John Fitzgerald Weaver
Grazing sheep increase carbon sequestration up to 80%, while also benefiting fixation of soil nutrients under solar panels
Researchers from Temple University have found that managed sheep grazing on an acre of recovering agricultural soil with native plants installed may sequester one ton of carbon per year, which may accumulate for 12 to 15 years before reaching saturation
A battery is only as good as its control system
A possible failed bearing and a software programming error in a heat suppression system caused a cascading incident that damaged 7% of Vistra Corp.’s Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility.
Solar indulgences for fossil sins in Pennsylvania
Legislation has been submitted in Pennsylvania that would force the State to sell the renewable energy certificates it purchased from solar projects to third parties, and use the cash to pay for the capping of abandoned oil and gas wells in the state.
Tesla Energy results up, but mixed, for 2021; solar makes nary a sound on quarterly call
On the company’s Q4 earnings call, the world-leading EV manufacturer again prioritized delivering cars over growing low-margin energy storage products, while solar products were barely noted. Both verticals grew though, solar by 68% and storage by 32%.
Big box retailers could be 50% solar powered
An analysis by Environment America has found that the 100,000 big box stores in the United States could generate 84 TWh of electricity from solar power on their rooftops.
Six terawatt hours of energy storage needed for Zero Carbon
Researchers suggest that by 2050, in a setting where 94% of our electricity comes from renewable sources, approximately 930 GW of energy storage power and six and a half hours of capacity would fully cover the United States’ demand for electricity.
More solar per acre: 50% more panels and 30% more electricity over the past decade
LBNL researchers have found that since 2011, utility-scale solar facilities have increased panel density by 43-52%, and electricity generation 25-33%, for single axis tracking and fixed racking systems, respectively.
ConnectDER approved to connect in Florida’s capital city
The City of Tallahasee has approved ConnectDER meter collars for residential solar installations, adding Florida to the list of several states with tests and/or rollouts.
Pulling fertilizer out of thin air with solar power
Nitricity has put together an experimental plasma reactor that uses solar electricity to produce competitively priced, environmentally clean, nitrogen fertilizer. Their onsite fertilizer production eliminates emissions from transporting fertilizers, and provides a viable alternative to fossil consuming nitrogen fixation methods like the Haber-Bosch process.
Maine utility admits solar interconnection faults, hiring consultants
Central Maine Power Company admitted that its solar power interconnection processes were at fault in 2020-2021, and has offered a settlement that includes hiring grid analysts, funding a working group between the industry and utility, and greatly tightening upgrade cost estimates.
