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Louisiana lawmakers rush to support an industry they ‘do not know a lot about’

Grist - Tue, 06/09/2026 - 01:30

A bill aimed at increasing the number of wood pellet mills in Louisiana has sailed through the state’s Legislature — despite some lawmakers, including the bill’s sponsor, acknowledging they know little about the controversial industry.

State Representative Chuck Owen, a Republican from Vernon Parish in west Louisiana, said he proposed House Bill 670 in February shortly after learning about the industry, which exports about $1 billion worth of pellets from Louisiana each year. Nearly all the production comes from two British-owned mills in central and north Louisiana that emit large — and sometimes illegal — quantities of air pollutants linked to cancers and other serious illnesses. 

Owen, whose district spans one of the state’s most timber-rich regions, said the goal of his bill is to make Louisiana a “premier location for wood pellet manufacturing.” 

The legislation gives a state agency, Louisiana Economic Development, broad direction to develop new incentives for pellet manufacturers, potentially including new tax breaks, state-funded workforce training programs, and port upgrades tailored to the industry’s needs. It also instructs state regulators to streamline permitting for pellet mills and review environmental and public safety rules that “impose unnecessary burdens on this emerging industry.”

For Owen, talking during a meeting ahead of the vote, the rationale behind expanding pellet manufacturing is simple: “We have a lot of trees in Louisiana, and north of Bunkie, that’s about all we have,” he said, referring to a town in central Louisiana. “There’s a market craving wood pellets, and I think we should get further into it.” 

But when a fellow legislator asked him to describe one of the mills and “what exactly it produces,” Owen admitted he was only vaguely familiar with it. “I do not know a lot about it,” he said. “No, sir, I do not. I know they’ve had some struggle in recent years, but I know that they’re there.”

Despite that uncertainty, Louisiana’s House and Senate passed Owen’s measure unanimously. The bill is expected to be signed into law by Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican who has backed similar measures aimed at boosting industrial growth in the state. 

Louisiana State Representative Chuck Owen wants to expand the wood pellet industry throughout the state. Allison Allsop / Louisiana Illuminator

The British energy company Drax operates the two large pellet mills in Louisiana: one in Urania, a small town in the central part of the state, and another near Bastrop in the northeast corner. Together with a nearly identical Drax facility in Gloster, Mississippi, the mills churn out billions of wood pellets to meet demand in the United Kingdom for electricity generated by wood, what the industry markets as “sustainable biomass.” 

In the U.K. and several other European countries, wood pellets are classified as a renewable energy source, making the industry eligible for large subsidies typically given to solar and wind projects. While Drax promotes itself as a purveyor of green energy, communities in the Deep South that host the pellet mills pay a high cost from air pollution, dust and noise, said Kadin Love, a community organizer with the Dogwood Alliance, an environmental group in North Carolina opposed to wood pellet manufacturing. 

“This is an industry that doesn’t have a clean history,” Love said. “This bill opens doors to the industry that we might not be able to close.”

Drax has paid nearly $6 million in fines and settlements for hundreds of pollution violations in Louisiana and Mississippi over the past six years. Despite some facility upgrades aimed at reducing pollution, the company has continued to rack up violations.  

In Gloster, where Drax has operated the longest, several residents are suing the company over what they say is a decade of exposure to toxic chemicals, including formaldehyde, acrolein, and methanol. In the mostly Black, low-income town, about 40 miles north of the state Legislature in Baton Rouge, many people blame widespread health problems, including cancer and respiratory illnesses, on the mill’s pollutants.   

In a motion to dismiss the case, Drax’s lawyers argued that the lawsuit fails to show “particularized injury that is traceable to [the mill’s] conduct.”

When asked about Owen’s bill, Drax expressed gratitude to Louisiana lawmakers for supporting the industry but declined to address pollution concerns raised by Love and other critics. “We appreciate the engagement of lawmakers and our community partners in Louisiana,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We remain focused on operating responsibly and transparently, working constructively with regulators, and continuing to support jobs and economic activity in the communities where we operate across Louisiana.”

Tommy Barbo, manager of Drax’s wood pellet mill in Urania, Louisiana, tosses a few pellets while inspecting machinery. Eric J. Shelton / Mississippi Today

During the recent deliberations over Owen’s bill in the state House, none of the representatives mentioned concerns about pollution. Like Owen, most legislators were unfamiliar with the industry and asked only basic questions. 

