Clean & renewable energy

This archive tracks real progress in clean and renewable energy — from solar and wind expansions to grid breakthroughs and policy wins. More than 850 articles document what’s working, where it’s scaling, and who’s driving the shift away from fossil fuels. If you follow energy news for signal rather than noise, this is a useful place to start.

And nine more of humanity’s social change milestones from the week of July 1 – 7 2024 C.E.

Wind and solar capacity overtake coal in China in historic first

By / / Good news links

In what is being hailed as a “pivotal moment” and an “historic first”, the accumulated capacity of wind and solar projects in China has overtaken coal for the first time, and solar capacity alone is predicted to overtake coal within two years. Rystad Energy says it has analyzed the latest data from China’s National Energy Administration and says the additions of wind and solar have outstripped coal in China by a factor of 16 in the first half of 2024 – as new coal additions slump to just eight gigawatts.

Fervo Energy geothermal plant

World’s biggest geothermal power purchase agreement completed in western U.S.

By / / Good news links

It’s only been one year since Fervo Energy unveiled a novel concept in geothermal energy harvesting at its Project Red pilot plant in Nevada. Now the company has signed a 15-year agreement with Southern California Edison to provide 320 MW of power to the utility, which will power about 350,000 homes. The power will be provided by Fervo’s Cape Station project that is currently being built in southwest Utah, with the first 70 MW coming online in 2026 and the balance clicking on in 2028.

Rows of offshore wind turbines at sea for an article about EU wind power, for article on EU renewable electricity

E.U. surpasses 50% renewable power share for first time ever in first half of 2024

By / / Good News For Humankind

Renewable energy just hit a milestone Europe has never seen before: in the first half of 2024, clean sources generated exactly half of the EU’s public electricity, the first time the bloc has crossed that line. Add nuclear into the mix and three-quarters of Europe’s power came from low-carbon sources, up from 68 percent the year before. Germany pushed even further, with wind alone supplying 34 percent of its public grid. What makes this hopeful isn’t just the number — it’s the pace. Europe blew past its 2030 renewable targets years ahead of schedule, suggesting the clean energy transition can move faster than policymakers, or skeptics, dared to imagine.

Car HUD

Chinese scientists discover way to make batteries more efficient

By / / Good news links

A new water-based battery design is safer and more energy-efficient than traditional lithium-ion batteries, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences claim. Today’s lithium batteries have enabled the rise of EVs, but their flammable organic electrolytes make them a fire risk, and their energy density puts a cap on EV driving range. The new water-based design replaces those combustible components with a safer, more stable water-based electrolyte that can pack way more energy into the same space.

Aerial view of a geothermal power facility surrounded by tropical landscape for an article about Indonesia coal phase-out, for article on India coal capacity share

Coal’s share of power capacity in India drops below 50% for first time since 1960s

By / / Good News For Humankind

Coal now powers less than half of India’s electricity capacity for the first time since the 1960s — a quiet but historic line just crossed by the world’s most populous country. Renewables made up nearly three-quarters of the new capacity India added in the first quarter of 2024, and the country has already hit its 2030 goal of sourcing half its power from non-fossil sources, six years ahead of schedule. India has also climbed from ninth to third in global solar generation in less than a decade, behind only China and the United States. It’s a vivid reminder that when ambition, policy, and investment line up, energy transitions can move faster than almost anyone expected.

Wooden wind turbine

World’s first wooden wind turbine blades installed in Germany

By / / Good news links

Wooden wind turbines promise to significantly reduce CO2 emissions during construction and production costs compared to current turbine blades. Designed and manufactured by Voodin Blade Technology, a German pioneer in wind turbine blade manufacturing, the laminated veneer lumber blades are a more sustainable construction material than current materials and allow for easier recycling of decommissioned blades.