The Dragon’s Backbone is composed of stacked ribbons of rice paddies that look like the ridges of the mythical creature.

Also called the Longsheng or Longji Rice Terraces, the captivating layers change colors with the seasons.

The terraced fields are built along the slope winding from the riverside up to the mountain top, between 600 to 800 metres above sea level.

A coiling terrace line that starts from the mountain foot up to the mountain top divides the mountain into layers of water in spring, layers of green rice shoots in summer, layers of rice in fall, and layers of frost in winter. The terraced fields were mostly built about 650 years ago.

Longji (Dragon’s Backbone) Terraced Rice Fields received their name because the rice terraces resemble a dragon’s scales, while the summit of the mountain range looks like the backbone of the dragon.

In early June, water is pumped over the rice paddies and young plants are transferred to the main terraces.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $25 million in funding to support increased research, development and demonstration of technologies that harness wave power to create electricity.

The funding supports eight projects that will make up the first round of open-water testing at the PacWave South test site off the Oregon coast.

These awards will strengthen wave energy technologies to accelerate their commercial viability and deploy them at scale to help decarbonize the grid and reach President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

The selected projects are part of the Water Power Technologies Office’s (WPTO) “Advancing Wave Energy Technologies through Open Water Testing at PacWave” funding opportunity to support wave energy technologies through research, development, and eventual deployment.

The Eight Projects Focuses On:

Testing wave energy converter designs for use in geographically remote areas or on small, local energy grids.

• CalWave Power Technologies Inc. (Oakland, CA): $7,500,000
• Columbia Power Technologies Inc. (Charlottesville, VA): $4,182,275
• Developing wave energy converter designs that can be connected to or disconnected from the electricity grid.
• Dehlsen Associates, LLC (Santa Barbara, CA): $1,800,000
• Oscilla Power Inc. (Seattle, WA): $1,800,000

Performing research and development at PacWave related to environmental monitoring technologies, instrumentation systems that operators use to control wave energy converters and other technologies.

• Integral Consulting (Seattle, WA): $379,329
• Littoral Power Systems, Inc. (New Bedford, MA): $3,976,401
• Portland State University (Portland, OR): $4,507,330
• University of Washington (Seattle, WA): $1,299,689

German multinational RWE has signed an agreement with the Danish Energy Agency to build what is claimed will be the largest offshore wind farm in Denmark.

RWE will build the Thor Offshore Wind Energy Farm in the Danish North Sea as part of efforts by the Danish government to speed up the decarbonisation of the country’s energy system.

The project will see an investment of up to $419.7 million and will add 1GW of clean electricity on the Danish grid for security and reduced emissions, according to a statement.

The energy produced by the plant will be able to power over 1 million Danish households. RWE says Thor Wind Farm will enable the company to achieve its goal of tripling its renewables capacity by 2030.

RWE is already involved in the Danish Rødsand 2 offshore wind farm just south of Lolland.

The UK government has committed £100 million ($134 million) to support the continued development of the Sizewell C nuclear project in Suffolk.

The funding aims to spur development by attracting further private sector investment, ensuring a Final Investment Decision is reached on at least one large-scale nuclear power station this parliament.

Once built, Sizewell C would power the equivalent of around 6 million homes, providing much-needed energy security for the region.

Business and Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said: “In light of high global gas prices, we need to ensure Britain’s future energy supply is bolstered by reliable, affordable, low carbon power that is generated in this country.

“New nuclear is not only an important part of our plans to ensure greater energy independence, but to create high-quality jobs and drive economic growth.”

The £100 million ($134 million) option fee will see the government obtain certain land rights of the Sizewell C site as well as EDF’s shares in the Sizewell C company. Final outcome concerning the assets will be decided upon whether or not a Final Investment Decision is reached.

Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF Energy, said: We’re very pleased that the government is showing its confidence in Sizewell C which, if approved, will lower energy costs for consumers and help to insulate the UK from global gas prices. Together with our own investment, these funds will allow us to continue to move the project towards a financial investment decision.”

According to EDF, Sizewell C will be a near replica of Hinkley Point C in Somerset, UK, a 3,200MWe nuclear power station with two EPR reactors.

In response to the announcement, the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) has released a statement emphasising the carbon savings delivered by nuclear power. According to their analysis, the UK’s existing nuclear stations have saved £110 billion ($147 billion) worth of carbon at current prices.

The figure is based on the 1.4 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions saved by the AGR stations and Sizewell B.

DLA Piper has signed a corporate power purchase agreement with NextEnergy Group for solar power from a new build solar farm in the UK

According to DLA Piper, this is the first time a law firm anywhere in the world will sign such a PPA, which is directly aligned with the company’s decarbonisation goal to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

The 13MW solar farm, to be built in Somerset, UK, covers 46 hectares and will supply DLA Piper’s 15 European and UK offices that are taking part in the project.

Environmental credits generated by the project, that exceed the direct power requirements of DLA Piper, will be used to decarbonise the law firm’s value chain.

Natasha Luther-Jones, DLA Piper’s International Head of Sustainability and ESG and Global Co-Chair Energy and Natural Resources, said: “We are the first law firm to enter into a corporate PPA so this project is a true statement of our ambition to be one of the most impactful business law firms for sustainability…”

Ross Grier, UK Managing Director of NextEnergy Capital, added: “The corporate PPA market continues to strengthen. Corporate PPAs will form an important component of the way companies seek to decarbonise over the next decade and it’s a pleasure being at the forefront of this with DLA Piper in the legal sector…”

Rural clean energy service provider Husk Power Systems has joined the United Nations’ Energy Compact and pledged to deploy 5,000 mini-grids across Africa and Asia to help improve access to electricity and affordable and clean services.

Husk Power Systems says it will establish 1 million connections, power 500,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as improve access to energy to some 11 million people in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The company will install some 500MW of rural commercial and industrial solar systems, sell 5 million energy-efficient appliances and avoid the emissions of 7 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as part of the pledge.

The World Bank states that up to $200 billion in investments is required to develop over 200,000 mini-grids to address energy poverty to over 500 million people. Today, only 19,000 mini-grids are in operation globally owing to the $5 billion in investment the sector has attracted.

Manoj Sinha, the CEO of Husk Power Systems said: “The mini-grid industry is starting to scale and is demonstrating significant socio-economic impact, but we still have a long way to go to reach our full potential.

“Our compact with the UN is intended to put forward a more ambitious vision not only for Husk but the entire mini-grid industry and by doing so, to mobilise a much higher level of climate finance and more supportive government regulation and policy.”

Organisations who sign the Energy Compact pledge to help advance the achievement of SDG7 that is calling for access to reliable, modern and clean energy for all.

The UN has pledged to collaborate with governments, energy companies and investors to create over 30 million jobs within the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors, increase energy access investments to $40 billion per annum and ensure 1 billion people have access to clean energy and clean cooking globally by 2025 as part of the Energy Compact.

Other organisations that have pledged to the Energy Compact include IRENA, GWEC, the World Bank and the International Energy Agency.