This week in America, “continent-spanning winter storms triggered blackouts in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and several other states,” reports the New York Times. But that was just the beginning… One-third of oil production in the nation was halted. Drinking-water systems in Ohio were knocked offline. Road networks nationwide were paralyzed and vaccination efforts in 20 states were disrupted. The crisis carries a…
Tag: power lines
Tesla and PG&E To Build World’s Largest Battery Farm Near Silicon Valley
“Tesla will work with PG&E to build the world’s largest battery facility able to store energy generated by both solar and wind power in Monterey, California,” writes long-time Slashdot reader Okian Warrior. Clean Technica reports: “Certainly, combined, this is going to be the largest battery facility in the world, so it’s a big boost to our community and our country,” said…
Are California’s Utilities Undermining Rooftop Solar Installations?
California now has one million solar roofs, representing about 14% of all renewable power generated in the state. But solar advocates “said the milestone has come despite escalating efforts by utilities to undermine rooftop solar installations,” according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “They said those attacks include everything from hefty fees on ratepayers to calling for dramatic cuts to the credits…
Does California Need A More Decentralized Energy System?
“California’s electricity system is failing,” argues Vox, in an article shared by Slashdot reader nickwinlund77. But they’re proposing a way “to make California’s electricity system cleaner, more reliable, and more resilient.” In a nutshell, it is accelerating the evolution from a centralized, top-down, long-distance, one-way energy system to a more decentralized, bottom-up, local, networked system. In the energy world, this is…
Does America’s First Commercial Offshore Wind Farm Portend a Clean Energy Revolution?
In the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Slashdot reader Dan Drollette describes visiting one of North America’s biggest experiments in renewable energy, off the coast of Rhode Island. As the only commercial offshore wind farm in North America, Block Island is “setting the stage for what could be a rapid explosion in the number of commercial offshore windmills on the entire…
Extreme U.S. Weather Brings Power Outages
“Ninety-four million people in parts of 23 states remain under excessive heat warnings and heat advisories on Sunday as one last day of scorching temperatures hits the Midwest and East Coast,” reports ABC News. “Sunday is the last day of oppressive heat, with many places in the Upper Midwest already feeling cooler Sunday morning after heat indices of 115 to 120…
What Caused the 2019 New York Blackout? Infrastructure.
On Saturday night in New York City a power outage struck Midtown Manhattan, hitting Hell’s Kitchen north to Lincoln Center and from Fifth Avenue west to the Hudson River. The blackout darkened the huge, electric billboards of Times Square, forced Broadway shows to cancel performances, and even disabled some subway lines. But what caused it? From a report: According to reports,…
Lake Baikal: Earth’s deepest, oldest lake
Lake Baikal in southern Siberia is 25 million years old and more than 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) deep. More than 2,500 plant and animal species have been documented in the lake, most found nowhere else. Controversy surrounds construction of hydropower stations on a river that feeds the lake. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/what-is-the-worlds-deepest-lake…
California Approves Wide Power Outages To Prevent Wildfires
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NBC News: California regulators on Thursday approved allowing utilities to cut off electricity to possibly hundreds of thousands of customers to avoid catastrophic wildfires like the one sparked by power lines last year that killed 85 people and largely destroyed the city of Paradise. Utilities’ liability can reach billions of dollars, and after several…