Sun Is The Future

Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers,

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This is a repost from our sister publication, Windermere Sun, below:

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In March of 2017, according to a new U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report, ten percent of all of the electricity generated in United States came from wind and solar power. This milestone demonstrates that renewable energy are becoming significant source of electricity in U.S. and no longer need to be classified as “alternative” energy. Texas is the biggest wind power producer while California is the largest solar producer in USA.

Below, in italics, is taken from EIA report on June 14, 2017)

For the first time, monthly electricity generation from wind and solar (including utility-scale plants and small-scale systems) exceeded 10% of total electricity generation in the United States, based on March data in EIA’s Electric Power Monthly. Electricity generation from both of these energy sources has grown with increases in wind and solar generating capacity. On an annual basis, wind and solar made up 7% of total U.S. electric generation in 2016.

Electricity generation from wind and solar follows seasonal patterns that reflect the seasonal availability of wind and sunshine. Within the United States, wind patterns vary based on geography. For example, wind-powered generating units in Texas, Oklahoma, and nearby states often have their highest output in spring months, while wind-powered generators in California are more likely to have their highest output in summer months.

Monthly solar output is highest in the summer months, regardless of location, because of the greater number of daylight hours. About half of all utility-scale solar power plants in the United States use some form of sun-tracking technology to improve their seasonal output.

Based on seasonal patterns in recent years, electricity generation from wind and solar will probably exceed 10% of total U.S. generation again in April 2017, then fall to less than 10% in the summer months. Since 2014, when EIA first began estimating monthly, state-level electricity generation from small-scale solar photovoltaic systems, combined wind and solar generation has reached its highest level in either the spring or fall. Because these seasons are times of generally low electricity demand, combined wind and solar generation also reached its highest share of the U.S. total during these times of year.

Based on annual data for 2016, Texas accounted for the largest total amount of wind and solar electricity generation. Nearly all of this generation was from wind, as Texas generates more wind energy than any other state. As a share of the state’s total electricity generation, wind and solar output was highest in Iowa, where wind and solar made up 37% of electricity generation in 2016. In addition to Iowa, wind and solar provided at least 20% of 2016 electricity generation in six other states.

In almost all states, wind makes up a larger share of the state’s total electricity generation than solar. Among the top dozen states, only California and Arizona had more solar generation than wind in 2016. Three states in the top 12—Iowa, Kansas, and North Dakota—had no generation from utility-scale solar plants in 2016 and relatively little output from small-scale solar photovoltaic systems.

EIA analyst Owen Comstock said state renewable goals are one of the biggest reasons how wind and solar are able to reach this milestone. Most states require a certain portion of their electricity to be generated from renweables. States such as California is currently setting its goal to obtain 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, and lawmakers in CA are debating about the possibility of expanding that to 100% by 2045.

For those of us in Florida, even without with any government incentive or mandate, due to the dramatic dropping of cost in solar and wind, as long as we pay attention and take actions, we will be on our way to hit the 100% renewables goal before 2045. Based on SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association), Floridians have installed 725.1 MW solar by 2016 (404.7 MW was installed in 2016). More will be provided in the next post.

 

Photographed, gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com

Any comments, suggestions, concerns regarding this post will be welcomed at info.WindermereSun@gmail.com

~have a bright and sunny day~

Any comments, suggestions, concerns regarding this post will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com

Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker

We Need Fair Value of Solar

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Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:

www.sunisthefuture.net

www.kiva.org/team/sunisthefuture

www.facebook.com/sunisthefuture

www.pinterest.com/sunisthefuture

www.youtube.com/user/sunisthefuture

www.cafepress.com/sunisthefuture

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Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:

www.sunisthefuture.net

www.kiva.org/team/sunisthefuture

www.facebook.com/sunisthefuture

www.pinterest.com/sunisthefuture

www.youtube.com/user/sunisthefuture

www.cafepress.com/sunisthefuture

Google+

 

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Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers,

This is a repost from one of the recent posts of Windermere Sun (www.WindermereSun.com).

