Green Energy Times

Headline News:

• “Act Urgently On Food Security, Climate Change” • With each passing year, farmers find it more difficult to predict growing seasons, with unpredictable rainfall threatening both crops and livestock. The effects of climate change further extend to the oceans, where even fishermen say they find fewer fish. We must urgently find solutions. [The Standard]

Smallholder farmers in Kenya (McKay Savage, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

• “Ordinary Driving Adds Life To EV Batteries (It’s Official!)” • Estimating the lifespan of EV batteries is a tricky but essential task to make the sustainability case for EVs. Recent studies reveal that batteries last longer than expected when real-world driving conditions are applied, along with some recent improvements in battery technology. [CleanTechnica]
• “Southern California Is About To Get Soaked – The Good And The Potentially Bad” • The Los Angeles area is preparing for its first rain since wildfires first broke out weeks ago. That’s good news to help dampen the still-active fires and soils, but if it’s too much rain at once, it could bring its own set of significant issues, including a risk of debris flows. [ABC News]
• “Climate Barometer: How Renewable Energy Is Saving Irish Consumers Billions” • A study entitled “Good for your Pocket: How renewable energy helps Irish electricity consumers,” was published by Baringa Management Consulting. It found that scaling up renewable energy sources since 2000 has cut Irish spending on fossil fuels by €7.4 billion. [The Times]
• “Reviving Lakebeds Show The Value of Water Conservation” • Clean technology isn’t just about technologies like solar panels and batteries. Sometimes, reducing our negative impacts on the landscape is as simple as doing less of something or growing crops differently. When we take too much water from the earth, the impacts can be devastating. [CleanTechnica]

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

Headline News:

• “US Lags Behind Europe On Wind Expansion” • The US is behind European peers on wind power and risks falling behind other major economies like China, according to energy think tank Ember. Eleven EU countries generated more than a fifth of their electricity from wind in 2024. Denmark generated 58%, and Ireland 36%. The US generated 10%. [reNews]

Wind farm (Invenergy image)

• “40% of Safest Car Brands Are Electric Vehicle Brands” • The writers at Confused.com, despite its being focused on the UK market, decided to analyze safety ratings done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that is vehicle safety ratings for the USA. The results are quite positive for EVs. Some 40% of the safest brands are EVs. [CleanTechnica]
• “Halting New Wind Farms While Coal Plants Buckle: Is This The LNP’s Plan For Queensland?” • We know our old coal-fired power stations are unreliable in the heat. Now three coal units are down unexpectedly in Queensland’s summer. This is such an interesting time for the state government to stop assessments of new wind farms. [RenewEconomy]
• “Governor Gavin Newsom Signs $2.5 Billion Wildfire Recovery Package For Los Angeles County” • Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation providing $2.5 billion in funding to recovery efforts in Los Angeles County, where wildfires, including two that are massive and ongoing, killed 28 people and are leaving behind trails of destruction. [CBS News]
• “Bloomberg Philanthropies to Fund US Obligation After Paris Withdrawal” • On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order to the effect that the US withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Bloomberg Philanthropies and other climate funders in the US will cover America’s funding and reporting obligations to the UN. [OilPrice.com]

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

Headline News:

• “China’s RE Sources To Meet All New Energy Demand By 2025” • As China further increases its renewable energy capacity, it is possible that it will meet its new electricity demand this year. “This paves the way for China’s power sector to achieve peak emissions by 2025,” Greenpeace East Asia Beijing-based project lead Gao Yuhe said. [Asian Power]

Bangui wind turbines (Paolo Dala, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

