Author Archives: Paige Bennett

London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone Expansion Has Effectively Reduced Air Pollution, Report Finds

Posted on by March 7, 2025

In London, the implementation and expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has reduced air pollution by decreasing amounts of nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter and carbon emissions, according to new data by City Hall reviewed by independent air quality experts.

In total, air quality in London is improving at a faster rate compared to the rest of England, and the ULEZ has reduced enough carbon emissions to equal the impact of removing 3 million one-way passenger trips from Heathrow Airport to New York City, according to the report.

The Ultra-Low Emission Zone was first implemented in 2019, when it became the first low-emission zone to operate 24/7. In February 2023, a peer-reviewed study by the London mayor’s office showed that the zone was working after an initial expansion to include inner London. At that point, the zone had led to a 21% decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels in inner London and a 46% reduction in these emissions in central London. That report also found a decline in fine particulate matter and carbon emissions both inside the ULEZ and across London entirely.

In August 2023, the ULEZ was expanded again to cover the entire city, with expectations that this move would improve air quality for 5 million more people living in London’s outer boroughs. The ULEZ is now the largest low-emission zone globally.

Now, new data proves the expanded low-emission zone has made serious improvements to the air quality in and around the city, including a 27% decline in nitrogen dioxide levels, across London.

“When I was first elected, evidence showed it would take 193 years to bring London’s air pollution within legal limits if the current efforts continued. However, due to our transformative policies we are now close to achieving it this year,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement. “Today’s report shows that ULEZ works, driving down levels of pollution, taking old polluting cars off our roads and bringing cleaner air to millions more Londoners.”

The report revealed that fine particulate matter levels were 31% lower in the outer boroughs of London than they would have been without the expansion, and air quality has improved at 99% of city-wide air quality monitoring sites since 2019.

According to data from Transport for London (TfL), the number of ULEZ-compliant vehicles in London is now 96.7%, compared to just 39% in February 2017 and 91.6% in June 2023. There are about 100,000 fewer non-compliant vehicles per day on average in London as of September 2024 compared to June 2023, just before the ULEZ was expanded to cover the entire city. 

Officials noted the transition to cleaner vehicles is in part thanks to the ULEZ scrappage program, which offered a total of £200 million ($258.37 million) in grants for people who wanted to either retrofit non-compliant vehicles, scrap them with goals of buying a cleaner vehicle, or donate the older vehicles to Ukraine. The program received over 54,000 applications.

For critics concerned over economic impacts of the ULEZ on local tourism and businesses, officials noted that retail and leisure spending weren’t impacted by the expansion, and visitor footfall even increased nearly 2% since the zone was expanded to cover the outer boroughs.

To further improve London’s air quality, the city is also adding more “zero-emission” buses, offering free and discounted public transportation opportunities, expanding cycling networks and installing more EV charging infrastructure. The mayor has set a target for at least 80% of trips in the city to be made by walking, cycling or riding public transportation by 2041.

“Improving air quality through initiatives like the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London is crucial for protecting public health and reducing the burden of disease,” Dr. Maria Neira, director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO), said in a statement. “Cleaner air leads to healthier communities, lower rates of respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, and a better quality of life for all residents.”

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Researchers Find More Than 1,400 Species in the Guts of Asian Hornets

Posted on by March 6, 2025

The Asian hornet, or Vespa velutina, is an invasive species in western Europe that is also known by the name “Asian predatory wasp.” It is a close relative to the Asian giant hornet, or murder hornet, that was first spotted in the U.S. in 2019. Both species have raised immediate concerns for honeybee populations.

Now, scientists have confirmed that the invasive Vespa velutina species can wreak havoc on bees and other critters, as a new study has revealed the presence of more than 1,400 different species in the guts of larval Asian hornets, which depend on the adult hornets for food. 

Researchers investigated the ecological threats from Asian hornets by analyzing the diets and the guts of more than 1,500 samples of hornets found in France, Spain, Jersey and the UK.

They found 1,449 different species total inside the guts of these hornet samples, with the found species including bees and wasps, flies, butterflies and moths, beetles and spiders. The most commonly found species was the Apis mellifera, also known as the western honey bee or European honey bee.

