The Fossil Fuel Industry Puts Future Generations At Risk” • We need to take radical action to save ourselves from extinction, but will we do so in time? Based on our behavior, the odds are clearly against us and getting longer by the hour. So we have a choice. Either we adopt a “failure is not an option” approach to addressing the climate crisis, or we die. [CleanTechnica]

Warm land masses (NASA Earth Observatory)

¶ “If Regional Communities Don’t Want Windfarms, Why Would They Accept A Nuclear Power Station?” • Here’s the thing about the Coalition’s latest nuclear policy. It tries to use one of the most contentious issues in rural areas, the rollout of renewables and electric power transmission lines, to push nuclear power, which is even more controversial. [The Guardian]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Flower Turbines And The Potential Of Small-Scale Wind” • One major difference between the large wind turbines and those that could be used in a city is the type of turbine. The small, vertical axis wind turbines such as those Flower Turbines makes can produce energy efficiently and can be used on city buildings as well as residences. [CleanTechnica]

Newly made turbines (Photo by Flower Turbines)

¶ “Hurricanes And Heat – It Isn’t Nice To Fool With Mother Nature!” • Warmer air holds more moisture, so today’s more powerful hurricanes can dump more rain. The hurricanes move more slowly they did than in the past, so the heavy rain lasts longer. And our cities have insufficient provisions to manage all that stormwater. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Nissan Demonstrates Autonomous-Drive Mobility Services Progress on Public Roads” • Nissan has begun demonstrations of a prototype vehicle equipped with its own in-house-developed, autonomous drive technologies, showcasing progress in its goal towards rolling out autonomous mobility services within fiscal year 2027. [CleanTechnica]

Nissan prototype on the road (Nissan image)

¶ “Masdar, Azerbaijan Ink 1-GW Renewables Deal” • Masdar and State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan have signed a Shareholder Agreement for three wind and solar projects totaling 1 GW in capacity. The projects are part of a 10-GW pipeline that Masdar took on to support Azerbaijan’s goal for 30% of its energy capacity to be renewable by 2030. [reNews]

¶ “Renewables Plans Must Match COP28 Goal” • An International Energy Agency’s report, “COP28 Tripling Renewable Capacity Pledge: Tracking countries’ ambitions and identifying policies to bridge the gap”, found very few countries have 2030 targets for installed capacity in the Nationally Determined Contributions, under the Paris Agreement. [reNews]

Fatih Birol (IEA image)

¶ “Coal To Power: SSE Transforms Former Plant With Batteries” • SSE Renewables‘ Ferrybridge battery storage project in West Yorkshire s poised to become SSE Renewables’ second battery storage facility and will be three times larger than its first battery asset in Salisbury. The former coal site will accommodate 136 battery storage units. [Energy Live News]

¶ “Solar Power Could Generate 54 Times More Profits Than Palm Oil: Maybank” • Large-scale solar ventures will allow palm oil producers to generate up to 54 times more operating profits per hectare compared to oil palm, Maybank Investment Bank said. One plantation has already made its renewable energy ambition public with a 1-GW capacity target. [The Edge Malaysia]

Palm oil plantation in Malaysia (Craig, public domain)

¶ “Great British Energy To Close Door On Putin” • The leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, is to warn of the national security threat to Britain that comes with the nation’s continued dependence on energy from rogue foreign states. His position is that with Labour, Britain will close the door on overseas fossil fuel dependency. [reNews]

¶ “Eraring Deal Signals Death Of Baseload Power In Australia, And Dutton’s Nuclear Fantasy” • Australia’s Coalition, led by Peter Dutton, came out in support of nuclear small modular reactors before it dawned on them that these sorts of machines don’t actually exist, and when they do, they are likely to be terribly expensive. [RenewEconomy]

Eraring power plant (CSIRO, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

US:

¶ “Kia Georgia Begins Assembly of the 2025 Kia EV9 All-Electric SUV” • A historic milestone arrived at Kia Georgia’s assembly plant in West Point, Georgia, as Kia team members gathered to celebrate the start of assembly of the battery-electric 2025 EV9 three-row SUV. The car is the first saleable EV to be assembled in the state of Georgia. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “A 200-MW Solar Power Project Is Completed In Wisconsin, Energy Storage To Follow” • The Grant County Solar Project, with its 200-MW capacity, has over 430,000 solar panels on more than 1,400 acres of land, including almost 350 acres of native pollinator habitat. The array has about 10% of Wisconsin’s solar power capacity. [CleanTechnica]

Solar project in Wisconsin (Alliant Energy image)

¶ “US Industrial Natural Gas Consumers Could See 56% Higher Bills With Methane Leak Price” • Remarkably, in 2022 the USA managed to get a greenhouse gas price through Congress. It was not on carbon dioxide, but rather on methane, our number two greenhouse gas problem. It is put explicitly on gas produced by the oil and gas industry. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Macquarie Injects $85 Million Into The US Solar Pipeline” • Macquarie Asset Management entered into an $85 million debt investment agreement with US developer Sol Systems to support of the construction and operation of solar projects in Illinois and Ohio. Construction of the five projects agreed on is expected to be complete by the end of 2025. [reNews]

Have an amazingly successful day.

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World:

¶ “Mexico Elects Claudia Sheinbaum As The Country’s First-Ever Female President” • A left-leaning climate scientist, Claudia Sheinbaum, has secured enough votes to become Mexico’s first-ever female president. Sheinbaum had previously worked as a contributing author to a report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [CNBC]

Claudia Sheinbaum (Claudia Shein, public domain)

¶ “Thousands Of Children In Afghanistan Are Affected By Flash Floods, UNICEF Says” • Tens of thousands of children remain affected by ongoing flash floods in Afghanistan, especially in the north and west, the UN children’s agency said. UNICEF said the extreme weather has all of the hallmarks of the intensifying climate crisis. [ABC News]

¶ “Dual Harvest: Agrivoltaics Boost Food And Energy Production in Asia” • In China’s Dongying City, PV panels were installed several meters above the water, helping to generate an annual 260 GWh of energy, enough to power 113,000 local households. Since its completion and grid connection in 2021, farmers have also gained many benefits. [CleanTechnica]

Flowers and solar panels (Argonne National Laboratory)

¶ “Scaling Up: Lopez-Led First Gen Sets $9 Billion Plan To Quadruple Capacity In Six Years To Stay ‘Relevant’” • The largest renewable energy producer in the Philippines needs to raise its capacity to 13.14 GW to stay ‘relevant’ under the government plan for renewables to generate 35% of the nation’s electricity by 2030. Its capacity is 3.6 GW now. [Bilyonaryo Business News]

¶ “EU Wind, Solar Grow 65% In Four Years” • Since the current European Commission took office in 2019, EU wind and solar capacity has grown by 65%, adding 188 GW, displacing fossil fuel generation, and driving down emissions, according to analysis from Ember. Solar capacity has grown even faster, up 113% to 257 GW, Ember found. [reNews]

Wind turbines (Thomas Reaubourg, Unsplash)

¶ “BayWa re Signs MOU with Hankuk Paper For Onshore Wind Project In South Korea” • BayWa re announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hankuk Paper. Part of the MOU is a land deal that will pave the way to develop BayWa re’s 60-MW onshore wind power project in the Gyeongsangbuk-do province. [Energetica India Magazine]

¶ “Terminal 3 Of Delhi Airport Reduces Power Consumption Per Passenger By 57%” • Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport reduced electricity consumption per passenger by 57%. GMR group’s Delhi International Airport Limited said that the electricity consumption, which was 5.18 kWh per person in 2010, fell to 2.21 kWh in 2023. [India Today]

Terminal 3 (Bharatahs, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Southeast Asia Gas Expansion Threatens Green Transition: Report” • Southeast Asia is on track to vastly expand its gas-fired power plant and liquid natural gas import capacity, threatening its green energy transition, a Global Energy Monitor report warns. The region’s existing plans project a doubling of gas-fired power capacity. [Japan Today]

¶ “South Australia Is Turning To Solar Energy For Its Economic Survival” • Australia is rapidly developing its solar generating capacity and gaining support from landowners all across the country. In South Australia’s Riverland region, many landowners are finding it extremely difficult to earn revenue from land on which nothing will grow. [OilPrice.com]

Solar array in SA (Leanne Davis, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “India Launches 2.4 GW Of Renewables Tenders” • SECI has started accepting bids to set up 1.2 GW of solar projects on a build-own-operate basis. The project can be located anywhere in India and must connect to the interstate transmission system. SECI will sign 25-year power purchase agreements with the successful bidders. [pv magazine International]

¶ “Why State MPs Are Knocking Logan Nuclear Plans On The Head” • Stockleigh, Queensland has been named as a “possible” site to house two nuclear power plants by one of Australia’s leading nuclear advocacy groups. But the Minister for Energy and Clean Economy Jobs, and Springwood MP, Mick de Brenni, said he wouldn’t support nuclear. [MyCity Logan]

Small Modular Reactor Building (GE Hitchi)

US:

