The Clean Energy Show

California is cutting power to prevent wildfires while offering businesses up to $100,000 per EV fast-charging port. Meanwhile, heat pumps are proving surprisingly resilient without US federal tax credits, and Pakistan's oil crisis is accelerating the shift to electric vehicles. Support The Clean Energy Show on Patreon for exciting perks including a monthly bonus podcast, early access to our conte...

The Electric Truck Math Is Getting Hard to Ignore

China's electric vehicle revolution is moving beyond passenger cars and into heavy-duty trucks, with electric and battery-swapping trucks now approaching half of new sales in some recent months. We look at what that means for diesel demand and global oil markets. We also discuss Volvo's autonomous heavy-duty trucks, which have now moved three million tonnes of material without a human driver, and...

Why the UN says carbon removal will be needed as the world blows past the 1.5°C target, and why removing carbon from the atmosphere could become an enormous undertaking. Support The Clean Energy Show on Patreon for exciting perks including a monthly bonus podcast, early access to our content, behind the scenes looks, access to our members-only Discord community and thank-yous in the credits of vid...

The world's tallest wind turbine is nearing completion in Germany. Standing 300 metres tall before its blades are attached, the finished turbine will reach about 360 metres — roughly the height of a 100-storey building. The goal is to generate more electricity in areas where conventional turbines are less productive. Support The Clean Energy Show on Patreon for perks including a monthly bonus podc...

Powering reverse osmosis seawater desalination to meet additional UK water demand would require roughly 4 TWh of electricity—adding just over 2% to annual power demand. Declining oil revenues could spark economic instability, reduced public services, and conflict in oil-dependent nations like Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, and Iraq if diversification isn't planned early. Extreme summer heat is groundin...

An encore of episode 275, featuring stories about the forces fighting offshore wind in the United States, the health benefits of cycling, Saskatchewan's decision to keep burning coal until 2050, and a listener taking the province to court over its climate policies. We also look at expiring U.S. clean-energy tax credits, the falling cost of solar, EV charging across Europe, and plenty of clean-ener...

Saskatchewan could save billions by moving away from coal, France debates air conditioning as deadly heat waves intensify, London homes are cracking as drought dries out the city's clay soil, and China builds a wind turbine designed to generate power in places with barely any wind. Plus, cruise ships, solar schools, air ambulances, the surprisingly long history of electric cars, and a packed Light...

China's latest donation of solar-and-storage systems to Cuba, a new generation of perovskite-silicon solar panels that could push efficiency well beyond 30%, and an Australian homeowner who has decided the grid is no longer worth the connection fees. Support The Clean Energy Show on Patreon for exciting perks including our monthly bonus podcast out now! • China has donated another 5,000 solar syst...

California's new "My First EV" rebate is proving that people really do like free money, with the $270 million incentive program already being snapped up. Plus, Clemson University students have built a remarkably lightweight solar-powered EV designed to generate more energy than it uses, and a centuries-old British cheese maker is saving money and cutting emissions with a heat pump that uses warm m...

Extreme heat is disrupting more than just summer vacations. This week, we look at how climate change is forcing nuclear reactors in Europe offline, why heatwaves are delaying commercial flights, and how the International Energy Agency has once again underestimated the speed of the global EV transition. Plus, Laos takes a bold step by banning nearly all new gasoline and diesel car imports. Brian's...

Many countries are dealing with unprecidented wildfires this week. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. Fire Weather author John Vaillant says entire countries could burn in the coming years as the world warms. Balcony solar finally arrives in the UK, making plug-in solar panels available to millions of apartment dwellers and renters. California's new $3,500 rebate program designed...

Brian broadcasts from Montreal while James holds down the fort as the Clean Energy Show dives into another week of climate and clean energy news. This episode explores Canada's worsening wildfire seasons, Honda's surprising new AI-powered electric lawnmower, Europe's struggle to adapt to deadly heatwaves, and why it's now cheaper to take an electric taxi in China than drive your own gas car. Plus,...

