geoharvey

Science and Technology:

¶ “Agrivoltaics: Growing Plants, Power, And Partnerships” • Both solar developers and those in the local community who care for the land – whether as farmland, rangeland, or native habitats – can benefit from agrivoltaics. And when all sides understand how they can benefit each other, low-impact solar development becomes easier. [CleanTechnica]

Agrivoltaic farming (Werner Slocum, NREL)

World:

¶ “Wildfires Rage As China’s Chongqing Suffers Unrelenting Record Heat Wave” • Thousands of emergency responders are battling to contain fast-spreading wildfires in Chongqing, in China’s Southwest, amid a weeks-long, record heat wave in the region. An expert said the fires were the result of “spontaneous combustion” due to extreme heat. [CNN]

¶ “Scotland’s Biggest Offshore Wind Farm To Generate First Power” • Scotland’s biggest offshore wind farm has begun generating power. Seagreen, which is about 27 km (17 miles) off the Angus coast in the North Sea, has been in development for more than a decade. When fully operational, its 114 turbines will generate 1.1 GW of power. [BBC]

Seagreen wind farm (SSE Renewables image)

¶ “Report Details Two Major Air Pollutants And Related Health Impacts In More Than 7,000 Cities” • A report released by Health Effects Institute’s State of Global Air Initiative, provides detailed analysis of air pollution and global health impacts for more than 7,000 cities around the world. It focuses on PM2.5 particulates and nitrogen dioxide. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Europe Solaris Project Will Explore Space-Based Solar Power” • The brutal war of aggression in Ukraine has caused Europe to search for alternatives to fossil fuels from Russia. One option might be space-based solar power – a system of solar panels in geosynchronous orbit that would transit abundant electricity down to the Earth below. [CleanTechnica]

Space based solar power (NASA, public domain)

¶ “Energy Crunch In Belgium Drives Spike In Demand For Renewable Energy Cooperatives” • Belgian cooperatives, which rely on their own production rather than buying from volatile markets, have seen a huge spike in demand as the energy crunch has hit consumers. Household membership can mean paying half as much for electricity. [EURACTIV.com]

¶ “UK Green Lights €35 Billion Nuclear Plant” • The outgoing UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has given approval to construct two new nuclear reactors, known as Sizewell C, in England. The political green light will probably make it possible to raise private funding for the project, which is expected to cost as much as €35.5 billion. [Construction Europe]

Rendering of the Sizewell C nuclear plant (EDF image)

¶ “Russia To Convene UN Security Council Meeting On Tuesday To Discuss Situation At Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant” • The Office of the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN reported that the Russian Federation has requested to convene an urgent UN Security Council meeting to discuss “the situation around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.” [Yahoo]

US:

¶ “Dozens Of High-Water Rescues Are Underway As The Dallas Area Gets A Summer’s Worth Of Rain In One Day” • Parts of Dallas got an entire summer’s worth of rain between Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon, NWS said. The rain came to an area in a state of exceptional drought. It is an example of “climate whiplash.” [CNN]

12 hour rainfall map (Weather Prediction Center, public domain)

¶ “Americans Want Clean Energy Products Made In The USA. That Goal Is Now Within Reach” • Catalyzing American Solar Manufacturing, a whitepaper by the Solar Energy Industries Association, examines the various tools at our disposal to put the country on course to build the clean energy products we need in the US. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Updated Marine Energy Atlas” • The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Renewable Energy Atlas and Marine Energy Atlas are publically available, free tools. They give people access to the data they need to start planning their clean energy future. New features make it easy for communities to learn how much electricity a device could produce. [CleanTechnica]

Marine energy potential of Hawaii (NREL image)

¶ “The Other IRA Provisions That Will Help Electric Car Buyers” • There are parts of the IRA that will help lower prices for all EVs, provided critical components that go into them are sourced from within the US. For example, according to Axios, the IRA provides a tax credit of $35 per kWh for each US-produced lithium-ion battery cell. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Oahu’s First Utility-Scale Solar-Plus-Storage Power Plant Complete” • Clearway Energy Group completed construction and reached commercial operations at its Mililani Solar I plant. It is Oahu’s first utility-scale solar and battery storage power plant. The facility advances Hawaii’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045. [pv magazine USA]

Solar and battery storage plant (Clearway Energy image)

¶ “Fourteen Renewable Energy Power Plants, Storage Facilities Set To Go Online In Hawaii Over Next Two Years” • If you look on Hawaiian Electric’s renewable status area of their website, you can see that fourteen power plants and storage facilities are set to go online in the next two years. While one is a geothermal plant, the rest are solar. [kitv.com]

¶ “Louisiana Regulators File Suit Against Federal Regulators Over Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant” • Alleging “inexcusable” delays in resolving its complaints against Entergy’s nuclear power plant in Mississippi, which it says charges excessive rates for electricity, the Louisiana Public Service Commission is suing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. [KPVI]

Have a commendably effective day.

geoharvey is free and without ads.
geoharvey is not tax-deductible.