With its energy grid under fire, some in Ukraine turn to small-scale renewables

The hospital that serves the small village of Horenka, just outside Kyiv, has dealt with many challenges since Russia’s invasion began — including a missile strike, followed by power outages and rolling blackouts affecting medical care for several months. That changed in the first week of February when the hospital turned on its new solar panel system. It now runs reliably on renewable energy and a heat pump, an eco-friendly alternative to traditional heating methods.

Cheap and green: Heat pumps take hold around the world

2022 was a big year for the humble heat pump. In the U.S., more people bought heat pumps for their homes than traditional fossil-fuel furnaces. In Poland, the market for heat pumps more than doubled. China is installing more than any other country. Based on refrigeration technology that’s more than 200 years old, the heating contraptions have gained popularity thanks to their green footprint and low cost to operate. “After maybe buying an electric vehicle or taking the bus more often or carpo

Seeking motivated voters, an environment-focused nonprofit turns to red states

A nonprofit that looks to persuade people to vote with climate in mind has a new target: red states. The Environmental Voter Project, which has worked since 2015 to rally voters around clean energy concerns, said Thursday that they are expanding their efforts into Louisiana and Nebraska, as well as a handful of purple states. The move comes as climate change has become a bigger issue in U.S. politics, even if it remains split along party lines in terms of how the federal government should act.

As Ukraine plans its recovery, a climate group has a seat at the table

When world leaders and international experts met Tuesday to discuss how to rebuild Ukraine, they were joined by a small group hoping to make a big impact on the country’s energy future. Alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was Svitlana Romanko, an environmental lawyer and founder of Razom We Stand, a Ukrainian climate advocacy group that is pushing for the Ukrainian government to “greenify” the nation’s reconstruction.