QUICK NEWS, July 8: ATTACK ON WIND FACT-CHECKED; THE FACEBOOK FACES WIND; ADVANCING SOLAR
ATTACK ON WIND FACT-CHECKED Koch groups try debunked wind attack for a fourth time
Michael Goggin, July 1, 2015 (Into The Wind)
“A new attack piece by a Koch front group, Institute for Energy Research, recycles their familiar attack playbook of starting with an inflated cost for wind energy and then mischaracterizing how the power system functions…Once the incorrect assumptions are corrected, this and other analyses clearly show that wind energy provides significant net benefits and is one of the lowest cost sources of electricity, particularly among low- and zero-emission energy sources…Much of the report regurgitates previous Koch-funded attack pieces…[It uses ] an old government estimate to claim that the cost of wind energy is $80.30/MWh, or 8 cents per kWh, while more recent market data indicates actual wind energy costs are less than half that amount. Specifically, market data indicate the actual average purchase price for wind energy was $25.59/MWh in 2013, or well under $50/MWh if the impact of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) on long-term wind purchase prices is removed…indicating that wind energy provides significant net benefits…” click here for more
THE FACEBOOK FACES WIND Massive wind farm to power Facebook's $1B data center campus in Fort Worth
Candace Carlisle, July 7, 2015
“Social media giant Facebook will invest up to $1 billion to build a massive global data campus in north Fort Worth, which will draw renewable power from a wind farm…[The Facebook searched the planet for] a shovel ready site with good access to fiber and renewable energy in a centrally located part of the country…By summer 2016, Facebook plans to complete construction on the initial phase of the data center campus…[T]he economic impact of the Facebook goes beyond the company’s capital investment…[to reshaping its industry towards] efficiency and sustainability…By the end of 2018, Facebook hopes to get to 50 percent renewable energy with the long-term goal of bringing it to 100 percent renewable energy in the future…That goal will be helped with a new [$287 million, 119 wind turbine, 200 MW] wind farm being built…to supply the campus with renewable energy…” click here for more
ADVANCING SOLAR New energy cell can store up solar energy for release at night
Dario Borghino, July 7, 2015 (GizMag)
“A photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) is a special type of solar cell that gathers the Sun's energy and transforms it into either electricity or chemical energy used to split water and produce hydrogen for use in fuel cells. In an advance that could help this clean energy source play a stronger role within the smart grid, researchers at the University of Texas, Arlington have found a way to store the electricity generated by a PEC cell for extended periods of time and allow electricity to be delivered around the clock…[The new cell] includes a specially designed…hybrid tungsten trioxide/titanium dioxide (WO3/TiO2) photoelectrode [that] can store electrons effectively for long periods of time, paving the way for PEC cells to play a bigger role within a smart energy grid…The system also includes a vanadium redox-flow battery (VRB)…The team is now working on building a larger prototype…” click here for more
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