This week’s Current Climate news features a cautionary tale about the risks of investing in the burgeoning green hydrogen industry. Rhino Onward International (ROI) launched in 2022 with big promises of building a green hydrogen plant in Arizona worth $530 million within five years. However, an investor lawsuit alleges that the company’s promoters, Paul Croft and J.D. Frost, diverted the majority of the $31 million raised from over 200 investors to themselves and entities they control. The investigation reveals that the pair raised approximately $46 million through phony renewable investment schemes, leaving many investors, including former Croft & Frost clients, with significant losses.
In Las Vegas, billionaire Wes Edens and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg celebrated the start of construction on Brightline West, the first private high-speed railway in the U.S. The $12 billion project, three years behind schedule due to the pandemic and environmental approvals, aims to transport passengers at 200 miles per hour from Las Vegas to Southern California in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Edens expressed confidence in the project’s timeline, emphasizing the long-term positive impact of the high-speed railway on transportation infrastructure and potential for future expansion to additional routes.
Sunrun CEO Mary Powell shares insights on using solar and battery technology to alleviate strain on the overtaxed U.S. energy grid. Powell highlights the inefficiencies of the current grid, emphasizing the slow pace of utility-scale solar and wind projects compared to smaller-scale residential installations. Powell’s shift from utility executive to solar power company leader was driven by a vision of building a cost-effective and reliable grid of the future through decentralized, on-site generation. Powell also addresses the challenges of bureaucracy in the U.S. solar industry, advocating for streamlined processes to accelerate solar adoption and reduce costs for consumers.
In other sustainability news, Nobel Prize-winning economist proposes taxing the rich to protect the poor from climate change, Honda and Toyota commit billions to North American EV and battery plants, carbon dioxide levels reach a new milestone, California unveils plans to harness more than half of its land to combat climate change, and Asia experiences a scorching heat wave affecting millions. The Biden Administration cracks down on pollution from coal-burning power plants and new research challenges long-held beliefs about wolves’ role in Yellowstone Park’s ecosystem. Additionally, ongoing efforts to clean up pollution in a Kentucky town are scrutinized for their effectiveness.
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