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Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store gives a speech during the Autumn 2024 conference of Equinor, a Norwegian multinational energy company, in Oslo, Norway on November 26, 2024.

Thomas Fure | Afp | Getty Images

Norway has shelved plans to open a vast ocean area at the bottom of the Arctic for commercial-scale deep-sea mining.

The decision, which was confirmed late Sunday, comes after the country’s Socialist Left Party said it would not support the minority government’s budget unless it dropped the first licensing round for mineral activities, initially scheduled for the first half of next year.

Environmental campaigners welcomed the agreement as a “huge win” and “a monumental victory for the ocean.”

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre described the move as a “postponement,” Reuters reported Sunday, citing comments delivered to private broadcaster TV2.

Støre leads Norway’s center-left Labor Party, which is the senior party in a minority government coalition with the Center Party.

“Our policy is unchanged. The budget agreement is a political compromise that does not affect the legal foundation or strategy for seabed minerals,” Astrid Bergmål, state secretary at Norway’s energy ministry, told CNBC via email.

“The agreement means that the first licensing round can be announced in the next parliamentary term. Until then, we will use that time to continue research and finalize regulations,” Bergmål said.

The planned licensing round only applies to exploration activities, Bergmål added, noting that “it must be shown that the proposed exploitation can take place in a sustainable and responsible manner” before any such work can begin.

Norway has controversially taken a leading role in the process of extracting minerals from the seabed, putting the country at odds with the likes of Germany, Britain, Canada and Mexico, which have all called for a halt to deep-sea mining amid environmental concerns.

The practice of deep-sea mining involves using heavy machinery to remove minerals and metals — such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese — from the seabed, where they build up as potato-sized nodules.

The end-use of these minerals are wide-ranging and include electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar panels.

Scientists have warned that the full environmental impacts of deep-sea mining are hard to predict.

Environmental campaign groups, meanwhile, say the practice cannot be done sustainably and will inevitably lead to ecosystem destruction and species extinction.

Two posters on the wall asking to “stop sea mining” exploration of the deep sea during day two of Glastonbury Festival 2024 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 27, 2024 in Glastonbury, England.

Luke Brennan | Redferns | Getty Images

In a parliamentary vote in January, Norwegian lawmakers voted to open an expansive area of the Arctic — equivalent to the size of Italy — for the exploration of deep-sea mining. It paved the way for companies to apply to mine in the country’s national waters near the Svalbard archipelago.

Norway’s government said in June that it would start the first licensing round, with the aim of granting the first exploitation licenses early next year.

Sunday’s postponement, however, means government parties have agreed to stop the first licensing round from taking place until the end of next year. Norway is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections in September 2025.

‘Truly embarrassing’

Norway’s government has previously defended its plans to move forward with deep-sea mining, saying it reflects a necessary step into the unknown that could help to break China and Russia’s rare earths dominance.

“Any government that is committed to sustainable ocean management cannot support deep sea mining,” Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle, deep-sea mining campaigner at Greenpeace Nordic, said in a statement.

“It has been truly embarrassing to watch Norway positioning itself as an ocean leader, while planning to give green light to ocean destruction in its own waters,” Helle said.

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Trump’s latest offshore wind cancellation is a threat to the grid – ISO New England

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Trump's latest offshore wind cancellation is a threat to the grid – ISO New England

Trump’s Interior Department halted construction on 704 megawatt (MW) Revolution Wind, the US’s first multi-state offshore wind project that’s already 80% complete. Grid operator ISO New England says the decision is a threat to the grid.

ISO New England released a statement responding to the stop-work order, warning that “delaying the project will increase risks to reliability.”:

As demand for electricity grows, New England must maintain and add to its energy infrastructure. Unpredictable risks and threats to resources – regardless of technology – that have made significant capital investments, secured necessary permits, and are close to completion will stifle future investments, increase costs to consumers, and undermine the power grid’s reliability and the region’s economy now and in the future.

Revolution Wind, a joint development between Ørsted and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, is a 65-turbine project capable of powering around 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut once it’s complete. It was expected to come online next year. The project has created more than 1,200 jobs.

On August 22, the director of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management sent a vague letter to Ørsted commanding it to halt all activities on the fully permitted Revolution Wind, citing “national security interests,” yet providing no details.

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BOEM’s Record of Decision for Revolution Wind, reported in 2023 in Section 4.6, page 185, states that the national security effects of the project would be “negligible and avoidable.”

This latest move echoes Trump’s cancellation in April of New York’s $5 billion Empire Wind 1 project, which was already under construction off New York’s coast. No viable reasons were given for that stop-work order either, and the cancellation was reversed in May.

Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), released the following statement in response to the Revolution Wind order:

The Trump administration’s war on the electricity needed to power the grid continues on all fronts. Halting Revolution Wind is a devastating attack on workers, on electricity customers, and on the investment climate in the US.

New England homeowners will feel this when they tear open their electricity bills and look at the surging costs of keeping the lights on.

This administration has it exactly backwards. It’s trying to prop up clunky, polluting coal plants while doing all it can to halt the fastest growing energy sources of the future – solar and wind power.

It makes no sense to say we have an energy emergency and then make decisions like this. Unfortunately, every American is paying the price for these misguided actions.

Read more: Trump reversal revives Empire Wind, NY’s offshore energy giant


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Tesla teases new product release on Friday

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Tesla teases new product release on Friday

Tesla is teasing a new product release on Friday, August 29th, coming to Europe and the Middle East. It’s likely going to be the Model Y Performance.

On X today, Tesla has teased an upcoming product release coming this friday.

The post is cryptic. It only mentions ‘spoiler alert’ and the date August 29 with what looks like a close up of a vehicle with what appears to be a spoil – hence the “spoiler alert” reference:

There are main suspect is the Model Y Performance due to the spoiler reference.

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Since the Model Y refresh in January, Tesla stopped selling the Model Y Performance. It is due to launch the top performance version under the new design.

When Tesla released the Model 3 refresh in 2024, it took about 4 months for Tesla to launch the new performance version.

Electrek’s Take

The only thing that I find strange with this likely being the Model Y Performance is the fact that they tweeted this from the Europe and Middle East account.

It would be strange for the Model Y Performance to launch there first, but who knows. Maybe Tesla started production at Gigafactory Berlin first.

I don’t think this will have a major impact on Tesla’s business. The Model Y Performance is the least popular version of the best-selling Model Y.

We don’t have the full mix of sales, but I wouldn’t be suprised if it represents less than 10% of Tesla’s Model Y deliveries.

The Model 3 Performance is probably a more popular option within the Model 3 lineup as it is a lot more fun to drive.

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Genesis GV60 Magma EV sheds camo, revealing a radical new look [Video]

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Genesis GV60 Magma EV sheds camo, revealing a radical new look [Video]

The GV60 Magma will have a distinct look and feel compared to other Genesis vehicles. As the first EV from its new performance sub-brand, the Genesis GV60 Magma will debut with enhanced power, advanced suspension, a sporty new design, and more. For the first time, it was caught on video racing around the Nürburgring, giving us our closest look yet.

Genesis GV60 Magma EV flexes new style at Nürburgring

We got our first look at the new Magma models last March at the NY Auto Show alongside the full-size Neolun concept.

Magma is “the brand’s expansion into the realm of high-performance vehicles,” Genesis boasted. Among the first vehicles to earn a Magma upgrade is the GV60.

Genesis fine-tuned the electric crossover SUV, giving it a wider and lower stance for improved control. The larger lower air intake contributes to the aggressive new look, while also serving to cool the batteries and motor, both of which have been upgraded for enhanced performance.

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Earlier this year, we got a good look at the GV60 Magma during winter testing in Europe. Although you could see a few new design features, it was mostly covered in camo.

Genesis-GV60-Magma-Porsche
Genesis GV60 Magma testing with other Magma vehicles (Source: Genesis)

After it was recently spotted with less camo at the Nürburgring race track in Germany, we are getting an even better idea of what to expect when it arrives.

The video from CarSpyMedia shows the Genesis GV60 Magma EV with a production body and minimal camouflage.

You can see the high-performance vehicle flexing its power and handling as it rips around the track. Like other Hyundai Motor performance EVs, including the new IONIQ 6 N, you can expect the Genesis GV60 Magma to deliver over 600 horsepower, if not closer to 700.

The current Genesis GV60 Performance delivers up to 429 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, good for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds.

Horsepower 0 to 60 mph
(seconds)
Starting Price
Genesis GV60 Performance 429 3.7 $69,900
Genesis GV60 Magma ? ? ?
Porsche Taycan 402 4.5 $99,400
Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
(with Weissach Package)
1,092 2.1 $230,000
Tesla Model S Plaid 1,020 1.99 $89,990
Genesis GV60 Magma vs Porsche Taycan vs Tesla Model S Plaid

Genesis will launch the GV60 Magma EV later this year in Korea, followed by the US, Europe, and other global markets. We will learn prices and final specs closer to launch, but given the Performance models start at $69,900, you can expect a higher starting price tag, likely closer to $75,000.

At that it would be significantly less than the Porsche Taycan Turbo and Tesla Model S Plaid. Will it match the performance?

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