¶ “Two Firefighters Injured As Wildfire Spreads To 14,000 Acres Near San Francisco” • Two firefighters were injured and over 100 homes were evacuated as the Corral Fire spread to 14,000 acres of mostly dry grassland in San Joaquin County, California, close to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, about 50 miles from San Francisco. [ABC News]

¶ “California Wildfires Altering Ecosystems, Disrupting Wildlife Habitats” • US forest fires are becoming more intense, frequent, and widespread, climate scientists and wildfire experts said in a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The fires that burned large swaths of land in California are reshaping wildlife ecosystems. [ABC News]

Burned land (Intricate Explorer, Unsplash)

¶ “Solar Passes 100% of Power Demand in California! [UPDATE]” • For 55 days in a row, electricity from solar, wind, and water power exceeded 100% of power demand on California’s main grid for part of the day. Also, going back further, that has been achieved in 80 out of the last 87 days. That is since early March, late winter. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “ESS And Burbank Water & Power Celebrate Commissioning Of First Iron Flow Battery System On BWP EcoCampus” • Local elected officials and business and community leaders were on hand to celebrate the installation and commissioning of a 75-kW, 500-kWh Energy Warehouse iron flow battery on the BWP EcoCampus. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Have a generously sustaining day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Director of NREL’s Alaska Campus Ice Breaker: Q&A With Director of NREL’s Alaska Campus” • Originally a mechanical engineer, Bruno Grunau is the regional director of Applied Research for Communities in Extreme Environments at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Alaska Campus. Here, he is the subject of an interview. [CleanTechnica]

Bruno Grunau (Photo from Bruno Grunau, NREL)

¶ “Big Oil’s Climate Deception: A Tale Of Disinformation And Doublespeak” • The oil industry’s reputation has taken another hit with recent discoveries exposing decades of climate change misinformation. The discoveries reveal the industry’s persistent denial and disinformation campaign, even as scientific consensus on climate change has solidified. [MSN]

Science and Technology:

¶ “EVs Don’t Catch On Fire As Frequently As Gas-Powered Cars Do” • The media is full of stories about EVs that catch on fire, but research doesn’t support that claim. In fact, data shows that EVs are much less likely to burst into flames than vehicles powered by internal combustion. The IIHS says it never had an EV catch fire in crash testing. [CleanTechnica]

Burning car (Matt Hearne, Unsplash)

¶ “Driving On Electricity Is Now Much Cleaner Than Using A Gasoline Car” • Replacing gasoline with electricity reduces the carbon emissions from driving greatly. Driving the average EV in the US can produce global warming emissions equal to a 94-mpg gasoline car, or less than a third of the emissions of the average new gasoline car. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Paris Aims For Most Sustainable Olympics Yet; Organizers Say Plan Isn’t Perfect” • Of all the decisions that the Paris Olympics organizers made about where to hold each sport, sending surfing competitions to the other side of the world – in the Pacific waters of Tahiti – provoked the strongest reactions. But the decision was based on climate goals. [ABC News]

Surfing at Tahiti (Fabe collage, Unsplash)

¶ “At Least 19 Injured As Russia Hits Ukraine’s Power Grid With Fresh Barrage” • Russia pounded Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with a large-scale drone and missile attack, injuring at least 19 people, local officials said. The strikes were part of a series of sustained attacks by Russia against Ukraine’s power grid, which has been ongoing since March. [ABC News]

¶ “Panama Prepares To Evacuate First Island In Face Of Rising Sea Levels” • On a tiny island off Panama’s Caribbean coast, about 300 families are packing their belongings. The Gunas of Gardi Sugdub are the first of 63 communities along Panama’s coasts that officials and scientists expect to be forced to relocate by rising sea levels in the coming decades. [ABC News]

Gardi Sugdub (Cotopaxi5897, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “China Merchants-Backed Green Hydrogen Equipment Maker To Quadruple Capacity” • CM Xiageng Hydrogen Energy Tech, a green hydrogen equipment start-up, has plans to quadruple its output. It is rushing to feed a global market which is growing at a searing pace of 40.7% annually and is forecast to be worth $70 billion by 2034. [South China Morning Post]

¶ “Budweiser Adjusts Its ‘Misleading’ Renewable Energy Claim From Website Following Watchdog Complaint” • Following a complaint from Irish authorities, brewing giant Budweiser has been impelled to amend statements on its website claiming it uses 100% renewable electricity. A footnote leads to a statement that its electricity is offset by green energy. [MSN]

Budweiser (Maarten van den Heuvel, Unsplash)

¶ “Green Light For Aurora Offshore Wind Power Plant Off The Coast Of Sweden” • The Gotland County Administrative Board has decided to recommend that the Government grant a permit, in accordance with the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone Act, for the Aurora offshore wind farm, developed by OX2 and Ingka Investments. [evwind.es]

¶ “IAEA: Restarting Europe’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant, Which Is Occupied By Russians, Impossible” • International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said restarting the Zaporizhzhya NPP under the current conditions is not possible. It is the largest nuclear facility in Europe, but it is occupied by Russia and the target of attacks. [uatv.ua]

Director General Rafael Grossi (IAEA image)

US:

¶ “On the Road to Increased Transmission: Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems” • Just like busy roads, the US transmission system can experience congestion, leading to the electricity moving inefficiently. But even if larger transmission lines are added, the electricity will not automatically take the new, less-congested route. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “How a Battle Over Solar Power Tore A New York Community Apart” • “We are not climate deniers, nor are we NIMBYists,” one resident said. “We believe in the need for renewable energy, and we just want to have a say in how it’s done…” So a solar project, which is supposed to supply enough renewable power for 15,000 households, has stalled for years. [Mother Jones]

Solar power (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

¶ “Clean Fuels Are Still A Long Way From Domestic Adoption” • New York and San Francisco have banned gas hook-ups to new buildings in the hope of phasing out gas-fuelled heating and cooking. However, some of the alternatives being promoted, such as green hydrogen, are far from ready for a commercial rollout. But how far? [OilPrice.com]

¶ “State Leaders, Regulators Push For Solar On Former Mine Lands At Greene Twp Event” • Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection published a report showing that nearly 169,000 acres of abandoned mine lands statewide could host solar facilities, including 27,000 reclaimed and 142,000 unreclaimed acres. [Ellwood City Ledger]

Have an honestly exuberant day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Texas Gigafactory Might Have An Oft-Overlooked Pollution Problem” • Common thinking dictates that you need lots and lots of light at night for safety, security, efficiency, and comfort. So, when a new manufacturing facility is built, it gets some serious lighting to turn night to day as needed. But light pollution is a serious environmental problem. [CleanTechnica]

Light pollution map (From LightPollutionMap.info)

World:

¶ “Orange Shortages Send Juice Prices Soaring, Prompt Possible Changes” • Orange production in two top growing regions has been plagued by diseased fruit and bad weather, prompting all-time high prices. Amid more frequent and intense heatwaves, a citrus organization cited climate change as a key factor in the dramatic orange crop reduction. [ABC News]

¶ “Net Zero By 2050 Is Now Anticipated To Cost Nearly 20% More – Can Anything Be Done?” • The folks that hold the wallets of governments and shareholders need to fork over trillions of more dollars toward the clean energy transition, and that money needs to start flowing now in order to to reach net zero by 2050, according to BloombergNEF. [CleanTechnica]

Wind and sunflowers (Gustavo Quepón, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “25 Rural Towns’ Solar Power Plan Project Reaches 61%” • The performance of the 25 rural towns’ solar power plant project, which is being built by the Ethiopian Electricity Utility, reached 61%. The project includes the installation of 68.7 km of medium-voltage and 233.3 km of low-voltage lines that can carry a total of 8 MW electric power. [MSN]

¶ “Avaada Energy Wins 1.05-GW Solar Project In India From NTPC” • Indian renewable energy company Avaada Energy was awarded a 1.05-GW solar project in an auction by the National Thermal Power Corporation’s Renewable Energy Implementing Agency. The project, won at a competitive tariff of 3.2¢/kWh, is set for completion by 2026. [Power Technology]

Solar power (Thomas Coker, Unsplash)

¶ “FPCCI Calls For A Shift To Wind Power Projects” • President Atif Ikram Sheikh of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry has urged authorities to prioritize the immediate offtake of power from existing, operational, and cheapest 12 wind projects, which produce electricity at a cost of Rs14.5 per unit (5.2¢/kWh). [The News International]

¶ “Mauritius Inaugurates BESS” • In line with the government’s vision to promote renewable energy in the electricity mix to 60% by 2030, a 20 MW grid scale battery energy storage system has been inaugurated in the presence of the Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Georges Pierre Lesjongard. The system is at the Amaury Sub-station. [Energy Global]

Buildings in Mauritius (Ritesh Innovador, Unsplash)

¶ “Nuclear Plan A ‘Distraction’ As Coal Town Transitions” • In Australia, the federal coalition has plans to add nuclear energy to the power grid by building reactors at sites where there are coal or gas-fired power stations. One coal town that could be a site for a nuclear station says the plan is a distraction as it works to ditch fossil fuels. [Michael West Media]

US:

