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How would you confront the energy problem?
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That’s an interesting take.. thanks for the share
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[b]Inside the Saudi Plan to Keep the World Hooked on Oil[/b][/h1]
[link=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/21/climate/saudi-arabia-aramco-oil-solar-climate.html]New York Times[/link]: The kingdoms plan for keeping oil at the center of the global economy is playing out around the world in Saudi financial and diplomatic activities, as well as in the realms of research, technology and even education.
It is a strategy at odds with the scientific consensus that the world must swiftly move away from fossil fuels, including oil and gas, to avoid the worst consequences of global warming.-
[link=https://www.axios.com/2022/12/06/renewable-energy-growth-china?utm_campaign=editorial&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social]https://www.axios.com/202…&utm_medium=social[/link]
[h1]New report projects massive renewable energy growth, surpassing coal by 2025[/h1]
A pair of new reports show analysts are getting more bullish about renewables and [link=https://www.axios.com/2022/08/01/states-ev-electric-cars]electric vehicle adoption[/link] and that gaming out the energy future is really tough.
The International Energy Agency just dropped its [link=https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2022]largest-ever upward revision[/link] of renewable power forecasts.
That forecast is almost 30% (!) higher than last year’s edition of the rolling 5-year projections.
The agency now sees renewables surpassing coal as the largest source of global power generation by 2025.
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FT reporting a big breakthrough in nuclear fusion technology
[i]According to the Financial Times, scientists have finally figured out how to produce a fusion reaction with a net energy gain. It is a kind of technology that has been a decades-long effort to create “unlimited, cheap, and clean power.[/i][link=https://www.rawstory.com/nuclear-fusion-breakthrough/]https://www.rawstory.com/…r-fusion-breakthrough/[/link]
FT article here (no paywall):[link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.ph%2FszeNj]https://archive.ph/szeNj[/link]
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[h3][link=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/02/06/france-solar-parking-lots/]New French law will blanket parking lots with solar panels[/link][/h3]
[h2]The measure could add 10 nuclear power plants worth of solar panels atop parking lots[/h2]The plan makes France a world leader in efforts to cover as many surfaces as possible with solar panels, a step advocates say will be crucial in broader plans to phase out fossil fuels in the coming years. The expansion could add as much as 8 percent to Frances current electrical capacity.
The cost of solar panels continues to drop, and they are an increasingly competitive source of energy both for individual households and bigger consumers. But one big challenge is finding enough space for them to generate electricity in bulk. Thats why policymakers have parking lots in their sights: They are big and unbeautiful, and covering them with solar panels doesnt take away from anything else.
One challenge of increasing solar power coverage in a densely populated country like France, he said, is finding ways that dont compete for land use, said Arnaud Schwartz, the president of France Nature Environment, an umbrella group of French environmentalist organizations. Taking away [link=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-next-money-crop-for-farmers-solar-panels/2019/02/22/2cf99e8c-3601-11e9-854a-7a14d7fec96a_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_8]agricultural land[/link] or open fields and giving it over to solar farms is unattractive, but covering parking lots harms biodiversity a lot less, he said.[/QUOTE]
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Carbon tax 2.0 … “Carbon Import Tariff” … where US protectionism and China hawkishness might combine to make for some decent bipartisan climate legislation
[h1]Lindsey Graham Backs Carbon Import Tariff[/h1]
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said hes planning to introduce legislation that would slap tariffs on carbon-intensive imports, an idea gaining traction with the GOP as a climate solution, [link=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-10/gop-s-graham-plans-carbon-import-fee-as-idea-gains-with-party#xj4y7vzkg]Bloomberg[/link] reports.
Said Graham: Its time to take the gloves off.
The so-called carbon border adjustment could be a boon to domestic industries while adding incentives for countries such as China and India to reduce emissions. The idea, already embraced by Europe, also has drawn interest from the Biden administration.
________and from late last year …
[h3][link=https://www.reuters.com/markets/carbon/eu-strikes-deal-world-first-carbon-border-tariff-2022-12-13/]EU strikes deal on world-first carbon border tariff – Reuters[/link][/h3]
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At least the Conservatives and Republicans are somewhat moving off the idea that anthropogenic global warming is a total fraud. Look! Snow in winter!
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[h3][link=https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/10/politics/alaska-oil-willow-drilling-project-white-house/index.html]Biden administration to approve major Alaska oil drilling project Willow …[/link][/h3]
The Biden administration is soon set to approve [link=https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/07/politics/willow-project-alaska-oil-explained-climate/index.html]ConocoPhillips Willow Project[/link], a major oil drilling project on Alaskas North Slope, according to a congressional source familiar with the details. The decision will be announced next week, the source confirmed.
