Opinion:
¶ “Can California Cropland Be Repurposed For Community Solar?” • When you think of solar power, California undoubtedly comes to mind. But surprisingly, its community solar programs haven’t been able to gain traction. Out of the 5,700 MW of all installed community solar in the country, less than 1% of that is in California. That may change. [CleanTechnica]
Solar array (Courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory)
¶ “Too Reliant On Natural Gas, Florida Needs A Plan For Energy Security” • Florida temperatures are breaking records, and heat indexes have hit 110°F in some areas. As Florida grapples with intense temperatures and increasing energy demands, we must prioritize the development of an affordable and reliable energy security plan for the state. [Tampa Bay Times]
Science and Technology:
¶ “We Reviewed More Than 150 Papers On Water Management. Here’s What We Learned” • Hydroeconomic modeling is a tool for water management. It gets complicated when you balance water use by people, agriculture, ecosystems, energy production, and recreation. Now add flood management, politics, economics, and climate change! [CleanTechnica]
Snake River, Grand Tetons (Elton Menefee, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “The Other ‘Niño’ That Fuels The Most Destructive Atlantic Hurricanes” • Scientists are starting to study closely a weather phenomenon they had know about for years. Called the “Atlantic Niño,” it may have an outsized influence on a hurricane season’s destructive potential, since they fuel some of the Atlantic Oceans’ most intense storms. [BBC]
¶ “China’s Summer Of Climate Destruction” • China’s summer this year has seen both extreme heat and devastating floods, which struck areas where such weather has been unheard of. Scientists, who blame climate change, warn that the worst is yet to come. The crop loss in Heilongjiang Province alone had major impacts on the country’s food supplies. [BBC]
Farm field in Heilongjiang Province (Jay Fang, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Schneider Electric And FAS Form A Partnership To Bring Renewable Energy To Communities In The Amazon” • Schneider Electric and Fundacão Amazonia Sustentável agreed to identify and implement ways for indigenous and riverside communities to gain access renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions in the Legal Amazon region. [MarketScreener]
¶ “Suzlon Picks Up 201.6-MW Indian Order” • Suzlon Group has secured an order of more than 201 MW for its 3-MW series of wind turbines from Teq Green Power XI Private, part of O2 Power Private. The agreement will see Suzlon install 64 of its largest wind turbine generators with a Hybrid Lattice Tubular tower and a capacity of 3.15 MW. [reNews]
Suzlon turbine (Suzlon image)
¶ “How Solar Power Is Heralding The Global Energy Revolution” • This year, the world will install as much solar power as existed globally in 2017. Next year, 2018’s total will be added to existing levels. In these two years, worldwide solar capacity will almost double. If Bloomberg NEF is correct in their forecasts, an energy revolution is under way. [The National]
¶ “European Energy To Build 65-MW Solar Plant In Lithuania” • European Energy, a Danish renewable energy company, plans to build a 65-MW solar project in Anyksciai, Lithuania. Considered to be one of the largest solar farms till date in the Baltics, the new plant is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of this year. [Power Technology]
Solar farm (European Energy image)
¶ “French Energy Regulator: Nuclear Alone Not Enough For Carbon Neutrality” • If France is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, it must integrate renewables into its energy mix, according to the head of the country’s energy regulator, RTE, who believes nuclear power alone will not be enough to do it. France needs to diversify further its energy mix. [EURACTIV.com]
US:
¶ “The Kia EV9 Might Be The 3-Row EV For The Rest Of Us” • If you have four or five kids, the options for EVs are not great, and nothing is cheap. That’s why the Kia EV9, which the company announced recently, is exciting. Though the company has not yet released the price, it will almost certainly be less expensive than a large Tesla or Rivian. [CleanTechnica]
Kia EV9 (Kia image)
¶ “Agrivoltaics To Save US Farmland From Buildings” • Partly fueled by misinformation about climate change, some people argue that solar power is not a proper use of farmland, missing the more significant loss of land to development. Agrivoltaics, the dual use of farmland with solar arrays, can be the solution to farmland loss, not the cause. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Maui Fires: Upcoming Bankruptcy Spikes Visitor Costs To All Islands Except Kauai” • Many expect the behemoth Hawaiian Electric Company to be forced into bankruptcy by the recent Maui wildfires. HECO supplies all of Hawaii’s electricity, except for what is used on the island of Kauai, which has its own power company and uses renewables. [Beat of Hawaii]
Remembering Maui (Benjamin Rascoe, Unsplash)
¶ “US Launches Marine Energy Research Fund” • The US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office is to provide multi-million dollar funding to support marine energy research in the country. WPTO expects to release this funding opportunity in fall 2023 in partnership with DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office. [reNews]
¶ “Texas Launches ‘Virtual Power Plants’ To Strengthen Electric Grid” • The Public Utility Commission of Texas announced two virtual power plants are now able to provide power to the electric grid. These virtual power plants are bundles of small devices, like backup generators and EV chargers, owned by consumers, many customers with Tesla Electric. [KVII]
Have a perfectly pleasant day.
geoharvey 