Never underestimate the ability of humans to overestimate their own intelligence. - moi

2024.11.27 Climate is complicated. Who knew that what covers 75% of the planet would matter so much? /s

Oceans emit sulfur and cool the climate more than previously thought (University of East Anglia)

2024.11.25 Real story is ALL car production in the U.K. (not U.S.) was down due; headline only mentions EVs.

This is how U.S. mainstream media 'works'.
Electric car production drops as firms under 'pressure' (MSN)

2024.11.25 N.B. this information does not come from Canada, but some info in it could be of value.

I haven't turned on my heating for three years- how I stay warm over winter (i)

2024.11.22 Initially enthusiastic about the prospect of humans living on Mars, the authors said their research turned them into space settlement skeptics. “Leaving a 2 (degree Celsius) warmer Earth for Mars would be like leaving a messy room so you can live in a toxic waste dump,” they wrote in the book’s introduction.

Elon Musk has pledged to settle Mars. A prize-winning book offers a reality check (CNN Science)
Sadly, Musk's narcissitic track record suggests he has too much money and too little native intelligence. Tesla is an amazing story, and we should thank Martin Eberhart and the others that created it. Musk's contribution is the CyberTruck. He understands showmanship. Even if math and science are beyond his ken, he does know how to leverage the passion and abilities of others to do better.
In short, it would be much less expensive and provide much greater benefit to fix Planet A than even imagine Mars is a solution for our species.

2024.11.20 ZEVs Canadian market share was 16.5% for Q3 2024; up from 13.4%. If the inventory is available, Canadians will buy EVs.

Automotive Insights - Q3 2024 Canadian EV Information and Analysis (S&P Global Mobility)

2024.11.14 COP29 is showing that fossil fuels owns the process, and that the current carbon credits market is mostly sham.

COP29: Canada needs to start a real conversation about international carbon markets (The Conversation)

2024.11.14 It took a single mow for one homeowner to ditch their gas-powered lawn mower for good.

If you have to mow a lawn, one easy switch to cleaner air is by ditching your raucous gasoline small engine for electric. (TCD)
I have used corded and cordless electric mowers. Cordless (battery-powered) units give you more freedom of movement, which may be important if you have a lot of obstacles to mow around. Today, my goto grass cutter is a basic corded machine. It's got more oomph, doesn't run out of charge, and never requires a battery replacement. It does take a couple of sessions to figure out how to manage the cord, but a basic rule is to start from close to the plug, and then mow away from it until the section is complete. If you have the choice, I recommmend using a bright orange or red cord, so it's always obvious so you don't run over it. No tune-ups, no gas can, no oil changes, no exhaust fumes, no deafening roar. Just years of reliable service at the flick of a switch.

2024.11.13 Finally, this message is penetrating. I have been pointing this out since the 1980s, and did so again last week in a presentation to the Ottawa Renewable Energy Coop.

Less powerful chargers could be enough for many EV drivers, U of C study says (CBC)

2024.11.13 Government won't release results from taxpayer-funded survey. Perhaps the results don't support their energy policy and practice.

Alberta withholds results of public survey on renewable energy and agriculture (Edmonton Journal)

2024.11.13 Despite nations’ pledges at Cop28 a year ago, the burning of coal, oil and gas continued to rise in 2024

'No sign' of promised fossil fuel transition as emissions hit new high (The Guardian)

2024.11.13 Plankton are one of the base species in the ocean food chain.

"Our data shows that planktonic foraminifera, which play a crucial role in the ocean's carbon cycle, are struggling to survive in a rapidly changing climate."
Ocean warming and acidification threaten key ocean plankton groups, study warns (Phys.org)

2024.11.13 These exported emissions are double the GHG emissions Canada reports on its own activities.

Canada's fossil fuel exported emissions leapt to more than a billion tonnes last year (National Observer)

2024.11.13 Amid Earth's heat records, scientists report another bump upward in annual carbon emissions.

'We clearly are not doing enough': Global carbon emissions head for record high in 2024 (euronews)

2024.11.12 This seems like a rational approach to making sustainable, ammonnia-based agricultural fertilizer.

NitroVolt is helping farmers make their own fertilizer using renewable power (TechCrunch)
Two big drawbacks to ammonia-based fertilizer today are that it is sourced from fossil methane (aka 'natural gas') and that ammonia is a hazardous material so transporting it creates risks for people along the transport corridor.
This sustainable approach produces the ammonia on-site where required, which eliminates the transportation hazard. Using electrolysis powered by renewable energy eliminates the CO2 emissions from cracking methane, and the fugitive methane emissions.
The potential for pairing this with agrivoltaics, which provides additional benefits to the farming operation seems like a natural combination.
Then, imagine pairing this with vertical farming near population centres, to provide local, year-round food production as a measure of food security. This would also eliminate phosphorus and nitrogen pollution of waterways from run-off from farm fields due to overapplication of industrial fertilizer. Waste biomass from the food production can be biogested or composted to create green biogas or soil amendment material.

