Green Energy Times

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.

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.

Headline News:

• “Record-Breaking Investment In Renewables Could Cement Canada As New Clean Energy Superpower” • Canadian officials announced plans for “the largest clean energy investment in North American history.” A total of C$70 billion ($50.43 billion) is earmarked to increase wind and hydropower generation in the eastern part of the country. [Euronews]

Shipping blades by rail (Kelisi, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

• “Solar Power Passes Three Terawatts!” • Solar power has passed another big milestone. Solar has reached and quickly surpassed the 3-terawatt – yes, terawatt – marker globally. That’s how much solar power is installed in the world. And the speed of adoption of solar power is expected to increase even more. BNEF expects the world will get to 9 TW by 2036. [CleanTechnica]
• “Ørsted Unveils New Taiwan Offshore Project” • Ørsted filed early paperwork for an offshore wind project of up to 2 GW in the Taiwan Strait. The project, known as Dadu 2, will cover a 234 square kilometer space 38 km off the coast of Changhua County. The Danish developer is proposing using turbines rated between 14 MW and 22 MW. [reNews]
• “Will Gas Prices Fall If Companies Build Oil Routes To Bypass The Strait Of Hormuz?” • The war with Iran pushed US gasoline prices above $4 a gallon, increased inflation, and set the stage for the midterm elections. But it could take five years to build the infrastructure necessary to replace most of the oil that passed through the Strait before the war. [ABC News]
• “Duke’s New Energy Plan For Data Centers Requires Consumer Protections Now” • Duke Energy’s latest energy plan proposes two more gas plants and extends coal plant operations based on speculative data center developments. This underscores the need for the South Carolina PSC to adopt strong consumer protection guardrails for data center development. [CleanTechnica]

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

Headline News:

• “Looming Rock Collapse Threatens Swiss Village As Thawing Permafrost Destabilizes Alps” • An unstable mountain rock formation looming above the Swiss village of Kandersteg is threatening a landslide that could rival the one that destroyed nearby Blatten last year. Scientists linked the problem to thawing permafrost and glacier dynamics. [ABC News]

Kandersteg (Eleazar, CC BY-SA 2.0)

• “Geothermal Energy Promises Domestic Energy, But The EU Needs A Strategy” • Geothermal is one of the largest untapped sources of clean, domestic power in the EU. The Earth is hotter as you go deeper, and geothermal puts that heat to work. But developers need to put millions into exploration before they know exactly where to build a plant. [Euronews]
• “Earthjustice And Sierra Club Urge FAA To Keep Its Ban on Commercial Supersonic Flight” • Earthjustice and Sierra Club filed comments urging the Federal Aviation Administration not to repeal its long-held ban on commercial supersonic flight over land. Supersonic flight is disproportionately harmful to public health and the environment. [CleanTechnica]
• “Vestas Books 306-MW US Turbine Order” • Vestas received orders for 306 MW of turbines in the US. The orders will go to undisclosed projects. Vestas announced that it had delivered 1,129 MW of turbines in the US in the second quarter of this year, up from the 771 MW of turbines the company delivered in the same quarter last year. [reNews]
• “New Jersey Greenlights Sixteen Agrivoltaics Projects On Local Farms” • The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities voted to award sixteen projects totaling 52.06 MW in the first solicitation of its Dual-Use Pilot Agrivoltaics program. Such solar projects put PV panels above or among crops, grazing areas, or other agricultural operations. [Solar Power World]

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

Headline News:

• “Solar Helps ‘Stabilize’ Europe’s Grids As Heatwaves Spike Power Demand” • Solar has done some “heavy lifting” to help Europe meet its energy needs in a string of blistering heatwaves. An analysis by Ember found that solar generating in European countries rose by up to 17% on days during heatwaves in June and July, helping the grid meet demand. [Euronews]

Solar panels (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

• “Bilfinger To Support Ocean Winds At Polish Offshore Site” • Bilfinger has been selected to provide technical advisory services during the execution phase of the 390-MW BC-Wind project in the Polish Baltic Sea for Ocean Winds. Bilfinger said that it will oversee key offshore construction activities, supporting Ocean Winds in its activities. [reNews]
• “Millions Across Europe Swelter Through A New Wave Of Extreme Temperatures” • Millions of Europeans, particularly in France, Italy, Spain, and the UK, sweltered through a new wave of extreme temperatures as the continent’s latest heatwave picked up. Parts of France went past 42°C and the UK marked the hottest day so far this year. [Euronews]
• “Solar Surpasses Wind In Global Electricity Generation For The First Time” • The latest Statistical Review of World Energy shows how dramatically the renewable landscape has changed. Solar generation has surpassed wind as a source of electricity worldwide. Hydropower remains the largest renewable source overall, but solar is growing fast. [OilPrice.com]
• “Joby Buys Defense Company For Half A Billion Dollars” • The electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft startup Joby seems to have been here for ages. Like other eVTOL aircraft companies, it has been hard to know if it is going anywhere. Now, however, it turns out that Joby has enough money to buy Resonant Sciences for half a billion dollars. [CleanTechnica]

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

Headline News:

• “Trump-Connected Greenland Energy Company Falls On Its Face” • The self-declared US firm Greenland Energy Company was all set to drill for oil in Greenland. It had no permit, but it did have a personal connection from President Donald Trump. As may be expected, the plan soon unraveled and Greenland Energy put the plan on hold. [CleanTechnica]

Pump jack (US DOE image)

• “Extreme Weather And Jellyfish Knock One-Fifth Of France’s Nuclear Capacity Offline” • France normally gets around 70% of its electricity with nuclear power. But the country is experiencing a shortfall of over 20% in nuclear power production as it was hit by environmental-related outages linked to drought, extreme heat, and an invasion of jellyfish. [Euronews]
• “How Nuclear, Gas, Wind, And Solar Power Are Affected During Heatwaves” • When temperatures soared past 40°C in parts of Europe this year, nuclear reactors shuttered, gas plants’ efficiency fell, wind speeds dropped, and electricity networks sagged. But solar power production increased because the heat came with clear skies. [CleanTechnica]
• “Nordex Lands 82-MW German Citizen Deal” • Nordex Group took orders totaling around 82 MW from EFG Energy Farming Group to supply and install twelve wind turbines for citizen wind projects in Lower Saxony. Nordex said the orders cover the Erlte-Endel project in the district of Vechta and the Bad Essen project cluster in the district of Osnabrück. [reNews]
• “What To Know About Elon Musk’s Massive $16.8 Billion Chip Factory” • Elon Musk plans to build a $16.8 billion chip factory that he says is set to be the largest building in the world. Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, announced the project as chip makers worldwide ramp up production in response to a surge of demand triggered by advances in AI. [ABC News]

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