Ten Countries Unite For Offshore Wind Megaproject - Good Climate News
Ten European countries have signed an agreement to build 100 GW of offshore wind in the North Sea, heralds The Guardian. The UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway will jointly procure wind projects via the private sector and also build transmission lines to each nation.
“Under the pact, the governments have promised to collectively build 5GW of offshore wind capacity every year between 2031 and 2040.”
2. US Wind Farms to Restart Construction
Construction will resume on all five offshore wind farms that had previously been halted by the Trump administration, reports CNBC. The projects - at various stages of completion - had already been permitted and approved before the administration attempted to stop them.
“Sunrise Wind is located 30 miles east of Long Island, New York and is about 45% complete, according to Orsted. Once built, the project will produce enough power for nearly 600,000 homes.”
3. Clean Energy Drives 1/3 of China GDP Growth
Clean energy industries like solar, wind, batteries, and EVs accounted for fully one-third of China’s GDP growth last year, explains Carbon Brief.
“Clean-energy industries are expanding much more quickly than China’s economy overall, with their annual growth rate accelerating from 12% in 2024 to 18% in 2025.”
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4. Sodium-Ion Car Batteries Debut in China
Chinese battery behemoth CATL will debut this year the first sodium-ion batteries designed for automobiles, notes Electrek. Sodium-ion uses cheaper materials than the standard lithium-ion chemistry, and could one day lead to very inexpensive electric vehicles.
“Although they currently have lower energy densities, CATL aims to have sodium-ion batteries on par with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) within the next three years.”
5. Heat Pumps Power UK Brewery
A UK brewery has replaced oil-burning boilers in its brewing process with a new system powered by heat pumps, reports Energy Live News. Heat pumps are best known for their role in decarbonizing home heating, but they also have massive potential in the industrial heat sector.
“The project delivered an 85.8% energy saving for wort boiling, a 91.2% cut in CO₂ equivalent, and a 65.3% reduction in energy costs, while maintaining 125°C process steam.”
📈 Chart of the Week
China gets all the headlines when it comes to solar deployment. But India is quietly becoming a solar superpower in its own right, according to an analysis by energy think tank Ember. Solar energy is forecasted to make up more than 25% of India’s electricity generation by 2032.
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