Chord Energy

Social media users are discussing how coal power plant emissions can directly reduce the performance of nearby solar PV systems. Pollution and particulates from coal combustion can block sunlight and settle on panels, lowering their efficiency. The observation has struck a chord with people interested in renewable energy, who are pointing out that fossil fuel generation may undermine clean power even where it sits alongside it.

A new proposal called ECOin is being circulated as a SolarPunk economy project, arguing that every currency is a story people agree to believe in, like the euro backed by a central bank. ECOin is presented as a third story: a currency that rewards neither the biggest energy consumers nor the biggest accumulators of wealth. Discussion so far centres on how such values-based money would actually work.

A California shopper looking for a heat pump dryer says a major home improvement store had none in stock, only combo washer-dryer units. A salesman there reportedly said customers don't want standalone heat pump dryers, and shoppers keep buying conventional resistive dryers despite complaints about high energy prices. The story has struck a chord with people frustrated at slow adoption of more efficient appliances.