2024.11.12 Fossil fuel subsidies are a gift from taxpayers to fossil fuel businesses (making record profits) to hasten our global suicide pact.

Countries spend huge sums on fossil fuel subsidies - why they're so hard to eliminate (The Conversation)

2024.11.12 It would not be popular with the provincial government, but even small measures on implementing renewables and incenting electric vehicles could happen within a couple of years at relatively low cost.

Edmonton fails to meet climate targets 2 years after launching carbon budget (CBC)

2024.11.12 This is hardly news anymore, but regular reminders of fossil fuel sector deception and ongoing disnformation are necessary.

Big oil firms knew of dire effects of fossil fuels as early as 1950s, memos show (The Guardian)

2024.11.12 This is hardly news anymore, but regular reminders of fossil fuel sector deception and ongoing disnformation are necessary.

Big oil firms knew of dire effects of fossil fuels as early as 1950s, memos show (The Guardian)

2024.11.11 Fake and questionable carbon credits are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Companies are buying up cheap carbon offsets - data suggest it's more about greenwashing than helping the climate (The Conversation)

2024.11.08 Let's start by educating regular people how to spot and ignore fossil fuel disinformation.

Tom Steyer’s Take On How We’ll (Still) Win The Climate War (CleanTechnica)

2024.11.07 At this point, don't tell me any of this comes as a surprise.

Q&A: How a Former ExxonMobil Employee Confronted the Climate Disinformation Machine (DeSmog)

2024.11.06 A sobering conversation on state of climate change with Paul Beckwith

2024 on track to be the warmest year on record (CTV News - 6 minute video)

2024.11.06 If the AI hypesters had faith in their product, they would be building their own zero-emissions power plants.

Tesla unveils plans for incredible new Supercharger concept with its own power source: 'Solar is a no-brainer these days' (TCD)

2024.11.05 Battery technology continues to improve, with announcements almost daily.

This is why EVs will dominate within a few years; they're just a better and less expensive (total cost of ownership) than internal combustion and fossil fuels.
90% in 15 mins: US firm's new EV battery achieves higher charge with silicon anode (Interesting Engineering)

2024.11.04 Once again, it's the methane, folks. Industry's plan: kill the fines for emissions, not reduce the emissions.

Trump donor fined for pollution leads a fight to end methane emission penalties (The Guardian)

2024.11.03 Will the fossil fuels sector ever be held accountable for their lies, deception and massively increasing GHG emissions?

Greenwashing Case Against Santos Could Set Global Precedent (OilPrice.com)

2024.11.03 It's the methanne, folks. Still. Finally, we're spotting the plumes, and sort of measuring them. But not reducing them.

The World Promised to Tame Methane. Emissions Are Still Rising. (Bloomberg)

2024.11.03 Can the COP annual gatherings ever succeed if the fossil fuel sector attends en masse and drives the agenda?

Cop16 ends in disarray and indecision despite biodiversity breakthroughs (The Guardian)

2024.11.02 Battery technology continues to improve; internal combustion and hydrogen fuel not os much

1,000 cycles, 99.2% coulombic efficiency: Li batteries hit milestone for aviation (Interesting Engineering)

2024.11.02 RNG (Renewable Natural Gas) is technically feasible, but to date is a greenwashing smokescreen for the fossil methane industry.

Dear Enbridge, if you want a credible bulk source of real, low-cost, 'green' biogas (RNG), get in touch, I have a big idea for you.
Enbridge Renewable Natural Gas A 1% Greenwashing Rounding Error (CleanTechnica)

2024.11.02 It's a fundamental mismatch problem; for a politician, anything beyond 2 years is indefinite long-term, and there's no photo-op for doing anything real.

And if there are any penalties, those are paid by taxpayers and citizen injuries and fatalities, not politicians. That's why this is a people issue, not appropriate to treat as a partisan political issue.
Politicians not ambitious enough to save nature, say scientists (BBC)

2024.11.02 "Unfortunately, these kinds of incidents will keep happening because of climate change."

B.C. deluge shows why cities struggle to keep up with extreme rain (Global News)

2024.11.01 If we discount IESO and predecessors' consistent overestimates on demand forecasts, there is no looming demand crisis for Ontarians.

