Streets That Heat Up, Unreasonably, During the Summer, Could Be Cured With White Paint.

LA Painting Its Streets White To Combat Global Warming

LOS ANGELES (CBS News) - In the race to combat climate change, the city of Los Angeles is employing a surprising new tactic - covering its streets in a grayish-white coating known as CoolSeal. It's sprayed onto the roadway with trucks, then spread across the surface with squeegees.

From article, (In the race to combat climate change, the city of Los Angeles is employing a surprising new tactic — covering its streets in a grayish-white coating known as CoolSeal.

It’s sprayed onto the roadway with trucks, then spread across the surface with squeegees. However, its impact extends far beyond the edge of the pavement.

Los Angeles, like so many other modern cities, is encased in thousands of miles of asphalt. And dark-colored asphalt absorbs between 80 and 95 percent of the sun’s rays, heating up not just the streets themselves but the entire surrounding area. So when temperatures in Southern California rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, surface temperatures on its asphalt roads can climb to 150. It exacerbates a phenomenon known as the “urban heat island effect,” which the EPA says can add up to 22 degrees Fahrenheit to the average air temperature in a city, compared to the surrounding area.

CoolSeal, which is made by a company called GuardTop, helps to reflect solar rays off asphalt so that less heat is actually absorbed. And according to the Bureau of Street Services, the L.A. streets that have been rendered lighter in color with CoolSeal are 10 to 15 degrees cooler on average than the L.A. streets that have not. That, in turn, keeps the neighborhood from heating up quite as much. Buildings in the area don’t need to use quite as much air conditioning, which can curb costs, benefiting residents’ wallets and the environment.

By cooling the ambient air, lighter-colored asphalt can also help prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths.) 

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New Wind Farm Will Sell Power to Some Familiar Company Names: Bloomberg LP, and General Motors.

Enel Begins Construction Of 185 Megawatt HillTopper Wind Farm In Illinois, Signs PPAs With Bloomberg LP & General Motors

Clean Power Enel Green Power North America has begun construction of its 185 megawatt (MW) HillTopper wind farm, its first in Illinois, which has already signed Power Purchase Agreements with two corporate offtakers, Bloomberg LP and General Motors.

From article, (Enel Green Power North America has begun construction of its 185 megawatt (MW) HillTopper wind farm, its first in Illinois, which has already signed Power Purchase Agreements with two corporate offtakers, Bloomberg LP and General Motors.

Investment for the project amounts to around $325 million and it was acquired by Enel Group from developer Swift Current Energy

Upon expected completion later this year, HillTopper is expected to generate around 570 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Specifically, HillTopper has already signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with global business and financial information and news leader Bloomberg LP and global vehicle company General Motors. Bloomberg LP has secured 17 MW under a PPA that will go towards supporting its target of becoming 100% powered by renewable energy by 2025, while General Motors signed a PPA for 100 MW of the electricity generated from HillTopper which will go towards supporting all of its Ohio and Indiana manufacturing facilities.

“Our agreement with HillTopper is part of our strategy to generate or source all electrical power for our global operations with 100 percent renewable energy by 2050,” added Rob Threlkeld, global manager of renewable energy, General Motors. “When the turbines come online later this year, we will be 20 percent of the way to our goal.”

“For Illinois consumers, clean energy is increasingly synonymous with affordable energy. Enel’s new HillTopper facility will expand Illinois’ renewable energy supply — which leads to more favorable market prices for all consumers of electricity — while also unleashing job growth and economic development in the state,” said David Kolata, Executive Director of Illinois Citizens Utility Board. “As one of the world’s largest energy companies, Enel’s investment here is another resounding sign that Illinois has arrived as a leader in the clean energy economy and that consumers are capturing the benefits.”

HillTopper also continues the impressive work of Enel Green Power North America in the region, with around 100 operating projects with capacity exceeding 4.2 GW and more under development in 23 US states and 2 Canadian provinces. In 2017, the company was the fastest growing renewable energy company in the United States, bringing approximately 1.2 GW worth of new capacity online in a single year.)

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Adding Solar Power And Battery Storage to a Retirement Community Has Led to $90,000 Dollars Per Year Reduction In Energy Charges. Just Think What this Retirement Community Could Do With That Savings.

Sharp Energy Storage System Could Save Retirement Community $90,000 Yearly

A behind-the-meter energy storage system made by Sharp Electronics with a capacity of 240 kW/324 kWh will be installed at Paradise Village Retirement Community in the San Diego area by NW Photon Energy. It will be integrated with 516 kW of solar PV and installed in 6 buildings.

 From article, (A behind-the-meter energy storage system made by Sharp Electronics with a capacity of 240 kW/324 kWh will be installed at Paradise Village Retirement Community in the San Diego area by NW Photon Energy. It will be integrated with 516 kW of solar PV and installed in 6 buildings.

An energy usage analysis found that the solar + energy storage system could save the senior community about $90,000 per year by reducing demand charges. It has been estimated that the new hybrid energy system will reduce demand by over 2,000 kW annually. 

