Happy Friday, muggles — and happy 40th birthday to our favorite wizard, Harry Potter! Last week we told you about how the comet NEOWISE is making a rare appearance in our night sky, but apparently some satellites are photobombing the party, proving nowhere is safe from light pollution. 

In fact, SpaceX has launched 540 satellites as it tries to bring high-speed internet to the world by 2021, but the plan is to eventually have tens of thousands of satellites in space. Astronomers, scientists, and others are concerned about what this added, unnatural light could mean for our planet and the universe! 

Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan fight over the Nile

Tues Jul 28

Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan are trying to come to an agreement over a hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile, but so far after a decade of negotiations, nothing has been settled. 

There are two sides to the fight:

1. Ethiopia wants to build a $4 billion dam, saying it will generate electricity for its country and become an exporter of power to neighboring countries 
2. Egypt and Sudan argue the dam will lead to water shortages for their people
• Egypt also says the Blue Nile (a tributary of the Nile) provides its 100 million people with more than 90% of their fresh water

What’s happening now?

Ethiopia has started filling the reservoir (first-year target). Obviously, Egypt and Sudan, who are downstream, are unhappy with this move.

SOURCES: Al Jazeera, GZERO, Reuters

UK could start paying people to use offshore wind energy

Mon Jul 27

The UK is on track to start paying consumers of wind energy. Why? Because renewable energy is now so cheap that the savings outweigh the cost. 

How did this happen?

Offshore wind developers that want to build farms bid by stating the price at which they will sell the energy. Previously, the costs were higher than the wholesale electricity price, so the government would provide a subsidy — so consumers wouldn’t have to pick up the total difference and to keep the energy costs competitive. 

Now, companies are able to produce wind energy for much cheaper. It’s so low that the company pays the government back the price difference — and that can then be transferred to households and businesses. 

What does this mean for future renewable energy projects?

It means that more ambitious projects will now likely be attempted such as:

• Producing hydrogen fuels using wind power out at sea
• Hydrogen fuels could start replacing petrol use in transportation and natural gas use in homes

Previously on Below the Fold: We shared how Britain had made a major switch to renewable energy and had become 100% coal free. 

SOURCES: Gizmodo, Independent, The Telegraph, Science Daily