Published

2 years ago

March 19, 2024

Alice Rush

Salt River Project (SRP) and NextEra Energy Resources have put the 260 MW Sonoran Solar Energy Center, located south of Buckeye, Ariz., into operation.

The solar facility can additionally charge a 1 GWh BESS, which the company says is the largest in the state. The center is expected to help match the electricity consumed by Google’s forthcoming data center campus in Mesa, with any unused energy going to other SRP customers.

The joint company effort is also slated to support Google through the Storey Energy Center, an 88 MW solar and BESS in Coolidge, Ariz., and the still under development 161 MW wind facility, Babbitt Ranch Energy Center, in Coconino County.

“SRP and the Valley are fortunate to have sustainability focused organizations like Google located here who help accelerate the transition to carbon-free power resources,” says SRP’s Bobby Olsen. “We also value our partnerships with developers like NextEra Energy Resources who support SRP in developing renewable resources in a rapid timeframe as we prioritize delivering affordable, reliable and sustainable power to all SRP customers.”

The post Arizona’s Largest BESS Comes Online, to Support Google Mesa Campus appeared first on Solar Industry.

Arizona’s Largest BESS Comes Online, to Support Google Mesa Campus

Renewable Energy

Trump from New Zealand’s Perspective

Published

5 hours ago

October 28, 2025

Alice Rush

There’s no question that something has gone incredibly wrong with the United States, and, as shown at left, you don’t have to be an American to see that.

The question is what to do about it. Trump is not a state representative from South Dakota, nor is he the mayor of Houston. He’s the U.S. President, and the majority of Congress do anything he asks as required not to earn his vengeance.

Trump from New Zealand’s Perspective

Renewable Energy

How Hurricane Melissa Underwent ‘Rapid Intensification’

Published

6 hours ago

October 28, 2025

Alice Rush

The article here describes a phenomenon that can occur to hurricanes: their wind-speed grows rapidly.

Hurricane Melissa underwent what meteorologists call “rapid intensification,” exploding from a 70-mph tropical storm Saturday morning Oct. 25 to a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds by 5 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 26. It has since reached Category 5 strength, with winds of 175 mph.

Rapid intensification is a process in which a storm undergoes accelerated growth: The phenomenon is typically defined to be a tropical cyclone (whether a tropical storm or hurricane) intensifying by at least 35 mph in a 24-hour period.

Questions (that our kids should be able to answer from their science classes):

#1 How is this intensification powered? Faster winds have more energy than slower winds, so where does this energy come from?

Answer: It’s by unusually warm sea water — in this case, in the Caribbean Sea.

#2: OK, but what provides the energy that warms the water?

Answer: The sun. What we’re experiencing right now on Earth is called “global warming,” meaning that our planet’s atmosphere is trapping more of the sun’s radiant energy, which is heating up our atmosphere, as well as our oceans.

My wife and I have a friend in Kingston, Jamaica’s largest city, which is in Melissa’s crosshairs. We’re rooting for you, Richard.

How Hurricane Melissa Underwent ‘Rapid Intensification’

Renewable Energy

Did Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt Say “America Is for White People?”

Published

6 hours ago

October 28, 2025

Alice Rush

Below is the AI response, but before you read it, here’s mine:

Missourians who rise to the level of the U.S. Senate must have two qualities: a) a hard-hitting level of racism that leaves voters with no doubt that you’re a complete, unadulterated white supremacist, but b) enough sophistication so as not to call blacks “n*****s.”

Schmidt gets an A+ on both counts.

Maybe you don’t like this type of thinking guiding your lawmakers. Maybe you think that fairness to all, rich, poor, black, and white is part of what it means to be an American. If so, choose somewhere else to live.

Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt did not explicitly state that “America is for white people,” but comments he made during a speech at the National Conservatism Conference in September 2025 drew heavy criticism for espousing rhetoric with white nationalist themes.

In his speech titled “What Is an American,” Schmitt argued that America is not a “proposition” based on a set of shared values, but rather a country defined by its connection to white, European settlers. Specific comments that were reported include:

Characterizing America as primarily the homeland for “Europeans who settled America and conquered,” rather than a nation based on ideals of equality and freedom.
Stating that America “belongs to us and only us,” in remarks criticized for their exclusivity.
Rewriting history to justify the dominance of white, purportedly Christian men, while diminishing the experiences of enslaved people and Native Americans.