The Clean Energy Show

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.

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• China has donated another 5,000 solar systems to Cuba, this time with significantly more battery storage than the previous batch.

• Cuba is also introducing new incentives for renewable energy, including a renewable electricity rate and exemptions from customs duties for solar equipment and other clean-energy technologies.

• Tandem PV says its new perovskite-on-silicon solar panel has reached 30.4% efficiency and will go on sale later this year.

• The company is aiming for 37% efficiency by 2030 — potentially producing dramatically more electricity from the same physical footprint.

• Higher-efficiency panels could mean less land, fewer panels and lower balance-of-system costs, helping make solar even cheaper and accelerating grid decarbonization.

• But perovskite-silicon technology still has to prove its long-term durability, bankability and ability to scale up manufacturing.

• And in Australia, rooftop solar and cheap batteries are making it possible for some homeowners to seriously consider — or actually abandon — their connection to the electrical grid.

• We also talk about a fascinating DIY-style microgrid using solar, repurposed Tesla Model 3 batteries and an electric car to power three rental units.

A quick summer episode this week, with a full show coming next week — plus a bonus episode on the way.

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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 milk as its heat source.

• Supplemental material for this episode is posted on our public Patreon page. No need to sign up.

This week on The Clean Energy Show:

• California's $270 million "My First EV" rebate program is being rapidly exhausted, offering $3,500 toward new EVs and $1,750 toward used EVs.
• Clemson University's Deep Orange 17 solar EV packs more than 1,700 solar cells into its body and weighs just 550 kilograms.
• The solar car could potentially add about 50 kilometres of range from a typical 20-kilometre urban commute.
• Barber's Farmhouse Cheesemakers, operating since 1833, is using "milk-source" heat pumps to simultaneously cool milk and heat water.
• The heat pumps have cut the cheese maker's electricity use in half, saving about $94,000 a year and reducing emissions by nearly 66 tonnes annually.
• The Philippines is cutting red tape for small self-consumption and zero-export solar installations.
• More than 7 GW of Chinese solar panels have been imported or are on their way to the Philippines this year.

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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 documentary video and the New York Times story on how things only get worse from here are both free on our pubic Patreon page.

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• Heatwaves are forcing nuclear power plants across southeastern Europe to reduce output or shut down entirely as drought lowers river levels needed for cooling.
• Record heat is also disrupting air travel, with some aircraft forced to leave passengers behind because hot, thin air reduces lift.
• The International Energy Agency raises its global EV forecast, now expecting electric vehicles to account for 29% of worldwide new car sales this year.
• Emerging markets including India, Brazil, Australia, Vietnam and South Korea are driving the next wave of EV adoption.
• Laos bans imports of nearly all new gasoline and diesel passenger vehicles while expanding EV incentives and charging infrastructure.
• Wildfires continue to devastate parts of the northwestern United States.

• Australia reaches 500,000 home batteries and is installing roughly 2,000 more every day.
• Burying Austin's power lines would cost an estimated $50 billion.
• China's coal generation remains high, but electricity demand has grown even faster.
• 29 countries have now installed more than 10 GW of solar power.
• Solar supplied nearly 16% of Texas electricity in May.

The episode wraps up with a sobering look at what today's 1.4°C warmer world is already bringing—and why the decisions we make now will determine how much worse it becomes.

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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 to help first-time EV buyers make the switch to electric. Plus, we look at a major upgrade to one of Europe's most important pumped hydro energy storage facilities.

• Brian and James catch up on wildfire smoke, summer travel, storm insurance claims, and the latest heatwaves across Europe.
• The UK legalizes plug-in balcony solar systems, opening rooftop-free solar to renters and apartment residents while paving the way for plug-in home batteries. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/jul/23/uk-households-free-install-plug-in-balcony-solar-panels
• July 2026 is becoming one of the worst wildfire months ever recorded. We discuss the fires sweeping Canada and Europe, hear from Fire Weather author John Vaillant, and explain how climate-driven "weather whiplash" is fueling larger and more destructive megafires.
• Watch CBC Vancouver's full John Vaillant interview on Patreon for free: https://patreon.com/cleanenergypod
• California launches its new "My First EV" program, offering a $3,500 rebate to first-time electric vehicle buyers after the end of the U.S. federal EV tax credit. https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/electric-vehicles/california-rebate-ev-buyers

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Copyright 2026 Sneeze Media

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, former NOAA scientists resurrect U.S. climate data after government cuts.

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In this episode:

• Brian reports from Montreal.
• Honda unveils a $33,000 autonomous electric commercial lawnmower.
• Why Canada's wildfire seasons are becoming larger and more destructive.
• The surprising truth about lightning vs. human-caused wildfires.
• Smoke from Canadian fires impacts air quality across North America.
• Europe's heatwaves expose a long-standing reluctance to embrace air conditioning.
• Alberta plans to end seasonal clock changes.
• Why electric taxis in China now undercut the cost of driving a paid-off gasoline car.
• Former NOAA scientists launch Climate.us after Climate.gov disappears.

