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Fossil fuel price surge after US-Israeli attacks on Iran prompts calls to end dependence on ‘volatile’ energy source

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The UK government must double down on its clean energy drive to protect bill payers from increasingly volatile fossil fuel markets in the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran, climate groups, academics and energy experts have warned.

Research published on Thursday shows that the last fossil fuel energy crisis, caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, cost the EU and the UK $1.8tn between 2022 and 2025, driving up bills and fuelling a devastating cost of living crisis.

The arrival of loggerheads in New South Wales shows these ‘sentinels of climate change’ are being forced into unknown territory

When Bulwal Bilima (BB for short) first arrived at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, she, or possibly he, was lethargic, badly constipated and dehydrated. Named “strong turtle” in the Aboriginal Dhurga language of the Yuin people on whose land it was found, the tiny 110g loggerhead hatchling, no bigger than a bar of soap, had a fight on its hands.

The baby turtle was found stranded in New South Wales’s Booderee national park last April, much further south than the usual hatching grounds. After days of feeding on squid, sardines and marine vitamins, BB, whose sex cannot be determined until it is fully mature, revived.

The leading US builder Clayco has added its considerable muscle to the domestic solar power and energy storage business.

The post US Builders Are Pushing The Solar Power Envelope appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Someone recently asked me about small, distributed hydrogen use cases and whether those markets might eventually be served by imported green methanol cracked onsite to produce hydrogen. The idea is not irrational. Hydrogen is difficult to transport and store. Methanol is a liquid fuel with existing global shipping infrastructure. Catalytic ... [continued]

The post Why Small Hydrogen Markets Are Likely to Shrink appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Democratic rematch in Durham-area district draws focus to fight over AI datacenters increasingly shaping US elections

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A North Carolina congressional primary held on Tuesday is an early test of datacenter politics – a fight increasingly shaping elections nationwide.

In the Durham-area fourth district, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee is seeking her third term against progressive challenger Nida Allam, a Durham county commissioner she defeated in 2022. The election was too close to call as of Wednesday morning, with Foushee up by less than one percentage point, and is likely headed for a recount.

The court of justice said Portugal had committed serious infringements of EU environmental law

Portugal has been fined €10m (£8.7m) by the EU’s court of justice for failing to comply with environmental laws that require it to protect biodiversity. It has also been ordered to pay €41,250 a day until it complies with a previous court order made in 2019.

The court said it was imposing the maximum fine possible to “encourage” Portugal to bring the infringement to an end.

My attention was drawn to a Facebook post announcing that an EV support group was launching a register of strata title (condo) buildings that offered charging for tenants with an electric vehicle. I contacted Peter Campbell and we had a great conversation via email and phone. Mind you, I may ... [continued]

The post AEVA Registers Progress on EV Charging in Strata Title Apartment Buildings appeared first on CleanTechnica.

At the council recycling tip in Chingford, people drop off fridges, dishwashers, mattresses, golf clubs, bicycles and batteries – then head into the shop to hunt through the weird and wonderful treasures

When an embalmed rabbit in a Perspex box arrived at the dump in Chingford, north-east London, last year, with fur on its head but its organs and skeleton exposed to teach veterinary students about the digestive system, Lisa Charlton knew she had to save it from landfill. She was sure that one of her regulars, a man interested in anything “a bit weird, macabre and bizarre” would buy it. And he did.

Charlton, who has worked at the recycling centre’s onsite ReUse shop for a year and a half, has salvaged items ranging from furniture, old toys and lampshades to walking frames brought in by local people. She has put aside some cast-iron cauldrons for her sister who is “into crystals and healing” and runs a shop in Cornwall. Items that have come through her shop include vintage crockery, antique crystal vases with solid silver rims, a spindly chair from the 1920s and an old ammunition box.

Jenny wants to spread her wings and see the world, but Teddy is happy at home. Where do they go from here? You decide

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I worry about my carbon footprint, but you can’t go everywhere by train and I want to see the world

It’s not an environmental issue. I’ve just had my fill of flying and don’t really enjoy being a tourist

The conflict in the Middle East has sent energy prices soaring, and for countries that import a high proportion of their fuel, it’s a reminder of the perils of energy dependence. As the recipient of almost 90% of Iran’s crude oil, China knows this only too well. Which partly explains why the country spent the last decade heavily investing in clean power.

