renewable energy
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Vermont soccer club kicks toward a cleaner future
In Burlington, Vermont, a scrappy amateur soccer team is drawing crowds and taking climate action one game at a time.
In short:
- The Vermont Green Football Club blends sports and sustainability, offering recycled uniforms, vegan food trucks, and compost bins at every game.
- The team’s climate-first mission includes donations to environmental groups, low-carbon operations, and partnerships with brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Seventh Generation.
- Players and fans alike are embracing the team’s ethos, from biking to games to rethinking personal habits — and even free vegan ice cream.
Key quote:
“It infuses everyone’s awareness in a way that’s much more joyful, much more connected, much more community oriented. When people experience climate action and environmental focus in that way, they see that joy can be a part of the work.”
— Eli Scheer, Vermont Green fan
Why this matters:
This semi-pro team has quickly become a cult favorite not just for its play, but for its unapologetically bold mission: to use the beautiful game to champion environmental justice. As extreme weather intensifies and air quality declines, Vermont Green offers a playbook for climate action that’s local, joyful, and infectious. It shows how sports — often carbon-heavy enterprises — can flip the script and become platforms for public engagement, behavior change, and community resilience. For fans disillusioned with corporate sports greenwashing, it's climate action in cleats.
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Solar farms and sheep grazing show how farming and clean energy can share land
Solar panels now double as shade for sheep and a tool for rural energy production in Georgia, where some farmers are balancing land conservation with renewable energy development.
In short:
- A solar farm in Lee County, Georgia, uses sheep for vegetation control, allowing the land to remain agriculturally active while producing renewable energy.
- Concerns over solar development on farmland have spurred opposition and legislation, but studies show financial gains for local governments through increased property taxes.
- While farmland loss is a concern, experts say low-density housing, not solar development, is the leading cause in Georgia.
Key quote:
“It is incredibly hot, the sun is just unavoidable, and the fact that they’ve got shade every 15 feet out here — it’s just the ideal environment, to have shade so close.”
— Tyler Huber, Lee County sheep farmer
Why this matters:
America is losing farmland at a rate of about 2,000 acres per day, much of it to housing sprawl and industrial growth. As the demand for renewable energy grows, solar companies are increasingly eyeing these same lands for large-scale projects. While solar development raises fears about displacement of food production and ecological harm, the Georgia example shows that clean energy and agriculture don’t have to be at odds. Integrating solar with sheep grazing or pollinator habitats offers a hybrid approach to land use. But this model depends on local policies, utility incentives, and how landowners value long-term income versus short-term gains.
Related: Solar farms provide more than clean energy by supporting pollinators
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Photo by Andy Feliciotti/Unsplash
Senate moves to gut clean energy tax credits as deal nears
The Senate was close to passing a sweeping GOP bill Tuesday morning that rolls back renewable energy tax credits, adds a new tax on wind and solar, and boosts fossil fuel development.
Amelia Davidson, Timothy Cama, Nico Portuondo, and Garrett Downs report forE&E News.
In short:
- The bill would cut off tax credits for wind and solar projects not operational by the end of 2027.
- A new excise tax targets clean energy projects that use materials from countries like China.
- Credits for nuclear, hydrogen, and geothermal remain, while fossil fuel drilling and permitting are expanded.
Key quote:
“If this passes, it is a death sentence for the wind and solar industries.”
— Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Senate Finance Committee ranking member
Why this matters:
Rolling back clean energy support would stall progress on climate goals and raise energy prices. Fossil fuel expansion and regulatory rollbacks would increase health risks from pollution.Keep reading...Show less
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Credit: Markus Distelrath/Pixabay
EU shifts course on climate policy as deregulation accelerates
The European Union has begun scaling back major environmental protections under the Green Deal, sparking concern among campaigners who say the bloc is rapidly losing its climate leadership.
In short:
- Since late 2023, the EU has delayed or weakened key Green Deal measures, including anti-deforestation rules, pollution standards for automakers, and sustainability reporting requirements for corporations.
- The new European Commission, increasingly influenced by center-right and far-right parties, has prioritized cutting red tape for businesses, aligning more closely with industry interests and distancing itself from past climate commitments.
- Environmental groups warn the shift reflects a broader political backlash against climate policy, mirroring developments in the U.S. and UK and threatening long-term public health and environmental goals.
Key quote:
“This is highly relevant because it’s the first proposal under the simplification agenda that’s been put forward and … it’s not just weakening it a little bit, it’s slashing it. The heart of the proposal has basically been taken out.”
— Paul de Clerck, campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe
Why this matters:
Europe’s Green Deal was once hailed as a global blueprint for cutting emissions, protecting biodiversity, and making the economy more sustainable. Its current unraveling comes at a time when rising temperatures, pollution-linked diseases, and extreme weather are already straining public health systems and ecosystems. Policies to curb deforestation, regulate corporate polluters, and cut industrial emissions have direct links to reducing cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, and cancer. Rolling back these rules under the guise of competitiveness risks shifting the burden of pollution from industries onto people, especially children, the elderly, and low-income communities. As the EU softens its stance, its credibility on climate leadership is weakening, just as global cooperation is needed most to limit irreversible environmental harm.
