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Germany experiences record level of negative power prices, highlighting need for greater flexibility in power generation and demand.

The post Coronavirus impact lays bare inflexibility of German power generation and demand appeared first on RenewEconomy.

US utility to pilot "acqueous air flow" battery - backed by group including Bill Gates and Macquarie Capital - that promises to deliver 150 hours of storage at very low cost.

The post Holy grail of big batteries – first pilot for Gates-backed battery with 150 hours storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The imperative to keep a roof over our head keeps us wedded to economic growth. If we want to halt climate change, we need another way Samuel Alexander, Research fellow, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, University of Melbourne Alex Baumann, Casual Academic, School of Social Sciences & Psychology, Western Sydney University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Grattan Institute says Australian green steel manufacture and export industry could generate around $65bn a year in today’s dollars, and resolve nation's great climate conundrum.

The post How “green steel” could replace Australia’s coal industry – and end climate wars appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The money will be used to improve infrastructure for cycling and walking, Grant Shapps says.

The pandemic is giving us a lesson in life, hope and death. It’s one we should never forget

Back in the days when we all still hurried oblivious through crowded city streets, the names chalked on the pavement must have been easily missed. But now a long-running campaign by rebel botanists across Europe to highlight overlooked nature in the city, scribbling names and plant details alongside a pretty weed growing through a wall or a tree spreading overhead, has unexpectedly found its niche.

Going for a walk is the only real freedom many have had for weeks, and with no particular place to go but out, there is finally time to notice nature creeping through the cracks: the birdsong no longer drowned out by traffic; the daffodils in front gardens giving way to frothy peonies; a fat supermoon hanging heavy on the night horizon.

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Britain is a latecomer to decarbonising transport but changes under lockdown and initiatives abroad could spark a revolution

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It was a grim irony that the best transport news in ages was buried in the first few days of the coronavirus lockdown. On 26 March, the government published a document, Decarbonising Transport, which went further in facing up to the problem of emissions from air and vehicle traffic than most campaigners had dared to hope for.

The challenge is enormous. In 2016, transport overtook energy to become the single biggest source of domestic emissions. Motor vehicles on their own are responsible for around a fifth of the total. On aviation, the UK is the world’s third-worst polluter, behind China and the US.

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The transport secretary is expected to urge people to find more active ways to get to work.

Northern Minerals signs PPA with Soluna Australia for 100kW solar, 200kWh battery system to help power its Brown's Range rare earths mine in W.A. east Kimberley region.

The post W.A. rare earths mine taps solar and battery storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Compliance entities increased their California Carbon Allowance (CCA) positions on the secondary market as speculators moved their holdings further out on the curve, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data released Friday.

They’ve faced drought, extreme heat and bushfires, and now they have to deal with a new paranoia courtesy of the pandemic

Australia’s bats are turning up in increasing numbers in city suburbs. But as they search for food, they’re bringing for some a newfound paranoia thanks to a global pandemic that likely sprang from one of their overseas relatives.

In Ingham in far north Queensland, an influx of more than 200,000 little red flying foxes in January was variously described as a “swarm”, a “tornado” and an “infestation”.

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Companies regulated by the EU ETS exchanged over 27 million Kyoto Protocol offsets for EUAs in the past 12 months, ramping up the practice with just a year left for emitters to tap this cheaper compliance option.

Scientists identify thousands of extreme events, suggesting stark warnings about global heating are already coming to pass

Intolerable bouts of extreme humidity and heat which could threaten human survival are on the rise across the world, suggesting that worst-case scenario warnings about the consequences of global heating are already occurring, a new study has revealed.

Related: One billion people will live in insufferable heat within 50 years – study

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The chance to put biodiversity and the environment at the heart of recovery from the pandemic should not be squandered

One night in April, birdwatchers from around Britain stepped outside their doors and listened intently to something most of them had never experienced before: the fluting, mysterious, melancholy cry of the common scoter on the wing.

Flocks of these dusky sea ducks were beating their way over Britain on their long migratory journey towards their Arctic breeding grounds, easily audible to the naked ear. The first great wave was heard on the Wirral before being picked up in the Peak District, and at last by the Humber. A second wave was made out as flocks made their way along the line of Hadrian’s wall, from the Solway Firth in the west to Northumberland in the east. A third wave flew above listeners from the Severn estuary to the Wash. The birds were heard in urban Blackburn, Stalybridge, Bristol and London. It was thanks to social media that so many listeners were alert to the birds’ progress – and thanks to the silence of lockdown that they could be heard.

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More than 330 million more carbon allowances will be withdrawn from the EU ETS through next summer and inserted into the MSR, the European Commission announced late Friday in its annual 'TNAC' update, with the market's oversupply falling by over 16% from 2018 levels.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will largely commence rulemakings in 2021 to develop a cap-and-reduce programme and strengthen the state’s clean fuel standard, while several related efforts from Governor Kate Brown’s (D) climate-based executive order will begin sooner, the agency said Thursday.

Seed firms report huge rise in sales with people worldwide turning to gardening as hobby

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While the world may feel rather grey at times right now, lockdown has at least enabled some people to go green and inject colour into their gardens.

Britain is blooming – in one sense at least – with a record demand for seeds, and delphiniums, hollyhocks and hydrangeas are having their moment in the sun.

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The EU Parliament’s regional development committee will on Tuesday debate its position on the proposed €7.5 billion Just Transition Fund (JTF), with the lead lawmaker proposing its size to be raised by more than €10 billion.

The pick of the world’s best flora and fauna photos, including a sunbathing squirrel and cuddling owls

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