“Are we talking about the wood pellets you put in the smoker, or do you build stuff with these wood pellets?” asked Representative Candace Newell, a Democrat from New Orleans. “What do they look like?”

The only expert testimony came from Scott Roe, a consultant who produced a feasibility study on pellet mills in Louisiana. Roe described pellet burning as “cleaner” than other fossil fuels and said the industry could eventually use technology that “releases nothing at all.”

“So, it’s clean-burning,” said Newell, who voted in favor of the bill. “You can’t build anything with it — just clean-burning clean energy.”

But several scientists say that’s far from the truth. Drax’s wood-fueled power station in rural England emitted more than 14 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2024, making it the largest single source of CO2 in the U.K., according to a report last year from the climate research group Ember. That amount is more than the combined emissions from the country’s six largest gas plants and more than four times the level of the U.K.’s last coal plant, which shut down in 2024

The most contentious discussions about the bill concerned the industry’s potential use of carbon capture and storage technology, or CCS, which allows emitters to inject carbon dioxide underground rather than release it into the atmosphere. Tax credits and other incentives are available to industries that integrate CCS into their operations, but a growing number of Louisiana legislators oppose the technology; several pending bills would restrict CCS projects amid concerns about health and safety risks at storage sites and along pipelines that transport the gas.

During the discussion over his bill in the state House, Owen sought to distance his bill from CCS, or the “C-word,” as he called it. 

Drax, however, has pledged heavy investment in CCS technology. In 2023, the company established a new office in Houston focused on pairing biomass with CCS projects across North America. “The U.S. Gulf Coast has emerged as a major hub for carbon capture and sequestration investment and technology, a key component of the company’s plans to expand clean electric generation from renewable resources,” Drax CEO Will Gardiner said at the time.

Some members of the Louisiana Legislature wanted assurances that the bill wouldn’t help Drax reach its CCS goals. Owen promised to kill his own bill if the Senate tried to insert language supporting the technology. 

“If, on the [Senate] side, they try to make it pro-carbon capture, will you pull it?” asked Representative Robby Carter, a Democrat from St. Helena Parish. 

“Pull it,” Owen responded.  

The Senate steered clear of the CCS debate and passed the bill with only a few minor wording changes on May 27.

The bill gained support largely because of its promises to boost the state’s struggling forest products sector. Several pulp and paper mills have shut down in Louisiana, leaving many small communities with few jobs and empty downtowns. Backers argued that the pellet industry could help fill that void. Low-grade pine once used for paper production can instead be made into pellets, creating a new market for Louisiana trees and potentially revitalizing the state’s forestry economy.

“What this bill is about is employing people,” Owen said during deliberations. 

But the three Drax mills each employ about 70 people, which is far fewer than the hundreds employed by many of the older mills. 

Louisiana has granted Drax generous tax breaks aimed at boosting employment. Through the state’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program, Drax has avoided paying about $75 million in property taxes that would otherwise support local school districts and local government operations, Verite News and Grist found in a review of estimates from Louisiana Economic Development. 

The industry’s growth looks uncertain as European countries are increasingly skeptical of the claim that burning wood is better for the environment than relying on other energy sources. The U.K. government recently decided the current subsidies for Drax would be cut in half next year. 

There have been other signs of trouble for the industry. Enviva, once the world’s largest wood pellet producer, filed for bankruptcy in 2024. Drax has also scaled back some of its North American expansion plans and recently shuttered its two Arkansas mills after only a few years in operation.

Love, from the Dogwood Alliance, said he was stunned that Louisiana’s legislators rushed to pass Owen’s bill unanimously despite having only a superficial understanding of the industry and without much, if any, consideration of the environmental and economic risks.

“If you’re making a state law that exclusively benefits one industry, I’d hope they’d do some homework on it,” Love said. “The fact that they’re not doing the due diligence of researching this industry is incredibly concerning.”

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This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Louisiana lawmakers rush to support an industry they ‘do not know a lot about’ on Jun 9, 2026.

