Interesting Ideas

Just yesterday, I wrote about T1 Energy CEO Dan Barcelo contending that the US needs serious solar permitting reform. Now we have another warning about how much this is holding back solar power growth in the state. In the latest US Solar Market Insight report, SEIA and Wood Mackenzie pointed ... [continued]

The post Yup, US Solar Growth Hurting from Solar Permitting Delays appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) is no stranger to solar power records, and it’s just set another one. Via its own III-V germanium solar PV module, the institute reached 34.4 percent solar module efficiency. The solar record march goes on. “The solar cells were developed by AZUR ... [continued]

The post Most Efficient Solar Module in the World — New Record appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Despite plunging border crossings, the Trump administration is circumventing laws to expedite building in a vast, pristine wilderness

The Trump administration has waived a slew of environmental and historical preservation laws that would allow it to build a towering border wall that cuts through Big Bend national park, a vast protected wilderness in south Texas.

Congress poured a whopping $46.5bn for border wall construction into the “Big, Beautiful” bill last year, supercharging Donald Trump’s ambition to wall off the southern border with Mexico. The longest unwalled stretches lie along a roughly 500-mile (800km) section of west Texas that Customs and Border Protection calls the “Big Bend sector”.

FREESKY celebrates five years of all-terrain electric performance. Built on 20 years of manufacturing expertise and trusted by over 120,000 riders, the brand unveils its most powerful chapter yet: the 60V Warrior Ultra M-530, arriving August 2026.

The post Five Years of No Limits: Meet the 60V Warrior Ultra M-530 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The SunZia Wind Project, the largest wind farm in the United States, is slated to begin commercial operations this month. The wind farm, located in New Mexico, has a total net summer generating capacity of 3,650 megawatts (MW) and is composed of 916 wind turbines. SunZia’s capacity is more than three ... [continued]

The post Largest Wind Farm in the United States Slated to Begin Commercial Operations appeared first on CleanTechnica.

While La Calera faced severe water rationing, local springs were being drained by the drinks giant’s franchise. So the residents fought back

When a severe drought struck La Calera near Bogotá, many of its residents lost their water for drinking, cooking and farming and faced up to 15 days of strict water rationing each month. Yet the area is home to Chingaza reservoir, which supplies about 70% of the drinking water for Colombia’s capital.

As the drought stretched from April 2024 to April last year, people began to look more closely at how their water was being managed.

Photosynthesis does not always result in wood growth, a key factor in carbon dioxide sequestration

Trees may not be able to store as much planet-heating carbon as hoped, a study suggests, with researchers finding photosynthesis does not always lead to wood growth.

Scientists studied 137 sites across the US and found trees stopped growing months before the point in the year at which photosynthesis stopped.

A university in Hawaii is launching into phase two of a big solar project on its campus, and when completed, it should mean that the university is getting 100% of its electric from solar power. Actually, the clean solar electricity will go even beyond that. The university is Brigham Young ... [continued]

The post Hawaii University Nearly 100% Solar Powered appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Exclusive: Fighting Dirty taking legal action against government over proposal it says could import weaker standards

An environmental campaign group is taking legal action against the government over proposals that it claims could fast-track chemical hazard classifications from other countries with lower standards into UK law.

Fighting Dirty claims proposals to change the classification and labelling of potentially hazardous chemicals could result in the UK weakening standards on cancer-causing substances.

While the US is languishing thanks to permitting hell, the UK is looking to speed up its clean energy transition with faster grid connections for solar, wind, and battery projects. “Britain has offered grid connections to more than 700 projects, the country’s power planning ​body said on Wednesday, under a ... [continued]

The post UK Sprints Forward With Grid Connections for 700 Clean Energy Projects appeared first on CleanTechnica.

With limited resources and sanctions tightening, conservationists are forced to find new ways to protect the coral reefs of Ciénaga de Zapata national park

At 8am, scuba divers gather to collect plastic and drinks cans from the sea at Cuba’s Ciénaga de Zapata national park. Amid a power crisis that has virtually paralysed the country’s economy, they use an electric trailer to move to a designated spot. In only a few hours, they have collected five sacks of cans and waste.

