Curious to know what most captured the attention of Quitting Carbon's readers in 2025? Here were the top 10 most-read stories of the year.

_**Quitting Carbon** is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider _ _becoming a paid subscriber_ _or_ _making a one-time donation_ _._ Welcome back to another recap of highlights from what I’ve been reading. This is the last time you’ll hear from me this year. After the holiday break, I’ll share a list of the most popular stories published at Quitting Carbon in 2025. Remember, through the end of this year, you can take advantage of a special offer to get one year of Quitting Carbon at a 25% discount. Enjoy the holiday break, and thanks, as always, for reading. **From crops to solar in California’s Central Valley** If you live outside of California, you likely haven’t heard about the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan. The project’s modest name belies its massive ambition. At full build out, the project could include up to 21 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy, 21 GW of battery energy storage, and 400 miles of new transmission lines and substations, according to San Jose State University’s Dustin Mulvaney. Last week, the project was approved by the board of the Westlands Water District (WWD), which serves parts of Fresno and Kings counties in California’s Central Valley. "The plan repurposes up to 136,000 acres of drainage-impaired and water supply-limited lands for solar generation, energy storage, and transmission infrastructure, using previously cultivated acreage to support clean energy development while reducing pressure to build on undisturbed lands," according to a WWD press release. "The approval of the plan’s environmental review Tuesday paves the way for the company working with Westlands, Golden State Clean Energy, to start developing and then selling off the individual solar installations — as many as 20 gigawatts in all — that will fit into the region’s existing patchwork of fields and orchards," writes Politico’s Camille von Kaenel. "Construction wouldn’t begin until 2028 at the earliest and continue for around a decade." Writing at Bluesky, Mulvaney cites the project as an example of how to build big solar projects faster. "Westlands’ solar siting approach is programmatic: pre-zone large areas for solar, study impacts once in a Program EIR, then let individual projects tier off it. That speeds deployment, cuts litigation risk, and aligns generation with planned transmission." Mulvaney and collaborators at the Roosevelt Institute and Climate and Community Institute highlighted Westlands’ expedited planning process for the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan in a report, "Planning to Build Faster: A Solar Energy Case Study," published in October 2024. ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. **Germany is planning for a future without fossil gas for heating** As Germany continues to decarbonize its power grid – renewables covered 56% of the country's gross electricity consumption this year – policymakers have stepped up their efforts to ensure that carbon-free electricity is used to displace fossil fuels for heating. The indispensable site Clean Energy Wire is the best source of information I know of on Germany’s heating transition (as well as Germany and Europe’s energy transitions writ large). Here are some recent developments covered at the site that caught my eye. "Heat pumps and district heating account for over 70 percent of heating systems in new homes in Germany, thereby driving forward the heating transition, shows data by energy industry association BDEW," Julian Wettengel reported in October. "In 2024, 215,900 new apartments were completed in 76,100 new residential buildings in Germany. One quarter of the new apartments are connected to district heating, 46 percent use a heat pump, and 21 percent are heated by gas boilers," he writes. In November, Wettengel’s colleague, Carolina Kyllmann, reported that Germany’s federal government is "preparing a draft law to enable local utilities to phase out gas grids as they plan for a climate neutral future." "Utilities have voiced concerns that a lack of rules governing the phase-out remains a major obstacle in the decision-making process to decommission grids or convert them to green gas,” she adds. "According to the draft, utilities would have to inform affected users well in advance and provide information on alternatives and subsidies." Similar efforts to plan the phase out of fossil gas pipeline networks are underway in California and Colorado, as I have reported here at Quitting Carbon. Upgrade to paid at a 25% discount Proactive government planning and outreach on any phase out will be essential because as gas customers leave the system, the customers who remain could see higher bills, as Benjamin Wehrmann reported earlier this month. "Households that continue to rely on gas heating systems in Germany may face additional costs of more than 4,000 euros per year by 2045 due to rising grid fees, an analysis by research institute Fraunhofer IFAM has found." He adds, "As more and more households are expected to switch to other heating technologies over the next 20 years, the remaining gas customers could see their costs rise by a factor of ten, as fewer customers would foot the bill for maintaining distribution grids, the researchers said." Meanwhile, in the power sector, Germany recently scaled back its plan for new fossil gas power plants. "Germany’s governing coalition parties have drastically reduced plans for new gas-fired power plants to be built over the coming years to serve as backup capacity for intermittent renewables while the country phases out coal," Wettengel reported last month. "The facilities must be built in a way that allows them to be later converted to run on hydrogen," he went on. "The German government plans to hold auctions next year for state support to build new gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 10 gigawatts by 2032 – a drastic reduction compared to earlier plans to build up to 20 GW by the turn of the decade." **Energy savings + rent caps = happy tenants** Earlier in my career, I worked as a writer and editor for California’s statewide energy efficiency campaign. Because of that experience, I still get excited when I come across innovative policies and programs that save energy and reduce household utility bills. The New York Times and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently covered programs in Nebraska and Florida, respectively, that offer apartment landlords incentives to upgrade their units, in exchange for limiting future rent increases. "In a struggling area of Lincoln, a program pays for repairs and energy efficiency upgrades in rental buildings. In return, landlords must keep rents affordable," Cara Buckley reported last month for the Times. The story is included in the paper’s fantastic “50 States, 50 Fixes” series on local climate solutions. Buckley focuses on the Regent, a nearly century-old apartment building in Lincoln’s low-income South of Downtown neighborhood. "The Regent is among the dozens of buildings that the city of Lincoln has helped weatherize and repair since 2023, as part of a program to rehabilitate decrepit buildings and improve their energy efficiency without pricing out tenants," she writes. In Florida, the Alachua County Energy Efficiency Program (ACEEP) is a rental housing efficiency program "that cuts utility bills and improves comfort while capping rent increases," writes ACEEE’s Mark Rodeffer. The program was supported by ACEEE’s Energy Equity for Renters program. ACEEP began enrolling new properties in the spring of 2024. "It provided up to $15,000 per house or apartment for a range of energy upgrades, including insulation, air sealing, window and door replacement, heat pumps, and more efficient water heaters, washers, dryers, and refrigerators. Participating property owners must agree to cap rent increases at the consumer price index for seven years if they receive $15,000 in upgrades, five years if they receive $10,000, or three years if they receive $5,000," writes Rodeffer. "ACEEP went from struggling to find participants and at risk of losing its funding to becoming a countywide program lowering utility bills and increasing comfort and safety inside homes," he adds. **Bonus:** **Funding relief coming for public media** Last month, I highlighted the funding crisis facing public media in the U.S. after Republicans in Congress canceled funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting this past summer. When the federal funding was eliminated, supporters of public media mobilized to attempt to close the funding gap. One such initiative, the Public Media Bridge Fund, just announced a $26 million first round of grants. "More than 70 grantees – operating over 180 radio and television stations – nationwide will receive crucial funding in first wave of grants designed to sustain vital local news and cultural programming," the Bridge Fund said in a press release. Map of Public Media Bridge Fund’s stabilization grants. Credit: Public Media Bridge Fund. "Organizations in 25 states and territories received funding. Twelve of the licensees receiving grants are in Alaska, one of the states where public media organizations depend the most on federal funding," Current’s Tyler Falk reported earlier this month. You can donate to the Public Media Bridge Fund here.

Dear readers, I launched **Quitting Carbon** a little more than a year ago with a simple goal: provide context on the projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. There is no shortage of sites to visit for news, to scroll through headlines. But finding journalism you can _trust_ , gathered and written by a human with decades of experience in the sector, is rare. When it comes to the world of energy, mine is a voice you can trust. I’ve reported on and analyzed the energy transition for 20 years. That experience is what led me to publish what Canary Media calls "the wonderfully researched newsletter Quitting Carbon." If you’ve come to appreciate this newsletter’s mix of original reporting, commentary, Q&As, and recaps of what I've been reading, then I hope you'll feel it’s worth investing in, too. I know almost everyone is feeling stretched in 2025, so until the end of the year, you can take advantage of a special offer **to get one year of Quitting Carbon at a 25% discount**. 25% off one year of Quitting Carbon I continue to have big plans for this newsletter: more reporting from the field, more dispatches from events in California and beyond, and more conversations with the policymakers and business leaders shaping the energy transition. But I can only do so with your support. So, if independent journalism on the energy transition matters to you, I hope you will consider becoming a paid subscriber. Think of it as your Christmas gift to fellow energy nerds to make sure these stories remain free for all to read. **The 25% off special offer** **is good through the end of 2025**. And if a **paid subscription** is too much for you right now, no problem. Please consider **making a one-time donation instead**. With gratitude, Justin Quitting Carbon founder Justin Gerdes on the Nyhavn canal in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Zero-emission cargo-handling equipment is entering the market, but California regulators say additional policies and programs are needed to decarbonize the sector.

