Not everybody has the chance to, but if you have the option to change your power supplier, do so. It might seem obvious, but people underestimate the power we have. We can vote with our dollars for the world we want to live in. Also, check what company is behind the green power supplier of your choice and try to find one who is not part of a big coal or fracking company.
Innovative Project Is Growing Crops Beneath Solar Panels in Kenya
The project, officially called “Harvesting the sun twice,” is designed to assess whether or not agrivoltaic systems could be successfully used in rural East Africa.
By combining the land dedicated to solar panels with the land dedicated to agriculture, it is possible to avoid some of these pitfalls. Growing plants beneath elevated solar panels protects them from the sun in hot, dry places and helps the soil retain moisture, the University of Sheffield explained. The strategy has worked successfully in Global North countries like France, Germany and the U.S., but has not been tested in the Global South, according to SEI and The Guardian.So far, the results have been promising, The Guardian reported.
In Kajiado, cabbages cultivated under 180, 345-watt solar panels were a third larger and healthier than the control group. Eggplants, lettuce and corn also fared better in the panels’ shade.
“Environmentalists who’ve pushed for years for all of California’s power to come from renewables were jubilant as they watched the tracker edge to 100% and slightly beyond.”
The Chinese solar power company Panda Green Energy built a giant solar installation as an adorable PR stunt. The top photo in an artist’s rendering, but the real one can be seen in the bottom photo.
Innovative Project Is Growing Crops Beneath Solar Panels in Kenya
The project, officially called “Harvesting the sun twice,” is designed to assess whether or not agrivoltaic systems could be successfully used in rural East Africa.
By combining the land dedicated to solar panels with the land dedicated to agriculture, it is possible to avoid some of these pitfalls. Growing plants beneath elevated solar panels protects them from the sun in hot, dry places and helps the soil retain moisture, the University of Sheffield explained. The strategy has worked successfully in Global North countries like France, Germany and the U.S., but has not been tested in the Global South, according to SEI and The Guardian.So far, the results have been promising, The Guardian reported.
In Kajiado, cabbages cultivated under 180, 345-watt solar panels were a third larger and healthier than the control group. Eggplants, lettuce and corn also fared better in the panels’ shade.
This can be applied anywhere. A lot of crops prefer (some) shade to direct sunlight and with years long drought hitting both the US and Europe anything to increase food security is welcome.
“Turlock Irrigation District, in California’s San Joaquin Valley, will build the first solar canal prototype in partnership with project developer Solar Aquagrid, researchers and others and supported by the state Department of Water Resources.
The prototypes in this mile-long demonstration project, along with future pilots, will help operators, developers and regulators refine designs, assess co-benefits and evaluate how these systems perform. With more data, we can map out strategies for extending solar canals statewide, and potentially across the West.”
Website Rebranding | Groundswell: Community Power (2021)
illustrations I made for Groundswell’s website rebranding : Groundswell is a 501c3 nonprofit that serves local U.S communities by developing solar projects and resilience hubs; helping neighbours share power; reducing energy burdens through efficiency; connecting clean energy supply chains to local economic development; and leading pioneering research to help light the way to affordable energy. Through their work, they are building clean energy futures that reflect the beautiful diversity of the communities they serve.
Renewable energy projects have been growing across New England in recent years. And while offshore wind and grid-scale solar have gotten lots of the attention – a smaller, more community-oriented way of getting power has been steadily taking hold, “shared solar.”
“Typically you have to own a home. You have to have good credit. You have to have a good facing roof in order to get solar put on your house,” said Jeff Pipeling with CTEC Solar.
But with shared solar, you don’t need all that. You can sign up for an array that’s located somewhere else. Think of it like a community garden for energy.
Now, after several years of planning, the state’s first shared solar array will soon be online in Bloomfield. But when it comes to the ‘cost and benefits’ of shared solar power on your electric bill, the story is complicated.
Something they very well could be regretting right now. Having a windmill not only provides free electricity, but you can sell the excess back to the local energy companies.
Recyclable solar cells have been created using material from trees [by] a research team from Georgia Institute of TechnologyandPurdue University. The researchers utilized natural substrates from trees to create organic solar cells. They also created these organic solar cells on cellulose nanocrystal or CNC substrates, which make it possible for the cells to be recycled in water at room temperature. When the solar cell is immersed in water, the CNC substrates dissolve easily and makes it easy for the solar cells to be separated into its main components.
![unconsumption: Recyclable solar cells have been created using material from trees [by] a research](https://64.media.tumblr.com/5720dc466937924acb6c54e63a431374/tumblr_mkph6xzoBc1qzv12bo1_640.jpg "unconsumption: Recyclable solar cells have been created using material from trees [by] a research")
