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#31
Other Tulsa Discussion / Re: Our fragile, neglected in...
Last post by patric - April 29, 2025, 10:54:34 AMFox news was quick to blame the grid failures in Spain, Portugal and parts of France on solar power, by misquoting a mainstream news source.
Massive European power outage blamed on solar plant breakdowns.
By 7 a.m. local time Tuesday, more than 99% of energy demand in Spain had been restored, the country's electricity operator Red Eléctrica announced. Portuguese grid operator REN said on Tuesday morning that all the 89 power substations had been back online since late last night and power had been restored to all 6.4 million customers.
Red Eléctrica said it identified two power generation loss incidents in southwest Spain – likely involving solar plants – that caused instability in the Spanish power grid and contributed to a breakdown of its interconnection to France, according to Reuters. (emphasis mine)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/massive-european-power-outage-blamed-solar-plant-breakdowns
What Reuters actually said:
Did renewable energy play a part? Spain and Portugal lead the EU in renewables and were sourcing about 80% of their electricity from solar and wind when the blackout hit on Monday.
Some commentators speculated that the grid could have been overloaded by the amount of wind and sun available, as renewables are more intermittent than other forms of energy and sudden fluctuations in sunshine or wind can cause problems.
However, this does not appear to be the case. Daniel Muir, a senior European power analyst at S&P Global, said: "The nature and scale of the outage makes it unlikely that the volume of renewables was the cause, with the Spanish network more often than not subject to very high volumes of such production."
The Spanish grid is undergoing upgrades as it is unable to carry the renewable energy required. Experts have said that the grid upgrades have not matched the pace of renewables being brought online.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/29/what-caused-the-blackout-in-spain-and-portugal-and-did-renewable-energy-play-a-part
Massive European power outage blamed on solar plant breakdowns.
By 7 a.m. local time Tuesday, more than 99% of energy demand in Spain had been restored, the country's electricity operator Red Eléctrica announced. Portuguese grid operator REN said on Tuesday morning that all the 89 power substations had been back online since late last night and power had been restored to all 6.4 million customers.
Red Eléctrica said it identified two power generation loss incidents in southwest Spain – likely involving solar plants – that caused instability in the Spanish power grid and contributed to a breakdown of its interconnection to France, according to Reuters. (emphasis mine)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/massive-european-power-outage-blamed-solar-plant-breakdowns
What Reuters actually said:
Did renewable energy play a part? Spain and Portugal lead the EU in renewables and were sourcing about 80% of their electricity from solar and wind when the blackout hit on Monday.
Some commentators speculated that the grid could have been overloaded by the amount of wind and sun available, as renewables are more intermittent than other forms of energy and sudden fluctuations in sunshine or wind can cause problems.
However, this does not appear to be the case. Daniel Muir, a senior European power analyst at S&P Global, said: "The nature and scale of the outage makes it unlikely that the volume of renewables was the cause, with the Spanish network more often than not subject to very high volumes of such production."
The Spanish grid is undergoing upgrades as it is unable to carry the renewable energy required. Experts have said that the grid upgrades have not matched the pace of renewables being brought online.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/29/what-caused-the-blackout-in-spain-and-portugal-and-did-renewable-energy-play-a-part
#32
Other Local Reviews / Re: Solar Installers
Last post by patric - April 28, 2025, 09:32:29 AMOn the subject of electrical reliability: (Monday, April 28)
Power cut chaos in Spain and Portugal caused by 'rare' atmospheric phenomenon, says operator.
Restoring power across Portugal 'could take up to a week'
"Due to extreme temperature variations in the interior or Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400 KV), a phenomenon known as 'induced atmospheric vibration'".
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c209yrl3258o
Power cut chaos in Spain and Portugal caused by 'rare' atmospheric phenomenon, says operator.
Restoring power across Portugal 'could take up to a week'
"Due to extreme temperature variations in the interior or Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400 KV), a phenomenon known as 'induced atmospheric vibration'".
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c209yrl3258o
#33
Chat and Advice / Re: Judge Rules Against Overly...
Last post by patric - April 27, 2025, 09:53:06 AMTulsa officials have celebrated a growing camera network that tracks cars around the city as a breakthrough for law enforcement, crediting it with solving homicides and reducing violent crime. The city now operates more than 100 license plate reader cameras and over 150 live-streaming surveillance cameras, all monitored from a command center in Tulsa's city hall.
But an investigation by The Frontier, based on interviews with experts, public records, and crime statistics, found little evidence the system has meaningfully reduced crime. Legal scholars and civil liberties advocates also warn the technology may violate Oklahoma law and infringe on constitutional privacy rights.
Read the full story here: https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/tulsas-surveillance-gamble/
Here are five key takeaways from The Frontier's reporting:
After a brief decline in late 2022 after the cameras were first deployed, violent crime in Tulsa returned to roughly the same levels as before, according to FBI data. Tulsa has seen fewer car thefts recently, but that trend began in 2021 — before the cameras were installed. Academic research in other cities increasingly shows license plate readers have little measurable impact on crime rates.
Tulsa is short more than 100 officers, largely due to uncompetitive pay. At the same time, the city spends nearly $700,000 a year on its contract with Flock Safety and invested over $2.5 million to build its real-time information center, which employs around 20 full-time staff. Research shows that adding even a single officer can reduce violent crime — particularly in understaffed departments. Still, police leaders say they plan to keep expanding the system.
