GEOLOGY WITH JEFF SIMPSON
  • Home
  • GLG101IN
  • GLG110IN
  • GLG280/281
  • GEONEWS
  • JEFF
  • Sustainable Building Project
  • UDP

The Coal Plant Next Door

3/22/2021

0 Comments

 
Near America’s largest coal-fired power plant, toxins are showing up in drinking water and people have fallen ill. Thousands of pages of internal documents show how one giant energy company plans to avoid the cleanup costs. - ProPublica
Picture
0 Comments

Navajo Nation - A Ton of Power & Thousands of Homes Without Electricity

3/22/2021

0 Comments

 
In a year characterized by extreme weather, avid handwashing, and increasingly remote interactions, access to electricity is more important than ever. But 12 months into the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic, it’s a basic right on which thousands of Navajo Nation members are still waiting.  “What it’s like to be without electricity? I don’t know how to describe it because we never had it before,” said Navajo elder and Black Mesa, Arizona, resident Percy Deal. “It’s always been this way, so we’re used to it. Until last year when this pandemic came in; that’s when we began to realize that these utilities are very important.”  Electricity has long been a contentious issue for Navajo Nation residents. Of the roughly 55,000 Indigenous households located on Navajo lands, which stretch across large parts of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, ~15,000 do not have electricity. And yet the reservation is an energy-exporting hotspot, having until recently been home to the Navajo Generating Station, the largest coal-fired power plant in the western U.S, as well as many coal, uranium, oil, and fracking operations. - Grist
0 Comments

Scientists Announce Fast-Track for Net-Zero-Carbon Sustainable Aviation Fuel

3/19/2021

0 Comments

 
Aircraft stand at a turning point in the race to reduce emissions to mitigate climate change. Although the aircraft sector only accounts for a sliver of transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States—at 9%—it is difficult to decarbonize.  That task just got a burst of energy with the publication of a new paper on carbon-negative sustainable aviation fuel by scientists. - NREL
Picture
0 Comments

WHAT ROLE CAN GEOTHERMAL ENERGY PLAY IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION?

3/16/2021

0 Comments

 
Transitioning away from fossil fuels to 100 percent renewable energy is essential to staving off the worst effects of the climate crisis. Wind and solar are currently leading the charge – but they may only get us so far. There is a less-talked-about, under-explored renewable out there that can generate clean, base load energy around the clock. “Geothermal electricity is always on,” said Jefferson Tester, a professor of sustainable energy systems at Cornell University and a leading expert on geothermal energy. “It can provide fully dispatchable power or heat and is scalable in the same way other renewables are.” - Climate Reality



Picture
0 Comments

How Rooftop Solar Could Save Americans $473 Billion

3/6/2021

0 Comments

 
Critics have long dismissed rooftop solar as a niche product for wealthy homeowners who want to feel good about going green or are looking for security against blackouts. And it is conventional wisdom among utilities and regulators that large solar farms have an inherent cost advantage over the rooftop alternative because they benefit from economies of scale.  Chris Clack sees things differently.  In a fascinating report released last month, Clack and his coauthors estimated that eliminating nearly all planet-warming pollution from electricity generation would be $473 billion cheaper with dramatic growth in rooftop solar and batteries.

That calculation is based on Clack’s exhaustively detailed model of the U.S. electric grid, which he says includes 10,000 times more data points than traditional models and allows for a better accounting of rooftop solar’s costs and benefits to the grid. The model is such a complex beast that Clack built his own computers to help run the simulations, which can take five days to complete.

Researchers...looked out to 2050 and projected how electricity costs would change under a national policy requiring emissions to fall by 95%. When they mimicked traditional models that favor large solar and wind farms, they found that consumers would collectively pay $385 billion more for power over the next 30 years. Not an unreasonable price tag for taking a huge bite out of climate change, but still not the preferred direction if we can help it.

When they optimized for smaller-scale solutions...they found the cheapest way to reduce emissions actually involves building 247 gigawatts of rooftop and local solar power (equal to about one-fifth of the country’s entire generating capacity today). In this scenario, consumers would save $473 billion, relative to what electricity would otherwise cost.

The results come down to simple dollars and cents. - LA Times
0 Comments

Plan to Strip AZ Regulators of Power to make Clean-Energy Rules Moves Closer to Governor's Desk

3/5/2021

0 Comments

 
Lawmakers moved Wednesday to strip the Arizona Corporation Commission of its power to make rules about clean energy in the state, following regulators' move to require electric companies to get all of their energy from carbon-free sources by 2050.  The House voted 31-28 on House Bill 2248 on Wednesday, with one member not voting. The bill prohibits the Corporation Commission from enacting any new energy rules after June 2020. Last fall, after years of workshops and hearings on the issue, the Corporation Commission voted 4-1 to require electric companies like Arizona Public Service Co. and Tucson Electric Power Co., to get all of their energy from carbon-free sources by 2050, with intermediate targets before that date. Carbon emissions would need to be halved by 2032. - AZ Central

Picture
0 Comments

Oil Giant Total Targets 100 GW of Wind, Solar Capacity by 2030

3/4/2021

0 Comments

 
French energy company Total aims to have 100 gigawatts (GW) of gross wind and solar energy generation capacity by 2030, making it a frontrunner among oil giants shifting into renewables.  In comparison, Shell hasn’t set a target, as it says it’s focusing on green power sales, and BP’s target is 50 GW by 2030. Italy-based Enel leads, as it has a 145 GW target and says it wants to be a “renewables supermajor.” Total’s CEO Patrick Pouyanne said today that “in 2030, [Total] will have invested in 100 gigawatts of gross capacities; this is the objective and it will be spread in … 30 countries around the world.” - Electrek

