Despite the Climate Disasters, Here’s Some Good News
Let’s Keep Our Eye on the Ball
There are two things people may have missed about climate change progress in all the sensational news the media has focused on. In little pockets here and there, progress is being made to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It isn’t fast enough, and there aren’t enough places where these things are happening, but let’s keep in mind what is good.
The Essential Move to Heat Pumps
A group of 25 states announced a collaboration to deploy over 20 million heat pumps by 2030. This is a big deal because heating our homes is a major user of energy and the primary way — other than our cars — that consumers create direct emissions. Most of us burn natural gas or heating oil to heat our homes, both of which release GHG emissions. Heat pumps, on the other hand, use electricity very efficiently. If your electricity is sourced from fossil fuel sources, you will reduce emissions by about 20%. If your electricity is clean, however, you may reduce your heating-related emissions by up to 80%. Twenty million homes doing this is a good number.
If you don’t know about heat pumps, you should check them out. They can save the average homeowner a lot of money because of their efficiencies, and they can also be used as both a heat source and an air conditioner.
Minnesota Approves Large Solar Array to Replace 3 Operating Coal Plants
On Thursday last week, Minnesota approved an additional 250-megawatt solar project to join the previously approved 460-megawatt project at Becker Minnesota. Xcel Energy, the utility that operates the site, is building the array in preparation for shutting down its three coal-fired turbines at Becker, MN. This is precisely how this is supposed to work — more solar, less coal. In addition, the state also approved earlier in the summer an iron-air battery project to be installed as part of the solar project.
Remembering the Good Stuff
Although the news is filled with hurricanes, fires, floods, droughts, and other climate disasters, we need to keep in mind that the wheels of industry are, indeed, turning in a better direction. It is nowhere near fast enough, but they are turning. The government is playing a part, but it should go faster. Business is playing a part, and it needs to go faster. Consumers like you and me are playing a part, too — are we going as fast as we can?
The two developments outlined here illustrate the point of how humanity is most likely to tackle climate change — electrifying end-user appliances and converting the sources of electricity to clean, less expensive renewable sources. States are working to get heat pumps to people. Utilities like Xcel are converting coal plants to solar. Our role is to work with the state governments to purchase heat pumps and install them in our homes while enjoying the savings we achieve. Let’s do our part.
Anthony Signorelli
Other hopeful signs I see are :
1. At last, electric vehicles are becoming popular and more affordable, pointing to a significant reduction in ICE vehicles in the next decade;
2. New renewable energy installations produce electricity more cheaply than fossil fuel alternatives, leading to accelerated decommissioning of coal fired power stations in some countries;
3. Use of engineered timber structural and cladding materials in multi-storey buildings, illustrating how reduction in the use of concrete and steel can be achieved;
4. Availability of a seaweed-based additive for stock feed that significantly reduces methane emissions from cattle;
5. Incorporating storage capacity into electrical grids in the form of batteries and pumped hydro schemes, thus making renewable energy sources more reliable, thereby reducing demands for fossil fueled ‘back up’ installations.
Tony, thanks for reporting on the progress being made, especially in MN. That is one effect of having a climate friendly government in all three branches.