100% Renewable Energy in Virginia? It Is the First Southern State to Commit
13 March 2020
Renewable Energy
Gov. Ralph Northam delivers the State of the Commonwealth address at the Virginia State Capitol on Jan. 8, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. Zach Gibson / Getty Images
Virginia, which now has a Democrat as governor and Democrats in control of the statehouse, has followed the lead of several other blue states and committed itself to transition away from fossil fuels to a clean, renewable, carbon-free energy, as Vox reported. It makes Virginia the first state in the South to commit to 100 percent clean energy.
<p>Last September, Gov. Ralph Northam signed an <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/executive-actions/EO-43-Expanding-Access-to-Clean-Energy-and-Growing-the-Clean-Energy-Jobs-of-the-Future.pdf" target="_blank">executive order</a> for the state to run on 100 percent <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" rel="noopener noreferrer">renewable energy</a> completely by 2050. His order forced several state agencies to create a plan for meeting that goal and for moving 30 percent of the state's power to renewable sources in the next decade, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/virginia-governor-sets-renewable-energy-goal-of-100-percent-by-2050" target="_blank">according to PBS</a>. The order also brought Virginia into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a nine state carbon-trading market. </p>
<p>However, Republicans had control of the state house and prohibited Virginia from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Yet, in November, the balance of power shifted to Democrats. That led to last week's passage of the <a href="https://www.vacleaneconomy.org/" target="_blank">Virginia Clean Economy Act</a>, as Vox reported.</p>
<p>Virginia now joins seven other states — California, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Washington — along with Washington DC and Puerto Rico, which have passed similar legal requirements. More states, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oregon-executive-order-climate-2645460120.html" target="_self">like Oregon</a>, will have similar laws enacted soon. </p>
<p>The bill actually pushed Northam's mandate up five years for Dominion Energy, one of the state's two power companies. It will run on clean energy by 2045, at the latest. The other, Appalachian Power, will have to 2050 to transition. </p>
<p>The bill also calls for setting targets for massive investments in energy efficiency, energy storage and in-state solar and wind power, according to <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/virginia-100-clean-energy-by-2050-mandate-law" target="_blank">Green Tech Media</a>. It also brings the state back into the RGGI carbon-trading network.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.vacleaneconomy.org/" target="_blank">Virginia Clean Economy Act</a> will also hold costs down and protect low-income and vulnerable communities. It also requires the state's energy suppliers to boost power storage, increase their offshore wind energy generation and invest in rooftop solar panels, according to Vox. </p>
<p>"The cost of doing nothing is staggering," said State Sen. Jennifer McClellan of Richmond, as the <a href="https://www.virginiamercury.com/2020/02/11/virginia-clean-economy-act-passes-as-debate-reveals-deep-partisan-and-regional-divides/" target="_blank">Virginia Mercury reported</a>. "Yes, this is a big bill, but it does some very important things that Virginia is far, far behind in doing. … Sometimes change is necessary to meet a greater good."</p>
<p>While the bill faced criticism from Republicans who sounded the usual dog whistle of clean energy costing jobs and being expensive, it also faced Democratic defections, mainly from delegates who believed the bill isn't strong enough.</p>
<p>General Assembly Delegate Ibraheem Samirah of Fairfax did not cast a vote, saying in a statement that he abstained "because the legislation fails to rise to the level of urgency needed to tackle the climate crisis," according to the Virginia Mercury.</p>
<p>Unlike in Oregon, where Republicans fled the state to stop the state from establishing a cap-and-trade market, Virginia Republicans do not have the option of walking out and shutting down the legislature, as Vox reported.</p>
<p>Virginia has two major power suppliers, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power. The two hold enormous lobbying power and have resisted progress toward clean energy. However, a broad coalition sprouted up to support the Virginia Clean Economy Act. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-companies-led-way-clean-energy-virginia" target="_blank">GreenBiz</a> noted:</p><blockquote>[A] broad coalition of clean energy businesses, environmental groups, grassroots groups and lawmakers came together to craft the bills, negotiate with the state's major utilities and shepherd them to final passage.<br>A number of businesses that are not tied to the energy sector also spoke up in support of these bills, helping state legislators understand that there is broad business support for decarbonizing the entire Virginia economy.<br></blockquote>
<p>Furthermore, a <a href="https://www.aee.net/articles/report-virginia-would-gain-from-transition-to-clean-electricity" target="_blank">study by Advanced Energy Economy</a> concluded that the bill would lower rates, create jobs and boost the state's GDP. Advanced energy, especially efficiency, is a huge and growing source of employment in the state, according to an <a href="https://info.aee.net/advanced-energy-jobs-for-virgina-0" target="_blank">AEE analysis</a>, as <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/3/12/21172836/renewable-energy-virginia-100-percent-clean" target="_blank">Vox</a> reported.</p>
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signs the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act on July 18, 2019 in New York City. Scott Heins / Getty Images
By Cullen Howe
When Governor Cuomo signed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) into law in July 2019, it cemented New York State as a national leader in ramping up clean energy and the broader fight against climate change. In addition to reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050, the law requires that the state obtain 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 (and that it be emissions-free by 2040). No state has a more aggressive emissions reduction target.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The new law also requires New York to add 9,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind by 2035, 3,000 MW of storage by 2030, and 6,000 MW of distributed solar (the type that normally goes on rooftops) by 2025.</p><p>Meeting these targets will dramatically reduce fossil fuel generation that harms our health and worsens the effects of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a> while providing <a href="https://www.e2.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/E2-Clean-Jobs-New-York-2019.pdf" target="_blank">important job and grid benefits</a>. </p><p>Here's a look at three key steps the state needs to take to ensure it is on the path to achieving its renewables targets:</p>
1. The PSC Should Act on NYSERDA’s Petition to Boost Local Solar
<p>Even before the CLCPA's passage, New York was a leader in making <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar">solar</a> more accessible to homeowners and businesses. In 2014, Governor Cuomo established <a href="https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Programs/NY-Sun" target="_blank">NY-Sun</a>, a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)-administered program that seeks to add 3,000 MW of installed solar capacity by 2023. The program works by establishing cash incentives for developers that decline over time as solar installations increase in different parts of the state.</p><p>The results have been impressive: Almost 1,000 MW of NY-Sun supported projects have been installed, with another 1,000 MW in the pipeline. Just this week, <a href="https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/About/Newsroom/2019-Announcements/2019-12-17-NYSERDA-Announces-Milestone-of-Two-Gigawatts-of-Solar-Capacity-Installed-in-New-York" target="_blank">NYSERDA announced</a> New York has surpassed 2,000 MW of installed solar generation (including non-NY Sun projects), enough to power almost 250,000 homes.</p><p>In addition to the 2,000 MW of solar that's been installed, another 1,262 MW of solar is under development, including 351 <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/samantha-wilt/community-solar-comes-new-york" target="_blank">community solar projects</a> (this week, the Public Service Commission (PSC) approved consolidated billing for these projects, which should spur <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/cullen-howe/new-york-state-greenlights-boost-community-solar" target="_blank">their deployment in the state</a>).</p><p>In November, NYSERDA filed a <a href="http://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=14-M-0094" target="_blank">petition</a> with the PSC seeking $573 million in additional funds to extend the NY-Sun program through 2025. If approved, approximately half of the funds would be added to existing cash incentives to support an additional 1,800 MW of solar projects. About a quarter of the money would be used to replenish "community adder" incentives for community solar projects in certain utility territories, providing additional compensation for these projects. </p><p>Importantly, NYSERDA proposes using $135 million of the additional funds to expand NY-Sun programs focused on low-to-moderate income (LMI) customers, as part of a new Framework for Solar Energy Equity. Among other things, the Framework envisions an expansion of its <a href="https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Programs/NY-Sun/Solar-for-Your-Home/Community-Solar/Solar-for-All" target="_blank">Solar for All</a> program, which provides no-cost community solar to low-income households. It also provides incentives for projects sited on affordable housing, LMI homeowners who install rooftop solar, and projects that pair solar with energy storage. Combining solar and energy storage provides resiliency benefits and can also reduce local air pollutants from fossil fuel peaking units, which are often located in environmental justice communities.</p><p>The PSC hasn't yet acted on NYSERDA's petition, which sets forth a roadmap for meeting the state's 6,000 MW goal by 2025.</p>2. The PSC Needs to Move Quickly to Decarbonize the Power Sector
<p>Achieving 70 percent renewable energy in the power sector by 2030 won't be easy. Currently, New York gets <a href="https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=NY" target="_blank">28 percent of its total electricity</a> from renewable sources, and the vast majority of this (about 80 percent) comes from legacy large hydropower facilities <a href="https://www.nypa.gov/power/generation/generation-overview" target="_blank">owned and operated by the New York Power Authority</a>. Scaling up renewables to hit 70 percent in 10 years will require a massive amount of new clean generation to come online. </p><p>The first step to make this happen is commencing a proceeding to establish how this process will work, which the CLCPA requires by 2021. There is little time to waste. NRDC, along with a number of other environmental organizations and clean energy industry partners, last week <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6586462-E93F0201-61A9-4C53-A36D-EAE5C4AE6E04.html" target="_blank">filed a list of eight principles</a> we believe should guide the state through this process. The principles include establishing a full procurement schedule to get to 70 percent renewables by 2030, the creation of new tiers of renewable energy credits for existing renewable energy facilities, and a PSC final implementation order by the end of 2020. This deadline is especially important because it takes approximately four years between the approval of contracts for large-scale renewable projects and their completion and operation (thus, the state will need to approve contracts no later than 2026 for projects to be up and running by 2030).</p>3. NY Needs to Improve the Siting Process and Ensure Adequate Transmission
<p>Reaching the state's 70 by 30 goal will require that renewables projects are sited quickly and that there is enough transmission to transport this power to where it is needed. Unfortunately, the processes for both need fixing. </p><p>The siting process, known as <a href="http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/D12E078BF7A746FF85257A70004EF402?OpenDocument" target="_blank">Article 10</a>, establishes a procedure for approving energy production facilities over 25 MW. However, it has not worked well for renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Major delays within the Article 10 process have resulted in a bottleneck <a href="https://buffalonews.com/2019/04/22/environmental-groups-demand-clean-energy-action-from-nys-we-cant-afford-to-wait/" target="_blank">jeopardizing over 8,000 gigawatt-hours per year of land-based wind and solar projects</a> pending before the state's Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment (known as the "Siting Board"), which considers these applications. For example, although the Article 10 process should take approximately 24 months, most of the pending renewable projects have taken much longer and most are still waiting for approval or have been withdrawn. </p><p>There are a number of steps the Department of Public Service (DPS) can take to improve Article 10, including enforcing application deadlines, completing compliance reviews on a fixed timeline, and reducing reliance on paper by expanding the use of digital technologies. To its credit, DPS has increased its staff to process these applications, and last week the Siting Board approved the <a href="http://www.calpine.com/operations/power-operations/our-fleet/new-york/bluestone" target="_blank">Bluestone Wind Farm</a>, a 124 MW project located in upstate New York, in the process overruling a local law that had placed a moratorium on wind turbines. This follows <a href="http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/763B187DD5A792DE8525847400667D6B?OpenDocument" target="_blank">approval of three other renewable projects in the last four months</a> after only one had been approved since 2011. While these approvals are encouraging, the pace of the approval process must be dramatically increased to meet our 2030 goal.</p><p>Similarly, the process for constructing transmission lines to carry electricity from generation to end use must also be streamlined. <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/miles-farmer/ransmission-project-approvals-help-unlock-nys-clean-future" target="_blank">As I wrote in April</a>, the approval process needed to integrate clean energy was adopted under a 2011 order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which regulates interstate transmission of electricity. FERC's <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/trans-plan.asp" target="_blank">Order 1000</a> requires the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) and other grid operators to develop a process to consider transmission needs driven by public policy requirements established by federal or state laws or regulations (such as New York's Clean Energy Standard) in the local and regional transmission planning process.</p><p>This year, NYISO <a href="https://www.nyiso.com/documents/20142/1390750/Board-Decision-AC-Transmission-2019-04-08.pdf/32323d32-f534-a790-1b03-2cb110033320" target="_blank">announced</a> the selection of two transmission projects that will enable the delivery of power from generating facilities in upstate New York, including significant amounts of renewable energy, to downstate population centers like New York City. This was an important milestone, and just the second and third time that so-called "public policy" transmission upgrades have been approved. However, the state will need more such upgrades to handle the coming influx of wind and solar power.</p><p>NYISO and the PSC have begun the process of identifying additional transmission needs beyond these projects, but the process is stuck in limbo. The PSC has yet to issue a decision identifying additional transmission needs, which it needs to do as part of the Order 1000 process. It should do so quickly so that this process can move forward.</p><p>New York accomplished a great deal in 2019, with the adoption of aggressive renewables targets that reflect the state's role as a leader on climate and clean energy. The state must take key steps in 2020 to ensure that these goals remain within reach.</p>
<p class=""><em></em></p><h2><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/cullen-howe" target="_blank"><del><br/></del></a></h2><p><em>Cullen Howe is the senior renewable energy advocate for NRDC's Climate & Clean Energy Program.</em></p><p><em><span></span>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/cullen-howe/2019-was-big-year-renewable-energy-new-york" target="_blank">NRDC</a>.</em> </p>From Your Site Articles
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Kidney stones are hard deposits that form in the kidneys. They are produced when minerals and salts, most commonly calcium oxalate, crystallize in the kidneys, creating hard, crystal-like stones. If you've ever had a kidney stone, we're sure you won't want to repeat the experience!
