"Pakistan serves as a great case study as to how renewables can provide a hedge against dependence on fossil fuels.”
Rooftop solar on private homes has taken off in Pakistan at an unprecedented rate. Huge swings in energy prices and an unreliable grid, combined with plunging solar panel prices, made the investment of rooftop solar an easy choice.
There are now so many rooftop solar panels in Pakistan that they make up 1/5th of the country's total energy supply--all just from regular families installing them on their own homes.
Growing city populations and limited space are driving the adoption of green roofs and green walls covered with living plants. As well as bo
"As solar panels heat up beyond 25°C, their efficiency decreases markedly. Green roofs moderate rooftop temperatures. So we wanted to find out: could green roofs help with the problem of heat reducing the output of solar panels?
Our research compared a “biosolar” green roof — one that combines a solar system with a green roof — and a comparable conventional roof with an equivalent solar system. We measured the impacts on biodiversity and solar output, as well as how the plants coped with having panels installed above them.
The green roof supported much more biodiversity, as one might expect. By reducing average maximum temperatures by about 8°C, it increased solar generation by as much as 107% during peak periods. And while some plant species outperformed others, the vegetation flourished.
These results show we don’t have to choose between a green roof or a solar roof: we can combine the two and reap double the rewards...
How did the panels affect the plants?
In the open areas, we observed minimal changes in the vegetation cover over the study period compared to the initial planted community.
Plant growth was fastest and healthiest in the areas immediately around the solar panels. Several species doubled in coverage. We selected fast-growing vegetation for this section to achieve full coverage of the green roof beds as soon as possible.
The vegetation changed the most in the areas directly below and surrounding the solar panels. The Baby Sun Rose, Aptenia cordifolia, emerged as the dominant plant. It occupied most of the space beneath and surrounding the solar panels, despite having been planted in relatively low densities.
This was surprising: it was not expected the plants would prefer the shaded areas under the panels to the open areas. This shows that shading by solar panels will not prevent the growth of full and healthy roof gardens.
What were the biodiversity impacts?
We used environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys to compare biodiversity on the green roof and conventional roof. Water run-off samples were collected from both roofs and processed on site using portable citizen scientist eDNA sampling equipment to detect traces of DNA shed by the species on the roof.
The eDNA surveys detected a diverse range of species. These included some species (such as algae and fungi) that are not easily detected using other survey methods. The results confirmed the presence of bird species recorded by the cameras but also showed other visiting bird species went undetected by the cameras.
Overall, the green roof supported four times as many species of birds, over seven times as many arthropods such as insects, spiders and millipedes, and twice as many snail and slug species as the conventional roof. There was many times the diversity of microorganisms such as algae and fungi.
Encouragingly, the green roof attracted species unexpected in the city. They included blue-banded bees (Amegilla cingulata) and metallic shield bugs (Scutiphora pedicellata).
How did the green roof alter temperatures?
The green roof reduced surface temperatures by up to 9.63°C for the solar panels and 6.93°C for the roof surfaces. An 8°C reduction in average peak temperature on the green roof would result in substantial heating and cooling energy savings inside the building.
This lowering of temperatures increased the maximum output of the solar panels by 21-107%, depending on the month. Performance modelling indicates an extensive green roof in central Sydney can, on average, produce 4.5% more electricity at any given light level.
These results show we don’t have to choose between a green roof or a solar roof. We can combine them to take advantage of the many benefits of biosolar green roofs.
Biosolar roofs can help get cities to net zero
The next step is to design green roofs and their plantings specifically to enhance biodiversity. Green roofs and other green infrastructure may alter urban wildlife’s activities and could eventually attract non-urban species.
Our green roof also decreased stormwater runoff, removed a range of run-off pollutants and insulated the building from extremes of temperature. A relatively inexpensive system provides all of these services with moderate maintenance and, best of all, zero energy inputs.
Clearly, biosolar green roofs could make major contributions to net-zero cities. And all that’s needed is space that currently has no other use."
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1. Wind farm bird protection tech a success, with no new eagle deaths and barely a dent in revenue
“[The] Cattle Hill wind farm in Tasmania’s Central Highlands has not had any [eagle] fatalities for more than a year and a half, since an upgrade to the project’s aerial monitoring and detection system[.... I]n Tasmania, the preservation of the wedge-tailed eagle is of particular concern. [...] “We’re working to expand our technology into nocturnal and bat activity, as well as migratory birds that often will fly at night.””
