Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

You are here: Home / Archives for wind

wind

California Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Offshore wind has been pretty much a non-starter in the U.S. until recently.  Now there is considerable activity in the Northeast Atlantic with major projects getting started off the coasts of Massachusetts, New York, and other eastern states.  The prospects for wind farms in the Pacific, on the other hand, have been pretty dismal.  There are significant logistical problems posed by a deep ocean floor and also opposition from the Navy that does not want obstacles for its ships.

A combination of progress in floating wind turbine technology and the arrival of an administration highly supportive of renewable energy technology has changed the situation.  In late May, the Navy abandoned its opposition to Pacific offshore wind and joined the Interior Department in giving support to allowing two areas off the California coast to be developed for wind turbines.

The plan allows commercial offshore wind farms in a 400-square-mile area in Morro Bay in central California, and in another area off the Humboldt Coast in Northern California.

The two California sites could support enough wind turbines to generate electricity to power 1.6 million homes.  That would make the California coast one of the largest generators of wind power in the world.  The forthcoming Vineyard Wind farm in Massachusetts is expected to have 84 giant turbines.  The two California sites could hold more than 300 turbines.

The offshore wind industry is booming around the world, especially near the coasts of Norway and the UK, where the water is shallow, and turbines can be anchored to the ocean floor.  By contrast, the Pacific Ocean floor drops steeply from the coastline, making it too deep to anchor wind towers.  The newly emerging technology of floating turbines is the key to establishing offshore wind in the Pacific.

**********

Web Links

Biden Opens California’s Coast to Wind Farms

Photo, posted August 7, 2013, courtesy of Ray Bouknight via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The World’s Largest Tidal Device | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Most of the world’s activity in renewable energy is focused on solar and wind power.  The use of both is expanding rapidly. But there is also marine energy to be exploited.  Ocean waves and tidal movements hold huge amounts of energy.  Estimates are that the European Union could get 15% of its power from marine sources.  But ocean energy is currently expensive and there are significant technical challenges still to be overcome.

The world’s largest tidal power device will soon begin testing off the coast of Scotland.  The 680-ton, 240-foot-long, airplane-shaped device will be connected to the European Marine Energy Center for testing. 

The device, built by the Scottish company Orbital Marine Power, is designed to produce 2 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 2,000 homes.   It has a pair of 52-foot-long turbines attached to two wings.

Compared to wind and solar power, the marine energy sector has been much slower to develop because of the many difficulties of working in harsh marine environments as well as the technical challenges associated with harnessing power from waves and tides. But ocean waves and tidal movements hold enormous amounts of energy and have the advantage that they are available at all times, unlike wind and solar energy, which are variable in nature. 

Experts say that the future of tidal energy lies with arrays of floating or sea-bottom-mounted turbines that capture the energy of tidal currents in unobstructed waters.  There are various places around the world where this is an attractive opportunity, most notably in Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy, where the world’s most extreme tides – rising and falling more than 50 feet – contain vast amounts of power.

**********

Web Links

The World’s Largest Tidal Power Device Will Soon Begin Testing Off Scotland

Photo, posted May 18, 2017, courtesy of Chris via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Solar Power Boom In Texas | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Texas has been a leader in wind energy for a number of years.  In 2020, wind made up 23% of the state’s generating capacity and provided 20% of in-state generation.  But although wind capacity in Texas has grown rapidly in recent years, solar power is expected to make up the largest share of the state’s capacity additions over the next two years.

Texas plans to add 4.6 gigawatts of utility-scale solar power this year and 5.4 gigawatts in 2022.  This will give the state a total capacity of 15 gigawatts, which will nearly catch up to California, the state with the most large-scale solar power.  California already has 16 gigawatts of installed solar capacity and plans to add about two more over the next two years.

The planned capacity for Texas will provide enough power for roughly 5 million homes, taking into account the intermittency of solar energy.  Much of the new solar capacity will be in the Permian Basin in West Texas, which is a particularly sunny place.  Because solar generation is greatest in the middle of the day, when wind generation is typically lower, the transmission line infrastructure already in place for the wind power will be adequate for the new solar installations.

