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- Google Solar Power Deal 🌞, $145M for recycling tech ♻️, COP27 Preview🧑🏼💼
Google Solar Power Deal 🌞, $145M for recycling tech ♻️, COP27 Preview🧑🏼💼
Hi friends,
Happy Thursday! The past two weeks, I’ve been experimenting with curating links and debriefs. The climate economy is exploding and upending the transportation, energy, food, and industrial sectors. It’s A LOT to keep track of.
My goal for these debriefs is to keep informed on the most interesting stories in climate business 📈, tech 🚀, and policy 📜.
I’ll still be doing deep dives on climate tech solutions and trends like food waste ♻️, electric vehicles 🚎, and community solar ☀️.
Today’s debrief touches on COP27, Google Solar Power Deal, and $145M funding for recycling startups AMP Robotics and Samsara Eco.

Big Business 👩🏼💼
COP27 is expected to be marked by disagreements between industrialized nations and developing countries over who should pay for climate damage costs.
Industrialized nations are hesitant to commit to a specific way of paying for loss and damage out of fear that it could establish legal liability for causing climate damages. Developed countries will likely push hard for some form of compensation at COP27 given the increasing frequency and severity of climate disasters, says Climate Change Tracker.
The issue, referred to as "loss and damage" or "climate reparations," has been debated in UN talks for years.
Google agrees to buy 942 megawatts from SB Energy Global LLC as part of its push to eliminate emissions from its operations.
The electricity will come from four solar projects that are being built in Texas. Google agreed to buy 75% of the renewable energy produced from the facilities, which are expected to be operational by mid-2024.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but it's the largest solar deal from a single developer in the history of Google's solar deals. The deal is backed by SoftBank Group Corp.
Startups, Tech, & Funding 🚀
AMP Robotics has raised $91 million in corporate equity in a Series C financing, led by Congruent Ventures and Wellington Management.
AMP's latest funding will enhance manufacturing capacity to support a fleet of approximately 275 robots around the world and further the company's ongoing development of AI-enabled automation applications for recycling.
The recycling industry contributes nearly $117 billion to the U.S. economy, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. The global waste and recycling services market is expected to grow considerably in the coming years amid heightened consumer concern about the environmental impacts of waste.
Australian startup Samsara Eco has raised $54 million in Series A funding. It uses enzyme-based technology to break down plastic into its core molecules.
The company plans to build its first plastic recycling facility in Melbourne later this year. It says it will be able to infinitely recycle 20,000 tons of plastic starting in 2024.
The startup also plans to launch its first enzymatically recycled packaging in partnership with Woolworths Group next year, moving the company toward its goal of recycling 1.5 million tons per year by 2030.
Society & Policy 📄
The goal is to decrease use of the island’s oil-fired “peaker” plants, which contribute significant amounts of harmful air pollution.
The network will tap thousands of batteries during high-demand hours in the late afternoon and early evening, nearly every day of the year. Customers will also likely receive financial incentives for joining the Puerto Rico project, though it's too early to discuss specifics.
The 17-megawatt project is the only VPP project to come out of that initial solicitation round so far.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is allocating $6.8 million to Florida to fight post-disaster displacement following Hurricane Ian.
Florida will receive $3 million from the program, with the remaining $3.8 million divided between the seven localities impacted by Ian.
The funds are targeted to support the storm recovery process for residents experiencing homelessness, including those living in emergency shelters, transitional housing and those at risk of becoming permanently unhoused.
Adventure & Life 🏔
Connie Ehrlich, 63, has mobilized her wealth to fund a flurry of lawsuits and spearheaded a pressure group. She has spent $3m buying new plots of land, including a cemetery, on the fringes of the project.
Opponents say they are standing up to a newcomer that threatens to warp their pastoral way of life with Chinese-made technology.
The $1.5bn project is set to span an area almost as large as Manhattan and could have its goal of completion next year delayed because of the lawsuits.
Dive Deeper ⬇️
Demystifying Weather from Space
Aravind gives great detailed overviews of the Earth Observation space and major influence on my understanding of Climate Risk & Intelligence. This deep dive on weather satellites is fantastic.
Impact Alpha built an interactive, visual database that is tracking more than $200 billion in capital to more than 6,000 companies and organizations creating climate solutions. Spoiler alert: renewable energy leads the way, but distribution across other climate solutions is not as lopsided as expected.