J1. Green Tech Industry & Utilities

Integrated planning can lower costs to ratepayers by reducing duplicative spending, and New York could lead the way, write experts at Current Energy Group and Advanced Energy United.

CEO Bob Mumgaard said the reactor, SPARC, is now “about 80% complete.” Experts remain divided over how soon they believe fusion technology could be commercialized.

Data center agreements in Wisconsin fail to protect ratepayers, Microsoft says. Separately, PowerHouse Hillwood has accused Exelon’s ComEd of using monopoly power to quash an agreement for an Illinois data center.

Headline News:

• “Indonesian Police Arrest 72 People Suspected Of Starting Forest Fires” • Indonesian police arrested 72 people suspected of starting recent forest and peatland fires as blazes in central and western parts of the country triggered a harmful cloud known as a choking haze. Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming. [ABC News]

Farmland in Sumatra (ahmad hidayat, Unsplash, cropped)

• “BYD Da Han Claims Global Flagship Status” • BYD launched the new Da Han last week as a global flagship-level sedan. This is not just an evolution of the Han and BYD brand. It challenges and, in many ways, beats top models from the global premium automakers. BYD clearly has its sights set on taking the lead from legacy flagship-level sedans. [CleanTechnica]
• “Ireland Hits Solar Record As Renewables Top 30% Of July Electricity Supply” • Ireland’s power mix reached a milestone in July, with solar delivering its strongest monthly showing yet and helping renewable sources supply over 30% of the Irish electric energy. This signals a broader shift toward cleaner power that could reduce reliance on fossil fuels. [The Cool Down]
• “Maryland Announces Major Solar Energy PPA Expected To Save $300 Million” • Maryland approved a 20-year solar PPA expected to save the state hundreds of millions of dollars while expanding use of locally generated renewable energy. Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland Department of General Services announced the agreement. [fundsforNGOs News]
• “In The American Southwest, The Water Crisis Threatens Existential Harm To Millions” • Seven US states rely on the water in the Colorado River. In 1922, those seven states agreed on how to divide up the water in the Colorado River. A lot has changed since that time, and they are drawing more water now than the river can provide. [CleanTechnica]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change. 

Saskatchewan, much like the rest of Canada, is confronting important questions about how it will expand and strengthen its electricity system. With some of the best wind and solar resources in Canada, the province is uniquely positioned to meet this...

Utility portals are framed as customer experience tools, but they also improve how frontline work is done.

Headline News:

• “Romania Is Falling Behind The Renewables Race. Can The EU’s Biggest Solar Farm Save It?” • The EU’s largest solar farm has taken one step closer to becoming a reality, and could soon deliver enough power for almost one million people. The Dama Solar farm, led by Rezolv Energy, will be in the northwest of Romania, near the Hungarian border. [Euronews]

Solar array (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

• “Paks Nuclear Plant Reconnects First Turbine To National Grid” • Paks turbine 6 has been successfully connected to the Hungarian electric grid and is producing increasing amounts of energy. The eight turbines are expected to be back in operation by Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Magyar said on a live television broadcast. [The Budapest Times]
• “COP17 In Mongolia: Finding Solutions To Land Degradation” • Delegates of 179 members of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification are engaging with business partners and local communities to find solutions for land degradation. The issue affects half of the world’s population, creating poverty. It is a cause of migration. [Euronews]
• “Europe’s Devastating Wildfires Unveil Deadly New Threat – Buried Bombs From WWI And WWII” • As fires burned huge areas of land in western Europe in recent months in extreme heat and droughts, firefighters have faced the additional threat of exploding shells. Explosions have been reported in France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. [Euronews]
• “Red States Are Killin’ It With Their Solar Factories” • In the topsy-turvy world of US energy policy, some conservative states are pushing the solar industry envelope the hardest. Texas is one clear example, and now a startup that specializes in transportable microgrids is putting deep red South Carolina on the map with a new 1.3-GW solar factory. [CleanTechnica]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Headline News:

• “Heart Aerospace Just Flew The Aviation Transition Investors Should Be Putting Billions Into” • Heart Aerospace’s X1 flew for 27 minutes from Plattsburgh International Airport, powered by just batteries. The X1 weighed over 25,000 pounds at takeoff and drew more than 1 MW at peak. Heart says the X1 is the largest battery-electric aircraft ever flown. [CleanTechnica]

Heart Aerospace X1 (Heart Aerospace image)