The boom in solar power in Texas is driven in part by the federal solar Investment Tax Credit that is available to project developers as well as by the ever-lower cost of solar technology. 

One-third of the utility-scale solar capacity planned to come online in the U.S. in the next two years will be in Texas.  Currently, utility-scale solar only makes up 4% of electrical generating capacity in Texas, but that is clearly changing.

**********

Web Links

Texas likely to add 10 GW of utility-scale solar capacity in the next two years

Photo, posted May 14, 2020, courtesy of Courtney Celley/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

How Green Are Electric Cars? | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Environmental groups, governments, and automakers are all promoting electric vehicles as an important technology to combat climate change.  For example, GM plans to stop selling gas-powered cars by 2035 and Volvo intends to be all-electric by 2030.

There are still those who question how green electric vehicles actually are.  All products and technologies do have their environmental impacts.  In general, today’s electric cars produce significantly fewer planet-warming emissions than gas-powered cars, but there are factors that affect the results for specific vehicles.

The biggest issue is the source of electricity used to charge up the cars.  In places where coal still provides a substantial fraction of electric generation, electric cars don’t fare as well.  But coal’s contributions to the grid are declining rapidly and even cleaner fossil fuels like natural gas are gradually being replaced by green generation from wind and solar power.  If the grid was entirely carbon-free, then there would be no emissions associated with operating the vehicle.

MIT has created an interactive online tool that incorporates a comprehensive set of factors contributing to the emissions associated with cars:  what it takes to manufacture the cars, how much gasoline conventional cars burn, and where the electricity to charge electric vehicles comes from.

The tool provides information like the average amount of carbon dioxide emitted for every mile driven over a car’s lifetime. 

Results will vary with location and various other vehicle factors, but in the great majority of cases, electric cars are much greener than gasoline cars, and as the grid becomes greener, the cars will become greener as well.

**********

Web Links

CarbonCounter 2021

How Green Are Electric Vehicles?

Photo, posted January 29, 2020, courtesy of Tony Webster via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Is U.S. Offshore Wind Finally Happening? | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Offshore wind capacity has been growing rapidly in recent years, especially in Europe and China.  Globally, there is now more than 30 GW of offshore wind and industry experts predict that there will be well over 200 GW of installed capacity by 2030.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has only two small pilot projects, one with five turbines off Rhode Island and another with two turbines off Virginia.  But after many years of battles with determined opponents, false starts, regulatory struggles, and other hurdles, the U.S. offshore wind industry appears to be poised to take off.

A combination of significant commitments by power companies to purchase offshore wind power, strong support by the Biden administration, and billions of dollars in investments is creating the new-found momentum.

New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maryland have collectively committed to buying 30 GW of offshore electricity by 2035.  (That’s enough to power roughly 20 million homes).

Among the first major offshore installations to be completed in the next few years in the U.S. will be Vineyard Wind, 15 miles off of Martha’s Vineyard, another wind farm 60 miles east of New York’s Montauk Point, a third fifteen miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey, and a fourth off the Virginia Coast.

Offshore wind projects will create nearly 40,000 jobs just in the New York-New Jersey area over the next ten years.  There is still some opposition from elements of the commercial fishing industry and from some coastal residents.  However, with state and federal governments committed to reducing carbon emissions and rapidly reducing regulatory barriers, and with the price of offshore wind continuing to get lower and lower, most observers agree that the U.S. offshore wind industry is finally on the verge of really getting going.

**********

Web Links

On U.S. East Coast, Has Offshore Wind’s Moment Finally Arrived?

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

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Path To Net Zero | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Reaching net zero emissions is both feasible and affordable, according to researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of San Francisco, and consulting firm Evolved Energy Research.   The researchers created a detailed model of the entire U.S. energy and industrial system to produce the first detailed, peer-reviewed study of how to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The study analyzed multiple feasible technology pathways based on very different assumptions of remaining fossil fuel use, land use, consumer adoption, nuclear energy, and biofuel use.  What they had in common was increasing energy efficiency, transitioning to electric technologies, utilizing clean electricity (especially wind and solar power), and deploying small amounts of carbon capture technology.