Categories: H. Green News

Kokushobi: My vote for word of the year for 2026

Resilience - Tue, 06/09/2026 - 01:00
As Japan coins a new term for “cruelly hot days,” its linguistic and institutional adaptation to extreme heat starkly contrasts with growing climate denial among U.S. political elites, revealing an emerging global split between fossil-fuel holdouts and nations pushing for a rapid energy transition.

Sovereignty and rising sea levels: Climate change is reshaping the meaning of nationhood

Resilience - Tue, 06/09/2026 - 01:00
As rising sea levels threaten low-lying island nations, questions once confined to legal theory are becoming urgent realities. From Tuvalu to the Maldives, climate change is forcing governments and communities to reconsider what sovereignty and nationhood mean when territory itself is disappearing.

Guide to Staying Human – Part 2: Navigating dread and carrying the weight of tomorrow

Resilience - Tue, 06/09/2026 - 01:00
Opening with a personal reflection on his own relationship to dread, Nate describes how the chronic anticipation of collapse affects the human nervous system long before any single crisis fully arrives.

Afrika Vuka Week 2026

350.org - Tue, 06/09/2026 - 00:55

Africa stands at a pivotal crossroads. As the climate crisis intensifies in the region, it is disproportionately crushing marginalized communities, particularly women and youth. Yet, our continent is home to the world’s most abundant renewable energy resources and a vibrant, youth-driven climate movement ready to claim the future.

Every year leading up to Africa Day on May 25, Afrika Vuka Week serves as our annual moment to channel Pan-African solidarity into bold, collective action for climate justice. This year, under the banner of REPower Afrika, our message was loud, clear, and uncompromising: Access to affordable energy is a human right –  End the Political Crisis.

We are building a pan-African movement advocating for clean energy that is rooted in people’s power and the lived realities of everyday Africans.

The problem: we pay, they profit

Africa is currently trapped in a severe, manufactured energy crisis. Decades of fossil fuel extraction have left 600 million Africans without electricity access. The continent contributes only a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it continues to suffer disproportionately from fuel price spikes, debt distress, inflation, and food insecurity tied to global oil and gas markets

Ongoing global conflicts and supply chain disruptions have caused the prices of fossil fuels like gas and oil to spike yet again. While multinational corporations rake in record-breaking profits from these crises, African governments, ordinary households and businesses are being pushed into deep debt. In 2026 alone, six major oil corporations — Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon, and TotalEnergies — are projected to pocket $94 billion in fossil fuel profits: enough to provide solar power for the energy needs of almost 50 million people in Africa.

When fossil energy prices skyrocket, the cost of everything else follows: transportation costs spike, groceries and basic food items become unaffordable and monthly utility bills grow unmanageable. This situation is the direct result of a global system built on fossil fuels that prioritizes the profits of a few companies over the lives of millions.

A deeply unjust, gendered burden

This crisis is not gender-neutral, it hits women the hardest. Across Africa, the structural failure to provide affordable energy fuels the feminization of poverty. Women spend up to 4 hours a day on unpaid care work — triple the time of men — searching for firewood or cooking over dangerous kerosene and charcoal stoves, with 70% of rural Sub-Saharan Africa still dependent on traditional biomass.  The consequences are devastating:  severe, long-term health problems and forcing women to scramble to afford basic necessities. We cannot solve our continent’s poverty and health crises as long as we remain tied to expensive, volatile fossil fuels. It is time to put people over profits.

How Afrika Vuka Week 2026 took this fight to the streets, schools and town halls

Last month,  the 23 to 30May, we mobilized during Afrika Vuka Week 2026 under the banner of  Pan-African solidarity to redefine the energy crisis not just as a technical challenge, but as a fundamental human right and a pressing political crisis.

Over the seven days of  coordinated actions across the continent, we shifted the narrative. We made sure  affordable renewable energy was at the center of political debate and  community voices were leading  the fight for an equitable energy transition. Our  cost of living stories from locals put a human face to what rising fossil fuel prices actually mean:  unaffordability of daily life.

Throughout the Week of Action, local groups tailored interventions to their unique realities. From grassroots organizing to creative expression, communities mobilized in many ways:

Through marches and awareness walks, we demanded political accountability, including a bike march in Democratic Republic of Congo by Shujaa Initiative. 

