This is a repost from one of our sister publications, Windermere Sun, below:
Elon Musk, 2018 (Attribution: The Royal Society, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en, Presented at: WindermereSun.com & sunisthefuture.net)
Elon Musk talks about his plan for the sun. It’s already very normal day when Elon Musk talks about some revolutionary idea and this speech is no exception, in the video published on Sep. 12, 2021, “Elon Musk – Sun is The Future“, below:
In order to be sustainable, we have to have sustainable means of production and consumption of energy, to drive electric cars in order to reduce CO2 emission, and to generate sustainable energy. Sustainable energy may be in the form of solar, nuclear, hydro-thermal, hydro, and wind energy. The primary form of energy to be generated will be solar. Sustainable or solar energy production combined with stationary storage, the world can be powered many times over by solar energy. About a third of our energy use is electricity, about a third of energy use is for for heating, and a third of energy use is in transport. There is enough energy from the sun to support all three areas of energy use/need. There is 1 gw per square km amount of energy coming from the sun. The earth is already almost entirely solar powered. The amount of energy needed to power our civilization is tiny compared to energy from the sun (1 gigabit per square kilometer). At 20% efficient solar panels, that’s 200 Mw per square kilometer. There would be plenty of energy for all three areas of energy use from solar, with some contribution from wind, geothermal, and tidal. And we need to stop subsidizing burning fossil fuels. For more about the use of solar energy, please visit: Sun Is The Future and Sun Is The Future youtube channel. Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
Aerial view of Apple Park, the corporate headquarters of Apple Inc., located in Cupertino, CA. The roof is covered in solar panels with an output of 17 MW, making it the biggest solar roofs in the world. Photo is taken from a Cessna 172M. (attribution: Daniel L. Lu (user: dllu), presented at: WindermereSun.com)
In China, solar panels are mounted high off the ground to let sunlight shine through so grass can grow and local yaks can eat it. (credit/attribution: Apple Inc., presented at: WindermereSun.com)
Apple’s headquarter in Cupertino, CA is powered by 100% renewable energy in part from a 17 megawatt onsite rooftop solar installation (credit/attribution: Apple Iinc., presented at: WindermereSun.com)
Ibiden, a component supplier outside Nagoya, Japan, maintains a floating solar photovoltaic facility to power 100 percent of its manufacturing. (credit/attribution: Apple, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
This week, Windermere Sun is devoting several posts on how some of the individuals, groups, or companies commit to help combat climate change and to create a healthier environment. Back in April of this year (2018), Apple announced its global facilities being powered with 100% clean energy. This was achieved through retail stores, offices, data centers and co-located facilities in 43 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and India. Apple also announced nine additional manufacturing partners committed to power all of their Apple production with 100% clean energy, bringing the total number of supplier commitments to 23.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “We’re committed to leaving the world better than we found it. After years of hard work we’re proud to have reached this significant milestone. We’re going to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the materials in our products, the way we recycle them, our facilities and our work with suppliers to establish new creative and forward-looking sources of renewable energy because we know the future depends on it.”
Excerpt from Apple’s press release, in italics, from April of 2018, below:
Apple and its partners are building new renewable energy projects around the world, improving the energy options for local communities, states and even entire countries. Apple creates or develops, with utilities, new regional renewable energy projects that would not otherwise exist. These projects represent a diverse range of energy sources, including solar arrays and wind farms as well as emerging technologies like biogas fuel cells, micro-hydro generation systems and energy storage technologies.
Apple currently has 25 operational renewable energy projects around the world, totaling 626 megawatts of generation capacity, with 286 megawatts of solar PV generation coming online in 2017, its most ever in one year. It also has 15 more projects in construction. Once built, over 1.4 gigawatts of clean renewable energy generation will be spread across 11 countries.
Since 2014, all of Apple’s data centers have been powered by 100 percent renewable energy. And since 2011, all of Apple’s renewable energy projects have reduced greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e) by 54 percent from its facilities worldwide and prevented nearly 2.1 million metric tons of CO2e from entering the atmosphere.
