Opinion:
¶ “A Beach Town’s Dilemma: Protect Homes or Save the Shore?” The sandy beach in front of homes in the north San Diego County town of Del Mar is shrinking, and the high tide is edging closer. A report to the town says seas will rise 5 to 12 inches by 2030, and 1 to 2 feet by 2050. None of the options addressing this is ideal. [Scientific American]
California Beach (Credit: Tim Buss Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Science and Technology:
¶ More than 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics have been produced by humans since large-scale production began back in the 1950s, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances. The bulk of this is now litter, micro-plastics pollution, or buried in landfills. As of 2015, 9% of the plastics made was recycled, and 12% incinerated. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Heat waves generated by global warming could ground nearly a third of flights during the hottest days, forcing carriers to jettison cargo in order to take off, according to a study in this month’s Climatic Change. Cargo stalwarts, such as the Boeing 777-300, are expected to experience the greatest impact, due to their size. [Air Cargo World]
Boeing 777-300 (Photo: Terence Ong, Wikimedia Commons)
World:
¶ A group of businesses and investors have written to Prime Minister Theresa May, urging her to raise the UK’s ambitions. The group represents thousands of companies with hundreds of billions in revenue, and hundreds of investors managing assets worth more than £19 trillion. The letter is a clarion call from the UK business sector. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Under Brexit, UK Farm subsidies, which total £3 billion, will have to be earned rather than just handed out, the Environment Secretary said in a speech. Farmers will only get payouts if they agree to protect the environment and enhance rural life. Under the current EU policy, farmers are paid based on the amount of land they farm. [BBC]
Farm in the UK (Getty Images)
¶ With the Tolo 1 wind project, Siemens Gamesa secured its first order in Indonesia for the gearless SWT-3.6-130 wind turbines. The onshore wind project is being developed by Equis Energy, the largest renewable energy independent power producer in the Asia-Pacific region. It will be installed by late 2017, and it is to be commissioned in early 2018. [PennEnergy]
¶ Vattenfall is to inaugurate the 288-MW Sandbank wind farm off Germany with a public barbecue in Hamburg. Offshore construction at the project, located 90km west of the island of Sylt, began in June 2015. MPI jack-up Adventure wrapped up installation of the project’s 72 Siemens 4-MW turbines three months ahead of schedule. [reNews]
MPI Adventure (Photo: Wikipedia)
¶ Asset management group BlackRock has taken its Renewable Income UK fund up to £1.1 billion ($1.43 billion), making it one of the largest single investments in renewable energy. The fundraiser, for its third reopening, secured an additional £475 million, building on the £600 million already invested in 40 UK wind and solar projects. [PV-Tech]
¶ Hanwha Q CELLS has signed an MOU with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to build an 80-MW rotating floating solar project on a reservoir in South Korea, which would be the largest of its type in the world. Recently, China completed the largest floating solar project in the world, at 40 MW, and it has a 70-MW project under way. [PV-Tech]
At 40 MW, the world’s largest floating solar project
¶ The discovery of apparent icicle-shaped melted nuclear fuel within a reactor at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant could be an important first step toward decommissioning the facility. Images taken by a submersible robot under the pressure vessel of the No 3 reactor showed what appeared to be fuel debris. [Asahi Shimbun]
¶ Infrastructure investment group Foresight has snapped up a consented 10-MW Nevendon battery storage project in the UK. Construction work will start immediately with full commissioning in the first quarter of next year. Foresight acquired the project just one month after its acquisition of the 35-MW Port of Tyne storage project. [reNews]
A Foresight solar array (Foresight image)
US:
¶ The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has issued its first approval of an offshore wind Site Assessment Plan to the Bay State Wind offshore wind farm being developed by DONG Energy and Eversource Energy. The area off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, that has the potential for at least 2 GW of capacity. [CleanTechnica]
¶ New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans to rebuild 78 miles of power transmission infrastructure in the North Country. It will help New York meet the Governor’s Clean Energy Standard that mandates that 50% of the state’s consumed electricity comes from renewable energy sources like wind and solar by 2030. [LongIsland.com]
Transmission lines (Photo: blickpixel)
¶ There are now 60 solar panels on the roof of the HooDoo Brewing Company in Fairbanks, Alaska. They are the first installed at any brewery in the state. HooDoo’s owner said brewing beer is an energy intensive business, as cooling the beer is a major energy expense. The solar panels has cut the energy bill by a third. [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner]
¶ A scientist accused the Trump administration of demoting him for speaking out about climate change. Joel Clement was the former director of the Interior Department’s Office of Policy Analysis under the Obama administration and advised on Arctic issues. He was recently reassigned to work in an “accounting office.” [The Weather Channel]
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