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One of our own is trying to change the energy use landscape following Hawaii's clean energy plans. Rep. Tulsi introduced a bill to get the US off fossil fuels by 2035 following Hawaii's lead.
The OFF Act eliminates tax breaks for the fossil fuels industry and provides workers with the resources and support they need to become a part of a new clean energy economy. The bill increases U.S. competitiveness by investing in clean energy technologies, creating jobs, and providing resources and training programs to ensure the new skilled workforce is the best it can be. Currently, the bill has been co-sponsored by 14 Members of Congress and supported by more than 400 clean energy, climate change, and environmental justice organizations.
https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-rel...ansition-0
She is looking for citizens to co-sponsor the bill.
http://aloha.votetulsi.com/page/s/off-ac...ce=website
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Mahalo for posting eric...count me in as co-sponsor
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I first lived off the grid in Hawai‘i with solar in 1984. This would be 51 years later.
Everyone in the State could have solar now if we spent $10 Billion on that instead of rail.
I could see Tulsi running for POTUS some day.
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"Everyone in the State could have solar now if we spent $10 Billion on that instead of rail."
You mean everyone on Oahu could have solar now if the entire state spent $10 Billion on that instead of rail?
ETA: clarity
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everyone on Oahu could have solar now
Correct: as with rail, Oahu is the "economic engine of the State", so the only logical place to spend money on infrastructure of any kind.
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Everyone in the State could have solar now if we spent $10 Billion on that instead of rail.
...
Oahu is the "economic engine of the State"
As the economic powerhouse, why not BOTH rail and free solar? The new Kahauiki Village which Oahu is building for their homeless population already plans to provide residential units with free solar electric:
Solar photovoltaic panels with a battery storage system will supply electricity to the residential units. The community buildings (day care center, laundromat, etc.) will be connected to Hawaiian Electric Co.’s grid. Organizers say the fully built-out project of 153 homes and associated buildings will contain 1,392 photovoltaic modules producing 494.16 kilowatts using 252 solar thermal collectors.
http://thehawaiiherald.com/2017/10/lead-...-homeless/
“Facts fall from the poetic observer as ripe seeds.” -Henry Thoreau
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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According to the census there are just over 500,000 housing units in the entire state.
$10 Billion (Rail) divided by 500,000 homes is $20,000 for every home in the state that could be used for solar.
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We drove thru most of the villages btwn Frankfurt and Munich a few years ago, and what I found most pronounced was that every roof be it a building or carport or whatever, or shall I say every inch of every roof had solar panels. Lots of great examples out there in the world.
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Germany is a leader in renewable energy.
Yet somehow 40% of their electricity is produced by burning coal.
I recently read that if you covered the entire surface of a Tesla vehicle with solar cells, it would take a week for the solar to charge the battery enough to drive the car 3.5 miles.
I'm all for renewable energy sources, hopefully they come up with one that can actually replace fossil fuels. Maybe Utah will commercialize thorium reactors:
http://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2...-energybr/
ETA: "But there's another, troubling side to the German story: The country still gets 40 percent of its energy from coal, a bigger share than most other European countries. And much of it is lignite, the dirtiest kind of coal. As a result, Germany is set to fall well short of its 2020 goal."
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/...-much-coal
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The surface area of a car is very small, so that argument is an odd one to make. There has to be a recharging system of some kind external to the car. It could be wind, solar, etc. It works the same way now, we don't drive around with our drills, and refinery plants either.
On April 30, [2017] Germany established a new national record for renewable energy use. Part of that day (during the long May 1 weekend), 85% of all the electricity consumed in Germany was being produced from renewables such as wind, solar, biomass, and hydroelectric power.
“Most of Germany’s coal-fired power stations were not even operating on Sunday, April 30th, with renewable sources accounting for 85 per cent of electricity across the country,” he [Patrick Graichen of Agora Energiewende Initiative] said. “Nuclear power sources, which are planned to be completely phased out by 2022, were also severely reduced.” https://cleantechnica.com/2017/05/08/ger...enewables/
There are other countries that have achieved 100% renewable. As the infrastructure becomes more renewable it allows cars and other industries to also move in that direction by taking energy from the grid rather than from fuel. Sure, it's not going to be easy or in many cases cheap in the beginning, but there's not much choice in the long term.
Germany is an eager adopter but they don't top the list in usage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co...le_sources
For example Costa Rica's electricity generated by renewable energy for 300 days in 2017:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/...69111.html
