Green Energy

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.

archived (Wayback Machine)

• 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"

Source

archived (Wayback Machine)

archived (Wayback Machine)

Some fossil-fuel-burning power plants were kept on at minimum operating levels (they're likely not designed for daily restarts) but provided less power than was used to pump water uphill in hydoelectric storage facilities.