Ideally, you never want to have to go through this painful process. Fortunately, several steps and natural treatments can be used to reduce the chances of suffering them. In this article we'll examine how these annoying solidifications originate and how to treat them effectively and quickly with natural remedies.
<h1>What are Kidney Stones?</h1><p>Kidney stones are solid mass made up of tiny crystals. One or more stones may occur at the same time in the kidney or ureters. The stone formations can consist of calcium oxalate, phosphates, or cystine. Stone formation occurs when urine is high in certain crystal-forming substances. The stones have to travel through the<a href="https://www.empowher.com/media/reference/calculos-renales" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> urinary tract</a> to leave the body, which is known as eliminating kidney stones, something that can be utterly painful. </p><p>Deposits made of calcium are the most common ones, and they can be formed by combining with phosphate or carbonate. But there are also calcium oxalate stones, which involve a nutrient present in certain foods like spinach and vitamin C supplements. These can be recurrent in people suffering from small intestine diseases, increasing the risk of kidney stones.</p><p>The crystals can turn into stones over weeks or even months, so you may not have symptoms until the stones move down the tubes called ureters, through which urine empties into your bladder. This is why it is possible to have kidney stones without you noticing any discomfort at the beginning.</p><p>However, the main symptom is intense pain that begins and disappears suddenly. This acute pain can be around the abdominal area or a side of the back, and sometimes it spreads to the groin area. Some more advanced symptoms include an abnormal color of urine or blood in the secretion, shivering, fever, nausea, and vomiting.</p><h1>Kidney Stone Treatments</h1><p>Before trying any home remedies, it is necessary to speak with a doctor, especially if you have pre-existing medical conditions or you are taking prescription medication.</p><p>Kidney stones that cause serious problems can be treated with a technique called "<a href="https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/kidney-stones/treatment" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy</a>," which is a technique that can break up these stones from outside the body, allowing them to pass out through the urethra more easily. However, occasionally, surgery may be necessary.</p><p>For those who can spontaneously pass a stone, the conventional treatments are pain relievers and drinking lots of fluids. But if you already know that you frequently suffer from "silent" stones or those that do not cause symptoms, they can be mainly treated with preventive dietary measures alone. These methods include increasing fluids, modifying your diet, and taking medications or supplements that alter urine chemistry.</p><h1>Natural Remedies for Kidney Stones</h1>
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<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAzNTg2MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NDQzMjk0NH0.CxfL9p37i28Dy7o2jgWQJWmuVpvzqO8CAG2cNMVSQR0/img.jpg?width=980" id="76bf5" width="1280" height="733" data-rm-shortcode-id="285757819a14c127c005969d90fa605e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Joff Lee / The Image Bank / Getty Images</small></p>
<p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><h3>Water<br></h3><p>Make sure you are constantly hydrated. Drink enough liquid to generate at least<a href="https://soycomocomo.es/especialista/marc-verges/calculos-renales-o-piedras-en-el-rinon" target="_blank"> 2.5 liters</a> of urine daily. If you do not drink enough, the chances of developing deposits are more significant, and, therefore, the formation of stones will increase. If you avoid products from the processed food industry, you will already reduce sodium consumption, which is responsible for increasing urinary calcium excretion and present in high quantities in almost every preservative additive. Drinks such as sodas are a big facilitator for the formation of stones. This is why water—at least 6 to 8 glasses of water per day—is the number one aid in both preventing and expelling kidney stones. </p><h3>Chanca Piedra</h3><p>This amazing herb, native to South America, is one of the best <a href="https://disolvatol.com/?ref=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">natural remedies for kidney stones</a>. It is rich in minerals that cleanse and detoxify the body, and it has been used for decades by the ancestral healers of Peru with wonderful results and a very low incidence of side effects. It is also used for the treatment of cystitis and urethritis resulting from the presence of calculi in either the kidney or bladder. </p><p>If you buy a Chanca Piedra product and aren't sure of its source, it's likely that it's not as potent as it could be. It's essential to choose reputable supplements to really take advantage of all the benefits and to be sure of its safety. <a href="https://disolvatol.com/?ref=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disolvatol</a> is a supplement that uses 99.8% purity grade Chanca Piedra, making it an all-natural, safe, and effective herbal supplement designed to support kidney health.</p><h3>Apple Cider Vinegar</h3><p>Apple cider vinegar contains citric acid, which can help dissolve calcium deposits. Two tablespoons of pure apple cider vinegar mixed with 8 ounces (0.24L) of water can <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319418" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce the symptoms of kidney stones</a> and prevent their development. This mixture should be drunk several times a day and can be most effective when consumed before meals.</p><h3>Lemon Juice</h3><p>Citric acid consumption increases diuresis, and this benefits renal filtration. Therefore, juices that contain citric acid, such as lemon juice, have a diuretic effect and can help us for two reasons. The first is that they leave less calcium available in the urine, and the second is that 60% of the patients with kidney stones have a low level of citrate in the urine, which is responsible for preventing crystals from forming.</p><h3>Basil</h3><p>Basil contains compounds known to help stabilize uric acid levels, and since it contains acetic acid, it helps to dissolve existing stones too. By simply drinking one teaspoon of basil extract or pure juice a day for two weeks, you can pass your stones safely and naturally without surgery or drugs. Also, it can help prevent and treat possible future kidney stones.</p><h3>Pomegranate Juice</h3><p>Buying whole pomegranates and eating their seeds, or squeezing them for juice, is the easiest way to get the health benefits of this fruit. Pomegranate juice also contains compounds that decrease urine acidity, making it difficult to form stones. The astringent and antioxidant properties of pomegranates are believed to reduce the chances of developing kidney stones and facilitate their elimination.</p><h3>Olive Oil</h3><p>Olive is the fruit of one of the most ancient trees on earth. Its cultivation goes back at least eight thousand years. It is a natural remedy for kidney stones. Because olive oil contains a high amount of monounsaturated fats, it is an excellent alternative to facilitate the removal of kidney stones by lubricating the urinary tract.</p><p>A 5-ounce (0.15L) glass first thing in the morning and another in the late afternoon, ideally at the same time as other herbal or home remedies, can reduce pain and discomfort.</p><h3>Kidney Beans</h3><p>These small red beans provide a robust and nutty flavor and are a natural remedy against forming kidney stones. Kidney beans are rich in nutrients that can affect the uric acid cycle, preventing calcium oxalate crystals.</p><h3>Dandelion roots</h3><p>Dandelion root and honey blend have been used as folk remedies for kidney stones for more than 100 years. It contains compounds that increase the production of bile and urine, which helps eliminate waste from the body. It is recommended to take 3 to 4 cups daily in the form of tea or juice.</p><h3>Horsetail</h3><p>Horsetail is one of the most prevalent kidney stone natural home remedies used by holistic practitioners for years due to its apparent ability to increase urine flow. The standard dose of horsetail is 1 g in capsule or tea form up to three times daily. </p><h1>How to Prevent Kidney Stones</h1>
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<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAzNTg2My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMjU1ODkxMn0.G66cYOkdqw3LptrRSvhBVhMf15l-h4NfR0LSrnrdGTQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="a433a" width="1280" height="735" data-rm-shortcode-id="2f756fac28c9901c6ba3c575aa132a38" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">ericsphotography / E+ / Getty Images</small></p>
<p>Among the most common causes of kidney stones is a diet too rich in foods such as animal protein, bacon, dried legumes (peas, chickpeas, etc.), chocolate, cocoa, coffee, products with excess phosphorus or calcium.<br></p><p>Also, vitamin deficiency (in particular vitamins A), the acidity of the urine, or inflammation of the pelvis can play a role in kidney stones. Considering this, the primary tool to prevent kidney stones is to follow a healthy lifestyle, especially a <a href="https://vinculando.org/remedios_naturales/remedios_caseros_para_calculos_renales_calculos_biliares.html?format=pdf" target="_blank">diet based on</a> vegetables, and abundant fruits, especially pears and grapefruit. Avoid eating foods that are <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-kidney-stone-diet-not-as-restrictive-as-you-may-think" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">high in oxalate</a>, salt, and animal proteins, as well as eggs, strong cheeses, and alcohol.</p><h2>When to Consult With a Doctor</h2><p>Kidney stones are most common in men between the ages of 40 and 60. In many cases they can cause severe pain in the back, lower abdomen, or the side below the ribs. If not treated quickly, they can damage your kidneys, and they can even lead to a kidney infection, urinary tract infection, or complete kidney failure if they are left too long. It's a good idea to see a healthcare professional long before any of these complications arise.</p><p>If you have already been diagnosed with a blockage due to a stone, its expulsion should be confirmed either by trapping it in a filter during urination or with a follow-up X-ray under the supervision of a qualified doctor. Some cases could even require immediate surgery. Remember, having no pain does not in any way confirm or guarantee that the stone has already passed.</p><p>Warning signs that should be evaluated by a doctor include persistent lower abdominal or lower back pain lasting more than four weeks, fever, chills, or vomiting.</p><h2>Prevent the Formation of Kidney Stones Naturally</h2><p>We can use natural aids in the form of <a href="https://disolvatol.com/?ref=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">supplements</a>, herbs, or specific foods to help decrease kidney stones and improve urine diuresis. The best way to deal with kidney stones is to prevent them in the first place with naturally available nutrients and supplements. Knowing how to take advantage of the magical tools that Mother Nature puts at our disposal can make a tremendous difference in our well-being and lifestyle.</p><p><em><strong>Sarita Vanegas</strong> is a writer based in Medellín, Columbia, where she covers environmentally-friendly products, natural health, and plant-based remedies. A former Baselang teacher, she is also passionate about learning languages and exploring other cultures.</em></p>
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Purdue researcher Joseph Peoples uses an infrared camera to compare the cooling performance of white paint samples on a rooftop. Purdue University photo / Jared Pike
By Kayla Wiles
What if paint could cool off a building enough to not need air conditioning?
