Category: Climate Change

The Good News: Invasive species dying off because of cold snap

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The good news about the cold:

DULUTH, MN — When it’s so cold your face hurts, and it’s hard to talk, it’s easy to forget there are actually some positives that come with these extreme cold temps.

We’re all-too-familiar with the Emerald Ash Borer in our region.

We’re also familiar with the bitter January cold, which right now, may be killing off the larvae of the invasive species.

“When temperatures get to about 20 below zero Fahrenheit, we see about 50% of the Emerald Ash Borer Larvae begin to die,” said Rob Venette, director of the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center with the University of Minnesota.

Researchers at the U of M have been studying the effects cold weather may have on the Emerald Ash Borer for years.

Experts say at 30 below and colder, as much as 90% of the ash borer larva could be dying off.

“Once ice begins to form in their bodies, that kills the insect,” said Venette.

The insects are not impacted by wind-chill. So, the actual temperature is what must be considered, which can oftentimes be colder than where insects burrow for the winter.

“Although we may be experiencing minus 40, it may only be maybe minus 35 under the bark of a tree. So, that helps the chances of an insect to survive,” said Venette.

Venette added, even though they are expecting large amounts of Emerald Ash Borers to die off as a result of this cold snap, that won’t impact how they survey the population in the spring.

Dr. Robert Sterner, director of the Large Lakes Observatory, says the cold could be putting a dent in the aquatic invasive species in Lake Superior, as well.

“The invasive species are coming from places in the world that typically aren’t as cold as we experience in a cold winter here,” he said.

Meaning the cold could be enough of a shock to kill at least a portion of them.

“We believe there is a relationship between warming conditions and the success of invasive species. So, weather like this is only good news as far as the native species go,” said Dr. Sterner.

And when lakes are covered in ice, water evaporation dramatically decreases, and typically, the water temperature is cooler in the summer.

“The combination of reduced winter evaporation and cooler summer surface temperatures means we keep more water within the lake volume,” said Dr. Sterner.

Increased water volume can be good for the shipping industry, and ecological systems within the lake. However, it is not very popular amongst shoreline homeowners as it can contribute to shoreline erosion.

More ice can also mean ice-out occurs later than normal, meaning colder lake water in the summer, which officials say could reduce the chances of algae blooms in lakes, as well.

That is contingent on the thaw and warming cycle in the spring and early summer.

 

Cold Waves in the Eastern USA Are Down

Published on by sunshinehours11 Comment

Cold waves in Eastern USA are down according to Dr Roy Spencer.

As can be seen in the plot below, there is no evidence in the data supporting the claim that decreasing Arctic sea ice in recent decades is causing more frequent displacement of cold winter air masses into the eastern U.S., at least through the winter of 2017-18:

Nov-Mar-cold-waves-550x413

The trend is markedly downward in the most recent 40 years (since 1979) which is the earliest we have reliable measurements of Arctic sea ice from satellite microwave radiometers (my specialty).

Now, I suppose that Arctic sea ice decline could have some influence. But weather is immensely complex. Cause and effect is often difficult to ascertain.

At a minimum we should demand good observational support for any specific claim. In this case I would say that the connection between Eastern U.S. cold waves and Arctic sea ice is speculative, at best.

Just like most theories of climate change.

 

Unwashed Solar Panels Can Drop to 32.4% of Capacity

Published on by sunshinehours11 Comment

Just a followup on the 200,000 liters of water to clean solar panels post.

NREL actually tested panels in Qatar with different cleaning schedules.

A 35,000 m2 Solar Test Facility was established at Qatar Foundation, Doha, in 2012 in order to identify solar energy technologies suitable for the local climate, and study the effects of dust and heat. Of particular concern is soiling of PV panels, causing them to lose performance. This study aims to understand long-term soiling behavior in the absence of cleaning or rain.

METHODOLOGY

Four PV arrays were set up at the Solar Test Facility. Each comprised eight polycrystalline  PV modules, connected to identical grid-tied inverters, and operated at maximum power point conditions.

The only difference between the arrays was the cleaning interval:

(i) one week (“high”), (ii) two months (“medium”), (iii) six months (“low”), and (iv) not  cleaned (“never”).

Of course, all arrays were subject to rain. The test period was two years commenced February 2013.

Energy losses of each array due to soiling are shown in Figure 1. The results are expressed as the arrays‟ PR relative to the long-term average PR of the weekly-washed array, ie. the weekly-washed array is treated as the “100%” benchmark. It is seen that:

• The soiling rates generally appear to be higher in winter than in summer, ie. The lines are steepest in the months around January-February, and relatively flat around June-July.

• The greatest power loss occurred on the never-washed array, which after 234 days
produced only 32.4% of the DC power of the weekly-washed array

• The soiling rate tends to decrease the longer the time since last cleaning, as seen by
comparing the slopes of the medium, low and never-washed arrays approaching
November 2014
• However dust continued to accumulate on the never-washed array even after 234 days, ie. The line was still going down when it rained in November 2014.

Netherlands: Electric car subsidies largely benefit ‘rich’ Tesla and Jaguar drivers

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No surprise.

Around half the government fund to stimulate people to drive electric cars has ended up in the hands of ‘rich Tesla and Jaguar drivers’, the Volkskrant said on Wednesday.

Last year, the government said it would fund tax breaks totaling €700m for electric car drivers. But almost half the 25,000 electric cars bought in the Netherlands in 2018 were Teslas and Jaguars with a price tag of €80,000 to €120,000, the paper said. In particular, the sale of Teslas rose 260% last year.

The paper bases its claims on answers to MPs’ questions given by tax minister Menno Snel in parliament on Tuesday evening. This means that CDA leader Sybrand Buma’s comments that ‘prosecco-drinking Tesla drivers’ have profited from the tax break at the ‘expense of the ordinary man in the street’ are largely true, the paper said.

It points out that the subsidies for electric cars are mainly funded by higher taxes paid by petrol and diesel car owners.

The government had assumed 11,000 electric cars would be bought in 2018, with an average price of €43,000. Instead, 25,000 were bought for an average of €63,000 each. This, the paper says, means the subsidy scheme has overrun its budget by ‘a couple of hundred million euros’.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

Cleaning Solar Panels

Published on by sunshinehours11 Comment

To go along with my post on 200,000 liters of water per day to clean solar panels is a drone video of solar panels being cleaned (not the same solar farm).

Those panels are pretty dirty.

 

Plus an anecdotal experiment video that claims a 17% improvement in output. (But be careful cleaning your own panels. I read that soap is a bad thing)