_**Quitting Carbon** is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider _ _becoming a paid subscriber_ _or_ _making a one-time donation_ _._ Welcome back to another recap of highlights from what I’ve been reading. Enjoy the weekend. And thanks, as always, for reading. **Tweaking taxes to incentivize electrification of industry** Last week, I published my conversation with Industrious Labs’ Teresa Cheng on recently passed legislation that aims to decarbonize the industrial sector in California. One of the biggest barriers to getting manufacturers off fossil fuels and reducing emissions in the industrial sector, in California and beyond, is expensive electricity. In new research, Sem Oxenaar and Tom Butler, researchers at the Regulatory Assistance Project, take this issue head on by suggesting policies that could make electricity more competitive in providing clean heat for industrial customers in Europe. “Electrification of industrial heat is a key route to decarbonisation and modernisation, but, the high price of electricity compared to fossil gas remains a major barrier. Reducing taxes and levies on electricity can quickly and effectively improve incentives to electrify,” argue Oxenaar and Butler. They recommend two actions for governments to provide cost-relief for industrial heat users. “First, putting in place immediately a ‘Clean Heat Exemption’ reducing taxes and levies for very-efficient industrial heat pumps and system-serving flexible technologies. And as an extension, to start a process of taxes and levies reform to reduce prices for all industrial end-users.” Credit: Regulatory Assistance Project. Denmark is one European economy that has already started reducing electricity taxes to incentivize electrification (as illustrated in the chart above). Experts had long urged the Danish government to take this step, as I wrote about in my e-book on the country’s energy transition (published in April 2016). Now, the Danish government has gone further. “The government will lower the electricity tax in 2026 and 2027. In fact, they will almost completely eliminate it,” Danish public broadcaster DR reported earlier this year. “Today, consumers pay 72.7 øre [11 cents USD] per kilowatt-hour, but from January 1, 2026, the tax will drop to just 0.8 øre per [1 cent USD] kilowatt-hour. This corresponds to the EU's minimum tax,” wrote DR’s Dennis Kragelund. ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. **High-speed rail update** **California’s high-speed rail project to lay track next year:** It’s fair to say that – at least so far – California’s leaders have over promised and under delivered on the state’s high-speed rail system. The planned San Francisco to Los Angeles bullet train is years behind schedule and billions over budget. And yet, I’m more optimistic now than I’ve ever been the project will actually get built. The California High-Speed Rail Authority appears to have made a smart hire with the system’s current CEO, Ian Choudri. Choudri successfully lobbied the Legislature this year to dedicate $1 billion annually from the state’s cap-and-invest program to high-speed rail construction through 2045 – a critical step, he contended, to attract private investors to the project. And he’s been relentlessly focused on finding ways to build faster, control the project’s spiraling costs, and diversify its revenue streams – including potentially leasing land in its right-of-way for data centers. Despite all the negative press and delays, the public still backs the project. Sixty-two percent of registered California voters support continuing construction on the system, according to a recent poll. And as anyone who has driven Highway 99 recently through California’s Central Valley can attest, construction is well underway on the project. Last week, the California High-Speed Rail Authority announced a $3.5 billion Request for Proposals “that will deliver the first true high-speed rail track and systems ever built in the United States.” The Authority plans to begin track installation on the initial 119-mile Central Valley segment next year. “More than 70 miles of guideway are complete, along with nearly 60 fully completed major structures, and 30 more structures underway across Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties,” according to the Authority. And according to an Authority report released in August, passenger service could start on the system’s initial segment by January 1, 2032, “almost two years earlier than the Dec. 31, 2033, deadline the California High-Speed Rail Authority has been working to satisfy in the Central Valley,” reported the Fresno Bee’s Erik Galicia. **China’s high-speed trains squeeze airlines:** Why should California persevere in building its high-speed rail system despite all the hurdles and delays? One need only look to China to see what happens when travelers are given the option to ride high-speed trains – fast, convenient electric trains grab market share from fossil fuel-burning planes. “China’s airlines are stuck in a difficult paradox, according to a new industry report: while their passenger numbers have risen, they are struggling to secure profits as competition intensifies on the most common routes and a world-leading high-speed rail network offers an appealing alternative for many of the country’s travellers,” Mia Nurmamat reported last month for the South China Morning Post. “The report said the rapid expansion of China’s railway network has fundamentally reshaped domestic travel patterns, pushing airlines into even fiercer competition along their remaining profitable corridors. ‘On many city pairs under 1,000km (621 miles), rail offers faster downtown-to-downtown travel, lower fares and in some cases, higher frequency, eroding the pricing power of airlines,’ it said.” Support independent energy journalism And China’s world-leading high-speed rail network could get better still. “Not only does it appear that China has developed maglev trains that will travel up to 370 mph, but they’ve figured out how to silence the resulting ‘tunnel booms’ that were long viewed as a barrier to widespread adoption,” CoMotion News’ Jack Craver reported recently. “Researchers have figured out that putting soundproofing buffers at the mouths of tunnels can reduce the shock waves by 96%. Though no formal routes have been planned, it is widely expected that one will eventually connect Beijing and Shanghai, reducing the travel time from 4.5 hours to 2.5 hours – comparable to a flight but without all the hassle and waiting that air travel requires.” Travel times could be slashed in Europe, too, with a €345 billion ($402 billion) rail plan announced by the European Commission last month. The plan “set a goal that all major hubs in the European Union be linked by train services running at least 200 kilometers per hour (125 miles per hour) by 2040, with many services surpassing 250 kph (155 mph),” writes Bloomberg CityLab’s Feargus O'Sullivan. “If fully realized, the time savings offered by this upgrade and expansion would be spectacular: Trains from Berlin to Copenhagen would take four hours instead of the current seven, journey times between Warsaw and Vienna would fall to four hours and 15 minutes instead of the current seven and a half hours, while travel times between Madrid and Lisbon would drop by two-thirds, to three hours from the current nine.” Meanwhile, Amtrak recently celebrated the arrival of upgraded, next-generation Acela trains on its Northeast Corridor service that will top out at just 160 mph – 10 mph faster than existing Acela trains. Nevertheless, Americans are still eager to ride trains. Despite having nothing in its system approaching true high-speed rail outside of the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak set ridership (34.5 million rider trips) and ticket revenue ($2.7 billion) records in the fiscal year ending on September 30. **Electrification at sea – ferries and tugboats** At sea, cheaper, more powerful batteries are unlocking opportunities to electrify ferries and tugboats at ports and harbors around the world. Australian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania is designing and building two new battery electric ferries for Danish ferry operator Molslinjen. “The two new ferries, which will operate on the busy Kattegat route between Jutland and Zealand, will each measure 129 metres in length and be powered by approximately 45,000 kWh battery systems,” writes The Driven’s Joshua S. Hill. In San Diego, California, “two long-running, diesel-powered ferry boats used by the San Diego-Coronado Ferry will soon be replaced by fully electric boats. Flagship Enterprises, which operates the ferry, estimates the new boats will be ready to take over in fall 2026,” reports the San Diego Union-Tribune’s David Garrick. New York City launched its first hybrid-electric ferry, the Harbor Charger, in August. “The boat is the first of its kind in New York state – and it’s one of only a handful of hybrid-electric ferries to operate nationwide,” writes Canary Media’s Maria Gallucci. Washington State Ferries (WSF), which operates the US' largest ferry system, plans to operate a fully hybrid-electric fleet by 2040. The transition to emission-free service includes "converting six existing vessels to hybrid-electric power, building 16 new hybrid-electric vessels and adding shore charging to 16 terminals," according to WSF. Terminal electrification will start at Colman Dock in Seattle next year. And in Perth, Western Australia, transportation officials recently announced plans “to expand ferry services on the Swan River in the south of Perth, with five new electric ferries and a new ferry terminal capable of delivering high voltage charging,” reports The Driven’s Hill. Ports in California are welcoming electric tugboats, too. The eWolf, the US’ first all-electric tugboat, was christened last summer and is operating on San Diego Bay. Los Angeles startup Arc Boats recently signed a $160 million deal to supply electric tugboats to Curtin Maritime. “The new hybrid-electric tugs are expected to hit the waters around the Los Angeles port in 2027. Curtin has ordered eight tugs – at around $20 million apiece – and Arc will build them in conjunction with Snow & Co. shipyard,” writes TechCrunch’s Sean O'Kane. The eWolf all-electric tugboat operating on San Diego Bay, California. Credit: Crowley. **Trump wants more energy, so why is he slashing energy efficiency programs?** It’s a paradox. The Trump administration has declared a “National Energy Emergency,” as it wages a war against wind and solar power. And the administration that purports to be so concerned about securing enough electricity to meet surging demand from data centers is making it harder to save energy, too. Energy Wire’s Brian Dabbs published a helpful rundown this week of the administration’s efforts to dismantle programs that reduce electricity demand: > “The Department of Energy has scrapped its energy efficiency office and is rolling back regulations in its appliance standard program, which forces manufacturers to increase efficiency levels for household products and industrial equipment. The agency is also proposing to eliminate the Weatherization Assistance Program, a half-century-old initiative that subsidizes equipment efficiency upgrades for low-income households. EPA is waffling on whether to continue Energy Star, a program that certifies efficient household equipment and buildings. And Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act quickened the expiration of tax credits for residential energy efficient upgrades.” Republicans in the House are also attempting to weaken energy efficiency programs. Robert Walton reported at Utility Dive last month that a House subcommittee had “advanced several pieces of legislation to weaken energy efficiency programs, cancel standards for manufactured homes and eliminate some home rebates, building codes and job training programs.” But at least one critical efficiency program may be granted a reprieve. On Wednesday, “the full House Energy & Commerce Committee unanimously advanced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) through 2030 in a 50-0 vote,” according to a Building Performance Association press release. “The compromise bill would ensure the Department of Energy remains statutorily required to continue to operate WAP,” the Association added.

Quitting Carbon checked in with Teresa Cheng, California director at Industrious Labs, to talk about passage of AB 1280 and the race to decarbonize manufacturing in the Golden State.

