New Nonprofit Launches to Explore Cloud Thinning for Arctic Geoengineering

In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Fernand is moving northward toward Bermuda. In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Juliette is active about 520 miles southwest of Baja California, with sustained winds of up to 65 miles per hour. Meanwhile, temperatures in South Korea are exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

U.S. Court Blocks GE Vernova from Exiting Vineyard Wind Project

Nearly two weeks ago, Vineyard Wind filed a lawsuit against GE Vernova, its supplier, to prevent the company from exiting the offshore wind project off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. A U.S. court has now ordered GE Vernova to complete the project, stating that finding a new contractor to finish the installation would be “fanciful.”

GE Vernova had argued that Vineyard Wind—a 50/50 joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners—owed it $300 million for completed work. However, Vineyard Wind countered that GE Vernova still owes approximately $545 million to address a catastrophic turbine blade collapse in 2024, according to WBUR.

“The project is at a critical phase and the loss of [Vineyard Wind]’s principal contractor would set the project back immeasurably,” wrote Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Peter Krupp in his decision. “To pretend that [Vineyard Wind] could go out and hire one or more contractors to finish the installation and troubleshoot and modify [GE Renewables’] proprietary design without [GE Renewables’] specialized knowledge is fanciful.”

New Nonprofit Aims to Combat Arctic Warming Through Cloud Thinning

Climate scientist Charlotte DeWald is launching a new nonprofit, the Arctic Stabilization Initiative, to explore a unique approach to geoengineering the Arctic. DeWald, a former researcher at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, specializes in aerosol-cloud interactions and fears the world is approaching irreversible climate tipping points.

“We may be sleepwalking into tipping points beyond which the Earth’s natural carbon cycles will render climate change uncontrollable,” DeWald stated. “By the time we realize the consequences of an ice-free Arctic—expected as early as the 2030s—it may be too late to take drastic action.”

While much of the discussion around geoengineering focuses on stratospheric aerosol injections—spraying reflective particles to block sunlight—DeWald’s approach is different. Her nonprofit will investigate mixed-phase cloud thinning, a process similar to cloud seeding, to dissipate clouds and release trapped heat.

“The idea is that you could dissipate clouds over the Arctic to release heat from the surface, for example, to increase sea ice extent, thickness, or integrity,” DeWald explained. “Early modeling suggests this could yield significant cooling over the Arctic Ocean.”