Green Energy Times

Headline News:

• “GM Really Wasn’t Kidding About Those New LMR EV Batteries” • GM was among the US automakers that pulled back on their EV lineups when the federal EV tax credit was killed. But the company still kept its LMR batteries going through Ultium Cells, a joint venture with leading firm LG Energy Solution. Now that could pay off. [CleanTechnica]

LMR battery (Courtesy of GM)

• “Global Economic Impact Of Iran War ‘Unbearable,’ Qatar Warns” • The Iran war has put an “unbearable” strain on the global economy, Qatar warned. It said meetings aimed to reach a deal are continuing and Doha has resumed its role as a mediator between Washington and Tehran. However, it warned its role could come to an end. [Euronews]
• “Connecticut’s Reckless Drive For More Nuclear Power” • New England governors are meeting to push for more nuclear power. Supposedly there’s a crisis, a need for lots more electricity for AI. There’s a crisis, all right, but it’s not some desperate need for AI. Instead, it’s the fires, droughts, glacier breakdowns and extreme weather due to collapsing climates. [CT Mirror]
• “UK’s biggest AI supercomputer may have to wait until 2030s for enough power” • The launch of the UK’s largest planned AI supercomputer, due to open next year, could be delayed until the 2030s because of problems securing enough electric energy. The site is being developed in Loughton, east of London, by the UK-based start-up Nscale. [Euronews]
• “Italy’s Battery ‘Gold Rush’: Energy Storage Creates A New Market” • Huge battery storage systems are needed to support a grid dominated by renewable energy, able to absorb surplus energy and feed it back later. Their role is so important that it started a “gold rush,” with Italy in a leading position. Italy will need about 72 GWh of storage by 2030. [Euronews]

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Headline News:

• “Germany Sets PV Record, Produces Three Times As Much Solar Power As Australia So Far This Year” • By 27 September, Germany’s net electricity from solar had reached 90.2 TWh, exceeding the total of 90 TWh for last year, according to data from Fraunhofer ISE. This is almost triple the amount from solar in Australia in the same time. [Renew Economy]

German solar farm (Hansainvest Real Assets image)

• “US Renewables Additions Hit 89 GW” • US renewable energy and utility-scale battery storage capacity increased by more than 88.7 GW between 1 February 2025 and 31 July 2026, according to the SUN DAY Campaign. The combined capacity of renewable energy sources expanded by 14.6%, or 62 GW, while grid battery energy storage doubled. [reNews]
• “Solar Surpasses Nuclear Power Globally For First Time” • The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2026, overseen by French nuclear energy consultant Mycle Schneider, shows that the wind surpassed nuclear generation for the first time in March, 2025. This was followed by solar in April, so for the first time world solar generation exceeded nuclear. [pv magazine Global]
• “Electric Trucks Cheaper To Operate Than Diesel For Almost Half Of Trucks Sold In The EU” • Electric trucks have a lower total cost of ownership in six out of nine major EU markets, a T&E report shows. In the Netherlands and Germany, electric trucks reach their payback time after only two years, and savings can be over €85,000 in five years. [CleanTechnica]
• “Trump Administration Rolls Back Fuel Economy Standards For Automakers” • The Department of Transportation is easing fuel economy standards that were put in place during the Biden administration. DOT Secretary Sean P Duffy said that changing CAFE standards will make vehicles more affordable by creating “commonsense” guidelines for automakers. [ABC News]

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Headline News:

• “Nor’Easter Turns Deadly As It Lashes Northeast With Rain, Wind And Flooding” • Bands of heavy rain moved onshore from Delaware up to Massachusetts in a nor’easter that turned deadly. Parts of the Jersey Shore, as well as southeastern New England, have received up to 3 inches of rain over the last 24 hours. The storm has claimed at least one life. [ABC News]

Nor’easter approaching New Jersey (Stuttle2, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