• “Parts Of Northwest Indiana Have Been Without Power For Over Ten Days” • On August 11, a storm hit the area around Gary, Indiana with winds of over 100 mph. The power went out power lines were destroyed. On Thursday, 65,000 Northwest Indiana customers are still without power. It will take until August 25 for electricity to be restored. [ABC News]
• “Torrential Rain And Flooding In Parts Of Italy” • In just a few hours, the extreme heat that had been tormenting northern Italy for weeks gave way to exceptional rainfall, flooding, and a sharp drop in temperatures. Rainfall totaled up to 250 mm (9.8 in), according to the Lombardy regional hydrometeorological and climate center. [Euronews]
• “Romania Proposes Three Black Sea Wind Sites” • Romania’s Ministry of Energy has reportedly proposed three areas in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea for offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 3.1 GW. The ministry said the first phase comprises one proposed 1.9 GW area and two of 600 MW each, all suitable for fixed foundations. [reNews]
• “Federal Government Orders Steep Colorado River Water Cuts For Three States” • The federal government had hoped the states that draw water from the Colorado River could agree on how to divvy up the water. After they failed to do so, the Department of Interior ordered cuts to the amount of water going to California, Nevada, and Arizona. [ABC News]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Headline News:

• “Germany Reports Record 14,000 Heat-Related Deaths This Year, Official Data Shows” • Germany had a record of around 14,000 heat-related deaths this summer as Europe struggled through a series of punishing heatwaves, official data showed. Around 9,600 of those deaths were recorded in one week in late June when it was over 40°C (104°F). [Euronews]

People cooling off in Berlin (Roy Zuo, CC BY-SA 4.0)

• “The Panama Canal Is To Reduce Shipping As El Niño Fuels Drought In The Lakes That Feed The Waterway” • The Panama Canal will cut the number of ships passing through it starting next month because of drought caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon, the operator of the strategic waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific said. [Euronews]
• “How Solar Panel Prices Fell 90% In 15 Years” • Solar power is by far the world’s fastest-growing form of energy production, beating out every other form of energy on Earth in 2025. Despite the recent political pivot away from renewable energy in the largest economy in the world, solar power continues to shatter its own records. [OilPrice.com]
• “Sunrun Shifts Away From Affiliates To Direct Sales” • Sunrun has been the #1 rooftop solar power installer in the US for several years now, ever since SolarCity got swallowed up by Tesla and dwindled to a relatively low level. But that doesn’t mean Sunrun hasn’t been facing its own challenges. Now it has decided to shift more to a direct sales strategy. [CleanTechnica]
• “Princeton Critical Minerals Has Raised $16 Million To Scale Lithium Production Technologies” • Princeton Critical Minerals, a startup developing technologies to extract lithium from brine, has raised $16 million to address increasing demand for critical minerals used in energy storage, electrification, and artificial intelligence infrastructure. [CleanTechnica]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Alberta needs buildings that can withstand increasingly severe weather. Successful retrofit projects show what it takes to make existing buildings more comfortable, resilient and affordable.A new report, Surfacing success: Learning from whole...

CALGARY — A new report highlights key lessons from four noteworthy retrofit projects in Alberta and identifies the conditions needed to build a stronger retrofit market.Whole-building retrofit projects in Alberta are becoming more common but continue...

Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has requested public input on opportunities to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden in Ontario’s Building Code. The Pembina Institute encourages the Government of Ontario to continue harmonization...

Headline News:

• “Italian Scientists Relying On Octopuses To Get Blue Crab Populations In Check” • Italian scientists have become octopus breeders in the latest battle of a long war against invasive blue crabs. The crabs, with are estimated to have caused €200 million worth of damage to the fishing industry, thrive in waters made warmer by climate change. [Euronews]

Blue crab (WitherSweat, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

• “Europe’s Gas Prices Have Doubled, With The Worst Yet To Come” • Europe is in another summer heatwave, part of the reason the coming winter is likely to be expensive. The heat pushes up electricity demand just as drought and heat curb hydro and nuclear generation. That forces gas power plants to use gas just when it should be stored. [Euronews]
• “Hungary Targets Tenfold Expansion in Wind Power Capacity by 2030” • The government of Hungary is targeting an increase from the country’s current roughly 330 MW of installed wind capacity, which has remained largely unchanged since 2016, to at least 4,000 MW of new grid connection capacity, an analysis by Taylor Wessing shows. [Budapest Business Journal]
• “India’s Under-Construction Renewable Pipeline Surpasses 150 GW” • Rating agency ICRA expects renewable energy, including large hydropower, to account for more than 35% of India’s total electricity generation by 2029-30, up from 22% in 2024-25. The renewable energy project pipeline remains strong, with over 150 GW under construction. [pv magazine Global]
• “Famous US Automaker Faces The Music As Million-Dollar Vote Scheme Goes South” • In the run-up to Election Day 2024, Elon Musk promised to gift $1 million each to some randomly selected voters in Pennsylvania. The selection was not so random after all, and a federal judge has decided that a lawsuit seeking damages from Musk can move forward. [CleanTechnica]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is moving from a future consideration to a near-term strategy question for corporate sustainability teams. Our new primer, Ready, Set, Remove: Planning your company's path to carbon removal, is designed to help companies...

