It might seem odd to put solar panels on the side of walls in a region with mountains, but that’s exactly what’s happening in Switzerland. One of the cantons in the country is looking to be powered by at least 40% renewables by 2035 (which is quite achievable); with terrain
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Things Are Good: Iraq Looking to the Sun to Power its Future
Iraqi oil fields have a lot of fossil fuels ready to be exported, and that’s a problem. The Iraqi population, like many oil states, don’t benefit from the cheap oil that corporations extract and export. As a result Iraqis have now turned to solar power for their local energy needs.
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: SaskPower On The Future of Net Zero
Balance he says. pic.twitter.com/elGKwknjSg — John Klein (@JohnKleinRegina) October 17, 2023 SaskPower gave a lecture at the university about transmission and generation planning.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Kenyan Farm Foments Fossil Free Fertilizer
Yes, fertilizers exist that don’t make use of fossil fuels; however, the use of petoreluaem based fertilizers have become a mainstay of modern industrial agriculture. This use of fossil fuels for fertilizer has led to the agriculture sector’s carbon footprint being as large as it is. The transportation of the
Continue readingThings Are Good: Better Solar Helps Bitter Hops
Agrivoltaic setups aren’t new to regular readers of this site as we’ve seen many times that certain crops benefit from the shade solar panels provide; and, the solar panels benefit the farmers by producing clean energy. Now we know that hops, which flavour beer, thrive under solar panels. A German
Continue readingThings Are Good: It’s Simple to Install Solar Panels
Efficient of solar panels continues to increase and the costs of installing them keep going down, meaning that there’s never been a better time than now to install solar panels. One of the great things about solar is how scalable it is, you can install a small system on a
Continue readingThings Are Good: How Neighbourhoods Are Fighting Climate Change
Neighbourhoods in Canada are trying to change the world by focussing on their own street. Across the country there are streets of houses proving that a transition from using fossil fuels to heat and power a home is possible in a country that loves to subsidize the oil and gas
Continue readingThings Are Good: The Engineering of a Passive Off the Grid House
A sustainable home doesn’t need to be off the gird, but for some people interested in sustainability they reach a logical conclusion that off the gird makes sense. Of course, that means not being part of the electric grid and, for some, not even part of a public water system
Continue readingThings Are Good: Pompeii Powered by Polymer Panels
Historic sites that attract a lot of tourists know that if they loose their historical look that the tourists will stop coming, so how do you locally produce renewable energy while not looking modern? This question has been answered by the stewards of Pompeii with a simple solar solution. A
Continue readingThings Are Good: France: Parking Lots Must Have Solar Panels
Drivers know all too well that parking lots are hot, uncomfortable, and are never the right size. In France larger parking lots will now require shading in the form of solar panels, making the large swaths of asphalt a little more comfortable. The solar panels are projected to provide the
Continue readingThings Are Good: Farm Fields of Solar Produce Bonuses
In the UK the average person wants to get off fossil fuels, but the Conservatives in power want the opposite. Obviously this is not good, and it gets worse: the new PM Liz Truss wants to ban solar panels on farms, Conservatives clearly don’t understand how the world works. The
Continue readingThings Are Good: Renewable Energy Unscathed by Hurricane
Surviving ever-worsening climate change enhanced storms is a clear benefit of renewable energy, and people in Florida are taking note. Hurricane Ian just swept through the state leaving thousands with electricity. A town in the hardest hit area of the state was still running fine though, thanks to solar panels.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Ukrainian Company Produces Easy to Install Solar Panels to get Europe Off Russian Gas
Oil is not just a reason countries go to war, it’s used during war to destabilize allies. Russia’s war in Ukraine is no exception to this as the Russians are profiting from selling Europe gas while threatening to cut off gas supplies to the continent at the same time. A
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Switch to Wind, Water, Solar, and Save Billions
“$2B saved since Ukraine war Wind and solar power plants generated 46.3 terawatt-hours of electricity between May 1, 2021 and April 30, 2022, the data [in Turkey] showed. “Without these power plants, underutilized gas-fired plants or coal power plants relying on imports would have had to run in order to
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: SaskPower: A Job Half Done
…is as good as none. If you’re impressed by SaskPower’s objective to reduce emissions by only half, by 2030, you’re setting the bar way too low. A big reason Saskatchewan is among the world’s worst per-capita polluters is because our electricity is a large lignite coal and fossil/natural gas component.
Continue readingThings Are Good: This Book Can Give You Power
Oil prices are rising again and oil is yet again at the centre of international conflict, it’s time to get off of oil. Sustainable energy is peaceful energy. Solar power is one such renewable energy source that can work anywhere the sun shines. Setting up a solar rig can be
Continue readingThings Are Good: See Through Solar Panels
The future is powered by renewables, and the more sources of electricity we have the more resilient our power grid will be. Researches at Michigan State University have created a solar film that can be applied to existing windows to generate electricity from the sun. The system is not as
Continue readingThings Are Good: Roasting Coffee by the Rays of the Sun
In Italy your next cup of coffee may come from a solar roaster instead of an unsustainable source. Climate change is threatening the ability of coffee plants to survive, as a result the entire industry may not exist by the end of the century. This has got smaller players in
Continue readingThings Are Good: Solar Panels are Undervalued by Traditional Markets
Solar panels are getting more efficient and the cost to produce them are decreasing by the day, already solar is cheaper than coal. Yet, due to previous policies and outdated economic models the real value of solar is underappreciated. While people wake up to the reality around the economics of
Continue readingThings Are Good: Building New Solar Energy Plants Cheaper than Running Coal
Since the inception of Things Are Good we’ve been following the demise of dirty fossil fuel usage and the rise of clean energy. A few highlights from over the years: Solar Power Is Cheaper Than Nuclear Solar And Wind Outgrow Subsidies Wind Power: One Of The Cheapest Sources Of Energy
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