These preventative shutdowns come as the PG&E faces new legal woes.

Pacific Gas & Electric warned tens of thousands of customers in California that their power may be shut off to help prevent wildfires due to severe wind and drought conditions in the area.

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The preemptive shutdowns, at the inconvenience of customers, come as the company is still reeling from fallout related to deadly blazes in 2018 and 2020 authorities say were sparked by trees hitting the power grid. They also come as climate change has exacerbated California’s wildfires, stoking conditions experts say have led to the larger and deadlier blazes seen in recent years.

The company sent shutoff warnings to nearly 44,000 customers spanning 22 counties — including Alameda, Fresno and Napa — in northern and central California on Sunday.

PG&E updated on its website that shutoffs were required and its map of outages indicated power had been temporarily turned off in a slew of communities in the state’s Northern Sierra Foothills region, North Coast region and beyond.

PG&E meteorologists have been tracking a weather system, which is expected to bring wind gusts of up to 50 mph,” the company said in a statement. “PG&E’s in-house meteorologists, its Wildfire Safety Operations Center and its Emergency Operations Center continue to monitor conditions closely.”

Customers impacted were notified via text, email and automated phone calls beginning Saturday, the company said. More information on the latest status in specific neighborhoods can be found on PG&E’s website, along with tips for customers on how to prepare for the planned outages — such as unplugging appliances and using battery-powered flashlights.

Counties that would likely see the most customers impacted include Tehama customers, they were sent warnings, Solano customers and Lake customers. PG&E initially said it expects “minimal impact” to be felt by customers in the Bay Area and Central Valley.

The National Weather Service has warned of high winds in California due to a powerful storm in the west bringing a “critical fire weather” warning in central and northern California through Tuesday.

The so-called Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), which proactively turn off power in an effort to reduce the risk of wildfire from energized power lines, come as California has been battling larger and deadlier blazes in recent years linked to climate change.

The preemptive power shutdowns also come as PG&E has been embroiled in controversy linked to the wildfires. Late last month, the company was charged with involuntary manslaughter and other counts related to the 2020 Zogg Fire, which was sparked by a tree contacting a PG&E electric line.

PG&E CEO Patti Poppe disputed the criminal charges in a statement shortly after they were announced, saying, “We’ve accepted CAL FIRE’s determination, reached earlier this year, that a tree contacted our electric line and started the Zogg Fire. We accept that conclusion. But we did not commit a crime.”

“This was a tragedy, four people died. And my coworkers are working so hard to prevent fires and the catastrophic losses that come with them. They have dedicated their careers to it, criminalizing their judgment is not right,” Poppe added.

The latest legal action taken against the firm comes after the company pleaded guilty last year to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of unlawfully starting a fire for its link to the ignition of the devastating 2018 Camp Fire.

In her statement, Poppe noted steps the firm is taking to prevent wildfires, saying it is investing more than $1.4 billion in 2021 alone in vegetation management, removing 300,000 trees and trimming a million more, working toward burying 10,000 miles of power lines and more.

Source: ABC NEWS, Catherine Thorbecke

Image credits, AP, FILE, Reuters

It is a jump from doing office paperwork to building solar power systems but that is the leap Lorraine Nez is taking to bring renewable energy to her Native American reservation.

Nez was one of a dozen Native trainees who took a month-long course this summer on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation to become certified solar power installers and trainers.

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The students from six tribes are among Native Americans tapping into vast renewable energy potential on tribal lands and fighting economic inequalities holding back access to clean power.

“This is still a new industry, there are not many people out here in this world with any type of knowledge,” said Nez, 44, a former nurse with a degree in business management, who is from the Rosebud Sioux reservation, South Dakota and lives in Rapid City, South Dakota where she works in medical billing.

Native Americans are ten times more likely to not have electricity than the national average and, as people of color far less likely to have solar power, after 20th century rural electrification bypassed some of their communities, studies have shown.

To help build tribal energy independence, training group Solar Energy International has partnered with non-profit Red Cloud Renewable to teach students to assemble off-grid systems for isolated homes or grid-connected arrays to cut bills.

