Linking electricity to the federal government's safeguards mechanism scheme would cover over half of Australia's emissions and provide price support for renewables, incentivizing the purchase of new renewable energy certificates by gentailers. The proposal aims to bring electricity sector emissions into safeguards with a baseline of 114 million tonnes, declining 6% annually, with renewable electricity certificates eligible as compliance units. This inclusion significantly increases abatement demand, with 15 GW of new renewables expected to receive price support by 2036. The article also discusses the impact of a growing gap in the closure schedule of coal plants on prices and supply in the carbon market, highlighting potential abatement outcomes.
Category: Electricity & Industry
Cut Emissions:
– Enhance Efficiency
– Cut Fugitive Emissions
– Shift Production
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Heart Aerospace Just Flew The Aviation Transition Investors Should Be Putting Billions Into
Heart Aerospace's X1 battery-electric aircraft recently completed a 27-minute flight, marking a significant milestone in the development of electric aviation for regional markets. While challenges remain in terms of certification and manufacturing, this achievement demonstrates progress towards sustainable aviation solutions. The focus on regional electric and hybrid aircraft is considered a more feasible option compared to urban air taxis or hydrogen-powered planes. To support the transition to cleaner aviation, aviation capital should prioritize resolving uncertainties around battery mass, range, durability, charging, and economics. The shift towards batteries and hybrid-electric aircraft for smaller planes and shorter routes highlights the importance of sustainable biofuels for longer routes, emphasizing the need for a lower-carbon aviation system. Engineering efforts like Heart's X1 are contributing to a more sustainable aviation market, with the next investment cycle needing to address uncertainties to facilitate the transition.
https://cleantechnica.com/2026/08/22/heart-aerospace-x1-electric-aviation-transition/
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Green steel in the Great White North: after a century, Canada’s Algoma Steel bets on EAF
Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, has embarked on a green steel transition plan to reduce emissions by up to 70%. The transition involves moving from coal-fired blast furnace production to electric arc furnace steelmaking, which can cut emissions by 50% or more. The first phase of the transition has already shown significant reductions in emissions intensity and absolute emissions, even as steel production increased. Algoma's Scope 1 emissions intensity fell to nearly zero in January 2026 as it shut down its fossil-fueled furnaces, leading to a decrease in emissions and production. The company plans to transition to clean electricity to power its EAF steelmaking, with a goal to source all electricity from zero-emissions sources by 2029. Algoma's green steel pathway is reshaping its emissions profile, with Climate TRACE estimates showing a decline in emissions. Despite challenges like a recent outage at Lake Superior Power and the possibility of reactivating an old blast furnace, Algoma is committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 through the EAF transition.
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Princeton Critical Minerals Raises $16M to Scale Lithium Production Technologies
Princeton Critical Minerals (PCM) has raised $16 million to expand sales and commercial deployments of its brine-based lithium production platform in the U.S. and South America. The company's technology improves efficiency and scalability of lithium production from brine sources, addressing increasing demand for critical minerals used in energy storage, electrification, and AI infrastructure. PCM's systems aim to increase throughput while reducing energy use, chemical consumption, and operational complexity in lithium production. The company has successfully deployed its technology in Chile and is preparing for commercial deployments in the U.S. to meet the growing global demand for lithium. PCM is field-testing new technologies in Chile to enhance evaporation and optimize processes using AI, in order to increase lithium production efficiency and meet growing demand. The company plans to scale manufacturing, expand commercial deployments, and build U.S.-based production capabilities with new funding. PCM aims to support the global critical mineral supply chains for energy storage, electrification, and digital systems. The successful deployment of Lilypad has led to plans for additional pilot projects in Chile, with growing demand from major lithium producers.
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New renewables pilot seeks to generate power, and financial returns, for First Nations communities
A new federal grant of $10 million will support First Nations clean energy projects, focusing on mid-size community renewables initiatives with the goal of helping up to two projects sized at 1 MW or higher move towards financial close. The pilot grant program is designed to support projects with First Nations leadership and potential for long-term financial returns, addressing challenges and creating more established processes for grid connection in community energy projects. The urgent need for climate solutions is emphasized to mitigate health and environmental risks, including the impact of rising global temperatures on the spread of diseases and frequency of extreme weather events, highlighting the importance of protecting vulnerable populations and ecosystems.
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Mahle Introduces Range Extender For Electric Trucks
Mahle, a tier-one supplier to the automotive and trucking industry, has introduced a new range extender system for heavy trucks at the IAA Transportation trade show in Germany. The system aims to address the limited range and inadequate charging infrastructure for battery electric trucks, allowing for flexible range without compromises and efficiency without restrictions. The system includes an efficient high-voltage generator driven by a compact internal combustion engine, which can easily be integrated into existing battery electric vehicle platforms. A truck equipped with the Mahle system has a range of over 800 km, emitting about 80 percent less carbon dioxide in range extender operation compared to a conventional diesel engine, and virtually no emissions if powered by renewable fuels. Additionally, Mahle is introducing a new Contactless Transmitter (MCT) electric motor for heavy commercial vehicles that does not require rare earth elements, offering advancements in electric motor technology to help move the electrification of heavy trucks forward.
https://cleantechnica.com/2026/08/20/mahle-introduces-range-extender-for-electric-trucks/
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World’s largest offshore wind farm to also feature first directly integrated grid-scale battery
Danish offshore wind energy giant Ørsted is constructing the world's largest offshore wind farm, the 2.9 GW Hornsea 3 project, with 197 wind turbines expected to be completed by 2027. The project will also include a 300 MW/600 MWh battery energy storage system named Iceni, integrated into the transmission infrastructure. Iceni will utilize Tesla batteries and the Nimbus platform by Arenko for optimization and asset management. This project represents a pioneering effort in combining significant generation capacity with utility-scale storage, addressing operational and trading challenges in the renewable energy sector.
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Low concentrator photovoltaic receiver for wireless laser power transmission
Researchers from the University of Jaén in Spain have developed a low-concentrator photovoltaic receiver for wireless laser power transmission, aiming to improve power-conversion efficiency and angular tolerance under static illumination. They used monocrystalline silicon cells with interdigitated back-contact architecture and PMMA concentrators for fabrication, highlighting the need for further optimization in laser-to-electricity conversion efficiency. Additionally, researchers found that grouping solar cells based on similar photocurrent can significantly reduce losses, with a ring interconnection architecture performing almost as well as an ideal mismatch-free configuration. The team emphasized the importance of current-balancing strategies and tailored interconnection schemes for high-efficiency laser-powered photovoltaic reception, while also developing a semi-transparent crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic module with rear-side optical concentrators for agrivoltaics applications, balancing efficiency and optical transparency while minimizing shading.
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16 Agrivoltaic Projects on Local Farms Move Forward in New Jersey
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has approved 16 agrivoltaic projects, totaling 52.06 MW of clean, renewable energy produced on agricultural land. This is the first round of projects under the Dual-Use Pilot Agrivoltaics program, combining solar power with various agricultural activities to support farmers in making their operations more profitable while adding capacity to the grid. The success of these projects will inform the establishment of a permanent agrivoltaics program in New Jersey, showcasing a promising solution for sustainable energy production and agricultural practices.
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India’s model solar villages
Distributed renewable energy (DRE) systems are gaining popularity in India for generating electricity locally, driving rural development, empowering communities, and building economic resilience. India is actively implementing DREs in villages and rural areas to address climate change and promote sustainable energy solutions.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/08/19/indias-model-solar-villages/