http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog Tue, 24 Mar 2026 08:55:48 +0000 86400 Connect and share in green living and alternative energy blog articles. Topics include green tips, the environment, renewable energy, activism and more. http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-living/economy-politics/grid-resilience-national-security-r6422 . . . to halt the shutdown of ailing coal, and nuclear power plants,
. . . that were needed to maintain the nation’s:
. . . . . . energy mix,
. . . . . . grid resilience, and
. . . . . . national security.

6-6-2018 Source:  #Grid resilience & national security]]> Wed, 06 Jun 2018 12:44:25 +0000 2779d140faa92aa0ad8df4230aca4590 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/buffett-buys-renewables-r6421 . . . (owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway),
...has signed contracts to purchase electricity from,
. . . 6 solar projects totaling,
. . . 1,001 MW-AC, along with
. . . 100 MW / 400 MWh, of energy storage.



6-2-2018 Source:  Buffett buys #Renewables]]> Sat, 02 Jun 2018 14:46:55 +0000 2738872947fd92209325d76e3f4b6f12 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/non-renewable/coal-nuclear-too-big-to-fail-r6420 . . . 1.9 GW of coal plants closed, as
. . . 2.8 GW of new natural gas plants were added.

In the latest PJM capacity auction for 2020-2021, prices fell
. . . 23% – showing that we have more power plants than we need.

So why is FirstEnergy – an Ohio-based utility that recently filed for bankruptcy
. . . asking the Trump Administration to bail out its old coal and nuclear plants?

Because, it’s trying to make up for more than a decade of bad business decisions,
. . . investing in outdated coal and nuclear plants,
. . . that can’t compete with newer, more efficient natural gas, and renewable plants. The company wants customers to pay higher prices for the electricity,
. . . from its coal and nuclear plants we don’t need,
. . . especially when there are cleaner, more affordable energy options available,
. . . to serve Americans in this region.

5-26-2018 Source:  #Coal & #Nuclear: Too Big To Fail?]]> Sat, 26 May 2018 22:10:09 +0000 ef03f9befce99cb2f42f3569760b8e78 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-living/economy-politics/follow-the-money-22-trillion-for-energy-r6419 . . . 2018 Global Power Industry Outlook, says
. . . Solar, to grow past Wind Energy.

The report also predicts that
. . . $2.2 trillion will be invested in new energy capacity through 2021, with
. . . $600 billion in the solar sector alone.

5-26-18 Source: Follow the Money: $2.2 Trillion for #Energy]]> Sat, 26 May 2018 12:45:58 +0000 9a8799e6ac57db61203d74b98d78e2ee http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-living/economy-politics/puerto-rico-bottom-up-microgrids-r6418 . . . destroying most of the island’s energy infrastructure.

Puerto Ricans then had to endure the
. . . largest and longest blackout in US history.

A bottom up network of distributed microgrids,
. . . is starting to take shape across all of Puerto Rico.

Community owned solar array with battery storage,
. . . will provide them with a microgrid,
. . . capable of powering the facility during emergencies or electrical outages.
But it will also help alleviate energy costs month to month,
. . . freeing up valuable resources to aid the community,
. . . hopefully helping to make the community infrastructure,
. . . as resilient as the people that live there.

5-25-2018 Source:  Puerto Rico: Bottom Up #Microgrids]]> Fri, 25 May 2018 16:26:55 +0000 83d81ef47f0e9a205fb66a100f3179bf http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/wind/largest-commitment-to-offshore-wind-power-r6417 . . . that will move the state’s electricity mix to
. . . 50% renewable by 2030, and
. . . codifies the largest commitment to
. . . offshore wind power from any state.

Momentum is growing with several other
. . . 50% RPS (renewable portfolio standard) policies under consideration in:
. . . . . . Maryland,
. . . . . . Delaware, and
. . . . . . states in New England.
These policy targets are achievable, and
. . . attract economic growth to states that pass them,
. . . because renewable energy, including wind power,
. . . has become mainstream and
. . . increasingly competitive with advancements in technology, and
. . . falling costs, according to AWEA reports.

5-25-2018 Source:  Largest commitment to offshore #wind power]]> Fri, 25 May 2018 14:17:08 +0000 3f826f30bc252fb41b7ef03b98ee98c8 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/wind/400-megawatt-offshore-wind-farm-r6416 . . . selected Deepwater Wind, to develop a
. . . 400-megawatt, proposal
. . . in federal waters far off the coast.

5-24-2018 Source:  400-megawatt offshore #wind farm]]> Thu, 24 May 2018 12:53:30 +0000 78758e1a20a92614551dd56294223adf http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/100-renewable-grid-is-feasible-r6415 . . . . . . 100% Iceland,
. . . . . . 100% Paraguay,
. . . . . . 99% Costa Rica,
. . . . . . 98.5% Norway,
. . . . . . 80% Austria,
. . . . . . 75% Brazil, and
. . . . . . 69.4% Denmark,
. . . these countries grids run on:
. . . . . . hydropower,
. . . . . . wind,
. . . . . . geothermal, and
. . . . . . solar.

