Weekend Roundup: China gets RE base in Laos, California wants companies to disclose emissions, and more

China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) has signed an agreement to develop a renewable energy base in Laos. In a statement, CGN said the base would incorporate wind, solar, hydro and energy storage capacities. The base would be located in the northern part of Laos, and power generated will be fed into an existing cross-border power line connects the land-locked nation with China's Yunnan province. The two countries also agreed to construct a second 500kV line for power transfer between the two nations.

China will expand its use of geothermal energy while increasing the scale of solar and wind projects, the country's Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing announced. Sinopec, a state-owned oil company, said it would add 75 million square meters of geothermal heating areas, almost doubling its existing 85 million square meters. It is targeting 160 million square meters by the end of 2025. Chinese authorities are targeting a 50 percent increase in geothermal heating area by 2025 compared to 2020 levels.

California could make it mandatory for large companies to disclose their carbon footprints, with Governor Gavin Newsom saying he would sign a bill passed by the state senate requiring such disclosures. The bill requires companies earning over $1 billion a year and operating in California to measure and report Scope 3 emissions, which cover emissions from direct and indirect operations as well as supply chains and end-users. Meanwhile, the state filed suit against oil majors ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and ConocoPhillips, alleging they hid the harmful effect of fossil fuels.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build a factory in his country, joining France, India, Indonesia and other nations wooing the EV maker. Erdogan, who is in the US for the UN General Assembly meeting, met Musk at Turkish House, a skyscraper near the UN building in New York. Tesla has six factories worldwide, and is building a seventh in Mexico. An eighth is likely to be announced by end of this year, Musk has said. He had expressed building a plant in India when he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.