Fact sheet: Wrap-up of News Story Headlines (New Studies & Data on Sustainable Energy and Climate Change) for Week Ending 5/30/25
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For Week Ending Friday – May 30, 2025
To: Recipients
From: Ken Bossong, editor
Re. News Story Headlines (New Studies & Data on Sustainable Energy and Climate Change)
Note: News story headlines and excerpts provided below do not necessarily reflect the views of the SUN DAY Campaign or any of its respective members.
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WEEKLY NEWS STORY HEADLINES
NEW STUDIES, DATA, AND RESOURCES:
Mixed and/or Cross-Cutting:
Global Renewable Energy Capacity to Triple in a Decade:
Energy Monitor, by Stu Robarts, May 27, 2025
GlobalData’s Renewable Energy report states that the installed renewable energy capacity globally will more than triple from an estimated 3.42TW at the end of 2024 to 11.2TW by 2035. Capacity will grow at a compound annual rate (CAGR) of 11% over the period, which - although lower than the CAGR of 16% between 2015 and 2024 - remains strong. The considerable expansion expected over the next decade is being driven variously by technological advancements, policy support and increasing awareness of the need for sustainable energy solutions.
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Solar and Wind Power Curtailments Are Increasing in California:
U.S. Energy Information Administration, May 28, 2025
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The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the grid operator for most of the state, is increasingly curtailing solar- and wind-powered electricity generation as it balances supply and demand amidst rapid renewables capacity growth. In 2024, CAISO curtailed 3.4 million MWh of utility-scale wind and solar output, a 29% increase from the amount of electricity curtailed in 2023. Solar accounted for 93% of all the energy curtailed in CAISO in 2024. CAISO curtailed the most solar in the spring, when solar output was relatively high and electricity demand was relatively low, because moderate spring temperatures meant less demand for space heating or air conditioning.
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IRA Repeal Will Cause a Decline in Solar, Wind, and Storage:
SPGlobal.com, May 29(??), 2025
According to the S&P Global Market Indicative Power Forecast IRA Repeal Scenario report, if the Inflation Reduction Act is repealed, a 15% decline in wind, solar, and battery storage capacity by 2035 is projected. This significant reduction could have lasting implications for U.S. clean energy goals. The removal of the Production Tax Credit for wind and solar could lead to higher wholesale energy prices. As renewable generators lose the ability to use these credits as negative bids, consumers may see increased costs.
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Analysis Says $14 Billion in Clean Energy Projects Have Been Canceled in the U.S. This Year:
Associated Press, by Alexa St. John & Isabella O'Malley, May 29, 2025
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In an analysis of projects they tracked, nonpartisan group E2 said and consultancy Atlas Public Policy said that more than $14 billion in clean energy investments in the U.S. have been canceled or delayed this year, as Trump's pending megabill has raised fears over the future of domestic battery, electric vehicle and solar and wind energy development. The groups estimate the losses since January have also cost 10,000 new clean energy jobs. Of the projects canceled this year, most - more than $12 billion worth - came in Republican-led states and congressional districts
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Clean Energy Grant Freeze Costs U.S. Economy Over $1.3 Billion - and Counting:
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, May 29, 2025
The continued freeze of federal clean energy grant programs has already drained well over a billion dollars from the U.S. economy, threatening American jobs, wages, and future industry growth. Every day of delay adds to the cost. A new analysis from Greenline Insights, in partnership with the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, finds that delays to IRA programs since January 20, 2025, have already resulted in:
**$1.3 billion in lost economic output, climbing by $10 million each day
**1.64 million workdays forfeited by American workers
**$485 million in lost wages, with an additional $3.7 million lost daily
If these stalled programs are canceled, the total damage could be staggering—$322 billion in economic losses, 392 million workdays eliminated, and nearly $115 billion in lost worker income. With an estimated $141 billion in IRA funding at risk over time, policymakers must act swiftly to prevent irreversible economic losses that impact workers, businesses, and communities nationwide.
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California Could Nearly Double Generation Capacity Using Surplus Interconnection:
UtilityDive.com, by Meris Lutz, May 29, 2025
According to a working paper by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, the state could accelerate the deployment of clean energy and save billions of dollars by adding more generation and storage at underutilized interconnections for existing power plants. About 16-GW of thermal capacity - dominated by gas - is operating below a 15% capacity factor, making it ripe for adding solar, wind or storage. The authors claim to have analyzed hundreds of existing renewable and thermal plants in California and identified potential for 53-GW of additional clean energy capacity, including wind and solar, as well as 23-GW of storage, through surplus interconnection. In total, it says that adding 76-GW of clean energy capacity could nearly double the state’s installed generation capacity, which was 89-GW in 2024.
