Join 350 Humboldt, the Climate Action Campaign, and Friends of the Eel at Humbrewstomorrow, Monday the 13th of July. Share drinks, dinner and community while finding out what these organizations are up to. Also join a postcarding campaign to get Trinidad, Ferndale and Blue Lake to approve the Regional Climate Action plan. Productive fun with new and old friends. (This gathering in the private room replaces the July general meeting for 350 Humboldt.)
856 10th Street Arcata. 5 – 7 p.m., program starts at 5:30.
Thanks to Humbrews for hosting and to Friends of the Eel for organizing.
359 Humboldt Steering Committee: Martha Walden, Nancy Ihara, Dan Chandler
SCIENCE
Do you like a good story about tracking down solutions in a lab? GRIST recounts the quixotic searches of a Japanese and a US scientist who each pursued their own path for 20 years only to find the answer to both questions in each others’ research. The result may end up being a plant that can supply its own fertilizer and obviate our dependence on fossil fuel based synthetic nitrogen.
GREENING
The European Commission is set to unveil a 2040 target for EU electrification on 17 July, reported Bloomberg. Citing a leaked draft, it said the plan would aim to cut oil use in half and gas use by two-thirds.
Walmart is rapidly expanding its network of electric vehicle chargers designed for customers to use while they shop. Now it is coming to California. The network could help fill gaps in EV infrastructure in states with greater need for chargers. Walmart, which has more than 5,000 locations in the U.S. and hundreds in California, says more than 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of one of its stores. The chargers also offer an incentive for customers to choose Walmart — Walmart Plus members will receive a 10% discount off an average price of $0.46 per kilowatt-hour of energy at the company’s chargers.
Several school districts across the U.S. will experiment with using electric school buses as grid resources while they’re not shuttling kids around this summer. (Reuters)
You can now get electric vehicle rebates in California again! It’s $3,500 for a new EV and $1,750 for a used EV. (Caroline Petrow-Cohen, L.A. Times)
ComEd today announced that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has approved the company’s proposal to launch a new Virtual Power Plant program. The program is to increase the amount of residential battery storage available across northern Illinois that can be deployed during times of high electricity demand, helping to relieve pressure on the grid and support reliability and affordability for customers.
Oman’s United Solar opened the Middle East’s largest polysilicon plant. At full capacity, the facility will churn out 100,000 metric tons of polysilicon per year, enough to produce 40 gigawatts of solar panels.
The offshore wind industry may be in retreat in the U.S., but it’s just picking up in Europe. On Monday offshoreWIND.biz reported that the Netherlands’ 760-megawatt Hollandse Kust West VI offshore wind farm has officially connected to the grid. The 52-turbine plant is expected to reach full capacity by the end of this year.
The Department of Energy today closed a $3.26 billion loan to the Texasutility AEPto help fund nearly 100 transmission projects like reconductoring existing lines and building new infrastructure. The projects span about 2,800 miles of transmission lines and will help AEP Texas improve grid reliability while adding potentially 41 gigawatts of new load through 2030, largely from data centers, the utility said in a statement.
Ionna, the EV charging network founded by eight major automakers, is on track to build 30,000 high-speed stations across the country by 2030. (Axios)
California State University Bakersfield develops a 3.5-MW solar-plus-storage project to supply about 40% of its electricity. (Solar Bytes)
CLIMATE DESPOLIATION
The heat wave in the eastern U.S. is causing roads to buckle, an increasingly common trend in the country as temperatures rise, Scott Neuman reports for NPR. Typically made of asphalt or concrete, roads expand and soften when temperatures rise, which can increase wear and tear. Government initiatives across the country aim to refurbish roads and use more durable materials, but these projects are incredibly expensive.
DARK AGE CLIMATE POLITICS
The U.S. Energy Information Administration now predicts the country will build 66 GW of gas plant capacity between 2026 and 2030, tripling the prediction it made at the beginning of last year. (E&E News)
Seven new fossil fuel power plants slated to support data centers in Pennsylvania would increase greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of putting 14 million cars on the road, a new study concludes. (Inside Climate News)
Seventeen states are suing California to block its single-use plastics regulations. Meanwhile, three environmental groups are suing in the other direction, arguing that the rules aren’t strong enough. (Susanne Rust, L.A. Times)
The Trump administration reestablishes the office that produces the National Climate Assessment and places a climate change denier in charge. (Politico)
Democratic Hawaii Gov. Josh Green backs the proposed Longboard liquefied-natural-gas import terminal and associated 500-MW gas plant, throwing the state’s energy transition into doubt. (Canary Media)
Between January 2025, when Trump took office for his second term, and May 2026, a total of 216 major clean energy generation and manufacturing projects were scrapped, closed, or downsized, according to a new report from the business-focused advocacy group E2. Those cancellations, driven in large part by the Trump administration’s hostility toward clean energy, have resulted in the loss of nearly half a million potential jobs.
Take Action!
Join us at Humbrews Monday at 5pm: 856 10th Street Arcata.
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