Why rising temperatures don’t make solar power rise

via Climate Change Dispatch
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(h/t David) Sunny skies sound like a positive for energy production, but this week’s heat wave in California isn’t a boon for solar power.

That’s because solar panels actually become less efficient as the mercury rises.

CivicSolar, a solar-power systems distributor with offices in Oakland, Boston and Austin, Texas, says high temperatures can decrease a photovoltaic cell’s output by between 10 and 25 percent.

The reason is illuminating: Photovoltaic cells work when energy-filled photons from the sun activate electrons on the solar panels. The electrons go from a resting state to an excited state, and the cells capture the resulting energy. At high temperatures, the resting state of the electrons goes up. As a result, the difference between the resting state and excited state is smaller, producing less power.

The effect is more pronounced for homeowners who have installed rooftop solar arrays since those rarely have built-in cooling.

“If you take a glass solar shingle and lay it on the roof, there’s no air going behind it, so it might get a lot hotter — it might get to 140 or 160 degrees Fahrenheit,” said Stuart Fox, CivicSolar’s vice president of technical sales.

A study in the United Kingdom found that once a panel exceeds 107 degrees, its output drops by 1.1 percent for every 1.8-degree rise in temperature.

Read rest at SF Chronicle

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June 22, 2017 at 02:27PM

Trump Gave A Speech That Has The Wind Industry Terrified [VIDEO]

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Click to view slideshow.

Wind industry officials scrambled to fend off President Donald’s criticism of wind turbines during his speech Wednesday night.

“I don’t want to just hope the wind blows to light up your homes and your factories,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Iowa. “As the birds fall to the ground.”

Trump’s comments triggered a response from the CEO of the country’s largest wind energy lobbying group, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). CEO Tom Kiernan published a series of tweets to push back against Trump’s critiques of wind power.

We were confused by some of the President’s remarks #TrumpSpeech about #windpower tonight? Here are some industry updates. (1 of 4)

— Tom Kiernan (@TomCKiernan) June 22, 2017

Iowa reliably generates >36% of its electricity using #windpower, has over 8K #windpower jobs, and over 2K well-paying factory #jobs.

— Tom Kiernan (@TomCKiernan) June 22, 2017

#windpower causes <0.01% of human-related bird impacts, best for wildlife of all utility-scale energy sources https://t.co/6pEy0QTyDd. http://pic.twitter.com/w1Faq27qHe

— Tom Kiernan (@TomCKiernan) June 22, 2017

As America’s #1 renewable energy by capacity, we appreciate the President’s inclusion of wind in his all of the above strategy. (4th of 4)

— Tom Kiernan (@TomCKiernan) June 22, 2017

Wind farms kill an estimated 573,000 birds and 888,000 bats each year, according to a 2013 peer-reviewed study published in Wildlife Society Bulletin. Wind farms are projected to kill 1.4 million birds annually by 2030 as more turbines come online. The industry has taken steps to mitigate bird deaths, and points out wind turbines are only responsible for a small fraction of them.

WATCH:

http://ift.tt/2tyC8Yj

Trump used the speech to outline a vision for energy where the U.S. uses ever source possible.

“Whether it’s natural gas, whether it’s alternative sources, we’re going to have everything,” Trump said in the speech. “We use electric, we use wind, we use solar, we use coal, we use natural gas, we will use nuclear if the right opportunity presents itself. We’re going to be strong for the future.”

After winning the 2016 Presidential election last November, Trump allegedly told British politicians that he’s “personally offended” by wind turbines and thinks they’re unsightly.

Read more at Daily Caller

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June 22, 2017 at 02:27PM

Why rising temperatures don’t make solar power rise

via Principia Scientific International
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Sunny skies sound like a positive for energy production, but this week’s heat wave in California isn’t a boon for solar power. That’s because solar panels actually become less efficient as the mercury rises. CivicSolar, a solar-power systems distributor with offices in Oakland, Boston and Austin, Texas, says high temperatures can decrease a photovoltaic cell’s […]

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June 22, 2017 at 02:18PM

Katla volcano earthquake activity continues

via Ice Age Now
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“It is unclear at the moment if this is going to result in a eruption but at the moment it is my view that chances of an eruption happening soon (maybe in matter of hours) is high.” – Volcanologist Jón Frímann
___________________________

21 June 2017 – The past few days have seen a swarm of tremors around Katla volcano, with some reaching up to 3.6 magnitude.

“Earthquake activity continues in Katla volcano,” writes Frímann.”It is unclear at the moment if this is going to result in a eruption but at the moment it is my view that chances of an eruption happening soon (maybe in matter of hours) is high.”

Katla is a large subglacial volcano located beneath the Mydalsjokull glacier in southern Iceland. It has been dormant  for almost 100 years, but with twenty documented eruptions between 930 and 1918 at intervals of 13 – 95 years it is considered very active.

Although Katla hasn’t erupted forcefully enough to break through the ice since 1918, its present dormancy is among the longest in known history. Because of that long period of dormancy, many think the current seismic activity is a sure sign of a pending eruption.

Such an eruption could prove to be significant.

Katla’s 1918 eruption, a major eruption, lasted almost a month and extended the southern coast by 5 km due to lava flow deposits.

The Icelandic Met Office, which is closely monitoring the volcano, ssures that there are no definite tell tale signs of a looming eruption.

http://ift.tt/2stuFeq

Katla volcano earthquake activity – Update 2

http://ift.tt/2svcQM2

Thanks to Sonya Porter and Laurel for these links

The post Katla volcano earthquake activity continues appeared first on Ice Age Now.

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June 22, 2017 at 02:05PM