Read more: Greenwashing law reversal deepens political rift in European Union
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Proposed tax rules risk choking U.S. clean energy projects over China supply links
A budget bill moving through Congress could block most U.S. clean energy projects from receiving tax credits if any part of their supply chain includes ties to China.
In short:
- The Senate version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” includes language that defines “prohibited foreign entities” so broadly that it could disqualify projects over minimal links to Chinese suppliers.
- The tax credit restrictions are written in ways that require companies to trace their supply chains multiple steps upstream, often beyond what’s realistically knowable.
- Compliance is both costly and difficult, with companies potentially losing tax credits over small components like bolts or subcomponents whose origin they can't verify.
Key quote:
“Practically speaking, as these bills are written, there’s no way to have sufficient confidence that one is compliant because the rules are just so extensive and get at such attenuated factors that the taxpayers themselves won’t have the information they need.”
— Seth Hanlon, senior fellow at the Tax Law Center at New York University School of Law
Why this matters:
Clean energy development in the U.S. depends heavily on tax credits to attract investment and compete with fossil fuels. But new legislative language could turn these financial incentives into a minefield. The bill’s vague and expansive definitions may effectively disqualify many solar, wind, battery, and EV projects that have even remote ties to Chinese suppliers. China dominates the global supply chain for many clean energy technologies, from photovoltaic cells to battery materials, so this could cripple large swaths of the transition. The stakes are high: Delays or rollbacks in clean energy buildout could slow efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce air pollution, especially in communities already burdened by fossil fuel infrastructure.
Learn more: Republican tax plan would expand oil industry subsidies and cut clean energy support
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US regulators weigh risks to power grid after Europe’s blackout reveals weak spots
A sweeping power failure in Spain and Portugal has spurred U.S. energy regulators to examine vulnerabilities in the American grid as climate stress and renewables reshape the system.
In short:
- A large-scale blackout in Spain and Portugal in April was triggered by a cascade of engineering failures, including inadequate voltage control, affecting both renewable and fossil fuel power plants.
- U.S. grid officials say the American system has stronger voltage support requirements for renewables, but gaps remain, including the absence of mandatory low-voltage ride-through capabilities for all solar installations.
- Experts warn that rising electricity demand, a changing energy mix, and limited grid interconnections leave parts of the U.S. vulnerable to a similar chain-reaction failure.
Key quote:
“It’s so important that we look holistically at all the resources on the grid today and identify whether there are any gaps in our bulk power system reliability standards that would prevent a similar incident from occurring.”
— David Rosner, commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Why this matters:
The U.S. power grid is facing mounting pressure from intensifying heat waves, surging demand from electric vehicles and data centers, and a transition to cleaner energy sources. As fossil fuel plants retire and solar and wind play a larger role, grid stability depends on seamless coordination between many power sources — each with different technical traits. A single breakdown in voltage support or poor coordination can rapidly spiral into massive outages, as shown in Europe. With the U.S. experiencing more extreme weather, weak links in grid operations raise the risk of blackouts, threatening public health, emergency response, and critical infrastructure, especially in underserved communities.
Read more: How fragile power grids and extreme weather combined to cause Europe’s biggest blackout in decades
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China ramps up solar and wind power as clean energy output shatters global records
China installed enough solar and wind power between January and May to match the total electricity use of countries like Indonesia or Turkey, even as its clean energy industry faces deep financial strain.
In short:
- China installed 198 gigawatts of solar and 46 gigawatts of wind in the first five months of 2025, setting a new global benchmark in clean energy expansion.
- In May alone, China added 93 gigawatts of solar and 26 gigawatts of wind — enough to match Poland’s total electricity consumption, according to analysts.
- Despite the rapid growth, major Chinese solar companies are reporting steep losses, with industry leaders warning of a “death cycle” due to extreme price competition.
Key quote:
“We knew China’s rush to install solar and wind was going to be wild but WOW.”
— Lauri Myllyvirta, senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute
Why this matters:
China’s breakneck pace in expanding its clean energy infrastructure marks a pivotal shift in global energy dynamics, especially as the country remains the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. While its investments in solar and wind reflect major progress in reducing reliance on coal, the rapid expansion is coming at a financial cost. Fierce market competition has pushed prices down so far that manufacturers are struggling to survive, risking the long-term health of the sector. As clean energy becomes a cornerstone of China’s industrial strategy, the balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability will be tested. Globally, China’s choices shape the future of renewable energy supply chains, battery production, and climate outcomes.
Learn more: China pivots toward renewable energy in global investments
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