February 21, 2021
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the
official position of the Barbados Today.
Gary Jackson
During recent interviews on the newly launched Project Preparation Facility (PPF) – established by the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) – the host asked an interesting question: “what kind of uptake does the PPF expect in 2021 given the region’s current challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic?”
It is an interesting question because it contains the justification for its own answer.
The PPF anticipates high levels of interest in sustainable energy project development support precisely because of the external pressures the region faces.
Sustainable Energy in Caribbean COVID-19 Stricken Economies
February 15, 2021
Sponsored
By Dr Gary Jackson, Executive Director, CCREEE
During recent interviews on the newly launched Project Preparation Facility (PPF) – established by the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) – the host asked an interesting question: “what kind of uptake does the PPF expect in 2021 given the region’s current challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic?” It is an interesting question because it contains the justification for its own answer. The PPF anticipates high levels of interest in sustainable energy project development support precisely because of the external pressures the region faces.
February 3, 2021
A company called Direct Connect is currently in the development and permitting phase of a privately financed, $2.5 billion project called the SOO Green HVDC Link, a proposed 349-mile, 2.1-gigawatt (!), 525-kilovolt transmission line to run underground along existing railroad from Mason City, Iowa, to the Chicago, Illinois, area. It aims to go into operation in 2024.
Going underground will allow the line to minimize environmental and visual impact. It will be much more resilient than an overhead line against weather, temperature shifts, sabotage, or squirrels.
Two side-by-side cables will run through tubes of Cross-Linked Polyethylene (XLPE) and will be self-contained, lightweight, and easy to handle. They won’t get hot, interfere with signaling equipment (unlike AC lines), or affect rail operations. There are fiber-optic sensors along the lines to monitor sound and heat for any problems.
By Galen Barbose, Eric O’Shaughnessy and Ryan Wiser, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Until recently, rooftop solar panels were a clean energy technology that only wealthy Americans could afford. But prices have dropped, thanks mostly to falling costs for hardware, as well as price declines for installation and other “soft” costs.
Today hundreds of thousands of middle-class households across the U.S. are turning to solar power. But households with incomes below the median for their areas remain less likely to go solar. These low- and moderate-income households face several roadblocks to solar adoption, including cash constraints, low rates of home ownership and language barriers.