Further, researchers noted that of the 50 most abundant species found in the gut samples, 43 species were those that visit and pollinate flowers. Four of the top 50 included common species of bumblebees. The scientists published their findings in the journal Science of The Total Environment.

Based on these results, the research team has raised concerns over how the invasive Asian hornet could threaten vulnerable species, particularly important pollinators.

“Most insect populations are in decline due to factors such as habitat destruction and chemical pollution. The expanding area inhabited by Asian hornets poses an extra threat,” Siffreya Pedersen, lead author of the study, said in a statement.

Three of the top predated species included the European honey bee, the buff-tailed bumblebee and the red-tailed bumblebee, all of which are essential crop pollinators in Europe. As The Guardian reported, one Asian hornet can kill about 50 bees per day, presenting a serious threat to already vulnerable bee populations. If Asian hornets continue to spread and prey on these pollinators, the authors warned there could be serious and widespread environmental impacts.

While predation of bees and other pollinators is of concern, there could be further ecological disruptions if flies, beetles, spiders, and other organisms become prey to this non-native species of hornets.

“Insects play vital roles in enabling ecosystems to function – including pollination, decomposition and pest control,” Pedersen said. 

According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Asian hornets first came to Europe by accident through a shipment to France in 2004. This species’ predation of bees is well-known, but the latest study reveals that these hornets have a varied diet throughout the year and are also harming populations of other organisms, revealing a broader threat.

“Our study provides important additional evidence of the threat posed by Asian hornets as they spread across Europe,” said Peter Kennedy, co-author of the study and a research fellow at University of Exeter’s Environment and Sustainability Institute.

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Half of Global Carbon Emissions Come From Just 36 Fossil Fuel Companies, Study Says

Posted on by March 5, 2025

According to the latest update to the Carbon Majors database, produced by InfluenceMap, just 36 companies are linked to more than half of global carbon emissions.

In total, Carbon Majors has traced 33.9 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) emissions to 169 active companies in its database for 2023, with its database emissions making up 78.4% of total carbon emissions from fossil fuels and cement. 

Thirty-six companies are responsible for more than half of these emissions, according to the analysis. Further, the 2023 emissions total increased 0.7% compared to 2022.

“Global GHG emissions continue to rise, with over half of all fossil CO2 emissions coming from just 36 companies, as the latest InfluenceMap findings reveal,” Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said in a statement. “While a few profit-driven corporations continue to expand fossil fuel infrastructure, climate disasters are hitting hardest in regions where people have contributed the least, damaging the lives of millions and pushing us closer to unmanageable tipping points. A global turnaround is not just urgent — it’s essential, and it must start with these key players.”

For 2023, coal was responsible for the highest amount of emissions, about 41.1% of all emissions in the database. The total of coal emissions has increased since 2016, InfluenceMap reported. Cement-related emissions had the largest rate of increase, 6.5%, since 2022.

Despite global governmental and company pledges to reduce emissions to curb the worst effects of climate change, the updated data revealed that 93 companies increased emissions from 2022 to 2023, three companies had little to no changes in emissions, and 73 of the entities had decreased emissions.

“It is clearer than ever that dirty private companies, driven by profits and business as usual, will never choose to self-regulate,” Tzeporah Berman, founder and co-chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said in a statement. “Governments around the world must use their power to end fossil fuel expansion and transition their economies before fossil fuel companies destroy the planet.”

However, it’s not just private companies that are topping the list of highest emitters. The 20 highest emitters made up 17.5 GtCO2e in 2023, with 16 of these top 20 being state-owned companies. According to the data, the five highest state-owned entity emitters included Saudi Aramco, Coal India, CHN Energy, National Iranian Oil Co. and Jinneng Group, while the five highest investor-owned company emitters for 2023 included ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies and BP.

As The Guardian reported, if the highest emitting state-owned entity, Saudi Aramco, was a country, it would rank fourth as the highest global polluter. ExxonMobil would have a similar amount of emissions as all of Germany, which is the ninth most polluting country in the world.

