Apple’s “California Flats” solar energy farm in Northern California. [credit: Apple ] Apple today announced that it will build a “grid-scale” energy-storage project in California, capable of storing 240 megawatt-hours of energy. The storage will work closely with the 130-megawatt solar farm the company already build to power daytime energy needs at its headquarters in Cupertino. […]
Enlarge / Sights like these may be more common in the US before long. (credit: Nathan Stirk / Getty Images) On Monday, the Biden administration announced a major effort to kickstart the offshore wind industry in the US. While offshore installations have been booming in Europe, the US is still limited to a single, small […]
(credit: MIT News) Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law late last week one of the nation’s most sweeping climate bills, putting the state on a path to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The law sets emissions limits of 50% below 1990 levels by 2030 and 75% cuts by 2040 with interim limits every […]
Enlarge (credit: Ina Fassbender/Getty Images) Arguments about our shift to renewable power often focus on the raw economics of doing so—the cost of the power itself and, in some cases, the cost of managing its intermittency. Those are often compared to the costs of producing electricity with fossil fuels. But that ignores one of the […]
Enlarge / Lots of California’s water delivery system is exposed to the air. (credit: NSF) A major factor driving the growth of solar power in the US has been the economics of large, utility-scale solar projects. The scale of plants ensures that their developers can buy components in bulk; use larger, more robust hardware; and […]
Enlarge / Miraculously, the video at issue did not accuse wind turbines of causing cancer. (credit: Pictures Alliance / Getty Images) Our editor-in-chief obviously hates me. That’s the only conclusion I could reach after he asked me to watch an abysmal attack video targeting renewable energy—a video produced by a notorious source of right-wing misinformation. […]
Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty Images) Texas is now entering its third day of widespread power outages and, although supplies of electricity are improving, they remain well short of demand. For now, the state’s power authority suggests that, rather than restoring power, grid operators will try to shift from complete blackouts to rolling ones. […]
Enlarge / Wind turbines can apparently operate in Antarctica, so it’s not clear what Texas’ problem is. (credit: Tien Lai, NSF) This morning, as the jet stream brought frigid air south to the central United States, Texas residents found themselves facing rolling blackouts as statewide grid struggled to meet demand amidst a large shortfall in […]
Enlarge (credit: Picture Alliance / Getty Images) In many areas of the United States, installing a wind or solar farm is now cheaper than simply buying fuel for an existing fossil fuel-based generator. And that’s dramatically changing the electricity market in the US and requiring a lot of people to update prior predictions. That’s motivated […]
Enlarge / National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry answer questions during a press briefing at the White House. (credit: Drew Angerer / Getty Images) Yesterday, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order entitled Putting the Climate Crisis at the Center of United States Foreign Policy and National […]