• “Solar, Wind, Battery Storage, And Politics: It’s Complicated” • In the summer of 2026, demand for electricity in Texas broke the previous record of 85.5 GW, set three years ago, 45 times. Through it all, there were no blackouts. How could that be? The answer, according to the Houston Chronicle, was lots of solar, wind, and battery storage. [CleanTechnica]
• “Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Is Nearly Complete” • The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant was shut down in 2016 by Entergy because it was losing money in the deregulated New England energy market. Now decommissioning is quickly approaching completion, and almost all of the $602 million decommissioning trust fund has been spent. [Greenfield Recorder]
• “Scientists Generate solar power 10 meters Beneath The Sea” • Researchers say they have successfully tested solar panels at depths previously considered impractical for the technology. During a two-hour trial near the Weizhou Islands, off the coast of southern China, the panels generated power from sunlight at a depth of 10 meters. [Euronews]
• “NSW Switches On One Of World’s Most Powerful Batteries” • The Waratah Super Battery is fully operational, adding 850 MW of power and 1680 MWh of storage to the New South Wales grid. Built on the site of a former coal-fired power station, the battery can supply enough power to meet the peak demand of as many as 340,000 NSW households. [Utility Magazine]

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Headline News:

• “Brazil’s Energy Mix Goes Green Even As Oil Production Climbs” • Brazil is continuing to expand its renewable energy capacity thanks to favorable national policies and support from foreign investors. The South American giant has developed an impressive green energy industry in recent years, even as its oil and gas production expands. [OilPrice.com]

Solar farm (Kleber Reudo, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

• “A Month After Floods In Nepal, Thousands Are Still Missing And Families Face A Long Recovery” • A month after devastating floods swept through parts of Nepal, thousands are displaced. Also, rescuers continue searching for thousands others are still missing, including many believed trapped in six hydropower project tunnels. [ABC News]
• “Germany Makes First Explicit Fossil-Fuel Exit Pledge, Targets 80% Renewable Power By 2030” • Germany has committed to ending its use of fossil fuels by 2045. As part of that effort, it wants renewables to supply 80% of its power by 2030, up from 55%, while also adding 12 GW of new onshore wind and reaching 215 GW of solar capacity. [The Cool Down]
• “Al Gore On The Global Climate Crisis: ‘We’re Going To Win This’” • Two decades after the release of his groundbreaking documentary An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore has admitted he was surprised by the ferocious, ongoing backlash from the fossil fuel industry and its political allies. But the former US vice-president insists he still has optimism. [Mother Jones]
• “Scientists Launch Workaround After Trump Administration Dismantles National Climate Assessment” • After the Trump administration dismantled key parts of the federal process behind the next National Climate Assessment, major scientific groups hastened to keep the work alive. Their work is to keep up a crucial stream of climate information. [Yahoo]

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Headline News:

• “Donut Battery Vindicated: Element Analysis Proves Battery Not Lithium Or Sodium” • One by one, critic theories about Donut Lab are chopped down, and now another is done. The Donut Lab battery is definitely not based on lithium or sodium. While Donut Lab has more to prove, it becomes increasingly clear that critics are grasping at straws. [CleanTechnica]

Donut Lab (MKFI, public domain)

• “Vattenfall Unveils 425-MW English Onshore Duo” • Vattenfall unveiled proposals for two onshore wind farms in east England totaling around 425 MW. The 126-MW Chatteris and 303-MW Redmere are both to be built in East Anglia and have 47 turbines between them. Each will be developed under its own planning application, Vattenfall said. [reNews]
• “El Niño To Be The Strongest In Living Memory” • Sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean are already the highest recorded during any El Niño, and the phenomenon is still strengthening. Experts estimate the extreme heat associated with it could contribute to 451,000 additional deaths between June 2026 and February 2027. [Euronews]
• “Low Carbon Plans 500-MW Oxfordshire Energy Park” • Low Carbon is developing proposals, combining solar PV capacity with battery energy storage, for the 500-MW West Oxfordshire Energy Park. Low Carbon said the project could generate enough clean electricity each year to power the equivalent of about 145,000 UK homes. [reNews]
• “New Battery Storage Facilities Support Renewable Energy, Grid Reliability” • A new battery storage facility in White Rock, Nova Scotia will help maximize renewable energy resources while increasing grid capacity and reliability. Three 50-MW, 200-MWh battery storage facilities that have been built in Nova Scotia are now operational. [PNI Atlantic News]