And we have time to implement renewables and storage for a sufficient and reliable grid.
How Confident Should We be in Ontario's Electricity Demand Forecasts? (LinkedIn)

2024.11.01 The electrical generation and distribution industry still perceives EVs as a threat (big mistake, huge), so with that mindset, this could be the end of their business model.

But it doesn't have to be, if they pivot now. If the path isn't clear, I can help - business and technology consultant for hire.
Light trick helps super-thin solar panels absorb energy 10,000 times better (Interesting Engineering)

2024.10.31 Greening the long tailpipe: Hyundai buys 610 GWh renewable electricity per year to charge EVs in Korea.

Hyundai secures largest clean energy supply in Korea, enough to charge over 7 million EVs (electrek)

2024.10.31 The shift to renewables, largely driven by the desire for lower cost energy, is making a noticeable and positive difference.

EU emissions fall by 8% in steep reduction reminiscent of Covid shutdown (The Guardian)

2024.10.31 A natural gas pipeline network realizes their business is a stranded asset because renewable biogas isn't coming

Death spiral: Network blows up renewable gas claims, wants to hit consumers for cost of stranded assets (Renew Economy)

2024.10.31 Don't just take their word for it; I have been using Level 1 charging for EVs since 1979. It works, it's cheap, it doesn't leave me stranded.

BYOEVSE: A Cheap Solution For Apartment Charging (CleanTechnica)

2024.10.29 Agriculture depends on stable annual weather patterns (heat, cold, precipitation, arrival of pollinators ...)

Farmers sound the alarm for our global food supply as staple crop becomes increasingly difficult to grow: 'The crop is sensitive' (TCD)

2024.10.29 Once again, the pro-fossil-fuels Fraser Institute assumes the worst case to overstate the cost of greening the grid.

Oddly, they don't compare it to the cost of climate change impacts which are a consequence of continuing the profligate use of fossil fuels. To me, that seems like the most important financial analysis for citizens / taxpayers / ratepayers.
Implications of Decarbonizing Canada's Electricity Grid (Fraser Institute)
First, the goal of greening the national grid goes back decades, and due to fossil fuel recidivism, we're now down to 11 years to meet an arbitrary date, which was never realistic in the first place. Still, the progress to date has been amazing. Somehow, this report missed that fact.
There is no realistic reason to believe Canada needs to triple it's generation capacity within 11 years. That's a stretch even with all the current hyped bubbles for electricity demand. Less fossil fuel use means less electricity demand for processing and delivery.
EVs are not going to massively increase the need for generation capacity, but will make for a better return on investment for generators as most charging will happen overnight (low demand time) using the existing residential distribution grids.
AI is not going to be a long-term dramatic increase in power consumption; that industry will become more efficient using less compute cycles as code improves and lower-power-consumption dedicated hardware is designed, built and deployed.
The much vaunted hydrogen energy economy driven by electrolysis simply isn't going to happen. It's already succuming to reality.
The demand for electricity to drive a world-wide LNG production and transportation system is already fizzling out, as we come to understand LNG isn't a climate change solution, and is more expensive than off-the-shelf renewables today.
The report ignores the fact that per capita electricity consumption has been on a long-term downtrend in the industrialized world as appliances, heating and cooling equipment, computers, screens, etc. continue to become more efficient and incorporate power-save modes and power-saving configurations available on our devices (e.g. dark mode). Even with EVs arriving in larger numbers.
Canada should be investing in a green electricity future now, and especially the capacity to build the tools (e.g. heat pumps), so we can export the expertise and products to the world as the 'decarbonization' crunch really starts to bite world-wide.
The report disregards the potential for energy storage, as though Canada doesn't have massive existing energy storage in the form of hydro reservoirs, or the multiple functions of battery storage for enhancing the grid beyond simple storage, or the potential for additional pumped storage (air, water), which are already proving financially advantageous elsewhere. They then pick on Alberta - the worst case for fossil fuel proportion today for the foundation for their argument, as though Alberta is isolated and doesn't already import renewable electricity from BC and MB when its natural gas generators fail in the cold.
The report implies that going to zero emissions is a choice which is to be measured only by simple direct financial costs. That is just laughable given the context of climate change consequences already being encountered. It's like deciding to stop feeding people because the price of food exceeded their estimates from a decade ago.
Nuclear is the most expensive option for electricity generation being considered today, so no wonder that's the option they want to benchmark against. Big hydro is also expensive to build, but the fuel is free. It is telling that they completely ignore options that rational planners are already using: conservation; efficiency; load shifting; peak shaving; storage; requiring big users to foot a realistic portion of up-front costs for their forecast power demand; and probably most importantly, distributed renewables generation like household rooftop solar. By the way, the regulatory approval process for small, distributed generation can be weeks, not years, and no new land needs to be used. Using farm land for wind turbines uses minimal additional land, and putting solar panels on farm land (agrivoltaics) increases potential for growing cash crops which need some shade (e.g. leafy greens) and provides habitat for pollinators. All that while giving farmers a whole new RELIABLE income stream - not to be taken for granted as warmer temperatures impact canola, soy bean and potato yields, and bigger, stronger storm systems destroy crops in the fields or produce devastating droughts and floods.

