Tag: clean energy

2020, Climate Action, Climate Change, COVID-19 May 27, 2020August 19, 2020

Governor Cuomo Has a New York Green Plan For Rebuilding Economy | Take Notice

Washington (GGM) Analysis | May 27, 2020

Governor Cuomo’s daily covid briefings have been what many of us feel is the leading source of the most valuable and accurate information relating to all things covid-19, the global pandemic that has killed more than 351,000 across the globe, nearly 100,000 in the United States, and in excess of 23,000 in the state of New York.

Governor Cuomo’s focus on the “facts,” the stone cold truth of the grim statistics, as well as the dire reality of our healthcare heroes initially not having enough PPE, and the unnecessary bidding war between states, FEMA’s confiscation of some of the state’s PPE once ordered , alongside an acknowledgement of the president’s chronic conflicts with the governor over his sharing of the horrible facts with the public each day at lunchtime, earned the public’s trust in teh Governor’s agenda for the phases of reopening, testing and economic recovery.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of Governor Cuomo’s daily briefings though, has been his sharing of his decision making thought processes and the strategies and logic behind his decisions, as well as insights into his critical thinking skills and solutions. Every single day of this horrid nightmare, Governor Cuomo has walked us through step-by-step, providing us with footprints to follow.

In essence, Governor Cuomo has been a superior role model for other states and the American public, whether we recognize it or not and dare to apply what we’ve learned to our own circumstances or not. Governor Cuomo’s example, has certainly helped me formulate my own personal and business covid action plans and solutions.

As states begin reopening this week, all eyes should be on New York’s methods, particularly for testing, and which businesses are associated with which reopening phases. Our president has assigned testing responsibility to the states. I now consider Governor Cuomo’s daily briefings the same way I do my weather app. Don’t leave home without viewing.

The bright side of this traumatic journey, is reading in Bloomberg Green yesterday that Governor Cuomo has negotiated a plan with Canada to bring clean energy down state from Canada and build the renewable energy infrastructure it has been aspiring towards for years, which will create new jobs and help revive the New York economy decimated by the covid state lockdown. Brilliant!

May other states take note of this exciting, planet-saving stroke of genius. Illinois is in the midst of passing its Clean Energy Jobs Act. The EU is also all in on a green recovery, with the UK projecting it will generate 850,000 new jobs, according to Bloomberg Green.

An amazing silver living during covid’s harsh reality.🌳

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Climate Action, Climate Change September 16, 2019January 7, 2020

Energy-Storage Batteries | A Whole New Industry

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report | Analysis | September 16, 2019)
by Noreen Wise

With the global climate crisis focus upon us, which begins Friday September 20, 2019 with a massive worldwide #ClimateStrike, and continues for a full week of events, the entire globe will be fixated on how we can quickly find and execute the cure and save millions of lives, and in certain regions, entire populations.

This year has seen an unprecedented uptick in the switch to solar energy, with California leading the way. EV car sales are leaping tall buildings. The increase in clean energy is so significant, that the new big industry mushrooming overnight is that of storing excess clean energy, to be used after the sun goes down, or when supply runs out. There are investors and innovators popping up in many countries, looking to produce the highest quality energy storage batteries — small ones for homeowners, and massive ones known as “utility scale” for corporations, towns, cities, etc.

It would be very smart if fossil fuel communities jumped in quick to seize the opportunity and transition coal and oil workers into clean energy storage careers.

Batteries are very important in enabling energy companies to store the excess energy generated by a sunny or windy day, to then be used at night, or on a very still day, when there’s no strong wind force. Critical requirements for high quality energy storage batteries include the following:

Capacity & Power – measured in kilowatt hours (kWh), we should get stackable kind so we can easily increase capacity as need grows
Depth of Discharge (DoD) – the amount of the battery that has been used, a battery’s use level has a floor; the higher the DoD (ie 80%), the more the battery can be used before needing to be recharged
Round trip efficiency – it takes a certain amount of energy to store energy, so the higher the efficiency, the more energy you’ll receive from your battery; the efficiency rate is measured as a percent, the higher the percent, the higher the efficiency (30% is bad, 80% is good)
Battery life & warranty – clean energy storage batteries have a “cycle” of charging and draining; battery life is listed as a specific number of cycles, ie 4,000; a warranty will read something to the effect: 4,000 cycles or 8 years at 65% of it’s capacity… meaning at the end of the warranty the battery will have only lost 35% of it’s initial capacity.
Manufacturer – there are no so many different brands that it’s difficult to determine which is the best, so it’s important to compare using the above four critical features

Companies around the world hoping to become the top clean energy storage producers. Here are 7 to keep your eye on:

Tesla
Vivint Solar
LG Chem
Eos Energy Storage
Sonnen
Nissan
Sunverge

Climate Action, Climate Change, National Security September 2, 2019December 22, 2019

Major Cutback in Coal | Climate Action

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report | Analysis | September 2, 2019)
by Noreen Wise

The tides are turning. Coal has seen a steady decline for the past five years, with a double digit slide in 2019. State and local energy decision makers have finally begun to believe in the impressive advantages of green energy and are quickly strategizing about how to amp up “clean” energy for their communities.

Solar efficiency, along with new battery technology for storing solar energy, has created a stars lining up effect, enabling the solar industry to take flight into unchartered territory, especially for those companies offering $0 down for the installation of solar panels. Get ready for this exciting wild ride of transition.

South Carolina’s state-owned coal utility, Santee Cooper, will announce on Tuesday September 3, 2019 that it has completed their new business plan and will begin shutting down one of its two coal power plants. The company does not anticipate any layoffs, but rather expects downsizing will come from attrition and retirements.

Additionally, Santee Cooper has its long term sight on eliminating coal energy entirely, with the goal of reducing its carbon footprint once it completes it’s build out of solar power.

One of the top coal producers in Kentucky, Blackhawk Mining, LLC., filed for bankruptcy in July 2019. Blackhawk will continue to operate during its bankruptcy and does not plan on any layoffs.

Two large Kentucky coal producers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcies in recent years, Alpha Natural Resources and Peabody Energy. Both have emerged from bankruptcy and are still producing coal, although the production levels are much lower than a decade ago.

Further complicating coal production in the Appalachians (Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama), was the announcement in early July that Chubb would no longer insure coal producing companies. It’s expected that other insurance companies will do the same. The fossil fuel industry is facing major lawsuits related to climate change. Coal companies are unable to operate without insurance.

It’s very important that states support their coal communities by planning ahead, knowing that the transition to clean energy is only a matter of time. Dirty energy is dead. The sooner communities can transition to solar and wind and create new jobs, the better and healthier everyone will be.