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U.S, Adds 7.4-GW of New Renewable Capacity in Q1 2025, Mostly in Republican States:
American Clean Power Association, May 29, 2025
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According to CPA’s “Q1 2025 Clean Power Quarterly Market Report,” total installed U.S. clean power capacity reached >320-GW in Q1 2025, enough to power nearly 80 million American homes. In the first quarter, 7.4-GW of new capacity came online, making it the second-strongest Q1 on record. The 115 project phases that came online in Q1 total $10 billion of private investment into the U.S. energy infrastructure. Battery storage capacity surpassed 30-GW nationwide, representing a 65% increase year-over-year, with Q1 2025 setting a new first-quarter record at 1,602-MW. The development pipeline grew 12% year-over-year to reach 184,418-MW, with storage and wind pipelines growing 57% and 24% respectively. This represents $328 billion in project investment if everything in the pipeline is built.
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Record U.S. Clean Power Run Rolls on Through May:
Reuters, by Gavin Maguire, May 29, 2025
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According to data from think tank Ember, the U.S. power system is on track to produce more electricity from clean power sources than from fossil fuels for the third straight month in May, establishing a record-long stretch for clean power generation in the country. Clean power sources provided the majority of U.S. electricity supplies for the first time in March of this year, and extended that run in April thanks to record renewable energy output. The lowest natural gas-fired generation total in three years also helped ensure clean energy’s majority share in April, and further declines in gas power output so far this month look set to keep that trend going in May.
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Solar:
Solar and Battery Output Records Set as California Continues Aggressive Ramp:
PV-Magazine, by John Fitzgerald Weaver, May 27, 2025
On May 22nd at 12:35 p.m. local time, the California Independent System Operator recorded a new all-time high for utility-scale solar generation: 21,556-MW of instantaneous output. The new record edged out the previous day’s by 35-MW, and marked the fourth time in 2025 that a new solar generation peak has been set. Notably, the 21.6-GW figure includes only utility-scale solar. California also hosts nearly 20-GW of distributed solar across rooftops and businesses, bringing the state’s combined peak solar generation output to more than 40-GW. Over the past twelve months, solar has supplied close to 34% of the state’s total electricity generation. In addition, Battery output exceeded 10 GW as the state surpasses 15 GW of installed energy storage capacity.
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Wind:
Floating Wind Developers Pull Back Due to Slow Progress and Investment Hurdles:
North American Clean Energy, May 28, 2025
New research from Westwood Global Energy Group reveals developers are showing signs of retreat from floating offshore wind as near-term growth expectations fall and confidence dips across parts of the value chain. Westwood’s annual “Floating Offshore Wind Survey” polled 166 stakeholders across the global floating wind value chain. Comparing the results to the 2024 survey, the biggest swing in optimism has come from developers. While they were previously the most optimistic group, they are now the least confident, with 63% feeling less optimistic than in 2024. All other business types also signaled less optimism, with near and long-term growth expectations shifting lower compared to 2024. Notably, 72% of respondents now anticipate less than 3GW of global floating offshore wind capacity to be operational by 2030.
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Bioenergy:
California Dairy Farms Achieve Major Methane Reduction Milestone:
Dairy Cares, May 27, 2025
This year, California’s dairy farms will achieve an annual reduction of 5 million metric tons of methane (5 MMTCO2e/year) supported by 168 operational dairy digester projects.. Achieving 5 million tons of annual reduction means the state's family dairy farms are more than two-thirds of the way to delivering their share of California's world-leading target: to reduce livestock methane emissions by 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030. California is the only jurisdiction with such a target set in statute (via SB 1383 in 2016).
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Hydropower:
Northwest Hydropower Generation Set to Rise in 2025 After Record Lows:
Environment & Energy Leader, by Alex Baumhardt, May 29, 2025
After dropping to historic levels last year due to ongoing drought and high temperatures, hydropower generated in the Northwest is expected to rise slightly this year from much needed precipitation. It is expected to increase about 17% compared to last year, but will still be below the 10-year average. Overall hydropower generation in the U.S. is expected to rise 7.5% in 2025, which will also still keep overall hydropower generation below the 10-year average.
