Synopsis: February's Climate & Renewable Energy Good News
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Lots of positive news came to light during the month, so here's a quick summary.
The Sun is King: The world is now installing 1GW of solar panels every 15 hours (roughly the same GW as one coal-fired plant). In 2004, it took a full year to install 1 GW. By 2023, the world was adding that amount in a single day, but it has now accelerated to 1 GW every 15 hours.
Hot Stuff: New study shows that geothermal energy could be powering Europe - and can replace 42 percent of Europe's fossil electricity, at prices comparable to coal and gas.
India's Route: India is going green faster than China did at the same income level. Cheap solar, wind and batteries are allowing the world’s largest country to bypass a fossil-heavy growth phase. According to Ember, a thinktank, costs have flipped so dramatically that renewables now undercut coal itself, opening a credible path for emerging economies to grow as “electrostates” that are built on clean electricity rather than fossil fuels.
China's Green Growth: Clean-energy industries drove more than one-third of China’s economic growth in 2025 and over 90 percent of new investment. Furthermore, China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for 21 months, with what looks like a 0.3 percent decline in 2025. If this really is China’s peak (still to be officially confirmed) it’s arguably the climate story of the century.
MOST: A new material has been created that captures solar energy, locks it into chemical bonds, and releases it later as heat on demand. The innovation offers a promising alternative energy solution and belongs to a growing field known as molecular solar thermal (MOST) energy storage. A lightweight, recyclable alternative to conventional batteries.
Free Transport: What’s the benefit of giving someone a free ride? Iowa City scrapped bus fares in 2023. The results now show a whopping 1.8 million fewer miles driven by residents and 24,000 tonnes less carbon dioxide emitted.
Portuguese Success: In January, more than 80 percent of Portugal’s electricity came from renewables, the most in the EU.
Brooklyn High-Rise: A new 34-storey building in NYC sits atop a multitude of geothermal boreholes - and it could be a blueprint for decarbonizing the North American skyline.
Thanks to a Teenager: Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, a new state law in Illinois will require every public high school to include instruction on climate change and the impacts and causes of climate change for grades nine through 12. The law was written by two area students, alongside State Representative Janet Yang Rohr.
EU Cleaning Up: In 2025, wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU, while nuclear provided an additional 23 percent. Gas, coal and oil generated just 29 percent, with coal becoming increasingly marginal at 9.2 percent. A big shout out for solar, which now generates a cool (or should we say ‘hot’?) 13 percent of electricity for more than 450 million people across the continent.
Battery Swap Record: While DC fast charging infrastructure and range anxiety dominate Western EV headlines, Nio’s battery-swap system in China reached a new milestone that proves battery swap tech can rival traditional refueling models at scale: Nio customers performed more than 165,000 battery swaps in single 24 hour day - that works out to about two swaps every second across Nio’s network. Each swap takes less than 2 minutes.
New Fossil Fuel Tax: “Fossil fuel companies could be forced to pay some of the price of their damage to the climate, and the ultra-rich subjected to a global wealth tax, if new tax rules are agreed under the UN."
Trump 0 - 5 Wind: A federal judge has struck down an order to halt work on a multibillion-dollar wind farm off the coast of New York State, marking the fifth time courts have ruled against the Trump administration’s efforts to throttle the country’s offshore wind industry.
New EU Fashion Rules: To fight overproduction and make the fashion industry more sustainable, the European Union has introduced new rules that prohibit companies from destroying unsold textiles and footwear.
Mini Nuclear: The UK government has confirmed the launch of an “advanced nuclear pipeline” that would help get privately funded power plants - such as smaller modular reactors - off the ground. “Advanced nuclear technology could revolutionise how we power industry and propel the AI data centre boom - delivering more clean energy and jobs.”
Solar Panel Longevity: Currently, solar panels come with a 25- to 30-year performance promise. But the good news is that a new analysis out of Switzerland shows that solar arrays that have been running since between 1987 and 1993 are still producing more than 80 percent of their power - even after three decades.
Another Good Use of AI: Waste management firms are reaping unexpected returns on their investment in AI-powered robotic garbage sorters - and greatly improving recycling rates.
Sunny Africa: The continent had a remarkable year for solar growth in 2025, with installations rising by 54 percent.
UK's Clean Energy: The UK government has awarded contracts for a record number of green energy projects in its latest round of auctions. In total, 6.2GW of onshore wind, solar and tidal projects secured contracts, with around 80 percent going to solar.
Powerful Combination: A major new piece of research finds that combining solar panels with farming - called agrivoltaics - could boost global crop output by enough to feed more than two billion people a year. This is revolutionary news because it means any suitable piece of cropland can now be modified to produce more food, more power, more income, more biodiversity and fewer emissions, all in a single step. The report drily notes that potential added agricultural income could exceed $1 trillion. Indeed, agrivoltaics is what enabled Vatican City to become the World's First Country Powered 100 Percent by Solar.
