solar

What are solar storms and why society has become so vulnerable to something that has happened millions of years

by

“Understanding the space climate is not an option.” With this lapidary phrase summarizes its efforts to predict solar storms the European Space Agency. They occur since the sun exists, and some of the most powerful They are recorded in the trees rings. But they are not our ancestors, but we, the most dependent civilization of the technology that the earth has ever stepped on, the most vulnerable to them. But what exactly are solar storms? How are these energy outbreaks? And the million dollar question: can we predict when the next one will impact on earth? The answer is in a complex network of satellites, artificial intelligence models and constant surveillance of our star by space agencies. What is a solar storm 150 million kilometers away, the sun flushes with a magnetic activity so powerful that, from time to time, it goes out of hand. A solar storm is a sudden explosion of energy, plasma particles and magnetic fields that the sun releases towards the solar system. If the ejection occurs in the direction of the Earth, the solar storms can produce more intense auroraslike those that were seen in much of the world in May 2024. But they are not only a show: in our technological civilization, they are also a threat. To understand them, we have to differentiate their two main components. The guts or solar flares. They are a intense radiation outbreak: A whip of energy released when the magnetic fields of the sun tense and break. This radiation travels at the speed of light, reaching the earth in just eight minutes. They are classified according to their intensity by X -ray flow, measured in watts per square meter. The class A, B and C are the weakest, and those of class M and X, the most powerful, which usually cause interference in short wave radio communications. Coronal mass ejections. It is the ballistic part of the solar storms. While fulguration is the flash, the coronal mass ejections They are the “cannon bullet”: a gigantic bubble of loaded particles (plasma) and magnetic fields that are thrown into the space at speeds of millions of kilometers per hour. This massive cloud of solar material It takes between 18 hours and a couple of days in crossing the space to cross with our planet. Not all guts are accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, but when they occur together and in the direction of the earth, they are a powerful cocktail that can put astronauts at risk, knock down satellites (as happened during a Starlink deploymentor fry electrical installations on land (As in the Carrington event). How they form A Class M. Image: That The origin of the solar storms is the magnetic field of the Sun. A star is not a solid ball, but a sphere of rotation plasma. But it does not rotate uniformly: his Ecuador turns faster than his poles. This differential causes the magnetic field lines to twist, tangle and accumulate an enormous amount of energy, as if they were elastic gums twisted to the limit. These areas of intense and complex magnetic activity They usually manifest as sun spots on the visible surface of the sun. When the accumulated tension becomes unsustainable, there is a magnetic reconnection event: the lines are broken and violently reorganized, suddenly releasing all the stored energy. This release drives the guts and can launch into the mass of the solar crown. The intensity of its effects on Earth depends on its speed, its size and, above all, the orientation of its magnetic field. If the magnetic field of coronal mass ejection is oriented towards the south, it is aligned in opposition to that of the Earth, our protective shield, which allows a much more efficient and destructive energy transfer. How they affect the earth If we are here it is because the magnetic field and the atmosphere of the earth protect us from radiation. Solar storms are not a direct risk to the health of living beings on the earth’s surface. For astronauts it is another song. In 1972, shortly before the Apollo 17 mission, there was an intense solar storm that would have inoculated a mortal amount of radiation in astronauts if they had been on the surface of the moon. Today, astronauts who work in the low land orbit, even protected by the magnetic field, plan space walks according to the space climate. The really vulnerable to intense solar storms is our technological infrastructure. When a coronal mass ejection impacts the earth’s magnetosphere There is a geomagnetic storm. Extreme cases can induce electric currents in high voltage lines, overloading transformers and raising the risk of blackouts, especially now in summer, when the electricity grid is already very tension. The satellites, despite having mechanisms to avoid induced currents, usually carry the worst part. Solar storms expand the upper atmosphere of the Earth, increasing friction and accelerating the fall of satellites that orbit the earth at low height. This effect already is accelerating the fall of Starlink satellitesthe most large constellation of the low orbit. Even during moderate geomagnetic storms we can notice some effects, such as precision errors in GPS systems or that airlines deflect flights from polar routes to avoid failures in plane systems and protect passengers. The kind face of solar storms are the auroras: solar particles that when hitting our atmosphere They create a light show at the poles. During severe geomagnetic storms, dawn can also be seen in less common latitudes. When the next solar storm will occur Image: that The most severe geomagnetic storms occur Around solarthe period of more activity of the Sun in its 11 -year cycle. Now we are going through solar cycle 25, and we approach the maximum activity, planned by the NOAA and ESA by the end of 2025 or early 2026. This means that we are in a high probability phase of intense storms. Luckily, spatial meteorology is advancing by giant steps. To predict solar storms, … Read more