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Storage:
Report Shows 72% of BESS Manufacturing Defects Happened at System Level:
Energy Storage News, by April Bonner, May 27, 2025
Market intelligence firm Clean Energy Associates has released its “BESS Quality Risks” report, a summary of the most common battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturing defects from 2024. It found that 72% of BESS manufacturing defects were at the system level.
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Electric Vehicles:
Hybrid Vehicle Sales Continue to Rise as Electric and Plug-in Vehicle Shares Remain Flat:
North American Clean Energy, May 25, 2025
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About 22% of light-duty vehicles sold in the first quarter of the year in the U.S. were hybrid, battery electric, or plug-in hybrid vehicles, up from about 18% in the first quarter of 2024. According to estimates from Wards Intelligence, among those categories, hybrid electric vehicles have continued to gain market share while battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles have remained relatively flat. The decrease in electric vehicle sales was driven by declining sales of battery electric models such as the Honda Prologue, Chevrolet Equinox, and Tesla Model Y. These declines were partially offset by increased sales of other battery electric models, such as the Volkswagen ID.4 and Toyota bZ4X.
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Electric Trucks to Hit Cost Parity with Diesel Rigs by 2030:
E&E News, by Mike Lee, May 29, 2025
By the end of the decade, the cost of buying and operating electric trucks could equal - or even beat - the price of comparable diesel vehicles, according to new research by the Energy Innovation and the International Council on Clean Transportation. But to help make that happen state and federal officials need to keep in place policies that are designed to foster the electric transition. The trend could be disrupted if state and federal officials pull their support for the nascent industry.
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Energy Efficiency:
States Can Slash Industrial Pollution Through Boiler Electrification:
Sierra Club, May 28, 2025
Evergreen Collaborative and Sierra Club have released a new report detailing how policymakers and state agency regulators can slash harmful air pollution from U.S. manufacturing facilities while driving industrial modernization. The report highlights a major opportunity to electrify one of the largest and most widely distributed sources of air pollution in the country: industrial boilers. Industrial boilers emit more smog-forming nitrogen oxides than major industrial sectors like coal-fired power plants, oil refineries, and cement plants. The report introduces a first-of-its-kind national dataset that maps nearly 14,000 combustion boilers across all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Despite the significantly higher efficiency—especially in the case of heat pumps, which can reach efficiencies of up to 400 percent—clean alternatives to combustion boilers have yet to gain widespread adoption in the industrial sector.
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CLIMATE CHANGE:
Get Ready for Several Years of Killer Heat:
YahooNews.com, by Seth Borenstein, May 28, 2025
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According to a five-year forecast released by the World Meteorological Organization and the U.K. Meteorological Office, there's an 80% chance the world will break another annual temperature record in the next five years, and it's even more probable that the world will again exceed the international temperature threshold set 10 years ago. And for the first time there’s a chance - albeit slight - that before the end of the decade, the world's annual temperature will shoot past the Paris climate accord goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and hit a more alarming 2 degrees Celsius of heating. There's an 86% chance that one of the next five years will pass 1.5 degrees and a 70% chance that the five years as a whole will average more than that global milestone
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U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions Decrease Slightly in 2024:
U.S. Energy Information Administration, May 29, 2025
According to EIA’s recently released report on 2024 energy-related CO2 emissions, U.S. CO2 emissions from the consumption of fossil fuels totaled 4,772 million metric tons (MMmt) in 2024, a decrease of less than 1% (23 MMmt) from 2023. Although changes from all sectors were relatively minor, the most notable changes occurred in the residential sector, associated with decreased heating fuel use, and in the industrial sector, associated with decreased industrial activity. CO2 emissions from the electric power sector remained mostly flat in 2024, increasing by less than 1% (6 MMmt). Although overall electricity generation increased by 3%, or 122-TWh, in 2024, changes in generation sources resulted in sectoral CO2 emissions remaining near 2023 levels. Specifically:
**CO2 emissions from coal-fired generation decreased by 3% (24 MMmt), but CO2 emissions from natural gas-fired generation increased by 4% (31 MMmt);
**Coal-fired electricity generation fell by 3% (22 TWh), but natural gas generation increased by 3% (59 TWh);
**Solar generation increased by 32% (53 TWh), and wind generation increased by 8% (32 TWh).
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