_**Quitting Carbon** is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider _ _becoming a paid subscriber_ _or_ _making a one-time donation_ _._ Welcome back to another recap of highlights from what I’ve been reading. Watch next week, likely just before the Thanksgiving holiday break, for a Q&A on legislation recently signed into law in California that aims to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels at the tens of thousands of industrial sites across the state. Enjoy the weekend. And thanks, as always, for reading. **Electrification initiatives advance in California and New York City** **GO ZERO rebate program launches in Southern California** : In early September, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) launched GO ZERO, a $21 million incentive program "designed to help residents and businesses switch to cleaner, zero-emission space and water heating technologies" such as air-source heat pumps and heat pump water heaters. "ZERO provides incentives and free installer training resources and bootcamps for residents and small businesses across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. 75% of total program funding is reserved for underserved communities to help ensure an equitable clean energy transition across Southern California," according to an update on the launch from the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC). On its November California policy call, BDC reported that GO ZERO funding for multifamily homes had already been fully reserved; that approximately 400 applications have been received for single-family homes, but 90% of the available funding remains; and SCAQMD had made it easier for small businesses to qualify for the program. **California approves new window heat pump, 120-volt induction pilot programs:** Yesterday, the California Public Utilities Commission approved two new initiatives from the California Market Transformation Administrator that should accelerate the adoption of window heat pumps and 120-volt induction stoves. "120-volt heat pump and induction cooking products will allow households to electrify without costly electrical upgrades. These initiatives will transform the market so anyone can walk into their local home improvement store and find these options readily available," said Rebecca Barker, senior associate attorney at Earthjustice, in a statement. "Both pilot programs include manufacturer challenges and a comprehensive suite of interventions to encourage manufacturers to produce and distribute these models at scale," according to the statement. **New York City to install 10,000 induction stoves in public housing** : I know firsthand that having 120-volt models of heat pumps and induction stoves readily available on the market would have saved time and money on my own home electrification project. Commercialization of 120-volt induction stoves got a boost last week with the news that three New York state and city agencies were partnering with the appliance manufacturer Copper on a $32 million project to install 10,000 induction stoves in public housing units in New York City. "The competitive innovation challenge … seeks to replace existing gas stoves to improve air quality in apartments, eliminate service outages and avoid costly gas infrastructure and electrical upgrades in NYCHA [New York City Housing Authority] buildings. The initiative aims to develop a new class of induction stoves that can be installed in older buildings using standard 120-volt, 20-amp outlets," according to a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority press release. ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. **Research roundup** I'm back with what will likely be a recurring section in these roundups highlighting noteworthy reports and studies you might have missed: **India, China approaching emissions milestones:** Renewables deployment is beginning to stabilize emissions on India and China’s coal-heavy grids. "India’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its power sector fell by 1% year-on-year in the first half of 2025 and by 0.2% over the past 12 months, only the second drop in almost half a century. As a result, India’s CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and cement grew at their slowest rate in the first half of the year since 2001 – excluding Covid,” wrote Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) researchers Anubha Aggarwal and Lauri Myllyvirta in an analysis published for Carbon Brief. "The analysis also shows that emissions from India’s power sector could peak before 2030, if clean-energy capacity and electricity demand grow as expected." Meanwhile, another analysis published by CREA’s Myllyvirta at Carbon Brief last week found that China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months. "China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were unchanged from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2025, extending a flat or falling trend that started in March 2024," wrote Myllyvirta. "The rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) saw CO2 emissions from transport fuel drop by 5% year-on-year, while there were also declines from cement and steel production." **Cheaper batteries could offset loss of EV tax credit:** Shoppers who missed out on the now expired federal tax credit for electric vehicles could still benefit from cheaper batteries going forward. "The price of lithium batteries – the most expensive component in EVs – has fallen 30 percent worldwide since 2020, according to a new study published this month in the journal Nature Reviews," Alex Nieves and Mike Lee reported last month for Politico and E&E News. "The paper found that the average battery produced in the U.S. now costs $130 per kilowatt-hour and that EVs could become price-competitive with gas cars once prices hit $80 to $100 per kWh … Battery prices have already fallen to $75 per kWh in China, the world’s largest EV market." **Yes, EVs are much cleaner than gas cars** : I still get these questions all the time: Are EVs really better for the planet than gas cars? And, what about the batteries? Perhaps this study will put the doubts to rest for good. "Making electric vehicles and their batteries is a dirty process that uses a lot of energy. But a new study says that EVs quickly make up for that with less overall emissions through two years of use than a gas-powered vehicle," the AP’s Alexa St. John reported last month. "The study also estimated that gas-powered vehicles cause at least twice as much environmental damage over their lifetimes as EVs, and said the benefits of EVs can be expected to increase in coming decades as clean sources of power, such as solar and wind, are brought onto the grid." The study was published by researchers from Duke University and Northern Arizona University – my alma mater, go Lumberjacks! **More than 500 solar and storage projects at risk from Trump’s attack on renewables:** Planned solar and storage projects that have not received all regulatory approvals could be vulnerable to the Trump administration’s efforts to stifle the projects, according to a report published earlier this month by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). "The Trump administration's continued attack against renewable energy puts 510 solar and storage projects across the country at risk," wrote Politico’s Kelsey Tamborrino about the report. "The projects represent a total 116 gigawatts of capacity." "Political attacks on solar and storage are putting half of all power planned to come onto the grid this decade at risk, just as electricity demand from AI is exploding," SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement. Support independent energy journalism **Engage communities early to expand the grid:** A new report from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Clean Air Task Force offers stakeholders suggestions for how to get transmission projects built faster. "Developers of electric transmission projects can reduce delays, build trust, and deliver local value by engaging communities early and tailoring benefits to local priorities," according to an EDF statement. "The report, Beyond the Wires: Community Benefits from Transmission Projects, presents five case studies covering six successfully constructed transmission lines, showing that well-designed community benefit frameworks (CBFs) help reduce opposition, avoid costly delays, and deliver lasting value for both developers and communities." **Wind farms uplift rural property values and local schools** : The Australian publication Renew Economy covered a report last week that dispels the notion that wind energy projects are bad for nearby residents and communities. "Wind projects lead to better local schools and lift neighbouring property values by about 3 per cent, according to a surprising new piece of research out of the US this week," wrote Rachel Williamson. "The study, Uplifting Winds in the journal Energy Research & Social Science, shows that in the decade after a wind farm starts working, there is a rise in spending on students in public schools, a small but significant fall in student-teacher ratios, and a lift in house prices. This is particularly for homes further than 3.2 km from a turbine, but the wealth effect is also felt by those within that zone as well." **Unlocking savings and accelerating electrification with alternatives to new fossil gas pipelines:** The clean energy think tank RMI estimates that gas utilities in the U.S., are spending $7 billion annually to replace service lines. In a new policy brief, RMI outlines how utilities can explore non-pipeline alternatives to those gas service line replacements. These alternatives include "targeted electrification, geothermal heat pumps, increased energy efficiency for existing homes, or re-lining or repairing existing gas pipelines," which "provide a practical path to reduce gas utility costs, support electrification, and give customers more choice in their energy future." **Legalize small apartments to build fast** : One of the easiest ways to reduce emissions in our cities is to enable more people to live in walkable neighborhoods, with frequent transit service nearby. On that score, "extra-large apartment buildings – high-rises and towers developed under transit-oriented development policies – are great, but they’re a) slow and costly to build and b) geographically restricted to small slivers of a city’s land, often the busiest, most polluted corridors," writes Sightline’s Daniel Oleksiuk. So, for politicians looking to build new homes quickly, what does he advocate for instead? Small apartment buildings, or what is often referred to as a form of "gentle density." "If [Cascadia’s] leaders were serious about building more homes fast, there’s an answer in plain sight: small apartment buildings, allowed citywide – just like they used to be, before zoning rules banned them on most urban land," he writes. "Small apartment buildings, typically fitting on a standard single lot and no taller than a mature tree, have numerous advantages: they’re faster, cheaper, a better use of construction workers’ time, and a big opportunity for small local builders. Plus, obviously, they house more people per acre than single-detached homes." An example of "gentle density" – and one of my favorite buildings in Portland – an apartment building on the South Park Blocks in Downtown Portland, Oregon. Credit: Justin Gerdes. **Bonus: John Oliver on public media** Perhaps the bleak outlook for my industry is weighing a bit heavily on me because I teared up twice watching John Oliver's impassioned tribute to public media in the U.S. on the latest (still very funny, as always) episode of Last Week Tonight – once, when he showed a clip of Fred Rogers, i.e. "Mister Rogers" of PBS fame, defending funding for public television at a U.S. Senate hearing in 1969, and again, when he played recordings of listeners of Blue Ridge Public Radio sharing how the station’s programming had kept them going in the wake of floods that devastated Western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in September 2024. The future of many public broadcasting stations in the U.S. is in doubt, of course, because in July Republicans in Congress approved a $9 billion recissions package submitted by the Trump administration that canceled $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). In the short term, to address what Oliver rightly calls a "dire situation," you can donate to initiatives such as the Public Media Bridge Fund or Adopt A Station to support the many stations in need. "Public Media Company projects that as many at 115 stations, collectively serving 43 million Americans, are likely to close by mid-2026," following the elimination of CPB funding, according to the Bridge Fund website.

_**Quitting Carbon** is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider _ _becoming a paid subscriber_ _or_ _making a one-time donation_ _._ Today marks one year since I launched this newsletter. All of you who have bookmarked this site, signed up for the newsletter, shared one of its stories on social media, or supported Quitting Carbon with a paid subscription have made it possible for me to keep this publication going into its second year. Thank you! As I wrote when this publication went live last year, the “through line at Quitting Carbon will be the projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition and reducing climate pollution.” And that’s what I’ve done. In a mix of original reporting, commentary informed by my many years covering this space, Q&As with policy and business leaders, and roundups of what I’ve been reading, my goal has been to explain the unfolding energy transition. And you’ve responded enthusiastically, making time in your inbox each week for stories about solar repowering, cold-climate heat pumps, California’s efforts to prune its fossil gas network, the launch of plug-in solar in the U.S., and my all-electric home – to name some of your favorites. I am immensely grateful to everyone who has supported Quitting Carbon with a paid monthly or annual subscription, even though the stories were not behind a paywall. But … this is also what we journalists are up against. Most Americans do just about anything they can to avoid paying for journalism: I share this graphic not to scold anyone, but to reinforce just how much journalism now depends on readers’ willingness to pay for the stories that really matter to them. The business models that had kept publications afloat no longer work, with layoffs still an everyday occurrence across all media. Times are especially tough for the parts of the news business that are essential to understanding the world (i.e., climate teams) but, unlike games, recipes, and sports, don’t pay the bills. Most of the climate and energy journalism I value most is published either under a nonprofit model (Canary Media, Inside Climate News), or via newsletters (Volts, Cold Eye Earth) like this one. With legacy media not willing to reliably support journalism on the climate crisis and energy transition over the long term (CBS News recently gutted its climate team, as Sammy Roth reported at his new newsletter, Climate-Colored Goggles – subscribe!), journalists like me have turned to other models to keep doing the work we love. You’ll never read a story published at Quitting Carbon whose first draft was generated by ChatGPT. All the work I publish here is – and always will be – my own, informed by my more than two decades of experience as a reporter and editor covering climate solutions and clean energy. ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. In Quitting Carbon’s first year, everything I published was free and open to the public. I want these stories to reach as many people as possible. But the unavoidable truth is that unless more of you are willing to pay for the journalism you read here, and everywhere else your curiosity takes you online, independent, original reporting and analysis won't survive for long. I want the stories at Quitting Carbon to remain free to read, but I can only do so if readers like you step up to invest in my work. So, please consider becoming a monthly or annual subscriber, or making a one-time contribution of whatever you can afford, so I can continue to bring you my reporting and analysis on the world’s most important story. With gratitude, Justin Quitting Carbon founder Justin Gerdes on the Nyhavn canal in Copenhagen, Denmark. P.S. You can find me on Bluesky, LinkedIn, and Mastodon and reach me at justingerdes@gmail.com or at Signal: JustinGerdes.85 to share feedback, tips, and story ideas.

Quitting Carbon checks in on policy developments you might have missed with a roundup of state-level climate action.