Artivism, concerts, and pop-culture captured the spirit of resistance with Green Society holding a Art4Climate workshop in Egypt led by Professional Visual Artist Hossna Hanafy

Educational talks in schools and universities to equip the next generation like the one in Nigeria led by Quest For Growth and Development Foundation at the Community Secondary School, Rumuodumaya, Port Harcourt.

Community Dialogues & Town Halls shared lived experiences such as the Renewable Energy Assembly in Uganda led by the Centre for Environmental Research and Agriculture Innovation (CERAI) and Youth for Nature Conservancy (YNC). 

The results speak for themselves. The REPower Afrika campaign is now recognized across the continent as the definitive roadmap for a just transition away from expensive fossil fuels. Local groups owned the campaign, driving solutions built around their communities’ real needs. Because true energy justice isn’t just about switching to solar, geothermal, and wind. It’s about doing it fairly, democratically, affordably and without saddling African nations with yet more debt.

Here is what we are fighting for: a renewable energy future that dismantles the exploitative, debt-heavy funding models that burden our people. Instead, we champion community-owned, decentralized solutions. Africa rises with the sun and wind – our energy transition must empower our people, not foreign creditors.

Join the Movement: 

The Afrika Vuka Network is calling for an immediate shift toward community-led renewable energy. People deserve clean, affordable energy that puts our needs first – and it is time for our governments to deliver it. 

#AffordableEnergy – Let’s claim it together! Join our whatsapp channel for the latest updates!

The post Afrika Vuka Week 2026 appeared first on 350.

Categories: G1. Progressive Green

The Human Rights Impacts of Large-Scale ‘Modern’ Biomass Energy

Global Forest Coalition - Tue, 06/09/2026 - 00:24

As governments search for alternatives to fossil fuels, large-scale biomass energy is increasingly being promoted as a renewable solution. But behind the industry’s rapid expansion lies a growing body of evidence showing serious harm to forests, communities, Indigenous Peoples, human health, and fundamental human rights.

Today, the Environmental Paper Network (EPN) and the Global Forest Coalition (GFC), as part of the Biomass Action Network, are launching a new briefing: The Human Rights Impacts of Large-scale ‘Modern’ Biomass Energy. Released during the UN climate negotiations (SB64) in Bonn, the briefing highlights how the production and burning of forest biomass is driving human rights abuses across the globe.

The briefing documents impacts throughout the biomass supply chain, from forest destruction and industrial tree plantations to pellet manufacturing facilities and biomass power stations. It shows how expanding demand for biomass is contributing to land grabbing, violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, loss of livelihoods, threats to food security, worsening air pollution, and serious public health impacts. Communities in countries including Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Sweden, Chile, Brazil, Ghana, Mozambique, Uganda, and the United States are already experiencing these consequences.

The briefing also highlights growing international concern, including a warning from the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change that new bioenergy developments should be approached with the highest level of precaution due to significant climate, environmental, and human rights risks.

As governments negotiate climate policies in Bonn, the briefing calls on policymakers to:

  • End subsidies and incentives that promote large-scale forest biomass energy;
  • Stop classifying forest biomass as a renewable or carbon-neutral energy source;
  • Respect and uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC);
  • Prioritize genuinely clean, low-impact renewable energy solutions that protect forests, biodiversity, human rights, and climate stability.

We encourage policymakers, civil society organisations, journalists, and concerned citizens to read the briefing, share it widely, and join calls for a just energy transition that protects both people and forests.

About the Biomass Action Network

The Biomass Action Network is a coalition of more than 220 NGOs across 70 countries. Our position statement, The Biomass Delusion, outlines the significant harm large-scale forest biomass burning causes to the climate, forests, people, and the clean energy transition. The network works to expose the impacts of biomass energy, amplify community voices, and advocate for policies that protect forests, uphold human rights, and accelerate a genuinely sustainable energy transition.

Categories: G1. Progressive Green

Real existing degrowth

Red Pepper - Tue, 06/09/2026 - 00:00

Radical alternatives to capitalism are being practiced across the world as everyday realities, writes Grace Wright-Arora

The post Real existing degrowth appeared first on Red Pepper.

Categories: F. Left News

Another boiler demolished at shuttered coal power plant in spectacular explosion

Renew Economy - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 23:07

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.

