The Clean Energy Generation is making progress every day here in the Southeast. From sheep and goats helping maintain solar farms, to solar-powered housing for homeless veterans, to a Florida school district’s all-electric bus fleet, our clean energy future is becoming a reality. Take a look at just six of the many inspiring signs of clean energy adoption in the Southeast we saw over the past few weeks.
Middle photo of Liberty Place under construction courtesy of WBIR; right photo of electric school buses courtesy of Paul Hof-Mahoney/WUFT News
Sheep, goats helping to keep Twiggs County solar farm in operation
Solar sheep! A Georgia solar farm, one of the largest east of the Mississippi, is home to over 2,500 sheep and goats. These animals eat the grass growing around the solar panels, keeping the vegetation low without the use of gas-powered lawnmowers or tractors. This “ewe-nique” solar solution saves money, reduces emissions, prevents erosion, and even helps keep the water in the area clean. Read more.
KCDC installs solar panels at upcoming housing community for veterans, Liberty Place
Crews recently lifted solar panels onto the roof of a new Knoxville property that will house a community of veterans at risk of being homeless. Liberty Place, Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation’s first housing development specifically meant for homeless veterans, will be partially powered by solar energy once it opens its doors. The property, scheduled to open in late 2024, will include 23 permanent supportive housing units. Read more.
Dixie County schools await federally funded electric bus fleet
“The electric school bus movement has been one of the most positive in terms of transportation electrification advancements.” Florida’s Dixie County School District will be rolling out a new fleet of electric school buses funded by a rebate received through the EPA Clean School Bus Program. Twenty-three new electric school buses will soon completely replace the district’s diesel buses on daily routes, bringing with them a wide range of health and economic benefits. Read more.
Left photo of wind turbines and solar panels near Palm Springs, California courtesy of Mario Tama/AFP
US wind and solar on track to overtake coal this year
In a first for wind and solar, the two clean energy resources generated more power than coal through the first seven months of the year. The milestone had been long expected due to a steady stream of coal plant retirements and the rapid growth of solar and wind. In fact, the pair accounted for 16% of U.S. power generation through July, slightly more than coal’s share of the power generation market. Read more.
How a developer hopes to prove sustainable building can be affordable
“We’re trying to prove that attainable is sustainable.” Rob Howard of Howard Building Science is on a mission to build sustainable yet affordable homes for the residents of Granite Falls, North Carolina. Howard’s development company recently introduced 11 new-build homes, built to the Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home standards and all priced below $270,000. By meeting the strictest standards in energy efficiency, insulation, and air quality, these Zero Energy Ready Homes are 20% more efficient than typical builds. Read more.
New program offers paid solar infrastructure training in Georgetown
Fourteen students in Georgetown, South Carolina recently spent three weeks learning how to install solar and EV infrastructure. And they got paid to do it. The nonprofit Solar United provides students hands-on experiences with clean energy, with plans to expand to nine other cities across the Palmetto State. Zayvion Dennison, 16, said he joined because he wanted to help Georgetown step into the future. “It’s not really about the money. It’s more about just knowing that this could give back to so many others.” Read more.
Follow along each week
These stories highlight just a few of the positive things happening in our area! Every day we see signs of hope. The Clean Energy Generation is creating a future powered by clean energy that leads to clean air and water, good jobs, and vibrant communities.
Would you like to see more stories like this? We’ve got just the thing for you! Every Thursday, we share the latest clean energy news on Instagram with #CleanEnergyNews. Join us as we celebrate the progress and signs of hope in the clean energy transition.
Join the Clean Energy Generation
Together, all of us who are taking action are part of the Clean Energy Generation movement. We’re coming together to create healthier communities and a more secure and sustainable environment, starting now. No matter your age, income, zip code, or abilities, you can play a role. You don’t have to have the answers, learning more is a great way to start. Join us, and we’ll share ideas, resources, tools, and practices to show how we can all be part of the transformation.
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The post A “Ewe-nique” Solar Solution and 5 Other Exciting Signs of Progress in the Southeast appeared first on SACE | Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
A “Ewe-nique” Solar Solution and 5 Other Exciting Signs of Progress in the Southeast
Decent and intelligent people respect the rights of parents to homeschool their children, but there are two reasons for concern: a) socialization, failure to expose children to their peers, so that they may make friends and come to understand the norms of society, and b) the quality of the education itself.
Almost all homeschooling in the United States is conducted on the basis of a radical rightwing viewpoint, normally a blend of evangelical Christianity and Trumpism.
There’s a theory that most people underestimate the positive effects they’ve had on other people.
Yes, that’s the theme of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but it’s also the core of the 1995 film “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” in which a music teacher who deemed that his life had been a failure because he never completed writing a great symphony, is gently and beautifully corrected. Please see below.
The Positive Effects We’ve Had on Others Are Profound, Whether We Know It or Not
In the early days of 2GreenEnergy, my people and I were vigorously engaged in finding solid ideas in cleantech that needed funding in order to move forward.
I vividly remember a conversation with a guy in Maryland who was trying to explain the (ostensible) breakthrough that he and his team had made in hydrokinetics. When I was having trouble visualizing what we was talking about, he asked me to “think of it as a river in a box.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed. “You mean you take a box full of standing water, add energy to it get it moving, then extract that energy, leaving you with more energy that you added to it.”
“Exactly.”
I politely explained that the laws of physics, specifically the first and second laws of thermodynamics, make this impossible.
He wasn’t through, however, and insisted that, in his office, his people had constructed a “working model.”
Here’s where my tone descended into something less than 100% polite. I told him that he may think he has a working model, but he’s wrong; if he believes this, he’s ignorant; if he doesn’t, but is conducting this conversation anyway, he’s a fraud.
“But don’t you want to come see it?” he implored.
“No. Not only would not fly across the country to see whatever it is you claim to have built, I wouldn’t walk across the street to a “working model” of something that is theoretically impossible.”
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I tell this story because the claim made at the upper left is essentially identical. You’re pumping water up out of a stream, and then claiming to extract more energy when the water flows back into the stream.
Of course, social media today is rife with complete crap like this. We’ve devolved to a point where defrauding money out of idiots is rapidly replacing baseball as our national pastime.
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