The decarbonization of the U.S. energy system is an infrastructure transformation.  Getting to net zero by 2050 means adding many gigawatts of wind and solar power plants, new transmission lines, a fleet of electric cars and light trucks, millions of heat pumps to replace conventional furnaces and water heaters, and more energy-efficient buildings.

The various pathways studied have net costs between 0.2% and 1.2% of GDP, which is as little as $1 per person per day.  The cost variations come from various tradeoffs such as the amount of land given to solar and wind farms as well as the amount of new transmission infrastructure required. 

A key result of the study is that the actions required over the next 10 years are similar among all the pathways.   We need to increase the use of renewable energy and make sure that all new infrastructure, such as cars and buildings are low carbon.

**********

Web Links

Getting to Net Zero – and Even Net Negative – is Surprisingly Feasible, and Affordable

Photo, posted July 12, 2010, courtesy of Tom Shockey via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Aircraft Emissions And Climate Change | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

The aviation industry accounts for about 2.4% of global carbon dioxide emissions.  If the aviation industry was a country, it would place sixth in emissions, between Japan and Germany.

According to scientists at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, aviation industry emissions could be reduced by simply better surfing the wind.  The researchers found that commercial flights between New York and London could have used up to 16% less fuel if they had made better use of the fast-moving winds at altitude.

The study, which was recently published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, analyzed approximately 35,000 flights in both directions between New York and London last winter.  The researchers compared how much fuel was burned during these flights to how much less fuel would have been burned by flying into or around the eastward jet stream air currents. 

They found that taking better advantage of the winds would have saved about 125 miles worth of fuel per flight on average.  The fuel saving per flight was 1.7% when flying west to New York, and 2.5% when flying east to London. 

New satellites will soon allow transatlantic flights to be tracked more accurately.  This should afford aircraft more flexibility in their flight paths, allowing them to better follow tailwinds and avoid headwinds. 

Upgrading aircraft or switching to greener fuels are two other ways that the aviation industry can reduce emissions, but those things are costly and take time to implement.  Optimizing flight paths is cheaper and offers immediate benefits.  

**********

Web Links

Aircraft could cut emissions by better surfing the wind

Photo, posted May 16, 2011, courtesy of Cory W. Watts via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

New York Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

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. 

**********

Web Links

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.

Grid-Scale Battery Storage is on the Rise | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Driven by steeply falling prices and improving technology, grid-scale battery storage systems are seeing record growth in the U.S. and around the world. Battery storage is a way to overcome one of the biggest obstacles to renewable energy:  the cycling between oversupply when the sun shines or the wind blows, and shortage when the sun sets or the wind drops.  Storing excess energy in battery banks can smooth imbalances between supply and demand.

In California, a 300-megawatt lithium-ion battery plant is being readied for operation with another 100 megawatts to come online in 2021.  The system will be able to power roughly 300,000 California homes for four-hour periods when energy demand outstrips supply.  It will be the world’s largest battery system for a while until even larger systems in Florida and in Saudi Arabia come online.

Nationwide, a record 1.2 gigawatts of storage were installed last year and that number is projected to jump dramatically over the next five years to nearly 7.5 gigawatts in 2025.

The price tag for utility-scale battery storage in the U.S. has plummeted, dropping nearly 70% just between 2015 and 2018.  Prices are expected to drop by a further 45% over the next decade.  Battery performance has continued to improve dramatically with increased power capacity and the ability to store and discharge energy over ever-longer periods of time. 

Favorable energy policies including renewable energy mandates coupled with continued price drops will drive the widespread expansion of battery energy storage.

**********

Web Links

In Boost for Renewables, Grid-Scale Battery Storage Is on the Rise

Photo, posted November 17, 2016, courtesy of Steve Ryan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Largest Renewable Energy Project In The World | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

India has broken ground on what is planned to be the largest renewable energy project in the world:  a 30-gigawatt wind and solar power project in the state of Gujarat.