MANUFACTE POSEVSKITITA SOLAR PANELS

by

China not only leads the world production of solar panels: practically has cemented its energy industry About them. After years of betting on The massive expansion of silicon panelsthe country has put its gaze on a more promising technology: Perovskita’s solar cells. The problem? Make them on a large scale It has beenuntil now, a huge technical challenge. However, solving that puzzle is, for China, a strategic issue, and everything indicates that it has just found the key piece that was missing. The missing piece. After three years of work, a group of researchers from the Institute of Applied Chemistry of Changchun – part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences— has found a solution that can make a difference: an ultrafine layer that improves how electricity flows in Perovskita’s solar cells. This is how they have managed to make panels better, last more and, above all, they can be manufactured massively. And that is the piece that was missing so that this technology can make the leap to the global market. More technical. The discovery, Published in Science magazinewhat he has achieved is to create a “self -assembly molecule of double radical”, which acts as a hollow transport layer (HTL). This intermediate layer is key for solar devices to work properly, since it facilitates the movement of the positive charges generated by the light. According to the tests of the Zhou Min team, the new material far duplicates the transport rate of carriers under simulated conditions. And the most impressive: the devices made with it show almost intact yield even after thousands of hours of continuous use. The Kit of the matter. Perovskita’s solar cells have been grabbing headlines for years. And it is not for less: they are cheap, light, efficient and so versatile that they can be placed in Facades, windows either fabric. Everything pointed out that they would be the natural relay of silicon. But there was a problem that did not finish solving: its fragility and how complicated it is to manufacture them on a large scale. In this way, this new material solves those two fronts. On the one hand, it produces improved stability that resists degradation over time. On the other hand, it can be manufactured in a simple and uniform way, even on large surfaces, without losing quality. In addition, the advance has been certified in terms of efficiency by the National Renovable Energies Laboratory. UU. (NREL), which gives it a crucial technical support beyond China’s borders, According to Interesting Engineering. Who seeks to find. China does not want to repeat saturation collapse who lived with silicon. This time, it points higher and further: not only dominate production, but also to improve the next generation of solar panels. With this advance, Perovskita ceases to be a distant promise to become a tangible reality. If technology manages to climb commercially – as the research teams are already planned – we could be witnessing the beginning of a new solar era: cleaner, more efficient and more accessible to all. Image | Chinese Academy of Sciences Xataka | All solar panel technologies that exist and which are more efficient, in a graph that goes 1975 until today

When the heat arrives, the boys fall in love, the solar panels have a fatal and Spain has a new electrical problem