Beyond 2023, the database has accounted for 1,388 GtCO2e from 1854 through 2023, with these emissions linked to 180 industrial entities. According to InfluenceMap, the carbon dioxide from the cumulative historical emissions in the database is equal to nearly 68% of all fossil fuel and cement carbon emissions on Earth since 1750, and one-third of the historic global carbon emissions can be traced to 26 companies.

With the latest updates to its Carbon Majors database, InfluenceMap is urging governments to establish more accountability and sustainable changes for industry entities, which account for such a large, and increasing, share of emissions.

“While states drag their heels on their Paris Agreement commitments, state-owned companies are dominating global emissions — ignoring the desperate needs of their citizens,” said Christiana Figueres, global climate leader and former executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change when the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015. “The science is clear: we cannot move backwards to more fossil fuels and more extraction. Instead, we must move forward to the many possibilities of a decarbonized economic system that works for people and the planet.”

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49% of New Buses in EU Were Zero-Emission Models in 2024

Posted on by March 4, 2025

The transition to cleaner vehicles is progressing in Europe, where 49% of new city buses across EU countries in 2024 were zero-emission models instead of fossil fuel-powered vehicles, according to a new analysis from European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E).

The increase beat the previous year, which found that 36% of new city buses in the EU for 2023 were battery-electric. For 2024, battery-electric buses made up 46% of new EU buses, while fuel-cell models made up 3%, a faster increase than expected.

In June 2024, T&E estimated that the rate of clean vehicle adoption for city buses would reach 100% zero emissions in the sector by 2027. Based on the 2024 results, T&E reported, “At this growth rate, city buses are on track to reach fully ZE sales by 2027.”

The analysis determined two factors that have helped improve the transition toward more zero-emission buses: new European regulations established in 2024 as well as more local policies at the city-level. Fleet targets, low- and zero-emission zones, and similar actions have helped cities adopt more zero-emission vehicles. A small increase in sales, about 3% or double the rate sold in 2023, of fuel cell hydrogen buses also played a role.

Based on the rapid adoption of cleaner buses, T&E now predicts that the city bus sector will reach zero emissions faster than both the EU’s Clean Vehicles Directive — which mandates an average of about 32% zero-emissions procurement for heavy-duty vehicles for 2026 through 2030 – and the updated carbon dioxide standards for trucks and buses — which requires bus sales to be 90% zero-emission vehicles by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

“For city residents, that means quieter streets and cleaner air,” T&E reported.

Although the overall outlook for clean vehicle transition is positive, T&E noted that some countries are leading these efforts while others are falling short of targets. The Netherlands, Finland and Iceland already achieved 100% battery-electric city bus sales in 2024, while Spain, which sells more than 1,000 new buses per year, reached 57% of new bus sales as zero-emission models last year.

Other leading markets include the UK, with 56% of new bus sales in 2024 as zero emissions and Italy with 44%.

One of the most impressive improvements from the 2023 reports on zero-emission EU buses happened in Estonia. According to the T&E analysis, Estonia was at the bottom of the list in 2023 for percentage of new bus sales that were zero emissions. In 2024, however, the country reached 84% of all new city bus sales as battery-electric.

This example could serve as inspiration for other countries that fell lower in the rankings for 2024, including Slovakia, Austria, Czechia, Hungary and Croatia, all of which were also considered to be slower adopters of clean buses based on T&E data from 2021 through 2024.

Still, with increasing fulfillment of zero emission buses around Europe, T&E has predicted the adoption rates will also rise in countries that are lower in recent rankings.

“If, as we predict, 2025 marks the turning point where more than half of new city buses are zero-emission, we should see the transition accelerate accordingly in trailing countries,” T&E reported.

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Microplastics Found in Birds’ Lungs in New Study

Posted on by March 3, 2025

While previous research has revealed the presence of microplastics in human lungs, a new study confirms that microplastics are making their way into bird’s lungs as well.

The study, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, is the first to confirm microplastic presence in birds’ lungs. The researchers focused on analyzing potential microplastics in birds, as bird health can provide insights and warnings about potential impacts on the surrounding environment.

“Birds serve as important indicators of environmental conditions,” Shane DuBay, co-author of the study and an assistant professor of biology at University of Texas at Arlington, said in a statement. “They help us understand the state of the environment and make informed decisions about conservation and pollution control.”