These “solar warriors” hope to supply power to areas like the Navajo Nation, where around 25% of homes lack electricity, and cut energy bills in reservations such as Pine Ridge, which has the poorest county in the United States.

“I want to create community awareness, show by example how solar and renewable energies coincide with the Chippewa Cree belief system, the overall Native American belief system,” said trainee Clyde Brown, 45, who plans to install solar power at the community college on his Rocky Boy’s reservation, Montana.

Another goal is to create a Native American solar workforce to build big arrays in places like the Navajo Nation and Pine Ridge and teach solar skills to the next generation.

“The people there have realized that energy sovereignty is more important to them and the only way they’ll achieve that is focusing on the more renewable resources,” said workshop instructor Chris Brooks, 48, from non-profit Remote Energy of moves by reservations to diversify away from oil and gas and coal-based power.

Nez hopes to start an installation business in a sector dominated by men, driven by a way of life focused on the earth and elements.

“It’s there, why are we not using it?” she said of solar power.

Source:  Andrew Hay, Emilie Richardson, Editing by Marguerita Choy, Yahoo News

Image credits: Pine Ridge Reservation

JinkoSolar, as of the end of 2020, has become the world’s largest photovoltaic manufacturer. Its 2020 revenue of $5.38 billion was up 18.1% over 2019.

Now more than 2½ years into operations, solar-panel maker JinkoSolar(U.S.) Inc. is heading into its growth phase at its West Jacksonville manufacturing plant.

“We are in what I call ‘post-startup mode,’ which is all about optimization and streamlining the process,” said General Manager Mike Favo.

“So, we’re in growth. We’re past startup and in growth.”

Favo spoke to the JAX Chamber Three Rivers Council, which covers North and West Jacksonville. It met in the Sambura Room at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.

The company chose Jacksonville in March 2018 for the $50.5 million facility. The city and state offered $4.2 million in a grant and tax refunds.

JinkoSolar has 285,652 square feet in a 407,435-square-foot building in Alliance Florida at Cecil Commerce Center in West Jacksonville.

Favo became general manager Aug. 1 after 15 years running U.S. Gypsum Co. in Jacksonville.

JinkoSolar employs 280 employees in Jacksonville. 

Favo gave the Jacksonville timeline:

JinkoSolar signed the lease for the plant in March 2018. It installed equipment and began “shakeout” by November that year.

It officially started production in February 2019. “And we’ve been making panels every since,” he said.

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Favo said he was recruited for the next phase.

“At the end of startup, you feel really good because you have all of the equipment running and you have product coming out,” Favo said.

“You’re shipping it to customers. Then it’s reality,” Favo said.

He said the facility “has an outstanding team.”

“Of all the plants I walked into over my career, this one was the most ready for post-startup that I’ve ever been to,” he said.

Favo’s presentation included a look at energy sector projections, which show a growing share by solar.

“I don’t think we are going to be the last plant in the United States, and we’re definitely not going to be the last plant for JinkoSolar,” he said.

Favo said solar panels are in high demand.

He said the energy sector is converting to sustainability, “and solar panels are exactly right for this.”

“This came along at a great time, as far as the United States is concerned. We’re growing our market share.”

He said many coal-fired plants have outlived their life. Coal is a nonrenewable energy source.

Favo said JinkoSolar is heavy on utility work. “We work with all the utility companies on their growth plans,” he said.

JinkoSolar also works on residential production.

JinkoSolar was established in 2006. It now employs about 15,000 employees among nine production facilities worldwide.

It distributes products to utility, commercial and residential customers in 160 countries.

“We’re now capable of doing 70 gigawatts globally, 12 gigawatts in the U.S.,” Favo said.

Jacksonville’s plant has potential to grow.

JinkoSolar says that in the U.S., it has warehouses in Long Beach and Torrance, California; Haslet, Texas; Port Elizabeth, New Jersey; and Hampton, Virginia.