HVAC, refrigeration, and medical equipment are primary energy consumers at the site and carry a startup load that results in demand requests and charges, but the new system is expected to result in reductions. The utility in the area is San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). Additional savings are expected from using the solar PV system.

Paradise Valley is a retirement community with assisted living and memory care options located not far from the coast in the south San Diego area not far from National City. There are 12 acres of grounds and the facility has nearly 500 apartments.)

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Wind Turbines to Only Get Taller and Produce More Electrical Energy Per Revolution.

World's Most Powerful Wind Turbine: One Rotation 'Can Power the Average UK Home for a Day'

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall announced Tuesday that it successfully installed an 8.8-megawatt capacity offshore wind turbine from Vetas at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Center (EOWDC) off the coast of Scotland. It's the first of 11 turbines planned for the project and the first deployment of a model of that size for commercial use.

From article, (Swedish energy giant Vattenfall announced Tuesday that it successfully installed an 8.8-megawatt capacity offshore wind turbine from Vetas at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Center (EOWDC) off the coast of Scotland.

It’s the first of 11 turbines planned for the project and the first deployment of a model of that size for commercial use. Vattenfall will also install another 8.8-megawatt model from Vestas at the site.

 Turbines, offshore and onshore, will just keep getting bigger. The MHI Vestas turbines have a tip height of 191 meters and 80 meter-long blades. Looking beyond 2020, MAKE projects the U.K. market will lead offshore turbine capacity growth, with the average megawatt rating nearing 12 megawatts by the end of 2024.

According to EOWDC Project Director at Vattenfall, Adam Ezzamel, "just one rotation of the blades can power the average UK home for a day.”

With an installed capacity of 93.2 megawatts, Vattenfall said the entire facility will produce 312 gigawatt hours per year, enough to power nearly 80,000 homes and meet 23 percent of Aberdeen’s total electricity demand. It will displace 134,128 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Vattenfall has a goal to excise fossil fuels from its portfolio within one generation.

The European Union threw €40 million (about $49.3 million) behind the plant.

The announcement out of Scotland comes just days after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke proposed offshore wind lease sales for 390,000 acres off the coast of Massachusetts.

Those sales are part of the “America-First Offshore Energy Strategy,” executive order that Trump signed last April.)

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We Went From Trains, to Trolleys, to Subways, to Local Buses, to Light Rail. Now, BRT is seen as the Least Costly, and Fastest to Produce, System, World Wide.

The Next Big Thing in Urban Transit: Fast-Bus Systems

After years of unsuccessful efforts to create a light-rail system in Florida's Tampa Bay area, transit leaders are falling back on an old technology-buses. This isn't your average city bus. The service, known as bus rapid transit, would operate for long stretches on dedicated lanes and feature modern, comfortable vehicles and raised station platforms level with bus entrances for smooth boarding.

From article, (After years of unsuccessful efforts to create a light-rail system in Florida’s Tampa Bay area, transit leaders are falling back on an old technology—buses.

This isn’t your average city bus. The service, known as bus rapid transit, would operate for long stretches on dedicated lanes and feature modern, comfortable vehicles and raised station platforms level with bus entrances for smooth boarding.

Officials envision a 41-mile system to connect the region’s five main employment centers, including Tampa and St. Petersburg, at a cost of up to $455 million and a five-year construction time frame. An alternative nine-mile rail project was projected to cost $620 million and take up to 10 years to complete.

“It’s a rapid-transit system on rubber tires,” said Ramond Chiaramonte, executive director of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority, which plans to open the blueprint to public comment in July.

A growing number of U.S. cities are pursuing these bus systems as cheaper and easier-to-build alternatives to light rail at a time when transit budgets are tight. While such services have been around for years in cities like Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, they have been rolling out at a faster clip in recent years.

There are now about 10 U.S. cities, including Hartford, Conn., and Eugene, Ore., with established lines, said Michael Kodransky, director of global and U.S. initiatives at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy in New York, which created a grading system for the services. Another dozen or so metro areas, including Miami-Dade County and Boston, are evaluating or developing them.

BRT systems, which got their start in Latin America, generally run about a quarter to a third of the cost of light-rail systems to build, with similar passenger-carrying capacities, according to Mr. Kodransky’s organization. Proponents say they also can serve as economic engines. The one in Cleveland—regarded as one of the most successful—triggered economic development along its corridor.

It is part of a broader rethinking of bus networks in the U.S. Ridership on city buses has declined steadily in recent years, decreasing nearly 5% in the third quarter of 2017 compared with a year earlier, according to the American Public Transportation Association. Reasons include service cutbacks after the recession and the rise of ride-share services like Uber and Lyft. Cities like Houston and Seattle have responded by completely redrawing bus routes.)

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BP is Getting its Feet Wet With a Battery Storage Project, Built By Tesla, For One of its Wind Farms.

BP to store wind power with help from Tesla

BP is preparing to take its first steps towards the battery power boom by building a new project to store wind power using Tesla technology later this year. The oil super major will team up with the world's largest battery storage company to build a pilot project alongside its Titan wind project in the US state of South Dakota.