The renewable energy park will have two zones:  a 122,000-acre hybrid park zone that will accommodate 25 gigawatts of wind and solar power plants and a 57,000-acre zone entirely dedicated to wind power.  Multiple developers will be building the power plants in the hybrid zone.  A single company has been allotted the wind power zone.  The selected developers have to develop 50% of the total generation capacity in the next 3 years and finish the project in five years. The project is expected to create jobs for 100,000 people. Total investment in the project will be about $20 billion.

This is not technically a single standalone project but is rather an aggregation of multiple projects in a single general area.  Nonetheless, it represents the largest renewable energy development ever.  By comparison, the entire United States has a total of 50 gigawatts of installed solar power in large plants – which does not include any rooftop solar.  Total wind power capacity in the U.S. is a little over 100 gigawatts.  So, the 30-gigawatt Indian project is huge by any measure.

India already gets over 30% of its electricity from renewable sources, making it one of the largest renewable energy markets in the world.  The country has a goal of 60% renewable energy by 2030, amounting to 450 gigawatts of capacity.  This will require the country to double its already substantial renewable capacity in less than 10 years.  The Gujarat energy park will represent substantial progress towards that goal.

**********

Web Links

Largest Renewable Energy Project In World Will Be 30 Gigawatt Solar–Wind Project In India

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

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Renewable Energy And Green Ammonia | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Several different clean technology trends may come together on farms across the country where wind turbines could power devices that produce green ammonia for fertilizer and zero emission fuel.

Distributed wind is a kind of renewable energy that doesn’t get much attention.  It refers to turbines that are used to generate electricity for on-site use, as for a factory or a farm.  It typically involves smaller turbines than the behemoths that are used in giant wind farms.

Installing a wind turbine or two on a farm could be quite valuable if the electricity generated could be used to make green ammonia.  Such an application would eliminate the problem of “stranded wind”, which is when a location has lots of wind but lacks access to the electricity transmission infrastructure.

If farmers could utilize wind energy to produce ammonia, they could make their own fertilizer as well as fuel and get relief from price spikes and uncertainties in the commodities market.  Of course, they would also make use of the electricity they generate on site.

Most ammonia is produced using a proven technology called the Haber-Bosch process.   Ammonia contains only nitrogen and hydrogen, both of which can be extracted from the air.  The trick is how to do it efficiently using renewable electricity.   The Department of Energy has a program called the REFUEL Initiative, which aims at deploying renewable energy to produce ammonia.  The University of Minnesota, among other places, has multiple programs dedicated to green ammonia technology. 

There is encouraging progress being made that may ultimately result in a common sight of wind turbines on farms producing fertilizer, fuel, and electricity.

**********

Web Links

The Renewable Energy Cows Come Home, Now With Green Ammonia

Photo, posted July 15, 2009, courtesy of Daniel_Bauer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Compost And Landfills | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Composting is popular as a way to keep solid waste out of landfills and many people turn much of their kitchen waste into rich soil amendments.   Cities and towns across the country have composting programs that collect waste from residents to produce large quantities of compost rather than adding the waste to landfills.  A new study from North Carolina State University looked into the environmental benefits of actually using compost at landfills.

Most municipal composting programs require that the compost they produce gets used “beneficially”.  The new research shows that using compost as an alternative daily cover at landfills is competitive and often superior to the use of compost as a soil amendment in terms of its environmental benefits.

Landfills apply a layer of daily cover to reduce odors, reduce windblown debris, and keep vermin out of landfill waste.  Federal regulations require six inches of soil as a daily cover.

Compost from food waste in particular is not always suitable for soil amendment in gardens and agricultural fields because it often contains broken glass and other contaminants.

The North Carolina State study looked at the environmental impact of using compost as daily cover in landfills compared with its use as a soil amendment.  They looked at global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication (which is the amount of nutrients released to ground and surface water), cumulative energy demand, and the depletion of resources.

The study concluded that using compost as landfill daily cover is environmentally superior with regard to eutrophication, acidification, and global warming potential.  On the other hand, soil amendment was better in terms of resource depletion and cumulative energy demand.

