Green Energy Times

Headline News:

• “AI Data Centers Need Big Batteries But Lithium Isn’t Fit-For-Purpose” • As AI-driven data centers scale, the grid challenge is no longer simply how much electricity they consume. Their demand is unpredictable, coming in bursts. They need a system with enough buffering for sudden power surges and dips. They are hard on lithium-ion batteries. [CleanTechnica]

Google data center in Oregon (Tony Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0)

• “German Parliament Rejects Return To Nuclear Power” • The Bundestag rejected returning to nuclear energy as an alternative to overcome fuel-related crises, most notably the war with Iran and tensions in the Middle East. The Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy said that the proposal to return to peaceful nuclear reactors was rejected. [Gulf Times]
• “How Do Solar Batteries Work And Are They Worth The Investment?” • With the war on Iran, home-grown renewables help cushion European households from fossil fuel shocks. The UK is the latest European country to greenlight the commercial sale of plug-in solar panels. Interest in batteries has grown apace. Battery costs have fallen 90% since 2010. [Euronews]
• “Sierra Club Endorses Tom Steyer For California Governor” • The Sierra Club has announced its endorsement of Tom Steyer for Governor of California. Doing so, it is backing a candidate with a long record of investing in climate solutions, taking on Big Oil, and helping build the coalitions needed to win significant environmental fights. [CleanTechnica]
• “IEEFA Warns Germany Over Hydrogen Costs” • Germany risks overbuilding its hydrogen network and wasting tens of billions of euros by relying on overoptimistic hydrogen demand projections, research from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis shows. It says German hydrogen demand is likely to fall short of official projections. [reNews]
• “700 MW Power Link Celtic Between France and Ireland Progressing” • Construction of the planned Celtic Interconnector power link between France and Ireland continues to advance on both sides. With the start of key infrastructure works in Brittany, the 700 MW large-scale project is entering a new phase in its implementation. [Renewable Energy Industry]

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Headline News:

• “Zambia Blasts The US Over A $2 Billion Health Deal In Exchange For Critical Minerals” • Zambia is accusing the US of tying a $2 billion deal for critical health assistance to access to the southern African nation’s rich mineral assets. The country calls the outgoing US ambassador’s allegations of corruption “mischievous” and “undiplomatic.” [ABC News]

Zambian Zebra (Henning Borgersen, Unsplash)

• “Turbine Prices ‘Surge As Supply Tightens'” • A Rystad Energy report said Europe’s offshore wind sector is facing a structural supply constraint as turbine prices have risen 40-45% since 2020. GE Vernova paused new offshore wind orders, Rystad Energy said, leaving Siemens Gamesa and Vestas to fill nearly all orders for turbines for European developers. [reNews]
• “Record Long Turbine Blades Arrive At Mill Rig” • The longest turbine blades installed at a UK onshore wind farm have arrived at the 33-MW Mill Rig Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire. OnPath Energy said the 80-meter blades will be fitted to six turbines that will power more than 45,000 homes annually and displace about 27,000 tonnes of CO₂ each year. [reNews]
• “The UK Sees A Surge In Solar Power Adoption” • An increase in installations, along with government initiatives, shows that even in a changing global landscape, the UK is moving forward with cleaner, more secure energy sources. March 2026 was a notable month for UK solar energy, with more than 27,000 installations completed. [Open Access Government]
• “Average US Gas Prices Top $4.50 Per Gallon, The Highest In Nearly Four Years” • As the war in Iran drags on, US drivers are feeling pain at the pump. In the US, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas jumped to $4.51, the highest it has been since July 17, 2022, according to GasBuddy, a company that helps consumers find the cheapest gas. [ABC News]

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Headline News:

• “Renewable Energy Market to Reach $2.874 Trillion by 2033” • According to DataM Intelligence analysis, the Global Renewable Energy Market was valued at slightly more than $1.512 trillion in 2025 and is expected to reach $2,874 trillion by 2033. The rate of growth is driven by the increasing global shift toward clean and sustainable energy. [openPR.com]

Wind turbines (Ruben Hiebert, Unsplash)