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Headline News:

• “Germany To Abandon Fossil Fuels By 2045” • Germany has unveiled a plan to end its fossil fuel reliance by 2045. It is the third in Europe to publish a plan. France was the first, though the plan’s end date is 2050, and the Netherlands has a plan. Other countries are being slow to detail their paths forward, though they had promised to do so. [Euronews]

Wind turbines in Germany (Barbara Horn, Unspash)

• “Rising Seas Are Sinking Futures: The UN Adopts Declaration On Seal Level Rise” • The UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise was adopted by consensus on as the UN chief warned that rising sea waters are already threatening the future of coastal communities worldwide. Without drastic emissions cuts, seas could rise by a meter by the end of the century. [UN News]
• “Envision Unveils 8-MW Unit For Europe” • Envision Energy has introduced a new onshore wind turbine for the European market. It is an 8-MW onshore wind turbine with a 175-meter rotor. The company said the turbine, introduced at WindEnergy Hamburg, is designed for sites with medium wind speeds and complex operating environments. [reNews]
• “Solar Farms Could Cut Dust Pollution” • Large arrays of solar panels can slow winds close to the ground and help stabilize the soil, reducing amounts of dust in the atmosphere. Modeling done at Nanjing University suggests that expanding solar farms in line with China’s 2060 carbon target could reduce airborne particles in northern China by almost 14%. [Phys.org]
• “LA Metro Secures 220 Battery-Electric Transit Buses” • LA Metro approved the purchase of 220 battery-electric buses in a major step towards Metro accelerating implementation of its zero-emission commitment to 100% electric buses. The 220-bus purchase will more than double the number of electric buses in Metro’s fleet. [CleanTechnica]

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Headline News:

• “Senator Sanders Has Introduced A Bill To Ban Artificial Superintelligence And Create Deptartment Of AI” • Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar introduced legislation that would ban artificial superintelligence, pause development of advanced AI systems, and create a Department of Artificial Intelligence. [ABC News]

Bernie Sanders (Anderseidesvik, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

• “OECD Lifts 2026 Global Economic Growth Forecast To 2.9% Despite Iran War” • In its interim outlook, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development raised its growth projection for 2026 by 0.1% from June. It says the world economy “has weathered the energy supply shock triggered by the conflict in the Middle East better than expected.” [Euronews]
• “OpenAI, Anthropic CEOs At UN Call For Global Cooperation On AI: ‘We Are At A Crossroads” • The leaders of OpenAI and Anthropic delivered a clear message to the UN Security Council: the threat of AI is real and the time to act is now. Addressing high-level foreign ministers, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said “this moment calls for extreme care.” [ABC News]
• “Gulf Nations Have Found Ways To Keep Oil Flowing” • When Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the war, to choke off sea passage for 15 million barrels of oil a day, many feared that rising prices would crater the world economy. But oil exporters and the US military found multi-layered workarounds in a clandestine game of whack-a-mole. [ABC News]
• “NYSERDA Approves State Renewable Energy Projects” • The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is initiating eight new bulk energy storage projects and thirteen large-scale renewable energy projects in the state. Combined, these projects are expected to provide 1.7 GW of new large-scale energy resources. [Solar Power World]

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Headline News:

• “Why Tugboats Fit Batteries Better Than Their Power Ratings Suggest” • Tugboats do not initially look like good candidates for battery propulsion. A harbor tug has to shove, pull and control ships weighing tens or hundreds of thousands of tonnes. But a tugboat’s maximum load rating is easy to confuse with its energy requirement. [CleanTechnica]

Tugboat (Andrew Danks, Unsplash)