The expected approval is a victory for Alaskas bipartisan congressional delegation and a coalition of Alaska Native tribes and groups who hailed the drilling venture as a much-needed new source of revenue and jobs for the remote region. It is [link=https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/02/politics/willow-project-petition-concessions-biden-climate/index.html]a major blow to climate groups and Alaska Natives[/link] who oppose Willow, arguing the project will hurt the presidents ambitious climate goals and pose health and environmental risks.
It was not immediately clear if the administration had approved a version of the project with three drilling pads, or a smaller version with two drilling pads. Earlier this month, White House officials had floated the option of a smaller, two drill-pad project to try to assuage the concern of environmental groups. And in the final weeks and days leading up to the projects approval, multiple finished versions of a record of decision had circulated among White House and Interior staff, the source said.
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Gearing up for an election. Pragmatic.
It’s also good policy. An administration can’t complain too much about high gas prices if everything done by said administration contributes to them.
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[link=https://apnews.com/article/renewable-energy-coal-nuclear-climate-change-dd4a0b168fe057f430e37398615155a0]AP[/link]
[h1]U.S. renewable electricity surpassed coal in 2022[/h1]
Electricity generated from renewables surpassed coal in the United States for the first time in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced Monday.
Renewables also surpassed nuclear generation in 2022 after first doing so last year.
Growth in wind and solar significantly drove the increase in renewable energy and contributed 14% of the electricity produced domestically in 2022. Hydropower contributed 6%, and biomass and geothermal sources generated less than 1%.
…This booming growth is driven largely by economics, said Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy. Over the past decade, the levelized cost of wind energy declined by 70 percent, while the levelized cost of solar power has declined by an even more impressive 90 percent.
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Quote from dergon
[h1]U.S. renewable electricity surpassed coal in 2022[/h1]
that’s great– I think there’s near-universal agreement that coal is the worst energy source we have.
no expert on this, but the trickiest part seems to be getting the non-wealthy world on board with transition away from fossil fuels-
Ronnie Jackson at the floor debate about energy. Paging Dr Percosetti.
[link=https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1640830716266319874?s=46&t=rWwiVdwocpuvqskgif1xxA]https://twitter.com/acyn/…rWwiVdwocpuvqskgif1xxA[/link]
If you want to hang out, you’ve gotta take her out, cocaine
If you want to get down, down on the ground, cocaineUmm pic.twitter.com/m2aicH6EFA
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 28, 2023
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[link=https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3931922-biden-administration-unveils-450-million-to-develop-renewables-on-mine-sites/]Biden administration unveils $450 million to convert former mine sites to renewable development
[/link]
The funds will be dispersed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was enacted in 2021.
Theyll prove out the potential to reactivate or repurpose existing infrastructure like transmission lines and substations, and these projects could spur new economic development in these communities, Granholm said.
As with all BIL-funded projects, well be prioritizing those that partner directly with communities, she added, referring to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
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the guy that owned all the acreage in PA we hunted has a bunch of windmills there now. It was old coal mining hills. Stripped the top, and there’s some mine tipples aroung the bottom. The one thing that seems really easy would be just to clean up. The entire top of the hill is just a big field. Re-plant some forest.
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Texas moving backwards. Gotta support that old-tymie fossil fuel industry at the expense of renewables which can have legislation against development.
Only in Texas.
[link=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/12/opinion/texas-renewable-energy.html]https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/12/opinion/texas-renewable-energy.html?unlocked_article_code=Zg0K49zSpko9xVenl3H18Zsvrw_5aF4kNnaF1dIr36-PsFycyxjdGvM2cx1B9l3OPybov7rmKfw6gjQbhjb2miH8raKcv7MX4hC0owgOQ1Y0ETOR4R10sRla9SzKnWNPgQf_FxqucZ87WUMlpzTLuWUDPacgYbHRcJrIXBfFb3X0FxT8t7V8jM4MKtT0ZNvqEnGri2oeSXD8S1y86jUZma5gCS-zebAY2_73kLIqzFVnPRkjIj9MA0FSlKgKTz5ExQrliIXSYkVJQaEDj2qxc5okRp9mYVRwDWxIUBeAqWLkvbapkDSNcg0y5sWTq_U-FG_ZyqiR2PdpbV_GPqiN&smid=url-share[/link]The Lone Star State has seen rapid growth not only in oil and gas production but also in wind and solar generation, a boom has been justly called the Texas Miracle.
But now reactionary forces in the Texas Legislature want to turn the clock back to the days before the state became a national leader in producing electricity from solar and wind power.
The Texas Legislature is moving to erect barriers to clean energy development while providing incentives for fossil fuel production. This would make the task of reducing emissions much harder. And it comes even though oil and gas production has continued to grow, though not at the pace of the markets embrace of wind and solar.
At the same time, the rapid development of large-scale wind and solar power generation has helped push a rapid decarbonization of the Texas economy (and the national one) while [link=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-republican-war-on-renewable-energy/]lowering consumers energy bills[/link]. It has also reinvigorated rural economies by raising prevailing wages, reloaded the coffers of county governments and school districts with tax revenues from renewable power plants and provided landowners with handsome royalties as developers construct new wind and solar farms.
