Airports are ideal hosts for large-scale solar installations that could be enough to power cities

Researchers compared electricity generated by residential solar panels in a regional Australian city to the potential green energy production of 21 leased federal airports.

By PV BUZZ

Researchers compared electricity generated by residential solar panels in a regional Australian city to the potential green energy production of 21 leased federal airports.

They found if large-scale solar panels were installed at the airports, they would generate 10 times more electricity than the city’s 17,000 residential panels while offsetting 151.6 kilotons of greenhouse gasses annually.




Brisbane Airport plans to cut energy consumption and carbon emissions thanks to 22,000 solar panels being installed between now and August 2018.

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Researchers at RMIT University compared electricity generated by residential solar panels in a regional Australian city to the potential green energy production of 21 leased federal airports.
They found if large-scale solar panels were installed at the airports, they would generate 10 times more electricity than the city’s 17,000 residential panels, while offsetting 151.6 kilotons of greenhouse gasses annually.

Researcher Dr. Chayn Sun said the analysis showed the value of focusing renewable energy efforts on large, centralized rooftop solar systems.

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“We can’t rely on small residential solar panels to get us to a zero-emission economy but installing large panels at locations like airports would get us a lot closer,” she said. “We hope our results will help guide energy policy while informing future research in solar deployment for large buildings.
“There’s so much potential to facilitate national economic development while contributing towards greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.”

Sun, a geospatial scientist in RMIT’s School of Science, said airports were ideal for solar panels but were not currently being used to their full potential — many Australian airports are without adequate solar systems.

“Airports get good sun exposure because they’re not shaded by tall buildings or trees, making them a perfect spot to harness the sun’s energy,” she said. “Australia is facing an energy crisis, yet our solar energy resources — such as airport rooftops — are being wasted. “Harnessing this power source would avoid 63 kilotons of coal being burned in Australia each year, an important step towards a zero-carbon future.”

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Reich Farms in Toms River, NJ is coming off the EPA Superfund list. Care to comment on the environmental remediation?

Reich Farm Groundwater Plume (pre-cleanup)

By Stephen McBay (mcbay.stephen@epa.gov)

After cleanup work was completed and after a review of years of groundwater monitoring data, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its intention to delete the Reich Farms Superfund Site from the National Priorities List and requests public comments on this proposed action.

The National Priorities List is the EPA’s list of sites that are priorities for long-term evaluation and response under Superfund. Previous activities at the site, located in Toms River, New Jersey, included the improper disposal and storage of hazardous waste that contaminated soil and groundwater with toxic chemicals such as volatile organic compounds.

“All cleanup work at Reich Farms has been successfully completed and years of monitoring data show that it can be safely removed from the EPA’s Superfund list,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator Walter Mugdan. “Over many decades, EPA has overseen cleanup work at this site and has kept the community informed as well as engaged in our cleanup activities, monitoring, and scientific studies. Deletion of this site is the next logical step.”

FOURTH FIVE-YEAR REVIEW REPORT FOR THE REICH FARMS

The three-acre Reich Farms property, which comprises part of the overall site, is located on Lakewood Road in the Pleasant Plains section of Toms River. The property is surrounded by commercial and residential areas. Deletion of a site from the National Priorities List occurs when site cleanups are successfully completed, and no further cleanup is required to protect human health or the environment, as is the case for this site.

In the early 1970s, drums containing wastes from Union Carbide Corporation’s (UCC) Bound Brook chemical manufacturing facility were disposed of on the property. UCC, the potentially responsible party, removed the drums and some contaminated soil in 1971. Residual wastes leaked from the drums contaminating the soil and eventually the underlying groundwater with organic chemicals. In September 1983, EPA placed the site on its National Priorities List of Superfund sites.

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Bill to encourage hydrogen fuel cell use now law in New Jersey

Measure to Require State Agencies Consider Equipment Powered by Fuel Cells

Seeking to incentivize the adoption of equipment powered by hydrogen fuel cells, Governor Phil Murphy has signed into law (A740) that requires State agencies awarding contracts for the purchase of equipment to consider items powered by fuel cells.

