Los Angeles is looking into whether it should spend an estimated US$3 billion on a massive, 20-mile underground pumped hydropower storage system that would be connected to the iconic Hoover Dam on the Colorado River outside of Las Vegas.
If it does get built, this system would essentially serve as a giant battery to store power.
Having written a book about the aggressive propaganda program behind the Hoover Dam’s construction in the 1920s and 1930s, I can say that the technical and financial challenges of this plan are sure to pale in comparison to the legal and political roadblocks that will have to be overcome.
Among the biggest obstacles are the long-running fights over the Colorado River and its water, and that the Colorado is a shrinking river due to climate change and long-term drought.
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More considerations
Proponents of the Hoover Dam battery concept say it would be an environmentally friendly way to generate more electricity without using fossil fuels. Yet there are more considerations here, too.
First, the project calls for nearly 20 miles of new underground pipes to run from below the dam back into Lake Mead. The water that it takes to fill those pipes along with the water that is circulated in perpetuity will take some coveted Colorado River water permanently out of the downstream flow.
Second, the time hardly seems right. The Colorado is in decline. With climate scientists predicting that the volume of water in the Colorado River will continue to decrease, states that rely on the river are bracing for potentially drastic cuts to water supplies.
Read more at Los Angeles Wants to Use the Hoover Dam as a Giant Battery. The Hurdles Could Be More Historical than Technical
And that means it's becoming more affordable.
In the rolling hills of Altamont Pass, east of San Francisco, one of the country’s oldest wind farms has produced power for more than 30 years.
There, almost 1,500 old turbines were taken down in recent years. Only 82 new ones were installed in their place, but they produce about the same amount of electricity. Celeste Wanner is with the American Wind Energy Association.
Wanner: “The U.S. wind industry has seen significant advances in technology in just the last ten years. Using longer blades and taller towers makes the turbine able to access stronger, steadier winds.”
Wanner says that as technology improves, many old wind farms are upgrading their systems. Some simply replace components like rotors and blades. Others get new turbines altogether.
Wanner: “Doing these upgrades can really give new life to a wind farm and increase the annual energy production.”
She says these improvements have helped make wind power more affordable. And that’s helping the industry grow and add more clean energy to the grid. Over the past decade wind power generation in the U.S. has tripled.
Read more at Wind Power Is Getting More Efficient
The New York governor’s primary challenger, Cynthia Nixon, has emboldened activists frustrated by his ties to the fossil fuel industry and refusal to back serious climate legislation.
Read more at Andrew Cuomo Faces an Environmental Revolt
Marine fuel prices are soaring and the shipping industry is looking for ways to harness ocean winds to power oceangoing vessels.
Danish giant Maersk Tankers said Thursday it has installed 100-foot-tall rotating cylinders on one of its product tankers, adding devices that are effectively high-tech sails that could cut the vessel’s fuel bill by up to 10%. If the system proves out during testing, Maersk could use the technology on dozens of ships in its 164-tanker fleet.
The operation is the latest attempt to bring together modern oceangoing vessels with maritime’s oldest and most basic technology—sails that harness wind power.
Read more at Maersk Tankers Tests Wind Power to Fuel Ships
The Industrial Energy Consumers of America sent a letter to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives today on the security of natural gas pipelines.
So much is resting on the reliability of natural gas pipelines, we cannot help but be concerned that the cyber and physical security requirements under the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are voluntary, not mandatory. This is in stark contrast to the electric grid where the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has set mandatory standards that are enforced to secure the reliability of the nation’s electric grid. Natural gas pipelines are the weak link in U.S. national energy security.
TSA has the authority to promulgate mandatory security regulations and has not done so, and the voluntary standards are not enforced. News reports cite that the TSA has only six full-time people assigned to oversee over 300,000 miles of natural gas pipeline. These statistics do not give us confidence that there is adequate security.
For these reasons, we encourage the Senate and House Committees of jurisdiction to conduct an oversight hearing on this matter and, if necessary, take appropriate action to ensure that Congress has done all that is reasonable and cost-effective to ensure the security of natural gas pipelines.
Read more at We Can Still Save Earth
Amid calls for the Clean Development Mechanism to be axed, the UN climate chief has weighed in on its behalf.
The UN climate chief has jumped to the defense of a carbon offset scheme, amid calls to scrap it.
Next week, at talks in Bangkok, negotiators will consider whether to replace or repurpose the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as part of the Paris Agreement. A final decision is due in December.
In a statement released on Friday, Patricia Espinosa touted the scheme as a success story.
“Work under the CDM shows that actions to mitigate climate change bring many co-benefits in human health, green jobs, poverty reduction and other aspects of development,” said Espinosa. “As we look towards establishing a new sustainable development mechanism under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, we should bear these successes in mind.”
The CDM was set up under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, allowing rich countries to meet some of their carbon-cutting commitments by funding projects in the developing world.
More than 8,100 projects in 111 countries have registered with the CDM. As the CDM held its 100th executive board meeting, it said these had driven $303 billion of investment and 2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions cuts.
Read more at UN to Fight for Future of Carbon Offset Scheme
The Industrial Energy Consumers of America sent a letter to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives today on the security of natural gas pipelines.
So much is resting on the reliability of natural gas pipelines, we cannot help but be concerned that the cyber and physical security requirements under the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are voluntary, not mandatory. This is in stark contrast to the electric grid where the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has set mandatory standards that are enforced to secure the reliability of the nation’s electric grid. Natural gas pipelines are the weak link in U.S. national energy security.
TSA has the authority to promulgate mandatory security regulations and has not done so, and the voluntary standards are not enforced. News reports cite that the TSA has only six full-time people assigned to oversee over 300,000 miles of natural gas pipeline. These statistics do not give us confidence that there is adequate security.
For these reasons, we encourage the Senate and House Committees of jurisdiction to conduct an oversight hearing on this matter and, if necessary, take appropriate action to ensure that Congress has done all that is reasonable and cost-effective to ensure the security of natural gas pipelines.
So much is resting on the reliability of natural gas pipelines, we cannot help but be concerned that the cyber and physical security requirements under the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are voluntary, not mandatory. This is in stark contrast to the electric grid where the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has set mandatory standards that are enforced to secure the reliability of the nation’s electric grid. Natural gas pipelines are the weak link in U.S. national energy security.
TSA has the authority to promulgate mandatory security regulations and has not done so, and the voluntary standards are not enforced. News reports cite that the TSA has only six full-time people assigned to oversee over 300,000 miles of natural gas pipeline. These statistics do not give us confidence that there is adequate security.
For these reasons, we encourage the Senate and House Committees of jurisdiction to conduct an oversight hearing on this matter and, if necessary, take appropriate action to ensure that Congress has done all that is reasonable and cost-effective to ensure the security of natural gas pipelines.
Read original at Manufacturers Encourage Congress to Hold Oversight Hearing on Security of Natural Gas Pipelines