• “States Launch US Offshore Wind Buyout Cases” • California and New York have launched legal challenges over the Trump Administration’s offshore wind lease buyouts. The Attorneys General of California and New York were joined by others in lawsuits against the administration’s agreement to buy back offshore wind energy leases. [reNews]
• “Leaders Push For Stronger AI Safeguards At UN As Trump Touts ‘Super Intelligence'” • AI has become a major topic at the UN General Assembly after incidents of the technology falling out of the control of humans and warnings by company insiders drew global alarm and calls for better government supervision of the industry. [Euronews]
• “EU Commission Rejects Calls To Delay Phase-Out Of Chinese Power Inverters” • The European Commission will not extend its November 1 deadline for phasing out Chinese-made inverters from EU-funded energy projects, despite calls from investors and the renewable energy industry for more time. The decision leaves concerns largely unanswered. [Euronews]
• “Global Energy Demand Set To Jump 60% By 2060 As The Developing Nations Power Up” • Emerging economies are going to see an explosion of energy demand over the coming decades. Countries like Brazil, India, Nigeria, and Indonesia are racing to expand their energy production and imports to keep up with rapid economic development. [OilPrice.com]

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Headline News:

• “Final Turbine Installed At Revolution Wind” • Ørsted has installed the final turbine at the 704-MW Revolution Wind array off the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island. The 65-turbine wind farm began exporting power to the grid in March of this year, and Ørsted plans on reaching full commercial operation later this year. [reNews]

Revolution Wind ( Ørsted image)

• “Kallas Urges EU Countries To Bolster Red Sea Mission As Houthi Threats Mount” • EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has asked EU countries to strengthen the Aspides mission in the Red Sea, as threats from Houthis to navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb increase. The strait is crucial for trade routes between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. [Euronews]
• “Tackling Contrails Could Avoid Ten Years of Aviation-Related Climate Warming” • Contrails left by planes reflect heat back to the Earth, adding to global warming at a similar level to the CO₂ emissions of aviation. A report by Klima Consulting finds that preventing their formation could delay aviation-related global warming by ten years. [CleanTechnica]
• “Nvidia Chip-Use Emissions Match That Of A Russian State Coal Producer, Report Says” • Emissions from the use of Nvidia’s chips could equal those of burning coal sold by Russian Coal, a Russian state-owned company, a report says. Nvidia’s supply chain emissions have risen by 725% since 2020, an increase of about 9.4 million tonnes of CO₂. [Euronews]
• “Donald Trump Loses In Court, Solar Energy Funds To Be Reinstated” • A Trump-appointed judge on the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island ruled against the Trump regime’s attempt to withhold $7 billion of funding for projects for solar energy. The funding had been for the Solar For All program. The Sierra Club commented. [CleanTechnica]

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Headline News:

• “Solar Power Is So Cheap That It’s Almost Unbelievable” • Dave Jones, co-founder of the energy research firm Ember, told the Financial Times that 26 years ago solar panels used to run between $5/W and $6/W of capacity. Today, Jones says, solar panels sell for just 12¢/W, a price he says is “offensively cheap” considering the alternatives. [Futurism]

Solar cells (Oregon DOT, CC BY-SA 2.0)

• “China Is Doing About Thirty Times More Agricultural Drone Work Than The US” • Agricultural spray drones are no longer an emerging technology in China, but ordinary farm machinery at extraordinary scale. China entered 2026 with about 309,000 plant-protection drones, and they performed about 203 million hectare-treatments during 2025. [CleanTechnica]
• “Gazelle Develops 18-MW+ Floating Wind Platform” • Gazelle Wind Power has developed and tested a new floating offshore wind platform design for 18-MW+ turbines in extreme offshore conditions. The company said the design is being developed as part of its work with a major Asian utility on a large floating offshore wind development. [reNews]
• “EV Sales At 32% – No, Make That 38%! – By 2030 ” • In July economists at Harvard University were predicting that EVs will account for a fairly healthy 32% of all new vehicle sales in the US by 2030, which is just around the corner. That estimate was since corrected to an even rosier 38%, more than quadruple the 2025 figure of just 8%. [CleanTechnica]
• “Brussels to keep ban on Arctic oil and gas drilling despite Norwegian pressure” • A ban on new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic will remain the European Commission’s official position in a revised strategy Brussels is about to unveil, a Commission spokesperson told Euronews, despite fierce pressure from oil-rich Norway to drop the ban. [Euronews]

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Headline News:

• “Wind Power Carbon Footprint: What The Lifecycle Data Actually Shows” • The wind power carbon footprint is often described as “close to zero.” While that may be a bit misleading, the total per kilowatt-hour is so small that the entire lifecycle carbon debt of a modern turbine gets repaid within about a year or two of operation. [Intelligent Living]

Wind farm (Thomas Galler, Unsplash)

• “Trump Says He Will Form New ‘AI Force’ But Continues To Call AI Fears A ‘Hoax'” • As concerns from Silicon Valley and beyond grow about the rapid pace of AI development, President Trump said he will move to create an “AI Force.” He promised to appoint a new AI czar as he continued to defend the technology. He still calls the fears about AI a “hoax.” [ABC News]
• “China’s Electric Aviation Advantage Is A Transport System, Not A Prototype” • China does not need battery aircraft to compete with 350 km/h trains between major cities. It needs them to become the better transport product on routes where another railway has poor economics and conventional regional aviation is too expensive. [CleanTechnica]
• “Canada Haunts Trump With New Offshore Wind Project” • Trump might not like it, but Wind West will add offshore wind to Nova Scotia’s energy resources. According to the Government, the province hosts annual average offshore wind speeds in the range of 9-11 meters per second, making it one of the strongest wind areas in North America. [CleanTechnica]
• “Georgia Power Adds 1.14 GW Of Solar Energy With Seven Projects” • Georgia Power said it received authorization to add 1.14 GW of new solar power capacity through agreements linked to seven projects that will begin commercial operations starting in 2029. The facilities will be distributed across different counties in Georgia. [Inspenet]

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Headline News:

• “Scientists Hope Deeper-Rooted Soybeans Can Withstand Climate Extremes And Store More Carbon” • For years, scientists have explored ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies are testing whether deeper root systems could become another tool, with a grant from the Bezos Earth Fund. [ABC News]

Growing soybeans (Nicholas A Tonelli, CC BY-SA 2.0)

• “Trump’s War On Wind Turbines Takes Another Ludicrous Turn” • The US DOE created the Integrated Energy Systems Office to combine the former Solar Energy Technologies Office and Wind Energy Technologies Office. It lists advanced PVs and a number of other technologies, including “aeromechanical energy systems.” [CleanTechnica]
• “Neptun Smulders Signs A 2-GW LanWin3 Platform Deal” • 50Hertz and Neptun Smulders Offshore Renewables have signed a contract for the construction of a 2-GW offshore converter for the LanWin3 North Sea grid connection project. 50Hertz said Siemens Energy is responsible for supplying the high-voltage components for LanWin3. [reNews]
• “Federal Judge Rules The EPA Illegally Terminated A $7 Billion Solar Program Needy Americans” • The Trump EPA illegally terminated a $7 billion Solar for All program intended to make solar power accessible to over 900,000 low-income Americans, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled. District Judge Mary McElroy vacated the termination. [ABC News]
• “Space-Based Solar Power Could Reach The Grid By 2028” • As the world rushes to build up more energy generating capacity in a rush to keep up with demand from data center hyperscalers, the public and private sectors alike are increasingly adopting an all-of-the-above approach to energy. That includes putting solar panels into space. [OilPrice.com]

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Headline News:

• “Why Beer At Oktoberfest Could Soon Be In Short Supply” • Heat, parched soil, and noticeably smaller hop cones: for many hop farmers in Austria this year’s harvest is sobering. One of the country’s most important hop-growing regions, the Mühlviertel, is especially hard hit. Even the plants that survived the dry spell have not developed as they should. [Euronews]

Growing hops vines (NRCS Oregon, public domain)