Reason I am posting/reposting this piece is because almost all of our satellites currently in operation are powered by Solar Panels.

(Please click on red links & note magenta)

(Please click on red links & note magenta)

Falcon 9 Launched and Landed Successfully on Atlantic Ship on May 6, 2016, From Cape Canaveral, While Observing the 4R’s (Recycle-Reuse-Repair-Reduce).

Out of his concern for the future of mankind and desire to reduce the risk of human extinction , reduce the cost of space transportation, and making human life multiplanetary possible via setting up a human colony on Mars, Elon Musk became the founder, CEO and CTO of SpaceX .

Of the three successful landings and recoveries post-launch of Falcon 9 within the past one and half year (Dec. of 2015, April of 2016, and May 6 of 2016), May 6, 2016 is the second time the rocket has landed intact on the ship ( Falcon 9 landed on the floating drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean).

During May 6, 2016 Falcon 9 mission, a Japanese communication satellite is sent to a very high orbit above Earth (aka geostationary transfer orbit) despite the fact that the rocket is subjected to extreme velocities and re-entry heating, making it difficult to have a successful landing. But shortly after the launch, SpaceX confirmed that not only did Falcon 9 make a perfect landing, but it deployed its satellite correctly.

SpaceX will continue to attempt to land the rocket at sea/ocean for its next few launches (about two third of its overall launches) because it is safer and requires less fuel than landing on land (explained below):

Few more videos and reports of Falcon 9 launch and landing of May 6, 2016, below:

 

 

 

An in-depth summary report about Elon Musk and his SpaceX, below:

For a better understanding of SpaceX’s achievements: SpaceX’s achievements include the first privately funded, liquid-propellant rocket (Falcon 1) to reach orbit, in 2008; the first privately funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft (Dragon), in 2010; and the first private company to send a spacecraft (Dragon) to the ISS, in 2012. The launch of SES-8, in 2013, was the first SpaceX delivery into geosynchronous orbit, while the launch of the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), in 2015, was the company’s first delivery beyond Earth orbit. On December 21, 2015, SpaceX successfully returned a first stage back to the launch site and accomplished a vertical landing, the first such accomplishment by a rocket on an orbital trajectory. On April 8, 2016, with the launch of CRS-8, SpaceX successfully vertically landed a first stage on an ocean drone platform and delivered Dragon to Low Earth Orbit. On May 6, 2016, SpaceX again landed a first stage, but on a geostationary transfer mission, another first.

Below is a video of Elon Musk discussing successful landing at CRS-8 press conference in April of 2016. Now, SpaceX/Falcon 9 has successfully done it (landed at sea on the ship) again! The future is more certain.

Furthermore, SpaceX is able to reduce the cost of the design and therefore cost of the space transport through a reusable launch system. A reusable launch system (RLS, or reusable launch vehicle, RLV) is a launch system which is capable of launching a payload into space more than once. This contrasts with expendable launch systems, where each launch vehicle is launched once and then discarded. No completely reusable orbital launch system is currently in use. The closest example was the partially reusable Space Shuttle. The orbiter, which included the Space Shuttle main engines, and the two solid rocket boosters, were reused after several months of refitting work for each launch. The external tank and launch vehicle load frame were discarded after each flight. However, several at least partially reusable systems are currently under development, such as the Falcon 9 full thrust (first stage).

Hurray For Elon and His Team For Ushering In the 4R’s: Recycle-Reuse-Repair-Reduce into 21st Century Space Exploration! Hurray For Elon and His Team For Bringing Back Our Hope and Enthusiasm For Space Exploration Again!

~Let’s Help One Another~ Any comments, suggestions, concerns regarding this post will be welcomed at info.WindermereSun@gmail.com

Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
More about the community at www.WindermereSun.comPlease also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:

www.sunisthefuture.net

www.kiva.org/team/sunisthefuture

www.facebook.com/sunisthefuture

www.pinterest.com/sunisthefuture

www.youtube.com/user/sunisthefuture

www.cafepress.com/sunisthefuture

Google+

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