The Lightning Round

• Ukrainian attacks cripple over half of Russia's oil refining capacity.
• Most Americans now connect extreme weather with climate change.
• China's grid batteries can shift 21% of its solar generation.
• CATL prepares mass production of sodium-ion batteries.

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Copyright 2026 Sneeze Media.

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 mileage-based road tax for EVs. Plus, Brian records this episode from beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, at one of Canada's most sustainable hotels.

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• Brian records from Victoria's eco-friendly Inn at Laurel Point and its innovative ocean-water heat pump system.
• The IEA's latest Global EV Outlook shows electric vehicles continuing their rapid global growth since 2020.
• California wins another legal battle over cleaner commercial heating equipment.
• Practical ways to keep your home cooler during increasingly intense heat waves.
• Solar generates more U.S. electricity than coal for the first time ever.
• New York pilots home batteries that power window air conditioners while reducing peak electricity demand.

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Copyright 2026.

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's biggest clean energy and climate stories.

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In this episode:

• Delhi bans new gas rickshaws starting in 2027 and fossil fuel scooters and motorcycles in 2028 as it ramps up EV charging infrastructure.
• Great Britain approves its first new pumped hydro projects in 40 years, bringing long-duration energy storage back into the spotlight.
• Greece offers a bounty on invasive toxic puffer fish as warming seas reshape marine ecosystems.
• Why pumped hydro acts like a giant battery—and why it's becoming important again.

The Lightning Round

• Germany records thousands of excess deaths during the late-June heat wave.
• UK heatwave leaves millions struggling to sleep.
• U.S. car payments hit a record high.
• CATL rapidly expands battery swapping for heavy-duty trucks.
• More than 20 wind turbines damaged by extreme winds in South Dakota.
• What remains of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
• China's electric cargo ship fleet continues rapid growth.
• Pakistan's rooftop solar boom forces the cancellation of LNG imports.

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Copyright 2026 Sneeze Media

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 another deadly heat wave. We also look at innovative ways cities are adapting to extreme temperatures, including Paris' growing district cooling network powered by the Seine.

• Toyota's global sales decline continues, with the company citing high gasoline prices while EV sales jump 170% year-over-year.

• Five years after the deadly Pacific Northwest heat dome, we revisit the lessons learned and discuss what communities can do to better protect vulnerable people during extreme heat events.

• Europe's early summer heat wave may already have caused more than 1,300 excess deaths, according to the WHO.

• Why heat pumps are on track to outsell conventional air conditioners and why they may be the smartest cooling investment for homeowners.

• Paris is expanding its innovative district cooling system, using water from the Seine to help reduce electricity use and emissions while keeping buildings comfortable.

• Brian talks about the rammed earth Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and his rammed earth cottage delays.

• James shares a hospital story and an update involving solar panels and an insurance company that disappeared.

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Copyright 2026 Sneeze Media.

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. Plus, Paris slashes air pollution ahead of the Olympic Games, Italy unveils a plan to support clean energy and food security in Africa, and Ford opens EV sales to all of its dealerships.

In The Lightning Round: Canadian EV sales surge, solar power keeps breaking records, oil demand faces an uncertain future, Switzerland votes for more solar, and China's renewable energy investments reach staggering levels.

All that and more on this encore presentation of The Clean Energy Show.

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Contact Us

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Support The Clean Energy Show

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Copyright 2026 Sneeze Media.

James is recovering from surgery so here's a shortened version of last week's bonus episode for our Patreon supporters.

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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 hit his neighborhood. The conversation turns to insurance claims, climate change, and the growing financial impact of increasingly extreme weather events.

The guys also revisit China's auto market, where gasoline-only vehicles continue to lose ground. New sales data shows EVs, plug-in hybrids, and range-extended electric vehicles now dominate the country's best-selling models, highlighting how quickly the market is changing.

Staying with China, Brian and James discuss BYD's plans for Canada and the company's move to bring its ultra-fast flash-charging network north of the border. Could Canadian EV drivers soon see charging speeds that rival a gas station stop?

Finally, they head to Finland, where waste heat from Microsoft data centers is being captured and used to warm entire communities. It's a fascinating example of how creative energy solutions can turn a problem into a resource.

Plus: weather complaints, technology tangents, and the usual bonus-show chaos.

Thank you for supporting The Clean Energy Show through Patreon. Your support helps keep the show independent and growing.

Contact Us

[email protected] or leave us an online voicemail: http://speakpipe.com/clean

Support The Clean Energy Show

Join the Clean Club on our Patreon Page to receive perks for supporting the podcast and our planet!

Our PayPal Donate Page offers one-time or regular donations.

Store

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Copyright 2026 Sneeze Media.