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Falling Lithium Prices | Earth Wise

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Lithium, the key element in the batteries that power electric cars, as well as smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers, is sometimes called white gold.  Over time, the price of the metal has gone up and up.  But recently, and surprisingly, the price of lithium has actually gone down, helping to make electric vehicles more affordable.

Over the first couple of months of this year, the price of lithium has dropped by nearly 20%.  The price of cobalt, another important component of vehicle batteries, has fallen by more than half.  Even copper, another battery material, has seen its price drop by 18%.

Many analysts predicted that prices of these commodities would stay high or even climb higher.  The reason for the decline, as well as whether it is likely to persist, is the subject of much debate.

Some experts believe that the price drops are a result of demand not being as high as expected, perhaps related to slowing sales growth of EVs in Europe and China after certain subsidies expired.  Other industry experts said that the drop was a result of new mines and processing plants providing additional supply sooner than was thought possible.

Despite the price drops, mining and processing lithium remains an extraordinarily profitable business.  It costs from $5,000 to $8,000 to produce a ton of lithium that sells for ten times that amount.  With such fat profit margins, there is no shortage of banks and investors eager to finance lithium mining and processing projects.  Such profit margins are probably not sustainable and that will likely result in more reasonable prices over time.

There is plenty of lithium in the world.  The huge demand for it is a recent phenomenon and the world is still working out how to meet that demand.

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Falling Lithium Prices Are Making Electric Cars More Affordable

Photo, posted January 9, 2023, courtesy of Phillip Pessar via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Community Solar On The Rise | Earth Wise

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Community solar is a way for people who can’t put solar on their own roofs to still take advantage of its benefits.  Whether they can’t afford to install their own panels, have too much shade on their roof, or don’t even own a home, community solar is another way to participate in green energy.

Community solar – also called “shared solar” or “solar gardens” – is a kind of development in which consumers can subscribe to a large solar installation in their area and receive credits on their monthly utility bills for their share of the solar electricity produced.

The large majority of community solar installations are in six states:  Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York.  After substantial growth in community solar in 2022, New York now is the national leader, thanks to initiatives by the state government and the nonprofit sector.  Some programs focus on giving low-income households access to solar.  As of last fall, New York had over 728 community solar projects online.

One should understand that electrons are indistinguishable.  The power generated by a community solar installation is not piped directly to subscribers’ homes.  It just goes into the grid.  Subscribers get credit for their share of the power, but that is essentially a matter of bookkeeping, not physics.

The federal government now has $7 billion that can be used for community solar as part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund within the Inflation Reduction Act enacted last August.  The EPA plans to award up to 60 grants to assist projects deploying residential and community solar.  Research firm Wood Mackenzie forecasts the community solar market will double by 2027.

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Community Solar Is About to Get a Surge in Federal Funding. So What Is Community Solar?

Photo, posted November 18, 2008, courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Clean Energy From North Africa | Earth Wise

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Europe is hungry for clean energy.  The war in Ukraine has amplified Europe’s desire to end its reliance on Russian natural gas.  Increasingly, Europe is pushing to install giant solar energy farms in sunny North Africa and transport the energy through underwater cables.

Solar panels in sunny North Africa generate up to three times more energy than those in Europe.  As a result, solar farms and wind farms as well are proliferating south of the Mediterranean Sea.  Morocco’s Noor and Egypt’s Benban solar farms are among the largest in the world.  Many of these farms were initially built to boost domestic power supplies and reduce dependence on coal.  But now these farms are increasingly supplying green energy to industrial neighbors in Europe.

Morocco has signed deals with the European Union to expand power exports.  Egypt is considering proposals for cables to link to Greece.  Another planned cable would link new solar farms in Tunisia to Italy’s grid.  These projects would certainly bring money and jobs to North African countries, but it isn’t all good news.

There are growing concerns about the environmental impacts of Europe outsourcing its energy needs.  Desert ecosystems could be greatly compromised.  And much of this development is likely to happen with only minimal community consultation or ecological assessment.  Half of Africa’s population does not have access to reliable power grids. Electricity becoming a major export is not likely to improve this situation.