From article, (BP is preparing to take its first steps towards the battery power boom by building a new project to store wind power using Tesla technology later this year.

The oil super major will team up with the world’s largest battery storage company to build a pilot project alongside its Titan wind project in the US state of South Dakota.

The 25MW wind farm, which is relatively small by British standards, will top up the stored electricity in a Tesla battery with an energy capacity of 840 kilowatt hours capable of producing 212 kilowatts of power.

BP has over 13 wind farms in the US with a total capacity of around 2.26GW, making it one of the largest renewable energy businesses of any major oil and gas group.)

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24% Of Bentley's, Factory, Headquarters, Power, Will Be Supplied by New CarPort Solar Power Project

Bentley to build UK's largest solar-powered car port

Car ports are pretty simple -- just put a roof over a place where a car is parked. But why rely on a regular roof when you can use solar panels that actually produce a benefit? Bentley announced on Tuesday that it intends to construct the UK's largest solar-powered car port at its factory headquarters in Crewe.

From article, (Bentley announced on Tuesday that it intends to construct the UK's largest solar-powered car port at its factory headquarters in Crewe. Comprising some 10,000 solar panels, the car port will generate up to 2.7 megawatts of power each day, which is estimated to cover about 24 percent of Bentley's electricity requirements and could replace 3,300 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

The solar car port will cover 1,378 parking spaces and protect employees' cars from the elements. Bentley isn't in charge of building the whole thing -- it's farmed out that responsibility to FlexiSolar, a company that specializes in solar-powered car ports. The project has additional backing from Innovate UK, a government agency established to support next-gen science and tech.

This isn't Bentley's first foray into solar power. The automaker already has 20,815 solar panels installed atop its factory, which can generate up to 5 megawatts and cover another 40 percent of Bentley's energy requirements. That project was announced in 2013.

Volkswagen Group, which includes Bentley, is making an effort to green up its facilities across the board. Back in March, Audi announced that its upcoming E-Tron electric SUV will be built in a carbon-neutral facility that will have 95 percent of its production efforts covered by renewable energies. The final 5 percent is covered with additional projects that offset any carbon footprint.)

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SpaceX Seeks New Water Landing Zone

SpaceX proposes to conduct Dragon splashdowns in Gulf of Mexico - SpaceNews.com

WASHINGTON - SpaceX is seeking permission to perform splashdowns of its Dragon spacecraft in the Gulf of Mexico, part of a shift in spacecraft recovery operations from the Pacific Ocean. In a draft environmental assessment prepared by the Federal Aviation Administration, SpaceX proposes to conduct up to six Dragon landings a year in waters off the Gulf coast, between Texas and Florida.

From article, (SpaceX is seeking permission to perform splashdowns of its Dragon spacecraft in the Gulf of Mexico, part of a shift in spacecraft recovery operations from the Pacific Ocean.

In a draft environmental assessment prepared by the Federal Aviation Administration, SpaceX proposes to conduct up to six Dragon landings a year in waters off the Gulf coast, between Texas and Florida. The assessment, completed in March, was published in the Federal Register April 5.

According to the report, the Gulf of Mexico would serve as a contingency landing site for both cargo and crewed Dragon missions should the primary landing zone be unavailable. SpaceX currently lands Dragon spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean and has approval to carry out future splashdowns in the Atlantic.

The need for the backup landing zone, the report states, is to ensure the future crewed Dragon spacecraft can return to Earth should there be a problem with the primary landing site. “With the introduction of the [commercial crew program], the ability to return crew to Earth in a safe and timely manner is extremely important, particularly in cases where human life or health may be in jeopardy,” the report states, adding that the proposal “ensures that a secondary splashdown option is available to missions planned to splashdown in either the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans.”

The landing site is in waters between 28 and 260 kilometers offshore from the Gulf coast, in waters that are within the U.S. economic exclusion zone, but doesn’t specify preferred regions within that area. The site would support missions launched from Florida as well as the launch site SpaceX is developing near Brownsville, Texas.

For those splashdowns, the planned recovery fleet includes one ship, nearly 50 meters long, and several smaller rigid-hulled inflatable boats. The boats would perform initial assessments of the Dragon capsule after splashdown and wait for the arrival of the ship to hoist the capsule out the water and onto its deck. One or two helicopters would ferry crews and cargo from the ship to shore.

All SpaceX Dragon splashdowns to date have been in the Pacific, in waters off the coast of Baja California several hundred kilometers southwest of the Port of Los Angeles. With upcoming crew missions, SpaceX plans to shift the primary landing site to waters just off the coast from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

According to an October 2017 document included in the draft environmental assessment, SpaceX plans to carry out three landings a year of its existing Dragon spacecraft in the current Pacific Ocean zone from 2018 through 2020, as well as three landings a year of its Dragon v2, or Crew Dragon, in the Atlantic zone. Starting in 2021 SpaceX would shift to flying Dragon v2 spacecraft exclusively, for crew and cargo, with all missions splashing down in the Atlantic. In those scenarios the Gulf of Mexico would serve as a backup landing site.)

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