Samsø, Denmark, uses only renewable energy sources.
The island of Samsø, off Denmark's east coast, has wasted no time. Between 1998 and 2007 it abandoned its total dependence on imported fossil fuels and now relies entirely on renewables, mainly wind and biomass. It's been singled out as the world's first 100% renewable island by the Rapid Transition Alliance (RTA), which says Samsø can teach the world some vital lessons about changing fast and radically.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday February 14 2019, @02:53PM (5 children)
Consider that Newfoundland is quite a large island. Despite having the home ports of some offshore oil rigs, it has no refineries to my knowledge and so must import all its fuel.
However, it is rich in hydroelectricity, so it's become popular for Newfies to heat their home with electricity, being far far less costly than heating oil.
It's quite windy there. It didn't have any wind farms when I was with Bonita but if it doesn't now, it will soon.
It's often sunny even during the dead of winter, so I am confident that solar will be there before long.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday February 14 2019, @03:01PM (3 children)
That's one of the places I would like to go, but have not done so yet. Steamed past it a couple times, in the Navy. I've been to Halifax, which is close. Never set foot on Newfoundland though. From all the photos and videos I've seen, it's a beautiful place. Couple guys on the Honda GL and CX forum video'd their tour of the island. Nice, very nice.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Thursday February 14 2019, @07:14PM
I took the family on a road trip up there a couple summers ago, taking the ferry over from Cape Breton Island to Port aux Basques. We went up the west side all the way to St. Anthony and L'Anse aux Meadows. We enjoyed the rest of the Maritimes quite a lot, but Newfoundland was three steps up from even that high level. Gros Morne National Park was very cool with its fjords, and if you have any interest in geology it's the place where they proved plate tectonics. L'Anse aux Meadows and the viking site was a stunning place where you can well understand the Norse wanting to shelter; St. Anthony nearby with its icebergs floating by down Iceberg Alley and whales playing in the surf below the headlands was worth a visit by itself. But the best part of visiting Newfoundland was the Newfies. Very kind, salt-of-the-earth people.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 14 2019, @10:30PM (1 child)
You ride? What's your bike?
Having seen The Secret Life of Walter Mitty I have an urge to spend a few weeks around the seeing the sights
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 15 2019, @02:03AM
http://www.fuelly.com/motorcycle/honda/gl500_silver_wing_interstate/1982/runaway1956/138601 [fuelly.com]
It's an antique now - but it's a nice comfortable ride to play around on, or to get hundreds of miles down the road, quickly. Top speed is 100 mph, due to the igniters, but it will do 100 for two hours at a time, then you have to fill the tank again.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by richtopia on Thursday February 14 2019, @04:42PM
As always, we should start with the highest return on investment. And as you mentioned, importing fossil fuels to islands is expensive, so self-sufficient renewables can be more competitive.
Here is a fun graphic showing the various energy sources on the island: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsø#/media/File:Samsø_-_The_Energy_Self-Sufficient_Island.png [wikipedia.org]