¶ “Vermont Becomes First State To Mandate That Fossil Fuel Companies Pay For Climate Damages” • A new law in Vermont — the first of its kind in the US — will require fossil fuel companies to pay for a share of the costs of weather disasters fueled by climate change. Republican Gov Phil Scott allowed the bill to become law without his signature. [NBC News]

Champlain Valley (KADM Creations, Unsplash)

¶ “Applications Open For $1.3 Billion In Funding To Expand National Electric Vehicle Charging Network” • The Biden-Harris Administration opened applications for a $1.3 billion funding opportunity for EV charging and alternative-fueling at sites in urban and rural communities and along designated highways, interstates, and major roadways. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “How Dominion Energy Killed A Rooftop Solar Plan In Fairfax County, Virginia” • Four years ago, Fairfax County, Virginia, unveiled an ambitions program that would bring rooftop solar systems to many schools, community centers, and park buildings in the county. Dominion stopped the process by demanding high connection fees in 2022. [CleanTechnica]

Allume rooftop solar array (Courtesy of Allume)

¶ “Power Grids Under Pressure: US Areas At Risk Of Blackouts During The Summer” • A seasonal grid reliability assessment from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation highlights regions of North America that could face grid reliability issues because of too little supply of or too much demand for power. [CNET]

¶ “Arizona Is Advancing In Renewable Energy With Federal Investments” • Arizona is on the frontline for up-and-coming solutions for climate change thanks to federal investments for renewable energy. Since 2021, Arizona has received $10.5 billion for clean energy through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. [AZPM]

Arizona desert (Dulcey Lima, Unsplash)

¶ “Outlook ‘Surprisingly Positive’ For US Offshore Wind” • The market outlook for US offshore wind “surprisingly positive,” says a recent report by consulting firm Intelatus Global Partners. Even with ongoing issues, the firm says, “the fundamentals are looking surprisingly positive in the context of what has taken place over the last 12 months.” [Offshore Magazine]

¶ “US Energy Secretary Calls For More Nuclear Power While Celebrating $35 Billion Georgia Reactors” • US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called for more nuclear reactors to be built in the US and worldwide. But the CEO of the Georgia utility that built the reactors at a cost of nearly $35 billion says his company isn’t ready to pick up that baton. [MSN]

Have a movingly placid day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “ClearPower Solar Windows Could Transform The Building Environment” • ClearPower has a new type of solar window. The company says its ClearPower window not only produces power at an efficiency and power density comparable to PV modules, but also provides solar heat gain control to reduce air conditioning and heating costs. [CleanTechnica]

Solar window vs solar panel (ClearPower image)

¶ “Nuclear Reactors Still Expensive, Slow And Risky” • A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis found that small modular reactors are expensive, too slow to build, and too risky to play a significant role in moving away from fossil fuels in ten to fifteen years. They could delay the transition away from fossil fuels. [Environment America]

¶ “Electrifed Firebricks May The Answer To Low Carbon Process Heat” • Daniel Stack and Joey Kabel found that by slight changes to the recipe of the metal oxides used to make firebricks, they could make bricks that would conduct electricity and generate heat. They founded Electrified Thermal Solutions to bring their invention to market. [CleanTechnica]

Bricks (Marek Studzinski, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Labour Outlines Great British Energy Vision” • Labour leader Keir Starmer outlined more details of his plans for Great British Energy, a publicly owned company that will develop renewables projects. Launching the website for Great British Energy, he said that if a Labour government is elected, it will get working within months to build clean power across the UK. [reNews]

¶ “The Global Automaker Rating 2023: Who Is Leading The Transition To Electric Vehicles?” • The International Council on Clean Transportation released its annual assessment of progress by automakers in the transition to zero-emission vehicles. It is still accelerating, with growing sales, improving performance, and more ambitious visions. [CleanTechnica]

Woman and her Hyundai (Hyundai Motor Group, Unsplash)

¶ “UK Energy Production Decreases, Consumption Stabilises” • Recent government data spanning January to March 2024 reveals shifts in the UK’s energy sector compared to the same period a year earlier. Electricity generation by major power producers saw declines in coal (0.7%), gas (4.9%), and nuclear (16%). Renewables increased by 5.8%. [Energy Live News]

¶ “Behind Spain’s First Agri-PV Solar Park By BayWa RE” • The first agri-voltaic solar park in Spain is ushering in a new era for sustainability. The 54-MW PV park by BayWa re integrates renewable electricity production, agriculture and biodiversity. It is also a step towards VELUX Group achieving its 100% renewable electricity goal. [Energy Digital Magazine]

Agrivoltaics in Spain (BayWa re image)

¶ “Landmark Renewable And Storage Tenders Open Amid Amid Questions Over Duration” • Two landmark renewable energy tenders opened in Australia, with the federal government seeking a record 6 GW of new solar and wind capacity, and NSW seeking offers for up to 1 GW of long duration storage capacity. Similar tenders will come every six months. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “42% Of Electricity In Ireland Came From Renewables In 2023” • A total of 42% of electricity in Ireland came from renewables in 2023, according to EirGrid’s annual report for 2023. The report also announced the first Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme auction. The EirGrid Group is responsible for operating and developing the Irish power grid. [BreakingNews.ie]

Dublin (Gregory Dalleau, Unsplash)

¶ “Finland Awarded $30 Million To Expand Solar Power” • The European Union’s renewable energy financing mechanism has awarded €27.5 million ($30.1 million) to seven solar power projects in Finland. These seven projects have a combined capacity of 212.99 megawatts-peak (MWp). They range in size from 7.8 MWp to 40.16 MWp. [Rigzone]

US:

¶ “California Heat Pump Partnership Aims For Six Million In Six Years” • The newly launched California Heat Pump Partnership has a solution to heating and cooling without fossil fuels. And they are not kidding around, with the power of a partnership that includes companies covering more than 90% of the consumer heat pump market. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “Cut Gas Line At Center Of NTSB Investigation Into Deadly Ohio Explosion” • The National Transportation Safety Board said a cut to an inactive but still pressurized gas line will be a central focus of their investigation into what caused an explosion that rocked downtown Youngstown, Ohio. One question is why an abandoned service line was pressurized. [ABC News]

¶ “Texas Town Deploys Snow Plows After 50°F Temperature Swing And Two Feet Of Hail” • Severe weather: The temperature in the village of Marathon, Texas, fell over 50°F tumbled from around 105°F to the mid-50s in about one hour on Wednesday afternoon. This was followed by hail so deep they had to deploy snow plows to clear the streets. [ABC News]

Marathon Texas (Talshiarr, CC-BY-SA 2.5, cropped)

¶ “These Abandoned Oil Wells Near Bakersfield Could Store Enough Solar Power For 300,000 Homes” • When a small firm leased an oil field in California’s Central Valley six years ago, it quickly realized that drilling for oil wasn’t going to be viable. But its team discovered that it could use old oil wells for a different purpose: storing solar power. [Fast Company]

¶ “Alliant Energy Completes The Grant County Solar Project” • Alliant Energy announced the completion of its 200-MW Grant County solar project in Potosi, Wisconsin. It can generate enough electricity to provide the annual needs of over 50,000 homes. The project is the culmination of Alliant Energy’s buildout of twelve utility-scale solar projects. [WKOW]

Have an utterly untroubled day.

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Opinion:

¶ “The Alleged Electric Car Sales Slowdown Is A Fiction – The EV Revolution Is Alive And Well” • “The EV revolution is over! We must run and tell the king!!” Hogwash, Bloomberg says in market analysis. Six of the ten biggest EV makers in the US saw sales grow at a scorching pace compared to a year ago. EV sales were up 86% at Ford. [CleanTechnica]

Ford Mustang Mach-E (Alexandre Prevot, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “EV Sales Are Outpacing The Growth Of EV Chargers” • The US needs to build out its EV charging capacity to reach the point where everyone who wants to drive an EV has the electrification to do so – on urban and rural roads, in busy communities and suburbs, in nearly any major intersection where you’d expect to find a gas station. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Wildfire Near Canada’s Oil Sands Hub Under Control, Alberta Officials Say” • A wildfire that forced thousands of residents from their homes in western Canada’s oil sands hub of Fort McMurray earlier this month is now under control, Alberta officials said. In 2016, wildfires forced a mass evacuation of the city and burned more than 2,000 homes. [ABC News]

Fort McMurray wildfire in 2016 (DarrenRD, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Volkswagen Group Launches Project for €20,000 All-Electric EV” • The Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group has decided to make all-electric entry-level mobility more popular. The Brand Group Core will bring affordable EVs from Europe, for Europe, into the market. The world premiere for €20,000 models is scheduled for 2027. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Volvo EX30 Ends April in 2nd Place – Europe EV Sales Report” • Some 219,000 plugin vehicles were registered in Europe in April, up 11% year over year. And while Tesla isn’t helping, with deliveries down 2% YOY in April, the plugin tally from Volvo, Volkswagen, and Peugeot, among others, is pulling the market upwards. [CleanTechnica]

Volvo EX30 (Rutger van der Maar, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Empowering Tomorrow: UK Energy Storage Ready To Plug-In” • Earlier this year, the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero conducted a consultation on Long Duration Energy Storage. Through the consultation, the government detailed a “cap and floor” mechanism to make LDES projects attractively financeable. [Environment Journal]