<p>Purdue University engineers have created white paint that can keep surfaces up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than their ambient surroundings – almost like a refrigerator does, but without consuming energy.</p><p>According to the researchers, the paint would replace the need for air conditioning by absorbing nearly no solar energy and sending heat away from the building. Without the building heating up, air conditioning wouldn't have to kick on.</p><p>"It's very counterintuitive for a surface in direct sunlight to be cooler than the temperature your local weather station reports for that area, but we've shown this to be possible," said <a href="https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/People/ptProfile?resource_id=29343" target="_blank">Xiulin Ruan</a>, a Purdue professor of <a href="https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical engineering</a>.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="92a97881f7ba8bac8832bbf9fcaf172f"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/caFzYvYAUo4?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>The paint would not only send heat away from a surface, but also away from Earth into deep space where heat travels indefinitely at the speed of light. This way, heat doesn't get trapped within the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. A video about this project is available on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caFzYvYAUo4&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">YouTube</a>.</p><p>"We're not moving heat from the surface to the atmosphere. We're just dumping it all out into the universe, which is an infinite heat sink," said Xiangyu Li, a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who worked on this project as a Ph.D. student in Ruan's lab.</p><p>Earth's surface would actually get cooler with this technology if the paint were applied to a variety of surfaces including roads, rooftops and cars all over the world, the researchers said.</p>
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An infrared camera image shows that white radiative cooling paint developed by Purdue University researchers (left, purple) can stay cooler in direct sunlight compared with commercial white paint. Purdue University image / Joseph Peoples
<p>In a paper published Wednesday (Oct. 21) in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2020.100221" target="_blank">Cell Reports Physical Science</a>, the researchers show that compared with commercial white paint, the paint that they developed can maintain a lower temperature under direct sunlight and reflect more ultraviolet rays.</p><p>Their proof is infrared camera images taken of the two paints in rooftop experiments.</p><p>"An infrared camera gives you a temperature reading just like a thermometer would to judge if someone has a fever. These readings confirmed that our paint has a lower temperature than both its surroundings and the commercial counterpart," Ruan said.</p><p>Commercial "heat rejecting paints" currently on the market reflect only 80%-90% of sunlight and cannot achieve temperatures below their surroundings. The white paint that Purdue researchers created reflects 95.5% sunlight and efficiently radiates infrared heat. </p><p>Developing this paint formulation wasn't easy. The six-year study builds on attempts going back to the 1970s to develop radiative cooling paint as a feasible alternative to traditional air conditioners.</p><p>The researchers considered over 100 different material combinations, narrowed them down to 10 and tested about 50 different formulations for each material. They landed on a formulation made of calcium carbonate, an earth-abundant compound commonly found in rocks and seashells.</p><p>This compound, used as the paint's filler, allowed the formulation to behave essentially the same as commercial white paint but with greatly enhanced cooling properties. These calcium carbonate fillers absorb almost no ultraviolet rays due to a so-called large "band gap," a result of their atomic structure. They also have a high concentration of particles that are different sizes, allowing the paint to scatter a wider range of wavelengths.</p>
<p>According to the researchers' cost estimates, this paint would be both cheaper to produce than its commercial alternative and could save about a dollar per day that would have been spent on air conditioning for a one-story house of approximately 1,076 square feet.</p><p>"Your air conditioning kicks on mainly due to sunlight heating up the roof and walls and making the inside of your house feel warmer. This paint is basically creating free air conditioning by reflecting that sunlight and offsetting those heat gains from inside your house," said Joseph Peoples, a Purdue Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering and a co-author of the work.</p><p>Cutting down on air conditioning also means using less energy produced by coal, which could lead to reduced carbon dioxide emissions, Peoples said. The researchers have further studies underway to evaluate these benefits.</p><p>The researchers are working on developing other paint colors that could have cooling benefits. The team filed an international <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2020072818&tab=PCTBIBLIO" target="_blank">patent application</a> on this paint formulation through the <a href="https://www.prf.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Purdue Research Foundation</a> <a href="https://www.prf.org/otc/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Office of Technology Commercialization</a>. For further discussion on this intellectual property, please contact D.H.R. Sarma at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">[email protected]</a> and reference track code 2020-ABDE-68815.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2020/Q4/this-white-paint-could-reduce-the-need-for-air-conditioning-by-keeping-surfaces-cooler-than-surroundings.html" target="_blank">Purdue University</a>.</em><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
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Renewables Are Gaining Traction, but We Need to Be Able to Store the Energy
13 December 2019
Science
Investing in grid infrastructure would enable utilities to incorporate modern technology, making the grid more resilient and flexible. STRATMAN2 / FLICKR
By Elliott Negin
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' recent decision to award the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to scientists who developed rechargeable lithium-ion batteries reminded the world just how transformative they have been. Without them, we wouldn't have smartphones or electric cars. But it's their potential to store electricity generated by the sun and the wind at their peak that promises to be even more revolutionary, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and protecting the planet from the worst consequences of climate change.
<p>For that to happen, support for batteries needs to match the support renewable energy has received over the last few decades, shielding the industry from the Trump administration's continuing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/climate/climate-rule-trump-reversing.html?searchResultPosition=1" target="_blank">attempts</a> to short-circuit it.</p>
<p><em>Elliott Negin is a senior writer at the <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>.</em></p><p><em>This article first appeared on </em><a href="https://truthout.org/articles/renewables-are-gaining-traction-but-we-need-to-be-able-to-store-the-energy/" target="_blank"><em>Truthout</em></a><em> and was produced in partnership with</em> <a href="https://independentmediainstitute.org/earth-food-life/" target="_blank"><em>Earth | Food | Life</em></a><em>, a project of the Independent Media Institute.</em></p>
<p>No matter how much President Trump "digs" coal, for instance, it can no longer compete economically. Since 2010, at least 289 coal plants <a href="https://phys.org/news/2019-05-coal-power-trump.html" target="_blank">have closed</a>, comprising 40 percent of U.S. coal power capacity, and 50 of those plants have shut down since Trump took office.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, renewable electricity generation has nearly <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=38752&src=email" target="_blank">doubled</a> over the last decade, and close to 90 percent of that expansion has come from wind and solar, which jumped more than fivefold. This April, wind, solar and hydroelectric power <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/07/renewables-beat-coal-in-the-u-s-for-the-first-time-this-april" target="_blank">produced more electricity</a> than coal for the first time ever.</p>
<p>That's all good news. If wind and solar maintain their exponential growth rate, the United States is <a href="https://about.bnef.com/new-energy-outlook/" target="_blank">on track</a> to get all of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2050. Fulfilling that potential, however, will require two major advances: updating the rickety U.S. electricity grid and developing energy storage technologies that can enable the grid to incorporate more wind and solar power.</p>
Updating an Antiquated System
<p>Currently, <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/renewable-portfolio-standards.aspx" target="_blank">29 states and the District of Columbia</a> require utilities to increase the amount of electricity they generate from renewable resources over time. California, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C., are leading the pack with a target of 100 percent by mid-century.</p> <p>These renewable electricity standards have proven to be one of the most effective ways to curb U.S. global warming emissions. According to a 2016 Energy Department <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/new-study-renewable-energy-state-renewable-portfolio-standards-yield-sizable-benefits" target="_blank">report</a>, these standards cut carbon pollution nationally by 59 million metric tons in 2013 alone, akin to closing 15 average-sized coal-fired power plants. It would be even more effective to have a national standard, and Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) has <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/steve-clemmer/national-renewable-electricity-standard" target="_blank">proposed</a> one of 50 percent by 2035. But ratcheting up renewable electricity requirements can go only so far without modernizing the grid and increasing storage capacity.</p> <p>While today's smartphones boast more than <a href="https://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2019/07/02/your_mobile_phone_vs_apollo_11s_guidance_computer_111026.html" target="_blank">100,000 times</a> <a href="https://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2019/07/02/your_mobile_phone_vs_apollo_11s_guidance_computer_111026.html" target="_blank">the processing power</a> of the computer on board Apollo 11, most of the power plants, transmission lines, transformers and poles that comprise the grid are at least 40 to 50 years old, built during the expansion of the electric power sector in the decades following World War II. With its aging equipment, capacity bottlenecks and vulnerability to climate impacts, today's grid gets a <a href="https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/energy/" target="_blank">barely passing grade</a> of D+ from the American Society of Civil Engineers.</p> <p>The grid was designed to transmit electricity from large, centralized plants, but power today flows from other sources, including solar and wind facilities. Rooftop solar panels and other "distributed" generation systems reduce the distance electricity has to travel, potentially increasing efficiency, but they also increase the complexity of transmitting electricity, and the amount generated from hour to hour varies. Investing in grid infrastructure would enable utilities to incorporate modern technology, making the grid more resilient and flexible, better able to integrate variable energy sources, and capable of providing real-time information so consumers can manage their energy use and save money.</p>100 Percent Clean Energy Is Possible — With Storage
<p>A modernized electricity grid would have the capacity to store large amounts of excess electricity. Today, utilities have to produce the exact amount of electricity needed at a specific time to meet demand. With advanced storage technology, it doesn't have to be that way.</p> <p>"Our electricity grid is where our food distribution system was before refrigeration," says Mike Jacobs, a senior energy analyst at my organization, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). "Up until the 1920s, when the refrigerator became widely available, most people had to eat fresh food right away because they had no good way to keep it cold. A grid with storage capacity would allow consumers to light their homes at night with the extra energy from solar panels during the day."</p> <p>One storage technology — pumped hydroelectric — has been around since the 1890s, and there has been increased interest in it in recent years because it can be paired with variable renewable sources. Hydroelectric plants pump water to elevated reservoirs and release it through turbines to generate electricity when demand is high. With <a href="https://energystorage.org/why-energy-storage/technologies/pumped-hydropower/" target="_blank">23 gigawatts</a> of capacity, pumped hydro is currently the largest type of energy storage in the United States. That said, it represents less than 2 percent of U.S. generating capacity and is unlikely to grow much more due to the cost of building such facilities.</p> <p>The ideal solution would be rechargeable, factory-size batteries that can store massive amounts of energy for days or even weeks. Today's grid-scale batteries can store only a few hours' worth of energy before they need to be recharged. That's enough to accommodate solar or wind power variability but not nearly enough to completely switch from fossil fuels to renewables.</p> <p>Money is the main issue. Billions of private-sector dollars are now pouring into research and development for electric vehicle batteries, but they are only trickling in for grid batteries because the market is still in its infancy. That makes funding dependent on the U.S. government, which historically has <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dont-take-federal-science_b_4146736" target="_blank">supported</a> cutting-edge research before the private sector was ready to invest. But federal funding for grid battery R&D has been deficient, and the United States is <a href="https://americanenergyinnovation.org/2017/03/can-the-us-take-charge-in-the-global-battery-market/" target="_blank">falling behind</a> China, Japan and South Korea in the global battery market.</p>Bipartisan Support in Congress
<p>Deploying batteries to store electricity generated when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing would enable the grid to handle more renewable energy. Fortunately, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle recognize that potential.</p> <p>There are a handful of bipartisan <a href="https://www.powermag.com/doe-lawmakers-looking-at-energy-storage-rd-funding/?pagenum=1" target="_blank">energy storage bills</a> now pending in the Senate. One bill, introduced by Angus King (I-Maine) and Martha McSally (R-Arizona), would provide $500 million over five years for a joint Energy and Defense department energy storage demonstration program. In September, the King-McSally proposal was folded into a <a href="https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republican-news?ID=23EE00A2-2A58-40CE-B7CC-733D03DC5651" target="_blank">bill</a> proposed by King's fellow Mainer, Republican Susan Collins, which would dedicate $330 million over the next five years for storage R&D to help lower battery costs, which already have <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/giant-batteries-supercharge-wind-and-solar-plans-11565535601" target="_blank">dropped</a> nearly 40 percent since 2015. The Department of Energy <a href="https://www.powermag.com/doe-lawmakers-looking-at-energy-storage-rd-funding/?pagenum=1" target="_blank">supports</a> a number of the proposed research efforts, which is not surprising, given Energy Secretary Rick Perry has <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/rick-perry-hails-energy-storage-7cb6b0709a1a/" target="_blank">called</a> storage the "holy grail" of U.S. energy.</p> <p>The House is also jumping on the bandwagon. In June, it passed an <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY2020%20E%26W%20Sub%20Markup%20Draft.pdf" target="_blank">appropriations bill</a> that boosts the Energy Department's energy storage budget by nearly <a href="https://www.aip.org/fyi/2019/fy20-appropriations-bills-doe-applied-energy-rd" target="_blank">35 percent</a>, and the budget of its Advanced Research Projects Agency — which has invested as much as <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/07/federal-energy-storage-convening-summary.pdf" target="_blank">15 percent</a> of its funding in electricity storage projects — by <a href="https://www.aip.org/fyi/2019/fy20-appropriations-bills-doe-applied-energy-rd" target="_blank">17 percent</a>. More recently, Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee proposed <a href="https://mikethompson.house.gov/sites/mikethompson.house.gov/files/GREEN%20Act%20Discussion%20Draft.pdf" target="_blank">legislation</a> in November that would provide tax incentives for a range of clean energy technologies, including energy storage.</p> <p>"Energy storage technology was developed right here in the United States, but we are losing out to other countries," says Rob Cowin, director of government affairs for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "Increasing federal funding for energy storage R&D will pay big dividends for the U.S. economy and national security. Taking the right steps now will make our electricity grid cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable."</p>From Your Site Articles
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Pixabay
Ahead of the UN climate summit and the global climate strike, the world's largest search engine announced that the tech behemoth will make its biggest corporate purchase of renewable energy yet, signing on to a series of agreements that will increase Google's wind and solar investments by 40 percent, as Quartz reported.
