Interesting Ideas

Post-Fukushima nuclear closures of dozens of reactors forced the country to rely heavily on imported fossil fuels

Species that is critically endangered in Britain is spotted in Mersey, Bollin and Goyt rivers in north-west

Young Atlantic salmon have been seen in three rivers in north-west England for the first time since 2015, marking a “significant environmental turnaround”.

The salmon species was declared critically endangered in Britain in 2023 but fish have been spotted in the Mersey, Bollin and Goyt rivers, meaning they have successfully travelled from the Arctic Circle to spawn.

Dry and warm 2025 spring gave glimmer of hope for threatened wild birds but many remain in long-term decline

The warmest and sunniest spring on record this year led to an increase in the breeding of some of Britain’s best-loved songbirds, data has shown.

Scientists said the dry and warm spring had provided a glimmer of hope for threatened wild birds. In the 2025 breeding season, from May to August, there were higher than average breeding successes for 14 species including the chiffchaff, garden warbler, whitethroat, coal tit, blue tit, great tit and robin.

Marylanders have apparently been good and nice this year. Rather than getting coal for Christmas, they got a large solar power plant installed on the site of an old coal mine. CPV Renewable Power, part of Competitive Power Ventures, launched the CPV Backbone Solar project a few days before Christmas ... [continued]

The post Maryland’s Largest Solar Project Launches, On Old Coal Mine appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Planet’s oldest bee species and primary pollinators were under threat from deforestation and competition from ‘killer bees’

Stingless bees from the Amazon have become the first insects to be granted legal rights anywhere in the world, in a breakthrough supporters hope will be a catalyst for similar moves to protect bees elsewhere.

It means that across a broad swathe of the Peruvian Amazon, the rainforest’s long-overlooked native bees – which, unlike their cousins the European honeybees, have no sting – now have the right to exist and to flourish.

Analysis Shows Clean Energy Investments Dropped from $4.7 Billion Peak to Stagnation Under Trump Administration, Threatening Over 61,000 Good-Paying Jobs View a recording of the release webinar here. APPALACHIA — A new report released this month by ReImagine Appalachia reveals that 67% of the region’s 92,282 projected clean energy jobs ... [continued]

The post New Report: 67% of Appalachia’s Projected Clean Energy Jobs at Risk as Federal & Private Investments Flatline appeared first on CleanTechnica.

A rise in the price of copper and silver in the futures markets indicates a transition to renewables and EVs is under way.

The post Bloomberg — Copper & Silver Prices Suggest Gains For Renewables & EVs appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Hove, East Sussex: I’ve had to create a halfway house for him, between the rescue centre and the wild. Only, he’s named after an escapologist for a reason

In the dark, a three-legged hedgehog trundles clumsily by, gathering leaves to make his bed more comfortable, although apparently not comfortable enough to hibernate. This may be his eighth winter; hedgehogs lose pigment with age and his bright pink nose suggests he’s well over five – the average age of a wild hog. Except he’s not wild, or not for now. I’ve had to lock him in the garden.

His name is Houdini. He came into my life three years ago, captured on my trail camera with bone exposed from a partially missing leg. I caught him to take to the rescue centre, but he escaped before I got a chance – twice. I finally nabbed him and named him after the great escapologist. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a journey together.

Attenborough, 99, enthuses about tube-riding pigeons, foxes, parakeets and others in Wild London for the BBC

Filming the wildlife of London requires an intrepid, agile presenter, willing to lie on damp grass after dark to encounter hedgehogs, scale heights to hold a peregrine falcon chick, and stake out a Tottenham allotment to get within touching distance of wary wild foxes.

Step forward Sir David Attenborough, who spent his 100th summer seeking out the hidden nature of his home city for an unusually personal and intimate BBC documentary.

Unsurprisingly, projects, jobs, and whole companies have been falling as a result of Donald Trump’s war on renewable energy and electric vehicles. Because he loves pollution so much, and is eager to help funnel more money to his billionaire friends in the fossil fuel industry, Trump has been pulling cleantech ... [continued]

The post Solar Company Spread Across 9 States Shuts Down Shop, Blames Trump’s OBBBA appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Wildlife trust is raising funds to buy largest piece of land in single ownership to come up for sale in England for a generation

“We’ve lost so much,” says Mike Pratt, reflecting on Britain’s nature crisis. “We’re getting to the point where if we’re not careful, children in the future won’t know what a hedgehog is. They won’t have encountered one.”