¶ “Offshore Wind Farms Could Have Averted The Fukushima Disaster” • A review conducted at the University of Surrey found that offshore wind farms could have averted the Fukushima nuclear disaster by maintaining the cooling systems to prevent a meltdown. The study shows that wind farms are less vulnerable to earthquakes than nuclear plants. [Energy Live News]

Turbine foundations in port (Einsamer Schütze, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Australia:

¶ “Spain’s X-Elio Proposes 350-MW Solar Plant With 120-MW, 240-MWh Big Battery In Queensland” • Spanish renewables developer X-Elio applied for environmental approval to build a 350-MW solar farm with a two-hour big battery of 120 MW. The Sixteen Mile solar farm and battery, would be in the Western Downs region of Queensland. [ETN News]

¶ “Australian Developer Plans 2 GW Renewables Project” • The Australian developer Squadron Energy filed documents with the New South Wales planning authority for its proposed Koorakee Energy Park. The project is to have 1 GW of PV capacity, 1 GW of wind capacity, and a battery system with a capacity of up to 1 GW and up to 12 hours of storage. [pv magazine International]

Land in New South Wales (Squadron Energy image)

¶ “Australia Unveils Ambitious National Battery Strategy To Power Clean Energy” • The Australian government unveiled the country’s first National Battery Strategy. Some key elements of the strategy are building battery systems to bolster renewable generating capacity and leveraging industry expertise to develop safer, more secure batteries. [CarbonCredits.com]

US:

¶ “US Floating Offshore Wind Industry To Tackle Maine” • The big news for Maine comes with the environmental review for a new offshore lease area. A statement by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced that a Final Environmental Assessment was awarded for a research-scale offshore wind site southeast of Portland, Maine. [CleanTechnica]

Screenshot from Maine Offshore Wind Roadmap February 2023

¶ “Nearly $900 Million for 3,400 Clean Electric School Buses” • With the 2023 Clean School Bus Program rebates, the EPA chose roughly 530 school districts, in nearly all states, several Tribes, DC, and territories for nearly $900 million in funds to replace older, diesel-fueled school buses that harm the health of students and surrounding communities. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Increasing Use Of Renewable Energy In US Yields Billions Of Dollars Of Benefits” • By increasing its use of renewable energy, the US has not only reduced its planet-warming emissions but also improved its air quality, yielding hundreds of billions of dollars of benefits, a report published in the journal Cell Reports Sustainability has found. [The Guardian]

Solar array (Raphael Cruz, Unsplash)

¶ “CPUC’s Revised Proposed Decision Could Ruin California’s Community Solar Market” • The Community Renewable Energy Act was sponsored by the Coalition for Community Solar Access and supported by a large number of solar and environmental organizations. But the California Public Utilities Commission opposed the bill. [pv magazine USA]

¶ “New Law With Bipartisan Support Weans American Power Plants From Russian Uranium” • Signed by President Joe Biden after a year of delays in Congress, the bill bans the import of Russian-enriched uranium. Despite many setbacks, the bill passed unanimously, the New York Times reported. The delays were because of political gameplaying. [Yahoo]

Have an appropriately valuable day.

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Opinion:

¶ “All The Ways Cars Harm The World” • CleanTechnica has many articles showing love for EVs. But here, two authors show how cars, even EVs, are harmful to people and communities. The psychologist Carl Jung said everything has a “shadow” or dark side, and cleantech authors explore the big-time shadow of the pervasive automobile. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla in Canada (Jp Valery, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Satellite To Probe Mystery Of Clouds And Climate” • A joint European-Japanese satellite was launched to measure how clouds influence the climate. Some low-level clouds cool the planet, others at high altitude act as blankets. The Earthcare mission will use a laser and radar to probe the atmosphere to see precisely where the balance lies. [BBC]

World:

¶ “Lion Electric Unveils the Groundbreaking Lion8 Tractor, An All-Electric Class 8 Commercial Truck” • The Lion Electric Company, a maker of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles based in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, unveiled the Lion8 Tractor, an all-electric Class 8 commercial truck, at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo. [CleanTechnica]

Lion Electric truck (Lion Electric image)

¶ “BYD Unveils Plug-In Hybrid With 1,305 Miles Of Total Range” • BYD’s plugin hybrid technology, now in its fifth generation, gets a record low fuel consumption of 2.9 liters per 100 km (62.1 miles), even after the batteries have been depleted. Google says that translates to 0.776 gallons. Divide that into 62 miles and you get 80 miles per gallon. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EDF Starts Work On Stranoch Wind Farm” • EDF Renewables UK is starting construction on the 102-MW Stranoch wind farm in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. I&H Brown was awarded the contract to complete the civil engineering works for the construction phase. Located between New Luce and Barrhill, the site comprises twenty turbines. [reNews]

Wind farm (EDF Renewables image)

¶ “France’s Second Offshore Wind Farm Commissioned” • Ailes Marines, an Iberdrola subsidiary, announced completion of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm, making it the second offshore wind farm to operate in France. The project’s 62 wind turbines have a total capacity of 496 MW to contribute to the French renewable energy goals. [Energy Live News]

¶ “In The Largest Windfarm In The Southern Hemisphere, ‘Renewable Energy Farmers’ Look To The Future” • For ten Queensland landowners, the MacIntyre windfarm is a financial lifeline. It is the largest onshore windfarm south of the Equator and covers about 36,000 hectares of rocky grazing country south of the rural town of Karara. [The Guardian]

Train station at Karara, Queensland (Mattinbgn, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “CSIRO Stands By Nuclear Power Costings That Contradict Coalition Claims” • The CSIRO says it stands by its analysis on the costs of future nuclear power plants in Australia after the Coalition attacked the work. CSIRO analysis contradicted the Coalition’s claims reactors would provide cheap electricity and be available within a decade. [The Guardian]

US:

¶ “$179 Million For Innovative Water Reuse And Drought Resilience Projects From Investing In America Agenda” • The Interior Department announced a $179 million investment for innovative water reuse projects to support four projects in Utah and California to help communities create new sources of water to support water reliability. [CleanTechnica]

Lake Mead at Hoover Dam (US Bureau Of Reclamation)

¶ “19 Model Year 2023 Light-Duty EVs Have a Driving Range of 300+ Miles” • Model year 2023 had 19 light-duty EV models from 11 different manufacturers with an EPA certified driving range of 300 miles or more. Model Year 2016 had only one, and the number grew slowly until 2022 when 14 models exceeded that range. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Feds Offer $90 Million For Vast Solar Array On Pennsylvania Mine Land” • The US government is offering up to $90 million to a renewable energy developer to build Pennsylvania’s largest solar farm on 2,700 acres of reclaimed coal-mining land. The $800-million Mineral Basin Solar Project would have a capacity of 402 MW. [Bay Journal]

Coal-mining site (Swift Current Energy)

¶ “New Jersey And Wind Farm Developer Ørsted Settle Claims For $125 Million Over Scrapped Offshore Projects” • Danish wind farm developer Ørsted will pay New Jersey $125 million to settle claims over the company’s cancellation last year of two offshore wind farms. The amount is a little over a third of what Ørsted was once required to pay. [ABC News]

¶ “Renewables Provided Almost 30% Of US Electrical Generation In March” • Renewables are now the second-largest source of US electrical generation behind natural gas, which averaged a 40.5% share during Q1 2024 but fell to 39.4% in March. Electric energy from all renewables grew from 26.3% in March of 2023 to 29.2% in March of 2024. [Electrek]

Wind turbines (Zbynek Burival, Unsplash)

¶ “Ballot Initiative To Reverse Law On Siting Renewable Energy Projects Short On Signatures” • A group working to reverse a state law on siting renewable energy projects says its ballot initiative won’t be on the November ballot. Citizens for Local Choice does not have enough signatures for the initiative to be put on the 2024 ballot. [Michigan Public]

¶ “Five Biggest Solar Projects In The US” • There are now more than five million solar installations in the US, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. While most of these are small-scale plants, there are some that are very large. Here are descriptions of five of the largest five. We should note that other large projedts are coming. [Newsweek]

Have a significantly lovely day.