Google struck 18 clean energy deals that span the globe, from the U.S., Chile and Europe. The agreements mean that Google will purchase energy from solar farms in South Carolina, North Carolina and Texas. It will use solar and wind power to run its data centers in Chile, as <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/google-makes-global-investment-in-solar-and-wind-power/" target="_blank">Cnet</a> reported.
<p>About half of the new investment will be in Europe, including projects in Finland, Sweden, Belgium and Denmark, according to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/20/google-says-its-energy-deals-will-lead-to-2bn-wind-and-solar-investment" target="_blank">Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The company's CEO Sundar Pichai said it's "the biggest corporate purchase of renewable energy in history," in a <a href="https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/our-biggest-renewable-energy-purchase-ever/" target="_blank">blog post</a>. Google will buy 1,600 megawatts, or 1.6 gigawatt, of clean electricity in its new energy deals, as <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/google-makes-global-investment-in-solar-and-wind-power/" target="_blank">Cnet</a> reported. </p>
<p>Added it to Google's existing purchases of clean energy, the new investment will allow Google to purchase 5.5 gigawatt of clean energy. </p>
<p>"Together, these deals will increase our worldwide portfolio of wind and solar agreements by more than 40 percent, to 5,500 MW—equivalent to the capacity of a million solar rooftops," wrote Pichai in his <a href="https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/our-biggest-renewable-energy-purchase-ever/" target="_blank">blog post</a>. "Once all these projects come online, our carbon-free energy portfolio will produce more electricity than places like Washington D.C. or entire countries like Lithuania or Uruguay use each year."</p>
<p>Pichai added that the deals will "spur the construction of more than $2 billion in new energy infrastructure," including millions of solar panels and hundreds of wind turbines across three continents, as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/20/google-says-its-energy-deals-will-lead-to-2bn-wind-and-solar-investment" target="_blank">Guardian</a> reported.</p>
<p>"This means we're not buying power from existing wind and solar farms, but instead are making long-term purchase commitments that result in the development of new projects," he wrote in his <a href="https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/our-biggest-renewable-energy-purchase-ever/" target="_blank">blog post</a>.</p>
<p>In addition to its own investment, Pichai announced two grants from Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org. The company is giving a $500,000 grant to the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance in the U.S. and €500,000 ($550,000) to RE-Source in Europe, "to provide further support for organizations that expand access to clean energy for all businesses—from flower shops to big-box retailers to startups," Pichai wrote.</p>
<p>The money will be used to research new business models for renewable energy and provide training to consumers, as <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/google-makes-global-investment-in-solar-and-wind-power/" target="_blank">Cnet</a> reported.</p>
<p>The announcement comes at a time when Google and Apple are facing criticism for the waste created when they release new versions of their phones, tablets and computers every year. To blunt the criticism, Google started to publish environmental product reports of its products last year. Those reports detail what devices are made of and how they are shipped, as <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/google-makes-global-investment-in-solar-and-wind-power/" target="_blank">Cnet</a> reported. </p>
<p>Google also pledge to make its devices more sustainable by manufacturing its products from some recycled materials by 2022, according to <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/google-makes-global-investment-in-solar-and-wind-power/" target="_blank">Cnet</a>. The company also that by 2020, all shipments to and from its customers will be carbon neutral. </p>
<p>"Our goal is to make sure technology can benefit everyone—and the planet we call home," Pichai wrote in his <a href="https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/our-biggest-renewable-energy-purchase-ever/" target="_blank">blog post</a>.</p>
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Sungei Buloh is part of a wider project that aims to plant 1 million trees over the next 10 years as the government tries to improve habitat quality for the city-state's wildlife while improving living conditions for its human residents. Uwe Schwarzbach / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0
By Claire Turrell
Languishing in the soft, silty mud, the living fossil looked as if it didn't have a care in the world as it feasted on the fish left stranded in the tidal mangrove pools of the Sungei Buloh wetlands. However, the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) might have been a little less at ease if it knew nearly 90% of its mangrove habitat in Singapore has been lost over the past century.
<p>But now Singapore is looking to reverse this loss by mounting an ambitious reforestation campaign. In August 2020, the Singapore government announced the launch of the new Sungei Buloh Park Network, a 990-acre park in the northern portion of the island that is a refueling site for migratory birds and is home to oriental hornbills, otters, saltwater crocodiles, and many other species.</p><p>Sungei Buloh is part of a wider project that aims to plant 1 million trees over the next 10 years as the government tries to improve habitat quality for the city-state's wildlife while improving living conditions for its human residents.</p><h3><strong>Important Habitat</strong></h3><p><span></span>The Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve has a storied history. It is where Singapore's smooth-coated otters (<em>Lutrogale perspicillata</em>) were first discovered in the 1990s after they were assumed locally extinct, and it is also the location of the critically endangered Eye of the Crocodile tree (<em>Bruguiera hainesii</em>). The city-state has 11 of the world's last remaining 200 trees.</p>
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Smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) have a midday snack at Jurong Eco Garden, Singapore. JJ Harrison / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
<p>The Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is also an important stop for migratory waterbirds as they fly from Russia and Alaska to Australia and New Zealand along the East Asian-Australasian flyway. By forming the Sungei Buloh Park Network, Singapore is effectively tripling the size of the protected area comprising the reserve. This new park aims to safeguard the biodiversity of multiple areas, including the Kranji marshes, the Mandai mangrove and mudflat, and the coastal Lim Chu Kang Nature Park, which is state land. Within this patchwork of habitats, researchers have recorded 279 species of birds. These areas comprise many different kinds of ecosystems; Lim Chua Kang Nature Park alone boasts mangrove, woodland, scrubland and grassland habitats, and its diversity has attracted coastal birds such as the gray-headed fish eagle (<em>Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus</em>) and baya weaver (<em>Ploceus philippinus</em>).</p><p>Geography professor Dan Friess from the National University of Singapore has studied Singapore's mangroves for 11 years and heads up the university's Mangroves Lab, which focuses on the study of coastal wetlands in Southeast Asia. He says Singapore's mangroves have an outsize ecological impact.</p><p>"Singapore's mangroves punch way above their weight," Friess told Mongabay. "We only have a small area of mangroves, but within that we have huge biodiversity. For instance, in the U.S. they only have three species of mangrove plant species, while in Singapore you can find 35 different species of plant species in its mangroves."</p><p>Singapore's mangroves are relatively easy to access, providing a living laboratory for researchers who have uncovered many of their secrets through decades of study.</p><p>"In the Mandai mangroves alone researchers have found 20 species that are new to science," Friess said.</p><p>Researchers have also discovered that the Sungei Buloh wetlands and nearby Mandai mudflat are interdependent; seeds travel from the Mandai mangroves to the Sungei Buloh wetlands, and they are both important parts of the habitat of migratory shorebirds. Bird surveys and satellite tracking technology show that birds roost at Sungei Buloh while they feed on the mollusks, crustaceans and worms at Mandai when its extensive mudflat is exposed at low tide.</p>
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A marsh sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis) at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Lip Kee / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0
<p>Visitors can currently view the Sungei Buloh wetlands from boardwalks and watchtowers, but starting in 2022, the public will also be able to watch migratory birds from hides situated near the Mandai mudflat. Those interested will also be able to tour the new coastal Lim Chua Kang Nature Park, where a historic 1910 colonial building at the end of a jetty is slated to become an education center.</p><h3><strong>Helping Ourselves by Helping the Forest</strong></h3><p>As a city-state with limited land resources, Singapore has long been torn between urban development and protecting nature. It lost much of its primary forest in the 19th century to logging, then a century later, a fast-growing population and rapid urban development meant that trees were removed for land reclamation and to build reservoirs for water security.</p><p>This expansion has taken a big toll on the region's mangroves. In 1953, Singapore's mangrove forests covered an estimated 63.4 square kilometers (24.5 square miles); by 2018, researchers estimate that number had been reduced to 8.1 km2 (3.1 mi2) — a loss of more than 87%. The country is now working to replace its losses by turning areas used for industry and infrastructure back into natural-looking landscapes. The National Parks Board (NParks) has already had some success with this, converting a brutalist stormwater canal that ran through a residential area into a natural grassy floodplain to cope with urban water runoff, and reestablishing the Sungei Api Api and Pulau Semakau mangroves.</p>
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Singapore retains very little of its mangrove forests. In contrast, there are still large tracts of mangroves just across the strait in Malaysia.
