Interesting Ideas

In one corner, clean energy champion Ed Miliband. In the other, residents – and Reform politicians – outraged at plans for more large-scale solar farms in Lincolnshire than anywhere else in the UK

As night descends on the grand offices of Lincolnshire county council, everything appears orderly and calm. Paintings of long-forgotten councillors and dignitaries stare out into an empty drawing room. The council chamber is silent and dark. Bored receptionists glance at their phones while a handful of admin staff hunch over glowing screens. But a rebellion is brewing in the office of the council leader, Sean Matthews, who took charge last May, when Reform replaced the Conservative old guard. The affable former royal protection officer is plotting an apparently radical campaign of civil disobedience against a series of giant solar farms planned for Lincolnshire.

Despite a quarter of a century in the Metropolitan police, Matthews is willing to break the law to stop solar developers. He is planning to lie down in front of the bulldozers. “They can arrest me – I’ve arrested plenty of people,” he says, leaning forward on a sofa. “It’s much bigger than me and my criminal record. For goodness sake, it’s the future of the county, it’s the future of our land. I am passionate about that and I will do what I can.”

Exclusive: Testing in Bentham, home to UK’s highest recorded Pfas levels, finds one in four have blood levels in greatest risk category

Alarming levels of toxic forever chemicals have been found in the blood of people living in a town previously revealed to be contaminated with the UK’s highest recorded level of Pfas.

Pfas, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and commonly known as forever chemicals because of their persistence in the environment, have been linked to a wide range of serious illnesses, including some cancers. They are used in a variety of consumer products but one of their most prolific uses is in firefighting foam.

The tiny size of the particles means they can become deposited deep in people’s lungs, causing a health risk

New research has found that burning “smokeless” or low-smoke fuels may be causing new air pollution hazards on streets and in homes.

These fuels are sold as alternatives to burning coal, wood and peat at home, but tests reveal their smoke contains large quantities of tiny ultrafine particles, smaller than the wavelength of light, that can deposit themselves deep in our lungs.

The Company achieved a positive net profit of RMB0.38 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, recorded a positive net profit for a single quarter for the first time. Cash position[i] was RMB47.66 billion (US$6.81 billion) as of December 31, 2025 Quarterly total revenues were RMB22.25 billion, a 38.2% increase year-over-year ... [continued]

The post XPENG Records Positive Net Profit In 4th Quarter appeared first on CleanTechnica.

I’m honestly surprised it has taken this long for a serious problem to surface related to Tesla’s Full Self Driving (FSD) system, based entirely around small cameras on the sensor side, and the weather. Having had a Tesla Model 3 with Full Self Driving (FSD) for more than 6 years, ... [continued]

The post Tesla’s Camera & Weather Problem Is Serious appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The insects covered its largest area since 2018, despite threats from habitat loss, climate crisis and pesticides

The population of monarch butterflies in Mexico increased 64% this winter, compared with the same period in 2025, offering a glimmer of hope for an insect considered at risk of extinction.

The figures, released this week by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Mexico, showed that the area occupied by monarchs expanded to 2.93 hectares (7.24 acres) of forest from 1.79 hectares (4.42 acres) the previous winter, the largest coverage since 2018.

Over the past 20 years, electricity from wind power and utility-scale solar power has increased to 17% of generation in the United States compared to less than 1% in 2005. In 2025, net generation of wind and solar together accounted for 760,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, 88,000 GWh more than in ... [continued]

The post Wind & Solar Generated A Record 17% Of U.S. Electricity In 2025 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Stranmillis University College, Belfast: There’s a fuss going on high up in the trees, as these early breeders have already got going with this year’s brood

A robin is singing. Moonlight gleams through the trees. These woods are home to a breeding colony of grey herons and, until recently, their incessant yells were part of the dawn chorus. Today, the quietness of an established heron nest high in a beech tree is good news. Herons share parental care and one of the pair is up there – right on time for these early breeders – brooding a clutch of eggs.

Another heron calls out as it swoops through a gap in the trees. The intense storms that preceded this year’s breeding season felled several trees – and their traditional nest sites. The incoming heron lands in a nearby pine tree, where its mate is guarding a messy bundle of twigs. This pair are still building their nest. Both male and female herons have long black crest feathers, and lacy plumes on the throat and back but, in this case, I’ve no trouble identifying the sexes. The male preens his mate before mounting her. There’s a few seconds of wing-flapping, squirming and tail-wagging. After he slides off, the female tucks her bill into her breast feathers and closes her eyes.