2. A heat wave hit New England’s grid. Clean energy saved the day.
“[… R]ooftop and other “behind-the-meter” solar panels throughout the region, plus Vermont’s network of thousands of batteries, supplied several gigawatts of needed power, reducing demand on an already-strained system and saving customers millions of dollars. It was a demonstration, supporters say, of the way clean energy and battery storage can make the grid less carbon-intensive and more resilient, adaptable, and affordable as climate change drives increased extreme weather events.”
3. Nepal sees positive outcome from reforestation project using local knowledge
“As part of a reforestation project that began in 2010, local communities in six study sites across the western Gandaki province planted 131,186 native trees on a total of about 76 hectares (187 acres) of government-owned land. [… T]he density of vegetation on the study sites increased from being ‘sparse’ to ‘dense’ between 2018 and 2022. [… P]eople continue to grow seedlings themselves [on private land] despite the official end of the reforestation project.”
4. This Supreme Court Decision Could Change the Lives of Millions of Students With Disabilities
“Last month, in a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that students with disabilities will no longer face a higher legal standard [“of bad faith and gross misjudgment”] when seeking justice for discrimination in schools—one that does not exist in other settings covered by U.S. antidiscrimination law. […] By reversing the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, the court restored the full protection of federal disability nondiscrimination law to disabled students.”
5. Extirpated Otter Confirmed in Malaysian Nature Reserve
“The Eurasian otter hasn’t been seen in more than a decade in the Southeast Asian country[....] The country’s three other otter species also live in this reserve, and the new sighting will elevate the reserve’s protection level[....] “The discovery of the fourth species in Tangkulap indicates the habitat is abundant in prey and serves as a safe refuge—potentially for many other wildlife species as well.””
July 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)
Hey, LA people. I'm at the point where I'm seriously considering ripping out my nonfunctional rooftop solar and giving up. It was installed five years ago by Treeium and has never, ever worked. I gave up on them after years of being repeatedly ghosted, gaslit and screwed over.
Five years and multiple solar technicians later, we're out of options. It still doesn't work. Our power bills go *up* every month.
No solar technicians will touch it - 90% say they won't work on someone else's installation, the other 10% demand a binding arbitration waiver, so if they burn our house down and kill us all, we can't sue.
I'm so done with this, but I'm making one last-ditch appeal. Does anyone know of a reliable, LA-area solar tech who won't require us to surrender our legal rights to have some routine home maintenance done?
Power to the People: How Micro-Renewables Enhance Community Resilience
As billions of individuals lack electricity worldwide, micro-renewables such as small turbines and rooftop solar are powering a silent revolution. Not only are these miniature power plants eliminating energy poverty, but they are also building resilience in communities from Lagos to London.
Microgeneration refers to the production of energy on a small scale by small businesses, communities, and domestic households. It is often conducted where the energy is needed, increasing efficiency and avoiding the expense of distribution.
Some examples of microgeneration technology include micro wind turbines, solar panels, and hydroelectric. Each system converts natural energy sources such as sunlight, wind, and running water into usable electricity. The beauty of microgeneration lies in its twin benefits: economic savings and sustainability. While the initial outlay for fitting equipment like solar panels or windmills can be prohibitive, such an investment will pay dividends in reduced bills and the possibility of making money from excess power that can be fed back into the grid under systems like the Feed-In Tariff or Smart Export Guarantee.
2024. gada beigās sadales sistēmai pieslēgti aptuveni 24,7 tūkstoši dažādas jaudas elektroenerģijas ražotāju ar kopējo ģenerācijas jaudu vir
2024. gadā kopējā elektroenerģijas bilancē būtiskāku lomu ieņēmusi saules enerģija. 2024. gadā sadales sistēmā no saules saražotas (un kopējā tīklā nodotas) teju 400 gigavatstundas (GWh) elektroenerģijas, kas ir trīs reizes vairāk nekā 2023. gadā iespēts.
The total solar generation capacity in Latvia reaches 660 MW
In 2024, solar energy will play a more significant role in the overall electricity balance. In 2024, almost 400 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity was produced from the sun in the distribution system (and transferred to the common network), which is three times more than what was possible in 2023(..)
P.S. Latvia and the other countries of the Baltic Sea region are rapidly reducing their dependence on fossil fuel imports...
Contrary to the uproar and hysteria created by the corrupt American and Russian click-bite media, in the Baltic sea region we actually HAVE PLENTY OF OUR OWN domestic energy resources that reduce the negative consequences of the chaos of the fossil fuel market...