<p>Launched on March 4, 2020, the One Million Trees project involves restoration of both inland and mangrove forests. As of October, 51,819 trees have been planted. Four varieties of native coastal and black mangroves tree species have been selected by NParks to be used in reforestation efforts: <em>Palaquium obovatum</em>, <em>Buchanania arborescens, Fagraea auriculata</em> and <em>Sindora wallichii</em>. The latter two species are considered critically endangered in Singapore.</p><p>The trees are sourced from Singapore's tree banks, which include nurseries as well as trees that have been salvaged from construction sites. Up to 13,000 trees could be removed over the next 15 years to make way for transport and housing projects in Singapore, but the government has stated that for every tree it removes it will replant another. Trees from the tree bank are destined for Singapore's parks, university grounds, rooftop gardens, roadsides and its outlying islands. They will also be used to help create 26 therapeutic gardens across the city for the aging Singaporean population. By the time One Million Trees officially wraps up in 2030, a goal is for all Singaporean households to be just a 10-minute walk from a park.</p><p>In the parks, city gardeners have been planting soil-boosting, nitrogen-fixing plants such as <em>petai</em> (<em>Parkia speciosa</em>) and great grasshopper tree (<em>Archidendron clypearia</em>), fruit-bearing trees such as the common sterculia (<em>Sterculia parviflora</em>) and the <em>kumpang</em> (<em>Horsfieldia irya</em>), and pollinator-attracting trees like <em>pulai penipu paya</em> (<em>Alstonia angustifolia</em>). They have also been helping to regenerate the rainforest by removing invasive weed species.</p>
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A Malayan water monitor (Varanus salvator) ponders the future of its habitat. Yeowatzup / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0
<p>The government hopes greening the city will also help mitigate the "heat island" effect created by its pavement and skyscrapers, which absorb and radiate solar radiation and increase the temperature of Singapore's urban core. Researchers have found there can be up to a 12.6° Fahrenheit difference in temperature between Singapore's downtown and its less built-up portions.</p><p>Mangroves provide many ecosystem services to human communities. They can help stop soil erosion by holding it in with their roots, as well as reduce the impact of waves on the shore. And as mangroves can trap sediment between their roots and create their own soil, researchers say they may be able to help keep coastal cities like Singapore above water as the oceans rise due to global warming. (However, <a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/sea-level-rise-mangrove-forests" target="_blank">studies show</a> mangroves may not be able to keep pace if greenhouse gas emissions accelerate and cause sea levels to rise too quickly.)</p><p>Trees play an important role in creating a livable environment, says NParks Conservation Group director Adrian Loo. "They serve as natural air filters, they reflect radiant heat and cool surfaces and [provide] ambient temperatures through shade and evapotranspiration; and help to mitigate the urban heat island effect and climate change," he said. "Healthy forests also play a role in regulating the water cycle, slowing down floodwaters and cleaning the water that flows into waterways."</p><p>The city also plans on more than doubling the amount of its "Nature Ways," which aim to make the streets cooler and more aesthetically pleasing while replicating some of the habitat value of forests by planting trees, shrubs and ground cover along sidewalks.</p><p>"The planting along these Nature Ways [is] not only designed to cool the environment (with a higher leaf area index), but also attract butterflies, garden birds and small mammals, bringing biodiversity and nature into our urban landscape," Loo said.</p>
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One of the many denizens of Singapore's forests is the mangrove pitta (Pitta megarhyncha). JJ Harrison / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
<h3><strong>Carbon Storage Champions</strong></h3><p>There's another, not-so-local benefit to restoring mangroves: healing the global climate. Getting excess carbon out of the atmosphere through reforestation is a key strategy of multinational efforts to curb climate change. And research indicates that, pound for pound, mangroves can sequester <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/new-study-finds-mangroves-may-store-way-more-carbon-than-we-thought/#:~:text=Studies%20indicate%20that%2C%20pound%20for,and%20breathe%20through%20their%20roots." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">far more carbon</a> than rainforests do.</p><p>"Mangroves can store three to five times more carbon per hectare than other forest types can do," Friess said.</p><p>Just why are mangroves so good at carbon storage? Friess said it's because they are particularly effective at locking up carbon in soil.</p><p>"In a normal forest, leaves and branches would die, fall to the forest floor, and quickly get broken down by bacteria and fungi, which releases the carbon back into the atmosphere," Friess said. "Mangrove soils are waterlogged so they have a different microbial community, so organic matter is not broken down and the carbon stays locked up in the soils."</p><p>Friess and his colleagues found that even at their current reduced extent, Singapore's mangroves held 450,571 metric tons of carbon. However, this is not enough to compensate for the city-state's emissions. A report by the National Environment Agency states that the city-state released <a href="https://www.nccs.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/singapore's-fourth-national-communication-and-third-biennial-update-repo.pdf" target="_blank">48.6 million tons of CO2 in 2014</a>, the last year for which data are available.</p><p>Friess says the fact these mangroves are still found in modern metropolises such as Singapore gives him hope that they can hang on and make a comeback in other coastal cities as well.</p><p>"It gives you an idea of how resilient they are and that they can cope with these modified urban conditions," he said.</p><p>Professor Lian Pin Koh, a conservation scientist and director of the new Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions at the National University of Singapore, says natural measures like reforestation are hugely important because they are immediately deployable.</p><p>"Nature had already done the research and development, the proof of concept and even the implementations at scale of carbon capture and storage," Koh said. "Manmade solutions are still many years and perhaps even decades away from becoming commercially viable and operational at scale."</p>
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/singapore-embarks-on-a-million-tree-planting-spree-to-protect-its-future/" target="_blank">Mongabay.</a></em></p>A tree-climbing crab (Episesarma spp.) and a couple common nerite snails (Nerita lineata) sale a mangrove tree during high tide, with a giant mudskipper (Periophthalmodon schlosseri) close behind. Sundar / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
<p>When it comes to gauging the success of reforestation projects like One Million Trees, Jurgenne Primavera, former co-chair of the IUCN Mangrove Specialist Group, prefers to focus on science and ecology rather than targets or quotas. She said that problems with reforestation projects often arise when the wrong species are planted at the wrong sites. But she adds there are key signs when reforestation has been done effectively.</p><p>"High survival and growth rates and healthy forests of the correct trees species," Primavera told Mongabay. "For mangroves, for example, these would be <em>Avicennia marina </em>and<em> Sonneratia alba </em>along coastlines facing the open sea<em>. </em>For terrestrial species these would be native species and not exotics."</p><p>To safeguard the trees, NParks carries out regular inspections and offers best-practice workshops to organizations across the island. But Adrian Loo said that for the One Million Trees project to be considered effective, everyone needs to be involved: "The success of the project is also measured by our ability to instill a sense of stewardship among Singaporeans — towards our trees and environment."</p>From Your Site Articles
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Solar Now ‘Cheaper Than Grid Electricity’ in Every Chinese City, Study Finds
13 August 2019
Renewable Energy
Solar workers tend to photovoltaic panels in Xuanhua District on Nov. 13, 2018 in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province of China. Chen Xiaodong / VCG via Getty Images
By Josh Gabbatiss
Solar power has become cheaper than grid electricity across China, a development that could boost the prospects of industrial and commercial solar, according to a new study.
<p>Projects in every city analyzed by the researchers could be built today without subsidy, at lower prices than those supplied by the grid, and around a fifth could also compete with the nation's <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> electricity prices.</p><p>They say <a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2016/03/30/grid-parity-what-is-it-why-does-it-matter/" target="_blank">grid parity</a> – the "tipping point" at which solar generation costs the same as electricity from the grid – represents a key stage in the expansion of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" rel="noopener noreferrer">renewable energy</a> sources.</p><p>While previous studies of nations <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X0900125X" target="_blank">such as Germany</a> and the U.S. have concluded that solar could achieve grid parity by 2020 in most developed countries, some have suggested China would have to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421510005446" target="_blank">wait decades</a>.</p><p>However, the <a href="https://nature.com/articles/s41560-019-0441-z" target="_blank">new paper</a> published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/natureenergy" target="_blank">Nature Energy</a> concludes a combination of technological advances, cost declines and government support has helped make grid parity a reality in Chinese today.</p><p>Despite these results, grid parity may not drive a surge in the uptake of solar, a leading analyst tells Carbon Brief.</p>
<h4>Competitive Pricing</h4><p>China's solar industry has rapidly expanded from a small, rural program in the 1990s to the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/chinas-lead-in-the-global-solar-race-at-a-glance/" target="_blank">largest in the world</a>. It is both the biggest generator of solar power and the biggest installer of solar panels.</p><p>The installed capacity of solar panels in China in 2018 amounted to <a href="https://public.tableau.com/views/IRENARETimeSeries/Charts?:embed=y&:showVizHome=no&publish=yes&:toolbar=no" target="_blank">more than a third</a> of the global total, with the country accounting for half the world's solar additions that year.</p><p>Since 2000, the Chinese government has unveiled over 100 policies supporting the PV industry, and technological progress has helped make solar power less expensive. This has led to the cost of electricity from solar power dropping, as demonstrated in the chart below.</p>
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Chart showing the historical levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from solar power in China.
Source: Yan et al. (2019)
<p>In their paper, <a href="https://www.kth.se/profile/jinyue" target="_blank">professor Jinyue Yan</a> of Sweden's <a href="https://www.kth.se/en" target="_blank">Royal Institute of Technology</a> and his colleagues explain that this "stunning" performance has been accelerated by government subsidies, but has also seen China overinvesting in "redundant construction and overcapacity." The authors write:</p><p>"Recently, the Chinese government has been trying to lead the PV industry onto a more sustainable and efficient development track by tightening incentive policies with <a href="https://www.pv-tech.org/guest-blog/chinas-pv-manufacturers-after-531-what-makes-a-winner-in-overseas-market" target="_blank">China's 531 New Policy</a>."</p><p>The researchers say the subsidy cuts under this policy in 2018 were a signal that the government wanted to make the industry less dependent on state support and shift its focus from scale to quality.</p><p>This, they say, has "brought the industry to a crossroads," with discussions taking place in China about when solar electricity generation could achieve grid parity.</p><p>In their analysis, Yan and his team examined the prospects for building industrial and commercial solar projects without state support in 344 cities across China, attempting to gauge where or whether grid parity could be achieved.</p><p>The team estimated the total lifetime price of solar energy systems in all of these cities, taking into account net costs and profits, including project investments, electricity output and trading prices.</p><p>Besides establishing that installations in every city tested could supply cheaper electricity than the grid, they also compared solar to the price of coal-generated power. They found that 22% of the cities could build solar systems capable of producing electricity at cheaper prices than coal.</p>
<h4>Embracing Solar</h4><p><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-why-solar-keeps-being-underestimated" target="_blank">Declining costs</a> of solar technology, particularly crystalline silicon modules, mean the trend in China is also playing out around the world. In May, the <a href="https://www.irena.org/" target="_blank">International Renewable Energy Agency</a> (IRENA) <a href="https://www.pv-tech.org/news/irena-global-solar-months-away-from-sweeping-grid-parity" target="_blank">said that</a> by the beginning of next year, grid parity could become the global norm for the solar industry.</p><p><a href="https://www.carbontracker.org/about/team/kingsmill-bond/" target="_blank">Kingsmill Bond</a>, an energy strategist at <a href="https://www.carbontracker.org/" target="_blank">Carbon Tracker</a>, says this is the first in-depth study he has seen looking at city-level solar costs in China, and is encouraged by this indication of solar becoming ever-more competitive. He tells Carbon Brief:</p><p>"The conclusion that industrial and commercial solar is cheaper than grid electricity means that the workshop of the world can embrace solar. Without subsidy and its distorting impacts, and driven by commercial gain."</p><p>On the other hand, <a href="https://bnefsummit2017.sched.com/speaker/jenny_chase.1wjoa49m" target="_blank">Jenny Chase</a>, head of solar analysis at <a href="https://about.bnef.com/" target="_blank">BloombergNEF</a>, says the findings revealed by Yan and his team are "fairly old news" as the competitive price of rooftop solar in China has been known about for at least a year.</p><p>She notes that this does not mean there has been a huge accompanying rollout of industrial and commercial solar, and says this is partly because of the long-term thinking required for investment to be seen as worthwhile.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/China?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#China</a> leading on world’s clean <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/energy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#energy</a> investment, says report: <a href="https://t.co/shGL9Sk7hg">https://t.co/shGL9Sk7hg</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateAction?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ClimateAction</a> RT <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EcoWatch</a> <a href="https://t.co/lQoBJZgc6I">pic.twitter.com/lQoBJZgc6I</a></p>— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) <a href="https://twitter.com/Connect4Climate/status/951687734627831809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/solar-now-cheaper-than-grid-electricity-in-every-chinese-city-study-finds" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Carbon Brief</a>.</em></p>Related Articles Around the Web
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Sheep rest in the shade of sun-tracing photovoltaic panels installed at Solarpark Rodenäs on May 18, 2009 in Rodenas, Germany. Bert Bostelmann / Getty Images
By Lynn Freehill-Maye
When Jackie Augustine opens a chicken coop door one brisk spring morning in upstate New York, the hens bolt out like windup toys. Still, as their faint barnyard scent testifies, they aren't battery-powered but very much alive.
These are "solar chickens." At this local community egg cooperative, Geneva Peeps, the birds live with solar power all around them. Their hen house is built under photovoltaic panels, and even outside, they'll spend time underneath them, protected from sun, rain, and hawks.