Whether the target deadline is 2025 (it was once upon a time, but we stalled past that one), 2035 or 2050, there is no argument that we have to get there to survive as a species. The sooner we get there, the better, so Fraser Institute, it's past time to stop being part of the problem and embrace the solutions.

2024.10.29 Tell me Alberta is completely captured by the oil industry, without telling me ...

Alberta Ad Campaign Dodges Federal Greenwashing Rules While Carrying Fossil Industry Message (The Energy Mix)

2024.10.28 Electric heat for cooking, such as resistance, induction and convection methods, are more efficient and produce no toxic gases inside the home.

Are gas cookers bad for you? Scientists say they're sending 40,000 Europeans to early graves a year (euronews)

2024.10.28 Oh well, humans had a good run while it lasted.

Scientists have discovered that ' carbon sinks are not really carbon sinking at the moment (The Guardian)

2024.10.27 Is a new ice age coming for western Europe? Ironically, because of melting Arctic ice?

Melting Arctic sea-ice could affect global ocean circulation, study warns (Phys.org)

2024.10.25 Before the customer installed Harvest's system, his bill was $1,125. And after? $477.

This small startup's new tech is slashing home heat, hot water, and AC costs: 'It's cutting our bills by 42%' (TCD)

2024.10.25 Pay no attention to the facts behind the curtain; EV sales are plummeting and EVs are dead (again). /s

The U.S. Surpassed Europe In EV Sales Last Quarter: Report (InsideEVs)

2024.10.24 The oil and gas industry push Carbon Capture and Storage as a panacea. Not so fast; once again industry deceit comes to light.

Underground Leak at U.S. CCS Well Could Bode Badly for Northern Alberta (The Energy Mix)

2024.10.24 Rising emissions means the world's opportunity to avert catastrophic climate change is shrinking; we blew through 1.5 degrees.

Carbon emissions are now growing faster than before the pandemic (NewScientist)

2024.10.24 It's the methane, folks. Welcome to the climate feedback loop taking us to catastrophe.

The global methane bomb is starting to detonate (Deccan Herald)

2024.10.24 At this point, governments aren't offering false hope. This is simply disinformation to prevent people taking action themselves.

Would abandoning false hope help us to tackle the climate crisis? (The Guardian)
Individuals really can take independent action to reduce climate change drivers (mitigation) and consequences (adaptation).
You can find some ideas in this blog (and the years of linked past related material).
At the risk of sounding self-serving, you could also get a copy of my e-book (US$6) for a lot of usable information for consumers. That's why I wrote it.

2024.10.24 Perhaps these heat pumps will be good enough to actually work in an Ottawa winter.

New Cold-Climate Heat Pumps Are About to Hit the Market (CNET)

2024.10.23 It's the methane, folks. Warming that leads to more methane emissions is a 'positive' feedback loop with negative outcomes for us.

Terrawatch: mystery of Siberian explosive craters solved (The Guardian)

2024.10.22 Can you afford climate change? New-build properties were left damaged and uninsurable following two floods in the last six months.

Flooded new-build homes in Blyth left uninsurable as owners face bill for repairs (itv News)

2024.10.21 “For the last 30 years, politicians and governments around the world have delayed action, deceived the public, and fuelled the climate crisis.”

Ontario court ruling opens the door to other youth climate lawsuits (National Observer)

2024.10.20 Can you afford climate change? Normal Wells heating fuel edition.

As fuel prices skyrocket in Norman Wells, N.W.T., locals want answers from Imperial Oil (CBC)
Big rivers are drying as a result of climate change and winter (ice) roads are lasting shorter times with lower load capacity.

2024.10.20 Polar ice provides the planet's 'air conditioning', and reflects a high degree of solar heat gain. It's a dangerous feedback loop as it continues to melt.

