Tag Archive for: solarpower

There are ways for solar developers to make installations less harmful and even beneficial for many species.

The planet needs solar power. Can we build it without harming nature?

For pronghorn, those antelope-like creatures of the American West, this grassland north of Flagstaff is prime habitat. It gives the animals the food and conditions they need to survive fall and winter.

But for a nation racing to adopt renewable energy, the land is prime for something else: solar panels. The sun shines strong, the terrain is flat and high-voltage transmission lines are already in place from a decommissioned coal plant. Energy collected here could speed to major metropolitan regions across the West, part of a colossal wave of clean power needed to stave off the worst effects of global warming.

Animals need humans to solve climate change. But they also need places to live. Loss of habitat is the top driver of a staggering global decline in biodiversity, the variety of life on earth. The boom in solar, set to be the fastest-growing energy source in the United States, is predicted to fence off millions of acres across the nation, blanketing them in rows of glassy squares.

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Source: New York Times

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For about 5hrs on Jan. 28, under the scorching heat of the sun, over 1/3 of the electricity running on Texas’ power grid came from solar power

Solar power fuels over 36% of electricity demand in Texas for 5 hours

For about five hours on January 28, under the scorching heat of the sun, over one-third of the electricity running on Texas’ power grid came from solar power.

The solar spectacle, recorded by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), cranked up production to an impressive 15,222 MW of solar at 10:09 am, reported the KUT News.

Then, at the peak of the day’s crescendo, at 3:10 pm, the solar power waltzed in, powering a remarkable 36.1 percent of the electricity demand. The sun continued to contribute around a third of the overall energy demand every hour from 11 am to 4 pm.

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Source: Interetsing Engineering

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Instead of collecting the sun’s energy on the ground, it may be possible to harvest it in space using satellites.

NASA lays out the path to space-based solar power

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A new NASA report found that space-based solar power — a futuristic concept pulled from the pages of science fiction — is likely too expensive to work, but it also lays out exactly what would need to change to make it a viable source of clean energy in the future.

The challenge: Solar power is a revolutionary weapon in the battle against climate change. Every hour, enough solar energy hits Earth to power the entire world for a year, and the cost of harnessing this energy with solar panels has fallen exponentially in recent years.

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Source: Freethink

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Acumen, the $250M blended finance facility, plans to give 16 sub-Saharan African countries access to electricity with off-grid solar energy.

Building a solar power ecosystem in 16 sub-Saharan African countries

How to give households in the poorest and toughest-to-reach countries in sub-Saharan Africa access to electricity? How to do that, while also building a sustainable and thriving solar power industry in those markets?

Those questions are what the Hardest-to-Reach Initiative aims to address. Launched late last year by “patient capital” pioneer Acumen, the $250 million blended finance facility plans to give 16 sub-Saharan African countries access to electricity with off-grid solar energy. The goal is both to help Acumen-backed enterprises already providing solar energy in Kenya expand to these nations and to incubate small local companies.

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Source: Forbes

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Replacing water-intensive crops with water-efficient and drought-tolerant alternatives can allow farmers to continue working their fields in the face of water shortages and drought.

How farmers and ranchers are innovating in response to a shrinking Colorado River

The Colorado River has been a source of power, growth, and dispute in the southwestern United States since its waters were first diverted by European settlers in the early 1800s. Over the last two decades, increasing temperatures, urban growth, and a lengthy drought have contributed to rising tensions between the river’s stewards and those who hold rights to water withdrawals. The river’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, hit historic lows in 2021 and again in 2022, spurring a decision to renegotiate the Colorado River Compact of 1922 to prevent the reservoirs from reaching “dead pool”—the level at which their waters no longer flow downstream and their dams can no longer produce electricity.

The compact, or agreement, establishes water allotments for the seven “basin” states—Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, California, Nevada, and Arizona—that rely on the river, as well as for 30 federally-recognized tribal nations and Mexico. In May of 2023, the most recent round of negotiations concluded with guidelines for water management through 2026. The resulting agreement saw the river’s Lower Basin states, Arizona, California, and Nevada, volunteer to cut their withdrawals by an aggregate 3 million acre-feet of water. These cuts promise to secure potable water for 40 million people, maintain electricity production in the two reservoirs, and send ripples through the region’s thirstiest industry, agriculture.

