A solar industrial complex is turning Republicans into believers - POLITICO

A Georgia solar-panel factory — and the jobs it provides — is making renewable energy fans out of state Republicans...

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/10/georgia-republicans-factories-solar-01066686

 

A new report finds many Chinese provinces are reducing their use of coal : NPR

China is the world's largest emitter of planet-warming pollution. But a new report this week finds the country is transitioning away from fossil fuels including coal...

 https://www.npr.org/2026/09/09/nx-s1-5958668/a-new-report-finds-many-chinese-provinces-are-reducing-their-use-of-coal

Solar cuts ‘at least £400 from bills in even the cloudiest British areas’

Savings grow as energy prices in Great Britain rise and cost of panel installation falls, analysis finds…

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/01/households-uk-cloudy-regions-save-400-a-year-rooftop-solar-panels

 

The Iran war is pushing some countries to move away from oil faster : NPR

Countries are forging a new energy path with renewable and electric vehicle technologies sourced from China. In March, Chinese exports of solar panels were up more than 80% compared to last year, according to energy think tank Ember. China exported more than 2 million electric passenger vehicles between January and May, with nearly half of those exports occurring in April and May, according to a recent analysis note from SIA Energy, an oil and gas consultancy. 

"If China's car industry were handing out a salesman of the year award for 2026, President Trump would be a leading contender," the SIA Energy note says...

 https://www.npr.org/2026/07/09/nx-s1-5872786/iran-war-evs-solar-energy-transition

 

China’s investment in renewable energy pays off

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYnyAamblSo

The household battery revolution that could change energy bills … and the world

Alison Reeve, the energy and climate change programme director at the Grattan Institute thinktank, says it neatly illustrates how the energy system has been rewritten, almost overnight. Under the new model, households are producers and players in the market, not just consumers. Older forms of generation are increasingly being squeezed out. And the advent of batteries with longer durations means past criticisms of solar energy – that the sun doesn’t shine at night – is being “blown out of the water”...

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2026/may/31/cheaper-energy-bills-battery-revolution-climate-crisis

 

Some Utah cities commit to bringing renewable power to their homes : NPR

"Instead of just saying, 'Hey, we held up a sign, but nothing happened,'" Cartin said, "we made this change in one of the most conservative states in the country." It's something, he said, "the community can take pride in."

 The Utah coalition's work is getting noticed. Cartin said he's fielding questions from communities in other states about how they could do something similar. "

That's been the really interesting part of being able to present in Montana and Idaho," Cartin said, "being like, 'Hey, we figured this out. You can figure it out, too.'"…

 https://www.npr.org/2026/05/19/nx-s1-5734480/renewable-energy-utah

 

The Trump administration has built a HUGE money pump.

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lRgPk8H4zQg

 

‘The damage is done’: global oil crisis has changed fossil fuel industry for ever, IEA chief says

“The only effective path to energy and economic security is homegrown clean energy. All political parties should now be uniting around that mission. Their failure to do so tells you a lot about whose interests they truly represent.”…

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/24/global-oil-crisis-changed-fossil-fuel-industry-for-ever-iea-chief-fatih-birol 

 

Federal judge blocks Trump administration restrictions on wind and solar projects

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday struck down several Trump administration actions slowing down development of clean energy, including a requirement that all solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters be personally approved by the interior secretary, Doug Burgum...

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/22/trump-wind-solar-clean-energy-order

This stat blew my mind — wind power

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/j6Kf611M8uo

 

Clean energy generation exceeded rise in global electricity demand in 2025

Output from solar farms rose by a third while electricity from fossil fuels fell, research from thinktank reveals…

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/21/clean-energy-generation-exceeded-rise-global-electricity-demand-2025

 

Escape route from Iran energy shock leads to China, U.S. allies find - POLITICO

But there’s also an obvious catch: The faster they move to decarbonize, the more they will have to rely on China to supply the necessary materials. After all, Beijing controls the overwhelming majority of the world’s clean technology and critical mineral supply. 

Governments, uneasy about the idea of swapping one dependence for another, are keenly aware of that fact. The question now is whether they’ll put those reservations aside in favor of bolstering their energy security or continue taking measures to protect their economies from China’s dominance…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/20/iran-war-china-beijing-global-clean-energy-dominance-00880124 

‘We are not going back’: Iran war forces global energy shift - POLITICO

Many of the countries that are most severely affected by the war say they recognize the benefits of transitioning faster to renewable energy to avoid future shocks related to oil disruptions. Others remain bullish on fossil fuels, including the United States — whose Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, applauded America’s rising oil and gas production, and called for fewer climate policies...

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/17/iran-war-global-energy-shift-00877861 

Britain breaks solar energy record twice as UK’s biggest solar farm gets approval

Record high set on Monday and raised on Tuesday, with 14.4GW of electricity generated in sunny spring weather…

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/08/britain-breaks-solar-energy-record-twice-uk-biggest-solar-farm-springwell-approval

 

US to pay almost $1bn to French energy company to kill wind project plan

"This is political theater meant to obscure the fact that offshore wind capacity is being pulled out of the pipeline when energy prices are skyrocketing, even as other offshore wind projects continue delivering reliable and affordable power to the grid," Sam Salustro, a senior vice-president of pro-offshore wind group Oceantic Network, said in a statement. "Paying to remove affordable, homegrown energy out of the equation leaves American consumers struggling to pay their electricity bills."… 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/23/trump-administration-wind-project-plan

 

China has been preparing for a global energy crisis for years. It is paying off now

As other Asian economies race to conserve energy, China has huge reserves of oil and gas as well as alternative energy sources like wind and solar…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/20/china-oil-reserves-global-energy-crisis

 

Solar and EVs help countries weather energy crisis with Iran war : NPR

"The widespread adoption of solar and batteries kind of serves as a hedge or a protection sort of against these price shocks that the fossil fuel markets are very vulnerable to globally," she says. 

Some countries in Latin America and Africa are still deciding between investing in traditional fossil fuel infrastructure or renewable energy and batteries. The growing energy crisis fueled by the war makes the stakes more clear, Bond says. " Once you've got your solar panel, there's no cost for the sun," he says. "But once you've got your gas fire power station, you have to pay every day for the gas that you burn in it."…

 https://www.npr.org/2026/03/16/nx-s1-5732984/energy-iran-war-solar-pakistan-crisis-renewable-evs

 

Do we want to keep fixing the same issue? Unlearned lessons from the first big oil crisis

As energy prices tripled in the 1970s due to Middle Eastern wars, Scandinavia, France and the Netherlands sped up green transition…

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/13/fixing-the-same-issue-first-big-oil-crisis-middle-eastern-wars

 

Some leaders see powerful argument for renewable energy as Iran war shakes markets | PBS News

"The turmoil we are witnessing today in the Middle East makes it evident that we are facing a global energy system largely tied to fossil fuels — where supply is concentrated in a few regions and every conflict risks sending shock waves through the global economy," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in an email to The Associated Press. "In past oil shocks, countries had little choice but to absorb the pain. Now they have an exit ramp. 

"Homegrown renewable energy has never been cheaper, more accessible, or more scalable," Guterres said. "The resources of the clean energy era cannot be blockaded or weaponized."…

 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/some-leaders-see-powerful-argument-for-renewable-energy-as-iran-war-shakes-energy-markets