Henry Harrell"s Blog: July 23 Green Energy News

Headline News:

“10+ Million Fires, 19,000 Deaths, And 70,000 Injuries From Internal Combustion Vehicles” • Over 10 million highway vehicle fires caused about 19,000 deaths and over 70,000 injuries in the US from 1980–2015, the National Fire Protection Association says. But some mainstream news outlets ignore those fires and seem to report the rare Tesla fires obsessively. [CleanTechnica]

Vehicle fires happen about every two minutes in this country, on average. (YouTube screen shot)

“Reverse power flow: How solar + batteries shift power from utilities to consumers” • For 100 years, the US electric grid has been controlled by electric utilities, public regulators, and grid operators. But the economics of coal and nuclear power plants, relying on operating at high capacities around the clock, are being undermined by PVs and batteries. [Red, Green, and Blue]
“Skyscrapers Full of Lettuce Promise an Eco-Friendly Alternative to Outdoor Farming. There’s Just One Problem.” • “Vertical farming can allow former cropland to go back to nature and reverse the plundering of the earth,” a New Yorker article said. But vertical farming also uses a lot of energy, and we need to take care where it comes form. [Mother Jones]
Sanjeev Gupta, the British billionaire who rescued the Whyalla steelworks from administration and is spending more than $2 billion on clean energy and green steel developments in regional South Australia says most Australians are yet to grasp that solar power is now a cheaper option than new coal-fired electricity. He intends to prove it. [The Guardian]
Wealthy governments have been accused of promoting fossil fuels in Africa at the expense of clean energy. Analysis showed 60% of public aid for energy projects was spent on fossil fuels, compared with just 18% on renewables. Oil Change International estimated aid to Africa’s energy sector was $59.5 billion (£45.3bn) between 2014 and 2016. [The Guardian]

Henry Harrell"s Blog