Climate crisis | Good News for Humankind

U.K. use of gas and coal for electricity at lowest since 1957

By Peter Schulte / January 2, 2024 / Good news links

The UK’s gas power plants last year generated 31% of the UK’s electricity, or 98 terawatt hours, according to a report by the industry journal Carbon Brief, while the UK’s last remaining coal plant produced enough electricity to meet just 1% of the UK’s power demand or 4TWh. Fossil fuels have been increasingly squeezed out of the electricity system by a surge in renewable energy generation combined with higher electricity imports from France and Norway and a long-term trend of falling demand.

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In Scotland, renewable power has outstripped demand

By Peter Schulte / January 1, 2024 / Good news links

For the first time, in 2022, Scottish renewables generated more power than the country used, new government figures show. The growth of wind power, coupled with a small drop in electricity consumption, meant that the volume of electricity produced by renewables in Scotland was equal to 113 percent of demand.

Electric school buses more than doubled in U.S. in last year

By Peter Schulte / December 29, 2023 / Good news links

The number of electric school buses operating or delivered in the U.S. rose from 598 in March 2022 to 1,285 in June 2023. The number of electric school buses that have been ordered or awarded funding nearly tripled in the same period. Forty-nine states had electric school bus commitments as of June 2023.

South Korea to require producers of organic waste resources to make biogas

By Peter Schulte / December 28, 2023 / Good news links

According to the East Asian nation’s Environment Ministry’s new biogas law, public and private industries that generate organic waste such as livestock manure and food waste will now be required to produce them in the form of biogas. Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, plant material and manure and can be used in vehicles that operate on natural gas.

China’s JAC Motors rolls out world’s first commercial lithium-free EV

By Peter Schulte / December 28, 2023 / Good news links

Although sodium-ion battery technology has a lower density (and is less mature) than lithium-ion, its lower costs, more abundant supplies and superior cold-weather performance could help accelerate mass EV adoption worldwide.

Industrial pipes and infrastructure at a coastal energy facility for an article about carbon capture and storage

American scientists repeatedly produce nuclear fusion ignition for the first time in history

By Peter Schulte / December 27, 2023 / Good news links

A team at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has achieved fusion ignition, producing a net energy gain from a fusion reaction for the first time ever. The feat was hailed as a “moment of history” by physicists and another major breakthrough in the quest for near-limitless clean energy.

Uruguay now generates more than 90% of its electricity from renewables

By Peter Schulte / December 27, 2023 / Good news links

Since the 2000s, Uruguay has installed about 50 windfarms across the country, decarbonized the grid, and bolstered its hydropower. Now, depending on the weather, anything between 90% and 95% of its power comes from renewables. In some years, that number has crept as high as 98%.

MIT scientists discover how to convert CO2 into powder that can be stored for decades

By Peter Schulte / December 20, 2023 / Good news links

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology exposed CO2 to catalysts and then electrolysis that turns the gas into a powder called sodium formate, which can be safely stored for decades. The breakthrough follows an almost century-long effort to turn CO2 into a cheap, clean fuel. Researchers have previously turned CO2 into fuels that required too much energy to make or were difficult to store long-term.

Canada to end sales of gas-powered cars by 2035

By Peter Schulte / December 18, 2023 / Good news links

Under the new rules, electric or hydrogen-powered cars will account for 20% of new sales by 2026, 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2035. The rules mirror similar 2035 phase-out mandates in China, South Korea, the U.K. and several U.S. states, including California, New York, and Massachusetts.

Australia and Norway to stop overseas fossil fuel financing

By Peter Schulte / December 18, 2023 / Good news links

Australia and Norway have formally joined the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP), a historic alliance aiming at ending international public subsidies for fossil fuels. The CETP was launched during COP26 in Glasgow and has grown to include 41 countries and organizations, signaling a significant step forward in combating the climate catastrophe.