Tesla Back on Top as Norway’s EV Market Surges to 98% Share in February
Tesla reclaimed its position as Norway’s top-selling car brand in February, as electric vehicles accounted for 98.01% of all new registrations. The market saw 7,127 EVs registered, a sharp rebound from January’s 75% year‑over‑year decline caused by a VAT rule change. Tesla’s Model Y led the pack with 1,073 deliveries, delivering a 14.8% share, while the brand overall captured 16.6% of February sales. Total new car registrations climbed to 7,272 units, indicating a rapid recovery.
AI Solves a Key Barrier to Making Hydrogen Cars More Affordable
Korean researchers at KAIST and Seoul National University used artificial intelligence to redesign hydrogen fuel‑cell catalysts, discovering that zinc directs platinum and cobalt atoms into a high‑performance intermetallic structure. The AI‑predicted Zn‑mediated catalyst outperforms commercial platinum catalysts in activity and...
What We Discovered About Building Materials on a Trip to China
During a Beijing visit, the China Building Materials Federation outlined its aggressive decarbonisation agenda for cement and other building products. The federation’s “six zeroes” framework and a mandatory carbon‑market scheme now cover roughly 1,000 Chinese cement producers, positioning China as...
Norwich Event Explores Relationship Between Materials and Performance
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is hosting a one‑day event in Norwich on 25 March to examine whether low‑impact materials can deliver high‑performance buildings. Attendees will explore sustainable design approaches, material selection criteria, and modern performance requirements through expert panels...
The Energy Singularity: How AI, Quantum Computing, and Decentralized Grids Will Redefine Sustainability by 2035
The article outlines an emerging "Energy Singularity" where AI, quantum computing, and decentralized grids converge to reshape global energy by 2035. AI-driven predictive management promises up to 40% consumption cuts and real‑time outage prevention. Quantum computers are expected to unlock...
Atmospheric Records as Infrastructure
Hospitals now host dense networks of temperature, humidity, CO₂, pressure and filtration sensors, delivering unprecedented operational visibility. While building management systems excel at real‑time control, they were never built to serve as immutable evidence. The industry faces a growing demand...
Market Price Cap to Increase to $23,200/MWh From 1st July 2026
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) announced that the National Electricity Market (NEM) Market Price Cap (MPC) will increase to $23,200 per megawatt‑hour (MWh) for the 2026‑27 financial year, effective 1 July 2026. This follows a staged rise from $17,500/MWh in FY 2024‑25...
Opinion: The Hidden Costs of ‘100 per Cent Renewable’ – by Dave McGruer and Bryan Leyland (Financial Post – February...
Microsoft announced it now sources 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, a headline touted as a climate milestone. The article contends that such claims mask the physical reality that intermittent wind and solar require dispatchable backup generation to keep...
Atomic Precision Unlocks Smarter Oxygen Reduction Catalysts
Researchers at Tohoku University demonstrated that the exact nitrogen coordination around a single cobalt atom dramatically changes its oxygen‑reduction reaction (ORR) performance. By synthesizing Co‑Nx sites with x = 3, 4, and 5 on carbon nanotubes, they showed asymmetric Co‑N₃ delivers the highest overall activity,...
Synergy Marine Group Takes Management of “MAERSK FINISTERRE”
Synergy Marine Group has taken technical management of the MAERSK FINISTERRE, a 5,915‑TEU container ship owned by NKS Canopus and chartered long‑term to Maersk. The vessel features a methanol dual‑fuel propulsion system that can run on conventional fuels or green...
Power2X Acquires HyCC to Boost Clean Molecule Projects
Power2X announced the acquisition of Dutch green‑hydrogen developer HyCC, expanding its clean‑molecule portfolio across the Netherlands and north‑western Europe. The deal brings HyCC’s projects in Amsterdam, Delfzijl and Rotterdam under Power2X’s umbrella, adding scale, capital and industrial expertise. Power2X expects...
Simon Fraser University Signs MOUs to Advance Sustainability at Cedar Supercomputing Centre
Simon Fraser University has signed memoranda of understanding with Cerio, Corix and Moment Energy to deepen the sustainability of its Cedar Supercomputing Centre, Canada’s most powerful academic HPC system. The centre already runs on clean hydroelectric power and boasts a...
Rewriting the RFS Playbook: The Impact of No Half-RIN and Higher RVOs on Projected Biomass-Based Diesel Production and Feedstock Use...