Polar Ice Crisis 2024: Arctic and Antarctic Near Historic Lows (SciTechDaily)

2024.10.20 In 50 years, CCS has captured just a tiny proportion of global emissions and left a trail of wasted public money in its wake.

Carbon capture is not the answer to the climate crisis (The Guardian)

2024.10.19 Behind the fossil fuel industry's rhetoric about "net zero emissions," there's an unflinching determination to keep profiting from oil and gas, whatever the cost.

Oil Companies Are Still Determined to Burn the Planet Down (Jacobin)

2024.10.17 Canada's progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions ranks last among our G-7 counterparts, and yet, we are warming at twice the global average rate

Climate action demands a new understanding of Canadian life (National Observer)

2024.10.17 The UCP elected leadership continues gaslighting Albertans and Canadians about actual GHG emissions created in Alberta

Alberta's emissions cap math doesn't add up (National Observer)

2024.10.16 This is real, in spite of minimal offerings in Canada and minimal incentives for EVs and heat pumps in most of Canada.

Canadians are saving money with EVs and heat pumps. But only if they can afford the upfront cost (Clean Energy Canada)
Today, Home Depot in the U.S. stocks a line 120-volt heat pump residential water heaters for DIY installation, but not in Canada. But I'm supposed to believe my governments are taking real action to reduce fossil fuel consumptions and mitigate climate change.

2024.10.16 Due to climate change, the Gulf Stream ocean current is slowing and could collapse.

The UK could turn as cold as Scandinavia. Why aren’t we preparing? (The Times - UK)

2024.10.16 U.S. data and relies on U.S. Inflation Reduction Act incentives - which are actually working.

Nearly 80% Of New EVs Are Leased: Dealer Data (InsideEVs)

2024.10.16 Estimated completion date is in second half of 2025

Ontario Breaks Ground On New Battery Storage Project in York Region (Government of Ontario)

2024.10.16 This isn't a gamble; it's making a pile of taxpayer money and setting it on fire.

The UK’s £21.7 Billion Carbon Capture Gamble (OilPrice.com)
To be clear, carbon capture and sequestration does not work financially, and based on experience to date, physically in meeting the claims of proponents. NO CCS project ever built has operated at the levels claimed to get project funding. For more, start here and here and here.
The hydrogen energy system is a financial catastrophe. Every time. It's a fossil-fuel greenwashing charade, funded by taxpayers to delay action that would actually work. (For more, start here.)
Sadly for the UK taxpayer and the planet, with that amount of money, we probably could take down UK emissions dramatically and speed the transition to a green economy, while generating exportable technology to the rest of the industrialized world. Opportunity, not just missed, but set on fire.

2024.10.16 Likely a pyrrhic victory as the main court case will be proceeding.

Supreme Court allows EPA to temporarily enforce limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants (CBS News)
So, no actual emissions reductions are in sight; violators may have to do some homework between now and the court date.

2024.10.16 At $3,000 per KW of generation capacity, that's going to destroy any fantasy nuclear or fossil methane new-build on financials.

Hydro-Québec announces new wind farm generating up to 1,000 MW in eastern Quebec (CBC News)
Hydro Quebec doesn't have to build any storage for this intermittent generation; it has massive hydro dam reservoirs to provide storage.

2024.10.16 The human species will have to opt out of its fossil-fuels-forever suicide pact for this to happen.

'Age of electricity' to follow looming fossil fuel peak, IEA says (Reuters)

