Catrin Einhorn reported from the grasslands north of Flagstaff, Ariz. | New York Times | February 11, 2024
The Planet Needs Solar Power. Can We Build It Without Harming Nature?
Today’s decisions about how and where to set up new energy projects will reverberate for generations.
Photo by Sean Nealon, Oregon State University
New French law will blanket parking lots with solar panels
French parking lots could soon generate as much electricity as 10 nuclear power plants, after a law is expected to win final passage on Tuesday requiring canopies of solar panels to be built atop all substantial lots in the country.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/02/06/france-solar-parking-lots/
Combining solar panels and lamb grazing increases land productivity, study finds
Land productivity could be greatly increased by combining sheep grazing and solar energy production on the same land, according to new research by Oregon State University scientists.
Wrangling over renewables: Counties push back on Newsom administration usurping local control
“It’s a humongous task,” said Siva Gunda, vice chair of the California Energy Commission. “We’ve had 100 years to build the grid the way it is today and we’re redoing it in the next 20 years. At least we have a plan. We are digging ourselves out of a hole.”
https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/renewable-energy-california-counties/
By Mark Chediak and Brian Eckhouse
May 12, 2019
Bloomberg
“A plan by California’s biggest utility to cut power on high-wind days during the onrushing wildfire season could plunge millions of residents into darkness. And most people aren’t ready.
The plan by PG&E Corp. comes after the bankrupt utility said a transmission line that snapped in windy weather probably started last year’s Camp Fire, the deadliest in state history. While the plan may end one problem, it creates another as Californians seek ways to deal with what some fear could be days and days of blackouts.
Some residents are turning to other power sources, a boon for home battery systems marketed by Sunrun Inc., Tesla Inc. and Vivint Solar Inc. But the numbers of those systems in use are relatively small when compared with PG&E’s 5.4 million customers. Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom said he’s budgeting $75 million to help communities deal with the threat.
“I’m worried,” Newsom said Thursday during a budget briefing in Sacramento.”