**********

Web Links

Applying Compost to Landfills Could Have Environmental Benefits

Photo, posted April 22, 2008, courtesy of Alachua County via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

New York And Renewables | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

In 2019, New York generated more electricity from renewable sources than all but three other states.  The 39.4 million MWh of renewable electricity generated in New York was the largest of any state east of the Mississippi. 

New York has been a leader in renewable power long before it became a topic of great interest because of its hydroelectric power.  In 2019, 78% of the state’s renewable electricity came from hydropower.  The Robert Moses Niagara hydroelectric plant is the second-largest capacity conventional hydroelectric power plant in the country. 

The three states that generated more renewable electricity than New York are California, Texas, and Washington.  Washington gets 69% of all its electricity generation from its multiple hydroelectric plants which together produce a quarter of all hydroelectric power in the nation.  Texas leads the nation in wind-powered generation and gets over 17% of its in-state generation from wind.  California gets 14% of its power from solar generation, 7% from wind, and over 16% from its own hydroelectric resources.

Wind is the second-largest source of renewable power in New York, accounting for 11% of renewable generation in the state and 3% of total electricity generation.  Solar power is expanding in New York, but the great majority of it is still in the form of small-scale installations on residential and commercial rooftops.

New York’s renewable generation grew from 19% in 2005 to 30% at present.  New York’s Clean Energy Standard adopted in 2015 requires the state to generate 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040.

**********

Web Links

New York generated fourth most electricity from renewables of any state in 2019

Photo, posted October 15, 2010, courtesy of michael-swan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Renewable Growth During The Pandemic | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

According to a new report published by the International Energy Agency, global renewable energy installations will hit a record level in 2020 in sharp contrast with declines in the fossil fuel sectors caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the year, almost 90% of all new electricity generation will be renewable, with only 10% powered by gas and coal.  This progress puts green power on track to become the largest global electricity source by 2025, displacing coal-powered generation, which has been dominant for the past 50 years.  By that year, renewables are expected to supply one-third of the world’s electricity.

Solar power capacity has increased by 18 times since 2010 and wind power by four times.  In 2010, hydropower provided 77% of the world’s green power, but its share has fallen to 45% – not because there is less hydropower but because solar and wind have grown so much.

Growing recognition of the need to tackle the global climate crisis has made renewable energy increasingly attractive to investors.  According to the IEA report, shares in renewable equipment makers and project developers have outperformed most major stock market indices and the value of shares in solar companies has more than doubled in the past 12 months. Fossil fuels have had a turbulent time in 2020 as the pandemic has caused demand from transport and other sectors to plunge.

While renewables continue to see dramatic growth in electrical generation capacity, electricity represents only about one-fifth of all energy use.  The burning of fossil fuels in transport, industry, and heating continues to make up the bulk of energy emissions.

**********

Web Links

Renewable energy defies Covid-19 to hit record growth in 2020

Photo, posted October 2, 2020, courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management California via Flickr. Photo credit: Clearway Energy Group.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Reduced Air Travel And Weather Forecasts | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

There have been countless stories about the major and minor changes in the world caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.  A few of those changes, such as reductions in pollution and traffic, have been positive.  Most have been decidedly negative.

One of the stranger things that has happened is that the pandemic has affected the quality of weather forecasting by sharply reducing the amount of atmospheric data routinely collected by commercial airliners.

It turns out that atmospheric observations from passenger and cargo flights are among the most important data used in weather forecasting models.  These observations are made by instruments aboard thousands of airliners, mostly based in North America and Europe.  The observation program has been in place for decades.  The data is transmitted in real time to forecasting organizations around the world, including the National Weather Service.  About 40 airlines participate in the program, which has equipment aboard about 3,500 aircraft.  Here in the US, Delta, United, American, and Southwest Airlines participate, as do UPS and FedEx.

During the first few months of the pandemic, air traffic declined by 75% or more worldwide.  As a result, atmospheric observations dropped by the same percentage.  A government research study showed that when weather forecasting models receive less data on temperature, wind, and humidity from aircraft, the accuracy of forecasts was reduced.