To complete the research, the team, including collaborators from Sichuan University and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, collected lung samples from 56 individual birds representing 51 different species. The birds were collected from the Chengdu Tianfu International Airport.

In testing the lung samples, the scientists used laser direct infrared technology to count the microplastics present along with pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass-spectrometry to detect for nanoplastics. The team was also able to use these two methods to determine what types of plastic particles were present in the birds.

They found microplastics present in all 51 species. The results showed an average of 221.20 microplastic particles per species and 416.22 microplastic particles per gram of lung tissue, revealing an alarming amount of plastics in the birds’ lungs. In the study, the scientists detected 32 different types of plastics, with the most common types being chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) and butadiene rubber (BR), a pollutant found in vehicle tires. The particles found in the lungs were mostly in film or pellet form.

The identification of butadiene rubber particles adds to growing research on the pollution coming from vehicle tires. In a separate study published in February 2025, researchers revealed that vehicle tires were the top source of nanoparticle pollution in the Alps. An analysis published in 2022 determined that particle pollution from vehicle tires was even worse than tailpipe exhaust pollution.

The researchers warned that the high levels of microplastic and nanoplastic particles in the lungs of birds could be a canary in the coal mine for environmental and public health. The team concluded that their findings show that birds can be a bioindicator of the level of airborne plastic particle pollution, which could affect other wildlife and humans.

With increasing plastic and plastic particle pollution, scientists are concerned over how these pollutants could impact human health. According to the American Lung Association, the amount of plastic waste is expected to triple by 2040, and research has suggested that inhaling plastic particles and their related chemicals can damage lungs, although research is ongoing to determine how long-term exposure affects lung health.

“Our research highlights an urgent need to address plastic pollution in our environments, as these contaminants can have far-reaching impacts on ecosystem health, as well as human health,” DuBay said. “Our findings call for further research, funding and action to mitigate the harmful effects of plastic pollution and ensure a healthier environment.”

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Community Power Scorecard: Illinois Leads While Most States Receive ‘D’ or ‘F’ Grade

Posted on by February 28, 2025

Most states in the U.S. have a long way to go for improving community power, based on the results of a new scorecard by the Institute of Local Self-Reliance (ILSR).

The Community Power Scorecard evaluated each state based on 18 written policies, and each state could earn up to 87 total points. Policies could touch on net metering, third-party ownership, renewable energy interconnection, community solar, community choice energy, investments in inclusive utilities, and more. Some policies, like gas ban preemptions or right of first refusal, received negative points, as ILSR noted that certain policies could be worse for community energy goals than no policy at all. 

Based on the scores for the evaluated policies, the score was then converted into percentages, with an A being 90-100%, B being 70-89%, C as 50-69%, D for 30-49% and F for anything up to 29%.

For the 2025 scorecard, no states received an A grade, and only one state, Illinois, received a B. The state promotes making rooftop solar more affordable for residents through the Illinois Solar for All program and received high marks for net metering and community solar policies. In total, the state received 66 points out of 87.

“Illinois scores well across most of the elements in the scorecard,” John Farrell, co-director of ILSR told Inside Climate News. “All of these policies sort of create an environment to allow widespread ownership and development of clean energy at the local level. Illinois checks the boxes on those, and they do really well.”

Thirteen states were ranked as average for community energy with C grades, while the remaining 37 states received Ds and Fs. Fourteen states received Ds, while an F grade had the highest number of states, at 23.

Alabama received the lowest score at 3%, with a total of 3 points out of 87, followed by South Dakota with 4 points or a 5% score. Missouri received a 26%, but had a lower score than last year, when it earned a D with 34%.

However, actual efforts for community energy may be different from what these scores suggest, because ILSF evaluated written policies, not implemented policies. As Inside Climate News reported, this could explain why Illinois received a higher score despite implementation for its policies not always meeting expectations.

The results reveal that every state has plenty of opportunities to improve equitable, resilient and clean energy policies that offer better consumer protections and keep energy affordable.

The report has been published annually since 2018. The latest scorecard raises questions about how scores could change over the next year under an administration focused on fossil fuels. There are also concerns over whether Inflation Reduction Act funds, some of which are designated for clean energy projects, will be released to states.