Apple’s renewable energy projects include:
Apple Park, Apple’s new headquarters in Cupertino, is now the largest LEED Platinum-certified office building in North America. It is powered by 100 percent renewable energy from multiple sources, including a 17-megawatt onsite rooftop solar installation and four megawatts of biogas fuel cells, and controlled by a microgrid with battery storage. It also gives clean energy back to the public grid during periods of low occupancy.
Over 485 megawatts of wind and solar projects have been developed across six provinces of China to address upstream manufacturing emissions.
Apple recently announced plans to build a 400,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art data center in Waukee, Iowa, that will run entirely on renewable energy from day one.
In Prineville, Oregon, the company signed a 200-megawatt power purchase agreement for an Oregon wind farm, the Montague Wind Power Project, set to come online by the end of 2019.
In Reno, Nevada, Apple created a partnership with the local utility, NV Energy, and over the last four years developed four new projects totaling 320 megawatts of solar PV generation.
In Japan, Apple is partnering with local solar company Daini Denryoku to install over 300 rooftop solar systems that will generate 18,000 megawatt-hours of clean energy every year — enough to power more than 3,000 Japanese homes.
Apple’s data center in Maiden, North Carolina, is supported by projects that generate 244 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy per year, which is equivalent to the energy used by 17,906 North Carolina homes.
In Singapore, where land is scarce, Apple adapted and built its renewable energy on 800 rooftops.
Apple is currently constructing two new data centers in Denmark that will run on 100 percent renewable energy from day one.
To get to 100 percent renewable energy for its own facilities, the company worked to set an example for others to follow. Apple also announced that 23 of its suppliers are now committed to operating on 100 percent renewable energy, including nine new suppliers. Altogether, clean energy from supplier projects helped avoid over 1.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases from being emitted in 2017 — the equivalent of taking more than 300,000 cars off the road. In addition, over 85 suppliers have registered for Apple’s Clean Energy Portal, an online platform that Apple developed to help suppliers identify commercially viable renewable energy solutions in regions around the world.
New supplier commitments include:
Arkema, a designer of high-performance bio-based polymers, which manufactures for Apple at its facilities in France, the United States and China.
DSM Engineering Plastics, which manufactures polymers and compounds in the Netherlands, Taiwan and China that are used in many Apple products, including connectors and cables.
ECCO Leather, the first soft goods supplier to commit to 100 percent clean energy for its Apple production. The leather that ECCO produces for Apple is of European origin, with tanning and cutting occurring at facilities in the Netherlands and China.
Finisar, a US industry-leading producer of optical communication components and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), which power some of Apple’s most popular new features like Face ID, Portrait mode selfies and Animoji.
Luxshare-ICT, a supplier of accessories for Apple products. Luxshare-ICT’s production for Apple is predominantly located in Eastern China.
Pegatron, which assembles a number of products, including iPhone, at its two factories in Shanghai and Kunshan, China.
Quadrant, a supplier of magnets and magnetic components in a number of Apple’s products.
Quanta Computer, one of the first Mac suppliers to commit to 100 percent renewable energy for Apple production.
Taiyo Ink Mfg. Co., which produces solder masks for printed circuit boards in Japan.
You may also be interested in these articles below:
(Please click on red links below)
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Updates on our Solar-FIT For Sunshine State petition: 165 signatures strong. We need more! Please help us to spread more sunshine by signing this petition and sharing it with others. It is our shared responsibility to move toward the renewable energy age and Sunshine is the cleanest, healthiest, and least war-prone way to go!
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On this historical day, President Obama declares that United States will lead the way, during this Clean Energy Era, to cut carbon pollution and to protect our nation from impact of climate change by 1. not approving the controversial Keystone Pipeline (pipeline that would’ve carried oil from tar sand of Alberta, Canada, to Gulf of Mexico) if it would increase greenhouse gas emission.2.by directing U.S EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to issue rules to cut carbon emissions from power plants and set new standards. 3.by leading global effort in working with growing economy such as China or India in encouraging use in natural gas, nuclear power, and renewables such as solar and wind power.4. by wasting less energy. 5. by coordinating with U.S. regional governments to prepare for impacts of climate change. The goal is using less dirty energy, transitioning into clean energy, and wasting less energy. The federal government is also setting the goal of having 20% of its electricity use from renewables by the next seven years. Below, is President Obama’s speech:
President Obama mentioned our historical understanding, as far back into the 1800’s, of greenhouse gas effect from CO2 emission trapping heat. Burning fossil fuel would release the CO2 into the atmosphere. But in late 1950’s the National Weather Services would measure the level of CO2 in our atmosphere, with worry that the rising CO2 might one day disrupt the fragile balance of our planet’s hospitable environment. After decades of accumulations and reviews, the scientists have discovered that the level of increase of CO2 in our earthly environment has such dramatic increase that it would impact much of life for human kind. The twelve warmest years in the recorded history have all occurred within the past fifteen years. President Obama also brought us to the attention that about 40% of our carbon pollution comes from our power plants, and yet there is no federal regulation or limit as to how much power plants can dump carbon into the air (keep in mind that there are limits for mercury, sulfur, arsenic, or various other toxic chemicals). This needs to stop.