The amount of data from aircraft has increased in recent months as air travel has picked up to roughly 50% of pre-pandemic levels.  So, the observation program is on the mend.  Nonetheless, impaired weather forecasting is just another unexpected result of the global pandemic.

**********

Web Links

Slump in Air Travel Hindered Weather Forecasting, Study Shows

Photo, posted July 15, 2017, courtesy of Daria Nepriakhina via Flickr. Photo by Photo by Daria / epicantus.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Green Hydrogen | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Saudi Arabia is a country built around oil, but it is now placing a big bet on green hydrogen as the next big thing in its energy future.  The country is constructing a $500 billion futuristic city called Neom in the desert along the Red Sea.  The brand-new city will be home to a million people, and it will be powered by green hydrogen.

The U.S. company Air Products & Chemicals has been building a green hydrogen plant there for the last four years.  The giant plant will be powered by 4 gigawatts of wind and solar projects.

Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced without carbon emissions.  Most hydrogen produced commercially is made from natural gas, which results in CO2 emissions.  Green hydrogen is made by using electricity to split water into its component elements using renewable energy to power the process.

Saudi Arabia is an ideal place for a giant green hydrogen plant.  The Middle East has the world’s cheapest wind and solar power.  The sun reliably shines there almost every day and the wind blows almost every night.

While some proponents argue that hydrogen should fuel the entire energy system, other experts see it as a more targeted solution.  The view is that wind and solar power can provide the electricity we need to power homes and electric cars.  However, green hydrogen could be ideal to power energy-intensive industries like concrete and steel manufacturing, as well as parts of the transportation sector that are more difficult to electrify.

While green hydrogen is barely on the radar in the US, around the world a green hydrogen rush is underway, developing it as an energy source that could help end the reign of fossil fuels.

**********

Web Links

Green Hydrogen: Could It Be Key to a Carbon-Free Economy?

Photo, posted November 6, 2020, courtesy of RSM Chrystie via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

More Plastic Pollution From The United States | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

A new study published in the journal Science Advances has revealed that the United States is contributing far more to coastal plastic pollution than was previously believed.  A previous study using 2010 data ranked the US 20th globally, in its contribution to ocean plastic pollution from mismanaged waste.  The new study ranks the U.S. third among the world’s countries.

The largest contributor to the discrepancy is that the earlier study did not account for plastic scrap exports.  Using plastic waste generation data from 2016 – which is the most recent global data available – the study’s authors calculated that more than half of all plastics collected for recycling in the US were shipped abroad.  This amounts to over 2 million tons.  Of this amount, some 88% went to countries struggling to effectively manage, recycle, or dispose of plastics, and between 15-25% was, in fact, low-value or contaminated, meaning that it was effectively unrecyclable.  When all of these factors were taken into account, the researchers estimated that a million tons of US-generated plastic waste ended up polluting the environment.  It just occurred beyond our own borders.

Overall, 2-3% of all plastic waste generated in the US – about a million tons – is either littered or illegally dumped into the domestic environment.  When this is combined with the exported waste, the US is responsible for more than 2 million tons of plastic waste being dumped into the environment.  About two-thirds of that ends up in coastal environments, where it is likely to enter the ocean by wind or through waterways.

The United States generates the most plastic waste of any country in the world.  Unfortunately, we have been operating under the illusion that we were doing a pretty good job of dealing with it.

*********

Web Links

New Study Reveals United States a Top Source of Plastic Pollution in Coastal Environments

Photo, posted April 3, 2015, courtesy of Vaidehi Shah via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Largest Turbines In The Largest Offshore Wind Farm | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

The world’s largest planned offshore wind farm is going to make use of the world’s largest installed offshore wind turbines.  The Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea off the Yorkshire coast of England will ultimately generate electricity for more than 4.5 million homes in the United Kingdom.