Corporate climate commitments have matured over the past decade, but the tools most companies rely on are showing their limits. Traditional carbon credits face rising scrutiny from regulators, investors and civil society, and the approaching net-zero...

TORONTO — “Build Canada Strong” is a central mantra of the federal government’s plans to bolster Canada’s economy in a rapidly changing world, with new housing and infrastructure key to Canada’s nation-building efforts. But all this construction poses a problem: the production of building materials can be a huge source of emissions. 

Thankfully, there are solutions that can reduce this downside, at little or no extra cost—while also supporting Canadian industry, as a new report, Build Canada Clean, from Clean Energy Canada reveals.

The report, which features case studies from across the country—from apartment buildings to roads to wastewater facilities—finds that lower-carbon construction materials can generally be procured at no or marginal cost increases, while simple design changes can further minimize cost and emissions. One case study of an apartment building in Quebec, for example, found that design changes and lower-carbon materials could cut construction emissions by 30% while reducing overall construction costs by 12%.

What’s more, Canadian manufacturers are already producing many of the lower-carbon alternatives required, such as steel produced in electric arc furnaces, concrete that uses industrial byproducts to replace cement, and reclaimed asphalt. Supporting this kind of construction presents a unique opportunity for Canada to build its market at a time when our key trade partners, like the EU, are actively seeking cleaner products.

Governments are key to ensuring we seize this opportunity. They are big builders and by requiring lower-carbon materials and design—an approach known as “Buy Clean”—they can create a strong demand signal. The federal government has already taken some steps to reduce carbon in its building projects, and has also recently introduced a “Buy Canadian” approach. Expanded Buy Clean policies sitting alongside Buy Canadian ones would allow us to support domestic producers while also incentivizing our industries to become more climate-competitive in a global trade environment increasingly prioritizing or requiring cleaner materials.

Beyond “Buy Clean,” some simple regulatory changes can make a big difference, as the report elaborates. There are many different codes and standards for infrastructure construction across the country, some of which needlessly restrict the use of lower-carbon materials or design practices. Where flexibility does exist to use more recycled or other lower-carbon materials, it isn’t always made use of—something that could be addressed with better procurement guidance.

As we build more projects, we have the opportunity to avoid locking in huge amounts of damaging emissions—all while cutting costs for developers and taxpayers alike. So while we “Build Canada Strong,” let’s also “Build Canada Clean.”

KEY FACTS

• The construction sector contributed over 8% of Canada’s total emissions in 2018. And that was at less than a third of the housing starts Canada actually needs. 
• For efficient, electrified buildings, the emissions associated with material production and construction, known as “embodied carbon,” usually accounts for a larger portion of lifecycle carbon emissions than those from operation, like heating and cooling.
• The global low-carbon construction materials market is expected to be worth US$579 billion in 2032, with trade partners, including the EU, increasingly looking for clean materials. 
• Through nine roadway case studies, we show that lifetime emissions reductions of between 17% and 31% could be achieved while reducing the per-metre cost of the roads by up to 16%. 
• A study of an apartment building in Quebec found that making just two changes to the building design and replacing materials with lower-carbon equivalents would reduce embodied emissions by 30% while reducing overall construction costs by 12%.
• Choosing lower-carbon material options for water infrastructure can reduce the emissions of stormwater and wastewater infrastructure with marginal cost impacts.

RESOURCES

Report | Build Canada Clean

The post Amid Canada’s massive housing and infrastructure build-out, a few changes can limit climate impact at little or no cost: report appeared first on Clean Energy Canada.

VICTORIA — Evan Pivnick, associate director of public affairs at Clean Energy Canada, released a statement in response to BC Hydro’s release of its new energy efficiency strategy, Power Smart 2.0:

“BC Hydro has a strong history of using energy conservation to reduce electricity use in B.C. as well as prepare for the growing demands for electrification. However, while this new plan makes meaningful investments and continues in this tradition, it falls short of fully harnessing the opportunities that household technologies have to save families—and BC Hydro—money.

