renewable – Things Are Good

Not Even Oil Megacorps Will Stop Clean Energy

Solar Panel School

Fossil fuels are unreliable due to political reasons and as such there is large price variation in fuel supplies, however on the renewable front the price just keeps going down. The economic success of renewables is clear and last year we saw renewables winning nearly every metric. Over at Canary Media they have a series of charts and stats that show just how well renewable energy is doing.

The latest data shows solar and wind made a speedy ascent this year — so speedy that they’re more than covering new power demand around the world.

Between January and September, power demand around the world rose by 603 terawatt-hours compared to that same time period last year. Solar met nearly all of that new demand on its own, and with a boost from wind, was able to cover all of it.

That’s a huge deal for the clean energy transition. When we produce more renewable power than is needed to cover growing demand, that’s when we can start chipping away at fossil fuels.

Ontario Just Made it Clear: Get Solar or Pay More

solar retaining wall alongside a road

Homeowners in Ontario are about to pay a lot more electricity with no sign of rate increases stopping anytime soon. The far right Conservative government has torn up renewable developments (at a cost to taxpayers of $231 million) and done very little other than make announcements about nuclear power. You’re probably wondering where the good news is in all of this. Surely, a government hellbent on destroying the planet and people’s pocketbooks isn’t good. To spin the news: there has never been a better time in the history of Ontario than now to get on renewables. If you own a home then you should be investing in solar, wind, or geothermal to save tons of money (and the planet); otherwise you should at the very least get better insulation so you pay less for heating and cooling.

Ontario’s electricity market needs a deeper conversation, one that goes beyond time blocks and rebates.

How do we make energy fair? How do we protect households from volatility? And how do we incentivize solutions—like rooftop solar, battery storage, and smarter appliances—that put power back in people’s hands?

These aren’t fringe questions. They’re central to the future of energy in Ontario.

Because if the last few years have shown us anything, it’s this: betting on lower hydro bills is no longer a safe strategy.

Wind Turbines & Birds, Ok; Gas & Birds, Not Ok

industry

People opposed to a clean economy argue that birds get killed by wind turbines so therefore we shouldn’t build wind farms. Of course, those same people would argue that we should stick to planet-killing fossil fuels instead; somehow, in their minds using fossil fuels is better than renewables when it comes to protecting nature. To hopefully put this ridiculous debate to bed The Economist has stepped in. The magazine that is trapped in the last century agrees that when it comes to power generation and protecting nature that renewable energy is best.

But Dr Katovich did not confine his analysis to wind power alone. He also examined oil-and-gas extraction. Like wind power, this has boomed in America over the past couple of decades, with the rise of shale gas produced by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of rocks. Production rose from 37m cubic metres in 2007 to 740m cubic metres in 2020.

Comparing bird populations to the locations of new gas wells revealed an average 15% drop in bird numbers when new wells were drilled, probably due to a combination of noise, air pollution and the disturbance of rivers and ponds that many birds rely upon. When drilling happened in places designated by the National Audubon Society as “important bird areas”, bird numbers instead dropped by 25%. Such places are typically migration hubs, feeding grounds or breeding locations.

Hawaiian Battery Better Than Coal

Hawaii just became an even better place to live thanks to cleaner air. The state recently decommissioned their coal power plant and replaced it with a much nicer looking battery complex. The battery system had to be designed with potential disasters in mind due to the risks of earthquakes, volcanoes, and more. Despite the local challenges the battery system is working effectively and if Hawaii can replace coal with batteries than all the other states can do it too.

Hawaiian Electric’s modeling suggests it can reduce curtailment of renewables by an estimated 69% for the first five years thanks to Kapolei Energy Storage, allowing surplus clean electricity that would otherwise go to waste to get onto the grid.

The utility also requested ?“black-start capability.” If a disaster, like a cyclone or earthquake, knocks out the grid completely, Hawaiian Electric needs a power source to restart it. The Kapolei batteries are programmed to hold some energy in reserve for that purpose. Plus Power located the project near a substation connected to three other power plants so the battery ?“can be AAA to jump-start those other plants,” Keefe said.

We Will Triple Renewable Power Global by 2030

Solar Panel School

With renewables already cheaper than fossil fuels it’s not surprising that uptake in renewable energy is increasing. The benefits of renewable aren’t just a clean source of energy but also a cheap source of energy. Some countries around the world are on track to more than triple their renewable energy production and every nation can at least triple theirs with current technology. There’s no reason to build fossil fuel power generators anymore.

National targets do not account for the recent acceleration of renewables

Many government targets do not reflect the recent acceleration in renewables deployment worldwide. For example, 12 countries are set to add capacity in 2023 faster than the pace required to meet their 2030 target. In 22 countries the prospective project development pipelines for wind and solar exceed the renewable capacity needed to meet their 2030 targets. The world could achieve its current targets–a doubling of renewables–just by continuing the 500 gigawatts of estimated deployment in 2023 from 2024 to 2030, but all signs point to a more rapid growth curve.