Green Energy

archived (Wayback Machine)

The bill has not yet passed the Senate, so those in the USA can still call their senators about it.

archived (Wayback Machine)

As countries like the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom appear to be backpedaling on climate pledges, China is showing some massive results on its quest to reverse carbon emissions.

The latest analysis of China's annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions found that they slid by 1.6 percent nationwide compared to the same quarter last year. Year-to-date emissions were down one percent compared to the same date in 2024.

Analysis by Carbon Brief, a UK-based climate publication, attributed the decline in CO2 output to green energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear infrastructure, cutting the need for coal-powered energy. It notes that the drop in CO2 output came despite a nationwide surge in energy demand.

The rapid uptake in the use of LFPs, which are much cheaper than traditional batteries and do not use cobalt and nickel, is sending shockwaves through the already depressed markets for those metals.

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Mammoth Solar, a 1.3 gigawatt (GW) solar farm in northern Indiana, is now powering into its biggest construction phase yet, cementing its place as one of the largest solar projects in the US.

The solar farm is set to increase Indiana’s solar capacity by more than 20% once it’s fully online. And with construction ramping up this month, developer Doral Renewables has given Bechtel Full Notice to Proceed on the design, engineering, and construction of three major phases of the project: Mammoth South, Mammoth Central I, and Mammoth Central II. Together, these phases will generate 900 MW of clean energy.

That’s enough electricity to power around 200,000 homes with clean energy, helping Indiana shift away from fossil fuels while boosting the local economy.

Continuing CleanTechnica’s never ending quest to keep readers informed of new developments in the world of renewable energy, we bring you word of two new developments that clattered forth from the teletype machines in our state of the art newsroom in the third sub-basement just below the executive gymnasium. The first news flash came from Fraunhofer, the highly respected German technology research organization. The other is the O-Wind Sphere from O-Innovations that promises free electricity from prevailing breezes.

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• An analysis by the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) finds that the country’s energy transition plans do not address the remaining impacts of coal plants such as pollution, degraded ecosystems and lost livelihoods.
• This raises a critical question about what happens to the communities and environments left behind as the country plans to retire its coal-fired power plants to tackle climate change.
• In Cirebon, West Java province, fishers and farmers had to change professions when their land was used for a coal plant; now, some want to return to their former work, but their lands and sea are polluted and degraded from years of coal plant operations, and traditional livelihoods are no longer viable.
• ICEL program deputy director Grita Anindarini said Indonesia could benefit from drawing examples from other countries or jurisdictions whose transitions are designed to remedy harm, with land redistribution, economic diversification and Indigenous rights being central to their plans.

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From this paper:

Data points indicate best performers by year of market introduction.

The magnified plot shows progress in cool white LEDs from 1996 to 2020. For comparison, efficacies of best performers in legacy lighting technologies for 2020 are shown as coloured horizontal lines.

Note the logarithmic scale of the vertical axis on the main plot and the linear scale on the magnified plot.

From this article:

most improvements in the energy efficiency of LEDs were driven by research and development efforts. Surprisingly, however, R&D contributed relatively little to reductions in the cost of the devices, which were instead linked to economies of scale and continuous manufacturing process improvements over time.

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Solar accounted for 25% of the country’s electricity generation in 2024, more than any other nation, according to data collated by research group Ember. Hungary overtook Chile last year to claim the top spot.

The solar surge has been remarkable — in 2018, the technology made up just 2% of Hungary’s power output.

And in August 2024, a new monthly record was set when solar made up 37% of Hungary’s electricity generation.

Hungary’s stint at the top of the solar rankings may prove short-lived. Countries like Pakistan — where solar made up 26% of the mix in February 2025, from 10% in the same month two years before — are also on a steep growth trajectory.

Utilities, states, and Big Tech firms want to know how dirty their grid power is. MISO and startup Singularity have rolled out a tool that can show them.

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• Indonesia’s first energy transition road map has been criticized for prioritizing financial considerations over emissions cuts, potentially stalling efforts to retire its coal fleet in favor of renewables.
• The road map’s scoring method gives excessive weight to funding availability and economic impact, while undervaluing emissions, effectively blocking the early retirement of many high-emission plants, critics say.
• The road map also lacks a binding retirement timeline and a specific list of coal plants targeted for closure, despite a pledge to phase out coal by 2040, delaying peak emissions in the power sector until 2037 — seven years later than international guidelines.
• Critics warn that the roadmap’s reliance on “false solutions” like carbon capture and cofiring with alternative fuels could prolong coal’s lifespan, while failing to address key social and economic impacts needed for a fair transition away from coal.

archived (Wayback Machine):

• Mongabay article
• roadmap cited

"The Texas Senate passed a bill Thursday that leading business interests fear would lead to an age of expensive power and rolling blackouts.

If passed by the House, state S.B. 715 would require all renewable projects — even existing ones — to buy backup power, largely from coal or gas plants.

This would require solar plants in particular to buy backup power to “match their output at night — a time when no one expects them to produce energy and when demand is typically at its lowest anyway,” consultant and energy expert Doug Lewin wrote in an April analysis"