“The work of advancing energy democracy requires continued advocacy, vigilance, and effort,” ILSR stated.

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Scientists Develop Open Database With 500+ Potential PFAS Alternatives

Posted on by February 27, 2025

With increasing concerns regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their potential impacts on human health, scientists from the Department of Environmental Science at Stockholm University have compiled a comprehensive database with potential alternatives to these “forever chemicals.”

According to the European Environment Agency, PFAS exposure has been linked to risks of liver damage, thyroid disease and certain types of cancer. It may also impact reproductivity, the immune system and fetal and child development, as reported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

However, these chemicals are particularly effective for waterproofing, stain-proofing, grease-resistance and durability, which is why PFAS are commonly used in food packaging, outdoor recreational gear, firefighting foam and equipment, electronics, non-stick cookware, industrial equipment and more.

To reduce the risks associated with these chemicals, a new study published in Environmental Science & Technology compiles information on potential alternatives to different types of PFAS that could help lead the way to safer substitutions with similarly beneficial properties.

As part of their research, the authors developed a public database called the ZeroPM alternative assessment database that lists out all known uses of PFAS, from cookware to clothing to pharmaceuticals, alongside at least 530 alternative substances that could replace PFAS for specific uses. 

“Our new online database of alternatives for the uses of PFAS highlights 530 potential alternatives and reveals where more innovation is needed,” Ian Cousins, co-author of the study, said in a statement.

So far, the authors have found promising alternatives for 40 use cases, such as for food packaging coatings, and industries can use the database to guide updates to industrial processes using alternatives. Each listing includes the availability for switching to the alternative, making it easier to find the most suitable substitutes for certain applications.

But the authors noted that there are still 83 PFAS applications, namely for plastic- and rubber-related industrial processes, without known safer alternatives, so more research is needed for these cases. Some alternatives currently have no known concerns but will also require further research to confirm there are no safety or environmental risks.

“At this point, the main goal of the database is to provide an open platform on which information on the availability of PFAS-free alternatives is freely available,” the authors wrote. “Such efforts could be useful for companies willing to phase out their uses of PFAS by providing them with information on the types of alternatives that are already in use. Furthermore, the information in the database can help the authorities to identify uses of PFAS where alternatives are still lacking and should be the focus of their time and resources for further research.”

“Proper alternative assessments for specific uses should still be performed to evaluate the potential trade-offs of phasing out PFAS,” they concluded.

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14,000+ Crop Seeds Added to Svalbard Global Seed Vault for Preservation

Posted on by February 26, 2025

More than 14,000 seed samples are headed for the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this week, where they’ll be preserved and protected against climate change, war, and other events that can threaten crops and plant diversity.

The latest addition of 14,022 seed samples come from 21 different genebanks around the world, and the latest deposit will include thousands of samples from countries facing conflict and extreme weather events that can threaten seed genebanks.

Sudan, which is currently undergoing a civil war, deposited 15 samples, including different varieties of sorghum and pearl millet. The deposit will help protect Sudan’s crops, as an ongoing civil war led to the looting and destruction of the country’s seedbank, with more than 17,000 seeds affected. This is the sixth deposit to Svalbard’s Seed Vault by Sudan, which first started depositing seeds here in 2019.

“In Sudan, where conflict has displaced more than eight million people and disrupted agriculture, these seeds represent hope,” said Ali Babikar, director of Sudan’s Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources Conservation and Research Centre (APGRC). “By safeguarding this diversity in Svalbard, we’re preserving options for a resilient, food-secure future, regardless of the challenges we face.” 

The Philippines also made an important deposit to the seed bank to protect its diverse crops from extreme weather events that threaten the country. According to the WorldRiskIndex report, the Philippines ranks No. 1 globally for countries at the highest risk from extreme natural disasters and has previously had its national genebank damaged by typhoons and fires. Climate change has exacerbated these threats. 

As such, the Philippines is making a contribution of important seeds such as eggplant, rice bean, lima bean and sorghum for protection at Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

“In the face of climate change, which we are already feeling with all the extreme weather conditions in the Philippines, it becomes more pressing to duplicate these collections in other gene banks like Svalbard to safeguard [them],” Hidelisa de Chavez, a researcher at the University of the Philippines’ National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory, told Grist. 