The 3.6 GW project will cost $10 billion and will be developed in three phases, the first two of which will use 13-MW wind turbines built by General Electric.  The turbine’s blades measure 351 feet – longer than a soccer field.  The turbines stand more than 850 feet tall, which is five times the size of the Arc de Triomphe.  GE claims that a single rotation of one of these huge turbines can supply enough electricity to power the average British household for two days.  When the project is completed in 2026, it will generate 5% of the United Kingdom’s electricity.

The previous version of GE’s Haliade-X turbines, rated at 12 MW, were ordered by the energy company Orsted for installation in two forthcoming U.S. windfarm: the Skipjack Farm off the coast of Maryland, and the Ocean Wind farm off the coast of New Jersey.  The new version will be the largest turbines to reach operation in a commercial project.  Meanwhile, Siemens Gamesa has a 14 MW turbine under development.

The order for 190 of the 13 MW giant turbines for the Dogger Bank farm arrived at GE on the same day that the company announced that it will no longer supply power equipment to new coal plants.  Work on the Dogger Bank project started in January in an area of the North Sea that was previously dominated by oil and gas development.

**********

Web Links

World’s Biggest Offshore Wind Farm Will Boast World’s Largest Installed Turbines

Photo, posted February 22, 2014, courtesy of Jonny Longrigg via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Renewables Are Slowly Taking Over | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

According to data released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, wind, solar, and hydropower provided 100% of the 1.3 GW in new U.S. electrical generating capacity added in April 2020.  Furthermore, the FERC report revealed that renewable sources accounted for 56% of the 9 GW added during the first four months of the year.  Apart from renewables, the balance of new generation was almost entirely made up of new natural gas capacity.   There have been no new capacity additions by coal, oil, nuclear power, or geothermal energy since the beginning of the year.

Renewable energy sources now account for nearly 23% of the nation’s total available installed generating capacity and continue to increase their lead over coal, which now accounts for only 20% of the nation’s electricity generation.

FERC data also suggests that renewables’ share of generating capacity should increase significantly over the next three years.  So-called “high probability” generation capacity additions for wind, minus anticipated retirements, project a net increase of nearly 27 GW, while solar is projected to grow by 24 GW.  By comparison, net growth for natural gas is expected to be just over 20 GW. 

Hydropower, geothermal, and biomass are all expected to experience net growth while the generating capacity of coal and oil are expected to plummet.   Nuclear power is forecasted to remain essentially unchanged.

In total, over the next three years,  the mix of all renewables is predicted to add more than 50 times the net new generating capacity added by natural gas, coal, oil, and nuclear power combined.  Renewables are truly on the rise.

**********

Web Links

Renewable Energy Provides All New US Generating Capacity in April – Forecast to Add Almost 50x More Than Coal, Oil, Gas & Nuclear Over Next Three Years

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

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Massachusetts And Energy Policy | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

The transition to a renewables-based energy future continues to accelerate, but there are still many forces that can slow it down.  Government policy has a major role to play.  At the moment, the federal government is trying to prop up the fossil fuel industry with financial incentives and rampant deregulation.  So more than ever, innovative policies at the state level are essential drivers for revolutionizing the energy system.

One state where policy is trying to make a big difference is Massachusetts, which has created the Clean Peak Energy Standard or CPS, finalized and approved in late March and now taking effect.   A clean peak standard is a regulatory tool to reduce the costs and environmental impact of periods when electricity demand is highest, and generation tends to be the most polluting.  The CPS requires electric retailers to procure a minimum percentage of their annual electricity sales from renewable generation or energy storage.  That minimum amount will increase each year.

The CPS is formulated to incentivize better utilization of clean energy technologies to supply power when energy demand is high.  The problem is that there are times when the sun is not shining and the wind isn’t blowing, but energy demand is at its highest.  The solution is to use energy storage technologies that can supply power when it is needed.  Furthermore, storage can be relied upon during times of extreme weather that cause power outages.

Massachusetts has already started using energy storage in its grid.  The small town of Sterling installed an energy storage system in 2016 that provides crucial backup power to the police station and emergency dispatch center, thereby keeping first responder operations running even during extended power outages.

**********

Web Links

Massachusetts is setting the benchmark for nationwide clean energy transformation

Photo, posted March 30, 2012, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)