Month: May 2022

We all remember the spectacular failure of (primarily)Texas gas, coal and nuclear units during the winter of 2021.
Worth repeating that traditionally, Texas peak demand has occurred in the summer. Spring is the time when plants get maintenance – but climate is making that practice risky.

Houston Chronicle:

Texas residents could be facing potential blackout conditions this weekend in response to spiking temperatures in the Lone Star State and corresponding surges in demand on its notoriously fickle power grid.

According to Austin-based energy consultant Doug Lewin, the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is expecting demand for power to reach 69.3 gigawatts on Saturday, May 7 as temperatures in Houston and Dallas hit highs in the low-to-mid ’90s and eclipse 100 in towns such as Midland and Laredo.

“This Saturday, ERCOT expects 69.3GW of demand, an insane amount for a weekend in early May,” Lewin tweeted Monday, estimating that the figure would likely be a record for energy demand on the state grid in the month of May.

I believe the previous record demand in May is ~67GW & all time summer peak is 74.8GW. That we would reach that much demand on a Saturday in May is extraordinary. Usually demand is much lower on the weekends. Extreme weather from #climatechange is already happening.#txlege 2/5

— Doug Lewin (@douglewinenergy) May 2, 2022

Lewin stated that the previous May record, to his best knowledge, peaked around 67 gigawatts. Making matters worse, ERCOT is expecting 20 gigawatts of Texas thermal plants powered by coal and gas to be offline for maintenance during the peak demand window of the coming heat, according to Lewin.

Continue reading ““Buckle Up”: May Heat (!) Could Strain Texas Grid”

After Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile record, within 10 years, 336 others were also able to do it.

Not long ago, engineers were taught that a grid with more than 5 or 10 percent renewable energy would be dangerous and unmanageable.

Times Change.

Renew Economy:

Less than two weeks after notching up a record 97.6% of instantaneous renewables on its grid, California has passed a major new milestone, with 100% of the state’s electricity supplied by renewable sources for a short period over the weekend.

According to the California Independent System Operator, the milestone was achieved within a 15 minute period between 2.45pm and 3pm on Saturday April 30, California time, marking the first time ever the massive state has been powered entirely by renewables.

Such levels have become common in smaller grids such as South Australia, but the milestone in California – one of the world’s biggest economies and biggest grids – is hugely significant.

As illustrated in the charts (above), when state electricity demand passed 18GW at around 2.50pm, renewable energy was supplying around 18.6GW, compared to just over 2GW each from nuclear and gas, and a measly 9MW from coal.

Continue reading “On Saturday, California Ran on 100 Percent Renewables. The First Time, but Not the Last.”

A frunk is the trunk in the front where there is no engine because you have an electric vehicle.
Lot’s of people have ideas about what to do with that space, and with the flexibility of having portable power from the EV batteries. New Ford Ads do a good job picking up on that.

The Lightning is the Right Thing.
Catch the music below.

There’s a part 3 below.

Continue reading “Ford F-150 Sparks Creative “Frunkin” Ads”

The Hill:

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Thursday said she shares “deep concern” about the impact of potential solar energy tariffs on U.S. renewable energy goals. 

Granholm faced questions during a House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing over a Biden administration probe into allegations of tariff circumvention by Southeast Asian companies that manufacture solar panel components. 

“This case could cost us 100,000 American solar jobs and jeopardize our common clean energy goals,” stated Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), referring to the Commerce Department probe and the potential impact on the U.S. renewable energy goals.

“Already 318 projects are being canceled or delayed and if the administration decides to impose tariffs it could cause solar capacity to fall 75 gigawatts of the pace needed to reach the president’s solar goal,” he added.

Peters went on to cite a projection released Wednesday by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which reduced its forecast for solar installations by nearly half.

The top solar industry group blamed the Biden administration’s probe into allegations of Asian manufacturers dodging tariffs for the reduced forecast.

“I share your deep concern about this,” Granholm replied, saying the White House’s climate office is similarly concerned about such obstacles to reaching its renewable energy targets.

Continue reading “Tariff Battle has Solar Industry in Crisis”

Nature:

At least 10,000 virus species have the capacity to infect humans, but at present, the vast majority are circulating silently in wild mammals^1,2. However, climate and land use change will produce novel opportunities for viral sharing among previously geographically-isolated species of wildlife^3,4. In some cases, this will facilitate zoonotic spillover—a mechanistic link between global environmental change and disease emergence.

New York Times:

Over the next 50 years, climate change will drive thousands of viruses to jump from one species of mammal to another, according to a study published in Nature on Thursday. The shuffling of viruses among animals may increase the risk that one will jump into humans and cause a new pandemic, the researchers said.

Scientists have long warned that a warming planet may increase the burden of diseases. Malaria, for example, is expected to spread as the mosquitoes that carry it expand their range into warming regions. But climate change might also usher in entirely new diseases, by allowing pathogens to move into new host species.

“We know that species are moving, and when they do, they’re going to have these chances to share viruses,” said Colin Carlson, a biologist at Georgetown University and a co-author of the new study.

