Author: alree

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Solar prices

 Yahoo! (n.d.). Solar to comprise 50% of 2022 U.S. electricity generation. Yahoo! Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/solar-comprise-50-2022-u-141502371.html

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration about half of the planned energy capacity in 2022 is supposed to come from solar power. About 46.1 gigawatts of new utility scale electric generating capacity is projected to be added to the power grid. The solar industry struggled at the beginning of the pandemic with lower installation rates, but it is starting to build back up again. 

I think this is not realistic yet. It doesn’t really seem like we are ready to have this much energy come from solar. The prices of solar panels are still very expensive. I think a lot will ride on the Biden Administration’s decision about the upcoming solar tariffs. If they agree to get rid of them, it could definitely happen with a lot more being used in the U.S. Biden’s decision on the solar power could have massive impacts on what happens from here on out.

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Solar Panels over water

Governing. (2021, April 21). California farmers are planting solar panels as water supplies dry up. Governing. Retrieved February 5, 2022, from https://www.governing.com/news/headlines/california-farmers-are-planting-solar-panels-as-water-supplies-dry-up.html 

 

California has massive plans to produce thousands of watts of energy through renewable energy. We need to use massive amounts of land to do this. One idea that has been thrown around recently is to build solar farms on farmland. We are already starting to build massive solar farms. The largest being in the San Joaquin Valley. This project has permits to build 670 megawatts, the largest in the U.S. 

 

I think that we have to accept the short term consequences that could happen during the transition to renewable energy. Renewable energy is one of the most important aspects for humanity in general, so I think that a night or two without the lights on is a worthy sacrifice. I also think that these massive solar farms are great. California needs massive amounts of energy, especially during these heat waves, which we will probably have more of in the near future. It also leads as a great example for other states or countries that are looking into solar energy. This may encourage them to join us and build their own renewable energy sources depending on where they are. 

 

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Solar Tariffs

Lee, T., Tom LeeData and Policy AnalystTom Lee is a Data and Policy Analyst at the American Action Forum., Immigration Reform in The America COMPETES Act of 2022Whitney Appel, Appel, W., Tracker: The Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet AssetsThomas Wade, Wade, T., FTC’s Shifting View on Competition Policy and the Outlook for 2022Jeffrey Westling, Westling, J., Assessing the Impact of the Widespread Adoption of Algorithm-backed Content Moderation in Social MediaJuan Londoño, & Londoño, J. (2022, January 24). Solar tariffs and president Biden’s climate agenda. AAF. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www.americanactionforum.org/insight/solar-tariffs-and-president-bidens-climate-agenda/

This article talks about the solar tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in 2018. The original purpose for them was to address damage done to american solar panel manufacturers that were apparently caused by imports of cheap solar panels. While these tariffs were supposed to boost the domestic production of solar panels, it has caused a lower installation rate as the prices of solar panels have significantly increased in the United States. These tariffs run out in february and force the question of if they should be extended or not. 

I think this is a very tough decision to make. We want to have a lot more solar power in the United States that can help mitigate climate change. The main benefit I see from producing solar panels in the United States is that they will help our economy grow. I don’t think it really matters where the solar panels come from. Our main purpose should be to focus on mitigating climate change. If this means buying solar panels from China because they are cheaper, I don’t think it is bad. We need to encourage more people to buy solar panels and the best way to do that is by making them cheap. This is not possible with the tariffs. As we see in the data, the production has barely increased and there are just less people using solar panels. 

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More Wind Farms

28, D. G. |J., & Goldberg, D. (2022, January 28). Offshore wind farms could capture carbon from air and store it. State of the Planet. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2022/01/28/offshore-wind-farms-could-help-capture-carbon-from-air-and-store-it/

The U.S bureau of Ocean Energy management announced that they are auctioning off almost 500,000 acres of land off the coast of New York and New Jersey on February 23rd. The Biden administration wants to have 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy for 2030. This would power 10 million homes. The article also talks about potentially adding devices onto the windmills that bring in carbon dioxide and store it in the ground below the ocean. In Iceland there is already a windmill that brings in carbon dioxide and stores it in the basalt rock. The U.S could do something similar to this and potentially mitigate climate change. 

I think this is perfect. The amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is still increasing and we need to do something against it. Doing this together with getting wind energy is ideal. Offshore wind energy is renewable and sustainable. It already helps mitigate the amount of carbon dioxide being put into the atmosphere. Pairing it with something that directly takes it out of the atmosphere can be game changing. It can potentially help stop climate change. I also think the U.S is setting a good example. If other countries see us doing this, they may join us and start using more wind energy. Overall, the plan is perfect. If the U.S can really pull this off, it has massive potential to make change. 

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Wind Farms

Papavizas, C. (2022, January 14). U.S. government incentivizes U.S. vessel construction for offshore wind farms – transport – united states. Welcome to Mondaq. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/marine-shipping/1150738/us-government-incentivizes-us-vessel-construction-for-offshore-wind-farms

One January 12th of this year, the U.S bureau of Ocean Energy management announced that they are auctioning off almost 500,000 acres of land off the coast of New York and New Jersey. This will be happening on february 23rd. The land is supposed to be used for offshore renewable energy development, which would probably be windmills. The windmills produced for this land are supposed to be built in America instead of a European or asian country. Whoever purchased the land, must submit a “statement of goals’ ‘ in which they describe their plan. The government will monitor this and make sure the plan is withheld. 

