Managed to catch a just-shy-of-X1-class flare a few hours ago when I put my scope out on the deck.
The complex chaos of magnetic fields — that is much, much larger than the size of Earth — designated as Region 3664 and Region 3668 (center right sunspot smudge) has been spawning a great number of flares recently, flinging an truly stupendous amount of energy and relativistic particles out into the solar system.
Growth in #solar & #wind power pushed #renewable generation to a record 30% of global electricity production in 2023, putting a global target to triple renewable capacity by 2030 within sight, Ember find https://buff.ly/44zrTER
In some ways the green transition is already happening: it now looks like last year the world overall managed to supply around 30% of electricity through renewable energy (primarily wind & solar).
And solar continues to be the fastest growing renewable energy source, now (for the second year) being the most used source across the world.
This does offer some hope that (albeit late in the day) we are seeing a shift in energy generation!
Not able to use a typical AC-powered fan, used a 12V car/truck radiator fan, a DC17-55V to DC12V adapter, and a PWM motor module as both a power switch and speed regulator, 4 14x20 inch MERV13 filters and some old 2x2s to build the frame.
It moves a LOT of air at full power (~120W), but very much on the noisy side!
In case you thought that oil and gas were the only energy commodities that see booms and busts:
"[Chinese solar] companies are trying to turn a corner after #solar manufacturers saw profits vanish as a wave of new factories that were aimed at capturing a growing market came online in the past year. Instead, the new supply has overwhelmed demand, sending panel prices to record lows and annihilating margins."
Finally! A clear day for some solar imaging and what a view today! My phone has been buzzing all day as all of these spots are firing off solar flares.
This one took weeks to write. It's about me finding a way to significantly reduce the power consumption of a Raspberry Pi Pico W working as a weather station, collecting environmental data.
I am also writing about powering the Pico using solar panels, and this time it's a success, my weather station can now run indefinitely, powered by the sun!
Can you spot the difference? Yes, the day is finally here (well, technically it's not yet, the electrician is coming out to do the interconnect with Georgia Power tomorrow)! I'm so excited that GeorgiaBright (free loans for solar installs if you're below a certain income threshold so you don't have any upfront payment) made this possible for me, I never thought I'd be able to do it!
Been working outside this afternoon so I can babysit my telescope while it takes a set of pics. The sun kicked off a big flare last night, so I was hoping it'd be active today and make for a good timelapse, but so far it's been relatively boring. Basically no flare activity.
At least I'm actually getting some work done out here for once lol
My electricity bill for last month: Import costs ~£50, export credits ~£90. Overall credit for April: £40 (including standing charges and running an electric car).
This is thanks to Solar PV, a House Battery and a flexible tariff from #Octopus (Intelligent Go) - all orchestrated with #HomeAssistant
Capital cost was high but well worth it 👍 #solar#solarpower#battery#solarpv#lowcarbon
Does anyone have experience with #solar#generators? It's too expensive to get solar panels and a power bank installed, but I like the idea of using renewable energy for back up power. It's hard to know how much capacity one needs, or how many charges the lithium battery can take?
I took a break from work to edit the final result from the H-alpha images I got on Wednesday. First is the more typical color scheme and the second is a quirky semi-inverted blue version like I did last night.
Hopefully, we're getting the #solar panels installed today! It's been delayed and delayed because the weather has been too bad to work on the roof. It's a nice morning, so fingers crossed.
It's just the panels, the electrical work to hook them up will be scheduled once they are all in place (and paid for).
Two things I want from a cloudy day when it comes to my solar panels and various batteries I want them charging - the house batteries get charged, and the EV gets charged. The latter has happened today, the former should be there with an hour or two. This is important during storm season here in Texas. Since the EV is fine for several days, I'll leave it unplugged for a few days so I can prioritize the house batteries with any excess being sold back to the grid.