by

Summer has arrived with excessive force To Spain. June has closed as the hottest month of which you have a record, and there is no indications that temperatures are going to give truce. The streets are emptied, public parks are deserted, and fans snort day and night as if trying to mark the rhythm of these unbearable days. But while life adapts as it can to this new heat, under the surface – where the invisible network that sustains modern life – heat has also tested the limits of the electrical system. High demand. While millions of people seek refuge under air conditioning, the Spanish electrical system begins to show saturation signals. Extreme heat triggers demand, reduces the efficiency of some sources of renewable generation and generates imbalances in the electricity grid. As collect the Iberian energy market operator (OMIE)on July 1, the price of the megavatio hour reached a peak of 167 euros at 9:00 p.m., an unusual figure for a night strip. The increase coincides with a high demand and a reduced renewable production at the end of the day, which forces the system to rely on more expensive technologies such as natural gas, According to Red Eléctrica España (REE). More heat, more network pressure. To all this is added an urban phenomenon that aggravates the pressure on the network: The island of heat. In cities, asphalt, concrete and lack of vegetation make the heat accumulated during the day stay overnight, raising the temperature several degrees with respect to rural areas. As a result, energy consumption does not descend after sunset, but is kept high for more hours. The households continue to light fans and air conditioning apparatus until well into the morning, which stress the system when the renewables have already fallen from the mix. But with more sun … The logical thing would be to think that with more sunny hours, Solar energy would suffice to meet the growing demand. And in part, it does: According to REE dataon July 1, renewables contributed 50.6 % of the electricity generated in Spain, compared to 49.4 % of non -renewable sources. But that daily average hides what happens in critical hours. From eight or nine in the afternoon, the photovoltaic disappears from the energy mix, just when the demand remains high and the temperature barely yields. At that time, they are the combined cycles – central that burn natural gas – that support the system, with more than 14,000 megawatts generated in some moments of that same night, According to REE data. There is an added problem. Solar does not always yield as expected: As we have already explainedpanels can have efficiency losses between 10 and 25% because of high temperatures. For each additional degree, they can lose up to 0.5 % yield. Nor does wind help too much: heat waves usually come accompanied by atmospheric stability situations that reduce the wind, which also lasts production. Will there be any blackout? Talking about generalized blackouts may seem exaggerated, but comparison with other countries, like the United Statesforces to take the threat seriously. However, the Spanish system has proven to have a certain margin of maneuver. After the blackout of April 28, they were activated Adjustment services to balance the network in case of collapse of the system at critical times. Although it avoids collapse, these mechanisms have a cost: they have more thanked the invoice part, especially for those in the PVPC rate. From that moment on, Ree has maintained an additional safety margin, operating with active backup power plants even when they are not in use, which structurally increases the operation of the system. Beyond the specific episode, that blackout exposed the deficiencies of a system that needs More storage, MicroRedes and greater local response capacity to disturbances. A system under stress. This summer is not only breaking temperature records: the margins of the electrical system is also testing. The combination of prolonged heat, night demand peaks and a more vulnerable renewable generation than expected is stressing the network at critical moments. The renewables are the present and the future, but they are not infallible. Its behavior also depends on the weather. And when the heat waves become the norm and not the exception, the resilience of the system depends on other factors: on the reinforcement of the networks, the storage, the demand management and, above all, to prepare the cities to resist without the most vulnerable paying the price. Image | Pexels Xataka | In a desperate attempt to avoid the blackout, Ree tried to start a gas center seven minutes before the disaster

Taiwan believes having found the mythical planet 9 of the Solar System. Instead of looking for his light, he has been looking for his heat

by

The countless frustrated attempts to find planet 9, a hypothetical giant gas in the confines of our solar system, have aroused the ingenuity of some Taiwanese scientists. Short. For years, astronomers have swept the sky in search of the weak reflection of sunlight that should get to us from planet 9, a demonstratedly ineffective task. Now, a team of researchers has changed the rules of the game with an ingenious idea: instead of looking for it, they have tried to detect their heat. Well, they have found two very promising candidates. Context. Beyond the orbit of Neptune, in an icy and dark region known as the Kuiper belt, the orbits of several objects seem to be grouped in a way that challenges chance. The trajectories of these transneptunian objects (TNos) align as if an invisible hand were guiding them. The most accepted hypothesis to explain this behavior is the existence of an unknown massive planet, the planet 9. Of existing, this distant world would have a mass of between five and ten times that of the earth. The problem is that it would be more than 400 astronomical units, so its light would be incredibly dim. To put it in perspective, Neptune is “only” 30 UA or 4,496 million kilometers. If we can’t see it, maybe we can feel its heat. A team from the National University Tsing Hua in Taiwan believes to have the strongest track in years on the real existence of the most wanted object in our neighborhood. The results of their study are not final, but they reach two promising candidates. Every object with a temperature above absolute zero emits thermal radiation, that is, heat. But while the light decreases with the distance following a relationship of the inverse of the fourth power (1/d4), the heat only decreases with the square of the distance (1/d2). This abysmal difference is the argument used by researchers to focus their search on the heat signature of planet 9. A needle in a haystack. The team resorted to the data of the Akari Space Telescope of Japan. Throwed in 2006, Akari dedicated his useful life to sweeping the full sky in distant infrared light, the perfect range to detect the thermal brightness of the planet 9. And he did it from space, without the interference of the Earth’s atmosphere. Astronomers set out from a list of unprocessed Disssdl detections: more than 5.2 million signals with many false positives. After limiting the search zone, eliminating known objects, filtering sources contaminated by galactic dust clouds and excluding static objects, which seem to be at the same point in observations separated by months, the list was reduced to 393 candidates. Of 393 candidates for two. He touched his hands dirty. The investigators visually inspected the images of the 393 candidates. They ruled out weak detections, artifacts at the edges of the sensor and, above all, the impacts of cosmic rays that can be perceived as a specific source of heat. After this thorough process, there were only two candidates. Two heat points that appeared where planet 9 was expected, had the predicted brightness for the theory and showed the expected movement: they were detected in the same place in a period of 24 hours, but there was no trace of them in the same place six months later. All to demonstrate. The two candidates were baptized as FISSDL J0250422-15011 and FISSDL J0301112-164240. But to verify if these two heat points are really a single object moving in an orbit compatible with planet 9 will need new observations in visible light, with sufficiently powerful telescopes to detect its weak optical brightness and measure its movement with precision. If confirmed, the discovery would not only solve one of the greatest mysteries of modern astronomy, but would revolutionize our understanding about how our own system was formed and evolved. Everything is to be demonstrated, but at least we have a hot trail to continue hunting. Image | ESA, Hubble, M. Kornmesser, CC By 4.0