• “BYD Planning Four Factories in Europe” • To help achieve its sales goals, now that the EU has high tariffs on EVs produced in China, BYD has to set up production facilities in Europe. The news this week is that BYD is planning on having three vehicle assembly plants and one battery factory in Europe. That’s the plan for now, at least. [CleanTechnica]
• “Greenland And Antarctica Have Lost 12 Trillion Tonnes Of Ice Since 1979” • Greenland and Antarctica have lost 12.5 trillion tonnes of ice since 1979, raising global sea levels by around 3.2 cm, according to a major scientific study. The researchers found that ice loss has accelerated in recent decades, particularly since the 1990s. [Euronews]
• “Greenpeace Satellite Analysis Exposes Disinformation By Moscow On Ukrainian Attacks” • An investigation by Greenpeace Ukraine and McKenzie Intelligence Services, exposes the Russian disinformation campaign claiming that Ukrainian artillery and drone strikes have badly damaged critical electric infrastructure supplying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. [Greenpeace]
• “Ørsted Installs Second Hornsea 3 Topside” • Orsted has installed the second and final offshore converter station at the 2.9-GW Hornsea 3 wind farm off east England. The OCS was built by Aibel in Thailand, before sailing 13,000 nautical miles to Haugesund, Norway, for the installation and commissioning of high voltage equipment by Hitachi. [reNews]

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Headline News:

• “Five Takeaways From Ursula Von Der Leyen’s State Of The Union Speech” • Ursula von der Leyen gave an hour-long State of the Union speech, laying out solutions to cope with the “exceptional” challenges and the “incredible” change that Europe is undergoing. One thing that was predictable after last summer was attention to climate change. [reNews]

Ursala von der Leyen (European Parliament, CC BY-SA 4.0)

• “Sierra Club Strongly Opposes Bill To Give Legal Immunity To Fossil Fuel Companies” • Fossil fuel corporations knew they were causing climate change in the 1950s and spent millions of dollars to mislead the public. A study found that climate costs for the US economy will exceed $1 trillion this year. HR 8330 would give the companies immunity. [CleanTechnica]
• “Vineyard Wind And GE Vernova Settle Litigation” • Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova have reached an amicable settlement resolving all outstanding litigation concerning the 800-MW Vineyard Wind offshore wind project off the north-east US coast. The parties said GE Vernova withdrew its notice of termination as part of the agreement. [reNews]
• “Climate Change Was A Key Factor In Deadly Nepal-China Flood, Scientists Say” • Climate change played a significant role in last month’s deadly Himalayan disaster in Nepal, thinning glaciers and thawing mountain permafrost in ways that likely destabilized the slope before it collapsed, according to a report by World Weather Attribution. [Euronews]
• “Trump’s Slashing Of EPA Pollution Rules Will Cost Trillions” • At first glance one might think the Trump Administration’s move to reduce federal climate protection laws would be a good thing for energy stocks. The Environmental Defense Fund calculated that the move is so unhealthy it will result in between $1.5 trillion and $4.2 trillion in harm. [Yahoo]

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Headline News:

• “Congress Must Reject Attack On Clean Air Protections For Port Communities” • Congress is considering Congressional Review Act resolutions that would roll back state clean air protections, including standards that cut toxic diesel pollution from ships and commercial harbor craft that. They will be voted on in the House this week. [CleanTechnica]

Tugboat at San Francisco (Bruce Warrington, Unsplash)

• “How can Europe decarbonize without sacrificing economic development?” • Europe wants to clean up its heavy industries without sacrificing jobs or economic growth. A study suggests that may be possible, but it will require compromises. For example, most steel, ammonia, and methanol would have to be produced using green hydrogen. [Euronews]
• “What Are The Top Threats Posed By AI And Should You Be Worried?” • The most powerful AI industry executives warn of a grave threat the technology poses. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned of “serious risks.” Sam Altman of OpenAI said AI could go “very badly.” Elon Musk said AI could prove more dangerous than nuclear weapons. [ABC News]
• “Enter The Hoax Buster: Trump Dismisses AI Concerns As Europe And China Fret” • US President Donald Trump has dismissed AI extinction fears as a “hoax.” In a barrage of six posts on Truth Social, he cast himself as the only safeguard the world needs. Meanwhile, Europe and China both call for guardrails on the fast-moving technology. [Euronews]
• “Loosened EPA Power Plant Regulations Could Negatively Impact Wisconsin Public Health” • The EPA removing its rules regulating emissions for coal and gas power plants. That could hurt people, but it won’t ultimately buck the economic trend toward cleaner fuels, according to Steph Tai, University of Wisconsin Law School professor. [WPR]

