Opinion:
¶ “The long history of solar power” • Socrates believed that the ideal house should be warm in winter and cool in summer. At the time, such a desire was easier to state than to achieve. Even so, many pre-modern civilizations did design buildings to capture sunlight from the low-hanging winter sun, while maximizing shade in the summer. [BBC]
White buildings in Santorini, Greece (Getty Images)
¶ “Autopilot Isn’t The Issue. Drowsy Driving Is” • The CDC said, “Falling asleep at the wheel is clearly dangerous, but being sleepy affects your ability to drive safely even if you don’t fall asleep.” And a report from the Governors Highway Safety Association says an estimated 5,000 people died in 2015 in crashes that involved drowsy driving. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “EV Boom In Norway Is A ‘Smug National Fraud’ According To RT” • How’s this headline? “Norway’s electric car miracle is a smug national fraud built on subsidizing rich people with Teslas.” Does that sound like something inspired by groups inspired by Koch Industries? It’s not. It’s actually from RT, a propaganda arm of the Russian government. [CleanTechnica]
Road in Norway (Credit: Norwegian Electric Car Association)
¶ “Energy Storage And Extreme Weather” • Hurricanes are not the only natural disasters out there. In California, engineers have created buildings that can withstand earthquakes. For all those communities that can fall victim to natural disasters, we need to consider energy storage, and that is one thing behind a boom in energy storage. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Sweden’s Highest Peak Is Not The Highest Anymore – And You Can Blame Climate Change For That” • Sweden’s tallest mountain has lost its title, scientists confirmed, and climate change is to blame. Rising temperatures have been melting the glacier covering Kebnekaise’s southern peak, and it has decreased by an alarming 24 meters over 50 years. [CNN]
Kebnekaise Mountain (Stock)
¶ “Japan May Have To Dump Radioactive Fukushima Water Into The Ocean Because It’s Out Of Storage Space” • Eight years after Japan’s worst nuclear disaster, the government is not sure what to do with the contaminated water that remains. The Japanese environment minister says dumping it into the ocean might be the only choice. [CNN]
¶ “Renewable Energy Investment Heads To Abbott-Era Lows, As Policy Void Takes Hold” • A major briefing paper from the Clean Energy Council shows quarterly financial commitments in new renewable energy projects fell to less than 800 MW in each of the first two quarters of 2019, from a high of more than 4500 MW in late 2018. [RenewEconomy]
Wind turbines
¶ “Neoen Unveils 2.7 GW Hybrid Giant In Oz” • Renewables developer Neoen is planning to build a hybrid wind, solar and energy storage facility in South Australia with a combined capacity of 2700 MW. The Goyden South project aims to deliver 1.2 GW of wind power, 600 MW of solar and 900 MW of energy storage capacity. [reNEWS]
¶ “Engie Chile To Supply 100% Renewable Power To BCI Bank” • Engie Energia Chile SA signed an agreement to supply 100% renewable power to Chilean bank Banco de Credito e Inversiones SA. BCI has said it is committed to buying electricity from 100% renewable resources as part of a move to be carbon neutral by 2025. [Renewables Now]
Wind farm in Chile (Diego Correa)
UK:
¶ “Bristol Airport Claims 100% Renewable Electricity Supply” • Bristol Airport has switched to a 100% renewable electricity supply of its on-ground operations, it said. It signed a three-year agreement with global renewable energy supplier Ørsted. The airport’s annual electricity use of 17 million kWh will be entirely from renewable sources. [Travel Weekly UK]
¶ “44% renewable energy record welcomed by SONI” • System Operator Northern Ireland welcomed news that 44% of Northern Ireland electricity consumption was generated by renewable sources in the 12 months to June 2019. The figure easily beats Northern Ireland’s renewable target of 40%, a year ahead of its 2020 deadline. [Farming Life]
Wind turbine (Kevin McAuley | McAuley Multimedia)
¶ “Natural Power Hits Scots Wind Treble” • Natural Power, a renewables consultancy, has helped to secure planning consents relating to three wind farms located in south-west Scotland. The approvals from Dumfries and Galloway Council include one for a wind farm near Lockerbie and another near Sanquhar, each with nine turbines. [reNEWS]
US:
¶ “Sonoma County Airport Going 100% Renewable Energy In 2020 With Parking Lot Solar Canopy” • Charles M Schulz-Sonoma County Airport is going solar, joining a growing number of commercial airfields across the country that are putting up PVs and plugging into green energy to reduce both power costs and emissions. [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
Proposed solar system over parking (ForeFront Power)
¶ “Los Angeles Says “Yes” To The Cheapest Solar Plus Storage In The USA” • Los Angeles’ municipal utility voted 5-0 to approve a 25-year contract with 8minute Solar Energy for a 400-MW solar plus 300-MW / 1.2-GWh energy storage facility. The aggregate price of the electricity from the project, with adders, came to 3.962¢/kWh. [pv magazine USA]
¶ “Fayetteville Turns To Renewable Energy With Wastewater Treatment Plant Solar Arrays” • The city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, is investing in renewable energy to power two of the its wastewater treatment plants. The city will buy energy from three local solar farms. The move is expected to save it approximately $180,000 per year. [5newsonline.com]
Have a usefully dreamy day.
geoharvey 