Amtrak’s Penn Station Dog And Pony Show Avoided the Only Question That Matters

Streetsblog USA - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 21:08

No money, mo’ problems.

Amtrak honchos officially showed off renderings for President Trump and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy’s renovation of Penn Station on Monday, but left unsaid amid the unveiling of pretty pictures was the only aspect of the Penn Station redevelopment that matters: How much will it cost, and who’s paying?

One possible answer: Tenant railroads Amtrak, the MTA and New Jersey Transit. According to the development company vice president Peter Cipriano (who was a senior adviser to the U.S. DOT during President Trump’s first term), those tenants might have to pony up “availability payments” to cover a share of the project costs.

“Presumably there will be some level of availability payment at the end of the road on this project, like Amtrak has on 30th Street Station in Philadelphia,” the Halmar executive told reporters.

This type of payment scheme — which the railroads will almost certainly pass on to their riders — was the linchpin of the Halmar/ASTM plan that Cipriano’s team pitched the MTA in 2023. That plan would have involved Halmar and its parent company ASTM funding the renovation upfront, then collecting $250 million per year over 50 years from each over the three tenant railroads.

But neither Cipriano nor Andy Byford, Amtrak’s special adviser for Penn Station, would put a pricetag or timeline on the “availability payments.”

Byford, who has openly bragged about using President Trump to strong-arm New York into accept the project, insisted he would not allow an “unaffordable” funding scheme.

“I made it very clear in the RFP to the bidders: do not come with a proposal that saddles the railroads, of which Amtrak is obviously one, with unaffordable availability payments, because you won’t get through, you will not win,” said Byford. “My strategy is to minimize the gap between the overall cost and what we can raise through capital, like loans and grants, and what remains to be paid for via availability payments.”

One type of “availability payment” that Byford insisted is not in play is a surcharge on train tickets for trips originating from Penn Station. But riders will wind up paying in one way or the other if Amtrak plans to charge the railroads they ride, and the MTA is already raising objections to the proposal.

“Gov. Hochul has been clear from the day President Trump took over this project: if he wants it, then he’ll have to pay for it,” said MTA spokesperson Mitch Schwartz. “Secretary Duffy didn’t have any problem with that arrangement when he told Congress that his administration was ready to ‘give’ Penn Station $8 billion — the full cost of the project. Now, they’re admitting their real plan is to charge New York taxpayers billions. Their position may have changed. Ours hasn’t: we’re not interested in that deal.”

Amtrak held Monday’s press briefing in order to reveal renderings of the project, some of which were previously published in Gothamist. Cipriano, Byford and architect Vishaan Chakrabarti did not seem eager to discuss the project’s funding despite a barrage of criticism and concerns from Manhattan pols including Rep. Jerry Nadler.

Recommended

Penn Station Belongs to New Yorkers
Jerry Nadler

June 8, 2026

Byford eventually copped to a vague total cost of between $7 billion and $8 billion — the reported price for the previous Halmar plan in 2023. Part of that cost included paying Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan $500 million to buy the Hulu Theater (formerly the Felt Forum) and knock it down to make way for a station entrance on the Eighth Avenue side of the station.

Other wild cards remain in the offing: A recently passed amendment to the proposed federal Build America 250 Act would give Amtrak the power to seize local property tax funding to pay for station rehab projects.

The redesign promises a grand interior.

The amendment is not yet law, but if it passes critics warn it will enable a federal land grab that could allow real estate titan Vornado to redevelop the area and send its billions in property taxes that otherwise would have gone to New York City to pay for what is essentially a facelift for Penn Station.

For his part, Cipriano suggested that proposed scheme was no different than what New York state had previously proposed for the project (somethong local critics also opposed).

“If Amtrak got that authority, Andy would probably go through a process that looks somewhat similar to the one that [New York State] undertakes now. He would go to the city and say, ‘This is what we want to do. Can we work together?’ Should this thing get built, I think it’s fair to speculate that the surrounding property values will go up,” he said. “People call that ‘value uplift.’ What we’re talking about is Amtrak, by virtue of having delivered this, especially if the state’s not participating in costs, Amtrak should get a piece of that value which it created. That’s all. It’s fair. It’s done throughout the world,:

Cipriano alluded to, but did not directly mention, the previous Penn Station redevelopment plan floated by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and briefly pursued by Gov. Hochul to do a similar value capture scheme in which New York seized zoning power around Penn Station through the creation of a land-use action called a General Project Plan.