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Headline News:

• “Germany Switched On A Solar Farm Over 150 Fallow Deer In Time For A Rutting-Season Battles” • Germany has reimagined how solar panels are deployed. An 8.3-MW solar park, developed by Perigus Energy, is in a fallow deer enclosure. The solar panels are elevated 5.2 to 5.9 feet above the ground to allow for rutting season battles beneath them. [Energies Media]

Stag (Pushkaraj Deshpande, Unsplash)

• “What Does The Closure Of Saudi-Arabia’s East-West Pipeline Mean For Gas Prices?” • Global oil prices climbed to their highest level since May after Saudi Arabia shut down a key pipeline, choking worldwide crude supply and threatening to put upward pressure on US gasoline prices. Brent crude had a 50% increase since the start of the war. [ABC News]
• “More Than 56% Of California Electricity Demand Supplied By Wind, Water, And Solar In 2026” • California keeps installing renewable energy power plants and rooftop solar systems. And so it keeps using more renewable energy. Stanford professor Mark Z Jacobson highlighted a few milestones for renewable energy in the state. [CleanTechnica]
• “EPA Announces Repeal Of Power Plant Emissions Limits” • The US EPA said it’s repealing most of the GHG limits for fossil fuel power plants set during the Biden administration. And the agency is proposing eliminating all other other GHG emissions for the power industry, saying there’s been “virtually no benefit” from those regulations. [ABC News]
• “US Solar Has Enough Installed Capacity To Generate Power For 50 Million Homes” • Despite the current administration’s opposition to renewable sources of energy, the US recently hit a significant milestone for solar power. By the end of the second quarter of 2026, US solar installations could match the electricity demand of over 50 million homes. [The Cool Down]

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Headline News:

• “House Democratic Leader Jeffries Calls On Lawmakers To ‘Act Urgently’ On AI” • House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said lawmakers need to take urgent action on a growing threat of AI. Previously, former Anthropic Researcher Jacob Coxon had warned, “The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” [ABC News]

Hakeem Jeffries (Maryland GovPics, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

• “Solar Power Boosts Odisha Farmers And Women’s Groups, Cutting Costs And Raising Crop Incomes” • For farmers in Odisha, irrigation has depended on monsoon rains or diesel motors. For women’s groups, unreliable electricity has delayed food processing. Now for these groups, renewable energy is helping provide power. [Asianet Newsable]
• “Hitting Climate Goals Means No Coal Power, And No New Petrol And Diesel Cars By 2035, Report Finds” • All coal-fired power stations should close and new petrol and diesel car sales end within a decade if Australia is to meet its climate goals, a Climate Analytics report found. Renewable energy investments would also need to accelerate. [Renew Economy]
• “UK Wind Power Hits Record High As Energy Security Risks Mount” • The UK has increased its wind energy capacity a lot over the last decade, producing record levels of wind power in 2025. With several more projects in the pipeline, wind power is expected to be a major share of the UK energy mix by the end of the decade, boosting energy security. [OilPrice.com]
• “Turn Off The Lights: Birds Are Migrating” • Look around your home this evening. The days are getting shorter, and our craving for light means that we are substituting artificial illumination for sunlight. It also may mean that we are unknowingly causing injury to the hundreds of species of birds that are now migrating to their southern homes. [CleanTechnica]

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

Headline News:

• “From Tiny Houses To Skis: Vattenfall Is Finding Creative Uses For Retired Wind Turbines” • In time, every wind turbine built will have to come down. Dealing with waste is important. Blades, nose cones, and nacelles are banned from landfills, but Vattenfall is finding purposes for them. For example, a nacelle might be made into a tiny house. [Euronews]

Tiny house made from nacelle (Vattenfall image)