President Obama also reminded us, for the past four years, we’ve doubled the electricity generation from solar and wind power. Of course, that also means generation of jobs. Countries such as Germany and China have been in the race for clean energy, and USA needs to be in the race in order to win. In President Obama’s proposal, it will double our energy from sun and wind. He asked Congress to help to extend the tax credit to manufacturers and producers of clean energy (solar and wind) in order to increase jobs and enable USA to participate and win the race. He has asked the U.S. Department of Interior to green light enough private renewable energy capacity on public lands to power more than six million homes by 2020. Department of Defense, the biggest energy consumer in USA, will install 3 GW (gigawatt) of renewable power on its bases (equivalent to generating 3 million tons of coal each year). He is calling to end the tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel/oil and invest in the clean energy that will better fuel our future.
Those of us who are Solar Enthusiasts, let’s help President Obama to complete the specifics of his plan before June of 2015 by promoting and signing the petition for Solar-FIT For Sunshine State above, coordinating and collaborating on the introduction of Feed-In-Tariff For Renewables throughout USA, and developing Community Solar Gardens/Farms locally. Let’s see and seize this as an opportunity for local economy and businesses. Let’s help to educate those around us and speak up for the fact so to eliminate mis-information. Push our communities to adopt smarter practices, to invest in clean energy and divest from fossil fuel. Let’s make sure that any/all future political candidates, in order to receive support from us, will stand for protection of our future against the ravage of climate change. Let’s step up to the plate and face the challenge together!
~have a bright and sunny day~
For better understanding of our climate change, please refer to our June 20, 2013 post.
any of your comments and suggestion will be welcomed publicly in comment area below or privately via sunisthefuture@gmail.com (be sure to note in your email if you do not want your email to be shared)
Every where I go, there are folks worried about the rising cost of fuel, CO2 emissions, global warming, and depleting fossil fuel. My friends from Germany commented that there are far more installations of solar panels in their countries (with less sunshine) than here in Florida (the Sunshine State). The reason is: they have FIT (Feed-In-Tariff) for renewable energy and we, the Floridians, do not.
That’s why I created a petition to The Florida State House, The Florida State Senate, and Governor Rick Scott, which says:
“Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) have proven to be the world’s most successful policy for delivering large quantities of renewable energy generation quickly and cheaply. It will help to develop vibrant solar energy industry in the state of Florida that will create local jobs, economic prosperity, and better preparations for hurricanes by using our abundant Sunshine. Our state can encourage a rapid increase in the production and use of solar energy by adopting Feed-In Tariff (FIT)/CLEAN policy that provides incentives to homeowners, businesses, utility companies, and investors to make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable/ clean energy.
Our state legislatures should enact this policy as quickly as possible to create a cleaner, healthier, and wealthier future for our communities. Please join us in asking our state legislatures in helping us to reach for our sunshine!”
Will you sign my petition? Click here to add your name:
I’d like to introduce you to a solar entrepreneur, Mr. Bill Gallagher (President of SOLAR-FIT), who has been in solar business for 38 years (almost 4 decades) ! Having such a longevity in this youthful business, we can certainly learn a great deal from his experience. Below is a video clip of the exchange I had with Bill on a sunny day in March at Holly Hill, Florida (where SOLAR-FIT is). I apologize for my heavy nasal sound/voice as a result of my Spring allergy.
