Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

[Yuli Ban]

World's first commercial supercritical CO2 power generator begins operation in China

The world's first commercial supercritical carbon dioxide power generator begins operation in southwest China's Guizhou Province. It is viewed as a milestone in changing a power generation mode that has relied on steam for more than a century. China calls the technology "Chaotan One." CGTN's Zheng Yibing speaks to experts from Nuclear Power Institute of China about it.

Over the past 100 years, all of the world's power plants have relied on "steam" for electricity generation.

Now, a new medium is waiting to take the place of steam. It flows like a liquid and is as light as air. It is supercritical carbon dioxide.

So, what is supercritical carbon dioxide? And what makes it so special?

GONG HOUJUN Researcher, Nuclear Power Institute of China China National Nuclear Corporation "Liquid carbon dioxide, if its temperature is further increased to over 31 degrees Celsius, and its pressure to over 73 atmospheric pressures, it will enter a supercritical state."

[weatheriscool]

[Yuli Ban]

[wjfox]

[firestar464]

[Yuli Ban]

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

Trump Is Trying to Kill Clean Energy. The Market Has Other Plans.
By Matt Simon
January 16, 2026

Introduction:

(Grist) A year ago, Donald Trump assumed the presidency for a second time and immediately got to work dismantling the climate progress that Joe Biden’s administration had made. Among other sweeping efforts, the White House boosted fossil fuels over renewables, tried to stop states from reducing emissions and adapting to climate change, and paused wind projects despite rising demand for electricity. Later, in July, the administration succeeded in gutting the clean-tech incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act, which among other things were meant to expand wind and solar. That landmark legislation was the most ambitious climate action the United States had ever taken.

Experts say the administration’s moves have done real damage to the nation’s ability to fight climate change. But they also stress that strong countervailing forces — including falling prices for renewables, surging demand for electricity, and aggressive campaigns by states and cities to slash emissions — continue to drive the transition to clean energy. The result is a growing tension between federal policy and market reality, one that is likely to define U.S. climate and energy outcomes for years to come.

“A lot of this will have mounting consequences in the time ahead,” said Julie McNamara, an associate policy director with the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “I still fundamentally believe that renewables will continue to be the thing that utilities across the country will be turning to, because they just make sense. But the administration is making that decision harder than it should be, costlier than it should be, and slower than it should be.”

Going green now makes better economic sense than fossil fuels. Look at Texas, which, despite being the nation’s largest oil producer, has embraced clean energy. Its many wind and solar operations generate far more renewable electricity than any other state — nearly double that of the next highest, California — because it’s a cheaper and more reliable way of juicing the grid. Indeed, over the past decade, the price of onshore wind has fallen 70 percent, solar panels by 90 percent, and batteries — essential for storing energy when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining — by even more than that.

Read more here: https://grist.org/climate-energy/trump ... er-plans/

[weatheriscool]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

UK homes to get £15bn for solar and green tech to cut energy bills

20 January 2026

Households will be eligible for thousands of pounds' worth of solar panels and other green tech to lower their energy bills, the government has announced.

The long-awaited Warm Homes Plan promises to provide £15bn to households across the UK over the next five years, as well as introducing new rights for renters.

The government has said it wants to create a "rooftop revolution", tripling the number of homes with solar, and lifting one million people out of fuel poverty.

The plan has been strongly welcomed by the energy and finance industry, but the Conservative Party said the scheme will "saddle households with high ongoing running costs".

First touted back in 2024, the Warm Homes Plan promised to tackle the "national emergency" of rising energy bills, but it has taken two years for the final detail to be published.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgj7me00p0o

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[firestar464]

House Republicans vote to lift 20-year ban on mining near pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area

https://apnews.com/article/boundary-wat ... b86409577d

[wjfox]

[firestar464]

[wjfox]

UK launches plan to tackle 'forever chemicals' amid growing concerns

3 February 2026

The UK is to increase testing for so-called "forever chemicals" in the environment as part of a national plan to tackle the substances, which have prompted environmental and health concerns.

The group of chemicals, also known as PFAS, are used in many everyday products because of their oil resistant and waterproof properties.

But scientists are concerned because their chemical structures mean they accumulate and remain in the environment, with a small number of PFAS known to be toxic.

The government says that by 2029 it wants to align more closely with regulations issued by the EU, which is looking to prohibit all non-essential uses.

Some environmental groups and the water industry have urged the government to act more quickly in banning the chemicals.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9vz249keno

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

A Trump ‘Blockade’ Is Stalling Hundreds of Wind and Solar Projects Nationwide

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/clim ... =url-share