Large population regions are also, “at or above 100%” including:
. . . . . . Germany’s Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
. . . . . . Schleswig-Hostein regions,
. . . . . . New Zealand’s South Island,
. . . . . . Denmark’s Samsø island,
. . . . . . Quebec, and
. . . . . . British Columbia.

China’s, “Qinghai Province has just run for,
. . . 7 straight days, entirely on renewable energy.

“Indonesia, has far more than enough pumped hydro storage sites to support a
. . . 100% renewable electricity grid.”

An aggregated fleet of vehicles or chargers,
. . . can act as a [demand response] resource,
. . . shifting load in response to price signals, or operational needs;
for example, vehicle charging could be shifted to the middle of the day,
. . . to absorb high levels of solar generation, and
. . . shifted away from evening hours,
. . . when solar generation disappears, and
. . . system net load peaks.”

5-23-2018 Source:  100% #renewable grid is feasible]]> Wed, 23 May 2018 13:04:23 +0000 737014b6a940e365341bafb671377514 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/electric/electric-motor-r6414 . . . spoked magnet design spins up:
. . . . . . cheaper,
. . . . . . lighter,
. . . . . . more powerful.

5-22-2018 Source:  #Electric Motor]]> Tue, 22 May 2018 17:07:48 +0000 e6c46d6ccf72dec942de7195f6ab6294 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/wind/wyoming%e2%80%99s-wind-r6413 . . . 30% of its power from wind.

“Utilities want wind these days,
. . . Not because of environmental policy.
. . . They want it because it’s cheap.”

In 2 years, a federal subsidy for wind production will end.
. . . Developers have to keep construction active on a new wind farm,
. . . or prove they’ve spent 5% of the overall cost of a project,
. . . in order to keep those credits for a period beyond the sunset date.
In short, developers are scrambling to take advantage,
. . . . of the federal tax credits.

With fossil fuels, like coal,
. . . Wyoming sets aside some of money from taxes in a permanent mineral trust fund.
. . . The idea is that severing valuable products from Wyoming,
. . . now robs future generations of those resources,
. . . so taxes compensate for that.

“Like it or not, we have to have something to replace our tax base,
. . . Clearly coal is going away.”

5-20-2018 Source:  Wyoming’s #Wind]]> Sun, 20 May 2018 12:26:51 +0000 420488825d86613b1c9aa97adc24301b http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/solar/solar-to-surpass-wind-in-18-months-r6412 . . . which posits that solar will surpass wind in global energy capacity starting in 2020,
. . . making it the f4th largest source of energy generation behind:
. . . . . . coal,
. . . . . . gas, and
. . . . . . hydro.
Less than a year ago,
. . . solar surpassed nuclear energy,
. . . to reach 5th place.

The report also predicts that
. . . $2.2 trillion will be invested in new energy capacity through 2021, including
. . . $600 billion in the solar sector alone.

The residential battery storage market, will be the fastest growing in 2018,
. . . driven largely by the surge in the behind-the-meter residential deployments,
. . . in the US, Germany, and Australia.

5-18-2018 Source:  #Solar To Surpass #Wind In 18 Months]]> Fri, 18 May 2018 13:01:58 +0000 e608961813ac47bc0cfbcac85dd2147f http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/could-us-wholesale-energy-prices-fall-25-r6411 . . . If Renewables make up 50% of our Energy generation,
. . . USA Wholesale Energy prices, could fall 25% or more.

These impacts indicate the need for,
. . . more dispatchable resources that can,
. . . quickly respond to changes in demand, or production.

“Battery developers,
. . . will see a great business case, for themselves.”

5-17-2018 Source:  Could US Wholesale #Energy Prices Fall 25%?]]> Thu, 17 May 2018 12:25:46 +0000 3f402b66cf03140a43be0724821a5270 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/wind/britain%e2%80%99s-wind-farms-vs-8-nuclear-plants-r6410 . . . 8 nuclear power stations in the first 3 months of 2018,
. . . marking the first time wind has overtaken nuclear across a quarter.

At one point overnight on 17 March,
. . . wind turbines briefly provided almost
. . . 1/2 of the UK’s electricity.
Wind power helped during the cold snaps, too, supplying
. . . 12-43% of electricity during the 6 subzero days in the first
. . . 3 months of the year.

5-16-2018 Source:  Britain’s #wind farms VS 8 Nuclear Plants]]> Wed, 16 May 2018 12:48:34 +0000 3be4d3f098a8da78f521afe939a92f1c http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/solar/morocco-worlds-largest-concentrated-solar-farm-r6409 . . . aims to produce enough energy to power more than
. . . 1,000,000 homes by the end of the year, and reduce carbon emissions by
. . . 760,000 tons per year.
The first phase was officially turned on in 2016.

5-16-2018 Source:  Morocco: Worlds largest concentrated #solar farm]]> Wed, 16 May 2018 12:33:41 +0000 88ba8576df493c2273b9328861b8792c http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/eds/costa-rica-free-from-fossil-fuels-r6408 . . . 300 days, in which,
. . . renewables met its entire demand for electricity.
But, they have too manny cars, and trucks,
. . . using gasoline, and diesel for transportation.

5-14-2018 Source: Costa Rica: Free From Fossil #Fuels?]]> Mon, 14 May 2018 12:58:42 +0000 7c738d9871e7093863bb5786cd8168e8