Electric vehicles continue their remarkable rise around the world, and this week we take a look at the latest global trends from the IEA to see just how far the transition has come since  The Clean Energy Show launched in 2020. We also explore new ways to keep the power grid stable during dangerous heat waves, why solar power just hit another major milestone in the United States, and the UK's new...

Delhi is taking one of the world's biggest steps toward cleaner transportation by banning new gas-powered rickshaws and motorcycles, while Great Britain approves its first new pumped hydro projects in four decades—including one connected to the legendary Loch Ness. Plus, climate change is driving a dangerous invasive puffer fish into the Mediterranean, and the Lightning Round returns with the week...

Thousands are dying in Europe on the fifth anniversary of the heat dome that killed hundreds on the West Coast of Canada. James argues we have to act to prevent deaths as these heat wave get more intense with climate change. Toyota is blaming high gas prices for falling sales even as its EV sales surge, heat pumps are rapidly catching up to traditional air conditioners, and Europe is battling anot...

What happens when batteries become so cheap that every home can afford one? In this encore episode, Brian and James explore a future where ultra-low-cost batteries transform the electric grid, eliminate blackouts, and make renewable energy even more powerful. They also take a look at a hydrogen-powered bicycle unveiled in Europe and ask whether hydrogen has any future in personal transportation. P...

James is recovering from surgery so here's a shortened version of last week's bonus episode for our Patreon supporters. Support The Clean Energy Show on Patreon for exciting perks! First, Brian says he's maintaining a nearly 300-day Wordle streak and why a simple word puzzle can become an unexpected source of anxiety. Then things get much more serious as James recounts a destructive hailstorm that...

China's EV revolution is delivering a surprising health benefit. New research suggests electric vehicles have cut air pollution enough to prevent an estimated 262,000 premature deaths, while gas-powered vehicles have completely disappeared from China's top ten best-selling vehicle rankings. The 2026 FIFA World Cup may face an unexpected opponent: extreme heat. New analysis suggests players, fans,...

The surprising solar phenomenon called the "cloud edge effect" shows how panels can sometimes generate more power than their rated capacity. Also this week: a new wildfire study reveals that while fewer hectares are burning globally, the fires that do occur are increasingly hitting wealthy, populated areas—causing far greater economic damage. And France's nuclear utility EDF is considering adding...

From Americans now being able to use healthcare savings accounts to buy e-bikes, to a massive new 5 GWh thermal battery project in South Dakota that stores renewable electricity as heat inside giant carbon blocks. James and Brian also discuss the UK's record May heatwave and growing calls for air conditioning in schools and care homes as climate change pushes temperatures higher. Support The Clean...

Pakistan's booming rooftop solar "shadow grid" has quietly grown larger than the country's official grid, saving billions while slashing fossil fuel imports. They also look at the staggering costs of keeping aging coal plants alive in the U.S., including millions spent just to maintain shutdown-ready facilities. Plus: a groundbreaking Inuit-owned hydro project replacing diesel power in the Arctic,...

In Chile, organized crime gangs are now stealing solar panels and copper wiring from giant solar farms in coordinated nighttime raids. James explains how Saskatchewan could spend over $520 million a year on coal fuel alone — enough money to build massive amounts of solar and battery storage every single year instead. In Ohio, voters accidentally upheld a renewable energy ban because the ballot wor...

A global climate meeting in Colombia brings together mostly Global South nations, Europe, and Canada to talk seriously about ending fossil fuels—without binding agreements, but with real momentum. France goes further than anyone else, announcing a full phase-out by 2050. Support The Clean Energy Show on Patreon ! CATL signs a massive 60 GWh deal and says sodium-ion batteries are ready for prime ti...

Episode 309 starts with cracks forming inside OPEC as clean energy and EV adoption begin to reshape global oil demand. We look at why producers may rush to sell while they still can, then shift to fusion power timelines that are still far off, a transit upgrade that paid for itself in months—not years—and Spain's grid proving renewables weren't to blame for its massive blackout. Plus, how LEDs qui...