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World:

¶ “Geely Becomes A Top 10 Automaker Globally” • Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which includes Volvo Cars, has become the 10th best selling automaker in the world. That’s noteworthy in part because more than a third of its sales are now plugin vehicle sales, and the company could be a 100% plugin vehicle company by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

Geely Zeekr in New York City

¶ “IONITY Lowers Charging Prices in 12 European Countries” • IONITY, the leading pan-European HPC network for EVs of all brands, is making High Power Charging up to 350 kW affordable. It is introducing country-specific tariffs to cater to its customers’ charging needs and reducing IONITY DIRECT charging prices in twelve European countries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Rio Tinto And BHP Collaborate On Battery-Electric Haul Truck Trials In The Pilbara” • In an industry first, Rio Tinto and BHP will collaborate on testing large battery-electric haul truck technology in the Pilbara, Western Australia. The two companies will work with Caterpillar and Komatsu to conduct trials of their battery-electric haul trucks. [CleanTechnica]

Komatsu battery-electric haul truck (Komatsu image)

¶ “China’s Emissions Fall As Renewable Energy Capacity Grows, But Coal Investments Blight Carbon Outlook” • China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell in March for the first time since economic activity reopened after the pandemic, an analysis shows. This suggests emissions may have peaked, but coal-burning power plants are still going up. [Hong Kong Free Press]

¶ “Port Of Tyne Enters HVDC Cable Factory Talks” • Port of Tyne in the UK and LS Eco Advanced Cables UK are negotiating for a long-term lease for a cables factory. LS EAC is interested in potential for a high voltage DC factory on the Tyne Renewables Quay site in the north-east of England. It would be worth an investment of £923 million. [reNews]

Port of Tyne (Port of Tyne image)

¶ “German Energy Giant Presses Go On Australia’s First Eight-Hour Big Battery” • The 50-MW, 400-MWh Limondale battery will be built next to RWE’s 249-MW Limondale solar farm near Balranald, New South Wales. It will be the first eight-hour battery in Australia after being the surprise winner of the state’s first long duration storage tender. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “Energy Giant RWE To Build Two New Wind Farms Off The German Coast” • Germany’s largest power producer, RWE AG, announced it is to construct 1.6 GW of offshore wind capacity in the North Sea. It took the decision despite ongoing supply-chain challenges and soaring costs that have halted some offshore wind projects in the UK and the US. [Euronews.com]

Offshore wind turbines (Waldemar, Unsplash)

¶ “Italy’s Solar Power Capacity Rises To 32 GW, Large Projects Jump In Q1” • Italy’s solar power capacity rose by 1.7 GW in the first quarter to 32 GW thanks to a jump in the development of large projects, according to the country’s association for the PV sector. Capacity of large-scale additions is up 373% from last year’s first quarter. [Reuters]

¶ “Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station Delayed And Costs Rise” • Hinkley Point C is set to be delayed and costs are likely to be £500 million more than previously thought, according to EDF, the energy giant behind it. Also, the start of electricity generation from Unit 1 is expected in June 2026, six months later than projected. [Yahoo Movies Canada]

Model of Hinkley Point C (gov.uk, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Russia To Build Central Asia’s First Nuclear Power Plant In Uzbekistan” • Russia will build a small nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan, the first such project in post-Soviet Central Asia, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Uzbekistan is also interested in buying more oil and gas from Russia. [Reuters]

US:

¶ “Well Done Foundation Helps People Adopt Orphan Wells” • A favorite tactic of the Oil & Gas industry is to sell the orphan wells to an under-capitalized shell company. If pressed to clean up a well, the company files bankruptcy and sticks the taxpayers with the bill. That might sound like a crime, but it is business as usual for Oil & Gas companies. [CleanTechnica]

Abandoned well (Steve Hillebrand, USFWS, public domain)

¶ “Net Metering 3.0 Rules Create Chaos In Rooftop Solar Market In California” • The California Public Utilities Commission, with support of the state’s largest investor-owned utilities, eviscerated the net metering regulations last year. The new plan, NEM 3.0, reduces the amount the utilities have to pay their rooftop solar customers by 75%. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “BOEM Releases Final Environmental Statement On Offshore Wind Farms” • The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is continuing its efforts to push forward with the review of US offshore wind projects. In the latest step, they are releasing the final Environmental Impact Statements approving two New Jersey projects. [The Maritime Executive]

Offshore wind farm (US Department of Interior image)

¶ “3M Knew Its Fluorochemicals Were Toxic Decades Ago And Likely To Cause Cancer” • ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. It recently released a 8,000 word exposé on how 3M knew that its PFAS chemicals were in people’s bodies. 3M had been testing human blood for PFOS contamination since 1997. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Hawaii Gas sets its sights on new renewable energy projects on Oahu” • Hawaiʻi Gas has announced the selection of two projects from its 2023 RFP for green hydrogen and renewable natural gas, key resources that will enable the company to shift away from its reliance on fossil fuel. Both projects will produce gas on Oʻahu. [Hawaii Business Magazine]

Have an acceptably splendid day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Australia’s Low Cost Solar PV Goal Could Change Everything About The Grid” • The CSIRO GenCost report published last week has sparked a new polemic about the cost of generating technologies, with the critics in the nuclear camp not liking the country’s main scientific research agency stating that nuclear is really expensive. [RenewEconomy]

Solar parking shade (Flicker02, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Less Carbon, More Chill Novel Refrigeration Approach Uses PCMs To Freeze, Cool Perishables” • A technology developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory works to keep food refrigerated with phase change materials, or PCMs, while reducing carbon emissions by 30%. PCMs store and release energy when changing between solid and liquid states. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Twelve People Injured When Plane Hits Turbulence” • Twelve people were injured when a Qatar Airways plane flying from Doha to Dublin hit turbulence, airport authorities said. Some meteorologists note that reports of turbulence encounters have been increasing and point to the potential impacts that climate change may have on flying conditions. [ABC News]

Airplane (riikkeary, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “44% Plugin Vehicle Market Share In China – April 2024 Sales Report” • Plugin vehicles are all the rage in the Chinese auto market, with plugins scoring 703,000 sales in a 1.6-million-unit overall market. That’s up 27% year over year. Plugin vehicles hit 44% market share! Full electrics battery EVs alone accounted for 26% of the country’s auto sales. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “DHL Expanding Charging Infrastructure For Electric Trucks In Germany, New EV Center In Shanghai” • DHL Group and energy provider E.ON entered a partnership to expand the electric charging infrastructure for heavy commercial vehicles. Fast-charging infrastructure will be established at DHL Group locations in Germany. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “Queensland Government Passes Renewable Energy Laws” • The Clean Economy Jobs Act 2024 and the Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Act 2024 put Queensland at the center of a global energy transition. They set a target of 80% renewable energy generation in the state by 2035 and are expected to create over 100,000 jobs. [Energy Magazine]

¶ “Government Aims For 40% Of Primary Energy Mix To Come From Re Sources By 2035” • Malaysia aims to ensure that 40% of the country’s primary energy mix comes from renewable energy sources by 2035, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. This would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 million tonnes annually. [The Edge Malaysia]

Kuala Lumpur (Wengang Zhai, Unsplash)

¶ “India Sets Sights On Global Renewable Ammonia Market, Takes Strides Towards Sustainable Energy Leadership” • India is positioning itself as a key player in the renewable ammonia market with several international trade agreements already inked and more in the works. The country hopes to secure a 10% share of the global trade by 2030. [The Economic Times]

¶ “Chinese Renewables Exports Up 35%” • Chinese renewables product exports grew 35% from 2019 to 2023, due to competitive prices and production capacity domination, the new ‘Looking overseas’ report from Wood Mackenzie says. In the last four years, batteries surpassed solar PVs to become China’s primary renewable energy export product. [reNews]

D-cell batteries made in Hong Kong (Joe Haupt, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Moving Nuclear Waste Through Traditional Territories Could Face Opposition, Ontario First Nation Says” • A First Nation in southwestern Ontario says even if the community votes yes for a $26 billion nuclear waste dump within their traditional territory, it would likely be opposed by other First Nations, through whose territories millions of spent fuel rods would pass. [CBC]

US:

¶ “How Federal Clean Energy Dollars Are Supporting First Responders” • The brand new Public Safety Center in McFarland Wisconsin, a village of 9,400 roughly 10 miles from Madison, is spacious, well-lit, and modern. It was designed to have net-zero emissions, though twelve months of utility data are required to be officially listed as such. [CleanTechnica]

Electric fire engine (Courtesy of REV Group)

¶ “Rivian Partners With Pivot Energy To Advance Renewable Energy Commitments” • EV maker Rivian announced a strategic collaboration with Pivot Energy aimed to bolster its renewable energy initiatives. As part of the agreement, Rivian will acquire renewable energy certificates and subscribe to a segment of a community solar project. [SolarQuarter]

¶ “Survey Says Isle Residents Support Expanding Renewable Energy In Hawaiʻi” • More than 90% of island residents support more alternative energy in the Hawaiian Islands, according to a comprehensive survey commissioned by the Ulupono Initiative. The study was released during the 11th Annual Hawaiʻi Energy Conference on Maui. [Maui Now]

Have a sensationally relaxing day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Is The Chevy Equinox The Affordable EV We’ve Been Waiting For?” • Paul Fosse: “I think Chevy has a winner on its hands with the Equinox EV 1LT, which has an amazing value. I think the higher trims may have to offer some incentives to gain share in this ultra-competitive segment, since Tesla, Hyundai, and Kia offer compelling vehicles for similar prices.” [CleanTechnica]

Chevrolet Equinox EV (Chevrolet image)

¶ “Biden’s 100% China EV Tariff Fails History 101” • Biden might have forgotten when America’s big cars became just expensive symbols of conspicuous consumption, in 1973, when he entered Congress. America and its car companies faced almost exactly the same situation as they face now. Their response was different, but it succeeded. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Helping Farmers Easily Access Future Climate Projections” • Many Australian farmers are experts at using weather data. But they tend to be less familiar with long-term climate projections. My Climate View is a project to help Australian farmers and producers better understand the risks and opportunities they face over the next 50 years. [Cosmos Magazine]

