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The summer seems to be flying by faster than an electric jet now, and it’s already time for another weekly news roundup. Below are 27 of the most notable cleantech stories from the past week and a half. Have a look and make sure you haven’t missed anything!
1. Mike Barnard is providing weekly “report cards,” or policy analyses, of President Joe Biden and former and potential future President Donald Trump for us on different topics. This week, we’ve got one on decarbonization of the electricity sector. Check it out! And if you haven’t looked yet, take a guess what grades they’re going to get on this topic.
Last week, we published the first report, that one being on climate treaties and agreements.
2. Steve Hanley wrote a piece on how residential solar and home energy storage are under attack in California. It’s not a pretty or uplifting read, but it is what it is and it’s very important. Basically, after going after grid-tied residential solar, they are moving on to home energy storage. On the matter of home energy storage, by the way, I’ve also got a piece on a super affordable and seemingly high-quality portable LiFePO4 battery from LiTime that you can use for various purposes.
3. In a bit of positive news, though, Michigan has passed a law making it illegal for HOAs to prohibit rooftop solar power and various energy efficiency improvements to houses.
4. More good solar news: Wendy’s is enrolling 130 of its fast food restaurants into community solar programs. I can’t recommend eating there, but just as it led the industry by offering salad decades ago, it’s now leading by using solar power.
5. Jumping from the sun to the wind, the U.S. Energy Information Administration has an article and chart out showing the current status of planned offshore wind farms in the country.
6. And … a new report shows a ton of new solar power and wind power are expected to come online by 2033. That’s nothing new, but it’s always fun to look at!
7. We’ve got new EV sales reports of course. The big one I have to highlight this week is Mexico’s, a new market we’re covering thanks to Juan Diego Celemín Mojica, and he’s done excellent work on it! We’ve also got one on the Netherlands, which has reached 45% plugin vehicle share of new auto sales!
8. In addition, Jose Pontes and I discussed EV sales growth around the world, Tesla’s EV sales slump, and EU tariffs on EVs produced in China in CleanTechnica‘s latest YouTube video.
Related to that, I also published a story on demand challenges Tesla is facing in its three biggest markets. And we also have more details on the EU tariffs here, including some reporting from the ground in China.
9. In the US, Jennifer Sensiba dove into GM’s growing EV sales, and also what this might mean for GM’s future. (By the way, want to see more stories on towing with a Chevy Bolt EUV and taking it camping? Pitch in to support Jennifer’s efforts.)
10. On the GM front, we also have spy shots indicating a new version of the Chevy Spark EV may be coming to Latin America.
11. But if you really want an affordable electric car, it’s hard to pass up a $19 a month Nissan LEAF! See dealer article for details. (Also, note, this is only in Colorado.)
12. By the way, how many times have you heard that the grid can’t handle a transition to EVs? Too many times, I know. Jennifer dove into some reasons this make no sense and some things you can tell people who are misinformed about this.
13. Speaking of EV batteries, I published a piece (and charts) on the 10 biggest EV battery producers in the world. See how many you can name without peeking.
14. On the more negative side, thanks to a reader’s letter to the editor, we learned of a proposed “sin tax” on EVs in Brazil, and how stupid that is.
15. Nissan’s got new electric vehicle models for sale in the UK — the SO4 Nano electric microcar and electric motorcycle models built by the Spanish e-mobility company Silence! The more EVs, the better, especially small efficient ones!
16. Speaking of cool little EVs, am I a sucker for a retro side car? Yes, I’m always a sucker for a retro side car! This week, we’ve got news that if you buy a MOD Easy SideCar 3 or MOD Easy Ape Hanger 3 through July 31st, you get a complimentary inflatable standup paddleboard thrown in with the order. Am I drooling? Yes, I’m drooling.
17. Jumping into the air now, we’e got news that electric VTOL startup Archer Aviation has received a $55 million investment from Stellantis. This is on top of a $110 million investment last year and $39 million in stock purchases earlier this year.
18. The new version of the ZEEKR 009 electric MPV uses a Qilin battery from CATL, which is the next big thing in EV battery technology and innovation. The (extremely luxurious) electric vehicle can fast charge from 10% to 80% in just 11 minutes with this battery! In other words, arguments against EVs are dropping fast! The ZEEKR 009 looks a bit like a modern, electric Rolls-Royce. Of course, it’s not a hand-built car on the level of a Rolls-Royce, but it’s definitely got a lot of bling bling going on. Currently, it’s priced starting at 500,000 RMB (€63,300 or $68,850).
19. China’s carbon emissions are expected to have their first annual decline since 2016. Part of this is due to how fast China is deploying renewable energy, and part is due to a slowing economy. Steve Hanley dives more deeply into this matter, another story out of China that can give us a bit of hope.
20. Elon Musk confirmed that the Tesla robotaxi event has been pushed back, and I write a bit about what that means about Tesla’s robotaxi progress and the coming event. Before this was confirmed by Elon, I discussed the rumor as well as news that Elon Musk’s car and some YouTubers’ cars were getting special treatment from the FSD development team. And also a new Tesla Model 3 Long Range with RWD.
21. On the positive front, the Tesla Cybertruck has already become the best selling electric truck in the United States and has actually seen a faster production ramp-up than previous Tesla models.
22. Cadillac is going strongly into the EV transition at this point, and I discuss the potential of its newest electric vehicle, the Optiq, as well as Cadillac’s EV progress overall.
23. Ford also has a hot new EV out, the Capri … but it’s only going to be sold in Europe.
24. In the broader US auto industry, we are seeing growing inventory on dealer lots. I discussed some potential reasons for that. I also wrote a bit about how this and related matters could lead to US automakers going bust.
25. Solid-state battery startup QuantumScape has signed a huge agreement with Volkswagen division PowerCo. “The initial goal is 40 gigawatt-hours’ worth of batteries per year with an option to expand to as much as 80 gigawatt-hours, which QuantumScape estimates is enough to account for one million EVs per year.”
26. Circling back to Donald Trump, we’ve got a couple of stories on how he is looking to dismantle the administrative state if made president again, and implications that has for the climate of course.
27. Meanwhile, we’ve also got a story on “what Joe Biden has done for you lately.” It’s a lot. That also includes a surge in clean energy manufacturing jobs in Georgia and some other states, even if that wasn’t on the White House list.
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