Henry Harrell"s Blog: October 24 Green Energy News

Headline News:

“The importance of grid resilience during severe storm conditions” • With increasingly powerful storms, the Dominican Republic set a surprising example during September’s storms. It used battery-based energy storage to keep its grid operating, despite damage to power lines and 40% of its generating assets being forced offline. [pv magazine USA]

Flooding in Houston after Hurricane Harvey (Public domain photo: Staff Sgt Daniel J Martinez, US Air National Guard)

Massive insect population declines indicate we are “currently on course for ecological Armageddon,” one scientist said. The causes are unknown, but one likely culprit is widespread use of pesticides. A recent UN report has denounced using pesticides on such a massive scale and claims they kill 200,000 people annually. [CleanTechnica]
A government report is sounding an alarm over the threat of costs of climate change. The US government has spent more than $350 billion over the past decade in response to extreme weather and fire events, and the GAO report estimated the US would incur far higher costs as the years progress if global emission rates don’t go down. [CNN]
According to the Wall Street Journal, Tesla will build its first factory outside the US in the free trade zone outside Shanghai. Under new foreign ownership policy, Tesla will be the sole owner of the factory. If the market for electric cars continues to soar, as Chinese officials hope they will, Tesla could open more factories in China in the future. [Gas 2.0]
A national solar energy company is betting nearly $1 billion on an Oregon development spree, including five new solar farms. Cypress Creek Renewables, a developer that sells electricity to utility companies and already operates seven PV sites in the state, is building farms near Salem, Silverton, Gervais, Turner, and Grand Ronde. [Bend Bulletin]

Henry Harrell"s Blog