<p>Geneva Peeps is one of the many experiments in agrivoltaics, or co-locating solar panels and food production, being undertaken around the United States. The practice had already been happening in countries like the United Kingdom and Uruguay. Over the past few years, more pilot programs have been set up in states like New York. And with photovoltaic capacity projected to more than <a href="https://www.seia.org/solar-industry-research-data" target="_blank">double (again) over the next five years</a>, some developers are exploring whether agrivoltaics may ease concerns about farmland being given over to solar production.</p><p>"You're seeing farmers sell off land and transition it to solar," says Greg Barron-Gafford, an associate professor at the University of Arizona who studies the impacts of large-scale land-use change. "Our hope is this could allow us to keep more food production in areas that need energy production."</p>
Finding the Right Pairing
<p>Agrivoltaics doesn't just include chickens. Other livestock also can roam around solar panels, and some researchers are experimenting with planting crops, too. </p><p>Animals that graze around solar fields offer several benefits, proponents of agrivoltaics say. Not only does their manure enrich the soil, their munching keeps plants from growing too tall and shading the panels. Another win: They lower vegetation maintenance costs, reducing the need for lawn mowers or landscapers.</p><p>Pilot agrivoltaic programs have tried many grazers – with varying success. The chickens at Geneva Peeps, for example, aren't grazing powerhouses. Founder Jeff Henderson admits that he still has to fire up the lawn mower sometimes.</p><p>When solar panels are elevated for them to roam beneath, cows do better, as shown in a <a href="https://ag.umass.edu/clean-energy/current-initiatives/solar-pv-agriculture" target="_blank">University of Massachusetts pilot</a>. But the higher materials cost of raising panels has kept "solar cattle" from taking hold yet. Goats have been tried, too, but they sometimes jump on panels and chew wires.</p><p>The winner among livestock so far has been calm, eat-anything-and-everything sheep. In fact, most of the members of the American Solar Grazing Association, founded in 2017, are shepherds. (Honeybees can be part of the mix with sheep, too.)</p><p>Researchers, like Dr. Barron-Gafford at the University of Arizona, are also studying <a href="https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/agrivoltaics-proves-mutually-beneficial-across-food-water-energy-nexus" target="_blank">how well crops grow under panels</a>.</p><p>Dr. Barron-Gafford noticed that in the desert, saguaro cactuses spend their first 10 to 15 years growing in the shade of mesquite trees. Surmising that shade from solar panels could benefit crops, too, he has studied how agrivoltaic setups affected food yields and water usage in dryland areas. Among his findings: Chiltepin pepper plants yielded three times as much fruit, and tomatoes twice as much, under photovoltaic panels. They required less irrigation, and temperatures under panels where crops were growing were lower, too.</p><p>"You're seeing more and more solar installations out in rural areas," Dr. Barron-Gafford says. "We're seeing here that putting solar overhead can provide a consistent energy source, can reduce the water you need to use, and that food is giving back to your solar by helping keep it cool [through transpiration]." </p>
Seeking Common Ground
<p>Still, tensions remain between solar and agriculture. Farmers who lease the land they grow crops on often worry about their landlords renting it out to someone else, including solar farms. And rural residents may want to see their area hold onto its farming heritage. A California developer, Cypress Creek Renewables, riled up rural New York in 2016 when it mass-mailed farmers seeking leases on 20-plus acre fields.</p><p>Lewis Fox, co-founder of the American Solar Grazing Association, has found that involving animals helps solar skeptics lower their defenses. He'll bring lambs to a project open house and find locals open up a bit more. Often, he says, they find it reassuring that local land can stay in agriculture, even if solar is added.</p><p>"Solar in general is unfamiliar to people, and if you hear there's a large development coming to your town, people naturally get defensive, a little suspicious," Mr. Fox says. "There's support, but also a lot of concern. Once people come out to a site and see it being grazed, it kind of clicks. A well-managed grazing program on a site is very productive. It's not just throwing a few sheep out and letting them go wherever for a season. We can raise a lot of meat on an acre of raised panels. It's a serious form of agriculture."</p><p>Still, Mr. Fox has seen friends in the dairy industry lose leased land. Agrivoltaics can't ease all those tensions, he concedes. "I don't think setting up grazing contracts is going to paper over issues of people losing leased land," he says. "It's definitely important that developers are good actors working in ethical ways."</p><p>Another key to being received better, some solar developers say, could be not to "co-locate" solar and agriculture on the exact same parcels of land. "Instead of 100 acres of prime farmland, we should work with four farmers and use 25 acres of marginal farmland each," suggests Bill Jordan, founder and CEO of Jordan Energy & Food Enterprises LLC, an Albany-based company that specializes in on-farm photovoltaic placement. </p><p>Mr. Jordan argues that solar can actually help save farms more easily if panels are situated on the property's wetter, hillier farmland, or on roofs. "There's a lot of solar going in – it could push farmers out of farming, or diversify the family farm," he says. </p>
First Came the Chickens
<p>Mr. Henderson didn't know about agrivoltaics when he founded Geneva Peeps in 2015. His goal was simply to help local families raise chickens. Backyard coops aren't allowed in the Finger Lakes town of Geneva, New York, but he found industrial-zoned land where they'd be permitted. </p><p>Forty families now share weekly chicken-care shifts of 10 to 15 minutes. Ms. Augustine pedals over for her shift, and with her bike helmet still on, checks the hens' food and water. In return, she and fellow members get a dozen or more eggs at a time. </p><p>The year after launching, Mr. Henderson installed 44 kilowatts' worth of solar panels, both powering the operation and producing excess for the grid through net metering. There wasn't enough room on the chicken coops to install rooftop panels, but he did have more than an acre of land – more than 180 egg-layers really needed. Mr. Henderson wasn't aware of any similar farms combining solar and chickens, but he figured the project could be a local sustainability model. </p><p>"We knew they could all coexist together because there's no reason you can't have solar panels and chickens," Mr. Henderson says. "One of the hopes is this will give people an idea of a way you could do it."</p>From Your Site Articles
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Red Oak Park in Boulder, CO. Colorado's rooftop solar policies received an "A" in the report. National Renewable Energy Lab / Flickr
Ten of the nation's sunniest states get a failing grade for policies that actively block, or don't encourage, rooftop-solar development, according to Throwing Shade, a new report from the Center for Biological Diversity.
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin account for more than 33 percent of the total rooftop-solar potential of small buildings in the contiguous U.S. but less than 8 percent of net generation in 2017. All of them get an "F" in today's report.
<p>"Instead of leading us out of the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate</a> crisis, these sunny states are casting a long shadow across our potential for rooftop solar," said Greer Ryan, a renewable energy and research specialist with the Center for Biological Diversity and author of the report. "The <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> administration certainly isn't going to fix our climate, so it's vital that these states step up."</p><p>In the Center for Biological Diversity's analysis, states were graded based on the presence and strength of key policies that aid solar expansion. Other considerations were regulatory barriers that hinder distributed-solar markets and anti-solar campaigns pushed by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> and monopoly utility companies.<br><br>These factors, along with the technical potential for rooftop solar on small buildings, determined which states were the country's worst offenders.</p>
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<p>Key findings include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>All 10 states are falling far behind states with stronger policies in meeting their technical potential for rooftop solar.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Texas and Florida stand out as two of the states with the most potential but the worst distributed-solar policies.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Among the most common barriers to the expansion of distributed solar in the 10 states are a lack of community solar policies, poor compensation policies, and prohibited or unclear rules for third-party ownership.</li></ul><p>"By blocking solar expansion, states threaten the swift transition to a just and fully renewable energy system," said Ryan. "That transition is what's needed to stave off the worst impacts of climate change and protect the health of communities, wildlife and the planet."</p>
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</p><div id="28db2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8EDEFH1576663077"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="941861720045379585" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Rooftop Solar and EVs Save Water and Cut Pollution: Better Use of Data Will Optimize the Benefits… https://t.co/ZVt3tYuQeu</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/941861720045379585">1513392307.0</a></blockquote></div>
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By Andrea Oyuela
The United Nations estimates that nearly 10 billion people will be living in cities by 2050. According to a recent publication by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, urban eaters consume most of the food produced globally and maintain more resource-intensive diets including increased animal-source and processed foods — rich in salt, sugar and fats. At the same time, many urban populations — particularly in low-income areas and informal communities — endure acute hunger and malnutrition as well as limited access to affordable, healthy food.
<p>But there are countless ways that cities can feed themselves and create better linkages between rural and urban food systems. In Mexico City, the organization <a href="http://www.culticiudad.org/" target="_blank">CultiCiudad</a> built the <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2015/05/ten-urban-agriculture-projects-in-mexico-city/" target="_blank">Huerto Tlatelolco</a>, an edible forest with 45 tree varieties, a seed bank, and plots for biointensive gardening. In the U.S., <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2019/06/unique-learning-laboratory-is-giving-city-kids-the-opportunity-to-explore-sustainable-agriculture/" target="_blank">City Growers</a> uses New York City's urban farms as a learning laboratory for children to reconnect with nature. And in the <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2019/12/empowering-refugees-in-kenya-through-urban-farming/" target="_blank">Kalobeyei Settlement in northern Kenya</a>, urban agriculture represents a tool for empowerment by improving food security, nutrition and self-sufficiency among refugees.</p><p>"Agriculture and forestry in the city… answer to a variety of urban development goals beyond the provision of green infrastructure and food, such as social inclusion, adaptation to climate change, poverty alleviation, urban water management, and opportunities for the productive reuse of urban waste," <a href="https://www.routledge.com/sustainability/posts/8601?utm_source=shared_link&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=SBU3_mbs_2pr_6sl_9env_cmg15_x_X" target="_blank">said</a> Henk de Zeeuw, Senior Advisor at the <a href="http://www.ruaf.org/" target="_blank">RUAF Foundation</a>.</p><p>And thankfully, there are hundreds of entrepreneurs and organizations using this opportunity to improve urban agriculture and satisfy the demands of an increasingly urban population. From high-tech indoor farms in France and Singapore to mobile apps connecting urban growers and eaters in India and the U.S., Food Tank highlights 16 initiatives using tech, entrepreneurship and social innovation to change <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/urban-farming">urban agriculture</a>.</p>
1. AeroFarms, Newark (United States)
<p><a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2017/01/interview-marc-oshima/" target="_blank">AeroFarms</a> builds and operates vertical indoor farms to enable local production at scale and increase the availability of safe and nutritious food. The company uses aeroponics to grow leafy greens without sun or soil in a fully controlled environment. The technology enables year-round production while, they say, using 95 percent less water than field farming, resulting in yields 400 times higher per square foot annually. Since its foundation in 2004, AeroFarms aims to disrupt conventional food supply chains by building farms along major distribution routes and in urban areas. The company also won multiple awards, including the <a href="https://aerofarms.com/2019/03/29/glbal-sdg-awards/" target="_blank">2018 Global SDG Award</a>, for its environmentally responsible practices and leadership in agriculture.</p>2. Agricool, Paris (France)
<p>Agricool is a start-up that grows strawberries in containers spread throughout urban areas. The company retrofits old, unused containers to accommodate both an LED-lights and aeroponics system making it possible to grow strawberries year-round. The <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2016/02/french-start-up-grows-fresh-strawberries-in-recycled-shipping-containers/" target="_blank">Cooltainers</a> are powered by clean energy and use 90 percent less water than conventional farming. Agricool also works on building a network of urban farmers through the Cooltivators training program, aiming to open up job opportunities for city residents to work in the agricultural sector. The start-up now works on expanding operations to other cities, an effort made possible by the replicability of the container's design.</p>3. BIGH Farms, Brussels (Belgium)
<p>BIGH (Building Integrated Greenhouses) Farms, a start-up based in Brussels, works on building a network of urban farms in Europe to promote the role urban agriculture can play in the circular economy. BIGH's designs integrate aquaponics with existing buildings to reduce a site's environmental impact. <a href="https://agfundernews.com/bigh-raises-e4-3m-largest-urban-rooftop-farm-europe.html" target="_blank">The first pilot</a> — located above the historic <a href="https://www.abattoir.be/en/company" target="_blank">Abattoir</a> in Brussel's city center — includes a fish farm, a greenhouse and more than 2,000 square meters of outdoor vegetable gardens. They started in 2018 producing microgreens, herbs, tomatoes and striped bass. BIGH Farms also partners with local businesses and growers to make sure the farm's production is complementary to the existing food community.</p>4. Bites, Phoenix (United States)
