Episode Ep 312 May 20, 2026 39 min 35s

Rogue Solar Bigger than the Grid

From The Clean Energy Show James Whittingham and Brian Stockton

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, bats vs. wind turbines, EV sales exploding in Canada, China's battery charging buildout, and why hailstorms are becoming a major challenge for solar farms.

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Topics this week include:

Pakistan's massive solar "shadow grid" now bigger than the official grid - end of show!
Trump-era coal plant extensions costing hundreds of millions
Coal pollution reducing global solar output
Inuit-owned hydro project cuts Arctic diesel use by 80%
Researchers study how bats interact with wind turbines
OPEC instability and what oil prices mean for the energy transition
DOJ investigates emissions-tuning car app data
BYD rapidly expanding ultra-fast charging stations
Denmark hits nearly 82% EV sales
Texas adding 12.9 GW of grid batteries this year
Renewables overtake natural gas on the U.S. grid for the first time
Hailstorms become the top cause of solar insurance losses
XPeng predicts Level 5 self-driving by 2030

The Lightning Round covers drone strikes on nuclear infrastructure, floating solar over manure lagoons, sodium batteries, Ukraine targeting Russian oil infrastructure, and more.

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