Europe has long obtained many resources from the developing world.  Now it is tapping into the sunshine and wind in other lands.  It remains to be seen if North Africa’s countries will achieve the large potential gains those resources can offer them.

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In Scramble for Clean Energy, Europe Is Turning to North Africa

Photo, posted October 17, 2019, courtesy of Richard Allaway via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Fusion Power And The Climate Crisis | Earth Wise

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In December, the Department of Energy announced that scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California had achieved a breakthrough in nuclear fusion technology.  Fusion is the process by which the sun generates energy.  If we had the means to produce nuclear fusion in a controlled fashion, it would be an almost limitless source of clean energy.

Scientists have been trying to develop controllable fusion since the advent of the hydrogen bomb in the 1950s.  H-Bombs are basically uncontrollable fusion.

There are massive experiments under development around the work seeking the means to create and control fusion.  There are multi-billion-dollar projects such as the ITER tokamak project in southern France, that have been ongoing for decades.  Colossal equipment is required to produce the temperatures of millions of degrees needed to fuse hydrogen atoms into helium atoms.

The Livermore project uses 192 powerful laser beams to vaporize a tiny pellet and provide the energy required to initiate fusion. The breakthrough is that the experiment released more energy than the lasers put in.  This was the first time a fusion experiment produced a net gain of energy.

Is fusion the solution to de-carbonizing the energy system?  Perhaps someday it might be.  However, even the most optimistic fusion researchers believe it will be at least another decade before even the experimental fusion systems around the world can reliably produce energy and the efforts will cost untold billions of dollars. 

The world cannot wait for fusion power to save the day.  The focus must remain on currently available renewable energy technologies if we are to achieve the necessary emission reductions in time to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

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Can Fusion Solve the Climate Crisis?

Photo, posted July 29, 2010, courtesy of Steve Jurvetson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Corals Saving Corals | Earth Wise

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A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, has found that under the right circumstances, disease-resistant corals can rescue corals that are more vulnerable to disease.

The researchers monitored a disease outbreak at a coral nursery in the Cayman Islands.  They tracked the presence of disease in 650 coral fragments in various arrangements over a period of five months.  They found that some corals are more resistant to disease just by being around other corals that are particularly resistant.  In general, when there are only corals of the same genetic makeup, they are more vulnerable to disease than corals that grow among a mixture of genotypes.  But beyond that, some vulnerable corals become more resistant to disease just by being around other corals that are particularly resistant.  Proximity to the resistant genotypes helped to protect the susceptible corals from the effects of disease.

These findings provide new evidence that genetic diversity can help reduce disease transmission among corals and furthermore, it is important to consider how corals are arranged in coral nurseries or in reef restoration projects.

The ability of resistant coral to help protect vulnerable individuals appears to be similar to how vaccinations work among humans.  Vaccinated individuals resist a disease, which effectively erects a barrier that weakens a disease’s ability to move through a population.

The researchers hope that the findings of this study will be integrated into coral nursery and reef restoration projects.  By intentionally arranging corals with mixtures of genotypes, it will help rebuild coral resilience and help those corals that are vulnerable to disease to thrive.

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Corals Saving Corals

Photo, posted December 30, 2014, courtesy of NOAA’s National Ocean Service via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon Capture Booming | Earth Wise

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For the world to reach a state of net-zero emissions, it is going to require more than the ongoing transition to renewable energy sources.  There will also need to be efforts to capture the emissions from sources that can’t easily eliminate their pollution.  These include steel mills, cement plants, and other industrial sites.  At least for the foreseeable future,  a number of essential industries have no other viable path to deep decarbonization, and carbon capture and storage projects are the only promising strategy on hand.

Companies use CCS to filter emissions from fossil fuel power plants and industrial facilities and then bury the captured carbon underground, often in deep caverns.

Over the past 12 months, the pipeline for carbon capture and storage projects has grown by 44%.  This year, firms have announced 61 new CCS projects, bringing the total number of commercial projects in the global pipeline to 196, which includes about 30 that are already in operation.  Another 11 are under construction, and 153 are in development.

When all of these projects are completed, they will have the capacity to capture a total of about 270 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.  Estimates are that there need to be 1,400 million tons locked away each year to reach zero-emissions.  So, the existing project pipeline constitutes about 20% of what is ultimately needed.

