La plus grande centrale solaire du monde est opérationnelle !!! Chacun sait que la Californie, fait partie des leaders en ce qui concerne les énergies renouvelables et ce statut risque de lui être conservé, car depuis le 18 février 2014 on y a inauguré la plus grande centrale solaire du monde. Désormais dans le désert de Mojave, brille une immense mer de 173.000 miroirs, dont chacun fait environ la taille d'une porte de garage. Leur rôle est de refléter l'énergie solaire captée, vers des tours de 40 étages, soit 140 mètres de hauteur. La centrale électrique Ivanpah s'étend sur 5 hectares et 140.000 foyers seront donc alimentés en énergie propre durant toute l'année. - Récapitulatif du procédé : Ivanpah possède 3 tours, vers lesquelles convergent les rayons solaires émanant des miroirs "héliostat" gérés par ordinateur. Le système permettrait de réduire l'émission de dioxyde de carbone d'environ 400.000 tonnes métriques par an, ce qui est considérable. (Sources Daily Geek Show)
EPA Plans to Allow Unlimited Dumping of Fracking Wastewater in the Gulf of Mexico An offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Under current Environmental Protection Agency standards, offshore platform operators can dump unlimited amounts of fracking chemicals mixed with water from undersea wells directly into the ocean. (Photo: Jonathan Henderson / Vanishing Earth) We need your help to stay hot on the trail of injustice and corruption. It only takes a moment -- click here to support independent reporting! Environmentalists are warning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that its draft plan to continue allowing oil and gas companies to dump unlimited amounts of fracking chemicals and wastewater directly into the Gulf of Mexico is in violation of federal law. The attorneys claim that regulators do not fully understand how the chemicals used in offshore fracking and other well treatments -- some of which are toxic and dangerous to human and marine life -- can impact marine environments, and crucial parts of the draft permit are based on severely outdated data.
It's not easy being green: Ivanpah solar plant near Nevada burns a lot of natural gas, making it a greenhouse gas emitter under state law. A solar power plant at the center of the Obama administration’s push to reduce America’s carbon footprint has its own carbon pollution problem. The administration’s initiative, which uses millions of taxpayer dollars to promote green energy, has been a boon for the Ivanpah plant in the Mojave Desert. But Ivanpah uses natural gas as a supplementary fuel, and data from the California Energy Commission show the plant burned enough of it in 2014 – its first year of operation – to emit more than 46,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. That’s nearly twice the pollution threshold at which power plants and factories in California are required to participate in the state’s cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon emissions. The same amount of natural gas burned at a conventional power plant would have produced enough electricity to meet the annual needs of 17,000 California homes – roughly a quarter of the Ivanpah plant’s total electricity projection for 2014. The U.S. Gas Limitations Plant and U.S.
Solar bridge unveiled at Blackfriars station 22 January 2014Last updated at 14:17 GMT Continue reading the main story Network Rail said the roof was the world's largest solar bridge The solar bridge will provide up to 50% of the station's energy Continue reading the main story A solar roof with 4,400 panels has been unveiled on Blackfriars Bridge in central London. Network Rail said it was the world's largest solar bridge and would provide up to 50% of Blackfriars station's energy. The roof above the Victorian bridge is part of a £6.5bn programme to increase capacity on the Thameslink route. Network Rail said the panels would "reduce the cost" of running the station. Simon Kirby, the managing director of Network Rail Infrastructure Projects, said the transformation showed how the route was being enhanced by "using smart, sustainable technology to reduce the cost of running the railway". 'Iconic landmark' The Thameslink route runs from north to south of the capital through central London.
Thorium, la face gâchée du nucléaire Une énergie nucléaire "verte" ? Au début de la série Occupied, diffusée par ARTE fin 2015, le nouveau chef écologiste du gouvernement norvégien, pour mettre un terme à l'exploitation pétrolière, inaugurait une centrale fonctionnant au thorium. Une hypothèse nullement fictive, selon ce documentaire, qui montre combien ce combustible alternatif, découvert à la fin du XIXe siècle et répandu sur toute la planète, représente une piste sérieuse pour échapper aux dangers et à la pollution induits par l'utilisation du plutonium par l'industrie atomique. Si le nucléaire n'avait pas été inventé pour bombarder Hiroshima et propulser des flottes militaires, nos centrales fonctionneraient sans doute aujourd'hui avec des réacteurs à sels fondus de thorium. La Chine à l'avant-garde ?