Australian farming (CSIRO image)

World:

¶ “Role Of Solar Energy In Rural Electrification In India” • Access to electricity, a pillar of modern life, remains a distant dream for millions living in remote Indian villages. Amidst such challenges, solar energy presents a promising avenue for rural electrification, offering a sustainable solution to bridge the gap between urban and rural regions. [The Sunday Guardian Live]

¶ “Locals Concerned Over SunCable Proposal To Manufacture Subsea Cable In Northern Tasmania” • Local people have raised concerns over a proposal to build a subsea cable manufacturing facility for a renewable energy project on the bank of the Tamar River. The project will include a 200-metre-high tower essential for the manufacture of the cable. [ABC]

Rendering showing tower (SunCable image)

¶ “Decarbonising Southeast Asia Through Solar And Pumped Hydro” • In 2023, around 84% of new global generating capacity was from solar and wind power. The increasing affordability of solar, with a growing population, energy consumption, and emissions, place Southeast Asia on the cusp of a major energy transition led by solar PVs. [East Asia Forum]

¶ “World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Yacht Set To Compete In The Ocean Race” • Phil Sharp, inventor of the Hydrogen Power Module and co-founder of Genevos, a leading developer of marine fuel cell systems, plans to compete in The Ocean Race with the world’s first hydrogen-powered racing boat, showcasing benefits of renewable energy. [Interesting Engineering]

Volvo Ocean Race (Maurits & Marjol, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Coalition’s Brave Nuke World A Much Harder Sell After New CSIRO Report” • In Australia, the Coalition’s pitch on nuclear energy says the electricity will be cheap and it could be deployed within a decade. The CSIRO latest report on nuclear says a first plant would deliver power “no sooner than 2040” and could cost over A$17 billion ($11.27 billion). [The Guardian]

US:

¶ “Bill McKibben Thinks Climate Change Is The Key To A Biden Win In November” • Bill McKibben, the committed climate activist who has been educating us about the dangers of climate change for decades, has some advice for Joe Biden as the next presidential campaign heats up: Hit the topic of climate change early and often. [CleanTechnica]

McKibben, 2012 (Dave Brenner, SNRE, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Redwood Partners with Ultium Cells” • Redwood’s process involves sourcing end-of-life batteries, production scrap, and raw materials, then recycling, refining, and remanufacturing these feedstocks into critical battery materials for North American cell manufacturers at gigafactory-scale. Redwood is now working with Ultium Cells LLC. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “New Solar Will Help Keep Power On During Scorching Summer, Report Says” • NOAA says there’s a 99% chance that 2024 will rank among the five warmest years on record. Analysis by the North American Electric Reliability Corp painted a rosier picture than last year’s report, however, partly because of solar power development. [Louisiana Illuminator]

Have a sensibly superior day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Super-Bacteria Are Scaling Up To Attack The Petrochemical Industry” • The green chemistry movement has been gathering steam since the early 2000s. Now bio-based breakthroughs may help pull the rug out from under the petrochemical industry. Bio-based substitutes for plastic products are becoming more common, but that’s just the start. [CleanTechnica]

Super-bacteria (Courtesy of Cellugy)

¶ “Researchers Claim Batteries With Iron Cathodes Outperform Traditional Materials” • Researchers at Oregon State University, in collaboration with colleagues at three other universities and two national laboratories, announced that they have found a way to substitute iron for nickel and cobalt in lithium-ion battery cathodes, reducing costs. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Nearly 175 Arrested As Climate Protesters Target France’s TotalEnergies And Key Investor” • The head of TotalEnergies has told shareholders that new oilfields have to be developed to meet global demand, as the annual meetings of the French energy giant and one of its biggest shareholders were picketed. Police arrested 173 protesters. [The Guardian]

Nodding donkey (Zbynek Burival, Unsplash)

¶ “Hull To Buy 40 Electric Buses” • Following a successful bid to the Government to fund electric buses, the Hull City Council’s Cabinet approved plans to enable purchase of 40 electric buses and allocation of circa £2 million of funding from the authority for installation of charging infrastructure to support the rollout of the vehicles. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Tootbus Unveils End-To-End Renewable Power For Its Electric Fleet With VEV Solar Panel Project in Wandsworth” • Tootbus, the world’s first low-emissions sightseeing bus company, has secured approval for plans to install roof-mounted solar panels on their Wandsworth depot, working in collaboration with VEV, an electric fleet provider. [CleanTechnica]

Tootbus (VEV image)

¶ “New Energy-Storage Industry Booms Amid China’s Green Drive” • US carmaker Tesla broke ground on a mega factory in Shanghai to produce its energy-storage batteries Megapack. This is an example of growth of China’s new energy-storage industry, which is backed by its commitment to developing renewable energy and a green economy. [Xinhua News]

¶ “Uzbekistan Teams Up With The Russian Energy Company Zarubezhneft For Solar Power Initiative” • Uzbekistan and the Russian energy company Zarubezhneft agreed to build a solar facility with a total capacity of 100 MW. Valued at $100 million, this initiative marks a substantial investment in the region’s renewable energy sector. [Daryo.uz]

Bukhara, Uzbekistan (Evgeny Matveev, Unsplash)

¶ “Amazon Reaches Nearly 3 GW Of Renewable Energy Capacity In Spain By Enabling Twelve New Projects” • Amazon is enabling twelve new renewable energy projects in Spain, with a combined capacity of 596 MW. These energy agreements raise Amazon’s renewable capacity in Spain to over 2.9 GW, totaling 79 wind and solar projects. [About Amazon Europe]

¶ “Freak April Heatwave In Southeast Asia ‘Virtually Impossible’ Without Climate Crisis” • The brutal heatwaves sweeping across Asia this year were made much more extreme due to the human-induced climate crisis, a study has found. This is the third year in a row that billions of people in Asia experienced brutal heatwaves that shattered records. [Yahoo News UK]

India (Charlie Costello, Unsplash)

¶ “Russia And China Tighten Grip On Global Nuclear Energy Supply” • Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer and a major source of the US’ nuclear energy. Russia and China have been moving to increase their stakes in Kazakh uranium production, impacting global energy security and highlighting allegations of corruption. [Newsweek]

US:

¶ “‘Kitty Cat’ Storms Hitting US Heartland Are Growing Threat To Home Insurance” • Insurance companies are threatened by hurricanes made worse by climate change, but the problem is becoming a crisis that stretches far inland. Another, less-talked-about disaster has wreaked havoc on states in the midwest and the Great Plains. [The Guardian]

Bad weather (Lucy Chian, Unsplash)

¶ “US Cities Leading The Way To Electric Cars And Trucks” • Many cities, towns, and counties in the US have adopted plans to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, believing that they have a duty to their citizens to provide them with an environment that will allow them to survive. Nationwide, they own and operate 4 million vehicles. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Bronzeville Unveils Community Solar Power Micro-Grid Array To Provide Electricity In Emergencies” • Chicago and state leaders said the Bronzeville solar power micro-grid will power its neighborhood in the event of a major power outage. Hundreds of solar panels packed into multiple ground arrays will provide community-level energy resilience. [ABC Chicago]

Have a unstoppably uplifting day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Seabird Study Shows How They Might One Day Share The Air With Offshore Wind Turbines” • Researchers from the US DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and from H T Harvey & Associates published results from a study to find out how high seabirds fly and whether they might interact with wind turbines in Frontiers in Marine Energy. [CleanTechnica]

Birds and offshore wind turbine (J Bartholmai, PNNL)

World:

¶ “Brazil Races Ahead, Bringing 1,100% Battery EV Growth in April” • When Brazil’s EV sales went rampant in late 2023, there were fears the growth would be a temporary due to coming tariffs. This wasn’t the case, and growth has been exponential, reaching 1,120% increase in April for battery EVs, YOY, and 210% growth for plugin hybrids. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Renewable Energy Projects Predicted To Drive $20 Billion Construction Boom” • Renewable energy will be the largest area of growth in Australia’s construction sector over the next three years, with annual activity reaching A$20 billion ($13.3 billion) in FY 2026, a report from Macromonitor, an industry forecasting company, says. [pv magazine Australia]

Battery system (Synergy image)

¶ “National Grid Taps Shareholders To Help Fund £60 Billion Low-Carbon Energy Switch” • National Grid, the energy grid company, announced a £6.8 billion rights issue. Shareholders are being offered new shares to provide fresh funds for investment in thousands of miles of cables to connect homes with renewable energy projects. [The Guardian]

¶ “Battery Bonus Switched On After Coal-Plant Lifeline” • A New South Wales offer to subsidise batteries for homes with rooftop solar systems is a key plank in the shift to renewables as the state defends its lifeline for Australia’s biggest coal-fired power plant. The plan will save up to $2,400 for over a million households with solar panels to install a battery. [Yahoo]

Eraring power station (CSIRO, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Renewable Energy Booming In Major Economies” • Data from two of the largest economies in the world shows renewable energy accounts for an increasing share of energy at the expense of fossil fuels. India’s coal usage is plummeting, and less than half of India’s electricity is generated using coal. Meanwhile, German solar power rapidly increasing. [MSN]

