The "reality" of global warming is that it is fake "crisis" pushed by control freak politicians. Note that Dominion is mandated by Dem passed legislative mandates to take these so-called "green" initiatives - this is not driven by science but by politicians.
Bruce, Overall kudos to you for this regular column and this one is also good stuff, but I'll add a couple points. First, replacement of appliances with those that are more efficient is not a good ecological/environmental move unless the appliance NEEDS to be replaced, because a) working appliance now goes to the landfill where it will remain for 10,000 years, and b) this ignores the real environmental cost to extract raw materials, convert those materials into finished product, and transport the new finished product to the end user.
Solar Renewable Energy Credits: I've "sold" 18 in the last two years. through 2022 they sold for $59.05. By mid 2023 the price had slipped to the low-mid $40s. In Feb 24, after waiting several months for any to sell, four of them netted only $114 ($28.50). While this is better than nothing, I'd disagree that you can "receive hundreds of dollars a year." I have a 6.12 kw system that faces almost due south and since Dec 21 have only produced 19 credits, so this is not a pot of gold, just a help in paying off the system installation cost.
There has been a proliferation of data centers in the Fredericksburg region, with several actively under construction. I have a benign (possibly benighted) opinion of these centers. But it is apparent that larger amounts of electric power and data lines are necessary for their operation.
Related to the power issue, I have not seen any attempt to add solar to the rooftops of these facilities. Solar may be an insignificant power contributor to these centers, but it would be helpful to run a cost/benefit analysis so that permitting agencies and the general public have an idea of the impact to localities.
Nice article and good context about global warming and renewable energy options. Of course, another proven option is conservation. Dominion, the state, and the Feds also offer credits and incentives for improved insulation and reduction of air infiltration that can be cost and comfort effective.
The one thing that is wrong in the article is the axis label on the introductory graphic. It is not the "amount" of carbon dioxide that the graphic displays, but the "concentration" -a very real difference, even if they provide related inferences.
The "reality" of global warming is that it is fake "crisis" pushed by control freak politicians. Note that Dominion is mandated by Dem passed legislative mandates to take these so-called "green" initiatives - this is not driven by science but by politicians.
Bruce, Overall kudos to you for this regular column and this one is also good stuff, but I'll add a couple points. First, replacement of appliances with those that are more efficient is not a good ecological/environmental move unless the appliance NEEDS to be replaced, because a) working appliance now goes to the landfill where it will remain for 10,000 years, and b) this ignores the real environmental cost to extract raw materials, convert those materials into finished product, and transport the new finished product to the end user.
Solar Renewable Energy Credits: I've "sold" 18 in the last two years. through 2022 they sold for $59.05. By mid 2023 the price had slipped to the low-mid $40s. In Feb 24, after waiting several months for any to sell, four of them netted only $114 ($28.50). While this is better than nothing, I'd disagree that you can "receive hundreds of dollars a year." I have a 6.12 kw system that faces almost due south and since Dec 21 have only produced 19 credits, so this is not a pot of gold, just a help in paying off the system installation cost.
There has been a proliferation of data centers in the Fredericksburg region, with several actively under construction. I have a benign (possibly benighted) opinion of these centers. But it is apparent that larger amounts of electric power and data lines are necessary for their operation.
Related to the power issue, I have not seen any attempt to add solar to the rooftops of these facilities. Solar may be an insignificant power contributor to these centers, but it would be helpful to run a cost/benefit analysis so that permitting agencies and the general public have an idea of the impact to localities.
Nice article and good context about global warming and renewable energy options. Of course, another proven option is conservation. Dominion, the state, and the Feds also offer credits and incentives for improved insulation and reduction of air infiltration that can be cost and comfort effective.
The one thing that is wrong in the article is the axis label on the introductory graphic. It is not the "amount" of carbon dioxide that the graphic displays, but the "concentration" -a very real difference, even if they provide related inferences.
Very informative. Thank you, Bruce.