To find out what else could be driving the strategy, Madeleine Finlay speaks to senior China correspondent Amy Hawkins.

And energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose reflects on how China’s ambitions could affect the rest of the world

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Big Players down, Hot Startups up Plugin vehicle registrations were down 6% year over year (YoY) in January, ending the month close to 1.2 million units. Both BEVs (-4% YoY) and PHEVs (-8%) had sales drops. This is a rare occasion where plugin sales are down in both powertrains, but ... [continued]

The post Top Selling Electric Vehicles in the World — January 2026 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

At least eight councils receive legal threats alleging flyers criticising wood burners are in breach of advertising codes

Lobbyists for the UK wood-burning stove industry have threatened councils with legal action over public information campaigns warning of the harms of air pollution.

At least eight councils have received legal threats, according to research by the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The Stove Industry Association (SIA), which represents the UK’s expanding industry around the burning of wood in domestic settings, wrote to the councils, all London boroughs, in late 2023 complaining that flyers stating wood burners were “careless, not cosy” were in breach of UK advertising codes.

VinGroup is on the move again. Its energy arm, VinEnergo, is asking the market to take a longer view of energy production as it disclosed an initial 10 GW international portfolio by signing development agreements across the Philippines, Denmark, and Sweden. In the course of three years, the company will ... [continued]

The post VinEnergo Moves Offshore With 10 GW Pipeline & A Target That Will Take Some Proving appeared first on CleanTechnica.

There has been much good news about electric vehicle charging recently, ranging from 8,000 new EV chargers to be installed in Canada and 10,000 planned for the UK. Now comes even more: 12,000 fast charging ports (400 kW) for Germany, and in just the next four years. German energy company ... [continued]

The post 12,000 New EV Fast Chargers Planned For Germany In Four Years appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Shrinking and faster-moving glaciers, weakened ice shelves and more icebergs would bring fundamental changes

You don’t need an umbrella in Antarctica. With an average of just 16cm of precipitation each year, this continent is the world’s largest desert. But all that could change. A study shows that as the world warms, Antarctica is going to experience more rain, bringing with it fundamental changes to the landscape and wildlife inhabiting this unique environment.

Bethan Davies, a glaciologist at Newcastle University, has been leading a team studying the impact of a warming climate on the Antarctic peninsula. Under faster warming scenarios (2C or more this century) they report in Frontiers in Environmental Science that snow and rain could increase by more than 20%, with increasing amounts falling as rain.

The chances of finding one mammal species thought to be lost was ‘almost zero’ and finding two is ‘unprecedented’, biologist Tim Flannery says

Researchers led by the Australian scientist Tim Flannery have made a once-in-a-lifetime discovery: that two charismatic marsupial species that had been thought extinct for 6,000 years are alive in rainforest in remote West Papua.

The pair are rare examples of “Lazarus taxa” – species that disappeared from fossil records in the distant past that are later found to have survived.

Manufacturers in Germany are bringing new technology to maximize the efficiency of cargo trailers for the future.

The post Electrified & Lightweight Semi Trailers Key To Battery-Powered Freight appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Oh the irony, it burns. US President Donald Trump swept into office with a vendetta against electric vehicles along with wind and solar power, only to upend the political calculation by launching a war against Iran. EVs are more attractive now that the price of gasoline is rising again, while ... [continued]

The post Spotlight On Texas As Trump Makes Solar Power Great Again appeared first on CleanTechnica.

For International Women’s Month, I went searched for female power in the field of renewables, electric vehicles, and a clean Earth. This is the first of a couple of stories, and I hope we can get faster replies from our selection of women leaders for the good of Mother Earth. ... [continued]

The post A Pseudo Book Review: Solvable: How We Healed The Earth, And How We Can Do It Again appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Any discussion of solar power on Oʻahu has to begin with the amount of electricity the island actually needs in a fully electrified system. Earlier analysis stripped out aviation fuel for overseas flights, fuel bunkered for ships leaving the islands, and military fuel use. It also electrified transportation, buildings, and ... [continued]

The post Parking Lots, Rooftops, & Farms: Mapping Oʻahu’s Solar Potential appeared first on CleanTechnica.