_**Quitting Carbon** is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider _ _becoming a paid subscriber_ _or_ _making a one-time donation_ _._ Welcome back to another recap of highlights from what I’ve been reading, with a focus this time on Australia. Enjoy the weekend. And thanks, as ever, for reading. **Energy innovation Down Under** Credit: Justin Gerdes. Other than my home state of California and Denmark, the focus of an e-book I published that shares the name of this newsletter, the global market that fascinates me the most when it comes to the energy transition is Australia. For energy nerds, Australia has it all: world-leading rooftop solar deployment; isolated power grids; some of the world’s biggest battery energy storage systems; and states racing towards 100% renewables, as coal-fired power plants are driven off the grid. The best source I have found to keep track of it all is Renew Economy, a publication led by Editor-in-Chief Giles Parkinson. Here’s a recap of recent energy innovation developments of note from Down Under I curated from stories at that site. **Long-duration storage** South Australia, which aims to reach 100% "net" renewables by the end of 2027, recently announced plans to procure long-duration energy storage under its new Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism (FERM). The state already hosts some of Australia’s largest lithium-ion battery energy storage systems, which generally supply power for up to four hours at a time. The FERM program aims to add "long duration firm capacity" via "generation or storage that can supply electricity for more than eight hours continuously." "The South Australia state government has appointed ASL to run its first auction for long duration storage, as the world’s most advanced wind and solar grid seeks around 700 MW megawatts] of new firm capacity over the next six years," Parkinson [reported earlier this month. **Gigawatt-scale battery energy storage** Australia’s biggest battery project is about to get much bigger. "The first 260 megawatt stage of the Supernode project was energised late last month, and the owner Quinbrook Infrastructure has contracts locked in with Origin Energy and Stanwell Corp for a total of 760 MW and 3,070 MWh megawatt-hours], a mix of two and four-hour configurations," Parkinson [reported on October 14. "Quinbrook is now expecting to add a fourth stage with an eight-hour configuration, likely sized at 250 MW and 2,000 MWh that will take its total capacity to more than 1 GW, 5 GWh [gigawatt-hours] – more than 10 times the capacity of the original Tesla big battery at Hornsdale, and nearly 40 times its storage." **High-penetration renewables on an isolated grid** "Western Australia continues to defy conventional wisdom about the running of electricity grids, reaching levels of 84 per cent penetration of wind and solar on almost a daily basis," Parkinson reported on October 20. Western Australia’s neighbor to the east, the aforementioned South Australia, hits 100% almost daily and has peaked at more than 150% renewables, but it can export power to other states. "What makes Western Australia unique is that it hosts the world’s biggest isolated electricity grid, with no connections to other states or other countries," wrote Parkinson. **All-electric mining trucks match diesel models on cost** "Fortescue Metals CEO Dino Otranto says the giant electric haul trucks the iron ore giant will use to replace its fossil fuelled trucking fleet are ‘diesel equivalent options now,’ that will save the company money while also driving its decarbonisation efforts," Parkinson’s colleague Sophie Vorrath reported last week. Fortescue recently published its quarterly production report, which recapped the company’s progress towards its goal of reaching "real zero" emissions by 2030. That effort "has included bringing 10 electric excavators into the operational mix and ongoing construction of the 190MW Cloudbreak solar farm in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, which is now one-third complete," wrote Vorrath. **Sydney bans gas in new large commercial buildings** I reported in a roundup in September that the City of Sydney had voted to ban indoor fossil gas appliances in new residential developments at the end of this year. City officials voted this week to mandate all-electric construction in many large commercial buildings, too. "The City of Sydney has followed the example of the ACT Australian Capital Territory] and Victoria governments and this week voted unanimously to require all newly built residential buildings, medium to large commercial buildings, hotels, and serviced apartment buildings, to be all-electric," Joshua S. Hill [reported on Wednesday. The new rules take effect on January 1, 2027. I have a few stories in mind I plan to report on Australia, so expect to see more from the continent here at **Quitting Carbon** sometime soon. ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. **Can Trump World lobbyists save offshore wind?** Donald Trump appears to be implacably opposed to offshore wind. Unfortunately for the industry, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum now appears to feel the same. "At a panel hosted by the American Petroleum Institute, Burgum ticked through a litany of complaints about the besieged industry, repeating claims about its impacts on whales and interference with military radar," Carlos Anchondo and Ian M. Stevenson reported for Energy Wire last week. "Intermittent, highly expensive wind is bad for everybody," Burgum said at the event. Can Trump and Burgum be persuaded to change their minds? Trump is famously susceptible to being influenced by the last person he speaks to on a topic. What if, in this case, that person happens to be a lobbyist who used to work for him but who now represents a company building an offshore wind farm? "Offshore wind developers are turning to lobbyists with ties to President Donald Trump to help stave off his attacks," E&E News’ Ben Storrow reported on Monday. "The Norwegian oil giant Equinor retained former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt's new lobbying firm after its 54-turbine project off Long Island was halted temporarily earlier this year by the department Bernhardt used to run," he wrote. "Ørsted, the Danish wind developer whose $6 billion project off New England was stopped for a month, recently hired Nick Iarossi, a Trump fundraiser and lobbyist at BRG Government Affairs. And Avangrid Inc. turned to Carlos Trujillo, the founder of Continental Strategy who served as Trump’s ambassador to the Organization of American States during the president’s firm term." Will it work? Who knows. But I commend the industry for making a savvy political play to fight for its future. **Offshore capacity leads to wind records in New England** Meanwhile, as I reported last month, the offshore wind capacity that _has_ been installed on the U.S. East Coast is already delivering critical capacity to the grid. "Another wind record falls in New England today with 1.5GW of wind generation this morning. It means that seven of the region's top 10 wind generation days have come this October alone. It is also a strong indication that Vineyard Wind has arrived," E&E News' Storrow reported on LinkedIn today. "The milestone comes during a week when Iberdrola said that 32 of the project's 62 turbines with 416MW of capacity are generating electricity. FERC filings show Vineyard Wind generated 136GWh in third quarter, up from 57GWh in the second quarter," he added. From third-quarter earnings reports, Storrow also gleaned that Equinor has installed all 54 turbine foundations at its Empire Wind project offshore New York and Dominion Energy has installed all 176 turbine foundations and subsea transmission cables at its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, with power generation to begin at the end of Q1 2026. **Find a contractor for your all-electric home retrofit** Navigating all the steps to transform an existing house into an all-electric home is hard. For that reason, the key piece of advice I continue to share, after completing my own home electrification project, is: Search for a specialist electrification contractor you can trust. The process should be easier going forward with the launch of the National Quality Contractor Network by Rewiring America and the BetterHVAC Alliance. The non-profits describe the initiative as a “nationwide effort to connect households with trusted contractors who can deliver high-quality electrification projects.” "By building a pipeline of skilled professionals and strengthening both new and existing markets, the Contractor Network will drive lead generation for participating contractors and support community-led electrification projects," they wrote in a press release when the network launched last month. Remember, federal tax credits for energy efficiency improvements like air-source heat pumps and heat pump water heaters expire at the end of this year, so act fast if you're contemplating making these upgrades in your home. Support Quitting Carbon **Bonus 1: Sen. Brian Schatz on Donald Trump's economy of scarcity** Unfortunately for the Democratic Party, its most popular figure and best communicator is no longer eligible to run for president. But promising new leaders are emerging from the party. And one of the Democrats' best communicators not named Barack Obama is Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz. His strength as a communicator is one reason why Schatz was successful in securing enough commitments from his colleagues to assume the #2 position in the Senate Democratic caucus after the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats have struggled to deliver a succinct message that captures why Donald Trump's economic policies, and his authoritarian impulses, are so harmful and so dangerous. But in a recent interview with Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor, Schatz does as good a job as I have heard in pulling it off. Here's Schatz, when asked about Trump's attack on the consumer (from the the October 17 episode, beginning at 1:18:30 in the podcast): > Trump has a pretty coherent economic philosophy, which is to create shortages and then bail out his friends. That's what the tariffs are about. That's what the cuts to food assistance are about. That's what the cuts to Medicaid are about. That's what the elimination of solar projects is about. He likes it if there's less of everything because then everybody has to go and petition the monarch for mercy. **Bonus 2: Dogs are amazing** We dog lovers think all four-legged friends are amazing. We also know that dogs are capable of truly amazing feats. Earlier this month, the Washington Post's Sydney Page shared the heart-warming tale of the rescue of a 2-year-old girl who managed to wander away from her fenced yard and into the New Hampshire woods and was lost for hours as search parties tried to find her. Fortunately, a German shepherd named Freyja had joined the search. "Just before 8 p.m. – nearly five hours after the girl went missing – Freyja started picking up a scent of a person," wrote Page. Jeremy Corson, Freyja's owner, could tell his dog was nearing the child. "Corson called out the girl’s name, and she responded. Corson said she seemed delighted to see him, and initially thought he was her father," wrote Page. "You can’t help but be extremely excited," Corson said. "It’s a 2-year-old. It’s a big deal." "Freyja when she was 8 weeks old at her first rescue training session." Credit: Jeremy Corson via the Washington Post. Sgt. Christopher McKee of the New Hampshire Fish and Game told Page that "the day might have ended differently if not for the volunteers – human and canine." "The dogs are just crucial," he said. "Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do." I’d like to think that, called to do search and rescue duty, my dog Coco would have found the missing toddler, too! My seven-year-old dog, Coco. Credit: Justin Gerdes.

A six-month pilot project completed earlier this year showcased the potential of zero-emission, last-mile delivery in a 16-block area of downtown Portland, Oregon.

_**Quitting Carbon** is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider _ _becoming a paid subscriber_ _or_ _making a one-time donation_ _._ Welcome back to another recap of highlights from what I’ve been reading. Thanks, as ever, for reading and enjoy the weekend. **Fleets increasingly opting for electric trucks in California** Falling costs for lithium-ion batteries make going electric an easier choice – even for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. And in California, backed by incentives funded by the state’s cap-and-trade system, zero-emission trucks are gaining market share. “Zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) made up nearly 23% of new medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales in California in 2024 – more than double the state’s target and the highest total of ZEV sales ever reported,” the California Air Resources Board (CARB) reported last month. Shippers are taking advantage of incentives offered under CARB’s Clean Truck and Bus Vouchers program (HVIP) to add zero-emission trucks to their fleets. “Over 15 years, HVIP has invested $820 million to deploy more than 10,500 clean vehicles across 2,000 fleets,” according to CARB. “Demand remains high with nearly $200 million in incentive funding requests submitted on the very first day applications opened this month.” Writing at LinkedIn, Adam Browning, executive vice president for policy and communications with heavy-duty truck charging depot operator Forum Mobility, confirmed the surging interest in zero-emission trucks. “California recently had an ZEV truck incentive window. Calstart just released the most recent HVIP data – and incentive vouchers were submitted for 892 Tesla Semis. That's over 80% of the total of all class 8s. And would more than double the total deployment of class 8s to date,” wrote Browning. “The cost and performance characteristics have carriers excited. These will be deployed based on winning cost per mile over diesel. Zero emission freight is just getting started,” he added. Impressive as those ZEV truck sales numbers are, the share of zero-emission passenger vehicles is higher still in California and just set a record as shoppers rushed to qualify for federal tax credits that expired at the end of September. “Californians purchased 124,755 zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the third quarter of 2025, representing 29.1% of new car sales, the highest quarterly sales share ever reported in California,” the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom (D) announced on Monday. It will soon be easier for all those new EV drivers to find a – functioning! – place to charge now that the California Energy Commission adopted first-in-the-nation EV charger reliability and reporting standards and approved $10 million in grants to build more than 1,000 Level 2 EV charge points at low-income multi-family housing complexes across the state. **Rural counties cash in from renewables boom – when they allow projects** Rural counties are increasingly turning against solar and wind projects, which is a shame because the counties in farm and ranch country that _have_ embraced renewables are reaping substantial benefits from the projects. A USA Today investigation found that as of September 2025, about a quarter of U.S. counties had placed some form of restrictions on utility-scale wind or solar projects. But in a dispatch from Randolph County, Indiana, published yesterday by the Indianapolis Star, reporters Sophie Hartley and Elizabeth Weise document how renewable energy development has “transformed this economically stalled county from corner to corner.” Energy giant EDP Renewables North America operates solar and wind projects with a combined capacity of 698 megawatts in the county. “When the years of negotiation are over and the last construction workers have left, what remains is money – serious money that can change a county’s trajectory,” write Hartley and Weise. “In Randolph, millions of dollars have poured into school districts, emergency services, bridge repairs, streets, sidewalks and parks. EDPR NA is on track to pay the county over $65 million by 2038.” “It’s easy for (communities) to get scared that they’re going to be overwhelmed by all this development. But a gigawatt or so of development isn’t a huge amount of land in most counties, and it can be really consequential for the residents,” David Adelman, a professor of law at the University of Texas, Austin, told Hartley and Weise. How consequential? In Benton County, the Caldwell Home senior living facility leased land for Indiana’s first wind farm in 2007. “Now 12 turbines slowly churn away on the property, bringing enough revenue to cover 15% to 20% of the facility’s annual budget. The extra $80,000-plus a year allowed the home to install a new elevator, a new generator and repair the roof,” report Hartley and Weise. “It changed how it felt around here. Everything was a little newer, a little less apt to breaking and needing repairs,” said Jay Davis, one of the home’s trustees. ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. **Vertical floating solar comes to Germany** In my last roundup, I wrote about a Danish research project that confirmed the efficacy of vertical solar photovoltaic arrays installed between rows of crops. Now, a project installed on a lake at a gravel plant in Bavaria, Germany, claims to be the “world’s first” vertical floating PV power plant. “With an installed capacity of 1.87 MW, an expected annual electricity production of around 2 GWh gigawatt-hours] and coverage of just 4.65% of the lake's surface area, the plant achieves a previously unattained specific power density,” said SINN Power, a German solar project developer, in a [press release last week. “Its technical reliability has already been confirmed in the first few weeks of operation: the plant responds as planned to wind loads and water level changes. The gravel plant was able to reduce its power consumption from the grid by almost 60% during this period,” according to the company. “Over the course of the year, the 2,600 PV modules are expected to reduce the gravel plant's power consumption by up to 70%.” Credit: SINN Power. **Some good offshore wind news** The second Trump administration is waging a war on the U.S. offshore wind industry, with the fate of even fully permitted projects very much uncertain. But there is good news to be found, despite the assault, in the progress achieved at two of the largest projects under construction and in California’s efforts to prepare for the future. “Half the turbines at Vineyard Wind are generating electricity off Massachusetts, delivering a boost to the offshore wind industry as it struggles to navigate withering attacks by President Donald Trump,” Climatewire’s Ben Storrow reported earlier this month. The 800-megawatt (MW) Vineyard Wind 1 project, a 50-50 joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is in water 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. “Vineyard Wind continues to make progress and is delivering needed power to the New England grid, with a current capacity over 400 megawatts,” Vineyard Wind spokesperson Craig Gilvarg told Storrow. At Dominion Energy’s 2,600MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, “First power will occur in Q1 of next year. And we are still on schedule to complete by late 2026,” utility spokesperson Jeremy Slayton told Canary Media’s Clare Fieseler last week. “As of the end of September, Dominion had installed all 176 turbine foundations – ​‘a big, important milestone,’ per Slayton. That accomplishment involved pile-driving 98 foundations into the soft seabed during the five-month stretch when such work is permitted,” wrote Fieseler. Support Quitting Carbon On the West Coast, the California Energy Commission last week approved $42.75 million in grants for offshore wind port development. The five awards – Port of Long Beach ($20 million), Port of Oakland ($750,000), Port of Richmond ($750,000), Port of San Luis ($3 million), and Humboldt Bay Harbor District ($18.25 million) – are the first tranche of the $475 million in offshore wind port infrastructure funding authorized by Proposition 4, which was approved by California voters in November 2024. State funding is especially welcome in Humboldt after the Trump administration in August withdrew a $427 million grant for the Harbor District’s planned Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project. Local officials in Humboldt are determined to move forward on offshore wind. “We’re full speed ahead. We’re absolutely focused, shoulder to the wheel, on building a modern heavy lift marine terminal here in Humboldt,” Harbor District Executive Director Chris Mikkelsen told the Lost Cost Outpost last month. Credit: Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District. **Bonus: Kids keep trying to save us** Young people frustrated by their elected leaders' unwillingness to more forcefully confront the climate crisis have in recent years turned to the courts for relief. That effort suffered another setback this week. Twenty-two young people filed a lawsuit on May 29 alleging that three of President Trump's energy and environmental executive orders (14154, 14156, and 14261) are, in the words of Our Children’s Trust, a non-profit public interest law firm that co-filed the suit, "constitutional violations that directly harm the lives, health, and safety of American youth." On Wednesday, a federal judge in Montana dismissed the lawsuit. "Judge Dana L. Christensen wrote that he had 'reluctantly' made the decision, despite convincing evidence presented by the plaintiffs during a two-day hearing last month showing that the executive orders would hasten climate change and exacerbate risks to the plaintiffs’ health and safety," reported the New York Times' Karen Zraick. "In the 31-page decision, Judge Christensen wrote that the plaintiffs in the case, Lighthiser v. Trump, lacked a legal basis to bring the suit, largely because the harms they described could not be ameliorated by a judicial decision. The suit was simply too broad in scope and too amorphous to be actionable, he said." “The judge recognized that the government’s fossil fuel directives are injuring these youth but said his hands were tied by precedent,” Julia Olson, the founder of Our Children’s Trust and the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, told Zraick.

