Latest news with #JoshuaTrees
Mint
31-07-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
California has got really good at building giant batteries
A renewable energy corridor is rising in eastern Kern County, California—where the Mojave Desert meets the Sierra Nevada mountains. Among the wind turbines, solar panels and Joshua Trees are giant batteries that look like shipping containers. Tesla workers tinker with the ones at the Eland solar and storage project, developed by Arevon Energy. They wear sun hats and boots and warn your correspondent to watch out for rattlesnakes. The amount of battery power in California rose from 500 megawatts (MW) in 2018 to nearly 16,000 in 2025. Nearly a quarter of America's battery capacity is in California alone, according to BloombergNEF, a research firm. Texas is not far behind. The battery boom tells a story of solar power's supremacy. In the middle of the day, when the sun is strongest, as much as three-quarters of the state's electricity can come from solar. Batteries charge in the afternoon when solar power is cheap, and release energy in the evenings when Californians get home and crank up their air conditioners. At their daily peak, around 8pm, batteries can provide as much as 30% of the state's electricity. California and Texas supercharged their battery power in ways that exemplify the states' different approaches to energy markets. As per usual, the Golden State relied on regulation. In 2013 the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ordered the state's three big investor-owned utilities to procure 1,325 MW of energy storage by 2020 to help meet renewable targets and stabilise the grid. That goal was easily met. 'Our system is much better positioned now, particularly to deal with extreme weather events", says Elliot Mainzer, chief executive of the California Independent System Operator, which manages electricity across the state's grid. In Texas, developers spied an opportunity for energy arbitrage. Operators could profit by buying cheap solar power and selling it at a higher cost later in the day. In 2024 Texas surpassed California to become the fastest-growing storage market. The sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow. Batteries help plug the gap. Mark Jacobson, an engineering professor at Stanford University, found that most days this year contained periods when solar, hydropower and wind, helped by batteries, met 100% of California's demand—even though just 54% of the state's electricity generation comes from renewables. Because most lithium-ion batteries are designed to provide four hours of power, they do not yet replace baseload generation from gas, nuclear or geothermal. The battery bonanza may slow down. Donald Trump's tariffs on China, where the battery supply chain is concentrated, and the gutting of the Inflation Reduction Act's clean-energy tax credits would be a double whammy. These changes will hurt renewables' ability to meet demand as power-hungry data centres come online, argues Kevin Smith, the boss of Arevon. Additionally, a recent fire at a battery facility in Moss Landing, on California's coast, has spooked communities. One Monterey County supervisor called it 'a Three Mile Island event". Such incidents are relatively rare, but the CPUC has set new safety standards to try to assuage fears. After a few heady years, the battery industry may soon need a jolt. Stay on top of American politics with The US in brief, our daily newsletter with fast analysis of the most important political news, and Checks and Balance, a weekly note from our Lexington columnist that examines the state of American democracy and the issues that matter to voters.
Economist
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Economist
California has got really good at building giant batteries
A renewable energy corridor is rising in eastern Kern County, California—where the Mojave Desert meets the Sierra Nevada mountains. Among the wind turbines, solar panels and Joshua Trees are giant batteries that look like shipping containers. Tesla workers tinker with the ones at the Eland solar and storage project, developed by Arevon Energy. They wear sun hats and boots and warn your correspondent to watch out for rattlesnakes.
E&E News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
Court orders FWS to consider protections for Joshua trees
A federal judge ordered the Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday to consider Endangered Species Act protections for Joshua trees, ruling in favor of environmental advocates who challenged a Biden-era rejection of the listing proposal. U.S. District Judge Wesley Hsu of the Central District of California sided with WildEarth Guardians, which filed a lawsuit in 2024 after FWS decided against protections for two Joshua tree species. Hsu, a Biden appointee, found FWS failed to properly consider climate change and other threats in its 2023 determination. Advertisement 'Although the Court does not expect the Service to predict the future with absolute certainty, the Service provides no explanation as to why it did not use current trends and standards regarding greenhouse gas emissions as a basis for its decision, when this data currently is available and the Service states in its [species status assessment] the regulations are unlikely to alter the trajectory of climate change impacts,' Hsu wrote in his decision.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Weekend Weather Update from FOX Weather: Potential tornado outbreak threat grows for final week of April
Welcome to the Daily Weather Update from FOX Weather. It's April 26, 2025. Start your day with everything you need to know about today's weather. You can also get a quick briefing of national, regional and local weather whenever you like with the FOX Weather Update podcast. The danger of a widespread tornado outbreak is growing for Monday across the Upper Midwest and into the Southern Plains with threats of multiple, long-track strong tornadoes, extremely large hail and damaging wind gusts. The daunting forecast comes as a potent spring storm collects all the ingredients needed for a volatile atmosphere, leading to an intense severe weather outlook that hasn't been seen in some regions in more than a decade. Already, nearly 5 million people sit under a Level 4 out of 5 risk on NOAA's Storm Prediction Center severe weather scale, including the cities of St. Paul and Rochester in Minnesota, and Des Moines, Iowa. More than 11 million others sit inside a level 3 risk, including Minneapolis; Madison, Wisconsin; Omaha, Nebraska and Kansas City, Missouri. The "Tree of Life" in Olympic National Park has become a symbol of resilience over the years, but recent photos show that this bastion of beating the odds may be coming to its end. Located on the blustery Pacific coastline of Washington state, the Tree of Life earned its name from its ability to survive in a seemingly unsurvivable environment—and does so with an unintentional penchant for drama. But perhaps most of the drama comes from below, as its roots are completely exposed. What are usually hidden in the soil to protect them and give nutrients, the roots are naked and desperately clinging to cliffsides that are slowly eroding beneath its tenuous grip. Drone video from over South Florida shows thick globs of seaweed blanketing beaches from North Miami to South Beach, as a strong easterly current has intensified both the threat of rip currents and the presence of sargassum. The large globs of seaweed that have washed ashore in recent days have surprised some experts and caught tourists off guard. Typically, the seaweed season for the Sunshine State takes place during the summer and fall, but the early influx is raising questions about what may lie ahead during the coming months. In the Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree National Park provides an arid landscape for vegetation, including the famous Joshua Trees, some of which have stood for centuries. The Joshua Tree is part of the Agave plant family and can live for about 300 years on average. FOX Weather's Robert Ray visited the park last year. Here are a few more stories you might find interesting. See it: 'Addie' the sea turtle released along Florida beach after months of rehab, tumor removals Mars rover spotted cruising around the Red Planet Watch: Deputies wrangle alligator outside a Florida high school Need more weather? Check your local forecast plus 3D radar in the FOX Weather app. You can also watch FOX Weather wherever you go using the FOX Weather app, at or on your favorite streaming service. It's easy to share your weather photos and videos with us. Email them to weather@ or add the hashtag #FOXWeather to your post on your favorite social media article source: Weekend Weather Update from FOX Weather: Potential tornado outbreak threat grows for final week of April
