Clean & renewable energy

Meskel Square traffic in Addis Ababa

Ethiopia becomes first country to ban combustion-powered vehicles

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Ethiopia is to claim the accolade of becoming the first country in the world to ban the importation of all internal combustion engine cars, both new and used. The East African country will adopt an electric-only strategy as it seeks to reduce its reliance on fossil fuel imports and clean the air in its cities. While EV charging infrastructure is limited, Ethiopia does generate 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, according to the International Energy Agency, with strong solar, hydropower, and wind power projects.

Traffic in a Chinese city

25% of new car sales in China were fully electric in 2023 for the first time ever

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Electric vehicles sales in China, the world’s largest automotive market, are surging. All plugin models accounted for 37% of the market in 2023, up from just 6% at the end of 2021. Full electrics (BEVs) alone accounted for 25%. Plugins are expected to cross the 50% mark for plugins and electric by 2026, with BEVs likely to account for over a third of sales, if current trends persist.

Solar panels reflect sparkling light from the Sun

Rio Tinto signs contract for Australian grid’s first gigawatt scale solar project

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Mining company Rio Tinto has signed a contract to buy all the electricity from what will be the biggest solar project on Australia’s main grid – a 1.1 GW facility near Gladstone in Queensland. Rio Tinto is seeking up to 4 GW of wind and solar to provide clean power to and guarantee the future of its three main assets in the region – the Boyne Island aluminium smelter, the Yarwun alumina refinery, and the Queensland alumina refinery. All three assets are now supplied by coal.

Artist's concept of a solar power satellite in place

First ever space-to-Earth solar power mission succeeds

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A landmark test of beaming solar power to Earth from a satellite has concluded successfully after a year-long mission. Led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology, the mission completed all three of its primary experiments to test key technology for such an endeavor. They included a new origami-inspired solar panel structure, different cell designs, and a microwave transmitter.

Wind turbines

Offshore wind sites are delivering power to the grid for the first time in U.S. history

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In December 2023, Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource announced that their first turbine was sending electricity from what will be a 12-turbine wind farm, South Fork Wind, 35 miles east of Montauk Point, New York. Now, the joint owners of the Vineyard Wind project have announced the first electricity from one turbine at what will be a 62-turbine wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.

Aerial view of London and the Thames

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

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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.

american public power association eIBTh DXW w unsplash

In Scotland, renewable power has outstripped demand

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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.

A row of school buses

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

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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.

Biogas plant in agricultural landscape.

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

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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.

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