¶ “Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Faces Blackout Threat” • Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is facing a blackout threat once again. An external overhead line has been disconnected, according to the Energoatom Telegram channel. Right now, the only source of electricity for the Russian-held nuclear plant is Ukrainian. [MSN]

Zaporizhzhia plant (IAEA Imagebank, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

US:

¶ “Massive Wind Farm Proposal In Washington State Gets New Life From Governor Jay Inslee” • Plans for the Horse Heaven wind farm include up to 222 wind turbines across 24 miles (38.6 km) of hillsides in the Tri-Cities area of eastern Washington, plus three solar arrays covering up to 8.5 square miles (22 square km). Gov Inslee rejected a size reduction. [ABC News]

¶ “NOAA Predicts Record Hurricane Season For 2024” • NOAA’s forecast of the upcoming hurricane season says all categories of storms are expected to exceed the typical number seen every year. Warming of the surface ocean temperatures from human-induced climate change is likely fueling more powerful tropical cyclones and extreme precipitation. [ABC News]

Hurricane (Mike Trenchard, NASA, public domain)

¶ “New Port Electrification Handbook Features Microgrids” • Maritime ports, bustling hubs of global trade, are emerging as the new frontier for electrification. Advances in clean energy, such as microgrids and batteries, are enabling electrification of port infrastructure and heavy-duty vehicles traditionally thought hard to electrify. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Atlantic Shores 1 And 2 Seal FEIS” • Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind has announced the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has released its Final Environmental Impact Statement for the 2,800-MW Atlantic Shores Project 1 and 2, off the coast of New Jersey. The schemes are a 50:50 partnership between Shell and EDF Renewables. [reNews]

Offshore wind turbines (EDF image)

¶ “Democrats Urge DOJ Investigation Of Fossil Fuel Companies” • Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Jamie Raskin have sent a joint letter to the US Attorney General urging the Department of Justice to initiate an investigation into the fossil fuel industry, which they claim has been committing illegal acts for decades. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Alaska’s New ‘Green Bank’ Hopes To Improve The Financial Case For Renewable Energy” • Alaskans looking to invest in solar panels or other renewable energy projects for their homes may have new options in the next few years. The state is setting up a new “green bank” to help Alaskans keep power costs down and switch to renewable energy. [Alaska Public Media]

Alaska (Joris Beugels, Unsplash)

¶ “Phil Scott Vetoes Vermont Lawmakers’ Priority Energy Bill” • Gov Phil Scott vetoed a bill that would require Vermont utilities to buy more renewable energy at a faster pace, with most utilities purchasing all of their energy from renewable sources by 2030. Scott supports an alternate plan, which includes increasing the state’s dependence on nuclear power. [VTDigger]

¶ “RWE Signs PPAs With Microsoft For Texas Wind Power” • RWE has signed two 15-year PPAs with Microsoft, under which Microsoft will purchase electricity from two onshore Texas wind farms. The company’s Peyton Creek II wind farm and Lane City project will have a combined capacity of 446 MW. They will have 4.5-MW turbines from Vestas. [CNBC]

Have an especially enjoyable day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Biodiversity Is A Global Asset That Should Be Factored Into Investment Strategies” • You may be interested in technology and decarbonization. But do you think much about biodiversity? We all are completely dependent on healthy, vibrant ecosystems for our water, food, medicines, clothes, fuel, shelter, and energy. Biodiversity is a valuable asset. [CleanTechnica]

The Biodiversity Plan (Graphic courtesy of UN)

¶ “With The Coalition’s Nuclear Fantasy Demolished By CSIRO, Labor Must Get Cracking On Renewables” • The CSIRO finds that even if we started in 2025, Australia could not realistically have a nuclear plant operational until 2040 at the earliest, small or large. This is too late. We need to act now to reduce emissions and energy costs. [RenewEconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Is Climate Change Making Turbulence Worse?” • A Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore experienced severe turbulence that resulted in the death of British man. Last year scientists from Reading University found that severe “clear air” turbulence had increased 55% between 1979 and 2020 in the North Atlantic. [BBC]

Singapore Airlines B777 (Amayagan, CC0 1.0)

World:

¶ “Brazil’s Flooded South Sees First Deaths From Disease, As Experts Warn Of Coming Surge In Fatalities” • Two deaths from waterborne bacterial disease were reported in southern Brazil, where floodwaters were slowly receding. Health officials warned additional fatalities were likely. Reportedly, the floods resulted partly from climate change. [ABC News]

¶ “Mercedes Orders CMBlu Energy Flow Battery For Its Plant In Rastatt, Germany” • Mercedes-Benz AG ordered an 11-MWh CMBlu Organic Solidflow battery for its Rastatt, Germany plant. The battery utilizes recyclable materials and non-flammable aqueous electrolytes. It will be used to store electricity generated by the plant’s PV solar panels. [CleanTechnica]

CMBlu flow batteries (CMBlu Energy image)

¶ “Big Batteries: Squeezing Out The Gas In Australia” • Electricity from gas peaker plants is Australia’s most costly. Gas is the main driver of the price hikes that have happened in Australia. Battery power is already replacing gas in the evening peaks, especially in Victoria. Batteries are squeezing out the gas and reducing power prices for all. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Draft National Targets Put EU Just Short Of REPowerEU” • National Energy and Climate Plans are the principal documents produced by EU Member States to detail their climate targets. National ambition is nearing what’s needed for the EU’s energy targets, but a further push is needed to close the remaining gap and accelerate deployment. [Ember]

Wind turbines (News Oresund, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Energy Industry Urges Focus On Renewables In July Election” • The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology has embraced the Prime Minister’s announcement of a July 4 general election, viewing it as a pivotal moment for advancing the renewable energy agenda. “This general election will be make or break for the countryside.” [Energy Live News]

¶ “Extending Life Of Australia’s Biggest Coal-Fired Power Station Is ‘Deeply Disappointing’” • Environmental groups say they are “deeply disappointed” by the New South Wales government’s decision to extend the life of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station for at least two more years. They cited consequences for renewable energy investments. [The Guardian]

Eraring power station (CSIRO, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “US Investing $3.8 Billion To Meet India’s Renewable Energy, Infrastructure Goals” • US Ambassador Eric Garcetti said the US International Development Finance Corporation is investing $3.8 billion to meet India’s renewable energy and infrastructure goals. He said the US is also supporting agricultural, healthcare, and financial services. [The News Mill]

¶ “Berlin’s Oldest Passenger Vessel Enters A New Green Era Powered By Torqeedo” • The historic vessel Kaiser Friedrich was built in 1886. The 30-meter steamship has returned to service in central Berlin. In a bid to preserve its legacy, its owners refitted the historic vessel with a modern, emission-free electric drive system by Torqeedo. [CleanTechnica]

Kaiser Friedrich (Image from Torqeedo)

US:

¶ “The Electric Car Revolution Is Still On Track, Cox Automotive Says” • Cox Automotive published its 2024 Path To EV Adoption study, which finds the electric car revolution is alive and well, despite a spate of naysayers who have been saying the opposite lately. The company says its latest research took place in the first quarter of this year. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Entergy Louisiana Approved For ‘historic’ 3-GW Of Solar Development” • Entergy Louisiana’s proposal to add up to 3 GW of economic solar power to its generation portfolio has been approved by the Louisiana Public Service Commission, marking what the utility calls the largest renewable power expansion in the state’s history. [Power Engineering]

Solar farm (Entergy Louisiana image)

¶ “50 States of Power Decarbonization Q1 2024” • The NC Clean Energy Technology Center released its Q1 2024 edition of the 50 States of Power Decarbonization. The Q1 2024 report finds that 48 states, DC, and Puerto Rico, took a total of 507 actions related to electric power decarbonization and resource planning during the quarter. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Judge Rules Exxon Can Sue Activist Shareholder Over Climate Proposal” • A federal judge in Texas said Exxon Mobil can sue to bar a climate change proposal from an activist investor, in a case that raised concerns about future shareholder resolutions. The proposal for the annual shareholder meeting calls for quicker carbon dioxide emissions reductions. [CNBC]

Have a fondly presented day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “DuraMAT Forecasts How New PV Module Technologies Might Perform Over 20, 30, Or 50 Years” • The photovoltaic industry is innovating so quickly that the future performance of today’s fielded modules is no longer always reliable. To address this state of affairs, DuraMAT introduced a new focus on forecasting PV reliability in 2023. [CleanTechnica]

DuraMAT researchers conducting test (Courtesy of NREL)

World:

¶ “It’s So Hot In Mexico, Howler Monkeys Are Falling Dead From The Trees” • At least 138 howler monkeys, known for their loud vocal calls, were found dead in the state of Tabasco since May 16, according to the Biodiversity Conservation of The Usumacinta group. Temperatures as high as 47°C (117°F) result partly from climate change. [ABC News]

¶ “UN Maritime Tribunal Says Countries Are Legally Required To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Pollution” • A UN maritime law tribunal, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, found that countries are legally required to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, a victory for small island nations that are on the front lines of climate change. [ABC News]