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Source: EESI

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Costco Wholesale has deployed its first US fleet of off-grid electrified structures at its Mira Loma, California, distribution center.

Costco installs off-grid electrification at California distribution center

Costco Wholesale has deployed its first U.S. fleet of off-grid electrified structures at its Mira Loma, California, distribution center, according to a press release. Trinity Structures, based in Snohomish, Washington, achieved the groundbreaking in just four months, including design, construction and deployment with electrified structures that create, convert and conduct solar energy. Data has shown such projects take up to 24 months to complete, according to the press release..

The ecosystem creates energy with solar power, converts energy with inverters and batteries and conducts energy through EV charging or backup power.

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Source: Kiosk marketplace

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Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio will save thousands of dollars a month in electricity costs after covering most of its roof with solar panels.

Churches discover solar power delivers spiritual and financial benefits

Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio will save thousands of dollars a month in electricity costs — multiplied many times annually — after covering most of its roof with solar panels in 2023.

But saving money wasn’t what Senior Pastor Garrett Vickrey emphasized in a video made to celebrate installation of the panels in September. Instead, he opened with the spiritual benefits of solar power.

“We wanted to make this move because we believe this is a great opportunity to be good stewards of God’s green earth. For us, this is a theological and an ethical issue,” Vickrey said. “It’s been exciting to see the response of our congregation — the excitement — and to hear their testimonials of experiences with solar power.”

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Source: Baptist News Global

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When completed, the pergola at All Saints Church in Riverside, CA, will resemble a patio cover that will collect power from the sun's rays.

Church in Riverside, CA creates path to sustainability through solar

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When completed, the approximately 60- x 30-foot steel pergola at All Saints Church in Riverside, California, will resemble a shade structure or patio cover. It will shield church members from the sun’s rays while solar panels on top collect power from those rays, leading to elimination of the parish’s monthly electric bill and possibly even turning a profit.

“We have this list of things we think God is calling us to do … just looking at all the different ways we can care for creation,” said the Rev. Kelli Grace Kurtz, rector of All Saints.

The church, a participant in the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society program to increase post-disaster community resiliency in faith-based institutions, has been tackling that list in the interest of clean energy. Their efforts included removing an old gas stove in the kitchen, beginning a solar panel project and “a next big chapter would be installing electric vehicle charging stations and putting in LED lights,” Kurtz said.

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Source: Episcopal News Service

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The new solar-powered concept, which fabricates a DNA hydrogel matrix, incorporates the ability to absorb sunlight and reduce the amount of energy required to evaporate water.

Scientists find new way to desalinate seawater using solar power, study says

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Scientists may have found a more efficient water to desalinate water using solar power, according to new research, offering a solution for global water scarcity through the use of renewable energy.

Researchers at Nankai University in Tianjin, China, developed the concept of a solar-powered desalination system that produces fresh water by using smart DNA hydrogels that does not consume additional energy, compared to conventional desalination strategies currently in use, such as reverse osmosis, which use copious amounts of energy, according to a paper published in the journal Science Advances on Thursday.

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Source: ABC News

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SCE supports solar panel installation on affordable apartments in Orange to save residents money and help reduce their carbon footprint.

Bringing solar power to apartment tenants

It’s a rare sight even in solar power-friendly Southern California. Row after row of photovoltaic panels atop the carports of an affordable housing development in Orange. Residents of The Knolls, a 260-unit apartment complex, are now enjoying the benefits of a new 646-kilowatt solar system. It provides clean and renewable energy for their homes and helps them save money on electric bills.

“I am happy that we have the solar option now. It is good for the environment and our quality of life,” said K.K., a resident of The Knolls. “Now, we can use our savings from our bills to help our children.”

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Source: CSR Wire

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