 

I think this is great. Offshore wind energy is much better than on land. It takes up no land we use and potentially provides more energy. The U.S government is also doing a good job promoting something like this. If other countries see us doing this, they may join us and start using more wind energy. I also like that the materials must be built in America. It provides more jobs and money for our economy. Overall, the plan is great and I look forward to seeing further developments. 

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Changes to California Solar market

Anderson, E. (2021, June 5). Changes to california solar market are dead for now. KPBS Public Media. https://www.kpbs.org/news/2021/jun/04/changes-california-solar-market/.

 

 

This article spoke about a new law that was proposed. This law would have changed the monthly grid access. This means that customers with Solar systems would be forced to pay fees of $50 to $80 per month. The author of this proposition, Lorena Gonzalez says that the laws are unfair towards non-solar owners, who have to pay more for their electricity. She thinks that solar will never work out for some people and that these people are left out. In the end, the bill was not passed and Tara Hammond says that it is crucial for propositions like this not to go through.

 

I think that it is great that this bill didn’t get passed, but definitely a warning sign. If more bills like this are passed, it would be less incentive for the population of California to get solar panels. This bill that was supposed to get passed would have probably led to a significant decrease in renewable energy. I personally also might want to get involved, because this seems like a major factor in our future of improving our environment. 

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Wind Farms off Pacific Coast

Lederman, J. (2021, May 25). Biden admin, California agree to bring offshore wind farms to Pacific coast. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-admin-california-agree-bring-offshore-wind-farms-pacific-coast-n1268534.

 

On tuesday May 25th, the Biden administration announced that they were going to invest in Wind turbines off the coast of California. The Biden administration, working with Gavin Newsom, aims to bring wind power to the west coast. This project can potentially produce  up to 4.6 gigawatts of renewable energy, powering as many as 1.6 million homes. Although this seems great, there are many challenges that come with this project, especially with the deep floor off the coast. 

I think that this is perfect, and a step in the right direction. Investing in other types of renewable energy is definitely needed for California, as the solar energy isn’t perfect yet. If California continues to move in this direction, we could potentially see 100% renewable energy. My only concern is that I’m not sure if this project will go through. The pacific ocean gets very deep at some points even 30,000 feet. I hope that this won’t prevent the wind turbine building, but seeing how much the government is investing, I think that they will be built. 

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How solar panels can help water preservation

Bales , R., & McKuin , B. (2021, May 22). Installing solar panels over CALIFORNIA’S Canals could yield water, land, air and CLIMATE payoffs. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/installing-solar-panels-over-californias-canals-could-yield-water-land-air-and-climate-payoffs-158754.

 

A major problem in the past fews years for California has been droughts. A large part of this problem is evaporation. More than 65 billion gallons of water are lost each year through evaporation. This water could irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or help 2 million people with their water needs. All of this could be avoided by building solar panels to shade these canals. It would be a massive project requiring millions in funding, but it would address two of california’s needs. 

 

I think this would be a fantastic project. Ever since I was a kid, I was always told about our droughts and water needs. California seems to always be in need of more water. We also need more energy, especially with the heatwaves going across california. Building these solar panels to shade canals would be perfect. Everyone seems to benefit from this, so California should definitely try to implement this. 

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Solar Panels impact on energy

Roth, S. (2021, July 8). How solar panels on farmland could help CALIFORNIA fix its water and power crises. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2021-07-08/solar-panels-on-farmland-california-water-power-crises-boiling-point.

 

As heat waves strike across California, citizens have to hope their power doesn’t go out. This leads to the point of transitioning into renewable energy. “But the challenge of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, without sending us plunging into darkness, will extend far beyond this summer.” writes Sammy Roth. To do this, massive solar farms are being built. With the largest being in San Joaquin Valley. This project has permits to build 670 megawatts, the largest in the U.S. 

 

I think that we have to accept the short term consequences that could happen during the transition to renewable energy. Renewable energy is one of the most important aspects for humanity in general, so I think that a night or two without the lights on is a worthy sacrifice. I also think that these massive solar farms are great. California needs massive amounts of energy, especially during these heat waves, which we will probably have more of in the near future. It also leads as a great example for other states or countries that are looking into solar energy. This may encourage them to join us and build their own renewable energy sources depending on where they are.

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California getting to 94% renewable energy used

Roth, S. (2021, April 29). California just hit 95% renewable energy. will other states come along for the ride? Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2021-04-29/solar-power-water-canals-california-climate-change-boiling-point.

 

On April 24th 2021 California hit 94.5% renewable energy usage. This number comes with a few caveats because this number only lasted a few seconds and it was a very sunny day, but still is very impressive. Almost all of that afternoon, at least 90% of the energy usage was renewable. This is a step in the right direction and shows that we may well see 100% renewable energy usage some time in the near future. 

 

This level of renewable energy usage is definitely a very interesting topic. I think that a crucial aspect is consistency. As I stated before, this high of 95% renewable energy usage was only for a very short period of time. Although we stayed above 90% renewable energy usage for a large portion of that day, it is not realistic to do this everyday. That being said, it is really impressive how much energy we are producing through solar energy. At some points during that day, we were producing too much solar energy and had to export it. Looking into the future, we need to focus on only using our own renewable energy and using less natural gas.