The Chinese solar sector wanted to save itself from overproduction with a pact. Just managed to sink faster

by

Despite being a reference country World Cup in renewable energy, China Face a perfect storm In its solar sector: price collapse, red margins and an uncontrolled overproduction. Given this situation, more than 30 solar manufacturers agreed to stop the offer to stabilize the market, imitating the OPEC model. A kind of “Solar Cartel” in the style of oil exporting countries. It hasn’t done very well … Six months later, the result has been a disaster. Far from stabilizing, production has reached historical maximums, the facilities have tripled and losses continue to accumulate. According to Bloombergdifferent executives in the sector have publicly expressed their frustration and accuse their competitors of betraying the collective pact. OPEC style? Some of the big Chinese photovoltaic companies seem to be following the example of OPEC. As He explained Oilprice, the famous oil sign has been adjusting its production to influence global prices. The logic is clear: if the offer is limited, the price drop is contained and war between producers is avoided. Something similar is happening in the solar sector. Longi, Tongwei and Ja Solar have signed a “self -discipline” agreement under the Chinese association of the photovoltaic industry. The reason? Profitability is falling as panel prices, modules and wafers continue to fall. The pact seeks to set production fees by 2025, depending on the installed capacity and market share of each company. Chronicle of an announced death. Like Santiago Nasar at 5:30, this pact also had an inevitable ending. Unlike the oil market – dominated by state giants – the Chinese solar sector is private, fragmented and fiercely competitive. According to Bloombergthe agreement was not binding or contemplated sanctions. It was nothing more than a declaration of good intentions. And while some expected others to fulfill, many took the opportunity to gain market share producing even more. The result was excess supply, prices in free fall and sunken balances. No rules and every machine. According to Oilpricethe plan included limiting new investments, raising the technical requirements and increasing from 20% to 30% the minimum capital required for new projects. The government also implemented measures to cool the overheated sector. However, instead of containing themselves, companies intensified production so as not to lose relevance. According to data cited by Bloombergsolar facilities tripled in a year, and manufacturers have not closed or reduced operations significantly. The damage has been tangible. Longi Green Energy, one of the leaders of the sector, reported in the third quarter of 2024 a loss of 174 million dollars (1,261 million yuan), its first major fall since 2016. In the words of the company itself, collected by Oilpricelast year marked the first collective loss of the sector in almost a decade. The Chinese government has already hardened the conditions for new investments, and there are voices that ask for a firmer intervention. But the truth is that the “OPEC Solar” has failed loudly. The market remains overflowing, depressed prices and competition more wild than ever. The mirage of coordination. Try to coordinate a privatized and fragmented industry with a voluntary pact has been, as has detailed Bloomberg, an idea “condemned from the beginning.” Far from an orderly cartel, the attempt has exposed the structural weaknesses of the Chinese solar model: brutal efficiency, but without rules or firewalls. China continues to lead the world in installed capacity for renewables. But its solar manufacturing sector now faces a hard truth: in a market without discipline or referees, surviving is more difficult than producing. Image | Grégory Roose (Pixabay) Xataka | China’s energy paradox: an ‘electrostate’ that continues to feed on coal