The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act boosts tax incentives for carbon capture.  Analysts believe this could multiply U.S. deployment of the technology more than 10-fold.  Globally, it is expected that CCS will continue its rapid growth as countries ramp up investments in the technology.

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Carbon Capture Projects See Meteoric Growth in 2022

Photo, posted August 22, 2022, courtesy of Nenad Stojkovic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Planting Millions Of Trees Isn’t So Easy | Earth Wise

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There are initiatives around the world to plant millions of trees as a way to fight climate change.  Unfortunately, scientists have observed that many of these projects are ill-conceived and poorly managed.  Some have failed to grow any forests at all.

One such project was an attempt to plant a million mangrove seedlings in coastal mud on the Filipino island of Luzon in 2012.  Ten years later, less than 2% of the trees have survived.  The other 98% have died or have washed away.  The problem was that the site of the project was ecologically unsuited to mangroves because it is too waterlogged and there is no oxygen available except in a few sheltered spots.

In 2019, the Turkish government managed the planting of 11 million trees in 2,000 sites across the country.  A later survey found that 90% had died, although the government denies that assertion.

Many other projects have also had dismal results.  The causes of failure vary but include planting single species of trees that become vulnerable to disease, competing demands for land, changing climate, planting in areas not previously forested, and lack of ongoing care for the saplings including watering them.

Nobody is opposed to mass tree planting.  There is no anti-tree lobby.  But tree planting is sometimes a form of greenwashing.  It is great for public relations but unless it is done properly with appropriate planning, it can be a waste of effort and money.  The result can be a phantom forest that does nothing for the climate.

Forest planting can work if the social and environmental conditions are right, and if planting is followed by long-term monitoring and care of the trees.

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Phantom Forests: Why Ambitious Tree Planting Projects Are Failing

Photo, posted April 20, 2016, courtesy of the U.S. Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Benson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon Capture: Solution Or Band-Aid? | Earth Wise

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The idea of capturing the CO2 emissions from industry and locking them up is nothing new.  It’s been going on for decades in some places.  Norway’s state-owned oil company Equinor has been holing away a million tons of CO2 a year for a long time.  But overall, CCS – carbon capture and storage – has had very limited use.  As of last year, there were only about 30 large-scale projects in operation around the world, capturing only 0.1% of global emissions.

There is now growing interest in CCS and many new projects are underway.  A combination of rising carbon prices in Europe, tax breaks for CCS in the US, national net-zero targets, and the increasing need to ramp down global emissions are all driving rising CCS activities. 

While recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change still claim that it is possible to remain below 2 degrees Celsius of warming without using carbon capture, there is growing belief that it may be necessary given the present pace of the transition away from fossil fuels.

Two industries that together produce about 14% of global CO2 emissions are cement and steel.  These are both industries for which it is difficult to eliminate emissions regardless of the energy sources used. CCS may be the best approach to reducing their emissions.

But there is considerable pushback against CCS.  The concern is that CCS is primarily a way to delay decarbonization.  It encourages various industries to continue to use fossil fuels instead of shifting away from them.  Nonetheless, CCS no doubt has its place as part of the solution to climate change.

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Solution or Band-Aid? Carbon Capture Projects Are Moving Ahead

Photo, posted June 5, 2022, courtesy of Mark Dixon via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Floating Solar | Earth Wise

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The largest floating solar array in Europe, 12,000 panels sitting on top of the Alqueva Reservoir in Portugal – will come online in July.  Installing floating solar arrays, which are sometimes called “floatovoltaics”, produce renewable energy while shielding significant expanses of water from the sun’s heat.  These dual benefits have led to floatovoltaic projects in multiple countries around the world.

The city of Cohoes, in New York’s Albany County, has proposed an 8,000-panel floating solar array on the city reservoir.  Federal funding of $3 million for the project was obtained by local Congressman Paul Tonko and, in May, utility National Grid donated $750,000 towards the project.  Engineering work will shortly be underway on the 3.2 megawatt grid of solar panels.