• “Sheep To Defend US Solar Industry With Agrivoltaic Projects” • The US kicked itself off the Paris Agreement on climate change again, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a wet blanket was cast over the whole domestic solar industry. One development is a solar-plus-farming collaboration aimed at creating standards for US agrivoltaic projects. [CleanTechnica]
• “Qualitas Energy Bags 117-MW Solar Portfolio” • Qualitas Energy has acquired a 117-MW solar portfolio in Poland from international renewable energy developer ib vogt. The portfolio consists of two solar PV farms, both of which are in a “ready-to-build” phase, with construction scheduled to begin in the second and third quarters of 2025. [reNews]
• “Fire Risk And Strong Winds Continue In Southern California With Potential Rain On The Horizon” • Dry Southern California was forecast to face more dangerous winds on Wednesday but could get some badly needed rain this weekend, dampening the prospects of more killer wildfires. Light rain could could create new challenges, however. [ABC News]
• “Financial Watchdog: Markets Could Soon Freak Out From Climate Catastrophes” • The Financial Stability Board warned in a report that financial markets could be disrupted by climate change and associated catastrophes in a number of ways. Climate change has a number of ways to push costs up and bring about financial troubles. [CleanTechnica]

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

Headline News:

• “Wind Energy To Push Dirty Bunker Fuel Overboard, Trump Or No Trump” • The US oil industry may regret backing Trump. Global decarbonization is still a force to be reckoned with. A case in point is the shipping industry, which is beginning to edge fuel oil aside in favor of harvesting the wind energy resources right under their feet. [CleanTechnica]

Airwing hard sail by GT Wings (Courtesy of GT Wings)

• “Record-Breaking Year For German Wind Power Sector” • Germany approved 2,400 new wind turbines in 2024, marking the highest number ever and displaying the sector’s momentum, despite the far-right’s election promises to dismantle wind farms and restore nuclear power. In 2024 as authorities approved a record-breaking expansion of 14 GW. [China Daily]
• “For Low-Cost Electricity, Virginia Needs Renewable Energy, Not Gas Plants ” • The era of low-cost renewable energy is fairly new, but it is already impacting utility bills across the country. Virginia used to boast of its low rates, but now there are 22 states with residential rates that are lower. And most of it is generated by renewable resources. [Virginia Mercury]
• “GE Wind Repowering Scheme Puts Wind Whiners To Bed” • Wind repowering is one bright point for the US wind industry, which is facing uncertain times as the incoming administration takes the reins of national energy policy. Instead of trying to build new wind farms from scratch, fighting political battles, old sites can be repowered. [CleanTechnica]
• “BOEM Approves 2.4-GW SouthCoast Construction Plan” • The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced approval of the construction and operations plan for the SouthCoast offshore wind project. The SouthCoast Wind Project, south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, will be able to generate up to 2.4 GW of offshore wind energy. [reNews]

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

Headline News:

• “New Research Shatters Common Myth About Power Outages” • Some critics said that the clean energy transition would lead to more blackouts, but California researchers debunked this myth. The team found there were no power outages in the state when solar, wind, and hydro supplied 100% of electricity needs for a record 98 of 116 days in 2024. [The Cool Down]

Solar plant in California (Reegan Moen, US DOE, cropped)

• “Pioneers In Irish Solar Energy” • From modest beginnings in 2011, Power Capital Renewable Energy became one of Ireland’s foremost independent power producers. CEO and co-founder Justin Brown told pv magazine that despite Ireland’s challenging environment for solar, PCRE sees a lot of opportunity and is taking full advantage. [pv magazine International]
• “Two Solar Sites Enter Operation In Brazil” • VH Global Energy Infrastructure has powered up two new solar sites in Brazil, bringing its total to twelve. The company says the sites will contribute to economic growth and grid improvements, while supporting meaningful progress in the country’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions. [reNews]
• “US DOE Announces $15 Billion Loan Guarantee To Pacific Gas & Electric Company To Expand Hydropower Generation, Battery Energy Storage, And Transmission” • As part of the Investing in America agenda, the US DOE’s Loan Programs Office announced closing a $15 billion loan guarantee to Pacific Gas & Electric Company. [CleanTechnica]
• “US Announces $1.2 Billion To Help With Renewable Energy Projects In Puerto Rico” • The US DOE said it was setting aside $1.2 billion in federal funds to help finance renewable energy projects in Puerto Rico to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The funding includes a $585 million loan guarantee to finance a 100-MW system of solar panels in four cities. [MSN]

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