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Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018

We’re doing a great job of creating renewable energy—but we don’t have the infrastructure to actually use it

Author:     Amal Ahmed
Source:     Popular Science
Publication Date:     January 18, 2018
 Link: We’re doing a great job of creating renewable energy—but we don’t have the infrastructure to actually use it
Stephan:   In a country in which profit is the only social priority it is almost impossible to create a national program that fosters wellbeing, and utilizes the latest technological developments. The fact that we invented the internet and yet rank as a second tier nation -- Singapore has an average download speed of 153,85 Mbps, the U.S. speed is less than half of that 75.94Mbps -- is one example of what I mean. This story about non-carbon energy is another, electric vehicle charging stations represents a third example. Our economic model no longer works to produce social wellbeing, it's that simple.

California solar and wind power

Last week, some rare positive environmental news reached the public eye: Nearly half of all the new, large-scale electric power generation installed last year use renewable energy sources, according to the Energy Information Administration. The government agency reports that of the total 25 gigawatts of capacity installed in 2017, about 12 gigawatts of that amout came from clean energy—plus an extra 3.5 gigawatts of small-scale solar, like rooftop panels.

This report follows in tandem with another good energy update: Almost all of the power plants shut down last year used fossil fuels as their source of energy. And most of those plants used coal, largely recognized as the most carbon intensive fuel type. And the good news keeps on rolling. We should expect this trend to continue, since the agency reports that power companies plan to retire nearly 10 gigawatts of coal power in 2018.

So lots of good clean energy is coming our way. But are we ready for it? […]

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2 Comments

  1. Marsha Roberts on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 8:03 am

    Many years ago, I heard a scientist interviewed on the radio who spent the entire 3-hour show talking about Hemp Fuel. He said that with some small tweaks, this fuel could be delivered via our current infrastructure, including the refining.

  2. Rev. Dean on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 7:23 pm

    Unfortunately, hemp fuel is still a CO2 producing product and would not help the environment. Solar and wind and geothermal are still the best way to stop pollution.