Attic Ventilation System would help to reduce the cost of AC for Florida homes
Having Sun Tunnel would bring in more natural sunlight into a house/building
Bill also mentioned the one price online permitting process at Broward County (previously mentioned in our Feb. 22, 2013 post with Mr. Jeffery Halsey of Broward County of Florida)being able to help reduce a good percentage of the soft cost of solar projects. With the dropping cost of solar modules and the security of return that solar investments promise, investing in solar installations is the smart thing to do now. Not only are solar installations able to help reduce CO2 emission, they will also enable consumers to be better prepared for emergency situations (such as hurricanes). We are all hoping that there will be Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS)and/or goals in the state of Florida and better structured solar incentives that would help to guide consumers toward the path for better use of our wonderful sunshine here in state of Florida.
Bill Gallagher, President of SOLAR-FIT of Holly Hill, FL, chatting with us about various solar systems that would help to reduce consumers’ expenditures and improve their living environment
Bill Gallagher in front of SOLAR-FIT of Holly Hill, FL, a solar business that’s been around for almost 4 decades !
After our visit to Bill’s SOLAR-FIT, we stopped by WNZF NewsRadio station to chat with Bill about Solar Energy and what has been developing at Sun Is The Future. Because Holly Hill is not far from Daytona and there were two qualifying sessions set for Friday (March 15, 2013) at the Daytona International Speedway and the Daytona 200 on Saturday (March 16, 2013) for The 2013 Geico Motorcycle AMA pro Road Racing series event, I have never seen so many motorcyclists on the road in my life!
Motorcyclists seen in Holly Hill, FL, not far from Daytona, a day before the two qualifying sessions of Daytona 200 on Saturday, March 16, 2013, for the 2013 Geico Motorcycle AMA pro Road Racing Series event
Visiting WNZF NewsRadio station with host of the Renewable Energy Show (every Saturday, 10:30AM-11:00AM, at 1550AM and 106.3FM) host Bill Gallagher at right, Mark Gilliand the sound engineer of WNZF at left, and Susan and Michael of SunIsTheFuture in the middle
At the WNZF News Radio station,we found out that Bill had been busy not only as a solar entrepreneur, but also a terrific radio show host spreading the good news about renewable energy.You are all encouraged and welcomed to listen in to Bill’s Solar Fit Renewable Energy Show that airs every Saturday morning from 10:30 A.M.-11:00 A.M. at 1550 AM and 106.3 FM in state of Florida. Please feel free to contact Bill if you know of any solar enthusiasts, advocate, or entrepreneurs who would like to share his/her experience in solar business world. We chatted about the evolution of Sun Is The Future: how I started sunisthefuture.net from a solar education blog in early 2011, to expanding to sunisthefuture Youtube Channel, recruiting hubby Michael to be the cameraman and technical support in 2012 , Sunisthefuture Team at Kiva, Online Sunisthefuture Stores, and attention toward FIT (Feed-In-Tariff), also known as the CLEAN in CA, as a tool/method/incentive policy to help quickly spread the renewable or solar energy installations in USA.
For any information about solar systems at SOLAR-FIT or possibility of discussion about solar industry here in Florida and USA, please contact President Gallagher at:
www.solar-fit.com
Bill@solar-fit.com
386-441-2299
~have a bright and sunny day~
your comments and suggestions are always welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
After I’ve tweeted, Facebooked, Google+, and Linkedin , calling for attention to FIT (Feed-In-Tariff) for Renewables in our March 9, 2013 post, so that USA won’t be left too far behind rest of the world in our race toward to renewable energy to save our planet, I’ve received an email which led to this link/site: http://www.fitpetition.org/
FITpetition is a grassroot organization advocating for a national feed-in-tariff (FIT). A FIT is designed to accelerate the development of renewable generation projects up to 20 MW in size, including solar, wind, biomass, and wave. This organization is planning a petition drive to https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/, wanting President Obama and Congress to know a practical non-partisan plan to gradually transition away from conventional generation technologies. If you are in support of renewable energy and would like to be notified when the petition drive begins, visit the site and click on JOIN. Be part of the movement in helping our nation to transition into the renewable energy age! Be part of the movement that will partake in reducing the CO2 emission and enabling our world to be a cleaner, healthier, and war-free world.
~have a bright and sunny day~
gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments and suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.sunisthefuture.net