Startups nurtured by California's flagship energy innovation R&D program were featured at the 11th annual EPIC Symposium this week in Sacramento.

_**Quitting Carbon** is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider _ _becoming a paid subscriber_ _or_ _making a one-time donation_ _._ Welcome back to another recap of highlights from what I’ve been reading. Have a great weekend. And thanks, as ever, for reading. **The U.S.’ first offshore wind farm proves its worth, too** I wrote last week about a report from Danish energy giant Ørsted documenting how its South Fork Wind project off the coast of Long Island, New York, is already providing benefits to ratepayers and to the grid in the Northeast. According to a dispatch published by the New York Times’ Catrin Einhorn from Block Island, Rhode Island, the nation’s first offshore wind farm is similarly proving its worth, delivering cheaper and more reliable power, blissful quiet, and even high-speed internet to the island. The 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm was the nation’s first offshore wind farm when it came online in 2016. The project was built off the coast of Block Island by a company called Deepwater Wind, which was later acquired by Ørsted. "The benefits have been extraordinary," Keith Stover, head of the Block Island Town Council, told Einhorn. Einhorn recounts how the offshore wind farm has improved life on the island: > "Before the five turbines started spinning a few miles off the coast, this island ran on five big generators. Soot-spewing and earsplitting, the machines burned a million gallons of diesel a year, ferried in from the mainland on tanker trucks and stored underground. Energy costs, tied to the volatile oil market, seesawed so much that local businesses struggled to manage their budgets, residents said. Power surges and dips fried household appliances. Clocks wouldn’t keep time. Those who lived near the power company described scraping soot off their windows and having to wash their curtains every month." > "Then, at 5:30 a.m. on May 1, 2017, with the offshore turbines up and running, the island’s utility company turned off the generators. As the motors whirred down, a new sound could be heard, bright and strangely loud in the sudden quiet: birdsong." **Another offshore wind conference canceled** I mentioned in my last roundup that the American Clean Power Association had just canceled its flagship offshore wind conference, which had been scheduled for next week in Boston, Massachusetts. In another sign of the headwinds facing the industry, the University of Maine canceled its annual conference focused on the emerging floating offshore wind sector, Maine Public Radio reported earlier this week. University spokesperson Samantha Warren said the American Floating Offshore Wind Technical Summit (AFloat) was cancelled "in recognition of changing federal policies and priorities." In April, the Trump administration suspended a $12.5 million grant for the university's floating offshore wind program. Five hundred experts from around the world attended the two-day conference in Portland last year. **Plunging costs unlock new applications for solar** Cheap panels mean that solar isn’t just for rooftops or open fields any longer. With the cost of panels plunging by more than 90% since 2010, it now makes economic sense to install solar over irrigation canals, on a balcony, and even as a wind break between rows of crops. I’ve written in previous roundups about the emergence of so-called "balcony" solar in the U.S. after the market took off in Germany. Utah was a trendsetter among the states in passing legislation enabling the installation of these small solar systems in the U.S. The Beehive State could soon be joined in that effort by two New England states. "Small solar-panel kits that can be assembled as easily as an Ikea bookcase and plugged into a regular residential outlet could be coming soon to New Hampshire and Vermont," Sarah Shemkus reported last month for Canary Media. "Lawmakers and advocates in both states are preparing legislation that would make these plug-in solar systems accessible to residents who don’t have the space, money, or inclination to install a larger, conventional rooftop array." If you want to learn more about a startup looking to break into the small modular solar space, read my recent conversation with Raya Power co-founder Meghan Wood. ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. We’re also discovering how beneficial the double harvest of crops and solar power can be for farmers. "Imagine a field where solar panels and crops coexist – with no trade-off. It sounds like science fiction, but that's precisely what researchers from Aarhus University have now documented in a full-scale agrivoltaic pilot project in the Danish countryside," according to Aarhus University’s Jesper Bruun Petersen. "Our measurements show that wheat and grass-clover mixtures grow just as well between vertical solar panels as in open fields. At the same time, the panels produce electricity in a daily pattern that better matches energy demand. It's a win-win," said Marta Victoria, lead author of a study on the pilot project published in the journal Energy Nexus and associate professor at the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Aarhus University. "Even with some shade, the yield per square meter is almost the same. The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection that they provide," said study co-author Uffe Jørgensen, professor from the Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Credit: Aarhus University. **The solar boom extends well beyond China** China, Texas, and even Pakistan have all recently had a spotlight shone on their booming solar markets. But new research from energy think tank Ember shows that the solar boom is a global phenomenon. "Global solar installations are on track for another record year," wrote the authors of a report the organization published last month. "In the first six months of 2025, the world added 380 GW of new solar capacity – 64% higher than during the same period in 2024, when 232 GW were installed." Another, perhaps unexpected, booming solar market? Brazil. Distributed solar is the fastest-growing power source in the country, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). "Distributed solar generation capacity grew from less than 1 gigawatt (GW) in 2018 to 40 GW in 2025 through June, accounting for 43% of all electricity capacity additions over that period," finds an EIA analysis published last week. "In 2012, Brazil implemented net metering policies, which have recently contributed to large increases in distributed solar generation capacity. … As of June 30, 2025, total solar electric generating capacity in Brazil was 23% of the total electric generating capacity." **SOO Green is greenlit** It looks like the SOO Green HVDC Link might _finally_ have secured the last approval it needs to begin construction. "SOO Green — a 2.1-GW transmission project that would link the PJM Interconnection and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator — has secured all the rights to its route by gaining a final municipal franchise agreement in Iowa, moving the project a step closer to construction," Utility Dive’s Ethan Howland reported last week. "The merchant transmission project aims to deliver a mix of wind and solar, smoothed out with energy storage, from Iowa to Illinois via a 525-kV high-voltage, direct current line that would run about 350 miles underground inside railroad rights of way," he added. Subscribe to Quitting Carbon That last detail is what really intrigued me when I last reported on the project. SOO Green has been gestating for so long that I published a Q&A with an executive from the project for Energy Monitor more than four years ago! Long-distance interstate HVDC transmission projects like SOO Green can often take a decade or longer to complete in the U.S. Despite SOO Green’s protracted gestation, I’m still convinced that building long-distance transmission inside interstate highway and railroad rights of way can get the projects built faster. **New York fast-tracks renewables to snag expiring federal tax credits** New York just joined Colorado, California, and Maine in fast-tracking renewables projects so they can quality for federal tax credits under the accelerated expiration timeline enshrined in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill. "Recognizing the near-term need for power to meet increasing electricity demand as well as economic development needs and the importance of adapting to shifting federal policies, Governor Hochul is launching a new solicitation for renewable energy and directing state agencies to work together to responsibly advance shovel-ready renewable energy projects as quickly as possible. These efforts are designed to support New York ratepayers by using sunsetting federal clean energy tax credits to bring down costs," according to a September 26 New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) press release. According to NYSERDA, the new "solicitation is designed to advance late-stage large-scale renewable energy projects ready to commence construction in New York." Eligibility applications for the Large-Scale Renewables Solicitation are due on October 21 and final proposals are due on December 4. **Heat pumps slash fuel oil use in Maine** In one of my first stories here at Quitting Carbon, published last November, I wrote "forget what you’ve heard, heat pumps can thrive in the cold." And perhaps the best case study I know of proving that point is the success of the heat pump market in Maine. Gov. Janet Mills (D) has set a goal of installing 275,000 heat pumps statewide by 2027, after an initial goal of 100,000 installations was achieved two years early in July 2023. For the past decade, public officials in the state have been urging Mainers to swap out fossil fuel-burning boilers and furnaces for electric heat pumps. That effort, backed by state and federal incentives, is working. "New federal data from U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey show about half of Maine households still use heating oil as their primary source of heat, but that share has fallen nearly 20% since 2018," reported WMTW's Jon Chrisos this week. "At the same time, electricity use for home heating has nearly doubled." Credit: WMTW. **Bonus 1: Inspiration from Uruguay** The Washington Post's Allyson Chiu recently profiled Ramón Méndez Galain, a university professor who become Uruguay's energy secretary and from 2008 to 2015 led the country's push to decarbonize its power grid. "In the years that Galain served as the country’s top energy official, a period that spanned two administrations, Uruguay installed dozens of renewable energy plants. Within just five years after he took over, the country was able to almost entirely decarbonize its grid, with 98 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources," Chiu writes. Last month, Galain was recognized for his work with a $4 million award from the San Francisco-based philanthropy Climate Breakthrough. "His new vision," writes Chiu, "is to see Uruguay’s success story replicated in other countries." To that end, Galain serves as executive director of Ivy, an environmental nonprofit that advises governments across Latin America on how to transform their energy sectors. **Bonus 2: Say no evil** The Trump administration's Department of Energy keeps adding terms to a banned word list. "The Energy Department has added 'climate change,' 'green' and 'decarbonization' to its growing 'list of words to avoid' at its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy," Politico's Zack Colman reported last week. "In addition to 'climate change' and 'green,' EERE forbid officials from using 'emissions' to avoid the implication that they are a negative," he wrote. "Other terms officials must ditch include 'energy transition,' 'sustainability/sustainable,' 'clean' or 'dirty' energy, 'Carbon/CO2 Footprint' and 'Tax breaks/tax credits/subsidies.'"