The state is also one of the worlds largest greenhouse gas emitters, on par with rich, populous countries such as Germany and South Korea. The difference is that while those countries pledged to reduce emissions quickly, their per capita emissions have not dropped as quickly as they have in Texas.
[b]Now Texas stands to benefit more than any other state from the recent federal Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Tens of billions of dollars of new clean energy projects have been announced in Texas, which will further boost the state economy while accelerating cuts in emissions.[/b]
The Texas Legislature is pushing a slate of backward-looking measures that would stop the Texas energy miracle in its tracks. Rather than taking credit for these huge successes and letting market forces continue, legislators, the governor (who recently received the 2023 [link=https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-named-2023-champion-of-the-oilfield-at-energy-workforce-technology-council-awards#:~:text=Technology%20Council%20Awards-,Governor%20Abbott%20Named%202023%20Champion%20Of%20The,Energy%20Workforce%20%26%20Technology%20Council%20Awards&text=Governor%20Greg%20Abbott%20last%20night,Champion%20of%20the%20Oilfield%20Award]Champion of the Oilfield[/link] award from an industry group) and the lieutenant governor, who presides over the Senate, are tossing aside long-held beliefs in the power of markets and hands-off governance. [b]They are turning instead to heavy-handed regulation and central control to pick winners and losers.[/b]
And renewable energy would be the loser.
Lawmakers are debating a range of bills that would mandate and subsidize more natural gas power plants, provide tax incentives for fossil fuels, punish renewables and make it easier to stop clean energy projects.
One measure, for instance, would reinstate a tax abatement program for oil and gas projects but exclude renewable energy developments from those tax benefits. Another would impose setback requirements for new wind farms, requiring those projects to be set back at least 3,000 feet from any property line unless the nearby owners grant waivers. There are no statewide setback requirements for oil and gas operations. Yet another measure, bordering on the preposterous, would impose retroactive permitting requirements for already operating renewable power plants, which could end up invalidating their licenses. Still more proposals would further sock it to renewable energy.
It should not go without mentioning that this fast-growing renewable energy industry provides more than 37,000 jobs in the state, including some 25,000 in wind generation four times [link=https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-07/USEER%202021%20State%20Reports.pdf]as many[/link] jobs as there are for mining coal and using it at power plants and 12 times as many as there are in the nuclear power sector in Texas.
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Six Flags Magic Mountain will turn its 30-acre parking lot into a solar farm. The 12-megawatt solar carport energy structure will be installed over the visitor and employee parking lot, providing shade for visitors’ cars.
The solar panels will generate enough power to offset 100% of the park’s energy usage and power all 20 roller coasters and other rides year-round. Construction is expected to start later this summer and be completed in late 2023 or early 2024.
The project will be California’s largest solar energy project and the world’s largest renewable energy site built by a for-profit organization, producing 20.8 million kilowatt hours of energy annually.
[link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fstory.php%3Fstory_fbid%3Dpfbid02kKZ12cdiTqB8muCX48i3Fpy1a3Rhf5KUoAh9VK9MadYtigxLwou5JsJSnt4AwLuCl%26id%3D100026093571741]https://www.facebook.com/story.php?s…00026093571741[/link]
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Six Flags Magic Mountain will turn its 30-acre parking lot into a solar farm. The 12-megawatt solar carport energy structure will be installed over the visitor and employee parking lot, providing shade for visitors’ cars.
The solar panels will generate enough power to offset 100% of the park’s energy usage and power all 20 roller coasters and other rides year-round. Construction is expected to start later this summer and be completed in late 2023 or early 2024.
The project will be California’s largest solar energy project and the world’s largest renewable energy site built by a for-profit organization, producing 20.8 million kilowatt hours of energy annually.
[link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fstory.php%3Fstory_fbid%3Dpfbid02kKZ12cdiTqB8muCX48i3Fpy1a3Rhf5KUoAh9VK9MadYtigxLwou5JsJSnt4AwLuCl%26id%3D100026093571741]https://www.facebook.com/story.php?s…00026093571741[/link]
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this was successful at Columbus Zoo I believe.
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U.S. scientists at the federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced that they achieved net energy gain in a nuclear fusion reaction for a second time this time with a higher energy yield.
[link=https://www.axios.com/2023/08/07/nuclear-fusion-net-energy-gain-second-time-us-scientists?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=social]https://www.axios.com/202…&utm_medium=social[/link]
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Saw a great talk on this last month. Get this, its AI thats making the difference.
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Another amazing talk about how cooling technology is evolving. Scientists have created a way to tap into the cold of space. It works much like the ice houses in the Middle East that can form ice on nights the ambient temperature is higher than freezing. I remain optimistic.
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