A solar energy company has sued Google for the AI ​​of its search engine: it was invented that they were scammers

by

Google’s search engine is not just a search engine. Since Google began to integrate the “ai overViews” function, it is also A chatbot with artificial intelligence that answers the questions of the users without clicking on any link. The problem is that the underlying technology, the great language models, work probabilisticly, so they tend to invent the answer when they are not clear how to answer. A credible lie. This time, an invented response from AI Overviews can end up sitting Google on the bench. The plaintiff is Wolf River Electric, a Minnesota solar energy company. And the origin of the lawsuit is, the redundancy is worth, a demand that never existed. In Xataka Chatgpt is taking some people to the edge of madness. Reality is less alarmist and much more complex According to the lawyers of the energy company, the search for the terms “demands against Wolf River Electric” in Google made it AI responded with defamations. They cite a case in which AI Overviews replied that Wolf River Electric had been sued by Minnesota attorney for “deceptive sales practices”, such as lying to customers about how much they will save and deceive the owners to sign contracts with hidden rates. The AI ​​presented the case with total confidence involving four of the company’s managers by name: Justin Nielsen, Vladimir Marchenko, Luka Bozek and Jonathan Latcham, coming to show a photo of Nielsen next to the false accusations. To support his statements, the AI ​​cited four links: three news articles and a statement from the attorney general. However, none of the links mentioned a lawsuit against Wolf River Electric. It is not the first time. This type of error It is known as “hallucination”and it is very common in language models for how their response are weaving through the prediction of the following words, sometimes dragging the initial error until it becomes a credible lie with all kinds of invented ramifications, as in the play of the pickled phone. When Google began to integrate Ai Overview in the search engine, he had to withdraw it from some searches, especially recipes and nutrition, because he recommended Add glue to pizza Or eat a stone a day to stay healthy. An answer per question. Wolf River Electric states that, due to what they read in the AI ​​Overviews, several clients canceled their contracts, valued at up to $ 150,000. The problem is that Ai overViews responses are personalized: they are inferred at the time, so it can vary from one consultation to another That to Wolf River Electric’s lawyers are not worried because they know it can happen again. “This demand is not just about defending the reputation of our company; it will defend equity, truth and responsibility in the era of artificial intelligence,” Nicholas Kasprowicz sayslegal advisor of the company. {“Videid”: “X7ZW3C2”, “Autoplay”: False, “Title”: “I cheated an artificial intelligence | Captcha 2×02”, “Tag”: “Artificial Intelligence”, “Duration”: “2958”} David against Goliath. The case was filed in March in a state court and has just been elevated to a Federal Court of the United States. Perhaps it ends up creating jurisprudence on whether a technology company must take responsibility for its generation and disinformation. The answer to this question could mark a turning point for AI companies, which for a long time have tried to avoid responsibility for the results of their language models. Google, in its defense, described the incident as a harmless mishap. “The vast majority of our AI overViews are precise and useful, but as with any new technology, errors can occur,” A company spokesman says. Google says he had quickly acted to solve the problem as soon as they had knowledge of him, in line with his Recent efforts for allowing users to correct the mistakes of the AI. Image | Google In Xataka | Google’s AI advises using pizza cheese glue. The source is a Reddit comment 11 years ago (Function () {Window._js_modules = Window._js_modules || {}; var headelement = document.getelegsbytagname (‘head’) (0); if (_js_modules.instagram) {var instagramscript = Document.Createlement (‘script’); }}) (); – The news A solar energy company has sued Google for the AI ​​of its search engine: it was invented that they were scammers It was originally posted in Xataka by Matías S. Zavia .