Brazil, which will host COP30 in Belém this year, also made a major contribution of more than 3,000 types of beans, rice and maize. 

Another critical deposit included Mucuna pruriens, or velvet beans, in Malawi’s deposit of legumes, rice, maize, sorghum and other crops. The velvet bean doubles as a nitrogen-fixing fertilizer that can boost maize yields and is popular for medicinal purposes.

“Crop diversity reduces the risk of food crises at local, regional, sub-regional and global levels,” Nolipher Mponya, an agricultural research scientist who works for the government of Malawi, said in a statement. “By conserving crop diversity, we are protecting the future of our foods. We are also maintaining the genes for crop improvement, feed and habitat for pollinators and ensuring the direct and indirect health and economic benefits from these crops.”

This round of deposits also included contributions from Benin, Burundi, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Nigeria, Zambia/Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, Georgia, Kenya, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Thailand and UA Emirates. 

Seeds at the vault are kept inside custom packages, sealed within boxes and kept at low temperature and moisture levels to prevent damage, even if there’s a power outage. The vault helps maintain backup seeds for countries that may be impacted by climate change, conflict or other disasters that could threaten genebanks.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault’s first deposit of 2025 is its 66th since it began accepting deposits in 2008. It typically collects deposits three times per year (February, June and October) and stores more than 1.3 million seed samples. It is owned by Norway and managed by Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the regional NordGen genebank and the international nonprofit Crop Trust. The latest round of deposits was also supported by Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods, and Development (BOLD).

“The seeds deposited this week represent not just biodiversity, but also the knowledge, culture and resilience of the communities that steward them,” said Stefan Schmitz, executive director of Crop Trust. “We must find a way to protect this crop diversity for generations to come.”

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Solar and Battery Storage Expected to Lead New Electricity Generation Capacity for 2025: EIA

Posted on by February 25, 2025

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released predictions for 2025 in its latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory report. The organization announced that new utility-scale electric-generating capacity in the U.S. will reach 63 gigawatts (GW), led by additions to solar and battery capacity.

The latest report noted that in 2024, utility-scale solar capacity made up 61% of capacity additions in 2024, and this year, there will be about 32.5 GW added. 

In total, new solar projects in 2025 are expected to make up more than 50% of the planned added utility-scale electric generation for 2025. Combined with planned battery storage capacity, the share is 81% of total capacity additions.

Last year, Texas and Florida led the country in new solar additions. This year, Texas will again lead with 11.6 GW of planned new utility-scale solar capacity, followed by California with 2.9 GW. Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, Florida and New York will each add at least 1 GW, totaling about 7.8 GW of new solar capacity across these five states.

In October 2024, EIA reported that battery storage capacity was expanding rapidly in the U.S., and that trend is also expected to continue into 2025. According to the latest report, U.S. battery storage capacity increased by 10.3 GW last year and could reach a record high if the planned 18.2 GW of battery storage capacity begins operations this year.

“This growth highlights the importance of battery storage when used with renewable energy, helping to balance supply and demand and improve grid stability,” EIA explained. “Energy storage systems are not primary electricity sources, meaning the technology does not create electricity from a fuel or natural resource. Instead, they store electricity that has already been created from an electricity generator or the electric power grid, which makes energy storage systems secondary sources of electricity.”

According to the report, wind capacity is expected to increase slightly after a decline in 2024. Last year, wind capacity additions reached 5.1 GW, the lowest amount since 2014, but new wind capacity is expected to reach 7.7 GW this year. This is primarily because of two major offshore projects, including the 800 megawatt (MW) Vineyard Wind 1 in Massachusetts and the Revolution Wind project, with 715 MW capacity, in Rhode Island. Texas, Wyoming and Massachusetts are expected to lead wind capacity additions for 2025.

While renewables are set to take a large share of new utility-scale electricity generation capacity for 2025, fossil fuel-based capacity retirements are simultaneously expected to decline this year. EIA reported that 8.1 GW of coal-fired electricity generation capacity is expected to retire this year, up from the 4 GW retired in 2024. Petroleum power plants, which make up less than 3% of total electric-generating capacity in the U.S., is expected to retire 1.6 GW.