It operates a business team in San Francisco, a nationwide sales team and the Jacksonville manufacturing plant.

JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010 and reached an agreement with DuPont in 2015 work together on solar-generated electricity. That can lead to more investment.

Favo said that as post-startup, the plant is working on sustainability practices, including its waste stream. That includes recycling and re-sourcing the cardboard and pallets that come into the plant.

Favo said employee development is important.

“Because of the competitive nature of the current marketplace, we are always hiring,” he said.

“I am very optimistic that over the next couple decades we will grow the size of the operation and will be in a continuous hiring and training process.”

Favo said JinkoSolar uses robotics. “I’m looking for tech-savvy operators,” he said.

With the labor shortage, “we’re competing with everybody here.”

Favo said JinkoSolar’s workforce is international, including working with refugee services. He said three Afghanistan natives work on the night shift.

Favo said that having led the U.S. Gypsum plant in Jacksonville, he has experience with the Jacksonville workforce.

“There’s a lot of talent here,” he said.

He said Jacksonville leadership “has done an excellent job of creating a technology corridor here.”

“We are not alone in being a newer company in the area with robotics and high-tech processes,” he said.

Favo said he met with Florida State College at Jacksonville and intended to work as well with Duval County Public Schools.

“We’re looking to find that talent that wants to develop themselves inside a growing company and grow with it,” he said.

“So far, we’ve had pretty good luck.”

Source: Karen Brune Mathis, Jax Daily Record, (truncated for salient material)

Image credit: JinkoSolar

“ElectReon” has been developing a system to charge electric vehicles (EVs) while in full motion using copper coils laid beneath the asphalt to transfer energy from the electricity grid to the road and to manage communication with approaching vehicles. Receivers are installed on the floor of the vehicles to transmit the energy directly to the engine and the battery while the vehicles are on the go, doing away with concerns about limited driving range and short battery lifespans.

Electreon already has a number of running partnerships in Europe to pilot its “Wireless Smart Road” Tech in Germany, France, Belgium and Sweden.

ElectReon has also expanded its partnership with the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality and the Dan Bus Company, with plans to launch a large-scale commercial deployment of its wireless charging infrastructure to power electric vehicles in Tel Aviv. ElectReon has inked a $9.4 million deal to roll out tech that will power 200 public buses at city terminals.

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The $9.4 million deal includes a five-year agreement to supply some 200 public buses operated by Dan with active charging at city terminals between bus trips and while passengers board and disembark. In the first stage, ElectReon will integrate its charging systems into 100 buses at the Reading public transport terminal in north Tel Aviv, after which the charging infrastructure will be expanded to other major terminals in the city and in the south region of Israel for a total of 200 buses, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

ElectReon will finance the charging infrastructure at the terminals and provide operational services and maintenance throughout the length of the project. The Dan Bus Company will pay a monthly fee for the service, according to the agreement.

This summer, ElectReon welcomed former Israeli president Reuven Rivlin as company president to “enhance the company’s collaboration with governments and global companies, as well as to share our activities with decision-makers around the world.”

“With ElectReon there is an incredible opportunity to decarbonize the transportation sector by growing a network of electrified roadways that will make EV ownership more attainable,” Rivlin said in a post at the time.

In Sweden, ElectReon has installed a 1.65-kilometer (1-mile) electric stretch used by a bus and a truck on the 4.1 kilometer (2.5 miles) route between the airport and town center of Visby on Gotland Island.

The startup’s initial pilot project in Tel Aviv, announced last year, was to trial an electric public transportation system and to actively charge a bus from a half-mile of electrified wireless road between Tel Aviv University and the nearby train station where wireless stationary charging stations were also installed.

The company said the pilot showed that “the bus operator was able to reduce the vehicle battery capacity by 90% by enabling the bus to actively charge while driving as well as increase vehicle operational hours due to the fact that less downtime for charging was required.”

In Tuesday’s announcement, ElectReon said the company and its partners “will explore the possibility” of installing its wireless charging systems in the rest of Dan’s fleet of electric buses fleet and on the Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv.