South Fork Wind, the U.S.’ first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, is demonstrating the folly of the Trump’s administration’s misguided war on offshore wind.

_**Quitting Carbon** is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider _ _becoming a paid subscriber_ _or_ _making a one-time donation_ _._ Welcome back to another recap of highlights from what I’ve been reading. In the final section, I include a roundup of important recent reports and studies that I think are worthy of your attention. Enjoy the weekend. And thanks, as always, for reading. **Major offshore wind conference canceled** Just how bad are things for the U.S. offshore wind industry? I recently reached out to the American Clean Power Association (ACP) to ask about press registration for its flagship Offshore WINDPOWER conference. Thinking the press registration was a formality, I had already booked flights and a hotel to cover the conference, which was to be held next month in Boston, for Quitting Carbon. I had reported from the same conference in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2022. So, imagine my surprise when I received the following reply: “Based on input from our members, we have decided not to hold the Offshore Windpower 2025 conference in Boston, Mass. on Oct. 7-8,” Jason Ryan, ACP’s deputy director for media relations, emailed me on September 9. I had been eager to hear firsthand how the companies and states directly affected by the Trump administration’s war on the offshore wind industry planned to respond in the coming months. **Oil majors venture into the EV battery supply chain** Oil and gas companies are beginning to make investments in pieces of the supply chain for electric vehicle batteries. An ExxonMobil subsidiary applied for a lithium royalty from the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission in early June. (In November 2023, ExxonMobil announced plans to produce lithium sourced from deposits in southern Arkansas’ Smackover Formation by 2027, a target since pushed back to 2028.) The week before, the Commission had approved a 2.5% lithium royalty rate for a joint venture between Canada-based Standard Lithium and the Norwegian energy giant Equinor. ExxonMobil “signed a non-binding agreement to supply lithium from its proposed Arkansas project to South Korean EV battery maker SK On,” Reuters reported last June. Lithium deposits in the Smackover Formation. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey. Chevron is entering the lithium business, too. “Chevron USA, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, became on Tuesday the latest oil major to enter the lithium market in the United States with the acquisition of lease rights to about 125,000 net acres in northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas,” Mining.com’s Cecilia Jamasmie reported on June 17. ExxonMobil also plans to produce another key EV battery material, graphite. Under a deal announced last week, “the oil giant will buy a production facility, a research center and other assets from Superior Graphite, a privately held Chicago company, for an undisclosed price,” reported the New York Times’ Rebecca F. Elliott. “We fundamentally see the demand for batteries and electric vehicles and, increasingly, in large-scale energy storage solutions increasing over the longer term,” Dave Andrew, Exxon’s vice president of new market development, told Elliott. ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. **Winding down fossil gas grids responsibly** The managed decline of fossil fuel assets and infrastructure in the coming decades demands proactive, thoughtful policymaking. For policymakers wondering how and where to begin such a process, there’s no better primer than an essay published this week by energy transition expert Jan Rosenow on “regulating gas grids when gas ends.” Rosenow is the leader of the energy program and professor of energy and climate policy at the University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute. “Fortunately, some countries are taking decisive steps to proactively manage the gas grid phase-out,” writes Rosenow. One of the examples he cites – no surprise! – is Denmark. > “In Denmark, well-established heat planning mandates that gas and district heating networks do not overlap. The country has a decommissioning fund to cover the costs of removing gas supplies from homes and offers a scheme for free disconnections for private residences. By 2030 heating with fossil gas in Denmark will no longer be allowed.” Rosenow also flags the rulemaking processes underway at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to manage the state’s transition away from fossil gas. Among the solutions he mentions is the targeted removal of local gas distribution grids – the subject of my February conversation with the Building Decarbonization Coalition’s Beckie Menten. “The gas transition is going to be a _major_ issue that the CPUC has to really grapple with,” Menten told me. “A more coordinated and fair transition is possible,” concludes Rosenow. > “We need to move away from treating gas networks as permanent infrastructure and instead treat them as a temporary bridge to a climate-neutral future. By implementing clear policies for decommissioning, updating depreciation rules, and ensuring alignment with climate goals, we can ensure a just transition that protects consumers and avoids wasting billions on outdated fossil fuel infrastructure.” **Research roundup** With each day, another wave of reports and studies rolls in and floods my inbox. Here are some that are worth your time: **Geothermal projects can heat buildings in Alaska:** Geothermal heating can work even in the extreme cold of Alaska, according to new research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). “Published on June 17 in the journal Energy & Buildings, the feasibility study examined a 20-year period in which borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) – a system that stores heating or cooling energy underground – could reliably supply heating to two U.S. Department of Defense buildings in Fairbanks, Alaska,” wrote NREL’s Hannah Halusker. “This paper demonstrates that even cold subsurface conditions – like those in Alaska, where 50% to 90% of the ground has permafrost – can be used for heating. A geothermal heat pump system can supply higher efficiency if we consider seasonal or storage-system-integrated operations,” said NREL geothermal research engineer Hyunjun Oh. **Here come grid-responsive heat pumps:** Electric heat pumps are already three to five times more energy efficient than the fossil fuel-fired heating equipment they replace. The next generation of heat pumps may come equipped with batteries, too. Carrier “has begun its first field trials of battery-enabled HVAC systems to test how they can store and shift energy when the grid needs it most,” the HVAC equipment manufacturer said in a Wednesday press statement. “Through these trials, Carrier is assessing how its next-generation HVAC system – pairing more efficient variable-speed heat pumps with battery storage – can help reduce peak demand by shifting energy use from on-peak to off-peak periods, providing greater grid flexibility and resilience,” the company added. (A hat tip to Regulatory Assistance Project’s Jaap Burger for flagging this news on Bluesky.) **Don’t expect gas turbines to get cheaper anytime soon:** The Trump administration may _want_ gas-fired power plants to be used to meet rising U.S. power demand but the reality on the ground says otherwise. There is a global, multi-year backlog of the turbines used to generate power in gas-fired power plants. According to new research, don’t expect the recent price spikes for turbines to ease anytime soon. “Demand for gas turbines is soaring – and the price of a combined-cycle gas turbine is too, new research finds. Projects slated for completion in 2030 or 2031 are now ‘routinely reporting costs of $2,000 per kilowatt or more,’ a jump of as much as 75% over near-term prices,” Latitude Media’s Lisa Martine Jenkins reported on Wednesday. The findings come from a new report co-published by GridLab, Energy Futures Group, Component Reliability Consultants, and Halcyon. Subscribe to Quitting Carbon “As a point of comparison,” added Jenkins, “projects that are slated to come online in the coming years reported costs of between $1,116 per kW and $1,427 per kW.” So, why don’t the largest gas turbine manufacturers – GE Vernova, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Siemens Energy – simply make more turbines? Heatmap’s Matthew Zeitlin reported earlier this month on the global gas “turbine crisis,” adding context to reporting from Bloomberg that found Mitsubishi Heavy Industries “aims to double its capacity to build gas turbines over the next two years.” But ramping up their manufacturing capacity quickly could prove challenging for the turbine makers. “All in all, if more machines can be manufactured, more skilled and engineering labor will be needed. This is the part that really complicates the actual timeline,” Bobby Noble, senior program manager of gas turbine research and development at the Electric Power Research Institute, told Utility Dive’s Diana DiGangi. **Offshore wind saves money over gas:** The Trump administration says one of the reasons why it is justified in shutting down the offshore wind industry is that power from the projects is more expensive than from its preferred fuel, natural gas. Not so, according to two new studies. “If the 3.5 GW gigawatts] of wind energy projects currently contracted offshore New England had been operational last winter, it could have offset the surge in natural gas prices that season and saved ratepayers a total of $400 million on their energy bills,” wrote Utility Dive’s DiGangi last month about a [report from Daymark Energy Advisors. Similarly, CT Mirror’s John Moritz reported last week that “Electric customers across New England could be saddled with up to $500 million in additional annual supply costs if work does not resume on the nearly-completed Revolution Wind project, officials with Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said.” **Solar + storage continues to set records in Texas:** The Trump administration is pushing fossil gas power plants as the primary solution to quickly supply new power to the grid; despite the challenges I noted above. What is being deployed quickly? Solar and batteries. And right now, no place in the U.S. better highlights that dynamic than Texas. New analysis from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) does a good job of capturing the Texas solar and storage boom. “Solar set a new ERCOT record (last Tuesday) on Sept. 9, generating almost half of total demand in the fast-growing Texas electricity market while providing more than 40% of the state’s electricity for seven straight hours, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” wrote IEEFA’s Dennis Wamsted and Seth Feaster on Wednesday. “The results clearly show that if you build it, solar will perform,” they added. Battery energy storage systems have set four discharge records this month. “The latest occurred last Thursday, Sept. 11, sending 7,741 MW, or 10.6% of total power demand back into the grid in the early evening—and preventing the need for a comparable amount of fossil fuel generation,” wrote Wamsted and Feaster. **Bonus 1: Why are you****paying so much for electricity****?** One answer, courtesy of New Yorker cartoonist Paul Noth: **Bonus 2: When I _almost_ met Robert Redford** In the spring of 2019, the energy think tank RMI invited me to attend an e-Lab Accelerator project bootcamp it was convening at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah. I reported on the multi-day event for Greentech Media. I was embedded with a team of experts assembled by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to figure out how to integrate electrification into its existing energy efficiency programs for low-income households. Another team included the founders of the non-profit HEET, which is now partnering with utilities to launch thermal energy network pilots in Massachusetts. I'll never forget the setting of the resort at the foot of Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range. The Sundance Mountain Resort. Credit: Justin Gerdes. And I'll never forget when Robert Redford showed up. All of the project teams were busy in brainstorming sessions, writing on whiteboards. And then someone noticed the then-82-year-old Redford standing on the deck outside the room. Which sent every woman in the room _swooning_. I remember him coming into the room on a break, reading some of the posters and whiteboards and chatting with a few of the participants – alas, I was not one of them. I don't know how the Sundance Resort was selected to host the e-Lab Accelerator event. Perhaps it had something to do with Redford's lifelong environmental activism and commitment to conservation at the resort. But it seemed clear that the actor, director, independent film champion, and environmentalist cared about the clean energy transition, too.

