During the five days he spent in Brazil, Newsom described Donald Trump as an invasive species and condemned his rollback of policies aimed at reducing emissions and expanding renewable energy. Newsom, long considered a presidential hopeful, argued that, as the US retreated, California would step up in its place as a stable, reliable climate leader and partner. Among the talking points he used to demonstrate California's leadership was its progress on renewable energy and the battery capacity needed to store that power.
We can estimate how much electricity each solar panel and wind turbine will produce, and when they'll produce it. Then we can plug those numbers into a computer, along with green advocates' optimistic projections of future electricity demand, to see how supply and demand match up on an hourly and seasonal basis. Even with vastly expanded battery storage capacity to smooth things out, the match is poor.
Researchers from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories measured more than 100 locations at Elkhorn Slough, an expanse of sensitive marshes just north of the plant, and found high levels of nickel, cobalt and manganese on the top of the soil all metals contained in the thousands of lithium-ion batteries that burned and which were spread in microscopic pieces through the billowing smoke that poured from the fire.
If you add in nuclear, then the US has reached a grid that is 40 percent emissions-free over the first nine months of 2025. That's up only 1 percent compared to the same period the year prior. And because coal emits more carbon than natural gas, it's likely the US will see a net increase in electricity-related emissions this year.
Located in Germany's Lusatia region, the upcoming energy storage facility will have a capacity of 4 gigawatt-hours of energy and will be able to take in a maximum power input of 1 gigawatt. That's the equivalent of 100 million 10-watt LED lights being turned on at the same time. Or 4,000 Tesla EVs charging at the same time, all peaking at 250 kilowatts.
The Smart Charging Cube, offered by MAN Truck & Bus in partnership with AW Automotive, is designed for charging electric trucks and buses in various locations.