J1. Green Tech Industry & Utilities

Australia endorses ambitious new global electrification target that it hopes will help accelerate shift from fossil fuels.

The post Australia endorses ambitious new global electrification target to hasten exit from fossil fuels appeared first on Renew Economy.

Headline News:

• “The Geysers Adds 25 MW Of Geothermal Capacity” • California’s largest geothermal resource added 25 MW of new generating capacity, strengthening the state’s geothermal energy. Calpine, a Constellation business unit, announced completion of the expansion project at The Geysers geothermal complex in Sonoma County, California. [ThinkGeoEnergy]

Geothermal plant at The Geysers, California (Calpine image)

• “The Cost Of Balancing The Grid If The EU Cuts EV Targets: 150 New Power Plants” • Europe’s electricity system could be a big victim of plans to scale back EV targets. EVs can be ‘batteries on wheels,’ providing a different math of the electricity sector. Fewer EVs would mean less storage capacity for the grid and a need for more power plants. [CleanTechnica]
• “Off-Grid Mine Runs Solely On Renewables For Nearly A Week” • Bellevue Gold is celebrating a milestone at its namesake gold mine in Western Australia. The site was able to run entirely on renewables for 155 consecutive hours. The site’s 90-MW hybrid power station has 27 MW of solar, 24 MW of wind, and 15 MW, 33 MWh of battery storage. [Energy Magazine]
• “Use Of Bomb-Grade Plutonium For Energy” • The President of the US signed an executive order directing the DOE to stop an operation getting rid of nuclear bomb materials. Instead, it is to give the weapons-grade plutonium to private companies to use in nuclear reactors. They are to get enough plutonium to build 2,000 nuclear bombs. [Green Energy Times]
• “Judge tosses Trump bid to restrict renewable energy tax credits” • A federal judge struck down a Trump administration effort to restrict tax credits for wind and solar energy. The ruling is a win for renewable energy supporters, but it comes less than a month before a deadline to phase out the credits entirely under so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” [The Hill]

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

Wind giant says "DC-coupled" battery technology piloted in Victoria will be included in all new Australian projects, starting with a shovel-ready wind farm in NSW.

The post Global wind giant plans to plug battery storage into turbines at all new Australian projects, starting in NSW appeared first on Renew Economy.

The second boiler at a former coal-fired power station has been demolished in a spectacular explosion as the energy precinct makes way for a cleaner future.

The post Another boiler demolished at shuttered coal power plant in spectacular explosion appeared first on Renew Economy.

Australia leads the world in the uptake of rooftop PV, but risks losing its seat at the table of global collaboration because of a cut in government funding.

The post Australia is leading the world on PV generation, but risks losing its seat at the global solar table appeared first on Renew Economy.

Queensland LNP extends mine lease into 2040s, saying coal is essential "when the sun doesn’t shine, the wind doesn’t blow and the batteries run dead."

The post “Coal is essential …. when the batteries run dead:” Queensland extends mine lease for second oldest generator appeared first on Renew Economy.

Despite using more electricity than households, and most of it during the day, the commercial sector lags well behind homes on rooftop systems and batteries.

The post Network tariffs blamed for failure of warehouses and businesses to follow household lead on rooftop solar appeared first on Renew Economy.

Batteries, both grid scale and in the home, are clearly moderating evening peak prices, but so is wind. But the industry needs to learn to manage wind costs.

The post Batteries and wind are crushing evening peak prices, and there is more pain to come for gas and coal appeared first on Renew Economy.

The proposal would require large-load customers to pay for infrastructure built specifically to serve their projects while preserving standard utility charges for broader grid services.

Companies are looking for modern facilities that can accommodate power-hungry automation, industrial experts said in a report first provided to Facilities Dive.

The U.S. Green Building Council has conferred LEED status on 31 stadiums in North America, from the 9,500-seat Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas, to the 88,000-seat Estadio Banorte in Mexico City.  