The Alternative Energy Matrix 4 views this month; 0 overall Breathe, Neo. I’ve been running a marathon lately to cover all the major players that may provide viable alternatives to fossil fuels this century. The primary “mission” of late has been to sort possible future energy resources into boxes labeled “abundant,” “potent” (able to support something like a quarter of our present demand if fully developed), and “niche,” which is a polite way to say puny. For example, it does not much matter that Titan has enormous pools of methane unprotected by any army (that we know of!). In this post, we will summarize the ins and outs of the various prospects. The Matrix Would you like to know what the matrix is? Okay, I’ll keep the suspense going a bit by describing the fields. Abundance: This is essentially the “abundant,” “potent,” and “niche” classification scheme reflected in the preceding posts. Difficulty: This field tries to capture the degree to which a resource brings with it large technical challenges. Backyard?
Solar wins: How sunshine will save the planet (really!) We’ve had some bad news this year, like wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, floods, exploding oil trains, imploding governments, and an international consensus of climate scientists affirming that the end is probably nigh: Any enviro can see these are dark times for the climate. But if you squint hard enough through the gloom, a literal and figurative ray of sunshine emerges! Because you know what, guys, solar energy may just save us all. For realz. It’s kind of a no-brainer — enough free, clean, undisputed energy falls on the earth’s surface in a little over an hour to power all of humanity for a year — but the solar story so far has had its share of struggles, goofs, and embarrassment. And yet, technically and financially speaking, solar news of late is looking pretty solid across the board. 1. 2. Enter SolarCity’s new batteries. 3. 4. Then Mosaic started paying back loans with 4.5 percent interest last January, and the game got changed. Evidently the word got out. 5. 6. 7.
« La voiture électrique n’est pas écologique ! » vraiment Depuis quelques années, les voitures électriques ne cessent de gagner en popularité dans le monde, tout particulièrement en Europe, tout en restant marginales. Si certains pays s’engagent en faveur du développement durable avec des politiques d’incitation à l’achat de véhicules électriques, une vague d’arguments s’opposant à elles a déferlé dans les médias. À juste titre ? La Norvège, le Japon et le Royaume-Uni font figure d’exemple en matière d’investissements dans la voiture électrique. Objectif : faire baisser les émissions de gaz à effet de serre et assainir l’air localement. Tout d’abord, rappelons que la seule voiture vraiment écologique est celle qui n’existe pas. La EV1 produite en 1996 par GM (image) Une presse française unanime Courant 2013, l’ensemble de la presse française titrait « la voiture électrique n’est pas écologique ». En réalité, le débat n’est pas si tranché. Elon Musk, co-fondateur et CEO de Tesla Motors / Jerry Lampen/AFP/Getty Images L’Oeuf électrique français
The sun is setting on solar, but there’s still time to scoop the feed-in tariffs | Money Around 655,000 homes – less than 3% of the UK’s housing stock – have solar panels, but if government plans to slash the industry subsidy go ahead, further installations could be halted, campaigners are warning. The solar industry, backed by at least 35 MPs, is proposing an alternative plan to encourage further installations while adding just £1 to the average electricity bill. But amid fears their plea will fall on deaf ears, householders are rushing to take advantage of feed-in tariffs (Fits) while they last. Is installing solar panels still worth it? Yes, though you’ll have to move fast: in January, the government is set to slash the Fits it pays to households installing photovoltaic panels. Households get to use the free electricity generated, which can be worth around £100 a year with some behavioural changes, eg using washing machines on sunny days etc. Note that these figures are based on those published by the Energy Savings Trust and are only averages. What’s the cost/payback?