A group of experts in Tokyo suggested pouring radioactive water from Fukushima into the open sea. A marine biochemist explains the consequences of this absurd decision.
Texas is giving wind energy away
In Texas, there is so much wind energy that customers get free electricity at night, thanks to the wind blowing more strongly.
It seems quite impossible that such news comes from one of the US states most known for oil. As an article of the New York Times reports, some Texas electricity companies are giving electricity away from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. to thousands of customers.
This happens because windparks operating in the state produce more energy than required, representing 10% of electricity of the entire country. Winds blow more strongly at night, consequently increasing energy production.
This leads to another positive fact: wholesale costs drop, since energy demand is higher when the energy unitary price is lower. Moreover, as reported by the US newspaper, “by encouraging energy use at night, utilities reduce some of the burdens, and costs, that the oversupply of wind energy places on the power grid”.
Texas currently produces half of its energy from gas, followed by coal (32%) and nuclear (9%). The remaining amount comes from wind. According to EcoWatch, despite the country owns some of USA’s most polluting power plants, it represents the country with the greatest growth in renewables and green jobs, after California. Wind power provides energy to 3 million households.
Wind as a source of energy keeps growing. It is confirmed by the latest report by the EWEA (European Wind Energy Association): wind energy will be the single largest source of power generation in Europe by 2030, ahead of gas and coal. “392 GW of wind power capacity could be installed in 2030, 294 GW will be onshore and 98 GW offshore wind,” writes the EWEA. “By 2014, 128.8 GW of wind capacity had been installed, enough to meet 10.2% of the EU’s electricity demand”.
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