The EPA is expected to drop the controversial half‑RIN rule and raise biomass‑based diesel renewable volume obligations (RVOs) to 5.25 billion gallons in 2026 and 5.61 billion gallons in 2027, roughly a 20% increase over the June proposal. Using an average equivalence...
Atmospheric Integrity Records
The piece introduces Atmospheric Integrity Records (AIR), an append‑only, time‑bounded ledger that captures building atmospheric data separate from control and analytics layers, making it admissible evidence for regulators, insurers, utilities, and investors. It argues that current dashboards and optimization tools...
Solar’s Two-Speed Rally: Utility-Scale Strength Masks Residential Fragility
Solar’s Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) has surged over 23% year‑to‑date through Feb 24, 2026, far outpacing the S&P 500’s modest 0.8% gain. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects a record 86 GW of utility‑scale capacity additions in 2026, with solar comprising 51% of...
What Is a Water Quality Certification and Why Does Air Products Need One?
Air Products has moved to secure a Water Quality Certification from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, a prerequisite for its federal permit to build a blue‑hydrogen and carbon‑capture facility. The certification confirms compliance with Clean Water Act sections governing...
Wide Boundary News: Biodiversity Depletion, Iran & the Strait of Hormuz, and the Green Wedge
In the latest Wide Boundary News episode, Nate Hagens connects the EU’s surge toward a 50 % renewable electricity mix and flattening CO₂ emissions with rising electricity prices that are spurring German industrial decline and chemical‑sector exits. He highlights China’s record...
Effective Taxes on Carbon: An International View
The OECD’s "Effective Carbon Rates 2025" report surveys 79 countries and compares three carbon‑pricing tools: fuel taxes, explicit carbon taxes, and emissions‑trading systems. By weighting tax level against the share of emissions covered, the analysis shows fuel taxes remain the...
High Costs and Few Benefits From California’s Proposed Sustainable Aviation Fuel Tax Credit
California’s 2026 budget proposes a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) tax credit that lets diesel excise taxpayers offset liability by selling SAF. The credit, capped at $2 per gallon, could shave 10‑20 % or more from the state’s diesel tax base, potentially...
Aveva Buys First Green Jet Fuel Certificates Five Years Early
Aveva announced it has completed its first major purchase of sustainable aviation fuel certificates (SAFcs) five years ahead of its World Economic Forum First Movers Coalition commitment. The certificates were bought from British Airways, which sources the fuel from renewable...
New FCAS Resources Dominate Enabled Levels in 2025
The Generator Statistical Digest 2025 (GSD2025) shows that new FCAS resources now dominate all ancillary service categories, with grid‑scale batteries providing the bulk of enabled capacity. Ancillary‑service units classified as "Electricity" also hold a sizable share, especially in raise regulation...
A Conversation About the Endangerment Finding Rescission
In this episode of Andrew Revkin's "Sustain What" podcast, host Andrew Revkin discusses the EPA's controversial final rule rescinding the greenhouse‑gas endangerment finding, which underpins Clean Air Act regulation of emissions. He is joined by environmental attorney Sean Donohue, a...
Beyond Capacity: Why AI Is Forcing a Building-Level Performance Reckoning
AI‑driven workloads have accelerated U.S. electricity demand, with data centers responsible for roughly 60 % of last year’s load increase and a 150 % rise over five years. This non‑linear growth exposes a hidden vulnerability at the building level, where inefficiencies in...
Evolito to Develop Electric Wheel Taxi System with Airbus and UK Government Support
Evolito Limited has been chosen to create an electric wheel‑taxi system under the UK‑backed Project SONATA, partnering with Airbus, ATI, Innovate UK and several research institutions. The company will supply a low‑speed, high‑torque axial‑flux motor delivering roughly 350 kW and 56 Nm/kg, designed to...
ATA Seeks Expanded Compliance Latitude for EPA 2027 NOx Rules
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has asked the EPA to soften key provisions of the 2027 nitrogen‑oxide (NOx) emissions rule for heavy‑duty trucks, arguing that the required technologies are not yet proven in real‑world use. ATA’s letter cites ongoing freight...
Summer School on the Governance of Extractive Industries in Anglophone Africa
The Africa Centre for Energy Policy and the Natural Resource Governance Institute are launching a one‑week summer school on extractive‑industry governance for Anglophone Africa. The program brings civil society, media, researchers and government officials together to address policy gaps and...
Single-Atom Catalyst Produces Hydrogen and Oxygen Simultaneously, Slashing Costs
Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) scientists have engineered a single‑atom iridium catalyst anchored on a manganese‑nickel‑phytate layered double hydroxide that catalyzes both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on a single electrode. The design...