Picture
0 Comments

Texas Blackouts Fuel False Claims About Renewable Energy

2/17/2021

0 Comments

 
With millions of Texas residents still without power amid frigid temperatures, conservative commentators have falsely claimed that wind turbines and solar energy were primarily to blame.  “We should never build another wind turbine in Texas,” read a Tuesday Facebook ost from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. “The experiment failed big time.”  “This is a perfect example of the need for reliable energy sources like natural gas & coal,” tweeted U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana, on Tuesday. In reality, failures in natural gas, coal and nuclear energy systems were responsible for nearly twice as many outages as frozen wind turbines and solar panels, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s power grid, said in a press conference Tuesday.  Still a variety of misleading claims spread on social media around renewable energy, with wind turbines and the Green New Deal getting much of the attention.  A viral photo of a helicopter de-icing a wind turbine was shared with claims it showed a “chemical” solution being applied to one of the massive wind generators in Texas. The only problem? The photo was taken in Sweden years ago, not in the U.S. in 2021. The helicopter sprayed hot water onto the wind turbine, not chemicals. - ABC News

"Most of the generation lost has been from coal and gas, according to ERCOT, with only 13% attributable to wind. 'By some estimates,' The Texas Tribune reported Tuesday, 'nearly half of the state's natural gas production has screeched to a halt. Gathering lines freeze, and the wells get so cold that they can't produce,' Parker Fawcett, a natural gas analyst at S&P Global Platts, told the Tribune. 'And, pumps use electricity, so they're not even able to lift that gas and liquid, because there's no power to produce.'"

While ice has forced some turbines to shut down just as a brutal cold wave drives record electrify demand, that's been the least significant factor in the blackouts, according to Dan Woodfin, a senior director for ERCOT which operates the Texas grid.  The main factors?  Frozen instruments at natural gas, coal and even nuclear facilities as well as limited supplies of natural gas, he said.  "Natural gas pressure" in particular is one reason power is coming back slower than expected Tuesday, added Woodfin. 
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Greener Pastures: Shell Plans Steady Drop in Oil Business

2/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Royal Dutch Shell, one of the multinationals that defined the oil industry, is slowly turning away from the fossil fuel that made its fortune over the decades but also worsened a global climate crisis. The company said Thursday that its production of oil peaked before the coronavirus pandemic and will fall steadily as it attempts an ambitious pivot toward less polluting forms of energy. It's a milestone for the company and reflects the urgency facing governments and companies to reduce climate-warming emissions.  Shell unveiled new plans for reaching its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050 that include a 1% to 2% drop annually in oil output. It will eliminate seven of its 13 refineries and aims to cut production of gasoline and diesel fuel by 55% over the next decade. The plan is part of a wider push, particularly among European oil companies, to overhaul their operations to reduce carbon emissions blamed for global warming while still making money. BP said last year that it wants to eliminate or offset all carbon emissions from its operations and the oil and gas it sells to customers by 2050. - ABC News
0 Comments

Methane Leakage - Energy Transition Show Podcast #140

2/8/2021

0 Comments

 
Editor's Note - I am including links to significant podcasts related to geology, energy, and the environment.  The Energy Transition Show by Chris Nelder, is an excellent source of information from experts related to..well... energy transition.

Methane (natural gas) is a greenhouse gas with a much more powerful warming effect than carbon dioxide, so finding and eliminating gas leaks is an important part of addressing the climate challenge. But until now, we’ve had poor information about gas leakage within cities, as well as how to correctly attribute the leakage all along the chain from well to consumer.

We discuss a study, The Gas Index, with two of its authors. It is the first study that has provided granular estimates for life cycle methane leakage for a large number of cities, and the first to draw together recent assessments of leakage within cities, including leakage that occurs within buildings. It shows that cities’ gas systems are leaking about 72% more than had been previously estimated by the EPA. We also consider the role of natural gas in the energy transition, and some of the tradeoffs we will have to consider as we deal with the problem of methane leakage. - Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Geo News

    I started a CGCC Facebook page in May of '20 to share geo-environmental news but had concerns about FB's issues with accuracy.  This page, GeoNews, is a response and partial solution, sharing a few items from reliable sources each week.  

    Click the
    source link after the included text to read more.

    To respond thoughtfully or ask questions, click "Comments". 

    To complete the extra credit option, use this Google Doc.

    Contact Prof Jeff to share items.


    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020


    Categories

    All
    Agriculture
    Air Pollution
    Arizona
    Beaches
    Climate Change
    Earth's Interior
    Economics
    Energy
    EQ
    Erosion
    Fire
    Fossil Fuels
    Geologic History
    Glaciers
    Groundwater
    Health
    Humor
    Magnetic
    Meteorites
    Mining
    Oceans
    Ozone
    Plate Tectonics / EQs
    Pollution
    Population
    Recycling
    Renewable Energy
    Rivers
    Soil
    Space Science
    Sustainability
    Transportation
    Tsunami
    Volcanoes
    Waste
    Water


    RSS Feed

Site powered by Weebly. Managed by MacHighway
  • Home
  • GLG101IN
  • GLG110IN
  • GLG280/281
  • GEONEWS
  • JEFF
  • Sustainable Building Project
  • UDP