Tulsa's use of Flock cameras appears to conflict with Oklahoma law, which restricts the use of license plate reader technology to enforcing the state's car insurance requirement. Last year, a judge in another county barred license plate reader data from being used as evidence in a criminal case.
Tulsa police share data from their Flock system with an intelligence fusion center that distributes information to federal agencies like the FBI and immigration authorities. Contracts the city has signed with Flock Safety give the company broad discretion to share the footage with third parties.
City officials and Flock Safety have publicly credited Flock cameras with the city's recent 100% homicide clearance rate, even though Tulsa also achieved a 100% clearance rate in 2018 — years before the cameras were installed. Flock's marketing materials portray Tulsa as a national success story and "a beacon for what modern, data-driven policing can achieve."
But an investigation by The Frontier, based on interviews with experts, public records, and crime statistics, found little evidence the system has meaningfully reduced crime. Legal scholars and civil liberties advocates also warn the technology may violate Oklahoma law and infringe on constitutional privacy rights.
Read the full story here: https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/tulsas-surveillance-gamble/
Here are five key takeaways from The Frontier's reporting:
After a brief decline in late 2022 after the cameras were first deployed, violent crime in Tulsa returned to roughly the same levels as before, according to FBI data. Tulsa has seen fewer car thefts recently, but that trend began in 2021 — before the cameras were installed. Academic research in other cities increasingly shows license plate readers have little measurable impact on crime rates.
Tulsa is short more than 100 officers, largely due to uncompetitive pay. At the same time, the city spends nearly $700,000 a year on its contract with Flock Safety and invested over $2.5 million to build its real-time information center, which employs around 20 full-time staff. Research shows that adding even a single officer can reduce violent crime — particularly in understaffed departments. Still, police leaders say they plan to keep expanding the system.
Tulsa's use of Flock cameras appears to conflict with Oklahoma law, which restricts the use of license plate reader technology to enforcing the state's car insurance requirement. Last year, a judge in another county barred license plate reader data from being used as evidence in a criminal case.
Tulsa police share data from their Flock system with an intelligence fusion center that distributes information to federal agencies like the FBI and immigration authorities. Contracts the city has signed with Flock Safety give the company broad discretion to share the footage with third parties.
City officials and Flock Safety have publicly credited Flock cameras with the city's recent 100% homicide clearance rate, even though Tulsa also achieved a 100% clearance rate in 2018 — years before the cameras were installed. Flock's marketing materials portray Tulsa as a national success story and "a beacon for what modern, data-driven policing can achieve."
#34
Development & New Businesses / Re: 2024 Projects
Last post by SXSW - April 25, 2025, 10:32:02 AMQuote from: AdamsHall on April 19, 2025, 01:01:38 PMAnyone know what is currently planned on the site where BurnCo burned? Looks like Cowan Construction has work underway.
They are finally rebuilding the Burnco building and also an adjacent building on the parking lot to the north (next to the ice cream shop). Targeting retail/restaurant tenants, I've heard wine/tapas bar for sure.
#35
Local & State Politics / Re: Education in Oklahoma
Last post by swake - April 25, 2025, 09:46:56 AM
#36
Local & State Politics / Re: Education in Oklahoma
Last post by Hoss - April 24, 2025, 06:12:14 PMA1 Sauce? In THIS economy?? 
#37
Development & New Businesses / Re: Downtown Development Overv...
Last post by patric - April 23, 2025, 06:32:15 PMQuote from: ComeOnBenjals on April 23, 2025, 12:09:46 PMTo be honest - the Center of the Universe was so unbelievably bad, I'm glad they're redoing it.
Will be a shame if the acoustics are changed, but that area needs a revamp.
The acoustics are mostly the reason its an attraction.
Sure it needs some maintenance but not to the point where its akin to putting a different face on the Golden Driller.
#38
Development & New Businesses / Re: Downtown Development Overv...
Last post by ComeOnBenjals - April 23, 2025, 12:09:46 PMTo be honest - the Center of the Universe was so unbelievably bad, I'm glad they're redoing it.
Will be a shame if the acoustics are changed, but that area needs a revamp.
Will be a shame if the acoustics are changed, but that area needs a revamp.
#39
Development & New Businesses / Re: Downtown Development Overv...
Last post by Red Arrow - April 22, 2025, 07:47:13 PMQuote from: patric on April 21, 2025, 01:56:58 PM"Planned improvements for the bridge deck include a shade structure over the Center of the Universe"
https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/government-politics/article_fce60b7b-d12c-453b-be37-82d1d495107e.html
Nope, that couldn't possibly have any effect on the acoustics...
I couldn't read the article due to the paywall. I expect they will be using unobtainium. It's a special material that blocks sunlight but is totally transparent to sound. It is difficult to find in any quantity though.
#40
Development & New Businesses / Re: Downtown Development Overv...
Last post by patric - April 21, 2025, 01:56:58 PM"Planned improvements for the bridge deck include a shade structure over the Center of the Universe"
https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/government-politics/article_fce60b7b-d12c-453b-be37-82d1d495107e.html
Nope, that couldn't possibly have any effect on the acoustics...
https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/government-politics/article_fce60b7b-d12c-453b-be37-82d1d495107e.html
Nope, that couldn't possibly have any effect on the acoustics...