Through the GPP, the state planned to give Vornado the power to develop multiple office buildings around Penn, and pay payments in lieu of taxes to cover the costs of the Penn Station renovation.

But the Cuomo-Hochul plan had built-in guardrail — including a chance for the state’s Public Authorities Control Board to review plans for each parcel of land. Critics of the GPP and the House amendment passed last week threw cold water on Cipriano’s spin.

“The so-called ‘Transit Oriented Development’ amendment … is an unprecedented power grab from the Trump administration and Vornado to steal New York City tax revenues for what appears to be an unnecessarily expensive facelift for Penn Station,” said Reinvent Albany Senior Policy Advisor Rachael Fauss. “It overrides all local authority over taxation and zoning in the area around Penn Station. Even if Amtrak did agree to consult with local officials, there is no requirement they do so and they could stop at any time if they don’t like what they hear.”

Tuesday’s Headlines’ Goal Is Better Transit

Streetsblog USA - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 21:01
  • World Cup host cities like Seattle, Atlanta, Boston and Kansas City are using the event to beef up their transit systems in ways that will hopefully outlast the global soccer tournament. (Next City)
  • Both the location of housing near transit and the frequency of transit service are important for getting people to ride transit. Surprisingly, Los Angeles is at the top of the Urban Institute’s metric, followed by San Francisco and New York City. Less surprisingly, Sun Belt cities Dallas, Houston and Atlanta are at the bottom.
  • A private company hires and trains bus drivers for Boston public schools. TransDev drivers were responsible for at least 60 deaths nationwide in the past decade, but most were not reported by the federal database that tracks such crashes, which means communities contracting with TransDev don’t know about its record. (ProPublica)
  • The new Penn Station renderings are in, but the cost accounting isn’t. (Streetsblog NYC)
  • Delays in Sound Transit projects have led to calls to reform the Seattle transit agency. (The Urbanist)
  • California is cracking down on polluted runoff from parking lots. (Los Angeles Times)
  • What’s the point of even having city governments if the Texas legislature can override anything they do? (Tribune)
  • Passenger trains were delayed Saturday when a barge hit a rail bridge in Maryland. (New York Times)
  • The Utah Transit Authority is addressing gaps in service. (Utah Public Radio)
  • The D.C. Metro is closing three Red Line stations for construction this summer. (WTOP)
  • Las Vegas is lowering the speed limit on Centennial Parkway as part of a Vision Zero effort to reduce deadly crashes. (Fox 5)
  • Are Honolulu residents treating bikeshare like a mere novelty? (Civil Beat)
  • Arkansas cities should do a better job of maintaining sidewalks. (Democrat-Gazette)
  • Ann Arbor is experimenting with asphalt made from recycled tires. (Equipment World)
  • Carmel, the small Indiana town of 100,000, has more than 150 roundabouts that have cut car crashes by 80 percent. (CNU Public Square)
  • Feel like taking a scenic train trip this summer? Travel + Leisure suggests a few Amtrak routes.

Australia is leading the world on PV generation, but risks losing its seat at the global solar table

Renew Economy - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 20:59

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.

“Coal is essential …. when the batteries run dead:” Queensland extends mine lease for second oldest generator

Renew Economy - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 19:59

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.

Network tariffs blamed for failure of warehouses and businesses to follow household lead on rooftop solar

Renew Economy - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 18:13

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 and wind are crushing evening peak prices, and there is more pain to come for gas and coal

Renew Economy - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 18:07

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.

U-M Researchers Help Ocean Observations Snap into Focus

Environment News Service - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 16:55

University of Michigan researchers have used a U.S. Navy ocean forecasting model to predict where internal tides occur in the ocean in order to bring ocean patterns important to weather forecasting and shipping into clearer focus.

Categories: H. Green News

Plants Could Be Used to Grow Medicines in Space, Study Shows

Environment News Service - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 16:53

Astronauts on long space missions may one day use plants to produce fresh stocks of medicines on demand, thanks to new research by engineers at the University of California San Diego. 