“A recent study from Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors found that distributed energy resources (electric technologies that can generate or store energy or control demand) could meet more than 10% of B.C.’s total peak electricity demand by 2040, saving ratepayers money by avoiding more expensive infrastructure build-outs while improving grid reliability. 

“As such, it’s good to see support for consumers to adopt clean solutions, from energy-efficient appliances to battery storage, that help realize this potential. But this is only a first step. B.C needs to follow the lead of other jurisdictions across North America that are going much further in advancing changes to their electricity systems and standing up new programs that can help households save on their energy bills.

“Beyond energy-efficient appliances, new technologies have unlocked much greater opportunities to save, like managed EV charging, smart panels, controllable water heaters, and household batteries that work in harmony with the grid. The new plan lays out a vision for using these technologies, but more should be done to encourage British Columbians to make the switch. The Dunsky study found that greater financial incentives, like rebates, and other ambitious installation programs, were key to realizing the full potential of distributed energy resources for reducing both household bills and costs to the utility. 

“What’s more, heat pumps will be vital to reducing power demand, offering the ability to displace power-hungry baseboard heating and air conditioning. With another hot summer around the corner, the provincial government should introduce regulations that ensure new permanent air conditioning systems are heat pumps. Our analysis shows that a province-wide switch to heat pumps could save a cumulative $675 million in annual energy bills: that translates to average savings of approximately $170 a year for those currently using natural gas with A/C.

“Already, B.C. has some of the lowest electricity rates in North America, making the switch to EVs and household electrification especially enticing for British Columbians. And while today represents a positive step, at a moment when the cost of living is top of mind for most families, there is much more we could be doing to lower electricity bills across the province—while simultaneously building a smarter, more cost-efficient electricity system.” 

The post Response: New BC Hydro plan maintains key programs, but the province and utility are leaving larger household savings on the table appeared first on Clean Energy Canada.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has won deserved praise for standing firm against the Trump administration’s threats and imposition of tariffs. But political credit is only as good as the strategy that follows, and Canada now faces a genuine opportunity to do something more ambitious than weather the storm.

Carney’s approach has sparked a broader conversation among the world’s ‘middle powers’ – countries with significant economies like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the U.K. that share a commitment to rules-based trade but sit outside the U.S.-China superpower axis. These are countries that are actively looking for a different economic path forward, one that doesn’t simply mirror the nationalism coming out of Washington and Beijing.

Keep reading this post, co-authored by Ryan Mulholland and Ollie Sheldrick, in Policy Options.

The post A Canada-led clean trade pact would show that middle powers mean business appeared first on Clean Energy Canada.

TORONTO — Rachel Doran, executive director at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to the Implementation Agreement for the Canada-Alberta MOU:

“The long-awaited agreement between the federal government and Alberta was promised to strengthen Canada’s competitiveness and the effectiveness of key climate policies—but is, in reality, a step backward. This is true not only when it comes to reducing climate-change-causing emissions from big industry, but also on the aspiration laid out yesterday to double Canada’s electricity grid as the economic backbone of our future.

“Indeed, the federal government’s goal of a net-zero grid by 2050 may be fundamentally at odds with the details in this MOU. Alberta, once the Canadian capital of renewable investment, has not made any concrete commitments to unleash its once-booming free market. It has, conversely, secured a commitment that natural gas generation will be expanded and is likewise not dropping its legal challenge against Canada’s Clean Electricity Regulations. Furthermore, the federal government’s suggestion that the regulations will be ‘in abeyance’ until after all court cases have been finalized—a process that may take years—will create significant investment uncertainty. 

“Alberta policy changes have already undermined tens of billions in renewable energy investments in the province. Despite leading the country in wind, solar, and energy storage deployment early this decade, private investment in renewables has fallen by nearly 99% since 2023 due to changes introduced by Premier Smith’s government. 

“On the Clean Electricity Regulations, Alberta has agreed only to negotiate an equivalency agreement if courts uphold the policy’s constitutionality. If Alberta does not negotiate in good faith and the agreement has no teeth to prevent future debate, the result could be a provincial race to the bottom, leaving Canada’s vision of a competitive, unified electricity grid back where it started: fragmented and increasingly failing to realize its potential.

“And while the government’s press release and implementation agreement suggest that Alberta will make changes to its Restructured Energy Market to facilitate more investment in renewables, the MOU makes a far weaker commitment: that changes will only be considered if warranted.

“None of this adds up to meeting the vision laid out by the federal government only yesterday to double Canada’s relatively clean electricity grid as a way to electrify industry and Canadian homes: an essential play both for the future of our economy and household affordability.

