Weekly Solarpunk, of 05 June: Wealth and Climate Plan, Plant-Based Burgers Win, Australia Gas Decline, Offshore Solar Tradeoffs

Weekly Solarpunk for 05 June follows 6 future-facing stories and member reactions, including Wealth and Climate Plan, Plant-Based Burgers Win, Australia Gas Decline, Offshore Solar Tradeoffs. 1. Wealth and Climate Plan Thomas Piketty's new plan argues that a decent, lower-carbon life for most people is achievable through large-scale redistribution and new global institutions meant to tackle inequality and climate breakdown together. According to the linked Guardian essay and the report it points to, the proposal includes steep taxes on extreme wealth and a Global Justice Fund, but in this thread the plan is discussed more as a political blueprint than as proven policy. Source link 2. Plant-Based Burgers Win Vegan burger patties reportedly outperformed beef patties in a head-to-head consumer test in Germany, turning a food-quality comparison into a bigger argument about how fast plant-based substitutes are improving. According to Vegan Horizon’s summary of the Stiftung Warentest test, seven of ten vegan patties rated good versus three of ten beef patties, with the vegan options also described as cheaper, leaner, and free of the bacterial contamination found in some beef samples. Source link 3. Australia Gas Decline Australia's gas use has peaked and entered what a new report describes as structural decline. According to the Guardian's summary of a Grattan Institute report, residential gas use peaked in 2020, gas-fired electricity demand is down 11 percent since 2014, manufacturing use has been falling since the early 2000s, and LNG exports likely peaked in 2022. Source link 4. Offshore Solar Tradeoffs An ocean-based solar farm in Taiwan is reportedly outperforming land-based solar installations. According to the New Scientist report linked in the post, the appeal is straightforward: offshore space can be vast, even if the thread itself does not provide much technical detail beyond the headline claim. Source link 5. Iron Flow Batteries Nighthawk in Light's new video explores electrochemically producing iron from magnetite and using a similar setup as a low-tech iron flow battery. According to the video and the post description, the appeal is that this approach could cut the energy use and emissions associated with coal- or charcoal-based iron smelting, but those broader claims are still mostly presented as a promising demonstration rather than settled evidence. Source link 6. Welsh Solar Biodiversity A 57 megawatt solar and storage project in Wales has been approved with a promise to power about 27,000 homes while delivering a claimed 64 percent biodiversity net gain. According to the linked industry report, the project is being presented as a case where new renewable infrastructure and habitat restoration can be planned together, though the post itself says the real test is whether those gains are delivered in practice. Source link That's it for today.