• “Renewables More Cost Effective Than Direct Air Capture” • Direct air capture, which pulls CO₂ out of the air, has increasingly become part of the conversation on climate action. But the argument for pumping money into DAC “weakens substantially” when it comes to renewable energy because it is cheaper to eliminate emissions than it is to capture them. [Euronews]
• “Intermediate And Degraded Land Crops Are No ‘Miracle’ Solution For Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Study Shows” • Crops grown between food harvest cycles or on low-quality land are seen as green solutions for powering planes, but a T&E study shows that such crops could only meet 4% of the EU’s demand for bio-SAF by 2050. [CleanTechnica]
• “OECD Nations Pass Point Of No Return On Fossil Fuel Power, As Renewables Take Over” • Fossil fuel electricity generation in OECD nations is 19% below its historical peak, with the decline driven by substitution rather than reduced demand. Electricity demand continued rising through the transition, but renewables outgrew the gap. [Microgrid Media]
• “States Across The Wildfire-Prone Western US Are Using AI For Early Detection” • Another severe wildfire season is forecast for the Western US due to record-breaking heat and an abysmal snowpack. With concerns about wildfires, states across the West are adding AI to their wildfire detection toolbox, banking on the technology to help stop fires quickly. [ABC News]

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Headline News:

• “US Stalls 165 Onshore Wind Projects” • The US Department of Defense stalled approvals for about 165 onshore wind projects on private land, citing national security concerns, the Financial Times reported. The report said the projects could total about 30 GW of capacity, enough to power 15 million homes. A common cause of delay is cancelled meetings. [reNews]

Wind turbines (Waldemar Brandt, Unsplash)

• “EU Green Hydrogen Scheme Embraces High-Tech Solar Foods” • Solar Foods sailed across the CleanTechnica radar in 2024 when it described plans to scale up Solein, a synthetic protein substance consisting of 65–70% protein, 5–8% fat, 10–15% dietary fiber, and 3–5% mineral nutrients. BalticSeaH2, a green hydrogen company, is supporting it now. [CleanTechnica]
• “Europe Faces China Clean Tech Dependency Risks” • Europe is heavily dependent on Chinese low-carbon technologies, with China supplying 98% of solar panels, 88% of lithium-ion batteries and 61% of inverters imported into the region in 2024. The non-profit Loom said “de-risking” policies have not led to much shift in clean-tech manufacturing geography. [reNews]
• “To Buy Or Not To Buy? That’s The Question Consumers Are Asking About EVs” • US consumers are paying a lot more to fill up their cars and trucks these days, and the spike in gasoline prices has some debating: Is an EV right for me? The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped nearly 30¢ per gallon in the past week to $4.43. [ABC News]
• “Trump’s Renewable Energy Crackdown Hits Legal Wall” • President Trump has taken aim at renewable energy, in an attempt to scale back efforts for a green transition. Trump has instead favored the expansion of the oil, gas, and coal, as well as the development of nuclear power. Now a court ruling rejects Trump’s efforts as unlawful. [OilPrice.com]

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Headline News:

• “Maritime Decarbonization Is Closer, Cheaper, And More Practical Than It Looks” • The IMO’s Net-Zero Framework came out of the latest meeting bruised, delayed, but still alive. That is not victory. The US has not been passive. Formal adoption is now scheduled for November 30 to December 3, 2026, after the US midterm elections. [CleanTechnica]

Ships in the Port of Singapore (Shawn, Unsplash, cropped)

• “Lessons from Chernobyl, 40 Years Later” • The Chernobyl Disaster had seismic political consequences. No less an authority than General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev speculated that Chernobyl, not his policy of perestroika, or economic reform, was the “real cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union five years later.” [The National Interest]
• “New NASA Satellite Is Watching Mexico City Sink In Real Time” • Mexico City has long been recognized as one of the fastest sinking sites in the world, but researchers didn’t have the ability to track the movement from space continuously until now. It is sinking at a rate of 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) each month, as water is removed from groundwater. [ABC News]
• “Solar Power Shields Farmers From Energy Crisis” • Times are bad for farmers in Bangladesh. Right when they needed a steady diesel supply to irrigate vast swathes of cropland – Boro paddies, seasonal vegetables, maize – the world entered what the head of the International Energy Agency has called “the biggest energy security threat in history.” [The Daily Star]
• “Meta Platforms Enters Solar-Power Pact” • Meta Platforms wants to get some of its solar power from space. The Facebook parent has agreed to purchase up to 1 GW of solar power from Overview Energy, a startup that aims to deploy satellites to provide power to customers on Earth’s surface. Overview plans for an in-space demonstration in 2028. [MSN]

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Headline News:

• “Start-up Produces Green Hydrogen from Just Sun and Water” • Green hydrogen could be a key to transforming our industries and energy systems, but so far it has been expensive, complex, and tied to grid infrastructure. Now photreon has developed a photoreactor panel that generates hydrogen directly from water and sunlight. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Solar panels for generating hydrogen (KIT image)