The city of Cohoes pumps its drinking water supplies from the Mohawk River into the 10-acre, manmade reservoir.  The surface of the water is the largest undeveloped open space in the city.  Such reservoirs constitute prime sites for solar arrays since the space cannot be used for other purposes.  In addition, covering the water’s surface with the solar panels greatly reduces evaporation and helps to inhibit the growth of algae.

There are currently only 14 floating solar arrays in the U.S. and all of those are privately owned.  The Cohoes municipal array will be the first of its kind.  There are nearly 500 reservoirs in New York State and 24,000 nationwide that could be sites for floating arrays.   Drought-stricken Western reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell could be ideal locations of solar arrays.  Those reservoirs lose huge amounts of water to evaporation.  There are estimates that floating arrays could provide as much as 10% of the nation’s electrical needs.

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National Grid gives Cohoes $750,000 for floating solar array project

Photo, posted August 25, 2010, courtesy of Martin Abegglen via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Recycling Shingles | Earth Wise

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Every year in the US, about 13 million tons of asphalt material is removed from old roofs to be replaced with new shingles.  Only about 10% of that is recycled for use in paving and various roadway projects.  The other 12 million tons of asphalt ends up in landfills where it takes a very long time to break down.

GAF, the largest roofing manufacturer in North America, has developed a shingle recycling process for which it has received three patents.  The process involves grinding torn-off shingles into a refined material which can then be introduced into the shingle manufacturing process.  The material – referred to as RAS for recycled asphalt shingles – has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of virgin asphalt needed to make new shingles.

Tests by GAF reclaimed upwards of 90% of the waste shingle material and produced new shingles containing up to 15% recycled content.  Underwriters Laboratories certified the shingles containing RAS material with regard to their safety and effectiveness.  The GAF process opens to door to creating a circular, sustainable economy for asphalt used for roofing shingles.

Roofs play an important role in the transition to a green economy.  Apart from recycling asphalt shingles, there are increasing options for solar shingles, which take the place of both traditional asphalt shingles and ordinary solar panels by integrating them into a single roofing product.  There are also so-called green roofs, which replace conventional roofing materials with a contained green space atop a building. Such roofs provide stormwater management, cooling, and an interesting aesthetic.

All aspects of buildings play important roles in our environment – even their roofs.

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5 Ways Roofers Can Celebrate Earth Day, Everyday

Photo, posted April 15, 2012, courtesy of Robert Taylor via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Record Renewable Use In California | Earth Wise

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California, the most populous state, is the second largest electricity user.  Only Texas, the second most populous state, uses more energy, in part because it consumes large amounts in refining fossil fuels. Overall, California uses about 8% of the electricity generated in the U.S.

Thus, it was a significant milestone when briefly, on April 3, a record 97.6% of the energy on California’s statewide grid came from renewable energy resources.  (The previous record of 96.4% was set just a few days earlier).

Renewable energy’s share of the power typically peaks in the spring when mild temperatures keep demand relatively low and higher sun angles drive greater solar energy production.

On April 8, a record peak solar power production was set at 13,628 megawatts just after noon.  On March 4, the state set an all-time wind generation record of 6,265 megawatts. 

California now has over 15,000 MW of grid-connected solar power and 8,000 MW of wind.  Another 600 MW of solar and 200 MW of wind are coming online by June.  The state also has about 2,700 MW of energy storage online and that will climb to 4,000 MW by June.

In 2020, 34.5% of the state’s retail electricity sales came from wind and solar sources.  Adding in hydropower and nuclear power, nearly 60% of the state’s electricity came from non-fossil fuel.  Despite the effects of drought on hydropower generation and the impact of the pandemic on the pace of renewable energy projects, California continues its dramatic transition to sustainable energy.

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Solar and wind notched records as renewables met California’s energy demand

Photo, posted September 20, 2016, courtesy of Tom Brewster Photography / BLM via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Community Solar In New York | Earth Wise

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New York has now installed 1 GW of community solar capacity, which is more than any other state.

Community solar is a solar energy project within a geographic area for which the benefits flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, or other groups.  For the most part, the customers benefit from energy being generated by solar panels located at an off-site array.  Customers typically buy or lease a portion of the solar panels in the array and then receive an electric bill credit for the electricity generated by their share of the community solar system.  It is a great option for people who can’t install their own solar panels because they don’t own their home, don’t have a suitable location for various reasons, or have financial constraints.