Lack of environmental awareness, invasive species and the climate crisis have long threatened the island’s pristine marine ecosystem but as US sanctions and economic scarcity take their toll on the country, scientists and community conservationists are working with even scarcer resources to protect a vital ecosystem for the Caribbean and the world.

Ocean Cleanup is collecting plastic trash from 10 rivers around the world as it seeks to clean up the world's oceans.

The post Ocean Cleanup Targets Plastic Trash In Southern California appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Search should ensure pension mandates are awarded only to firms with credible climate-risk management and responsible stewardship. NEW YORK, NY — New York City Comptroller Mark Levine and trustees of the City’s five public pension systems today announced a search for asset managers to provide passive indexing services, opening a review of major ... [continued]

The post Sierra Club Welcomes NYC Pension Search for Asset Managers, Urges Strong Climate Accountability appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Exclusive A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’

Antarctica’s west coast is missing an area of winter sea ice the size of France, sparking concerns for threatened penguins other marine life and global sea levels.

One expert said the loss of ice in the Bellingshausen Sea was “depressing” and the failure of ice to form could have intensified a heatwave over the continent’s peninsula last week that saw daytime temperatures peak at 15.4C which is more than 20C above average.

In conjunction with the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment’s (MSE) Go Green SG 2026, Hackathon was hosted by HMGICS and Hyundai CRADLE Singapore in partnership with Temasek Foundation, with support from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Fifth edition rallied the largest cohort of 91 students from nine local ... [continued]

The post Hyundai Go Green Hackathon Showcases Best of Youth-Led Innovative Solutions on Community Heat Resilience & Smart Mobility appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Appearance of a western reef heron in north Wales is unlikely to be the last, as heating temperatures mean species can survive Britain’s winter, say experts

It is a tropical bird typically encountered between west Africa and India, but last week a western reef heron arrived in north Wales in what is believed to be the first ever sighting in the UK.

The heron was first spotted in Foryd Bay at the weekend before flying to nearby Caernarfon harbour where it fed among the boats.

Wolsingham, Weardale: These stunning butterflies are here in incredible numbers this year, yet what’s most remarkable is their multigenerational migration

There’s a painted lady basking on the footpath. Her orange, black-tipped, white-spotted wings, a little worn after her long journey, blend with shadows and sun-flecks on heatwave-baked mud, so she’s almost under our feet before she takes flight. And here’s another, nectaring on a dandelion; and another; then several more. I can’t recall ever seeing so many so early in the year.

Waiting for the arrival of these migrant butterflies is akin to anticipating the first swallow. Tantalising mid-April sightings from Wales and Cumbria were reported on social media, but we waited until mid-May before finding our first in Weardale.

The energy-efficient desalination system produces fresh water without chemical additives and transforms leftover salts into useful materials. Big takeaways A new desalination method produces drinking water from seawater without chemical additives. The solar-powered system uses specially engineered black metal to absorb sunlight. Its self-cleaning surface separates and collects salts, instead of dumping them as harmful ... [continued]

The post New Method Turns Ocean Water into Drinking Water, without Waste appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Imperial College scientists analysed health records before and after introduction of air pollution reduction zones

Low emission and clean air zones attract controversy whenever they are proposed, but there is growing evidence that they work in improving air quality. The Bradford zone was followed by a reduction of about 25% in GP visits for heart and breathing problems and survey data shows that the central London zone was followed by a reduction in the likelihood of a person taking sick leave.

Now analysis of health records has found emergency admissions to hospital reduced after the introduction of the T-charge and ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) in central London.

More than 20,000 votes cast in Butterfly Conservation’s poll of 60 native species to find nation’s favourite for first time

The votes are in on Britain’s favourite butterfly, and it is one of the most ubiquitous yet spectacular backyard beauties that has flown to victory.

With its lavender, yellow and maroon eye spots and luscious rusty red and black colouration, the peacock butterfly is both beautiful and commonplace, flying throughout spring, summer and autumn in all corners of the British Isles.