Pratt, the chief executive of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, is speaking on an unseasonably sunny, calm, blue-skied December day surrounded by ruggedly beautiful, spirit-lifting countryside.

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, Inc. (KCEC) has selected Nuvve New Mexico, LLC, a subsidiary of Nuvve Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: NVVE), to deploy and operate advanced battery energy storage systems under a Battery-as-a-Service (BAAS) model at two separate locations in northern New Mexico. Under the terms outlined in a recently executed term sheet, Nuvve New Mexico ... [continued]

The post Nuvve Selected for 40 MWh of Battery-as-a-Service Projects from Kit Carson Electric Cooperative in New Mexico appeared first on CleanTechnica.

National Trust says these are ‘alarm signals we cannot ignore’ as climate breakdown puts pressure on wildlife

Extremes of weather have pushed nature to its limits in 2025, putting wildlife, plants and landscapes under severe pressure, an annual audit of flora and fauna has concluded.

Bookended by storms Éowyn and Bram, the UK experienced a sun-soaked spring and summer, resulting in fierce heath and moorland fires, followed by autumn floods.

As Steve Hanley explained earlier today, Tesla has published Wall Street analyst estimates of Tesla vehicle deliveries and energy storage deployments for the first time ever on its investor relations site. These are consensus estimates from 20 Wall Street firms combined. When I first saw news of this, I thought ... [continued]

The post Why Did Tesla Publish Wall St. Delivery Estimates? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Electric air taxis may be a dead end idea. I think they probably are. Except in some niche, limited markets and applications. To be honest, though, Saudi Arabia may be one of those markets, and authorities there certainly seem to think so. The country’s aviation regulator, General Authority of Civil ... [continued]

The post Saudi Arabia Opens Pathway for Electric Air Taxis appeared first on CleanTechnica.

I’m sure everyone here knows the company Intersect. Just kidding, I assume most people don’t know the company, since I had never run across it before. Apparently, though, it’s a data center and energy infrastructure solutions provider. It builds big power projects for data centers and booming electricity needs. Alphabet, ... [continued]

The post Alphabet Buys Intersect For $4.75 Billion — Is That A Good Thing? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

By Caron Whitaker The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for BUILD grants, making $1.5 billion available based on outlays from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. With grant awards up to $25 million available for projects, this NOFO presents an array ... [continued]

The post $1.5 Billion in BUILD Grants Available for 2026 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Tribal utility, localities, and consumer and environmental groups argue tax guidance illegally hurts renewable energy. WASHINGTON, D.C. — A broad array of groups with strong interests in clean and affordable energy sued the IRS and Treasury Department over new rules for tax credits that unfairly and illegally discriminate against wind ... [continued]

The post IRS Sued Over Anti-Solar & Anti-Wind Tax Rules appeared first on CleanTechnica.

When developers began circling Espíritu Santo island in the 1990s, a private conservation effort saw them off. But today the Unesco site faces a new threat: mass tourism

On a clear day over the Sea of Cortez, Espíritu Santo looks untouchable. Turquoise water laps at the shores of the island’s rocky coves; whale sharks cruise past snorkellers; seabirds caw over ancient cliffs. The pristine island and its Unesco-protected surroundings – informally called “Mexico’s Galápagos” – are a cocoon of biodiversity.

Yet an increase in tourist numbers has led to growing unease among the island’s longstanding stewards, as environmentalists report a decline in the area’s marine life and call for stricter regulations.

Trump ratcheted up his questionable claims about the environment and how to deal, if at all, with the threats to it

In the past decade at the forefront of US politics, Donald Trump has unleashed a barrage of unusual, misleading or dubious assertions about the climate crisis, which he most famously called a “hoax”.

This year has seen Trump ratchet up his often questionable claims about the environment and how to deal, if at all, with the threats to it. In a year littered with lies and wild declarations, these are the five that stood out as the most startling.