Wind energy for Guyana

According to Guyana Chronicle progress is being made with the Hope Wind Farm Project which plans to set up wind turbines along the coast. Project General Manager for Hope Energy Development (HED), Dr. John Sydow, said:

“We are looking at four wind turbines at Hope Beach. That will supply about seven per cent of all of GPL’s megawatt hours they are distributing.”

Discussions with various stakeholders and interest groups are taking place. The idea was first explored in 2001. Let us hope that this project is soon realised and replicated in Berbice and Essequibo.

Meanwhile the UK is now getting less than half its energy from fossil fuels according to the BBC. This includes 19% from wind power. By the 2030s fossil fuels should account for only 10%.

NASA study looks at climate prediction accuracy

According to a post on Universe Today in this new NASA study:

"...scientists analyzed the GISTEMP data to see if past predictions of rising temperatures were accurate. They needed to know that any uncertainty within their data was correctly accounted for. The goal was to make sure that the models they use are robust enough to rely on in the future. The answer: Yes they are. Within 1/20th a degree Celsius."

The above map (NASA) represents global temperature anomalies averaged from 2008 through 2012. Note that for our part of the world there seems to be a rise of between half and one degree Celsius.

BBC looks at Guyana

Our oil prospects seem to have attracted attention this month. One report starts:

"South America's second poorest nation is bracing for an oil boom that could catapult it to the top of the continent's rich list - and beyond. But can Guyana avoid the so-called oil curse and ensure that its newfound riches benefit all Guyanese?"

This links to an Assignment report (podcast):
"Guyana - bracing for the oil boom"

Meanwhile some are urging caution in the light of changing future prospects of fossil fuels. An article in Stabroek News by Melinda Janki warns:

"Even if the present economics of oil added up (and they clearly don’t) the urgent need to halt global warming means oil will cease to be viable within a few years."

There is general agreement that there will be a time of 'peak oil' after which world demand will drop. Some say it will occur around 2025, other not til 2030s or 2040s. If we wish to curb global warming we had better wish for an early date.

National Baha'i Convention 2019

The Baha'i community held its annual National Convention at the end of May to elect the national Baha'i council for Guyana (the National Spiritual Assembly) for 2019. Delegates from across the country consulted, prayed and voted. The election took about an hour and a couple of hours to count. No campaigning. No contention. Some humour.

The rest of the two-day event was spent consulting. Interestingly most of those elected were women. The photo shows some of those attending the sessions.

Massive solar storm found - but long ago

Solar storms usually cause no more than aurora which are unknown to us here in the tropics. But if they are really bad they can disrupt electrical and communication systems all over the planet. Evidence has been found of a really big one some 2000 years ago. There was another big one which is well known about 150 years ago. According to a BBC report:

"Scientists have found evidence of a huge blast of radiation from the Sun that hit Earth more than 2,000 years ago.
The result has important implications for the present, because solar storms can disrupt modern technology.
The team found evidence in Greenland ice cores that the Earth was bombarded with solar proton particles in 660BC.
The event was about 10 times more powerful than any since modern instrumental records began."

We are now reaching the point of being able to detect storms heading our way from the sun. Protecting our technology against these rare events is difficult so shutting down is likely the only option.

See also 'Solar storm' in Wikipedia