Virginia Environmental News
Energy giants NextEra and Dominion are now stepping up the game as they seek Virginia state approval for their proposed merger. They now say they’ll give more bill credits and add jobs.
The Mount Jackson Town Council voted to extend the time frame of the 75-megawatt, 450-acre solar project west of town because of a delay in interconnection to the electrical grid. The agreement calls for the developer to make $1.375 million in voluntary payments to the town.
Small-scale plug-in “balcony solar” is this year’s clean energy superstar in the US. Eight states, including Virginia, have followed Utah’s lead in legalizing it in an effort to help people lower their sky-high energy bills. Two dozen other states are moving toward legalizing it.
Our Climate Crisis
Sea-surface temperatures at the heart of the El Niño weather pattern have reached a new record-high months before they are expected to peak. Asian countries are rushing preparations for the coming related droughts, wildfires, typhoons and floods.
This summer was defined by climate disasters. Travelers now need to reckon with such disruptions, which have become an inescapable fixture of summer vacations.
Satellites show Earth lost more than 12 trillion tons of ice from Greenland and Antarctica since 1979. This pushed global sea levels up about an inch on top of other climate factors raising ocean heights.
Recently sighted sea turtle nests on the Southern California coast are a historic first and related to warming ocean temperatures.
Politics and Policy
The EPA is repealing the rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. The Trump administration is working fast to take clean air and climate regulations back to where they were before the 1970s.
The cap-and-trade Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, in Northeastern states including Virginia, isn’t having the same emissions-cutting effect it did two decades ago. As energy use increases and power bills rise, some wonder if it needs to be revamped or discontinued.
The U.S. House of Representatives almost unanimously passed a bill aimed at making tech companies pay for the electricity costs of their data centers.
The upcoming state elections could shape climate and energy policy. States play an outsize role and Democrats often take substantial action when they control state government.
A federal judge ruled that the EPA illegally terminated a $7 billion solar program intended to help poorer Americans.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the U.S. is considering leaving the International Energy Agency if there is no alignment on climate issues. He insists that the IEA should focus primarily on oil, gas and coal rather than clean energy.
Trump is doing everything he can to dismantle U.S. climate policy but his war against Iran is cutting emissions in the global scramble for energy alternatives to fossil fuels.
Former Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty took the helm of the Solar Energy Industries Association this summer with a mandate to build durable political power for the solar industry.
African countries are crafting the first continent-wide framework to respond to how climate disasters cause hunger, displacement, and conflict.
Energy and Technology
The UK has committed to building a new fleet of 29 battery electric passenger trains that promise to be faster and more reliable than diesel locomotives. They will enter service in 2034 and some prototypes are already in service in intercity routes.
Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI has quietly built what may be the biggest battery in the country at its controversial, gigantic Memphis data center hub.
India’s power-sector carbon emissions have held flat for two years due to a surge in clean energy and a decline in both oil and gas consumption.
Saudi Arabia shut down its crucial East-West pipeline after it was attacked by drones from Iraq, closing a vital alternative route for crude oil exports from the Gulf. Prices climbed sharply after reports of the pipeline attack began circulating.
Mazama Energy raised $135 million to accelerate its next-generation super-hot geothermal well near Oregon’s Newberry Volcano.
Tesla has been named the primary supplier for 2,500 large, heavy-duty battery-electric trucks bought through a new shipper alliance.
A Danish engineering firm found that two-thirds of global energy is wasted as heat. Capturing and reusing it could be the next breakthrough in helping Europe sever its reliance on gas.
Electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid cars accounted for over 73% of all new vehicle sales in Europe in August.
Electric trucks are now cheaper to own and operate than diesel models in major European Union markets. Operators can recoup the initial price premium in around two years.
Land, Food, and Agriculture
New Internal Revenue Service guidelines confirm that gas extracted from livestock manure qualifies for a federal clean fuel tax credit. This paves the way for increased investment in biogas projects.
Two solar farms in Minnesota planted native grasses and wildflowers beneath their panels, tripling the number of insects at the sites while native bees increased more than 20 times. Bees from the restored habitat were also found pollinating crops in surrounding fields.
Japanese farmers are switching to heat-resistant rice varieties that are giving them fresh hope that they can overcome a climate emergency that is threatening the country’s staple crop.
Ecojustice
The oppressive Zimbabwean government is fueling a dirty lithium boom that is destroying the environment and local communities.
As Russia continually attacks Ukraine’s electric grid, Ukrainian businesses and households are increasingly investing in solar with help from government incentives.
Record-breaking wildfires earlier this year burned timber that Northwest tribes rely on for income, threatened food sources and waterways, and harmed the health of their communities.
Ecological and Climate Action
Junking your new gasoline car and replacing it with an EV would do less harm to the climate than if you’d kept driving that gas car for 10 years. Transportation creates 28% of climate emissions in the U.S. Light vehicles create 57% of emissions in the transportation sector and aircraft create 9%.
Thousands marched in Swiss cities to protest government inaction in the face of global warming. Many thousands more also marched throughout France.
Countries around the world are embracing clean power and taking steps to use less energy because of oil shortages created by the U.S. war against Iran. It’s still not enough to help address climate change and the world is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels.
Electric utilities in China release vast quantities of sulfur hexafluoride, the world’s most potent greenhouse gas. Recycling efforts could slash these emissions at little cost.
Germany has created a roadmap committed to phasing out fossil fuels by 2045. It includes ramping up renewable energy from 55% to 80% of electricity generation by 2030.
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