China May Help with Renewables in Ultra Cold Climates

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.

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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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