The Southwest Power Pool service aims to help data centers and other large loads get online quickly, but they can have their service cut when grid conditions are tight.

Counterintuitively, it is data centers’ independence from the grid and use of natural gas that will hike energy costs for homes and businesses, write experts from Energy Innovation.

Canada’s National Electricity Strategy makes one thing clear: the country is entering a major electricity buildout. To meet rising demand from electrification, economic growth and new industries, Canada will need to double grid capacity alongside...

Headline News:

• “Elon Musk Said He Wouldn’t Take SpaceX Public, But Two Things Changed His Mind” • The stress of taking Tesla public seems to have worn Musk down tremendously. He said he would not do that again. But he needs money for SpaceX, and with the IPO that is coming, he will be able to retain control of 85% of the company’s stock. [CleanTechnica]

Lift off (Kim Shiflett, NASA, public domain)

• “How Hot Conditions Could Impact The World Cup” • The World Cup is set to begin during one of the hottest times of year in more than a dozen cities in Canada, the US and Mexico, and several of the host cities may see high temperatures during the soccer tournament. High temperatures that may put athletes and even spectators at risk. [ABC News]
• “Mexico Reaches 5 GW Of Distributed Solar Power” • Mexico has reached another renewable energy milestone. From 600,368 installations across the country, Mexico reached 5,164.98 MW of small-scale, distributed solar power capacity by the end of 2025. Net metering has been a key driver of small-scale solar growth in the country. [CleanTechnica]
• “Nordex Wins 255-MW German Haul” • Nordex Group has secured orders totalling 255 MW for fourteen wind projects in Germany during the first two months of the second quarter. The orders cover 39 turbines, including nineteen N163/6.X units, eleven N175/6.X units and nine N149 turbines, according to the company. [reNews]
• “Greek Solar Producers With CfDs To Get Paid When Prices Reach Zero” • Currently, when prices are zero or lower for two consecutive hours, solar power producers with contracts for difference (CfDs) don’t get paid. The Greek Energy Ministry decided that renewable energy producers will be paid when the price is zero. [Balkan Green Energy News]

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

Large loads pose additional challenges for cooperatives. Planning strategically is critical.

One platform. Fewer silos. Better billing and payment experiences for utilities and customers.

The data on outbound calling: higher enrollments, strong sentiment, surprising insights

Reproduction of the demon core. A sphere of plutonium about the size of a softball, it weighed about 13.7 pounds. It was about the size as the core in the bomb that leveled Nagasaki. Notice of Permission: This image is from Los Alamos National Laboratory. Unless otherwise indicated, this information has been authored by an employee or employees of the Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS), operator of the Los Alamos National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC52-06NA25396 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. Government has rights to use, reproduce, and distribute this information. The public may copy and use this information without charge, provided that this Notice and any statement of authorship are reproduced on all copies. Neither the Government nor LANS makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any liability or responsibility for the use of this information.

George Harvey

This story is what I would call almost incredible. The President of the United States signed Executive Order 14302, titled “Reinvigorating the Nuclear Base,” which directed the US Department of Energy to stop its operation getting rid of nuclear bomb materials by diluting and dispersing them. The DOE would instead give the weapons-grade plutonium to private industries to use in nuclear reactors.

The amount of plutonium under discussion is to be twenty metric tons. The Fat Man bomb used on Nagasaki contained about 6.2 kilograms, or 13.66 pounds. It leveled about two square miles of the city. Twenty metric tons is enough to make thousands of such bombs.

The plutonium would go to five nuclear energy startups with the idea that it would be used to make electricity. But the theft of just a few pounds of it could be enough to make the terrorist attack on the twin towers look like a children’s game.

U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) commented on this at his official web site. We have reprinted the comment in full, here.