When we think of the US war against Iran, US gas price increases immediately come to mind. As we gather more information about the war, we start to consider inter-nation tensions. We recognize how oil infrastructure is actively weaponized, how fires generate emissions, and how our already fragile planet is ... [continued]

The post War’s Long Lines, Hunger, and Health Crises appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Ballard Power and New Flyer announced what sounds at first like a market-making agreement, a commercial arrangement for 500 fuel cell engines, or about 50 MW of modules, for hydrogen transit buses starting in 2026. On the surface, that reads like the kind of order that only appears when a ... [continued]

The post Ballard’s 500 Fuel Cell Deal Meets A Hydrogen Bus Market That Never Arrived appeared first on CleanTechnica.

XPeng’s first profitable quarter is being framed, almost reflexively, as a scale story: more cars, better utilization, stronger margins. That is the standard manufacturing narrative, and it is reflected in both the earnings presentation and the surrounding coverage. But reading XPeng purely through volume is incomplete. CleanTechnica attended the Beijing ... [continued]

The post Op-Ed: XPeng’s Profit Isn’t About Volume, It’s Rewriting The Stack appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Asking for coffee in a reusable cup or reusing shopping bags is second nature for many, but bringing your own containers for takeaway can take getting used to. Here are some tips to get started

• Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint

• Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com

Before the advent of cheap, single-use take away packaging, legend has it that Australian families used to bring saucepans to their local Chinese restaurant to pick up their Friday night take-out. Until the early 1980s, when concerns about ink contamination outlawed it, fish and chips came wrapped in old newspapers.

These days, Australians’ love affair with caffeine has made reusable coffee cups ubiquitous, and most of us have a stack of tupperware at home for school lunches. Yet fronting up to the salad bar or deli counter with your own container still feels a bit weird.

An Irish energy client was speaking with governmental contacts recently, and HVDC risk came up. Not the usual high-level question of whether HVDC is needed for long-distance offshore transmission, because that answer is often yes once projects get large and far enough from shore, but the more awkward question of ... [continued]

The post Why HVDC Export Cables Are An Underappreciated Risk In Offshore Wind appeared first on CleanTechnica.

A US startup supplies spray for fast-growing loblolly pines with the hope of increasing biodiversity – and reducing the need for artificial fertiliser

At a commercial tree nursery near Evans, western Louisiana, 5m pine seedlings are packed on to 12 vast circular irrigation tables, each as wide as a football field. Last September, many of these young trees were sprayed with what looked like muddy water.

The substance was in fact a liquid extract teeming with hundreds of species of wild soil fungi. Brad Ouseman, the nursery manager, is confident he will see results from this fungal inoculation, which is intended to improve yields and reduce the need for artificial fertilisers.

Closure of strait of Hormuz – a key fertilizer production and transportation route – has squeezed farmers as prices jump

Rodney Bushmeyer has been farming as long as he can remember. Bushmeyer’s father was a farmer, as was his grandfather.

The family-run Bushmeyer Farms in Illinois dates back more than 100 years, when his ancestors came to the US from Germany. They acquired the first 80 acres cost-free as homesteaders, cleared the land, and worked it.

This week, I attended New York Build Expo, co-located with Installer Expo in the Javits Center. There were far more professionals there than press, which meant that I was able to get into practical discussions quickly. While there were many interesting technologies, less focus was on showing off or attracting ... [continued]

The post New York Build Expo: Heat Pumps Take Center Stage appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Wind power for cargo ships is coming back and scaling up, as demonstrated by a new partnership between the UK wind propulsion startup GT Wings and the Chinese manufacturer Zunsion Technology.

The post Trump Makes The Wind Power Case For The Global Shipping Industry appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In Denmark, the spread of solar panels has become a divisive issue among voters, especially in rural areas

In one telling of the story, the golden fields of a proud farming nation are under attack. Besieged by an industrial sprawl of solar panels, they are being smothered at the behest of an urban elite.

That narrative has failed to thrive in conservative heartlands such as Texas and Hungary, which have embraced solar power while lambasting green rules. But it is taking root in Denmark, the most climate-ambitious nation on Earth. “We say yes to fields of wheat,” said Inger Støjberg, the leader of the rightwing populist Denmark Democrats in a speech in 2024. “And we say no to fields of iron!”

There are many people who really don’t need extra frills and gadgets in their car — they just want something simple and reliable to get to work or wherever they are going. Why do cars have to be so expensive? Why do they need so much extra geewizardry, which doesn’t ... [continued]

The post €4,900 Electric Car Catching On In Europe appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Animals will feature on £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes, the Bank of England says, but which creatures should make the cut?

Native British wildlife will feature on the next set of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes, the Bank of England has announced, but it has yet to be decided which creatures will make the cut.

While politicians from Nigel Farage to Ed Davey have sought to confect outrage about ditching Winston Churchill and Jane Austen for badgers or blackbirds, public consultations by the Bank show that people favour the switch to wildlife. Regularly changing images on the notes is a measure to foil counterfeiters.

Chris Packham is a naturalist, broadcaster, campaigner and author

Naturalist Lucy Lapwing is the author of Love is a Toad: Exploring Our Relationship With Nature