Net-metering allows residents and companies to install generation sources on their roof or property to provide the electricity they need, mostly through the use of solar panels. Any excess electricity generation can be sold to the local power company. Appalachian Power (ApCo)currently pays $0.16 per kilowatt hour for the excess power and wants to grandfather that rate for current participants for 25 years, while offering new participants $0.04 per kilowatt hour. In California, when the net-metering payment rate was reduced, it led to a loss of 77% to 85% in sales and 17,000 jobs. If the net-metering payment is reduced in Virginia, the demand for roof-top solar panels will go down in spite of funding available to homeowners for solar installation. Also, roof-top solar panels help avoid turning agricultural and forested land into solar farms. The State Corporation Commission is expected to review ApCo’s request to lower the amount paid to customers who use net-metering. The result could set a precedent ahead of Dominion submitting its petition next year.
Scientists at a research lab in Japan have produced a paper-based material that could be an ideal replacement for those single-use plastics. A cup made from the transparent material could hold just-boiled water for over 3 hours with no leakage. When the researchers coated the cup with a plant-derived fatty acid salt, it became completely waterproof. To test the degradability of the material in case of accidental release into the ocean, the researchers submerged paperboard sheets at sites located at four different ocean sites of varying depths. The material fully decomposed in 300 days at deep ocean depths. The degradation was even faster in shallower depths because of warmer temperatures. Close to 2 million metric tons of plastic enters the oceans every year, and much of that plastic is single-use beverage bottles, cups, and straws.
Water Use: About 40% of energy data centers use goes to cooling. In 2021, Virginia Tech found that nearly half of US data centers then in existence were fully or partially powered by power plants located within water-stressed regions. Generative AI search tools consume ten times the electricity of a typical Google search, according to the International Energy Authority. And most AI answers today are riddled with errors, researchers at Columbia Journalism Review’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism found recently. Leading AI-driven search engines incorrectly answered more than 60% of test queries.
Power Use & Costs: 1) Siting a data center properly can improve the affordability of electricity for domestic customers while reducing overall grid emissions. 2) Locating a data center near a renewable energy source and close to an existing generator with an approved grid connection protects customers from paying for infrastructure upgrades. 3) Moving AI systems from the cloud to your phone can mean a 100 to 1,000-fold reduction in energy consumption per task.
The First Nelson County Citizens Information Forum by Friends of Nelson was full of important and thought provoking information.
We recorded the events speakers and panel. Click here to watch the recording linked below.
There were some slight technical difficulties as our first event, and we look forward to improving these over time. Handouts and images discussed by Gary Wood are available for viewing in the post prior to this one on our website.
Not all questions from the audience were able to be addressed at the event, and we are working on a way to follow-up with more answers.