Quitting Carbon checked in with two researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory who are investigating the potential of the solar repowering market in the U.S.

_**Quitting Carbon** is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider _ _becoming a paid subscriber_ _or_ _making a one-time donation_ _._ With this What I’m Reading newsletter, we’re back to its regular schedule. I aim to publish these roundups every other Friday. With my recent travels, I had to shift things around a bit. As I previewed in my last roundup, I was recently in Corvallis, Oregon, to report on a marine energy conference put on by the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust (POET) and the University Marine Energy Research Community (UMERC). In case you missed it, I published a dispatch from the conference, on my visit to the PacWave South testing facility. I have another short item from the conference below. Before we get to the roundup, I have a quick favor to ask. If you’ve come to appreciate this newsletter, please consider sending it to a friend or colleague or sharing a link to a favorite **Quitting Carbon** story on social media. Google’s AI tools are making it harder for media outlets to benefit from search traffic (because of "AI Overviews," fewer Google browsers are clicking through to news stories), so recommendations from committed readers like you are more important than ever in helping others discover **Quitting Carbon**. Thank you! And, thanks, as always, for reading. **Explaining the Trump administration's war against wind and solar power** Last week, I shared a link on Bluesky to a U.S. Department of Energy press release announcing financial support for a series of hydropower R&D projects. I noted in my post that it affirmed something that came up time and again at the POET/UMERC marine energy conference in Oregon. "At least so far," I wrote, "Trump's antipathy for renewables has not been directed at hydropower and marine energy." The two sectors appear to have been embraced as part of the Trump administration’s American “energy dominance” agenda. But why? "Their antipathy appears limited to the technologies that pose a near-term threat to an unnecessary gas expansion. Existing hydro has mostly already been uprated. SMR, conventional nuke, new hydro, marine kinetic energy sources will all take years to develop. Wind, solar, storage – not so much," wrote Kristina Costa, the White House director for Inflation Reduction Act implementation in the Biden administration, in a reply to my post. A marine energy industry veteran said something very similar to me at the Oregon conference (during an informal, off-the-record breakfast conversation). The Trump administration is abiding the marine energy industry, the source said, because wind and solar power threaten fossil gas’ standing as the largest single-source of electricity on the U.S. grid today – wave energy, for now, does not. So, does it explain the Trump administration’s all-out assault on wind and solar power I wrote about last week? That is, can it be traced to the oil and gas industry’s political spending on behalf of Trump and Republicans in Congress, and a determination to slow the energy transition? Or is it tied to Trump’s notorious loathing of wind power? You may recall that during the 2024 campaign Trump pledged to do the oil and gas industry’s bidding if it raised $1 billion to help return him to the White House. The New York Times tracked $75 million in direct donations to Trump and his campaign committees from the oil industry during the 2024 election cycle. On the other hand, there is Trump promising in an August 20 Truth Social post: "We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar." During a three-and-a-half-hour-long (!) Cabinet meeting last week, Trump said, "I'm trying to have people learn about wind real fast. And I think I've done a good job but not good enough because some countries are still trying and they're destroying themselves. I hope they get back to fossil fuel." "Windmills – we're just not gonna allow them. They are ruining our country," he added. In the end, I suspect it’s a bit of both. The oil and gas industry _is_ wielding its influence with sympathetic GOP lawmakers and Trump administration officials. _And_ members of Trump’s obscenely obsequious Cabinet are tripping over themselves to adopt policies or act in ways that win them the Dear Leader’s favor. Regarding the later, we learned on Wednesday, thanks to reporting from the New York Times' Maxine Joselow, Lisa Friedman, and Brad Plumer, that direction in the Trump administration's war against offshore wind is coming directly from the top, led by White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. **Trump administration cancels $427 million grant for Humboldt offshore wind terminal** In the column I published last Friday, I argued that the Trump administration’s war on wind and solar power will continue until the targeted industries mount a legal and political counterattack strong enough to act as a deterrent. Shortly after that column went live, the assault continued. The U.S. Department of Transportation canceled $679 million in federal funding for a dozen infrastructure projects intended to support offshore wind development. The biggest loser in the purge by far was the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District, which had been awarded a $427-million grant by the Biden administration in January 2024 to support construction of the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind and Heavy Lift Marine Terminal on a spit of land just west of downtown Eureka in Northern California. Plans call for the facility to be the primary assembly and staging area for floating turbines that will be towed to wind farms about 30 miles offshore Humboldt Bay. Credit: Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District. “The Harbor District is currently working with the State and other partners to determine our next steps. … We have every intention of continuing the project,” the harbor district responded in a statement. Proposed site for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind and Heavy Lift Marine Terminal on the Samoa Peninsula in Northern California. Here's what it looked like from the town of Samoa when I visited in April 2021. Credit: Justin Gerdes. **Assault on offshore wind continues ... but resistance emerges** The Trump administration didn't stop with the offshore wind infrastructure grant terminations. Over the past week, the U.S. Department of Justice filed motions indicating that the Interior Department planned to reconsider the Biden administration's approvals for SouthCoast Wind and New England Wind 1 and 2, wind farms planned for waters offshore Massachusetts. For a rundown of all the Trump administration's anti-wind actions, check out the comprehensive timeline Heatmap's Emily Pontecorvo published yesterday. According to a source at one of Washington, D.C.’s most influential energy lobbying shops, the Trump administration’s anti-wind push is set to continue. “We are watching for more in the offshore wind space as soon as this week when we may see an industry-wide offshore wind stop work order,” Bracewell’s Frank Maisano wrote in his September 2 newsletter. The Trump administration's war on wind power has met little resistance thus far. But that's starting to change. A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general had filed suit in early May seeking to block the memorandum signed by President Trump on Inauguration Day that withdrew federal offshore wind leasing areas and paused permitting reviews for onshore and offshore wind projects. A federal court hearing was scheduled for the case yesterday afternoon in Boston. I’ll report back after U.S. District Judge William Young issues a ruling in the coming weeks. Also yesterday, the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut as well as the Danish energy giant Ørsted filed separate lawsuits seeking to lift the stop-work order issued against the Revolution Wind offshore wind farm two weeks ago. "The Stop Work Order is invalid and must be set aside because it was issued without statutory authority, in violation of agency regulations and procedures and the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, and is arbitrary and capricious," Revolution Wind LLC, a joint venture between Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables, wrote in a complaint. Subscribe to Quitting Carbon In my column last week, I asked why the business community hadn't stepped up to defend the offshore wind industry. "Where is the Chamber’s statement condemning the freezing of a multi-billion-dollar offshore wind project that was putting thousands of Americans to work and adding much-needed electricity to the grid?" I wrote. Well, on Wednesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce _finally_ got involved, issuing a statement from Senior Vice President for Policy Martin Durbin: > However, we’re concerned about recent decisions to issue halt work orders on offshore wind projects that already have permits, some of which are far along in construction. Not only does this inject significant uncertainty into the infrastructure development process, but it invariably increases the price of the projects and risks raising the cost of electricity, diminishing our ability to meet growing demand. > > While new environmental and defense concerns can certainly arise after a permit has been issued, permitted energy projects of any type shouldn’t be halted at such a late stage, and project sponsors should have a safe harbor once the requisite permits have been issued. America needs every possible electron it can get, from any source, to ensure affordable and reliable energy. The Chamber has consistently opposed efforts by the government to pick energy winners and losers, and revoking wind permits today opens the door to uncertainty for all types of energy projects in the future. **Electric aviation pioneer launches battery pack manufacturing** In June, I previewed the commercial launch of the B23 Energic, a two-seat, all-electric plane produced by the Czech manufacturer Bristell and Swiss electric propulsion startup H55. Last week, H55 announced the opening of a battery pack production site in Longueuil, Quebec, its first facility in North America. More than 100 of its systems have already been sold on the Bristell B23 Energic platform. According to the company, H55 “is set to deliver its electric propulsion systems and battery modules for the Bristell B23 Energic ordered this year, while also serving major customers including CAE, Pratt & Whitney Canada, and Harbour Air. Certification of its 100kW electric propulsion system is expected in the near term, with first deliveries slated for 2026.” The Bristell B23 Energic all-electric plane parked on the taxiway at San Carlos Airport, June 14, 2025. Credit: Justin Gerdes. **All-electric buildings update** I recently shared the story of how I retrofitted my house to replace all the fossil gas-burning appliances with electric models. Jurisdictions here in the U.S. and around the world are adopting policies mandating or encouraging all-electric buildings in new construction, too. **New York, Massachusetts, and Colorado** At the end of July, New York regulators approved the state’s all-electric building standard, “making New York the first state in the nation to prohibit gas and other fossil fuels in most new buildings,” reported Canary Media’s Alison F. Takemura. “The state’s rules will apply to new structures up to seven stories tall and, for commercial and industrial buildings, up to 100,000 square feet beginning Dec. 31, 2025. Buildings bigger than that will need to be built all-electric starting in 2029.” The move came not long after New York state lawmakers had voted to repeal “a decades-old rule incentivizing new gas connections,” Takemura reported in June. “Currently, building owners who are within 100 feet of an existing gas main line can get a new gas hookup at no out-of-pocket expense; instead, the costs of these new connections are spread across the entire utility customer base. The bill, A8888 in the Assembly and S8417 in the Senate, now awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s review.” Massachusetts regulators approved similar rules last month. According to Canary Media's Sarah Shemkus, the officials “issued an order changing who pays when a new customer wants to connect to the gas system, shifting the burden from gas utility consumers as a whole to the household or organization that requests the hookup. Utilities have 30 days from the date of the order to file plans that reflect the new payment guidelines for consideration by regulators.” Make a donation In Colorado, the state’s energy office adopted a new Model Low Energy and Carbon Code on Tuesday that encourages all-electric homes. The new code takes effect on July 1, 2026. “Colorado’s updated codes also tweak standards to encourage the adoption of all-electric heat pumps,” reported Colorado Public Radio’s Sam Brasch. “The new rules don’t mandate a shift away from natural gas heating. The standards instead set a single energy efficiency target for all-electric and mixed-fuel buildings so heat pumps can compete with fossil-fuel-based systems on a level playing field,” he wrote. **San Francisco** The City and County of San Francisco had already required most new buildings to be all-electric. City lawmakers took the first step last month to extend the same requirements to existing buildings that are substantially renovated. “Last week, the city and county’s Board of Supervisors completed the first of two votes to pass the All-Electric Major Renovations Ordinance,” Takemura reported on August 8. San Francisco officials are aiming to approve the new ordinance before October 1, when a statewide pause on building code updates takes effect. **Australia** Meanwhile, in Australia, the City of Sydney voted in June to ban indoor fossil gas appliances in new residential developments at the end of this year, Joshua S. Hill reported at Renew Economy. In the state of Victoria, Solstice Energy, a regional utility, “says it will support its customers to go all-electric or switch to bottled gas, ‘rather than continuing to raise prices’ for the supply of gas through its existing network of pipelines,” reported Renew Economy’s Sophie Vorrath. The utility told customers “it will shut down the gas network supplying 10 Victorian towns by the end of 2026, because it is no longer economically viable.” This comes after the state’s Labor government announced in late June that “from May 2027, owner-occupied households will be required to replace end-of-life gas hot water systems with electric heat pumps or other efficient alternatives. In rental properties, both gas hot water systems and gas heaters must be replaced with efficient electric alternatives at end of life, from March 2027.” **Bonus 1: Restoring peatlands to capture CO2 _and_ stop tanks** European countries bordering Russia are discussing wetland restoration projects with a double purpose: trap CO₂ and bog down tanks, Semafor's Natasha Bracken reported on Tuesday. > A spokesperson for Estonia’s climate ministry told Politico that early discussions with the Ministry of Defense have already begun, and the defense and environment ministries of Poland and Finland have also said they are considering restoring peatlands for both security and climate reasons. A large amount of bogs have been drained for cropland, but closing the ditches that dry them out can quickly re-flood the land, turning them back into natural bogs. > Defense and climate rarely go hand in hand, but this initiative might allow governments to kill two birds with one stone: Diminish the number of dried-out bogs currently releasing carbon in much of Europe, and potentially help fortify a few NATO borders. **Bonus 2: Thanks for _not_ avoiding this news!** Combine AI's pernicious effects on search, as noted above, with readers' fleeting attentions spans, and it's no surprise we journalists can be pessimistic about the future of our industry. On readers' fickle attention, it's not just an American problem: "Globally, news avoidance is at a record high, according to an annual survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published in June. This year, 40% of respondents, surveyed across nearly 50 countries, said they sometimes or often avoid the news, up from 29% in 2017 and the joint highest figure recorded," reported the Guardian's Josie Harvey on Monday. "The number was even higher in the US, at 42%, and in the UK, at 46%. Across markets, the top reason people gave for actively trying to avoid the news was that it negatively impacted their mood. Respondents also said they were worn out by the amount of news, that there is too much coverage of war and conflict, and that there’s nothing they can do with the information." Those bleak findings are all the more reason why I am so thankful so many of you are choosing to spend some of your valuable time each week with this newsletter. Again, a sincere thanks for reading.