To understand what that sharing will look like, Dr. Carlson and his colleagues built a computer model of potential spillovers in a warming world. The researchers started by projecting how thousands of mammals might shift their ranges as the climate changes between now and 2070.

Continue reading “Climate Will Bring More Novel Diseases”

Spreading to DC.
Next to a tick disease that makes one’s penis fall off, this one seem likely to get lawmaker’s attention.

Washington Post:

Our recent warm weather has reawakened ticks, and one type in particular is becoming more common in the D.C. area: the lone star tick. One bite from this tick, which is easily identified by the white spot on its back if it’s a female, can cause a life-long adverse reaction to eating red meat.

The lone star tick originated in the southern states but has spread north and west to cover much of the eastern half of the country. With a warming climate, more ticks survive the winter months, and their range is expanding.

Unlike the black-legged (deer) tick, the lone star tick doesn’t transmit Lyme disease, but it can produce a severe food allergy in people known as alpha-gal syndrome, which is an allergy to red meat.

When lone star ticks feed on mammals, such as mice, rabbits or deer, they ingest alpha-gal sugars. Later, if the ticks bite and feed on humans, they inject the alpha-gal sugars with their saliva into their human host.

Because people don’t have alpha-gal in their bodies, the human immune system recognizes alpha-gal from a tick bite as a foreign substance and mounts a response, including the development of antibodies. Often, the bite site becomes swollen and itchy.

But red meat, which contains alpha-gal sugars, can further trigger reactions. If red meat is eaten by people bitten by the lone star tick, the immune system recognizes the alpha-gal from the meat as a foreign substance. As a result, the body mounts a response, often much more severe than the initial response to the tick bite.

The alpha-gal allergy to red meat can lead to a rash, hives, itching, swelling, shortness of breath, headaches, abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting. With severe cases, a person may suffer anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction.

Initially, alpha-gal syndrome was hard to diagnose because the allergic reaction occurs many hours after meat is ingested. In addition, the allergy to red meat lasts a lifetime and can become worse over time.

Continue reading “Karma/Bitch etc: Climate Driven Tick Brings Allergy to Red Meat”

I thought we were over this, but denial springs eternal.

Houston Chronicle:

Some of the world’s largest cities, including Houston, are sinking faster than sea levels are rising, according to a report from the World Economic Forum. There are 33 cities worldwide which are sinking at rates of more than one centimeter per year, which is five times the rate of sea level rise, the report said.

Houston is the 10th fastest sinking city in the world with a rate of 1.95 centimeters per year. The Southeastern Texas city is the only place in the Western Hemisphere included in the top 10 fastest sinking cities. The city sinking the fastest is Tianjin, China at a rate of 5.22 centimeters per year.

Parts of Houston are sinking much faster, though, with some areas sinking at a rate of two inches per year, another report from the World Economic Forum said. One of the dangers of the sinking is that it makes it difficult for sea-level rise models to accurately predict the intensity and speed of worsening flooding, according to the report. The rate of sinking, coupled with sea level rises, could lead to the city “disappearing” by 2100, the report said.

The sinking is caused by subsidence, or the settling and compacting of land based on changes beneath the surface of the ground, the report said. Groundwater pumping is the primary cause of subsidence worldwide, according to the report. Additionally, the report said areas with a high concentration of residential buildings or industrial activity have the highest rates of subsidence. 

One solution proposed to protect the Houston area is the taxpayer funded 30 billion dollar “Ike Dike” – a massive scheme of locks and seawalls hatched after catastrophic damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008.
But some other cities, like New Orleans, have had mixed experience with such projects.

NOLA.com:

Kelly Burks-Copes braces herself against the wind and marches past the ruins of Fort San Jacinto, a strategic spot on a sandy, wave-battered point where Spain, France, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy and the United States have all taken turns building coastal defenses to protect Galveston Bay.

Now it’s Burks-Copes’ turn. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project manager is leading an ambitious effort to build the “Ike Dike,” a $30 billion storm protection project that’s been in the works since its namesake hurricane roared through the bay almost 14 years ago. The project will dwarf the one built around New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and perhaps even the immense coastal barriers in the Netherlands that inspired both Gulf Coast projects.

Continue reading “Houston, You Have a Problem. Can Mammoth Coastal Wall Save City?”

Above, ABC report on California’s sewage recycling efforts. At the nation’s largest reservoir, a jarring new low has been recorded.

CNN:

The West is in the grips of a climate change-fueled megadrought, and Lake Mead — the largest manmade reservoir in the country and a source of water for millions of people — has fallen to an unprecedented low. 

The lake’s plummeting water level has exposed one of the reservoir’s original water intake valves for the first time, officials say.

The valve had been in service since 1971 but can no longer draw water, according to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which is responsible for managing water resources for 2.2 million people in Southern Nevada, including Las Vegas.

Across the West, extreme drought is already taking a toll this year and summertime heat hasn’t even arrived yet. Drought conditions worsened in the Southwest over the past week, the US Drought Monitor reported Thursday. Extreme and exceptional drought, the two worst designations, expanded across New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado — all states that are part of the Colorado River basin.

Below, Sammy Roth of the Los Angeles Times points to drought challenges, and opportunities.