China has been so close to dying with its solar panels that has made the only logical decision: manufacture less

by

China is a colossus in the photovoltaic industry segment. They are not just installing huge parksbut dominate production with iron. So much that they have made The whole world depends on its technology and collapsed the price of the panels, drowning European and American manufacturers. The result of the crazy expansion was An internal price warbut after years of losses in the domestic market, they already propose a solution. Manufacture fewer panels. Storm. In 2020, China presented a zero emission plan Net for 2060. The goal is reduce your considerable carbon footprint and pollution and, for this, They marked That in 2030 there should be at least 1,200 GW of solar and wind capacity installed. The energy began to act, but companies from other sectors saw that there was a lucrative opportunity and got into the business. The result? Market saturation and such a beast production of the modules that were drowning foreign companies, but also to the domestic market. If 1,200 GW of renewables installed in 2030 were needed, only the solar installed in 2024 already surpassed The 880 GW. To the search for solutions. Production folded world demand And prices crashed, with huge companies in the sector asking the State for help To be able to continue in business. In that unsustainable situation for your own industry because They lost money with each salea kind of OPEC For Chinese photovoltaic, the Chinese photovoltaic industry association, or CPPO, with 33 of the main manufacturers signing a self -control commitment. The meeting was held in December last year and its executives are still looking for solutions after years of price wars. This week the Snec pv & is expo 2025 In Shanghai, in which manufacturers and companies around the world have met to evaluate the global situation. And, although we have to wait to see what measures they take, the Asian association of the photovoltaic industry – one of the organizers of the event – is clear that it cannot be followed in this situation. Or we refer to one or sink. As we read in South China Morning Post“The solar industry is not a zero -sum game,” said Zhu Gongshan, president of the association, in the inauguration speech. “We are in this together and the extreme cost of costs and fierce competition are not different from drinking poison to calm thirst,” he said. China installed About 278 GW of solar capacity last year, a figure that represents almost 60% of the new facilities worldwide. And it was the result of an overcapacity that contributed to a fall of 60% of the prices of the solar modules between 2020 and 2024. At the December meeting, one of the measures agreed by the main manufacturers was to respect a minimum recommended price to preserve the margins, and had a moderately positive result in early 2025, with a price rebound. But they don’t loosen the accelerator. The Cpia estimated Between 215 and 255 GW for this year, a cut in front of the amount of last year, but the accounts do not leave and the rhythm of facilities that are being kept is still very high: until April 30, 105 GW had been added, 75% more than what was installed in the same period of the previous year. It is estimated that it was because in January a large number of facilities were carried out and that they will fall 44% in the second half of 2025. One of the measures driven By the Government to reorganize the industry, it entered into force on June 1: sell production at market price instead of a guaranteed rate in the new solar plants. The antidote. “Instead of waiting for a cyclical recovery, we must face a disruptive restructuring in the sector,” said Zhu. And what are the proposals? Several are handled, such as focusing on improving collaboration between the government and companies to confront the offer through regulations or mergers. Another is that I know Bet on technological innovation for both panels and production chain, which will allow sustainable growth and higher benefit margins. That is, not to make the crazy panels that anchored to a technology that can be quickly outdated, but is cheap, but to improve quality and make fewer panels, maintaining a higher price and avoiding saturation. Change of mentality. Another problem is that there are too many things to consider. Those 33 Chinese companies of the CPPO are not the only ones that manufacture panels and there are those who may not respect self -control agreements. But, in addition, these internal problems are added tariff manids imposed by the United States. In the case of panels, Trump’s administration He imposed tariffs of More than 3,500% to the importation of panels from China and 60% to materials such as polisilicio, wafers and Chinese solar cells. China’s response, according to the president of one of the local businesses, should be internationalization. “Due to tariffs, it is no longer enough to export: we must locate production abroad,” said Gao Jifan, president of Trina Solar. We will see what happens, but try to stop that saturation of the market is significant, and that they talk about democrating production can generate a new battle from Western countries that we have already seen with the Chinese car: the one that try to attract the attention of manufacturers. Image | Huasun In Xataka | Solar panels that clean other solar panels: the photovoltaic industry has entered its self -replicant phase

