Slashdot Mirror
Costa Rica Goes 75 Days Powering Itself Using Only Renewable Energy
An anonymous reader writes with news about an impressive renewable energy accomplishment in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has achieved a clean energy milestone by using 100 per cent renewable energy for a record 75 days in a row. The feat was achieved thanks to heavy rainfall, which powered four hydroelectric plants in the first three months of the year, the state-run Costa Rican Electricity Institute said. No fossil fuels have been burnt to generate electricity since December 2014, in the state which is renowned for its clean energy policies."
or did they go all electric cars and boats too and start cooking on electric? they had a good rainfall.
with this reasoning norway has been 100%+ renewables for a loong time(they generate more renewable energy than they use, and export the rest). sure, they do export fossil fuels too..
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Funny I've lived there for over 25 years and never, ever had my car searched. Sure I've been pulled over for speeding. I've also been stopped twice at a road-block aimed at catching intoxicated drivers (like they have almost everywhere in the world including the "free" US). I've been stopped once and asked to provide ID and later learned on the news that there had been a pretty violent crime in my neighborhood. But just stopped to be searched for the hell of it? Never.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
I think it is clear that alternative sources of energy not only exist, but will be brought to bear once the easy-peasy carbons are depleted or no longer cost-effective.
What everyone needs to come to grips with is that there is no energy source that meets our current demands without some negative environmental impact.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
and others are near running water.
In Sweden at the moment (where we have about 50% hydro, give or take), we're busy tearing down all the small dams and generation facilities in the south, since what puny amounts of power they generate doesn't outweigh the loss of fish habitat and migration routes.
Truth be told, small scale anything sucks (with the possible exception of solar panels on your roof for AC and possibly charging your electric vehicle.) Wind and hydro electrics in particular work better the bigger they are. And when it comes to hydro electrics it's better to royally screw up a large river or two and get your moneys worth of electricity and to hell with the fishies, than piss about and destroy every little stream with not much to show for it. And no fish whatsoever, anywhere.
Stefan Axelsson
We should stop using the word renewable for energy like solar wind and hydro. Its not theoretically renewable, but thats not the point. The point is that they don't emit CO2 into the atmosphere, and thats the thing that is going to screw up the climate.
So we should be using the term Non-Carbon-Emitting energy sources. We could even use the acronym NCE but its probably already in use in some other field.