Archive for the 'Infrastructure' Category
Wind and Solar Are Crushing Fossil Fuels
April 6th, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Via: Bloomberg: Wind and solar have grown seemingly unstoppable. While two years of crashing prices for oil, natural gas, and coal triggered dramatic downsizing in those industries, renewables have been thriving. Clean energy investment broke new records in 2015 and is now seeing twice as […]
Southern California Braces for Summer Blackouts Due to Porter Ranch Gas Leak
April 6th, 2016Via: Los Angeles Times: State officials warn that Southern California could face as many as 14 days of scheduled blackouts this summer because of depleted reserves of natural gas caused by the massive leak in Aliso Canyon. The canyon in the hills above Porter Ranch is a crucial gas storage facility, supplying 17 power plants […]
New Zealand: Hawaiki 30Tbps Trans-Pacific Subsea Cable Commences Construction
April 3rd, 2016Finally. Via: ZDnet: The 14,000km subsea cable connecting Australia and New Zealand to Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States has finally commenced construction, almost three years after first being announced. The cable will be jointly constructed by Hawaiki Submarine Cable, based in Auckland, and TE SubCom, a company from Eatontown, New Jersey. […]
Water Treatment Plant Hacked, Chemical Mix Changed for Tap Supplies
March 25th, 2016Wow! They don’t say where this supposedly happened. Via: Register: Hackers infiltrated a water utility’s control system and changed the levels of chemicals being used to treat tap water, we’re told. The cyber-attack is documented in this month’s IT security breach report (available here, registration required) from Verizon Security Solutions. The utility in question is […]
Venezuela to Shut Down for a Week to Cope With Electricity Crisis
March 16th, 2016Via: Bloomberg: Venezuela is shutting down for a week as the government struggles with a deepening electricity crisis. President Nicolas Maduro gave everyone an extra three days off work next week, extending the two-day Easter holiday, according to a statement in the Official Gazette published late Tuesday. Maduro had originally said over the weekend that […]
Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant Leaking Tritium Into Biscayne Bay
March 9th, 2016Via: Miami Herald: A radioactive isotope linked to water from power plant cooling canals has been found in high levels in Biscayne Bay, confirming suspicions that Turkey Point’s aging canals are leaking into the nearby national park.
Fukushima Disaster Nearly Destroyed Japan, Government Nuclear Safety Adviser Majored in Economics
March 5th, 2016Most nuclear power plants in Japan remain offline. Via: NZ Herald: Japan’s prime minister at the time of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami has revealed the country came within a “paper-thin margin” of a nuclear disaster requiring the evacuation of 50 million people. In an interview to mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster, Naoto […]
Iraq: Mosul Dam Engineers Warn It Could Fail at Any Time, Killing 1 Million People
March 3rd, 2016Via: Guardian: Iraqi engineers involved in building the Mosul dam 30 years ago have warned that the risk of its imminent collapse and the consequent death toll could be even worse than reported. They pointed out that pressure on the dam’s compromised structure was building up rapidly as winter snows melted and more water flowed […]
Solar, Wind, Gas Dominate New U.S. Generating Capacity in 2016
March 2nd, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Combined new solar and wind generation (16.3GW) is double that of new gas power plants (8GW). Via: Ars Technica: Today, the US Energy Information Administration released data on planned additions to the US power grid this year. The year is notable because it will see […]
India: Ten Million Without Water in Delhi
February 22nd, 2016Via: BBC: More than 10 million people in India’s capital are without water despite the army regaining control of its key water source after protests, officials say. Keshav Chandra, head of Delhi’s water board, told the BBC it would take “three to four days” before normal supplies resumed to affected areas. Jat community protesters demanding […]