How a Sensor Stuck Into the Lab Found Its Way in the Real World
A nano‑electromechanical sensor originally built at TU Vienna has been transformed into a portable field instrument capable of detecting ultrafine airborne particles in real time. Backed by a €2.2 m European Innovation Council transition grant, the technology now powers the EMILIE FTIR...
Detroit Diesel Unveils Gen 6 Engines for 2027 Compliance
Detroit Diesel unveiled its sixth‑generation DD13, DD15 and DD16 engines, slated for release in early 2027, to satisfy the EPA’s 2027 heavy‑duty NOx rule that trims tailpipe NOx by more than 80 % and particulate matter by 50 %. The Gen 6 platform...
How Texas Turned a Grid Failure Into a Public Bailout
The episode examines Texas’s 2021 Winter Storm Uri, which knocked out half of ERCOT’s capacity and caused massive blackouts. While the market design intended to let extreme events impose financial penalties on generators that failed to hedge, regulators intervened—forcing a...
Enduring ERU Control Logic: A Cross-Platform Architecture for Building Automation Excellence
Building automation professionals face recurring failures when Energy Recovery Unit (ERU) control logic is tied to proprietary tools, especially during platform migrations or retro‑commissioning. The article proposes a commissioning‑centric, cross‑platform architecture that abstracts control intent into five distinct layers, from...
Who Killed FCAS?
FCAS (Frequency Control Ancillary Services) prices in Australia’s NEM have plummeted since late 2023, falling to well below $2/MW h after a multi‑year decline. The collapse coincides with a rapid expansion of registered FCAS capacity, driven largely by utility‑scale batteries, demand‑response...
Balcony Solar in the UK
Plug‑in or balcony solar lets households connect small PV arrays directly to a wall socket, bypassing traditional wiring and electrician costs. The UK currently bans this approach, unlike 25 of 27 EU states that have deregulated it after safety certifications....
Stockland Achieves Net Zero Scope 1 and 2 Emissions – Here’s How
Stockland announced it has achieved net‑zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions across its entire portfolio by deploying rooftop solar on more than 50 buildings and retiring a modest amount of nature‑based carbon credits. The initiative installed 75,000 panels, delivering up to 45 MW...
My Book Is Published in the US Today, and I'm Shortlisted for the Unwin Award
In this episode the host shares three updates: the launch and community feedback on an Energy Comparison Tool, the U.S. publication of their new book "Clearing the Air" with links to purchase, and the excitement of being shortlisted for the...
Slippery Ions Create a Smoother Path to Blue Energy
Researchers at EPFL have coated silicon‑nitride nanopores with lipid‑bilayer lubricants, creating a thin hydration layer that dramatically reduces ion friction. This "hydration lubrication" enables ions to slip through the nanofluidic channels at unprecedented speeds while preserving selectivity. In tests mimicking...
Does that Use a Lot of Energy?
In this episode, the host discusses the challenge of gauging the scale of household energy use and carbon emissions without solid data, and introduces an interactive web tool that lets users compare the energy consumption of everyday products and activities....
From Time-Based HVAC to Evidence-Based Reality
The article argues that traditional building automation systems (BAS) conflate measurement, control, and reporting, making performance data inferential rather than verifiable. It proposes adding an independent, time‑bounded evidence layer that records environmental conditions without influence from optimization logic. This governed...
The FREEDOM Act and Permit Certainty
The House has introduced the FREEDOM Act to tackle "permit certainty" by streamlining judicial review of unreasonable permitting delays or revocations and offering compensation to affected developers. The bill emerges amid Democratic resistance to any reform that doesn’t materially boost...
Solar Surge: Texas Grid Roundup #88
Episode #88 of Solar Surge examines the rapid growth of utility‑scale solar in Texas, highlighting a Dallas Fed report that shows solar capacity added in 2025 matched 2024 levels despite tariffs and shifting federal policies. The show also discusses a...
Restoring Water to Arid Lands: Rethinking Dams and Soil in the MENA and Global South
Water scarcity in the MENA region and the Global South is driven more by land‑management failures and centralized hydraulic policies than by climate alone. Large dams, while symbolising progress, exacerbate evaporation losses and sedimentation, undermining long‑term water security. Healthy soils...
The BESS Deployment Gap: Structural Barriers in Eastern U.S. Markets
Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) deployment in the United States is heavily skewed toward California and Texas, where utility‑scale storage now exceeds 20 GW. Eastern RTOs such as PJM, MISO and SPP lag behind, not because of technology limits but due...