This is how fast energy sources can change: from all horses but one automobile in the 1900 New York Easter Parade to all automobiles but one horse in the 1913 Easter Parade.
Source: U.S. National Archives
Tag Archives: Solar
The real worst and best cases of climate change
†What do you want? The planet Venus? The current degraded Earth? Or a better world we know how to create?
†Joel Pett, Lexington Herald Leader, 18 March 2012,
The cartoon seen ’round the world
Mostly I post about solar and wind power winning, which is what I think is happening. But sometimes it’s worth a reminder of what could happen if we do nothing about climate change, and I posted on my facebook page a story about that. Which actually didn’t go far enough to the real worst case. Nonetheless, that story has been attacked by numerous parties of all political and scientific and unscientific stripes for being too doom and gloom. Yet none of the attackers bothered to mention a best case beyond “the same world we have now”. I have news for you: the world we have now is an ecological catastrophe, and we can do a lot better. So here’s the real worst case, the current case, which is far from the best of all possible worlds, and the real best case, as I see it. Plus what we can do to head for the best case.
First, the story I posted: David Wallace-Wells, New York Magazine, 9 July 2017, The Uninhabitable Earth: Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak — sooner than you think. Notice that word “could”, which a lot of his critics seem to have ignored. He didn’t say “will”, and he clearly labeled what he was presenting as worst case scenarios.
In case anybody thinks he was making any of that stuff up, Wallace-Wells has also linked to an annotated version with footnotes for every substantial assertion. The annotated version notes at the top: Continue reading
Major climate change victory in U.S. House on Bastille Day 2017-07-14
On the anniversary of the French Revolution against a corrupt old regime, the U.S. House of Representatives took a step towards independence from the clammy grip of the fossil fuel companies. This has direct implications on Moody AFB. No more pipelines. Solar power now.
Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, 14 July 2017, In Landmark Move, GOP Congress Calls Climate Change ‘Direct Threat’ to Security: Extreme weather and rising seas threaten bases from Virginia to Guam. For the first time, a Republican House has voted to recognize that.,
One study last year found that rising oceans threaten 128 military installations on the coasts, including naval facilities worth around $100 billion.
The Pentagon has been aware for years of Continue reading
Solar-powered wastewater treatment plants in the southeast
Georgia Power is still digging in its heels about solar power even for cities. Georgia Power CEO Paul Bowers and Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning: it’s time for you to lead the southeast into the sun, not, like King Canute, to try to hold back the sea-change to solar power.
A closer view of the solar panel array at Mud Creek Wastewater Teratment Plant.
Photo: submitted to VDT, apparently by City of Valdosta.
Terry Dickson, Florida Times Union, 4 July 2017, Southeast Georgia cities turning to solar power to save money on wastewater treatment, Continue reading
Video: Solar panels, heck yeah! –Tom Fanning, CEO, at SO stockholder meeting 2017-05-24
Tom Fanning, our genial CEO host, said some things I’ve never heard him say before like Southern Company is “pivoting towards wind” and SO’s board soon has to decide whether to go forward with Plant Vogtle “or not” probably by August. Fanning gets the first and last word in this blog post, plus a complete transcript of what I asked and Tom Fanning’s response, along with summaries of the other questions and answers.
Please hear me!
I think renewables are exceedingly important in the future.
— Tom Fanning, CEO, Southern Company
In SO’s own meeting video of the 25 May 2017 Stockholder Meeting, you can see much praise about solar power and wind and R&D and a smart grid, along with stockholders wondering: Continue reading
Almost 90% of new power in Europe from renewable sources in 2016 | Environment | The Guardian
Adam Vaughan, The Guardian, 9 February 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/09/new-energy-europe-renewable-sources-2016
That’s an even higher proportion than the approximately 64% solar and wind percentage of new U.S. electric power in 2016.
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Duke Energy solar: NC, SC, and now Florida
Duke’s new solar farms in Florida echo what Duke was already doing three and a half years ago when an independent study concluded more solar power in North Carolina would save utility ratepayers tens of millions of dollars annually.
Duke solar power farm in Perry, Florida, courtesy Duke Energy
John Downey, Charlotte Business Journal, 23 October 2013, Study: Solar benefits outweigh costs in NC, Continue reading
Southern Company Shareholder meeting: renewables more than doubled in one year 2017-05-24
While its natural gas percentage remained flat, and coal and nuclear decreased, Southern Company (SO) more than doubled its renewable energy generation percentage in one year. Maybe I’ll mention that at the annual shareholder meeting in May.
2017 Mix:
2016 Mix:
When:
10:00 a.m., ET
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Where:
The Lodge Conference Center
Callaway Gardens
4500 Southern Pine Drive
Pine Mountain, GA 31822-2593
Event:
Annual Southern Company
Shareholder Meeting
Southern Company has all its SEC filings online, including Continue reading
How much solar power could Sabal Trail’s $3.2 billion buy?
The same money would buy a lot more electricity through solar power than that fracked methane pipeline could generate.
Update 2 March 2017: Added tables; fixed some typos.
Ramez Naam, his blog, 21 September 2016,
New Record Low Solar Price in Abu Dhabi — Costs Plunging Faster Than Expected
Start with Sabal Trail’s numbers
Continue readingU.S. electric power source projections: solar still most by 2023
According to FERC’s own figures from 2012 and 2016,
my solar projections from 2013 (and former FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff’s) were pretty good,
and more U.S. electricity will still come from solar power by 2023.
Since coal and nuclear are already crashing, and natural gas isn’t
increasing even as fast as formerly projected, solar could win even faster.
I constructed table below from the 2012 and 2016 summaries of total U.S. electric power generation from all sources, by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Look at the 2012 column: only coal and natural gas generated more than 25% of total U.S. electricity.
But in 2016 it’s only natural gas, because coal’s growth rate actually turned negative: utilities are shutting down coal plants, not building them. Back in 2013 I did not predict that to happen so quickly.
Now look at
the growth rates,
both Continue reading