Categories: H. Green News

Fighting Fire with Fire

Environment News Service - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 16:51

In May and June of most years, NASA satellites typically begin to detect large numbers of wildland fires throughout the Top End and Arnhem Land regions of Australia’s Northern Territory. 

Categories: H. Green News

Various Benefits of Playing Tangandewa Link Alternatif Slots

Hambach Forest - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 16:33

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The post Various Benefits of Playing Tangandewa Link Alternatif Slots appeared first on HAMBACHFOREST.

Categories: B4. Radical Ecology

Field Notes: Paraguay’s Ayoreo People and the Disappearing Chaco

Global Justice Ecology Project - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 16:26
Field Notes: Paraguay’s Ayoreo People and the Disappearing Chaco (Season 2 Episode 2) https://youtu.be/bbLXmhOzlXg?si=EAy-Nt-DvUk7phWf In Paraguay’s Gran Chaco forest, one of the fastest-disappearing forests on Earth, the Ayoreo people—some still uncontacted—face existential threats from expanding cattle ranching, land grabs, road building, illegal logging, and human-set fires. Narrated by photojournalist Orin langelle. Field Notes — Dispatches […]
Categories: B4. Radical Ecology

Cascade Institute partners with Seequent to map Canada’s geothermal resources

Cascade Institute - Mon, 06/08/2026 - 16:09

The Cascade Institute has partnered with Seequent, 400C Energy, INRS, and Simon Fraser University to develop the Canadian Thermal Model — a comprehensive mapping of the vast geothermal resources beneath our feet.

This national initiative will reveal Canada’s deep geothermal resources and accelerate the development of renewable energy. The announcement happened on the opening day of the world’s biggest geothermal event, being held in Calgary from June 8 to 11.

As investment in geothermal energy surges globally as a reliable, always-on clean power source, the Canadian Thermal Model will create a comprehensive national view of deep heat resources using novel machine learning methods to address a long-standing challenge for the sector: limited subsurface data coverage. Seequent is providing access to its world-leading geophysics software to accelerate research into the Earth’s subsurface.

This initiative advances knowledge of Canada’s geothermal energy reserves by integrating geologic and geophysical datasets into InterPIGNN machine learning algorithm for deep heat modelling. By improving confidence in where geothermal resources are located, the model provides a critical foundation to inform investment, policy planning, and project development nationwide.

“Canada has a significant opportunity to advance geothermal when the need for reliable, always-on clean energy has never been greater,” said Jeremy O’Brien, Energy Segment Director, Seequent. “Realizing that potential starts with greater subsurface certainty and making data accessible to key stakeholders. Combining this access with best-in-class geophysics enables more accurate mapping of heat at depth. The Canadian Thermal Model brings these elements together to create a national view of deep geothermal resources, helping to reduce risk, guide investment, and accelerate development.”

Cascade Institute specialists, working with a team of geoscientists and research partners, including Simon Fraser University, 400 C, and the Geological Survey of Canada Pacific Division, the Institute will develop the model using data integration workflows supported by Seequent’s Oasis montaj geophysics software. Seequent’s technology will process and visualize the data required to inform energy markets on resource availability and development costs.

“Canada has world-class subsurface expertise and a growing opportunity to lead in geothermal,” said Thomas Homer-Dixon, Executive Director of the Cascade Institute. “This project will provide a foundational resource to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of geothermal energy at scale.”

The Canadian Thermal Model reflects a broader industry shift toward data-driven geothermal development, including next-generation technologies and national-scale resource assessment. It also underscores the growing importance of partnerships between research institutions, technology providers, and the wider energy sector to scale geothermal from opportunity to infrastructure.

Seequent supports more than 60% of the world’s geothermal power generation, with experience spanning next-generation projects such as Fervo Energy’s Cape Station in Utah, and long-established operations including Ormat’s global footprint, reflecting deep expertise that drives the sector forward.

To kick off the collaboration, Cascade and Seequent hosted a discussion at WGC on June 8, titled “The Next Frontier: Exploring the Potential of Canada’s Deep Geothermal Resources.

The post Cascade Institute partners with Seequent to map Canada’s geothermal resources appeared first on Cascade Institute.
Categories: G1. Progressive Green

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