<p>Bites is a mobile platform working to help connect urban farmers, chefs and eaters in Phoenix through farm-to-table dining experiences. Eaters and chefs sign up and meet through the app to organize an in-home dining event. Chefs gather the ingredients from urban growers registered on the platform in an effort to promote local, small businesses. Bites was launched in 2017 by Roza Derfowsmakan, founder of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/warehouseapps/about/" target="_blank">Warehouse Apps</a>, to improve accessibility to farm-to-table experiences and support urban farmers. By using technology to build culinary communities, Bites aims to change consumer choices from shipped-in, trucked-in produce to locally sourced food — involving people in the solution itself.</p>5. BitGrange, Multiple Locations (North America)
<p>BitGrange is an urban farming tool and learning platform working to help educate children on food and agriculture. The BitGrange device, a hydroponics and Internet of Things-based system, produces edible plants with little water and energy. BitGrange's software evaluates environmental variables in real-time and notifies growers through a smartphone app to take necessary actions, such as adding more water or plant food. Founded in 2015 according to their philosophy, Plant-Connect-Sync-Play, BitGrange aims to inspire youth to engage in farming by gamifying agriculture. The nano-farm's design is available for download at BitGrange's website for potential growers to 3D print the device in their own location.</p>6. Bowery Farming, New York Metro Area (United States)
<p>Bowery Farming, an indoor farming start-up, uses software and robotics to grow produce inside warehouses located in and around cities. By controlling every aspect of the growing process, the start-up is able to produce leafy greens and herbs using a minimal amount of water and energy per square foot. The technology also makes it possible to grow customized products for chefs and restaurants, such as softer kale and more peppery arugula. Since its establishment in 2017, Bowery Farming is now expanding operations beyond its warehouse in New Jersey to build vertical farms in other cities and, ultimately, bring efficient food production closer to consumers.</p>7. Farmizen, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Surat (India)
<p>Farmizen is a mobile-based platform renting farmland to city residents to grow locally grown, organic produce. The app allocates its users a 600 square foot mini-farm in a community nearby. Users can visit the farm anytime to grow and harvest chemical-free produce. Farmworkers look after the plots when the users return to the city, making a fixed and stable income — up to three times more than that of conventional farming. The app is live in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Surat with 1,500 subscribers and 40 acres of land under cultivation. Farmizen was founded in 2017 by entrepreneur <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2019/10/14-women-changing-food-around-the-world/" target="_blank">Gitanjali Rajamani</a>, driven by the need to create stable livelihoods for farmers and reconnect city-dwellers to agriculture and nature.</p>8. Fresh Direct, Abuja (Nigeria)
<p>Fresh Direct is an impact-driven start-up using vertical farming and hydroponics to promote locally grown produce and the involvement of youth in agriculture. When young entrepreneur <a href="https://theculturetrip.com/africa/nigeria/articles/city-farming-in-abuja-is-growing-entrepreneurial-spirit/" target="_blank">Angel Adelaja</a> started engaging in eco-friendly farming, she faced multiple challenges with conventional farming practices, including access to land, water, and technology. As a response, Adelaja founded Fresh Direct in 2014 to make urban agriculture more accessible to everyone, especially youth. Fresh Direct installs stackable container farms in the city, growing organic produce closer to the market. In the future, Adelaja aims to eradicate the notion among young professionals that agriculture is a line of work for the older generations.</p>9. Gotham Greens, Multiple Locations (United States)
<p>Gotham Greens builds and operates data-driven, climate-controlled greenhouses in cities across the U.S. The greenhouses, powered by wind and solar energy, use hydroponics to grow salad greens and herbs year-round using fewer resources than conventional farming. In addition to its goal of sustainable food production, Gotham Greens also partners with local organizations, schools, community gardens and businesses to support urban renewal and community development projects. Gotham Greens is also the company behind the country's <a href="https://media.wholefoodsmarket.com/news/whole-foods-marketr-and-gotham-greens-to-build-nations-first-commercial-sca" target="_blank">first commercial rooftop greenhouse</a>, a partnership with <a href="https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/" target="_blank">Whole Foods Market</a> to operate the greenhouse located above their flagship store in Brooklyn, New York.</p>10. GrowUp Urban Farms, London (United Kingdom)
<p>GrowUp Urban Farms works on developing commercial scale, Controlled Environment Production (CEP) solutions to grow fresh food in communities across London. The CEP farms use aquaponics to farm fish and grow leafy greens in a soil-less system, turning previously unused brownfield sites into productive areas. The GrowUp Box — a community farm developed together with sister organization <a href="https://www.growup.community/" target="_blank">GrowUp Community Farms</a> — produces over 400kg of salads and 150kg of fish each year. Over the long run, the company aims to replicate the aquaponics system to build urban farms in other cities, opening employment opportunities for youth, and using agriculture as a means to make communities more self-sustaining.</p>11. InFarm, Multiple Locations (Europe)
<p>InFarm, a Berlin-based start-up, develops modular indoor farming systems to bring agriculture into cities. Designed to combat the long distances food travels, the InFarms produce leafy greens and herbs using 95 percent less water than traditional farms and no pesticides. The technology, the company <a href="https://infarm.com/impact/" target="_blank">claims</a>, can reduce food transportation up to 90 percent. In 2013, the company pioneered the modular system in restaurants, schools, hospitals and shopping centers. Operations have now expanded to distribute portable farms in neighborhoods and supermarkets across Germany, Denmark, France and Switzerland. The expansion, AgFunder <a href="https://agfundernews.com/infarm-joins-vertical-farming-pantheon-with-titanic-100m-series-b.html" target="_blank">reports</a>, can be attributed to InFarm's decentralized, data-driven model.</p>12. Liv Up, São Paulo (Brazil)
<p>Liv Up works to deliver healthy meals and snack kits prepared with locally grown food to residents of the Greater São Paulo region. The start-up sources organic ingredients from family farmers in peri-urban areas, in an effort to shorten value chains and better connect small producers to the urban market. A team of chefs and nutritionists prepares the meals, which are later deep frozen to maintain the food's integrity and extend its shelf life. Liv Up was founded in 2016 by a <a href="https://forbes.com.br/fotos/2016/05/13-dicas-para-tirar-seu-negocio-do-papel-antes-dos-30/#foto2" target="_blank">trio of young entrepreneurs</a> driven by the lack of access to healthy foods in São Paulo. The start-up now operates in seven municipalities of the metropolitan area, rotating its menu every two weeks.</p>13. Pasona Urban Ranch, Tokyo (Japan)
<p>Pasona Urban Ranch, an initiative of the Pasona Group, is a mix of office space and animal farm located in the heart of Tokyo's busy Ōtemachi district. The initiative aims to raise interest in agriculture and dairy farming among city residents by bringing them in close contact with farm animals. The ranch houses eight animal species, including cattle, goats and an alpaca, which are cared for by specialized staff. Visitors and employees of the building can attend seminars on dietary education and dairy farming. Previously, the Pasona Group gained worldwide acknowledgment for <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pasona-02" target="_blank">Pasona O2</a> — an underground office farm built by <a href="http://konodesigns.com/pasona-o2/" target="_blank">Kono Designs</a> in 2010 growing 100 regional crops in downtown Tokyo.</p>14. RotterZwam, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
<p>RotterZwam, an urban mushroom farm, raises awareness on the potential of the circular economy for addressing environmental issues. The farm's closed-loop system works with used coffee grounds — collected from local businesses — to turn residual flows into food. The <a href="https://en.rotterdampartners.nl/two-years-after-the-fire-rotterzwam-opens-a-new-mushroom-farm/" target="_blank">mushroom nursery</a>, built out of old containers, uses solar paneling to power the farm's operations and the e-vehicles used for product delivery. The farm's team offers tours to educate citizens on circular systems and trains entrepreneurs wishing to start a mushroom farm. RotterZwam's second location in the Schiehaven area opened in mid-2019 thanks to a crowdfunding campaign to bring back the farm after a devastating fire in 2017.</p>15. Sustenir Agriculture (Singapore)
<p>Sustenir Agriculture is a vertical farm working to promote high quality, locally grown, and safe food with the lowest possible footprint. The farm — located in the heart of Singapore — uses the latest technology in hydroponics and smart indoor farming to produce leafy greens, tomatoes, strawberries and fresh herbs. Starting as a basement project in 2012, Sustenir now produces 1 ton of kale and 3.2 tons of lettuce per month in an area of 54 square meters.</p>16. Urban Bees, London (United Kingdom)
<p>Urban Bees is a social enterprise working with communities and businesses in London to help bees thrive in the city. Through education and training, the initiative raises awareness on how to create bee-friendly communities and on how to become responsible beekeepers. The first training apiary was established together with the Co-op Plan Bee in Battersea, South London. The enterprise also advises urban gardening initiatives, including <a href="https://vimeo.com/lushtvonline/review/335849893/d0f2a00af1?fbclid=IwAR1v3vWdUgaY_rEj4oyOuKWFa_xyfZMkyLrZja-1-Z1FbVsr35N4W2jSbtI" target="_blank">Lush's rooftop garden</a>, to ensure that green areas install the right forage and create healthy bee habitats. Co-founder Alison Benjamin <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-38227113" target="_blank">said</a> that city residents often suffer from nature-deficit disorder and urban beekeeping is one path to reconnect with nature in the city.</p><a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=From+high-tech+vertical+farms+in+Singapore+to+mobile+apps+connecting+urban+growers+and+eaters+in+India%2C+these+16+initiatives+are+changing+how+cities+source+and+eat+their+food+%23UrbanAgriculture+%23AgTech&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoodtank.com%2Fnews%2F2019%2F12%2F16-initiatives-changing-urban-agriculture-through-tech-and-innovation%2F&via=foodtank"><span></span></a>From Your Site Articles
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Giant Water Battery Cuts University's Energy Costs by $100 Million Over Next 25 Years
04 November 2019
Renewable Energy
We've installed 6,000 solar panels across the roofs and carparks of the University. Youtube screenshot
A giant water battery that stands three-stories high will help The University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia reach its goal to be carbon neutral by 2025.
<p>The Queensland university's ambitious target date got a boon from the success of the experimental battery, which was turned on in September and now generates enough power to power the campus' air conditioning system, reducing dependence on the grid by 40 percent, as <a href="https://newatlas.com/energy/three-story-water-battery-universitys-usc-40-percent/" target="_blank">New Atlas reported</a>.</p><p>The giant battery harnesses power from over 6,000 solar panels that line the rooftops of the campus's buildings. It then uses that power to cool water, which is then used in the school's air conditioning system. The battery is expected to save $100 million electricity costs over the next 25 years and to prevent 100,000 tons of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/giant-solar-battery-helps-university-cut-energy-costs-by-40-per-cent-20191103-p5370v.html" target="_blank">according to the Sydney Morning Herald</a>.</p><p>The University of the Sunshine Coast partnered with the resource management company Veolia to create the enormous battery. Veolia, a French transnational company that specializes in water and energy management funded and engineered the battery. Veolia and the university wanted to take advantage of the regions abundant sunshine and to cut down on the air conditioning systems' outsized reliance on the grid, as <a href="https://newatlas.com/energy/three-story-water-battery-universitys-usc-40-percent/" target="_blank">New Atlas reported</a>.</p>
<p>The project was awarded the Out of the Box category of the <a href="https://www.districtenergyaward.org/category/awards/19gdeca/" target="_blank">Global District Energy Climate Awards</a> last week, as the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/giant-solar-battery-helps-university-cut-energy-costs-by-40-per-cent-20191103-p5370v.html" target="_blank">Sydney Morning Herald reported</a>.</p><p>"The University of the Sunshine Coast has a plan to be completely carbon neutral by 2025, which is a challenge to any budget because it requires significant changes to the way energy is captured and consumed," said Chief Operating Officer Scott Snyder, in a university <a href="https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/usc-news-exchange/news-archive/2019/october/sunny-approach-to-cooling-campus-wins-global-award" target="_blank">press release</a>. "So, we really did have to think out of the box, and by forming a partnership with Veolia, we were able to negotiate a 10-year plan that suited us both and delivered major energy savings to the University.</p><p>According to Veolia, the system, which is essentially a huge thermal energy storage tank, is reducing the carbon footprint of the university by 42 percent, as <a href="https://newatlas.com/energy/three-story-water-battery-universitys-usc-40-percent/" target="_blank">New Atlas reported</a>.</p><p>"Universities have a very large energy footprint and we wanted to tackle that and reduce that expense," said Dennis Frost, the university's infrastructure and energy manager, who received the award in Iceland. He added that the project provides great fodder for teaching students about using solar power, since it is a real world example of a renewable energy source cutting down on emissions and saving money. "I think it is exciting because we have the opportunity to teach the younger generation that the environmental challenges that are faced by the planet can be solved," he said, as the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/giant-solar-battery-helps-university-cut-energy-costs-by-40-per-cent-20191103-p5370v.html" target="_blank">Sydney Morning Herald reported</a>.</p><p>Queensland, in the northeast corner of Australia and home to the Great Barrier Reef, has ramped up its production of solar power. Last month, the Queensland Energy Minister Anthony Lynham said that solar panels in Queensland generated twice as much energy as the state's biggest power station.</p><p>Queensland has 30 solar farms. Their power coupled with solar panels on homes and businesses produced 4,000 megawatts of power. By contrast, the region's largest power plant produced 1,680 megawatts of power, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.</p>
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Analysis: Renewables Could Match Coal Power Within 5 Years, IEA Reveals
22 October 2019
Renewable Energy
Workers attend to a rooftop solar panel project on May 14, 2017 in Wuhan, China. Kevin Frayer / Getty Images
By Simon Evans
Renewable sources of electricity are set for rapid growth over the next five years, which could see them match the output of the world's coal-fired power stations for the first time ever.
