Carrier, the company that invented air conditioning, is now adding batteries to its HVAC systems to help stabilize the grid. James compares clean energy progress in Heilongjiang, China, to the situation in Saskatchewan, Canada, where coal is sticking around until 2050. Meanwhile, developing nations may be scaling back their attendance at COP30 in Brazil due to soaring hotel prices in the Amazon.
We also dig into listener mail, including a detailed correction on hydrogen vs. SMR math, new EV charging options from Grizzl-E, heat pump dryer experiences, Scandinavian crime drama recommendations, and whether James should just fill his house with snake plants instead of an air purifier. Plus, Glenn Wright weighs in on forests, carbon sinks, and net-zero.
In the Lightning Round:
U.S. nuclear license extensions in Wisconsin
France planning a 1.5 GW offshore wind farm
The U.S. DOE reportedly banning "climate change" from its vocabulary
Renewables beating new nuclear ten to one for climate mitigation
China's clean energy dominance in solar, batteries, and wind
Morocco sending solar power to Germany
Europe backing African renewables
A new sodium-ion battery installation in Switzerland
And just how many solar panels China installs every second
Links to stories we covered:
Carrier batteries for air conditioners (Canary Media): https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/batteries/carrier-air-conditioning-help-grid
Heilongjiang clean energy projects (China green hydrogen & e-methanol): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-29/nations-rethink-plans-for-brazil-climate-summit-as-costs-soar?srnd=phx-green
COP30 hotel crunch (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-29/nations-rethink-plans-for-brazil-climate-summit-as-costs-soar?srnd=phx-green
Grizzl-E EV Club: https://grizzl-e.com/ca/ | https://club.grizzl-e.com/ | https://youtu.be/SH7fItzcFbQ
Antarctica wind project: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations-and-field-locations/amenities-and-operations/renewable-energy/wind-power
IEA on rising AC demand: https://iea.li/48AjJAc
Morocco–Germany undersea solar cable (CleanTechnica): https://cleantechnica.com
EU renewables in Africa (Bloomberg): https://bloomberg.com
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