In Elche a solar macroproject threatens a protected place. It is only the tip of the iceberg of a problem throughout Spain

by

Spain advances in its energy transition, but not without conflicts. In Galicia, for example, the expansion of wind farms has generated A growing social rejection for its impact on the landscape. Something similar happens in the teacher, where local communities They denounce the implementation of renewables without planning or consensus. Now, the conflict moves south of the province of Alicante. The voices of the protest. The environmental group friends of the wetlands of southern Alicante (AHSA) has resorted to the authorization of Lucinala, a macroproject of solar energy As detailed in their press release. The authorization was granted by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, despite the fact that the group presented allegations and a first resource last years, still unanswered. Although the project has been reformulated and its reduced surface, environmentalists continue to see it as a direct threat to the natural and agricultural values ​​of the Galvany Clot environment. Project chronology. Lucinala, a solar plant of more than 62 MW of power and 120 hectares of surface, has already received two administrative authorizations In just 15 months. Despite the unfavorable reports issued by entities such as the City Council of Alicante or the road unit, the central government gave the project to the project in January and April 2024, according to He explained The information. The local medium continues to detail that the promoter has introduced modifications in response to these institutional objections, such as the underground of evacuation lines, the elimination of an intermediate substation or the displacement of the electric layout. These measures allowed the project to raffle the main legal obstacles. However, they have not managed to dissipate the social or ecological opposition to the project. A protected area. In the province of Alicante there are about twenty protected placesnot as many as in other areas of Spain. For this reason, the location of the Lucinala plant is especially sensitive in a critical area from the environmental point of view: The Landscape Basin of Galvany Clot. This wetland, located in the municipality of Elche, has various protection figures, both regional and European. The Ecologists collective In your press release He has denounced that the set of eleven solar plants would occupy more than 190 hectares, a figure that exceeds in 10 hectares the total area of ​​the wetland itself. In addition, they added that 60 hectares of high quality agricultural land, 31 hectares of forest land and 25 hectares of areas with flood risk would be affected. And the ecological connection of the Clot was committed to the Serra of why, to the north, which would fragment key habitats for local fauna. This can bring tail. Beyond the specific case, AHSA, together with more than 150 organizations integrated into the Macrorenovable Platform, They have denouncedA speculative “bubble” driven by European subsidies Next Generation. On the other hand, AHSA has warned that renewable projects in process in Spain are already 144 GW of power, well above the 89 GW planned in The National Energy and Climate National Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2030. Even so, the Latest reports From Red Eléctrica de España (REE) they have indicated that, at the end of 2024, the installed renewable power reached 85.1 GW, very close to the marked objective. Reopening the debate. It is true that from the environmental group they insist that abandoning fossil fuels is urgent, but they warn that a poorly planned transition can reproduce old errors: concentration of energy power, loss of territorial sovereignty and false promises of sustainability. Instead, they bet on a fair transition, decentralized and sensitive to territory. At that crossroads, the question continues in the air: how to move towards clean energy without leaving behind the territory, biodiversity and those who inhabit it. Image | Pxhere and Ferran tab Xataka | Solar panels that clean other solar panels: the photovoltaic industry has entered its self -replicant phase

In case we had not had enough problems in the electricity network, a “severe” solar storm has come to complicate it