“The agreement similarly falls short in delivering on effective industrial carbon pricing, which modelling by the Canadian Climate Institute found to be doing the most heavy lifting toward our climate targets. While changes to Canada’s industrial carbon pricing system were meant to strengthen the actual impact of the policy, if not the optics of it, the dials here are turned too low to result in the better outcome that was promised. 

“The agreement makes an attempt to ensure the real carbon price that companies pay comes closer to the so-called ‘headline price,’ and yes, setting a carbon price floor is a good idea, as is signing contracts for difference to ensure governments stick to their promises for an effective carbon price. But when it comes to the actual numbers needed to empower these changes, the agreement offers too little, too late. 

“An industrial carbon price serves as an incentive for companies to invest in cleaner methods of production. If increasing this price to meaningful levels is pushed down the road, then so will be any related investments. Industrial carbon pricing is tied to over 70 major projects worth more than $57 billion. And this does not just affect Alberta. By striking this deal with one province, the federal government has potentially opened the floodgates for a lowering of ambition across all provincial industrial carbon pricing systems, affecting the incentives for steel mills in Ontario, potash mines in Saskatchewan, and cement plants in B.C.

“Canada is falling out of step with key trading partners in the transition to a global clean energy economy. Whereas the agreement aims for an effective carbon price of $130 by 2040, the European Union carbon price is close to that amount already today. And while the agreement sets tightening rates of 2% or lower, the EU has set rates of over 4% every year. 

“The EU knows where it needs to go, launching a comprehensive set of new measures—including electricity tax cuts and investments in renewables—that cement clean energy as the path to energy security. EV sales are unsurprisingly skyrocketing globally, including here in Canada: March EV sales were up 75% year-over-year. 

“More than 40 countries are currently rationing energy, and it’s no wonder. As International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol put it, ‘the damage is done…. There will be a significant boost to renewables and nuclear power and a further shift towards a more electrified future,’ adding that ‘this will cut into the main markets for oil.’

“In other words, the same forces driving up oil prices today are destroying the fossil fuel demand of tomorrow. This government has suggested that it’s making certain short-term concessions while keeping its eye firmly on building for the future. But the reality is that, once again, Alberta is making promises while the federal government is making commitments. Canadians need policies that strike a better balance.”

The post Response: Lopsided MOU undermines yesterday’s clean electricity strategy appeared first on Clean Energy Canada.

VANCOUVER — Joanna Kyriazis, director of policy and strategy at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to newly released federal vehicle sales data for March:

“We knew March would be an important month for EV sales: it was the first month that fully captured the return of the $5,000 federal EV rebate in February, and it was the month the war in Iran began driving up gas prices. 

“The anecdotal evidence that Canadians were increasingly looking to go electric was strong, but today’s numbers are unmistakable: Canada saw a 75% increase in EV sales in March compared to the same month last year.

“Regionally, this was a phenomenal 136% year-over-year increase in Quebec, a 53% increase in B.C. and the territories, and a 40% increase in Ontario.

“That amounts to 12.2% of new vehicle sales in Canada (compared to 6.5% last March), but provincial numbers tell another story. Roughly a quarter of British Columbians and those in the territories (23.5%) purchased an EV in March, 21.8% of Quebecers did likewise, while Canada’s largest province, Ontario, continues to catch up with EV sales at 8%.

“While price matters, clarity is similarly important. Last year’s EV rebate pause caused many would-be EV buyers to wait on the sidelines, artificially deflating normal EV demand. That is now being rectified.

“To build on this momentum, Canada must ensure that it’s not only providing consumers with rebates but also access to affordable models. The introduction of a limited number of Chinese EVs is already having an impact, with Tesla recently significantly dropping the price of its popular Model 3 after shifting production back to Shanghai. Hopefully, new models from Chinese companies will give Canadians even more budget-friendly options and, critically, keep other automakers on their toes. The forthcoming $35,000 import price quota for a sizable percentage of these vehicles can help realize this important goal.

“Likewise, ensuring Canada’s forthcoming tailpipe standards are designed to achieve roughly 75% EV sales by 2035 is the other, massive piece of this puzzle. Like improving competition, the regulation will compel automakers to meet the market with more affordable EVs.

“Affordable EVs exist, and Canadians are hungry for good options that make financial sense in the short term as well as the long term. Recent Clean Energy Canada analysis found that EVs still save typical drivers about $23,000 to $32,000 over 10 years of ownership. But not everyone can afford to save money a few years down the road. Upfront price matters, and where it works, Canadians are ready to hit the accelerator.

“The proof is in the numbers.”

The post 75% EV sales spike in March a strong signal that 2026 will be Canada’s EV comeback year appeared first on Clean Energy Canada.