2024.10.16 This feels like Ontario government fearmongering to justify more natural gas and nuclear generation spending

Ontario electricity demand to soar due to EV manufacturing and AI: system operator (CP24)
The thing is, Ontario's electricity planners and regulators have long overestimated demand growth in their forecasts. Now, after years of cancelling renewable energy projects and allowing existing generation assets to age out without a plan for replacing capacity, they have no viable short-term plan, and are rolling out a couple of new justifications for hasty and misguided action. However, these are not cause for panic. Ontario could simply buy cheaper, green electricity from Quebec to make up short-term shortfalls.
Further, these two items aren't likely to be real problems for Ontario.
The power demand for AI will be short-lived as we come to understand it's a bubble and not adding much real value. The actual power required to run 'AI' chatbots will be needed in the jurisdictions where those servers reside, and very little of that is in Ontario. Lots in Silicon Valley and some in Quebec (because the electricity is cheap there), but not much in Ontario. The current provincial government has not welcomed recent tech growth giants, so that demand doesn't live here.
Also, EV manufacturing in Ontario isn't going to need much additional electricity. EV production will largely just replace fossil-fuelled vehicle production worldwide and in Ontario. Further, as automakers don't see Ontario as pro-EV (no purchase incentives), they will likely keep their EV production out of Ontario and leave it in Korea, China, the U.S., Mexico and Europe which are demonstrably pro-EV.
According to Statistics Canada, Ontario electricity consumption per household dropped by 11% from 33.3 GJ to 29.7 GJ from 2013 to 2019.
In 2021, the last year for which we have data, we see a slight rise in household electricity consumption, likely due to more people working from home during COVID, doing more cooking at home, powering computers, more lights on, etc. This may also reflect more people using heat pumps, as natural gas and heating oil dropped in 2021 compared to 2013.
Finally, historically Ontario sells about 2 GW of electricity to other jurisdictions pretty much continuously, roughly 10% of average Ontario demand. If Ontario really was facing a genuine shortfall on in-province supply compared to demand, we could simply export less electricity and ensure Ontarians have priority for made-in-Ontario electricity.
Even if all that failed, Ontario could actually invest in the fastest installed, lowest cost generation options today, wind and solar. Of course, that might lead people to ask why this government cancelled almost a GW of renewables projects that were on the books when they took power six years ago.

2024.10.16 Entrepreneurs have seen this opportunity for decades, but the panels just keep working and not getting scrapped

These busted solar panels are an early example of a looming problem — and an opportunity (CBC)
Eventually, there will be enough supply to invest in refurbishing and repairing old panels for reuse, and recycling solar panels for the aluminum, copper, glass, and critical minerals. Even the silicon and plastic can be ground up and used in asphalt and concrete.

2024.10.15 We don't spend enough time on the Climate Action Incentive payments, and why some want to cancel them.

Canceling the carbon tax would hurt low income families the most (Castanet)
The Climate Action fees (not a 'carbon tax') should not be a national political issue; they're just the implementation of international agreements.
It's not a 'tax' because it's revenue neutral for the government; it's a feebate program.
So, why are some parties so opposed to providing this small measure of financial relief to Canadians who can really use it in a period where we are still facing the consequences of high inflation and interest rates and housing costs and unemployment?
Is it simply that the rich are so greedy they want to deny the working poor even this measure of financial relief?

2024.10.15 EVs are a real climate solution, if used to displace fossil-fueled vehicles, and they're winning the sales wars now.

Global EV And PHEV Sales Just Reached A New Record In September (InsideEVs)
EVs really are cheaper to operate than gassers or diseasels. And even with shrinking incentives, cheaper to lease or own.

2024.10.13 US EV sales: reality vs. headlines (again)

U.S. EV Sales Hit Another Record In Q3 2024: '10% Share Within Reach' (InsideEVs)
Somebody in the mainstream media really wants you to believe EVs are not a sales success. Think about who and why.

