This week, we celebrated our member company Heila Technologies and their monumental achievements keeping a microgrid up and running during the recent California wildfires.

Germany made headlines this week by building the world’s largest wind turbine as well as creating so much renewable power that they had to pay their citizens for supplying to the grid. St. Louis made huge strides in renewable policy by declaring that they will be using 100% renewable energy by 2035. Movements like this by individual cities is the reason why we might still reach the Paris Agreement’s goals, another positive story from this week!

What news have you been reading this week? Share with us @GreentownLabs!

 

Microgrid Knowledge– Microgrid Kept Power On Even as the California Wildfires Caused Outages

• When the islanded microgrid at Stone Edge Farm near Sonoma, Calif., kept operating for 10 days in spite of the fires that caused outages nearby, the operators seized the opportunity to learn as much as possible from the surprises they encountered.

“I reached for the light and there was no light at my place, which instantly told me we needed to get the microgrid into island mode.”

 

The Independent – Germany set to pay customers for electricity usage as renewable energy generation creates huge power surplus

• German power producers are poised to pay customers to use electricity this weekend. Wind generation is forecast to climb to a record on Sunday, creating more output than needed and driving electricity prices below zero.

“Wind power currently supplies about 10 percent of Europe’s electricity and is expected to continue to grow as the technology becomes cheaper. The cost of electricity from offshore wind farms, once one of the most expensive forms of green energy, is expected to slide by 71 percent over the next two decades”

 

Huffington Post– St. Louis Commits To 100 Percent Renewable Energy By 2035

• Lawmakers in St. Louis have approved a measure aimed at powering the city entirely on renewable energy sources, including wind and solar, by 2035.

“Every person in the city of St. Louis will benefit from cleaner air and a healthier environment”

 

Futurism- Yes, We Might Still Meet the Paris Climate Agreement’s Goals

• A rare ray of good news for the climate: international emissions have stabilized in the last three years, and carbon emissions have been “decoupled” from economic growth—ie, even as countries grow, they are not emitting more.

“China has been at the forefront of this recent emissions plateau. The country shut down 40 percent of its factories in order to curb carbon emissions, has committed to converting all of its cars to electric, and is even building carbon-capturing plants.”

 

Futurism- Germany Is Now Home to the World’s Largest Wind Turbine

• A German town is now home to the world’s tallest wind turbine. The 808-foot-tall turbine is part of a project expected to generate 10,500MWh annually, which would be enough to meet the needs of more than 1,000 U.S. households.

“For every meter increase in turbine height, annual energy output is increased 0.5-1% due to lower turbulence and higher wind speeds.”