The year is off to a fast start in the energy and sustainability world, and Environment+Energy Leader readers have shown a few topics that are trending, from hydrogen advances to government regulations and involvement.
Those topics comprised four of the top five stories at E+E Leader for January 2024. However, while the overall topic of those articles may have been similar, there was much more to each with a deeper look into the material.
To round out the top stories on the site for the first month of the year, Starbucks got noticed for an initiative to allow reusable cups at all locations in the United States and Canada, across ordering platforms.
Here is a look at what E+E Leader readers turned to the most to begin 2024:
Plug Power Commences Green Hydrogen Production at Georgia Facility
Hydrogen is set to be a key component in clean energy transitions over the coming year and beyond, and Plug Power got a piece of that puzzle off of the ground.
The hydrogen and fuel cell company began work at the U.S. facility that can produce 15 tons of liquid hydrogen a day. The plant in Woodbine, Georgia, is said to be the largest liquid green hydrogen facility in the country, and it also contains the largest PEM electrolyzer deployment.
EU Parliament Adopts New Greenwashing Law for Product Labeling
Greenwashing regulations and lawsuits are only going to become more common as sustainable practices and strategies grow across industries. The European Union is among the first government bodies to get official greenwashing rules in order.
These recent regulations will enforce clear, trustworthy product labeling for consumers, banning the use of generalized environmental wording such as “environmentally friendly,” “natural,” or “biodegradable” without adequate proof. Such sustainability labeling will now have to follow official certification schemes established by public authorities. They also ban claims that a product has a neutral, reduced, or positive impact on the environment from emissions offsetting programs.
Starbucks Now Accepting Reusable Cups in Stores, Drive-Throughs, and Mobile Orders
The coffee giant moved to allow customers to use reusable cups in all company-operated and participating licensed Starbucks stores across the United States and Canada. Customers can use their own cups when ordering in a cafe, in the drive-through, or when ordering ahead with a mobile app as Starbucks aims to reduce its waste by 50% through 2030.
The company said it is the first national coffee chain in the United States to offer customers the ability to use their own cups when mobile ordering.
Caterpillar Demonstrates Hydrogen Backup Power Supply for Data Centers
In another expanded use of Hydrogen, Caterpillar said it successfully demonstrated the use of hydrogen fuel cells to provide backup power at energy-intensive data centers.
The company used the 1.5-megawatt fuel cell at a Microsoft data center in Wyoming, and the project was able to show the hydrogen fuel cell’s abilities in an extreme environment as the demonstration took place at 6,000 feet above sea level and in below-freezing temperatures.
Supreme Court Case May Limit Environmental Energy Agency Power
In what could be a landmark case, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments on a 40-year-old case that could have numerous implications for government regulations.
The decades-old doctrine is called the Chevron deference. A decision could impact how much government say is allowed in decarbonization matters, which supporters say is necessary to make such progress. Opponents say the rule encourages overregulation.