• “SC Nuclear Plant Didn’t Maintain Key Safety Equipment For Years, Feds Say” • The VC Summer nuclear power plant north of Columbia failed for years to maintain a turbine-driven cooling pump, a key piece of safety equipment, that could help the plant continue running properly during an emergency, according to federal records and inspectors. [AOL.com]
• “Are Oil Companies Profiting From The Iran War? Experts Explain” • Some people assume oil companies have increased profits due to the Iran War, but earnings issued by some of the world’s largest oil companies in recent days presented a more complicated picture. While some had windfall profits, others reported surprising profit declines. [ABC News]
• “Africa’s Cellphone Towers Turn To Solar As Diesel Costs Surge” • Diesel, which powers the majority of Africa’s roughly 500,000 telecommunications towers, is more expensive and sometimes harder to secure in recent weeks as global fuel markets tightened following the conflict in Iran. A conversion to solar power is seen as urgent. [ABC News]
• “EPA Says Oil & Gas Operators Can Continue To Flare Past Long-Set Deadline” • The US EPA released guidance that will allow oil and gas operators to continue routine flaring, a harmful practice that unnecessarily releases dangerous pollutants into the air. Routine flaring was set to be phased out by May 7th after years of preparation. [CleanTechnica]

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Headline News:

• “In Colombia, 57 Nations Chart A Path To A Future Without Fossil Fuels” • The Guardian, unlike most mainstream media, covered the climate talks in some detail and reported that the participating governments were asked to develop national “road maps” that set forth how they will end the production and use of fossil fuels. France was one that did that. [CleanTechnica]

Conference (Transition Away Conference image)

• “Grid Connection Requested For US Fusion Power Plant” • Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinout company, has applied for grid connection. CFS said the application is the first request from a grid-scale fusion power plant developer to a major regional transmission organisation. [World Nuclear News]
• “House, Senate Negotiators Reach Deal On Next-Generation Nuclear, Solar Net Metering” • Lawmakers in Concord reached a deal to lay the groundwork for next-generation nuclear power in New Hampshire. If small, modular reactors are to be an energy source, New Hampshire lawmakers said they don’t want state laws or officials to get in the way. [WMUR]
• “Rice Is A Greenhouse Gas Emitter” • Rice farming has long been a major source of methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas formed when organic matter decomposes in flooded soils deprived of oxygen. Traditional rice paddies create exactly these conditions, making the crop one of the largest global agricultural contributors of methane. [CleanTechnica]
• “CPUC Protects Ratepayers, Rejects SoCalGas’ Attempt To Charge Customers For Hydrogen Pipeline” • The California PUC, in a written decision, denied a SoCalGas application that would have charged customers $266 million to fund the Angeles Link Project pipeline. SoCalGas can either fund the controversial project itself or drop it entirely. [CleanTechnica]

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Headline News:

• “One Of America’s Oldest Weather Observatories Shows The Science Behind Our Climate” • Weather observers at Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center, a weather station fifteen miles south of Boston, have conducted weather observations every day for 141 years, building a continuous record of temperature, wind, precipitation, and other measurements. [ABC News]

Blue Hill Weather Observatory (Jameslwoodward, CC BY-SA 3.0)

• “EU Loosens State Aid Rules” • The EU will ease its strict state aid rules to help fuel-dependent sectors cope with higher energy prices and other economic effects of the crisis in the Middle East. With the emergency measures, member nations can subsidize up to 70% of extra costs of fuel and fertilizers for farmers, fishing firms, and road transport carriers. [Euronews]
• “Trump Met With Oil And Gas Executives As Iran War Drags On” • As fuel prices keep rising, the White House confirmed that President Trump and some of his top officials met with oil and gas executives. They discussed “steps we could take to continue the current blockade for months if needed and minimize impact on American consumers.” [ABC News]
• “CATL Inks Deal For 60 GWh Of Sodium-Ion Batteries Over Three Years” • Just last week, CATL had news about its latest iteration of a sodium-ion battery for EVs. And now, the company announced it has entered into an agreement with HyperStrong to supply it with 60 GWh of sodium-ion batteries over the next three years. [CleanTechnica]
• “‘Itching To Pump More Oil’: What Could The UAE’s Exit From OPEC Mean For The Climate?” • In recent years, the UAE has pushed back against OPEC production quotas that it felt were too low – meaning it wasn’t able to sell as much oil to the world as it wanted to. Now is on track to realize that goal with its exit from oil cartel OPEC. [Euronews]

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Headline News:

• “UAE Leaves OPEC, Citing National Interest In ‘A New Energy Age'” • The United Arab Emirates announced that it will leave the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries effective 1 May. The UAE’s decision signals a reshape of the global energy interactions, just as the global energy crisis is escalating over blockades of the Strait of Hormuz. [Euronews]