Community solar in New York now generates enough electricity to power 209,000 homes.  Community solar installations accounted for 70% of New York’s solar additions in 2021 and the state has a pipeline of 708 more projects totaling 2.3 gigawatts.

The NY-Sun program run by NYSERDA since 2011 has directed over $200 million to low-to-moderate income households as part of its Solar Energy Equity Framework. 

Growing community solar depends strongly on policy expansion.  At this point, 19 states and D.C. have established policies and programs to support community solar adoption.  The federal government set a goal of powering 5 million American homes with community solar over the next five years.  With 30% of the country’s current community solar capacity, New York is leading the way.

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New York reaches 1 GW community solar milestone

Photo, posted May 24, 2011, courtesy of Michael Mees via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Efficiency Of Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

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After many years of debates, delays, and controversies, offshore wind is about to expand in a big way in the United States.  The White House has announced the goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind – enough to power 90 million homes – along the East Coast seaboard by 2030.

In New York State, there are now five offshore wind projects in active development.  The state goal is to have nearly a gigawatt of offshore wind by 2035, enough to power over 4 million homes.

These projects involve the use of thousands of physically large, high-capacity wind turbines deployed over large areas at an unprecedented scale.  Such mammoth installations bring with them unique problems.

Low-turbulence conditions over water lead to the fact that individual wind farms will experience each other’s wake (the disturbance of their airflow) even when turbine arrays are 15 to 50 miles apart.  As a result, turbines may fatigue earlier, and groups of turbines may experience up to 30% lower power production due to wake effects.

Industry trends are causing an increased probability of large wake-induced energy losses within individual wind farms and an increasing probability of wake interactions.

These issues have been studied in new research published by researchers at Cornell University.  The research presents simulations that may be helpful to optimize turbine spacing in the ongoing deployments and assist plans for future ones.  Improved understanding of wind turbine and wind-farm wake is essential in ensuring that the financial investments in offshore wind result in electricity-generation goals met at the lowest possible cost.

According to Department of Energy studies, offshore wind resources around the United States could potentially generate more electricity than the entire country currently uses.

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Scientists bring efficiency to expanding offshore wind energy

Photo, posted August 9, 2016, courtesy of Lars Plougmann via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Large Solar Projects In The U.S. | Earth Wise

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The United States now has over 108 gigawatts of total solar generating capacity, which is enough to power about 19 million homes.  There are more than 3 million solar installations across the country, the majority of which are residential systems.

The growth in solar power has been enormous over the past 13 years.  In 2008, the total solar capacity in the U.S. was 0.34 gigawatts.

In recent times, utility-scale solar installations have been on the rise.  At least 10 systems in excess of 100 megawatts have come online just in 2021.  These systems have been built in Georgia, Ohio, California, Texas, and Nevada.  Other large installations have come online in Virginia, Utah, Indiana, and Florida.  Overall, Texas has had the most new installations, followed by California and Florida.

The largest utility-scale solar project completed this year is the Eunice Solar Project in Andrew, Texas.  The 420-megawatt project is part of the Permian Energy Center which also features 40 megawatts of battery energy storage.

The pipeline for new utility-scale solar projects under construction includes more than 17 gigawatts, so there is strong continuing growth in the industry.

The Biden administration has proposed a blueprint for the nation to produce 45% of its electricity from solar power by 2050.  Currently, solar energy contributes about 4% of the country’s power.  Being able to produce almost half the country’s electricity from the sun by 2050 would require a vast transformation in technology and the energy industry.  Whether there is the political will and the wherewithal to achieve this remains to be seen.

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U.S. Solar Market Insight

Photo, posted March 7, 2019, courtesy of Hedgerow Inc via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Wind Power Update | Earth Wise

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The Department of Energy recently released three reports showing record growth in land-based wind energy, a growing number of offshore wind projects, and the continuing reduction in the cost of wind power.

The U.S. installed a record amount of land-based wind energy in 2020.  In total, 16,836 MW of new utility-scale land-based wind power capacity was added during the year, representing $24.6 billion in new wind power projects.  This was more added than from any other energy source and represented 42% of new U.S. energy capacity.