2024.10.11 In Oz, rooftop solar is a gift from homeowners, not a 'problem to be managed'.

Some Australian states are discovering what happens when they have too much rooftop solar (The Guardian)
Where to begin in trying to put this story back on the rails to reality, and out of the myopic morass of state energy 'planning'?
Less than 5 years ago, Australia's energy planning was full-on build more fossil fuel generation, and actively inhibit renewables. It's important to understand that for decades, Australian 'energy planners' saw renewables as a problem and presented it to elected officials and the public as a threat to grid stability, despite already having regular blackouts and brownouts due to poorly planned infrastructure and NOT preparing for the spikes in demand from air conditioning in a warming world. Only after multiple grid failures and brownouts did electric utilities and the national grid finally relent and allow a battery storage system to be connected to the grid. They tried to cast this as a mistake during the construction period, and their credibility was finally publicly shredded when that storage system prevented a major grid failure days before it was actually scheduled to be in operation. The nominal job of that battery system was to regulate fluctuations in grid voltage and frequency, not to prevent blackouts. But, it managed to prevent a blackout anyway. Now, the AEMO still needs to demonize renewables, so it's reversing course on the problem of rooftop solar from saying it is irrelevant to power demand and will crash the grid, to there will be too much power from rooftop solar, and it will crash the grid. Yeesh.
Rooftop solar in in Australia is a gift from homeowners to the grid and the country. It is an opportunity to green the national grid quickly, and provide flexibility and stability to the national power system. It is a threat to those that profit from fossil fuel production and those profiting from climate change. For a grid operator with a functioning brain, it is a generational opportunity to lower electricity costs for ratepayers - including industry.
However, it does require a shift from the 1900s mentality of how an electricity supply grid functions; understanding that the world is shifting from monopolistic big generators to a democratized system where small producers can provide the bulk of the power within a couple of decades.
This isn't going to require massive investment in new infrastructure; the wires to take electricity from rooftop solar to the grid are already in place. They're the same wires that go to the houses for the electric supply system. All that is needed is a meter that can record the direction the electricity is flowing, and apply that information to the household bill / payment statement.
With the low-cost additional supply of electricity comes an opportunity to reduce electricity costs for everyone.
Yes, solar energy is mostly available only when the sun shines. (stay tuned, new PV technology can produce in low light conditions, even at night) However, there are mulitple ways to accommodate that intermittent power supply.
a) Australia has some hydro reservoirs. Turn them off when solar is producing more energy than is required, and store more water for later use when solar generation ramps down. This can even be increased by using pumped storage when renewables are producing at peak levels (solar, wind, geothermal ... and Oz hasn't even started exploring tidal and wave energy, even though it is literally surrounded by ocean and the great majority of its population lives along coastlines).
b) Install more grid scale battery storage. It's less expensive than new generation plants based on nuclear, coal or natural gas. It's also more economical and efficient to install storage at grid-scale than at the household scale, although the latter is increasingly attractive as batteries become less expensive with time, and utility rates keep rising.
c) Incentives for load shifting. Encourage customers to use more electricity when renewables are at peak production, e.g. charging EVs in the afternoon, raising water heater temperature by 1-2 degrees at peak supply times, installation of household batteries to take power when there is surplus and supply when demand is high, etc.
The alternative is a truly immense problem for the grid energy planners - customer defection. If the grid does not accommodate household power producers, eventually they will figure out they can just install their own batteries, and power their homes without the grid (already starting in some U.S. states). If that market disappears, the grid operator and local distribution companies will have a lot of expensive stranded assets producing zero revenue, and the demand will become even more erratic as it skews toward industrical demand, which typically have very low (to zero) demand in evenings and weekends, which is when the current grid already has surplus supply capacity, and have disproportionately more demand on weekdays during 'business hours', and those afternoons are when they already have demand that can exceed conventional supply (hence brownouts).
If electricy system operators and local utilities need more ideas, just email me. Happy to have you as a client.

2024.10.11 Seems normal, right? Flooding in the Sahara desert.

Dramatic images show the first floods in the Sahara in half a century (The Guardian)

2024.10.10 BING! BING! BING! Somebody else finally gets it. This is how we fix climate change quickly and survive.

Stop Emitting Nasty GHG Methane & It Will Disappear From Air In Our Lifetime (CleanTechnica)
If you want to double down on a real climate change solution, you can start with a 'natural' perennial methane emissions source with additional benefits.

2024.10.10 Our ability to find and track major methane gas releases is improving rapidly now; this isn't the first GHG satellite.

First greenhouse gas plumes detected with NASA-designed instrument (Phys.org)

2024.10.10 We've had the data for decades. This blog is about showing the evidence, AND what to do about it.

We have the satellite data to show climate change is real. Now what? (Space.com)

2024.10.10 Soil treated with manure or compost fertilizer stores more carbon than soil treated with chemical fertilizers or no fertilizer.

Researchers make stunning discovery after examining farmland treated only with organic fertilizers for decades: '[Will] help us to move forward' (TCD) In summary, agricultural practices that were used for centuries to feed the soil and proved - for centuries - to be sustainable, are in fact, sustainable. Going back to such practices will reduce the amount of GHGs produced, reduce the toxins being put into the environment, and capture more carbon back into the soil.

2024.10.09 The important thing was taxpayers kept subsidizing fossil fuels and maximized corporate profits. Human survival was definitely not as important to governments.

How mainstream climate science endorsed the fantasy of a global warming time machine (Global News)

2024.10.09 The recurring point is, our cities can't afford climate change.

'Unprecedented' destruction: Ontario sees $1B in insured damage from summer floods (Global News)

2024.10.09 In 2009, the Harper government committed at international conferences to end subsidies for oil and gas. They have gone up over the past 15 years.

Canada spending three times more backing oil and gas than renewables, says think tank (National Observer)

2024.10.09 The issue is grid defection due to short-sighted electric utility policy (pricing, reliability), not solar power, which can lower electricity cost for everyone.