Wind and solar are the cheapest power sources being added to the grid. But now under attack during Trump 2.0, the industries must build political power to preserve their future.

Wave energy is perpetually "20 years behind wind energy." Quitting Carbon recently toured Oregon's PacWave South, a grid-connected testing facility that aims to close that gap.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has remade the site of a shuttered nuclear reactor into a clean energy park. With power demand growing, the model could be replicated at retired or underutilized thermal power plants across the U.S.

_**Quitting Carbon** is a 100% subscriber-funded publication. To support my work, please consider _ _becoming a paid subscriber_ _or_ _making a one-time donation_ _._ In case you missed it, on Monday I published a story on my journey to get off fossil fuels in my home in Northern California. I heard from readers on social media who wanted to know more about how much the transition to an all-electric home cost. Stay tuned! In part two, I’ll go into more detail on the costs, the incentives that helped to reduce those costs, and what it’s like living in an all-electric home. Until then, here is an offshore wind- and marine energy-themed roundup of highlights from what I’ve been reading. Please help spread the word about Quitting Carbon by sharing this newsletter with friends, colleagues, and anyone else who is interested in the energy transition. Thanks, as always, for reading. **Scotland defies Trump, approves massive offshore wind farm** The Trump administration is doing everything it can to kill the U.S. offshore wind industry (more on this below). Trump himself made clear on his recent golfing junket to Scotland just how much he loathes wind turbines, calling the turbines spinning near his Aberdeenshire golf course "some of the ugliest you've ever seen." Just days after Trump left the country, Scottish officials told Trump to, well, go pound sand in one of his golf course bunkers by approving what could be the world’s largest offshore wind farm. “Located around 38km east of the Scottish Borders coastline, the Berwick Bank project is set to be one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world, boasting enough capacity to power every household in Scotland around twice over, or 17 per cent of all UK homes,” BusinessGreen’s Michael Holder reported yesterday. Project developer SSE Renewables “said delivery of the project would also be subject to it securing a Contract for Difference from the government in next month's auction, as well as reaching a final investment decision.” The UK’s Labour government said that approval of the 4.1-gigawatt project “meant 28GW of offshore wind capacity had now secured planning consent with potential to be up and running in the next five years, which would be enough to support its 2030 clean power goals,” according to Holder. ## Sign up for Quitting Carbon The projects, people, and policies advancing the energy transition. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. **Offshore wind under assault in the U.S.** Meanwhile, back in the U.S., Trump’s Cabinet is busy turning his anti-wind rhetoric into policy. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order on Tuesday aiming to root out what it called the “preferential treatment” for wind and solar power. “The Order calls for identifying policies biased in favor of wind and solar energy and halting support for energy supply chains controlled by foreign rivals,” according to an Interior Department statement. “Leveling the playing field in permitting supports energy development that’s reliable, affordable, and built to last,” said Burgum. What does this look like in practice? Well, the next day, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the federal government’s offshore energy regulator, rescinded all designated Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. “By rescinding WEAs, BOEM is ending the federal practice of designating large areas of the OCS for speculative wind development, and is de-designating over 3.5 million acres of unleased federal waters previously targeted for offshore wind development across the Gulf of America, Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight, California, Oregon, and the Central Atlantic,” BOEM said in a statement. Subscribe to Quitting Carbon This action could make it much harder for California and other coastal states to rely on offshore wind to help achieve their long-term climate and clean energy targets. “The order doesn’t withdraw the 583 square miles of ocean off Northern California that the Biden administration leased to energy companies, but it does hamper future leases off California and other states that companies had hoped to sign,” Politico’s Alex Nieves and __ Ian M. Stevenson reported on Thursday. This all comes even as Americans’ support for offshore wind energy is clear. Seventy-five percent of Californians (and 77% of likely voters) "support allowing wind power and wave energy projects off the California coast," according to a survey conducted last month by the Public Policy Institute of California. **Could the Northeast turn to Canada for offshore wind?** The situation is now so dire – “conservative activists have petitioned the Trump administration to take away the permits for an **operating offshore wind project** - Vineyard Wind,” Heatmap’s Jael Holzman reported yesterday on Bluesky (emphasis in original) – that Northeast states may resort to buying offshore wind power from projects in Canada if they can’t build it themselves. “With the Trump administration creating roadblocks to Massachusetts’s push to meet its climate goals, the Healey administration is eyeing Canadian offshore wind to bring more clean energy to the state, and a key lawmaker is looking to support that effort,” CommonWealth Beacon’s Bhaamati Borkhetaria reported last week. “Massachusetts faces a statutory deadline: It must lock in contracts for at least 5,600 megawatts of offshore wind by 2027. In light of setbacks to wind energy in the US, Massachusetts’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs is potentially looking to procure electricity from planned offshore wind farms in Canada – a development first reported by Canada’s National Observer.” Make a donation Maine is interested in Canadian offshore wind, too. “With Massachusetts toying with the idea of procuring offshore wind energy from Canada, officials in Maine say they are keeping an eye on opportunities across the border as local development has been stalled,” Maine Morning Star’s AnnMarie Hilton reported last week. On Tuesday, the provincial government of Nova Scotia and federal officials in Ottawa announced that four areas off Nova Scotia’s coast had been designated for potential offshore wind development, reported The Canadian Press’ Keith Doucette. **Australian wave energy startup pushes towards commercialization in Spain** I reported in April that California regulators are planning for the day when power from wave and tidal energy projects could be added to the state’s grid. In Spain, a wave energy project is about to hit the water. “Western Australia-based wave energy pioneer Carnegie Clean Energy has begun development of a 6-megawatt (MW) wave energy array – its biggest yet – that is expected to be built in the Bay of Biscay in Spain,” Joshua S. Hill reported at Renew Economy on Monday. “The project will use Carnegie’s Ceto technology, named after an ancient Greek sea goddess, and will consist of six 1 MW commercial-scale Ceto units. They will connect into the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP), located off the coast of the Basque Country, which is an open-sea test infrastructure for wave energy technologies, offshore wind turbines, and auxiliary equipment, and boasts four 5 MW cables connected to the local grid,” Hill added. In a few weeks, I’ll be attending the joint University Marine Energy Research Community Annual Conference + Ocean Renewable Energy Conference 2025 at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Watch for dispatches from the conference, including field tours to the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory and PacWave open ocean wave energy testing facility in Newport, later this month. **Bonus 1: "A taste of fossil fuel freedom"** What might help to reinforce the message that offshore wind is a desperately needed solution to the climate crisis? Perhaps some star power. On Wednesday, Swedish energy giant Vattenfall released in ad as part of campaign featuring actor Samuel L. Jackson. "These giants are standing tall against fossil fuels. Rising out of the ocean like a middle finger to CO2," says Jackson in the ad. A hat tip to climate scientist David Ho for sharing a link to the video on Bluesky this week. **Bonus 2: Courage amid unspeakable tragedy and loss** The floodwaters that swept through the Texas Hill Country on July 4th left devastation in their wake, with at least 135 confirmed deaths, including 37 children. But the death toll could have been even worse had it not been for the courage and heroism displayed by the young counselors at Camp Mystic, a summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River. A week after the flood, the Washington Post's John Woodrow Cox recounted the bravery of one of those counselors, Ainslie Bashara, 19, who led her Giggle Box of 16 “littles,” as her 8- to 10-year-old female charges were known, to safety in the dead of night. Here's Cox's description of the girls' escape as floodwaters surged just outside their cabin: > A staffer outside removed the window screens and left, presumably to aid other cabins, so Ainslie rushed to her dresser and pulled out a headlamp her dad had given her to read nighttime devotionals. She turned on the porch light and peered through the window at the water below, believing it couldn’t be deeper than a foot or so. > “Okay, we’re going to go out,” she told the girls around 3 a.m., but the first in line, a 9-year-old, was afraid to jump. > So out Ainslie leaped, and when her bare feet touched the ground, the water, rushing past with such force it felt like rapids, crested at her waist. If the girl had gone first, Ainslie realized, she would have been swept away. > Stunned by the cold, Ainslie caught her balance as her co-counselors inside kept the girls calm and coaxed them through the window. The pair eased the first girl out to Ainslie, then a second, then a third. All of them were crying. They clung to Ainslie — her arms, back, waist, hair — as the former dancer slogged through the current toward a dry pavilion about 30 yards away.

With the installation of an induction cooktop, I was able to shut off the fossil gas supplied to my 17-year-old home in Northern California. Here's how I did it.