For the year, wind energy provided more than 10% of in-state electricity generation in 16 states.  Notably, wind provided 57% of Iowa’s electricity and more than 30% in Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

As wind turbines continue to grow in size and power, they are producing more energy at lower cost.  Turbine prices have gone from $1,800/kW in 2008 to $770-850/kW now.

The pipeline for U.S. offshore wind energy projects has grown to 35,324 MW, a 24% increase over the previous year.   The Bureau of Ocean Management created five new wind energy areas in the New York Bight with a total of 9,800 MW of capacity. 

Distributed wind power, which are systems connected on the customer’s side of the power meter as opposed to those on the utility side, also saw increased growth last year. 

Wind power is a key element in the adminstration’s goal of having a decarbonized electricity sector by 2035.

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DOE Releases New Reports Highlighting Record Growth & Declining Costs Of Wind Power

Photo, posted March 24, 2016, courtesy of Adam Dingley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Utility-Scale Solar In Upstate New York | Earth Wise

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The first operational utility-scale solar projects in upstate New York are expected to commence commercial operations by the end of this year.  A portfolio of eight projects comprising over 200 megawatts of generating capacity is being developed by CS Energy in partnership with Goldman Sachs Renewable Power Group and NYSERDA.

The projects include three 27-megawatt installations in the Capital Region – in Easton and Stillwater, three 27-megawatt installations in the Mohawk Valley – in Mohawk and Pattersonville, and two 27-megawatt installations in the Southern Tier – in Willet and Greene.

The projects will support more than 500 jobs and represent more than $160 million of private investment that is expected to generate over $80 million in benefits to local communities and regions.  Those benefits will come to local landowners, property tax jurisdictions, and to local contractors who will provide ongoing operations and maintenance support for the projects.

The projects are the result of New York’s Clean Energy Standard, established in 2016 as well as 2019’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.  These initiatives made commitments that 70% of the electricity consumed in New York would be generated by renewable energy sources by 2030. 

CS Energy has built over 150 megawatts of solar projects in New York to date.  By the end of this year, that number will be close to 500 megawatts.  CS Energy recently opened a regional headquarters in Albany to further support the company’s growth. The Goldman Sachs Renewable Power Group owns and operates more than 2.3 gigawatts of clean power across the country.

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Upstate New York’s first utility-scale solar projects set to come online this year

Photo, posted October 16, 2019, courtesy of Jonathan Cutrer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

New York Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

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Norwegian energy company Equinor and its strategic partner bp have been selected by New York State to build several offshore wind power installations that will be one of the largest renewable energy projects in the United States to date.  When completed, the projects will provide 1,260 megawatts of offshore wind power from Empire Wind 2 and another 1,230 megawatts from Beacon Wind 1 and these will be added to the 816-megawatt project already awarded to the companies for Empire Wind 1. 

The two phases of Empire Wind are located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island and span 80,000 acres. Beacon Wind is located 60 miles east of Montauk Point and 20 miles south of Nantucket and covers 128,000 acres.  The overall development will provide 3.3 gigawatts of homegrown, renewable electricity to New York.

The projects will comprise up to $8.9 billion in investments including $664 million provided by the state.  As part of the award from NYSERDA, the companies will partner with the State to transform two New York ports – the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal and the Port of Albany – into large-scale offshore wind working industrial facilities that position New York to become an offshore wind industry hub.

In Albany, Equinor will join forces with wind industry companies Marmen and Welcon to help the port become America’s first offshore wind tower and transition piece manufacturing facility, where it will produce components for Equinor’s projects.

New York’s goal is to have 9 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2035.  The Equinor projects will contribute more than one-third of that goal. 

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New York Selects Equinor for Largest US Offshore Wind Award

Photo, posted March 24, 2016, courtesy of TEIA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Powering Amazon By The Sun | Earth Wise

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Amazon.com is a multinational conglomerate company that sells nearly $300 billion dollars a year worth of products, employs over 800,000 people, and by any measure, consumes a tremendous amount of resources.  In terms of its environmental impact, Amazon is estimated to be responsible for the emission of 50 million tons of CO2 annually, which is more than the yearly total for countries like Switzerland, Ireland, New Zealand, Denmark, and about 140 other countries.

