T-Mobile US has announced its intention this week to go 100% renewable electricity by 2021 and has backed its commitments by announcing a Power Purchase Agreement for 160 megawatts from the Solomon Forks Wind Project in Kansas.
Siemens Gamesa, the worlds second-largest wind turbine manufacturer, reported its latest quarterly earnings this week, and it was a mixed bag of results — in line with previously-announced guidance but well down on past efforts.
The hottest CleanTechnica story of the past week was, no surprise, a Tesla-related story. It initially seemed to be a rather humble, inconspicuous, unpretentious but interesting reflection of Steve’s time driving and riding in the Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, and Chevy Bolt in the Middle East during a 2018 Global EVRT adventure, but then it blew up and is now approaching 200,000 views. I imagine you’ve already read it, but have a gander if not — at least for the pics!
The world can expect more record-breaking bids for solar and wind energy projects this year as Saudi Arabia plans to hold at least two rounds of auction for solar and wind energy projects under its National Renewable Energy Program (NREP).
Danish offshore wind company Ørsted has begun construction on the 1.2 gigawatt Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm which, upon completion, will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world.
New York State has a $6 billion offshore wind energy backup plan just in case Trump’s new solar tariff kills the US solar industry.
Trump or no Trump, US Energy Department signals strong support for offshore wind development and fights for its authority to accelerate the construction of new onshore wind energy transition lines.
One major advantage renewable energy has over fossil fuels and nuclear power is that it can typically be installed much faster. Nuclear power plants can require 5–15 years to complete and some have taken 20 or more. Constructing a new coal power plant can takes 4 years or more. (Another point about coal plants — if renewable energy costs continue to decline, some new coal power plants may be shut down soon after opening or not opened at all, and almost certainly will not reach their full operational lifespans. So, some portion of the cost to build them would be wasted.) Building a new gas-powered plant generally takes several years as well.
The US Energy Information Administration has this week predicted that electricity generated from wind energy will surpass that from hydroelectricity, the previously-dominant renewable energy source in the US.
Scientists in Germany have been studying the effects of wind farm noise on nearby residents and have discovered that not everyone is annoyed by the wind farms, but that those who are can sometimes bring the problem on by themselves with critical attitudes towards the wind farm.