ElectReon CEO Oren Ezer said that the new agreement not only marks the company’s “first large-scale commercial project,” it also widely showcases “wireless EV charging for fleet vehicles.”

“This will continue to demonstrate the improved efficiency and cost savings that electric bus fleet operators can expect by implementing wireless charging infrastructure,” he added. “This momentum signals the growing need today for EV charging solutions across the global transportation market beyond the traditional charging station that enables a more seamless transition to electrification.”

Ofir Karni, CEO of Dan Bus Company, said ElectReon’s “advanced technology is expected to enable our electric fleet to achieve greater range and extended operational hours while flattening peak energy consumption loads from overnight depot charging and simultaneously, allow us to maintain our essential maneuvering space and operational flexibility at our terminals.”

Source: Ricky Ben David,The Times Of Israel, ElectReon

Image credit: ElectReon

The pivotal role solar water pumping systems can play in the efforts to provide clean water to those most vulnerable can be a game changer. 

Touted as the most solid and urgent report released to date, the UN’s recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Special Report revealed that climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying.

UNICEF predicts that by 2040, if drastic measures aren’t taken, almost 1 in 4 children will live in areas of extremely high water stress.

 As the numbers currently stand, a staggering 784 million people live without basic access to clean water, roughly 1 in 10 people on earth, and Sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing the slowest rate of progress toward water security in the world.

Aside from the detrimental impact on health this lack of water carries, it is also a crucial input for agricultural production and food security.

Agriculture is at the heart of Africa’s economy and has an extensive social footprint. It accounts for 14% of the total GDP in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the majority of employment for the continent’s population. But, due to increasing water scarcity, Africa is simply not able to reach its full agricultural potential, leaving many to face the negative impact of climate change without any help. Serious adverse effects on food security and on livelihoods at the regional, national and individual household levels are becoming increasingly prevalent.

The challenges faced by low-income countries are, among others, a lack of funding, education and infrastructure to take action. But as governments feel the pressure to ramp up their climate change strategies in the wake of the IPCC report, renewable energy should be our immediate answer to Africa’s water crisis and it’s in the form of solar power.

Solar powered water systems offer a cost-effective and sustainable way for communities to access safe and clean water which is becoming ever more critical to rural African communities. Clean water can exponentially limit the transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.

With access to clean water, communities are healthier, women and children are freed of the burden of collecting water and now have the opportunity to attend school and/or establish income-generating businesses such as farming, brickmaking and much more.

In terms of farming, when local grids are unreliable or in some cases non-existent,  solar-powered and efficient drip-irrigation, for example, is increasing farm-level incomes by five to 10 times, improving yields by up to 300% and reducing water usage by up to 90%. This has incredible economic impact for communities relying on farming to keep themselves sustained and bring in life-changing revenue.

Just a few solar panels can transform communities. Solar energy can address many critical gaps and challenges associated with climate change policies, and in turn, socioeconomic growth.

“At Innovation: Africa we have seen first-hand the impact that solar water pumping systems and access to clean water can have. Providing communities with reliable access to clean water changes everything, allowing them to lead healthier and more secure lives. The technology exists, the cost is minimal and the impact is truly transformative. We have seen It across the 500 villages we have already helped. There is no doubt that capturing energy from the sun to pump clean water is the only efficient solution to making a real change and to fighting today’s climate change and challenges” explains Ya’ari.

So why, despite having the best solar resource in the world available at a fraction of the cost, are so many African countries continuing to falter? Many have already succeeded in making the necessary advancements to scale up renewables, such as adopting support policies and promoting investment and regional collaboration. But most of the continent is still severely lagging on the renewable energy front.

The time is now for African countries to reimagine their energy policies and commit to bringing solar power to rural communities. The IPCC report has been described as a code red for humanity, but it should rather serve as a green light for reimagined energy and water policies.

Source: zimeye.net, Sivan Ya’ar (Truncated for salient material)

Image credit: Pixabay