Previously, the law was approved by the full Assembly 74-0-0 and by the Senate 36-0-0.

The bill’s sponsors, Assemblymen Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen) and Herb Conaway (D-Burlington), released the following joint statement:

“Fuel cells have great potential and are demonstrating tremendous value as a clean energy source in New Jersey. Fuel cells are a highly efficient and reliable alternative to fossil fuels that challenge our conventional understanding of energy and fuel sources. We are seeing smart businesses across the state embrace fuel cells from a sustainability, cost, and resiliency perspective. By ensuring that State agencies make innovation a priority, this law will stimulate greater use of fuel cells across New Jersey that will benefit both our economy and the environment.”

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Paper recycling at 66% in 2020

According to a study from AF&PA, the recycling rate of cardboard was nearly 90% in 2020

By Megan Smalley Recycling Today

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, has announced that 65.7 percent of paper consumed in the U.S. was recycled in 2020. The paper recycling rate was only slightly higher in 2019 at 66.2 percent overall.

According to a news release from AF&PA, the paper recycling rate has met or exceeded 63 percent since 2009. The association says this is nearly double the rate the U.S. paper industry achieved in 1990.

AF&PA reports that U.S. mill consumption of old corrugated containers (OCC) reached a record high in 2020 at 22.8 million tons. The recycling rate for OCC was 88.8 percent, and the three-year average was 92.4 percent. AF&PA reports that the recycling rate for OCC was at 92.0 percent in 2019.

“In an unprecedented and dynamic year defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, almost two-thirds of paper was recycled and transformed into new sustainable paper products,” says AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock. “The resilience and commitment of our industry is notable, as is engagement of consumers in the paper recycling process. The result is a consistent and high rate for paper recycling. Paper recycling continues to be a success, and the U.S. paper industry plays an essential role.

She continues, “Our industry leadership remains strong with $4.1 billion in manufacturing infrastructure investments, announced, planned or made, from 2019 to 2023, to continue the best use of recycled fiber in our products.”

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Smorgasburg, a massive New York food festival is coming to the Jersey City waterfront

Cover picture for the article

One of the world’s biggest food festivals is returning for the first time in more than two years. And it’s opening up shop in the Garden State. Smorgasburg, the massive weekly food festival that has previously operated only in New York and Los Angeles, will open in Jersey City on May 29, co-founder Eric Demby told Eater New York. A 40,000-square-foot parking lot at 195 Hudson Street in the city’s Exchange Place neighborhood will host the event, which will run every Saturday until at least October. NJ.com

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Hundreds of millions in federal grants, loans, sought by composting infrastructure

By Maria Rachal, Waste Dive

  • Composting, packaging and circular economy-oriented organizations and trade groups have formed the U.S. Composting Infrastructure Coalition to advocate for expanding and increasing access to “robust programs that divert food waste, yard trimmings, and certified compostable packaging.”
  • The group’s initial push is to advocate for national funding programs that support a range of composting infrastructure projects. A federal bill in the works would provide approximately $200 million across a decade for grants and low-interest loans for such projects, say leaders of the newly formed coalition.
  • The coalition — which includes the National Waste & Recycling Association and US Composting Council, among others — says the Biden administration’s enthusiasm for climate change mitigation strategies, environmental justice action, and investing in infrastructure makes now a particularly apt time for such a push.

The coalition’s spectrum of stakeholders say composting can positively impact rural and urban communities alike, while also benefiting both the economy and the environment. The coalition also makes the point that by diverting materials from landfills or incinerators, the U.S. can mitigate the disproportionate impact those facilities have on low-income or communities of color. 

Frank Franciosi, executive director of the US Composting Council, said the coalition has been in the works for the past year. People want to compost their food scraps and compostable packaging, and “there’s just not enough infrastructure, period,” he said.

The coalition, first announced last week, consists of seven groups: the US Composting Council, Plant Based Products Council, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Biodegradable Products Institute, Foodservice Packaging Institute, National Waste & Recycling Association and Corn Refiners Association.

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