Henry Harrell"s Blog: May 6 Green Energy News

Headline News:

Decades of increasing temperatures in Alaska have lengthened the fire season and dried out vegetation, especially in the forest floor, and created conditions for busier fire season with bigger and more frequent wildfires, according to one study. Other studies say increased lightning strikes will bring more fires and that they will be bigger. [KUAC]

Last summer, the Fort McMurray fire caused C$3.7 billion in damages. (Credit: Jonathen Hayward | The Canadian Press)

Tapping into geothermal energy is nothing new, but Iceland is taking things majorly next level by drilling nearly 3 miles into a live volcano to tap liquid hot magma. The well is likely the hottest hole on the planet, reaching oozing magma that averages 800 °F. The hole was completed in January and energy production is starting. [Inhabitat]
Icelandic volcano
“Missing EPA Webpage Could Be Violation of Federal Law” • When EPA’s climate change pages were shuttered for revisions reflecting the administration’s views, users are told they can check out a snapshot of the entire EPA site from the day before Trump took office. But in the archived snapshot, pages relating to climate change are missing. [Seeker]
Royal Dutch Shell’s chief financial officer, has reiterated the company’s backing of the Paris climate agreement. The support from Europe’s largest oil and gas group comes on the heels of America’s largest equivalent, ExxonMobil, sending the Trump administration a letter urging the US to support the accord. [Power Engineering International]
US EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said grid reliability is threatened by potential over-reliance on gas-fired electric generation. He said he believes we have a need for power plants to have fuel stockpiles (ie, coal) nearby in the event of supply disruptions. The US has lost 54 GW of coal capacity and added 34 GW of gas capacity since 2012. [Argus Media]

Henry Harrell"s Blog