Natural gas retirements are expected to reach 2.6 GW and will primarily include retirement of the less-efficient, simple-cycle natural gas turbine power plants. However, 4.4 GW of newly added natural gas capacity — including half from less-efficient plants and 36% from more-efficient, combined-cycle plants — is planned for 2025.

Although the report of renewables leading the way for new utility-scale electricity generation for 2025 is hopeful, concerns remain over how renewable energy will fare with challenges from the current administration. Already, officials have sued over inaccessible Inflation Reduction Act funding, some of which was dedicated to renewable energy projects. 

As Utility Dive reported, investors have also become cautious, potentially because of uncertainty with how clean energy will fare with the current administration along with high interest rates. Still, there have been investments in energy storage, and larger solar projects (those above 1 MW) actually saw a 21% increase in funding for 2024 compared to 2023.

“That says more about solar as an asset class. A mature asset class that is an attractive investment,” Raj Prabhu, CEO and co-founder of Mercom Capital Group, told Utility Dive.

“I see much more aggressive forecasting when it comes to energy storage installations in 2025,” Prabhu added. “So growth is a little faster in energy storage, and they are key to a lot of energy deals right now.”

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Canada to Build One of the Largest Urban Solar Power Plant Projects in North America

Posted on by February 24, 2025

A new, utility-scale solar power plant proposed for a 1,600-acre site in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada is expected to be one of the largest urban solar power projects in all of North America.

The 325 megawatt (MW) Saamis Solar Park proposal was recently sold to Medicine Hat, as Mother Jones reported. The project, developed by DP Energy, is slated for a brownfield site with otherwise limited development potential, as it contains a capped phosphogypsum stack. 

As explained by the Center for Biological Diversity, phosphogypsum is a radioactive substance leftover from the processing of phosphate ore into phosphoric acid, which is a common fertilizer ingredient. Leftover phosphogypsum is often disposed of by stacking the waste, then covering it with soil to minimize radon exposure, as phosphogypsum can form radon as it decays.

“Not only is it a productive use of a large area of contaminated land with limited development potential, it now also has the potential to contribute to the city’s energy transition to clean, renewable power,” Damian Bettles, DP Energy’s North America head of development, told Canada’s National Observer.

Irish firm DP Energy sells north America’s largest urban solar project to Medicine Hat

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— Business Post (@businesspost.bsky.social) February 18, 2025 at 8:50 AM

In addition to redeveloping a brownfield site, the Saamis project takes advantage of the sunniest city in Canada. According to a city marketing campaign Move to Medicine Hat, the city has an average of 330 sunny days per year. By comparison, that’s more than each of the top 10 sunniest cities in the U.S., as reported by MSN.

The project was first approved for development rights for the proposed site in 2017 and received the development permit in 2021, Energy Global reported. Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) approved construction and operation in 2024 and recently approved the sale from DP Energy to the city of Medicine Hat.

The project is now ready to begin construction, and Medicine Hat is seeking approval to launch the project in phases, starting with adding 75 MW.

DP Energy reported that the project will include more than 600,000 solar panels, fixed and tilt panel racks, inverter and transformer stations, an electrical collection system, access roads, and a substation to connect the plant to the Alberta Interconnected Electric System (AIES).

Once completed, the 325 MW project is expected to meet peak energy demand for much of the city, including industrial facilities, commercial buildings and the homes of 65,000 residents. In total, the project could offset about 350,000 tons of carbon emissions per year, Energy Global reported.

As Medicine Hat News reported, the project will be among the biggest urban solar sites in North America, following behind the Copper Mountain Solar Facility, located in Boulder City, Nevada, which has an 802 MW capacity. In Alberta, the project will trail behind the Travers Solar Project, with 465 MW capacity, which is not an urban solar plant but is located in Vulcan County and has the highest solar energy production capacity in Canada.

Moving forward, the city may consider adding battery storage, additional solar and wind projects to further the clean energy transition.

“Overall we are looking for proven technologies that can provide affordable power to our rate base and our own internal carbon compliance,” Travis Tuchscherer, director of energy marketing and business analysis, told Canada’s National Observer.

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