Sunrise in the Maldives (Saud Edum, Unsplash)

¶ “EV Transition Targets Out Of Reach Without More Copper Mines: IEF Secretary General” • Targets for 100% EV adoption by 2035 cannot be achieved without an unprecedented acceleration in copper mining, according to Joseph McMonigle, Secretary General of the International Energy Forum. More copper must be mined than has been in history. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Cityshuttle’s Six-Wheeled E-Cargo Bike System Is Like A Pedal-Powered Semi Truck” • It looks like a tiny semi-truck and trailer, with the driver sitting in an enclosed cab, but instead of burning fossil fuels for power, the Cityshuttle ePack is pedaled. This zero emission light goods vehicle could have an important place in a low-carbon future. [CleanTechnica]

Cityshuttle ePack 4 e-cargo bike (Courtesy of Cityshuttle)

¶ “Uzbekistan Is To Get Central Asia’s First Renewable Energy Facility With Utility-Scale Battery Storage” • The World Bank announced that it will support a 250-MW solar PV plant with a 63-MW battery energy storage system in Uzbekistan. It will be central Asia’s first utility-scale renewable energy facility with a battery storage component. [ETN News]

¶ “India to Boost Wind Energy Capacity by 25 GW by 2028” • India is on track to add nearly 25 GW of wind capacity in fiscal years 2025 through 2028, compared to about 9 GW added 2021 through 2024, according to Crisil Ratings. This expansion is expected to involve capital investments of up to to ₹2 lakh crore (₹2 trillion, $24 billion). [Construction World]

Indian wind turbines (Iamvrt46, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Large-Scale Nuclear Power Station Planned For Anglesey In Wales” • UK ministers have earmarked north Wales as the site of a large-scale nuclear power plant, as part of plans to resuscitate Britain’s nuclear power ambitions. Wylfa on Anglesey has been named as the preferred site for the UK’s next major nuclear power plant [The Guardian]

¶ “Saudi Arabia Sets World Record For Lowest Cost Of Electricity From Wind Power” • Saudi Power Procurement Company signed two power purchase agreements with a consortium led by Japan’s Marubeni Corporation for a total of 1.1 GW of wind projects. One PPA set a record low cost of wind energy with a levelized cost of energy at 1.565¢/kWh. [ZAWYA]

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

US:

¶ “SolarEdge’s Annual Sustainability Report Highlights That 40 Million Metric Tons of CO₂e Are Avoided Annually” • SolarEdge Technologies, Inc released its 2023 Sustainability Report. One of its highlights is the fact that that 40 million metric tons CO₂e are avoided annually through the use of SolarEdge DC-optimized PV systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Swap Your Lawn For A Garden And Feed Your Neighbors” • In Los Angeles, Crop Swap LA is teaching urbanites how to replace their lawns with gardens. Once that process is complete, they can enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables themselves or share them with neighbors. Many live in “food deserts” where fresh produce is not easily available in stores. [CleanTechnica]

Garden vegetables (CropSwap image)

¶ “Maryland Energy Administration Announces Bold Effort To Help More Marylanders Cut Energy Bills And Carbon Pollution Through Solar Energy” • The Maryland Energy Administration announced the launch of an important new program to provide major incentives for income-eligible Maryland households to install solar panels. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “California Exceeds 100% Of Energy Demand With Renewables Over A Record 30 Days [Update]” • May 21 update: Stanford professor Mark Z Jacobson is tracking California’s renewables performance. Jacobson reports that California has exceeded 100% of energy demand with renewables at times over a record 45 days straight, and 69 out of 75. [Electrek]

Solar on Palm Desert Walmart (Walmart Corporate, CC BY 2.0)

¶ “WoodMac: $1 Trillion At Risk For Clean Energy Investments Under Trump” • A second Trump presidency could place a huge part of renewable energy investments at risk, increase carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes more by 2050 and delay peak fossil fuel demand by 10 years, energy analytics firm Wood Mackenzie has predicted. [OilPrice.com]

¶ “Climate Funding Helps US Farmers Reduce Their Energy Bills” • After reeling from soaring energy costs in 2022, when diesel prices in the US hit a record high, American farmers are taking advantage of provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act from the same year that help small farms install solar power at virtually no cost. [OilPrice.com]

Have a playfully casual day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Unpacking The New 1300-Page FERC Transmission Line Ruling” • The new FERC rule requires local utilities and regional grid operators to look beyond their own parochial interests to plan how the nation’s electrical grid should be structured in the future. The goal is to ensure we all have plenty of electrical energy available when it is needed. [CleanTechnica]

Transmission lines (Courtesy of Heimdall Power)

Science and Technology:

¶ “NREL’s Open-Source Vehicle And Mobility Tools Offer Routes To Reduce Transportation Energy Use And Emissions” • Energy efficiency and on-road performance are central to the future of transportation and the clean energy transition. The US DOE’s NREL produced modeling and analysis tools that target barriers to technology advancement. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Waste Heat From Google Data Center To Warm A Town In Finland” • Data centers use as much as 1.5% of all of the world’s electricity, a number that is expected to increase dramatically. One question is what to do with the heat. Google plans to send the waste heat from its data center in Hamina, Finland, to its district heating system. [CleanTechnica]

Aerial view of Hamina (Ville Hyvönen, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Citroën Wins Contract For 1,000 ë-C3s In India” • Citroën has just taken a new step in its commitment to sustainable mobility by announcing a major partnership with OHM E Logistics. The brand will gradually supply 1,000 ë-C3 electric vehicles to the Indian logistics company, strengthening their fleet dedicated to shared mobility services. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “First New Turbine Powers Up At The Tummel Bridge Power Station” • The first new turbine at the Tummel Bridge Power Station in Perthshire has commenced generating renewable electricity following its successful installation and energization. The project aims to increase the station’s potential output from 34 MW to 40 MW. [Energy Live News]

Tummel Bridge Power Station (SSE Renewables)

¶ “Three States Are At Risk Of Blackouts In Coming Years, But There’s A Solution Within Reach” • People living in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, could be at risk of blackouts in the coming years unless new renewable energy projects are completed and connected to the grid quicker than what the national operator expects. [9News.com.au]

¶ “Wind Power And Photovoltaic Generation Will Soon Surpass Nuclear And Hydroelectric Generation” • The International Solar Energy Society explained how solar and wind energy dominate new global capacity additions. In the last decade, PV capacity increased nine-fold, wind generation tripled, natural gas grew 3%, and nuclear and coal were each up 1%. [evwind.es]

Solar farm (Harisankar, Unsplash)

¶ “Nuclear-Free Councils Hit Out At ‘Mad Delusion’ Of New Reactor” • Calls for a nuclear revival in Scotland are dismissed as “mad delusion” by Scottish Nuclear Free Local Authorities, a group of councils opposed to nuclear power. They insist that renewables “represent the only way forward to achieve a sustainable, net-zero future.” [John O’Groat Journal]

¶ “China National Nuclear Power Starts Work On The Nation’s Largest Offshore Solar Farm” • China National Nuclear Power has kicked off construction of the nation’s largest offshore solar farm, as part of efforts to boost low-carbon energy supply and decarbonise the economy. The 2-GW solar farm is referred to as a “pilot project.” [South China Morning Post]

Work on solar farm on mud flats (Image from handout)

US:

¶ “US Electricity Consumption from Light-Duty Vehicles Likely Surpassed Rail in 2023” • According to estimates in the Energy Information Administration’s Electric Power Monthly, light-duty vehicles used more US electricity than rail systems for the first time in 2023. Rail has long been the largest electricity end-use category in transportation. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “City of Arvin, California And Veolia North America Break Ground On Innovative Solar Energy Installation” • The City of Arvin, California and Veolia North America broke ground on a solar energy installation that will meet all the power needs of the city’s wastewater treatment plant and eliminate emissions from power generation. [CleanTechnica]

Solar installation (Courtesy of Veolia North America)

¶ “Toyota Launches Class 8 Tern 100% Electric Truck At US Market” • Toyota is launching a “Tern” Class 8 heavy duty electric truck for the US market. This is a big move considering that Toyota has been notoriously late to the 100% battery-electric party. The new Tern electric truck comes under the umbrella of Toyota Group’s Hino branch. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Solar Reaches 87% New US Capacity In Q1” • A review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by FERC reveals solar provided nearly 87% of all new capacity in the first quarter of 2024. In March, 99.7% of capacity added was solar, marking the seventh month in a row with solar adding more capacity than any other source. [reNews]

Solar array (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

¶ “SCE, Lotus Win California Grid Upgrade Gig” • Southern California Edison and Lotus Infrastructure Partners won a tender to deliver transmission capacity in California to enable more renewables. Lotus will lead the project’s development and upon completion and regulatory approval, SCE will buy it and lease 25% of its transmission capacity to Lotus. [reNews]

¶ “Michigan Regents Approve $70 Million Solar Power Project” • The University of Michigan’s Board of Regents has approved a $70 million plan to construct solar power arrays on its campuses. Radial Power, a sustainable energy firm based out of Houston, was chosen to design and build the installations with combined capacities of 25 MW. [WOODTV.com]

Have a notably comfortable day.

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