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Audubon Florida Climate and Energy News Roundup Today we share news about making solar panels in the U.S., how the U.S. power grid survived the summer heatwave, Brightline’s new hub in Orlando, and more.

American Redstart. Photo: Simon d'Entremont/Audubon Photography Awards

A New Climate Change Report Offers Something Unique: Hope From National Public Radio “Here's something you don't hear much when it comes to climate change: hope. Countries are setting records in deploying climate-friendly technologies, such as solar power and electric vehicles, according to a new International Energy Agency report. The agency, which represents countries that make up more than 80% of global energy consumption, projects demand for coal, oil and natural gas will peak before 2030.” Read the entire article.

The US Power Grid Quietly Survived its Most Brutal Summer Yet From Vox “With little acknowledgment and no applause, the power grid across the continental United States this summer quietly pulled off what may have been its most impressive feat ever. On July 27, the US power grid served nearly 15 million megawatt-hours of electricity across the lower 48 states, about 1.6 times the electricity produced by every nuclear power plant in the world on a given day… The warnings gave grid operators time to prepare. They were able to refine their energy usage forecasts, procure extra electricity generation, and model expected wind and solar power output.” Read the entire article.

Can the U.S. Make Solar Panels? This Company Thinks So. From the New York Times “For more than two decades, workers at a factory in Perrysburg, Ohio, near Toledo, have been making something that other businesses stopped producing in the United States long ago: solar panels. How the company that owns the factory, First Solar, managed to hang on when most solar panel manufacturing left the United States for China is critical to understanding the viability of President Biden’s efforts to establish a large domestic green energy industry.” Read the entire article.

Report Ranks Florida Third for Solar Power Implementation From the Apopka Voice “The Sunshine State is quickly outpacing the rest of the country as a top solar energy installer, which looks to continue in coming years. According to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association, Florida was ranked third in the country in 2022 behind Texas and California, installing around 12,000 megawatts of generation capacity since 2013, enough to power 1.51 million homes... Despite the rise in solar installation, solar power only generates 0.0607% of the state’s electricity.” Read the entire article.

Brightline Service Between Miami and Orlando Opens From Mass Transit Magazine “Bright Pink, the first of Brightline’s trains to arrive in Orlando, marked the arrival of private passenger rail travel to central Florida by breaking through a banner stretched across the tracks of Brightline’s Orlando airport station on Sept. 22. Brightline’s service now expands across 235 miles between Miami and Orlando, connecting the two cities in three to three and a half hours. An impressive feat considering the initial segment of Brightline connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach opened in 2018 followed by an extension to Boca Raton and Aventura in 2022.” Read the entire article.

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