<p><br/></p>
<p>This would mean renewables matching <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> as the joint-largest contributors to the global electricity mix in 2024, according to Carbon Brief analysis of new forecasts in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Renewables 2019 report.</p><p>The analysis is based on the IEA's "accelerated case," in which the combined capacity of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hydropower">hydro</a>, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind">wind</a>, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar">solar</a> and biomass increases by more than 60% over the next five years. Even in its "base case," renewable capacity is set to expand by nearly 50%, the IEA forecasts.</p><p>Dr. Fatih Birol, IEA executive director, writes in a foreword to the report that "thanks to falling costs, technologies such as solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind are at the heart of transformations taking place across the global energy system." He adds: "Their increasing deployment is crucial for efforts to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, reduce air pollution and expand energy access."</p><p>The IEA's base-case renewable forecasts have historically underestimated the pace of growth. Yet even in its accelerated case, the extra electricity from renewable sources will fail to keep up with rising overall demand, the IEA forecasts suggest.</p><p>This means that generation from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a> would also have to increase, along with the electricity sector's CO2 emissions, rather than falling rapidly as required to meet global climate goals.</p>
<h4>Rapid Growth</h4><p>In its base case, the newly published 2019 IEA report forecasts that global renewable energy capacity will increase by close to 50% in the five years to 2024, as the chart below shows (red line).</p><p>This would mean global hydro, wind, solar and biomass capacity rising from 2,501 gigawatts (GW) in 2018 to 3,721GW in 2024. The increase of 1,220GW means the world would be building renewable capacity equal to the entire <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-how-the-us-generates-electricity" target="_blank">U.S. electricity system</a> today, says the IEA.</p>
<iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" style="display: initial; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://cbhighcharts2019.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/IEA-renewables/IEA_renewable_forecast_2019_total.html" width="800px" height="550px"></iframe><span style="display:block; height:22px; max-width:800px;"><img src="https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/cbhighcharts2019/cb-logo-highcharts.svg" style="width: 22px; height: 22px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px; float:right; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain;"/></span><p>Global renewable energy capacity, gigawatts, between 2010 and 2018 (black line) and IEA forecasts for five years ahead <em>published</em> in each year between 2013 and 2018 (shades of blue). Forecasts for 2019 are shown in red (base case) and dashed-red lines (accelerated case). Source: IEA Renewables 2019 report and previous iterations. Chart by Carbon Brief using <a href="https://cbhighcharts2019.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/IEA-renewables/IEA_renewable_forecast_2019_total.html" target="_blank">Highcharts</a>.</p>
<p>Within the base case total, wind and solar capacity would nearly double, contributing around 85% of the increase for all renewables, with hydro accounting for another tenth and bioenergy 4%.</p><p>It is worth noting, however, that the IEA's base-case has historically underestimated the pace of growth, as the chart above shows. As a result, successive forecasts have been revised upwards in light of increasingly favorable policy conditions and faster-than-expected reductions in cost.</p><p>In a series of auctions tracked by the IEA, the cost of solar has fallen from $160 per megawatt hour (MWh) in 2014 to an average of $17/MWh for projects due to start operating in 2023, while for onshore wind the costs have fallen from $65/MWh in 2014 to $30/MWh for 2023.</p><p>The IEA has also included an "accelerated case" in its 2019 forecasts, shown with a dashed line in the chart, above. In this case, renewable capacity would increase by more than 60% to 4,036GW in 2024, adding 1,535GW in five years, equivalent to the current total fleets of the U.S. and Japan.</p><p>This is not the first time that the IEA has hedged its view for the next five years.</p><p><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-how-have-iea-renewable-forecasts-changed" target="_blank">Back in 2016</a>, for example, the agency's base case forecast some 826GW of renewable capacity being added by 2021, with an accelerated case adding 1,061GW. This accelerated case from 2016 aligns closely with the 2019 base case, which has 1,096GW being added during 2016-2021.</p><h4>Bottom Up</h4><p>The IEA forecast is based on detailed bottom-up analysis of the market, policy and electricity system outlook in each of 41 individual countries and every world region.</p><p>Capacity growth is expected to be concentrated in just a handful of regions, the IEA says, with 40% in China, 17% in Europe, 11% in the U.S. and 9% in India. Together, these account for four-fifths of the global increase in the IEA's base case.</p><p>As already mentioned, renewable capacity has consistently oustripped the growth expected in the IEA base case, which has tended to suggest that annual additions will remain at a similar level into the future, rather than consistently rising year on year.</p><p>The amount of new renewable capacity built around the world, each year since 2006, is shown in red in the chart below, while successive base-case forecasts are shown in shades of blue.</p>
<iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" style="display: initial; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://cbhighcharts2019.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/IEA-renewables/IEA_renewable_forecast_2019.html" width="800px" height="550px"></iframe><span style="display:block; height:22px; max-width:800px;"><img src="https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/cbhighcharts2019/cb-logo-highcharts.svg" style="width: 22px; height: 22px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px; float:right; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain;"/></span><p>Annual renewable energy capacity additions, gigawatts, between 2006 and 2018 (red line) and IEA forecasts for growth over five years published between 2013 and 2019 (shades of blue). A 2019 "accelerated case" is shown with a dashed red line. Source: IEA Renewables 2019 report and previous iterations. Chart by Carbon Brief using <a href="https://cbhighcharts2019.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/IEA-renewables/IEA_renewable_forecast_2019_total.html" target="_blank">Highcharts</a>. </p>
<p>As in previous years, the IEA has once again raised its forecast growth over the next five years, adding 14% to the amount of new capacity that it expects to be built. Last year, it <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/iea-bioenergy-lead-growth-renewables-over-next-five-years" target="_blank">forecast growth</a> of 1,070GW over the five years to 2023. Now, it is forecasting 1,220GW in the five years to 2024.</p><p>Responding to a question from Carbon Brief, Heymi Bahar, IEA senior renewable energy analyst and a lead author of the report told a pre-publication press call that this upwards revision was due to a roughly 50/50 combination of more favorable policy and lower costs.</p><p>On the policy side, Bahar pointed to a series of additional renewables auctions in the EU, initiated as countries look to meet <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/whos-hitting-the-eus-2020-renewables-target-and-whos-holding-it-back" target="_blank">their 2020 targets</a> and as the bloc's <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2030_en" target="_blank">2030 goals</a> have been firmed up. In China, grid expansion and market reforms have reduced the amount of renewable electricity that is "curtailed" – generation that is wasted due to insufficient grid capacity or an excess of supply.</p><p>The flattening of renewable capacity growth during 2018, seen in the red line in the chart, above, was also largely down to changes in China. This stalling marked the <a href="https://www.iea.org/newsroom/news/2019/may/renewable-capacity-growth-worldwide-stalled-in-2018-after-two-decades-of-strong-e.html" target="_blank">first time in two decades</a> when the amount of renewable capacity built each year failed to exceed that seen before.</p><p>During 2018, China started to <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/solar-now-cheaper-than-grid-electricity-in-every-chinese-city-study-finds" target="_blank">shift decisively</a> away from support based on "feed-in tariffs" that pay renewables a fixed price for each unit of electricity generated and towards a system of competitive auctions awarding a fixed pot of money or capacity to the lowest bidders.</p><p>This seismic change in the policy landscape of the world's largest market for renewable energy had been widely expected to dent global growth, including in <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/iea-bioenergy-lead-growth-renewables-over-next-five-years" target="_blank">last year's IEA report</a>. Yet as this year's figures show, despite a small dip in China itself, the global picture was buoyed by strong growth in other markets, keeping growth steady overall, rather than the expected decline.</p><h4>Number One</h4><p>The pace of expansion in renewable capacity has already <a href="https://interactive.carbonbrief.org//how-uk-transformed-electricity-supply-decade/#" target="_blank">dented the prospects</a> of fossil-fueled sources of electricity in many countries, eating into their market share and changing the way wholesale prices vary across days, months and seasons.</p><p>Nevertheless, the growth of global electricity demand has been such that generation from fossil-fuel sources has continued to rise, increasing the sector's contribution to CO2 emissions. Moreover, coal has comfortably maintained its position as the world's largest source of electricity.</p><p>IEA executive director Dr. Birol says in a press release:</p><p>"Renewables are already the world's second largest source of electricity, but their deployment still needs to accelerate if we are to achieve long-term climate, air quality and energy access goals."</p><p>Since 2010, global supplies of renewable electricity have expanded by 60%, adding enough output to power half the U.S. economy. Yet this growth was only sufficient to cover half of the increase in global electricity demand, with the other half coming from a roughly equal split of coal and gas.</p><p>Over the next five years, the IEA base case forecasts that renewables will meet a larger two-thirds share of the increase in global demand. This would mean a continuing, if somewhat diminished role for coal and gas in meeting rising demand, with extra CO2 emissions to match.</p><p>Since the majority of demand growth would be met by renewables, they would claim an increasingly large share of the global electricity mix. In the base case, renewables (red line and dots) would increase their share from 25% today to 30% in 2024, gaining five percentage points in five years. This would largely come at the expense of coal (black), which would drop to 34% of the mix, but would remain the biggest contributor to global electricity supplies.</p>
<img
class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" lazy-loadable="true"
data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjAyMzQ0NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzMxNzk0MX0.w35YmPG-74G7OtGAVq-0qLkEg1_9d2qg1eci5XJacWw/img.png?width=980"
id="bb239"
width="1602"
height="846"
data-rm-shortcode-id="2fb4bc0d6cc19d5d6e2ca59ff19a511b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>Change in the share of global electricity generation accounted for by coal (black lines), renewables (red), gas (blue) and nuclear (purple) between 2018 and 2024. The IEA base case is shown on the left while Carbon Brief's estimate of the mix in the IEA accelerated case is on the right. Source: IEA Renewables 2019 report and Carbon Brief analysis. Chart by Carbon Brief using <a href="https://cbhighcharts2019.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/IEA-renewables/IEA_renewable_forecast_2019_total.html" target="_blank">Highcharts</a>.<br></p>
<p>Given the increase in demand overall, gas in particular, but also coal, would see their output – and emissions – increasing over the next five years in the IEA base case, despite losing market share.</p><p>The IEA's report does not include equivalent figures for its "accelerated case," where renewables grow more quickly than expected. However, Carbon Brief analysis of the IEA's capacity forecasts suggests it could mean renewables matching coal as the world's joint-largest sources of electricity.</p><p>This is shown in the chart, above right, where the renewable share of global electricity supplies would reach 32% by 2024 and coal would fall to a similar level. But even in this accelerated case, renewables would meet only 80% of the increase in demand, with gas making up the remainder.</p><p>This accelerated case for renewables could mean coal output flattening or even starting to decline out to 2024, but not at the rate required to get onto a pathway compatible with <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-qa-ipccs-special-report-on-climate-change-at-one-point-five-c" target="_blank">global climate goals</a>.</p><p>As in <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-how-have-iea-renewable-forecasts-changed" target="_blank">previous years</a>, the IEA sets out three areas that would need to be addressed in order for the accelerated case to be realized. These are: policy and regulatory uncertainty; high investment risks in developing countries; and <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-whole-system-costs-renewables" target="_blank">managing the integration</a> of variable renewables into existing grids.</p><p>(The IEA notes that in the early stages of wind and solar deployment curves in each country or region, "integration challenges are often not as serious as anticipated.")</p><p>The integration issue is a particular concern for "distributed" solar, the IEA suggests. This includes residential rooftops, but also larger commercial and industrial rooftop systems, which tend to have lower costs, the IEA says.</p><p>Given costs for these systems are now at or below the price of retail electricity in most countries – with costs set to fall a further 15-35% by 204 – there is an "explosive cocktail" of ingredients is in place for a "boom" in distributed solar capacity, Paolo Frankl, head of the IEA's renewable energy division told a pre-publication press call.</p><p>Dr. Birol told the call that this sector had "breathtaking" potential, but would need to be carefully managed so as to balance the interests of distributed solar owners, other consumers and the companies that manage electricity grids.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">U.S. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RenewableEnergy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RenewableEnergy</a> Capacity Beats <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Coal?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Coal</a> for the First Time <a href="https://t.co/uDrqOER2z9">https://t.co/uDrqOER2z9</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BeyondCoal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BeyondCoal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RenewablesNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RenewablesNews</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/1140423955523788800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-renewables-could-match-coal-power-within-5-years-iea-reveals" target="_blank">Carbon Brief</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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