• “El Niño Brings Record Slow Atlantic Hurricane Season” • No Atlantic hurricanes have formed yet this year and none are likely to form for at least another week, even though this is normally the peak of the season, according to the National Hurricane Center. This year set a record as the longest a season has gone without its first hurricane. [ABC News]
• “US District Court Finds JH Campbell Emergency Order Fake” • Consumers Energy, owner of the coal-burning JH Campbell plant, planned to replace it with methane and solar capacity and battery storage. This would reduce air pollution in the area along with the cost of electricity for customers. A fake emergency order stopped it. Until now. [CleanTechnica]
• “Biogas Faces A Market Reality Check As Wind And Solar Dominate Renewables” • An analysis reveals two structural challenges constraining biogas expansion: its high and stagnant costs, and feedstock limitations as a competitor for agricultural land. But over the past decade, the cost of wind and solar energy has dropped by 70% to 90%. [EIN News]
• “Anthropic CEO Says AI industry Needs To Slow Down For Safety” • Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, said the artificial-intelligence industry should slow its fast-moving development to give safety measures time to catch up. Without it, he warned, AI could be capable within six to twelve months of taking over the entire internet, for example. [ABC News]

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Headline News:

• “Five Positive Tipping Points To Save The World” • Landmark research from The Earthshot Prize and the University of Exeter revealed 51 solutions that can trigger “rapid and transformative change” to repair the planet over the next five years. Out of these 51 solutions, five priority clusters have been identified. They are called ‘Earthshots.’ [Euronews]

Wind turbine in a rainforest (César Badilla Miranda, Unsplash)

• “Rhode Island Energy Looks To Maine Onshore Wind Farm For Electricity” • After a series of failed attempts to get offshore wind power, the Rhode Island utility operator turned landward. Rhode Island Energy announced that it has tentatively agreed to buy 150 MW of electricity from an onshore wind farm planned for northern Maine. [Rhode Island Current]
• “‘Incredible Progress’: Inside The €682 Billion Drive To Turn The Mediterranean Into A Renewable Powerhouse” • An analysis estimates that the Mediterranean region has utility-scale solar and wind projects at 552 GW that have either been announced or are already under development. The analysis used data from the Global Integrated Power Tracker. [Euronews]
• “India Is Rebuilding The Case For Global Climate Finance” • Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz show India’s dependencies on oil and gas. Higher prices constrain the whole economy. The structural lesson is clear: Energy import dependence leaves India exposed not only to physical supply disruption but to long-term economic and security costs. [CleanTechnica]
• “Federal Court Rejects Trump Order Keeping Michigan Coal Plant Open” • A federal court ruled that the Energy Department exceeded its authority when it ordered a Michigan coal-fired plant to stay open past its scheduled retirement date last year. Energy Secretary Chris Wright had claimed to have emergency power to keep it operating. [ABC News]

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Headline News:

• “Vestas Reaches New Turbine Heights” • Vestas claims that a new EnVentus 7.2-MW machine installed in Winnberg, Germany, has the highest hub height ever for an onshore turbine at 199 meters (653 feet). The prototype project also has a Firmengruppe Max Bögle concrete hybrid tower. A second turbine is planned for installation next year. [reNews]

Vestas wind turbine (Vestas image)

• “Spanish Zinc-Air Battery Design Boosts Capacity And Power By 80%” • Researchers at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona developed an architecture for zinc-air batteries that can boost their power output by up to 80% without altering their core chemistry. This opens up a new avenue for designing more efficient, higher-performance batteries. [Euronews]
• “US Solar In 11-GW Q2 Surge” • The US solar industry added 11.4 GW of new electricity generating capacity in Q2 2026, a 45% year-over-year increase and a 43% increase from Q1. The Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie said that utility-scale solar led the Q2 surge with 9.6-GW installed, up 61% year-over-year. [reNews]
• “UK Households Face Higher Energy Bills Unless Aging Grid Is Upgraded, Report Warns” • Failure to accelerate updates to the UK’s aging power grid to handle rising renewable generation could cost consumers billions of pounds by 2030, the official spending watchdog has warned. Up to £70 billion in investment is required for upgrades. [Yahoo News UK]
• “MN Power Ordered To Continue Investigating Alternatives To New Gas Plant” • The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission rejected a request by Minnesota Power to build a costly new gas plant to meet future energy demand and ordered the electric utility to continue investigating alternatives that would maintain grid reliability. [CleanTechnica]

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