Clean Energy Council calls for a national, legislated scheme to funnel benefits of hosting renewables projects back to local councils

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Organised campaigns against wind and solar energy have proved “extremely effective” in undermining community support for renewable energy but enthusiasm for electric vehicles has jumped after Donald Trump’s attack on Iran, according to a detailed snapshot of Australian attitudes to the clean energy transition.

The survey found levels of “deep support” for clean technologies were highest for home batteries and rooftop solar and also improving for major infrastructure projects such as transmission lines, which have been a target for critics of renewables.

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© Photograph: David Kelly/The Guardian

© Photograph: David Kelly/The Guardian

© Photograph: David Kelly/The Guardian

Workers proud of their efforts to grow renewable energy say US president pursuing ‘personal vendetta’ at their expense

Donald Trump has blamed everything – from “national security” issues, the deaths of birds and whales, and cancer – in his decades-long campaign against windfarms. But as the Trump administration continues to undermine the industry, what worries workers most are their jobs.

Since taking office for a second term, Trump has issued an executive order aiming to halt all wind-energy leases and permits, attempted to issue stop-work orders on wind projects under construction, and paid more than $2.6bn in settlements to buy out wind energy leases. And hundreds of workers have been affected.

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© Photograph: Al Drago/Getty Images

© Photograph: Al Drago/Getty Images

© Photograph: Al Drago/Getty Images

It was the fourth such deal struck by the administration to get companies to forfeit their offshore wind leases.

© Matthew Brown/Associated Press

"This is not Winston Churchill, that I can tell you," Trump said of Starmer as he hammered the exiting PM over immigration, "windmills" and not being there when he needed him in Iran.

The post “This is Not Winston Churchill”: Trump Hammers Starmer Over Immigration, “Windmills” and Iran appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

It’s the third such deal the Interior Department has struck to pay firms to abandon plans for offshore turbines, spending roughly $2.5 billion to get companies to abandon their wind projects.

It’s the third such deal the Interior Department has struck to pay firms to abandon plans for offshore turbines, spending roughly $2.5 billion to get companies to abandon their wind projects.

© Joshua A. Bickel/Associated Press

Thinktank says decoupling electricity from gas prices has also helped shield Spain from hikes caused by Iran war

Spanish households save €10 a month on electricity bills because of wind turbines and solar panels installed in the last five years, a report has found.

Typical energy bills would be 19% more expensive if electricity costs were still as tightly coupled to gas prices as in 2021, according to Ember, a climate thinktank. It found Spain’s “strategic” expansion of renewables since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 has shielded Spanish households from the latest rises in fossil fuel prices caused by the Iran war.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

More than 100 planned wind farms in 21 states are now stalled indefinitely as the Pentagon delays military reviews once seen as routine.

More than 100 planned wind farms in 21 states are now stalled indefinitely as the Pentagon delays military reviews once seen as routine.

© Brandon Thibodeaux for The New York Times

As the midterm elections approach, many leading Democrats are rethinking their approach to climate change.

As the midterm elections approach, many leading Democrats are rethinking their approach to climate change.

© Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The net zero economy is booming, so claims that prosperity depends on oil and gas are bunkum – unless you’re a Reform backer with fossil fuel interests, of course

Really? You want to destroy a million jobs? Vote Reform UK for mass unemployment: is that your pitch? Hammer these questions home whenever you meet a supporter of the party. Or, for that matter, a Conservative, as their party now takes an almost identical line.

The figures are stark. They were compiled not by Just Stop Oil or the Green party, but by that bastion of conservatism, the Confederation of British Industry. They show that the net zero economy now directly employs more than 300,000 full-time workers, while supporting the jobs of 1.1 million. The net zero sector is worth £100bn to the UK already, and is likely to grow by hundreds of billions more. The rest of the green economy directly employs a further 600,000.

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© Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

© Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

© Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

The 700 projects include wind and solar farms, battery storage, gas and hydro plans

More than half the renewable energy projects needed to meet the government’s clean power targets by 2030 are now able to plug into the electricity grid after years of delay, according to the system operator.

The National Energy System Operator (Neso) has offered more than 700 clean energy projects in Great Britain a grid connection date since the start of the year, after a two-year process to unblock a bottleneck that threatened to delay projects into the 2030s.

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© Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

© Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

© Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

The generation and evolution of electricity is discussed, highlighting significant milestones from early static electricity experiments to modern AC power generation techniques. Dirty electricity, characterized by high-frequency electrical noise, can lead to health issues. There is a strong need for more research on this electromagnetic pollution and its health impacts.

Climate Cult windfarms expose the myth that wind can replace hydrocarbon fuels for power generation. Wind turbines in Scotland are revealed to be secretly powered by diesel generators due to cold weather challenges. Their reliance on hydrocarbon fuels raises environmental concerns and questions the sustainability of wind power in a changing climate.

The lawsuit argues that it is illegal to pay the French energy giant TotalEnergies $795 million to cancel a planned wind farm off New York.

A PAC representing wind and solar energy interests spent $1.1 million to boost the Republican primary opponent of Chip Roy, an opponent of renewables. Now they are trying to save a Republican ally in Iowa.

A PAC representing wind and solar energy interests spent $1.1 million to boost the Republican primary opponent of Chip Roy, an opponent of renewables. Now they are trying to save a Republican ally in Iowa.

© Michael A. McCoy for The New York Times