Green Energy

Title and subtitle come from the article version of this newsletter

The U.S. clean-energy industry is on pace for record growth this year. Wind energy makes up about 10% of the U.S. electricity mix — the largest single source of renewable energy.

But while the offshore wind industry was expecting to see important new projects this year like the Vineyard Wind 1 project in Massachusetts and the Revolution Wind project in Rhode Island, Ohleth says all offshore wind projects are now in jeopardy.

archived (Wayback Machine)

Indigenous communities that rely on the natural flow of the Xingu River have long fought the Belo Monte dam in Brazil. With the dam now up for relicensing, they are urging the government to allow more water to flow, which would help revive the river and their way of life.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/20863122

By 2020, the global capacity of PV energy had climbed to 760 gigawatts. Much of this came from installations in leading regions like Asia, Europe, and North America. Most systems were built on open ground—often farmland—stirring concern over their effect on food production and ecosystems.

The widespread use of agricultural land for solar farms has sparked fears of shrinking crop yields and harm to biodiversity. Rural communities have voiced worries too, pointing to risks like fewer farming jobs and increased depopulation.

To ease this tension, researchers have turned to agrivoltaics—an idea that dates back to 1982. This dual-use method allows solar panels and crops to share the same land. Early designs let sunlight reach the plants underneath, preserving growing conditions.

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The math is not adding up for the global green hydrogen industry. The electrolyzers that push hydrogen gas from water are expensive, and they also have a water problem. They can’t use just any old water. They need clean water, and that puts the industry up against an estimated 4 billion people who already lack adequate supplies of potable water. That’s where seawater comes in….

Pakistan has joined the ranks of the world’s leading solar markets, importing 17 gigawatts of solar panels last year alone, according to the Global Electricity Review 2025 by Ember, an energy think tank in the UK.

This surge represents a doubling of the previous year’s imports, and makes Pakistan one of the top global buyers of solar panels.

The scale of Pakistan’s imports is particularly striking because it is not driven by a national programme or utility-scale rollout.

Instead, the majority of the demand appears to come from rooftop solar installations by households, small businesses and commercial users looking to secure cheaper and more reliable electricity in the face of frequent power outages and rising energy costs.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/32656229

China recently approved the construction of the world’s largest hydropower dam, across the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet. When fully up and running, it will be the world’s largest power plant – by some distance.

Yet many are worried the dam will displace local people and cause huge environmental disruption. This is particularly the case in the downstream nations of India and Bangladesh, where that same river is known as the Brahmaputra.

[...]

The Yarlung Tsangpo begins on the Tibetan Plateau, in a region sometimes referred to as the world’s third pole as its glaciers contain the largest stores of ice outside of the Arctic and Antarctica. A series of huge rivers tumble down from the plateau and spread across south and south-east Asia. Well over a billion people depend on them, from Pakistan to Vietnam.

Yet the region is already under immense stress as global warming melts glaciers and changes rainfall patterns. Reduced water flow in the dry season, coupled with sudden releases of water during monsoons, could intensify both water scarcity and flooding, endangering millions in India and Bangladesh.

The construction of large dams in the Himalayas has historically disrupted river flows, displaced people, destroyed fragile ecosystems and increased risks of floods. The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Dam will likely be no exception.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/20777097

archived (Wayback Machine)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28156501

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/20734606

Like many African nations, Nigeria has lagged behind Global North countries in shifting away from planet-warming fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. Solar power contributes just around 3 percent of the total electricity generated in Africa — though it is the world’s sunniest continent — compared to nearly 12 percent in Germany and 6 percent in the United States.

At the same time, in many African countries, solar power now stands to offer much more than environmental benefits. About 600 million Africans lack reliable access to electricity; in Nigeria specifically, almost half of the 230 million people have no access to electricity grids. Today, solar has become cheap and versatile enough to help bring affordable, reliable power to millions — creating a win-win for lives and livelihoods as well as the climate.

That’s why Nigeria is placing its bets on solar mini-grids — small installations that produce up to 10 megawatts of electricity, enough to power over 1,700 American homes — that can be set up anywhere. Crucially, the country has pioneered mini-grid development through smart policies to attract investment, setting an example for other African nations.

Nearly 120 mini-grids are now installed, powering roughly 50,000 households and reaching about 250,000 people. “Nigeria is actually like a poster child for mini-grid development across Africa,” says energy expert Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani, managing director of EnergyInc Advisors, an energy infrastructure consulting firm.