by

The closeness of the Pico de Activity of the last solar cycle implies stirred times in the field of “spatial meteorology.” And we have seen one of the most important during these days, a “severe” geomagnetic storm caused by this activity. Geomagnetic storm. The last two days have been days of “intense” solar activity. The geomagnetic storm has reached a Kp = 8 index, which implies that it has been a “severe” storm, from G4 category (On a scale that goes to G5). The value of the index has descended since then: the last data offered by the NOAA spatial meteorological prediction (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) indicates that the value Average Index KP In the last three hours it has been kp = 6. Despite this, spatial time is still scrambled and According to forecasts He will continue to be until tomorrow. An ejection of coronal mass. According to He explained yesterday The Spanish Space Agency through a statement, the origin of this activity is in a high -speed coronal mass ejection (CME), associated solar fulguration of class M8.2 and with origin in the Ar4100 active region. KP 8. What does that mean of kp = 8? The K Geomagnetic Index measures disruptions in the land magnetic field and is used to characterize the magnitude of geomagnetic storms, especially through the planetary index K or KP Index. The latter uses a series of magnetometers distributed in stations located in various parts of the planet. The indices above kp = 5 are associated with a specific degree in the geomagnetic storm scale Employed by the NOAA SWPC, being G1 (minor) the smallest category on the scale and G5 (extreme) the category that denotes the strongest storms, those of index Kp = 9. A G4 storm. The storm recorded on Sunday, with a Kp = 4 index led the center to alert a “severe” or G4 geomagnetic storm. In your noticethe SWPC pointed out that, in addition to intense northern lights and lower latitudes than usual, possible impacts on infrastructure and networks, including problems with satellites and loss of precision in the GPS. The Category events They usually imply possible problems with voltage control that can also cause “mitigable” problems in electrical networks. At space vehicles, the SWPC indicates that these storms are associated with possible monitoring problems that require future corrections. Finally, other possible impacts are on the spread of HF radio signals and low frequency radio navigation. An active solar cycle. The situation has stabilized With ups and downs And, although the last one average three -hour data from the KP index is 6, the SWPC has already reduced the intensity of the storm to G1, or minor storm. The last months have been revolts as far as spatial meteorology is concerned. In October 2024, A similar situation He brought spectacular dawn. According to estimates From the experts we are already after the peak of activity of solar cycle 25, but we have not yet moved away much so the solar activity remains intense. Perhaps this is not the last storm of these characteristics that we see in the coming months. In Xataka | We have detected the exact date on which the most brutal solar storm occurred in history. Thanks to the trees Image | Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (Soho) / SWPC/NOA

Good news, the solar system has a new minor planet. Bad news, it’s so far that appears every 25,000 years

by

The International Astronomical Union has added a new celestial body to its Minor planet catalog: The Transneptunian object 2017 of201. The solar system has a new member. 2017 of201 has been officially recognized as a minor planet, but has many ballots to end also cataloged as a dwarf planet. This icy world, which orbits much beyond Neptune, in the dark depths of the solar system, was in file data since 2011, but 19 exhibitions were needed over seven years to be able to analyze and classify it as appropriate. What makes this transneptunian object a fascinating world are two things: its incredibly extensive orbit and its considerable size. The new minor planet takes approximately 25,000 years to take a single round to the sun. A distant and not so dwarf planet. At its closest point to our star (the perihelium of its orbit), it approaches about 44.9 astronomical units, a distance similar to that of Pluto. But at its furthest point (its apelium) it ventures to amazing 1,600 UA. To get an idea, Neptune, the planet known more distant to the sun, orbits about 30 UA of our star. The estimates of astronomer Sihao Cheng and his team of Advanced Studies Institute They suggest that 2017 of201 has a diameter of about 700 kilometers. This would place it in the same league as The Dwarf Planet Ceresthe largest object of the asteroid belt (with about 952 km in diameter). In fact, if we judge it for the light that reflects your body, it is the second largest object known In such a wide orbit and eccentric. What if there were others like him? The existence of 2017 of201 suggests that the region of the solar system beyond the Kuiper belt, which was thought relatively empty, I might not be so much. The transneptunian object is currently 90.5, from us. Since it is only detectable for approximately 0.5% of its orbital time, when it is close to its perihelium, there could be hundreds of similar objects, with orbits and similar sizes, waiting to be discovered. This hidden population could add a total mass close to 1% of the dough of the earth, they estimate Cheng and its team. It takes us away from the planet nine. Many extreme transneptunian objects tend to coincide in their perihelium lengths, a phenomenon that some astronomers want to attribute to the gravitational influence of A mass planet not yet discovered: The planet nine. However, the 2017 of201 perihelium length is 306 degrees, which is significantly diverted from the 60 degree group observed in other objects. This orbital peculiarity Challenge the planet models nine. If the planet nine would exist, it would make 2017 of201 expelled from the solar system in relatively short time scales, of hundreds of millions of years, according to the study of IAS. You just lack a name. Already officially member of the Solar System, 2017 of201 is pending to receive a name with more hook. However, its discovery is already providing clues about the origins of the solar system and the dynamics of its most remote confines. What most excites the scientific community is that its discovery was possible thanks to open data, publicly available through the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (Decals) project of the Víctor M. Blanco telescope and the Canada-France-French telescope (CFHT). Image | NASA/JPL-CALTECH, SIHAO CHENG et al. In Xataka | Planet’s definition is wrong, and Pluto is the great victim of that chaos

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.