Going off grid is a financial win for some, but it's a threat for poorer families and the environment (The Conversation)

2024.10.08 Did you ever wonder why the rest of the world doesn't take Canada seriously on climate change action?

If Bay Street were a country, it'd be the fifth biggest climate polluter in the world (National Observer)

2024.10.07 Reducing pollution can work, but it requires everyone to get on board - for real, not just talk.

Arctic ozone reaches record high in positive step for climate (Phys.org)

2024.10.07 The expensive part of EVs is the big battery. That cost continues to fall like the Wright's Law model.

Electric vehicle battery prices are expected to fall almost 50% by 2026 (Goldman Sachs)

2024.10.05 The Swedish economy has not collapsed and their grid has not failed. Weird, hunh? Yes, they get real winters there.

EVs Take A Record 97.5% Share In Norway - Tesla Takes Third Of Market (CleanTechnica)

2024.10.05 U.S.-centric article, but Canada is at least as bad; e.g. $32 billion gift pipeline for moving diluted bitument to Burnaby BC from the tarsands.

Why Are You Paying To Subsidize The Fossil Fuel Industry? (CleanTechnica)
Additional reading: IMF Fossil Fuel Subsidies Data: 2023 Update
Pretty picture version Fossil-fuel subsidies per capita, 2021 (world map by Our World in Data)

2024.10.04 Well, that's a pile of UK taxpayer money wasted on fossil fuel greenwashing, because CCUS doesn't reduce GHG emissions.

If the captured gas is used for enhanced oil (and gas) recovery (EOR), it actually increases emissions, while industry and government pretend it doesn't.
22bn pounds spent intelligently could have done a lot of good.
Labour to commit almost 22bn pounds to fund carbon capture and storage projects (The Guardian)

2024.10.04 Due to warming, plants are growing on Antarctica, and expanding range rapidly.

Antarctica is 'greening' at dramatic rate as climate heats (The Guardian)

2024.10.04 Now, can we stop pretending that shipping bombships of liquified fossil fuel gas across oceans is a climate change solution?

Seriously, what the frack? It's the methane folks, the methane! More than 100 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a GHG in a 10 year period after release into the atmosphere. Venting the gas is how they keep it cool / liquified for the long voyages.
We could be shipping solar heating units, solar photoltaic panels, wind generators of all sizes and batteries instead, for local energy production and storage.
But instead, more fossil fuel subsidies for LNG terminals, power for liquefying the gas, pipelines, ground water contamination ...
Exported gas produces far worse emissions than coal, major study finds (The Guardian)
Read the paper for yourself.

2024.10.04 Another carbon offsets program turns out to be a fraud. If you want climate action, it's a DIY project to know it actually got done.

The fossil fuel sector won't do it (carbon capture is largely a scam), government won't do it (they're still subsidizing fossil fuels, Wall Street scam artists won't do it, credits based on trees that burn down in wildfires aren't helping, the automakers are fudging with tiny-battery plug-in hybrids, and so on.
Ex-carbon offsetting boss charged in New York with multimillion-dollar fraud (The Guardian)

2024.10.04 It's easier to make record profits if taxpayers and landowners get the bill to clean up your messes, and you pay literally nothing to the cleanup fund.

Rural Municipalities Decry Oil Industry 'Handouts' Amid Escalating Well Cleanup Costsh (The Energy Mix)

2024.10.02 It was easy to say they would make targets when they were far in the future. But with no plan or ambition, reality is now biting.

The planet is warming at a record pace. So why are many companies retreating from their climate targets? (Lakeland Today)

2024.10.02 It is possible for North American automakers to succeed with EVs. But they have to sell something people are willing to buy.

Don’t Look Now, but GM’s EV Sales Are on Fire. It’s Different at Stellantis. (Barron's)

2024.10.01 This letter to the editor sums up the situation better than I have.

Comment: Let's talk real common sense on global warming (Times Colonist)

2024.10.01 You have likely been misinformed that EV sales are dropping. Actually, it's gas car sales that are shrinking.

The 'EV Slowdown' Comes For Gas Cars (Inside EVs)

2024.10.01 The climate change denier alarmists were wrong about the costs. Again. Anyway ...

Federal clean energy regulations would cost Sask. much less than previously thought: report (CBC)

Past blog pages:
2019: May    June    July    August    September    October    November    December   
2020: January    February    March    April    May    June    July [COVID gap]
2021: [COVID gap] October-December
2022: January-February    March    April    May-August    September    October    November-December
2023: January    February    March-April    May-July    August-September    October-November    December
2024: January    February    March    April    May    June    July    August    September   

You can find many earlier postings (going back to year 2000) related to climate change at:
Keith's List Archive and
the Sustainable Biofuel List Mail Archive.

I present a lot of information in this blog and on this website. If you need some help sorting through the noise level and getting a forward-looking, proactive approach to climate change for your business, I can do that work for you via my consulting business. Contact