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Pumped Storage Hydropower is the Greenest Renewable Energy Technology, Study Says

/in , , /by /OPBby Monica Samayoa

Pumped storage hydropower is the greenest renewable energy technology for large-scale energy storage, a new study suggests.

Researchers with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory said closed-loop pumped storage hydropower will have a lower carbon footprint throughout the lifecycle of the technology, from construction to decommissioning, than other renewable energy storage technologies like lithium-ion batteries. Portland Business Journal first reported the study.

Closed-looped pumped storage hydropower uses two water reservoirs located at different elevations, one higher than the other, that generate power as water flows or gets pumped, from one reservoir to another. Closed-looped pumped storage hydropower is not connected to continuously naturally flowing water sources.

As the nation continues to push forward to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition from using fossil fuels to limit the effects of climate change, storing renewable energy in batteries or pumped storage hydropower has come up as a possible solution for creating cleaner energy at a large scale. Other grid-scale technologies have proven difficult to create, from gathering essential minerals to finding an area large enough to place these technologies. Researchers said closed-looped pumped storage hydropower could be the answer.

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Late Addition to Energy Bill May Help Develop a Pumped Storage Facility at San Vicente Reservoir

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

A wide-ranging bill at the State Capitol aimed at boosting renewable energy sources includes a provision that could help develop a proposed pumped hydroelectric facility at the San Vicente Reservoir near Lakeside.

Assembly Bill 1373 aims to make the state a centralized buyer for renewable energy sources such as offshore wind power and geothermal facilities. And in a late addition to the bill, it allows the state’s Department of Water Resources to procure funding for a pumped hydro project that “does not exceed 500 megawatts and has been directly appropriated funding by the state before January 1, 2023.”

The Union-Tribune received confirmation from legislative sources that the provision specifically refers to the San Vicente project.

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Earth is Outside its ‘Safe Operating Space for Humanity’ on Most Key Measurements, Study Says

/in , , /by /APby Seth Borenstein

Earth is exceeding its “safe operating space for humanity” in six of nine key measurements of its health, and two of the remaining three are headed in the wrong direction, a new study said.

Earth’s climate, biodiversity, land, freshwater, nutrient pollution and “novel” chemicals (human-made compounds like microplastics and nuclear waste) are all out of whack, a group of international scientists said in Wednesday’s journal Science Advances. Only the acidity of the oceans, the health of the air and the ozone layer are within the boundaries considered safe, and both ocean and air pollution are heading in the wrong direction, the study said.

“We are in very bad shape,” said study co-author Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. “We show in this analysis that the planet is losing resilience and the patient is sick.”

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Climate Change Making Summer Hotter Despite Mild Season in California

/in , , /by /ABC 10 by Brenden Mincheff

It wasn’t too bad of a summer season here in Northern California and really, when it comes to temperature, the entire state of California had a pretty mild summer.

Perhaps Kaitlyn Trudeau, a meteorologist with Climate Central, summed it up best: “Well, it wasn’t as hot as it’s been in recent years.”

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No Reprieve in Sight for Sewage Flow From Mexico as Repair Costs Continue to Climb

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Tammy Murga

Sewage from Tijuana will continue to foul South County beaches unchecked for at least a year before repairs can be made to an aging federal wastewater treatment plant at the U.S.-Mexico border, officials with the binational agency that operates the facility said Wednesday.

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Plans for Urgent South Bay Wastewater Plant Repairs Revealed

/in , , /by /10 Newsby Madison Weil

As calls to fix the sewage crisis in the South Bay continue to intensify, there were some heated moments inside Wednesday morning’s Regional Water Quality Control Board meeting.

“We continue to be woken up by the smell of chemicals and sewage in the middle of the night,” said Paloma Aguirre, Imperial Beach’s mayor, as she read an emotional letter from one of her constituents to the board.

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Pleasanton Residents Protest Water Rate Hikes

/in , /by /The Independent by Fay Yassini

 A petition that has garnered more than 1,800 signatures on change.org is challenging the accuracy of the data that the City of Pleasanton has presented about proposed water rate increases.

The Pleasanton City Council meets next Tuesday to consider raising water rates starting in November. The city says residents would be charged an average of $33 more every two months to start, but rates could go up as much as $75 for that same time period by 2026.

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Water, Sewer Bills in This SLO County City Could Rise by Nearly 20% Due to Deficit

/in , /by /The Tribune by John Lynch

Water and sewer bills in Grover Beach could increase by nearly 20% to make up for a $2 million deficit in revenue, the city announced Wednesday in a news release. At its Sept. 5 meeting, the Grover Beach City Council learned about the findings from a recent utility rate study, heard recommendations and unanimously instructed the city staff to start the Proposition 218 process, a step in notifying the public about proposed rate changes, the release said.

 

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California is Moving to Outlaw Watering Some Grass That’s Purely Decorative

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Outdoor watering accounts for roughly half of total water use in Southern California’s cities and suburbs, and a large portion of that water is sprayed from sprinklers to keep grass green.

Under a bill passed by state legislators this week, California will soon outlaw using drinking water for some of those vast expanses of grass — the purely decorative patches of green that are mowed but never walked on or used for recreation.

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California Ponies Up $300 Million to Prepare Groundwater Infrastructure for Climate Change

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service by Natalie Hanson

California will spend about $300 million to prepare a vast groundwater and farming infrastructure system for the growing impacts of climate change.

California Department of Water Resources announced Tuesday that it has awarded $187 million to 32 groundwater sub-basins, which store water for future use that mainly flows from valuable snowmelt, through the Sustainable Groundwater Management Grant Program.

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