Amazon is trying to reduce its environmental impact.  The company recently announced five new renewable energy projects in China, Australia and the U.S. as part of its commitment to reach 80% renewable energy by 2024, 100% renewable energy by 2030, and to reach net zero carbon by 2040.

The projects include a 100 MW solar project in Shandong, China, a 105 MW solar project in New South Wales, Australia, two solar projects in Ohio (one 200 MW and one 80 MW), and a 130 MW solar project in Virginia.

To date, Amazon has announced 31 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects as well as 60 solar rooftops on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the world.  Taken together, these projects provide almost 3 GW of capacity and will deliver more than 7.6 million MWh of renewable energy annually.

In order for the world to meet the climate goals set by the Paris Agreement, it will take more than just countries to make and keep commitments.   Whatever else one may think about Amazon’s place in the world, their latest efforts for the environment are a big step in the right direction.

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Amazon announces five new utility-scale solar projects to power operations in China, Australia, and the US

Photo, posted November 16, 2018, courtesy of Todd Van Hoosear via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Storing CO2 Underground | Earth Wise

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Capturing the carbon dioxide emitted from power plants and factories and safely storing it so it can’t enter the atmosphere has long been an attractive and desirable goal.  Even though the use of renewable energy sources has been expanding rapidly, it will still be a long time before fossil fuel plants go away entirely.

The most widely considered method of carbon capture and storage is underground storage.  The idea is to send the carbon dioxide through a pipeline to a place where underground rock formations can store it safely and permanently.  Typically, it would be pumped deep underground – often more than half a mile down – and the site would be monitored to make sure the CO2 doesn’t leak back up to the atmosphere or into the water table.

A new study looked at how much carbon dioxide the suitable geological formations on Earth can store.  The conclusion of the study is that drilling about 12,000 carbon storage wells globally could provide enough capacity to store 6 to 7 billion tons of CO2 a year by 2050.  That is about 13% of global emissions.

Drilling 12,000 wells is equivalent to the amount of oil and gas drilling that has taken place just in the Gulf of Mexico over the last 70 years.  The study identified locations worldwide that could handle the pressures associated with storing injected carbon dioxide.

So far, less than two dozen projects exist that capture and store carbon dioxide from fossil fuel plants.  In total, these plants can capture about 36 million tons a year, which is far less than what is needed.  But the new study at least shows that finding places to put captured carbon is not a problem.

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Ample Geological Capacity Exists to Store Large Quantities of Captured CO2

Photo courtesy of Equinor.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

More Plastic Pollution On The Way | Earth Wise

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Public concern about plastic pollution has been rising.  More and more of us are choosing reusable grocery bags, metal straws, and reusable water bottles.  We shake our heads at images of immense plastic garbage patches in the ocean. We see reports of birds with 15% of their body weight in plastic.

While all of this is going on, companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, and Saudi Aramco are ramping up production of plastic – which is mostly made from oil, gas, and their byproducts.  They are doing this as a hedge against the growing possibility that the global response to climate change will reduce demand for their fuels.  Plastics are part of the category called petrochemicals, which currently account for 14% of oil use.  Petrochemicals are expected to drive half of oil demand growth over the next 30 years.

The World Economic Forum predicts plastic production will double in the next 20 years.  The fracking boom in the United States has turned this country into a big growth area for plastic production.  Natural gas prices are low which is hurting profits at fracking operations.  But fracking also unearths ethane, which is a feedstock for plastic production.  So plastic is becoming a kind of subsidy for fracking.

The American petroleum industry’s hub has historically been the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana as well as a stretch along the lower Mississippi River.  There is a slew of new projects there.  The industry is also seeking to create a new plastics corridor in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, where fracking wells are rich in ethane.

Society in general may be increasingly concerned about the impact of things like carbon emissions and plastic pollution, but the fossil fuel industry continues to focus entirely on growth and profits.

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The Plastics Pipeline: A Surge of New Production Is on the Way

Photo, posted January 10, 2015 , courtesy of Daniel Orth via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

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