#renewableenergy

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1. The US offshore wind industry finally gets a break

“Five U.S. wind projects continue construction, with some now producing power, as the Trump admin misses a deadline to appeal court decisions letting them proceed. [… L]ast week, the department quietly let the final deadline for appealing the courts’ decisions lapse. […] The lack of appeals likely represents a recognition that the government couldn’t stop the five projects from moving forward[….]”

2. Bactrian camel calf born at the [Whipsnade] Zoo

“[The baby is named after] Sophia Raffles[, who] was the first woman to become a fellow of ZSL in 1826 - making ZSL the first society to admit women in the UK[…. “J]ust like her namesake’s emphasis on access to education, she will be vital for teaching our visitors about the threats facing wild camels, and what people can do to help.” [… ZSL is] supporting conservation efforts in Mongolia, including the Gobi Desert in the south, where it’s believed there are only 450 wild camels.”

3. STEM can be a hostile place for queer kids. Rainbow Robotics is changing the game.

“Rainbow Robotics [is] a student-led initiative funded by a grant from the It Gets Better Project that brings STEM opportunities to queer spaces and teaches inclusion and acceptance in STEM. [...] “There’s been students on our team who not only learn how to stick up for their LGBTQ+ peers, but also learn a lot about themselves and about preconceived notions of queer spaces,” Jarvis says.”

4. 30-year Himalayan project shows power of community-led forest restoration

“[The previously degraded area now] supports rich biodiversity, including more than 160 bird species, more than 100 butterfly species, and many medicinal plants, providing livestock fodder, medicine and livelihoods for the residents of surrounding communities. [...] “The site also maintains all five Western Himalayan oak species strengthening its role as a genetic repository and conservation model for rare and endemic flora,” [a co-author] said.”

5. Person functionally cured of HIV after bone marrow transplant from sibling

“A 63-year-old man has been functionally cured of HIV with a bone marrow transplant [...] from his brother, who has a rare genetic mutation called CCR5Δ32 that confers resistance to HIV-1, the most common type of human immunodeficiency virus. [...] His healthy T cell count soared in the year after the procedure and stayed at healthy levels after he stopped antiretroviral therapy (ART)—the gold standard treatment for HIV—two years later.”

"Clean energy investment manager Greenbacker Renewable Energy has secured $950 million to build what will be New York State’s largest solar farm.

Greenbacker acquired the 500-megawatt (MW) Cider project from renewable energy developer Hecate Energy. Work started in October [2024], and the project is expected to come online in 2026.

Hecate announced on February 3 that the New York Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Transmission (ORES) has now formally issued a siting permit and a formal notice to proceed with construction...

Cider will sit on approximately 2,500 acres of land in Genesee County, east of Buffalo, where it began construction in late 2024. The project is expected to generate enough annual clean electricity to power around 120,000 New York households.

Greenbacker’s Cider project is one of 23 large-scale clean energy developments awarded contracts in December by the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA). New York has set a goal of sourcing 70% of its electricity from clean energy by 2030.

The Solar Energy Industries Association ranks New York 8th nationally for solar capacity. With 6,493 megawatts, it has enough solar to power 1,127,865 homes. It’s expected to move to 5th place in five years."

Long time no see! 👋🏽 January flew by — but let’s not gloss over some of its good news headlines! Let’s wrap up the first month of 2026 with five good news stories from January! 🎉✨

1. ☀️ Cheap solar power is changing lives and economies across Africa!

With Chinese solar panels becoming increasingly affordable, solar panel usage has been increasing rapidly among businesses and families in countries like South Africa, Sierra Leone, and Chad. Across the continent, solar imports from China rose 50% over the first 10 months of 2025!

🔗 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/climate/solar-south-africa-china.html?smid=url-share

2. 🏳️‍⚧️ Anti-trans provisions have been removed from federal funding bills in the U.S.!

A series of anti-LGBTQ+ measures have been slashed, which would have implemented limitations for federal funding for gender-affirming care, college trans athletes, and support measures for trans youth in K-12 schools. That’s not all that succeeded with this bill — it also included increased funding for HIV/AIDS programs and initiatives!

3. 🫎 A project to reintroduce elk to the UK is moving forward!

Once a native species in the UK and a keystone species in UK wetlands, they became extinct 3,000 years ago due to hunting — the project, which has now secured £15,000 of funding, aims to start feasibility studies into the species’ return, a significant step towards reintroduction! With other reintroduction projects having proved successful — beavers, as an example, having returned successfully to the country for the first time in 400 years — wildlife experts aim to see the elks’ return bring similar benefits to the local environment!

4. 🌴 Indonesia plans to fine palm oil companies and miners operating illegally in forests!

Identifying $8.5 billion in potential fines that the government could collect, the country’s forestry task force has increasingly cracked down on plantations and mines in forest areas. As a disturbance to the palm oil industry, the task force has already seized over 9.8 million acres or 4.1 million hectares of illegal plantations and mines — an area about the size of the Netherlands!

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/indonesia-plans-fine-palm-oil-growers-miners-85-billion-forest-encroachment-2025-12-24/

5. 🏔️ A vast 133,000 hectares (328,000 acres) of Chilean Patagonia have been preserved after local fundraising!

Home to 11% of the last remaining alerce forests on Earth, the wild valley was purchased thanks to a successful grassroots campaign led by the NGO Puelo Patagonia, protecting the ecosystem from logging, damming, and development. Over 380 times the size of Manhattan’s Central Park and 800 times as big as London’s Regent’s Park, the area’s wildlife, waters, and flora (some among the world’s oldest trees!) are now conserved for generations to come! (This story is technically from December – but any good news is good news, right? 😅)