Dubai, UAE (Nick Fewings, Unsplash)

• “Chinese Iron Flow Storage Battery Is 80 Times Cheaper Than Lithium” • Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences say they developed an all-iron flow battery electrolyte that sustains more than 6,000 charge/discharge cycles without any capacity loss. The material costs roughly 80 times less than lithium-based alternatives, they claim. [CleanTechnica]
• “‘Unequivocal Evidence’: Europe’s Climate Crisis Threatens Food, Health And Economy” • In Europe, very few places in escaped rising heat, as Europe battled new extremes in 2025. At least 95% of the continent recorded above-average temperatures, according to the latest European State of the Climate report from Copernicus. [Euronews]
• “Off-Grid Gold Mine Achieves Record 93.8% Renewables Share Over Whole Month” • The off-grid Bellevue gold mine, which sits in a remote part of Western Australia, has established a new benchmark for its renewable hybrid power supply. It set a record for the best share of wind and solar at 93.8% over the month of February. [Renew Economy]
• “Massachusetts Triggers Vineyard Off-Take Contract” • The state of Massachusetts has activated its contracts with the 806-MW Vineyard Wind array from developers Iberdrola and CIP. The 20-year PPAs are projected to save Massachusetts ratepayers $1.4 billion over the lifetime of the contracts, according to the office of Governor Maura Healey. [reNews]

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Headline News:

• “Renewables Race Heats Up As Countries Scramble To Keep Energy Bills Down” • “As long as we depend on oil and gas, we will continue to ​pay the price of other people’s wars,” said French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. But some of Europe’s biggest economies are clear that renewables are the most reliable and cheapest way to avoid energy shocks. [Euronews]

Bordeaux, France (Juan Di Nella, Unsplash)

• “Taxpayer-Funded Bottom Trawling Costs Europe Billions. Does Turkey Have The Solution?” • Turkey’s  was on the brink. Overfishing, intense tourism, invasive species, and warming seas depleted its waters and destroyed a way of life for local fishers. It became a marine protected area and now testifies to the power of ocean conservation. [Euronews]
• “Swapping Out Diesel For Solar And Batteries In The Amazon Rainforest” • It’s a pretty simple calculus, actually. As costs go down, new renewable energy resources go up. Call it the law of the unseen hand or just good old fashioned common sense. And unsurprisingly, solar power is having significant growth is in the Amazon rainforest. [CleanTechnica]
• “Meta Bets On Space Solar Power In Deal With Overview Energy” • Meta entered an agreement with Overview Energy to access up to 1 GW of space-based solar power, a significant step toward integrating orbital energy systems into the electricity supply for data centers. Overview plans to transmit solar energy to Earth as low-intensity infrared light. [OilPrice.com]
• “House Republicans Introduce Bill To Extend Renewables Tax Credits” • House Republican lawmakers are trying to restore clean tax credits for wind, solar, and other technologies for clean energy that were curtailed by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Business group E2 estimated that $34.8 billion in clean energy investments were canceled in 2025. [Utility Dive]

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Headline News:

• “The National Science Board Purge Is A Warning About American Decline” • The members of the National Science Board were dismissed by email from the Presidential Personnel Office. Nature reported that members of the board, which was founded by Congress in 1950, were given no explanation for their termination. [CleanTechnica]

Work in science (ThisisEngineering, Unsplash)

• “US Renewable Capacity Set For 80 GW Rise” • Large solar, wind, and battery storage are projected to add over 80 GW of new generating capacity in the US by February 2027. Renewable energy’s share of total utility-scale capacity is expected to rise from 33.4% to 36.6% over the period, the US Energy Information Administration said. [reNews]
• “Nordex Earnings Surge In ‘positive’ Q1” • Nordex Group reported EBITDA of almost €131 million in the first quarter of 2026, up 64% year on year. The company said this corresponded to an EBITDA margin of 8.2%, compared to 5.5% in the same period last year, reflecting continued margin improvement. Sales reached €1.6 billion in the quarter. [reNews]
• “China’s Renewable Energy Capacity Reaches 2,400 GW By End-March” • China’s renewable energy sector continued its rapid expansion in the first quarter of 2026. New installations accounted for the largest part of overall power capacity growth, according to a press briefing by the country’s National Energy Administration. [CGTN]
• “Providence, Rhode Island Is Ready To Decarbonize” • Mayor Brett Smiley hopes to position Providence as a national leader in the green economy. The Mayor and a group of stakeholders have announced a $3 million proposal to unveil the city’s first green revolving fund, designed to dedicate City funds to renewable energy and decarbonization. [CleanTechnica]

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