Michelle Lewis

Italian rail operator Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) and Italian energy infrastructure company and Europe’s biggest natural gas transport group Snam have partnered to study using hydrogen for FS’ transport network.

• Japan, in a major shift, is expected to announce a net zero target of 2050.
• In a “world-first investment,” HSBC and Queensland buy “Reef Credits” to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Environment America has released its 2020 report that says green energy will see dramatic growth.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and Americans’ bank accounts — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card — *ad.

It looks as though the latest holder of the title, “world’s largest solar farm,” is set to be Newcastle Waters in Australia’s Northern Territory. The solar farm in the Outback will be capable of producing 10 gigawatts and will be so big that it will be able to be seen from space.

• Poland’s largest utility, PGE, announces it wants to get rid of coal and become net zero by 2050.
• EU environment ministers will make the EU’s pledge to reach net zero by 2050 legally binding.
• 66% of US voters said they support Biden’s $2 trillion climate plan.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and Americans’ bank accounts — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card — *ad.

New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection called for a ban on gas car sales by 2035 last week. If implemented, that would make the Garden State the second state in the US to enact an ICE ban policy, behind California, which is drawing up rules for a 2035 gas car ban.

• Renewable hydrogen producer Ways2H gets an injection of funds to continue global expansion.
• New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection calls for the ban of ICE car sales by 2035.
• A Swedish shipbuilder is designing a transatlantic car carrier powered by wind.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and Americans’ bank accounts — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card — *ad.

Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), the two largest US energy firms, have increased their share of campaign donations to Democrats in 2020, according to the latest filings.

• Honda stops selling new diesel cars in the UK and will phase out gas cars by the end of 2022.
• US oil giants Chevron and Exxon increased their share of campaign donations to Democrats this year.
• Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project is ready to churn out power.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and Americans’ bank accounts — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card — *ad.

• Many Americans say they don’t quite understand the “Green New Deal,” so we demystify it here.
• The percentage of Americans that are alarmed about the climate crisis has doubled in five years.
• Regardless of how you feel about Greta Thunberg, the documentary I am Greta is a must-watch.
• And more…

A group of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) has released a statement ahead of next week’s talks at the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) that claims the initial IMO GHG Strategy, the 2018 climate deal agreed to by over 100 countries, risks being undermined at negotiations next week by a small number of countries.

• MHI Vestas Offshore Wind A/S is building giant offshore wind turbines to compete in the energy market.
• Does your state’s governor’s mansion host solar? (Hint: Only 10 out of 50 do.)
• The US Southeastern states invest in EV manufacturing, but they’re not using what they make.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and Americans’ bank accounts — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card — *ad.

Energy storage tech solutions company Fluence, a Siemens and AES company based in Arlington, Virginia, today announced that it has acquired San Francisco-based Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS), a provider of AI-powered software for utility-scale storage and generation assets.

Fluence’s acquisition will maximize the value of energy storage and renewables and accelerate grid decarbonization.

• Reef structures with oysters will be installed within the Netherlands’ offshore Borssele Wind Farm Site V.
• Energy storage tech company Fluence acquires digital intelligence platform AMS to improve the grid.
• Ikea’s Buy Back scheme aims to reduce excessive waste in 27 countries — but the US isn’t on board yet.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and Americans’ bank accounts — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card — *ad.

It’s an enormous state, but you gotta start somewhere: Alaska is getting its very first electric school bus, which was built by Thomas Built Buses in North Carolina.

• The world’s first hydrogen-powered ferry will be trialed in Scotland’s Orkney Islands.
• Alaska gets its very first electric school bus.
• A group of scientists has discovered that microwaving plastic can generate clean hydrogen.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and Americans’ bank accounts — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card — *ad.

• Solar photovoltaics are now cheaper than plants fired by coal and natural gas in most countries.
• Green generator company Portable Electric partners with California’s PG&E to help with wildfire outages.
• China’s net zero by 2060 plan covers all greenhouse gases, says one of its most senior researchers.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and Americans’ bank accounts — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card – *ad.

Eight out of 15 deaths in Hurricane Laura on the US’s Gulf Coast were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generators, as NPR wrote in September. And that’s not an isolated incident — 85% of all carbon monoxide poisoning deaths in the US are caused by portable generators because people mistakenly run them indoors or in their garage when they lose power.

Mark Rabin is the CEO of Vancouver, BC-based Portable Electric, which manufactures emissions-free mobile power stations — green generators — that run on solar and li-ion batteries. Rabin spoke with Electrek via email about the role electric generators can play in natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes and how vital it is to switch to electric generators and off fossil-fuel-powered generators overall, as quickly as possible.

• Banning offshore oil drilling is great. But that’s not the only thing that got banned.
• EU car emissions targets are causing a huge growth in electric cars in Europe.
• The running cost of EVs in the US cost $634 less annually than ICE cars.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and your bank account — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Electric cars will triple their market share in Europe this year as a result of EU car emissions targets, according to a new report released today from Transport & Environment (T&E), a European umbrella group for non-governmental organizations that work in transport and the environment, and promote sustainable transport in Europe.

• The US presidential election is almost here and voting has started. For the earth’s future, it’s everything.
• Vice President Joe Biden releases the first political ad exclusively about climate change in the US.
• Prince William and Sir David Attenborough launch the biggest environmental award ever, at $50 million.
• And more…

• Beer giant Anheuser-Busch will make Michelob Ultra cans using hydroelectricity.
• HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, says it will become net zero across its customer base by 2050.
• Greater Boston’s MBTA will source 100% of its forecasted electricity from green energy.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and your bank account — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Residential geothermal company Dandelion Energy yesterday announced that it’s hired a new vice president of drillings whose name is Jeremy Smith. What’s unique about Smith? The exec comes from a fossil-fuel background.

• Hydropower is revealed as the most widely used renewable power source around the world.
• Here are three of the latest trends in solar and storage, according to online marketplace EnergySage.
• A former fossil-fuel exec explains why he’s joined residential geothermal company Dandelion.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and your bank account — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Global climate- and green-tech accelerator Elemental Excelerator just announced its newest cohort of 19 tech companies it said would be “ground-breakers and market-makers.” Here are five up-and-comers in Cohort 9 in the green-tech energy, mobility, and climate change sectors.