Electrek Green Energy Brief

Danish wind turbine maker Vestas has installed the first wind turbine at Japan’s Akita Noshiro offshore wind farm. Akita Noshiro will feature 33 V117-4.2 megawatt (MW) wind turbines.

Rhode Island has passed a law requiring all of the state’s electricity to be offset by renewable energy by 2033 – the fastest timeline of any state in the US.

The US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling this morning, “sharply curtailed” the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) options to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants – the second-largest source of emissions in the US. Greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change.

Stockholm-based wind farm and solar developer OX2 has applied for a permit to build a massive 5.5 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea. If approved, it will be the largest single offshore wind farm in the world.

Italian startup Energy Dome has now begun to commercialize the world’s first CO2 Battery, which was launched earlier this month in Sardinia, Italy. The battery uses carbon dioxide to store renewable energy on the grid, and Energy Dome says the technology can be quickly deployed anywhere in the world.

Spanish-German wind giant Siemens Gamesa has been awarded a firm order for 60 of its SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines, which will be installed at the 882-MW Moray West offshore wind farm in Scotland. It will be the first installation of the world’s most powerful wind turbine, which has 14.7 megawatts (MW) of capacity.

Here’s where the world’s seven largest economies stand in their clean energy transitions ahead of the 48th G7 Leaders’ Summit next week in Germany.

Rivian plans to install a 2.8 megawatt wind turbine on the east side of its Normal, Illinois, manufacturing plant. The wind turbine will provide clean energy to charge new R1 vehicles for the first time.

Jackson, Michigan-based Sesame Solar is today unveiling what it claims is the world’s first fully renewable mobile nanogrid – that’s a small microgrid – that runs on solar and green hydrogen.

West Lafayette, Indiana-based Purdue Research Foundation recently completed a licensing agreement with an international energy company – the name of which was not disclosed – for the commercialization of a new process discovered at Purdue University Northwest (PNW) for the biological production of green hydrogen from food waste. A second licensing agreement with a company in Indiana is under negotiation.

The US Army has launched the largest floating solar farm in the Southeast. It’s also the first project of its kind for the US Department of Defense.

The first of 11 8.6 megawatt (MW) turbines has been installed at the world’s largest floating wind farm, off the Norwegian coast. Hywind Tampen is also Norway’s first offshore wind farm – and it will power offshore oil and gas platforms.

President Joe Biden will today waive tariffs for 24 months on solar panels made in Southeast Asia in response to a Department of Commerce (DOC) investigation that is destabilizing the US solar industry.

Southwest Airlines announced this week that it’s investing in SAFFiRE Renewables as part of a Department of Energy (DOE)-backed project to develop and produce scalable, sustainable aviation fuel.

Contrary to popular belief, air-source heat pumps can work very well in cold climates. They’re now the best choice for energy efficiency and reducing heating bills, and that’s why their adoption is going to grow quickly in colder countries.

The Biden administration announced this week that it will cut the cost of building wind and solar on US public land by 50%.

Construction has started on the 1,026-megawatt (MW) MacIntyre Wind Precinct, the largest wind farm to ever be built in Australia. It’s also one of the largest wind farms in the southern hemisphere.

The G7, made up of the world’s largest economies, today agreed to “predominantly decarbonized electricity sectors by 2035.” The G7 also agreed to end government financing for international coal-fired power generation and speed up the phase-out of unabated coal plants by 2035.

Seoul-headquartered PV solar-cell manufacturing giant Qcells today announced that it’s opening a new solar panel manufacturing facility in Dalton, Georgia.

The EU plans to transition to renewables more than twice as fast as Japan by 2030, according to new analysis released by global energy think tank Ember ahead of the G7 environment, climate, and energy ministers meeting, which kicks off today in Berlin. The ministers will decide whether and how G7 countries will commit to clean power by 2035. 

St. Petersburg, Florida-based Climate First Bank, which claims to be the world’s first FDIC-insured community bank founded to fight the climate crisis, today launched an online solar lending platform for Florida residents.