# # #

Senator Markey Decries Security Concerns, Conflicts of Interest with Trump Proposal to Give Weapons-Usable Plutonium to Private Companies

Washington (June 2, 2026) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), co-Chair of the bicameral Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, today wrote to President Trump urging him to cancel the Department of Energy’s (DOE) plans to give 20 metric tons of weapons-usable plutonium—enough for approximately 2,000 nuclear bombs—to private industry for commercial energy use. If implemented, this would be the first time the U.S. government has made weapons-grade plutonium available to private companies. These plans go against long-standing bipartisan U.S. nuclear security policy, raise serious weapons proliferation concerns, make little economic sense, and raise conflict of interest issues. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright recently served on the Board of Directors of Oklo, one of the companies that may receive plutonium.

In the letter, Senator Markey wrote, “For five decades, the United States has avoided the commercial use of plutonium and opposed the spread of technology to separate (“reprocess”) plutonium from used reactor fuel. We did so to prevent nations with nuclear power plants (such as Iran) from being able to extract plutonium from that fuel, which they—or terrorists into whose hands it could fall—could use to make nuclear weapons.”

Senator Markey continued, “I am concerned that your Administration is moving forward with plans to transfer plutonium to Oklo not because these proposals make sense for the United States, but because Oklo stands to benefit financially and Secretary Wright is acting in his former company’s interest. Secretary Wright’s close ties to the company present an appearance of impropriety.”

In the letter, Senator Markey requested answers by June 15, 2026, to questions that include:

• Why should the U.S. government facilitate the transfer of plutonium to private industry and the development and export of proliferation prone reprocessing technologies?
• What safety and security measures are planned for the transport of weapons-grade plutonium to private actors?
• What role did Secretary Wright play in the selection of Oklo for the Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program?
• Does Secretary Wright currently have a financial stake in Oklo, and does he stand to benefit in any way from Oklo’s role in this program?

On September 23, 2025, Senator Markey wrote to Trump raising concerns about Secretary of Energy Chris Wright’s close relationship with Oklo Inc., a nuclear technology company that suggests a conflict of interest within the Administration that could compromise U.S. national security by providing weapons-usable plutonium to private industry. On September 10, 2025, Senator Markey and Representatives John Garamendi (CA-08) and Don Beyer (VA-08) wrote to President Trump expressing concern over DOE’s plan to transfer at least 20 metric tons of weapons-usable plutonium to private industry for commercial energy use.

# # #

We should keep in mind that the purpose of the organizations that intend to use the plutonium is to use it to make electricity. It is worth looking at that.

No commercial nuclear reactor has ever been run entirely on plutonium. Reactors using what is called MOX (mixed oxide) are used in France, but they only contain about 11% plutonium, at most. A nuclear reactor that uses plutonium would have to be developed from scratch, a process that would take years.

There would have to be adequate security on the plutonium. This goes beyond meaning that terrorists would not get any of it. The security around moving it would be complex, but it would have to be very sure. If the reactor were in Wyoming and the plutonium at Los Alamos, in New Mexico, it would have to be transported between those sites. How would that be done? It would have to be done entirely in secret, to be safe. But that means secret shipments of a material that is potent enough to make a nuclear bomb out of less than twenty pounds. And that is just one of many considerations.

On the other hand, we have ways to generate electricity that are almost certainly less expensive, do not produce waste, are non-polluting, and are highly reliable. These are solar, wind, and batteries. Solar and batteries are commonly used for off-grid homes, but they can be scaled from up to provide for a power grid. This is not new technology. It is used all over the world. And the electricity it produces is highly reliable and just about the least expensive out there. It can be installed very quickly.

Why would anyone what to pay extra to have bomb-grade materials moved secretly through their communities for the sake of making what may be the highest-cost power available?

 

 

Grid connection approval has been secured for massive solar farm and eight-hour battery hybrid project, expected to be the biggest of its kind in Australia.

The post Australia’s biggest solar-battery hybrid project secures grid connection approval appeared first on Renew Economy.