Query: 89 percent of the stations fail to meet the National Weather Service’s own siting requirements that stations must be 30 metres away from an artificial heating or radiating/reflecting heat source.

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Passive solar building design <=SEP=> In passive solar building design , windows , walls , and floors are made to collect , store , and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer . This is called passive solar design because , unlike active solar heating systems , it does not involve the use of mechanical and electrical devices .   The key to design a passive solar building is to best take advantage of the local climate performing an accurate site analysis . Elements to be considered include window placement and size , and glazing type , thermal insulation , thermal mass , and shading . Passive solar design techniques can be applied most easily to new buildings , but existing buildings can be adapted or `` retrofitted '' .

International Space Station <=SEP=> The International Space Station ( ISS ) is a space station , or a habitable artificial satellite , in low Earth orbit . Its first component launched into orbit in 1998 , and the ISS is now the largest man-made body in low Earth orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth . The ISS consists of pressurised modules , external trusses , solar arrays , and other components . ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets , and American Space Shuttles .   The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology , human biology , physics , astronomy , meteorology , and other fields . The station is suited for the testing of spacecraft systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon and Mars . The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda module or visiting spacecraft . It completes orbits per day .   The ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews , following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut , Almaz , and Mir stations as well as Skylab from the US . The station has been continuously occupied for since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000 . This is the longest continuous human presence in low Earth orbit , having surpassed the previous record of held by Mir . The station is serviced by a variety of visiting spacecraft : the Russian Soyuz and Progress , the American Dragon and Cygnus , the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle , and formerly the Space Shuttle and the European Automated Transfer Vehicle . It has been visited by astronauts , cosmonauts and space tourists from 17 different nations .   After the US Space Shuttle programme ended in 2011 , Soyuz rockets became the only provider of transport for astronauts at the International Space Station , and Dragon became the only provider of bulk cargo return to Earth ( called downmass ) . Soyuz has very limited downmass capability .   The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies : NASA , Roscosmos , JAXA , ESA , and CSA . The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements . The station is divided into two sections , the Russian Orbital Segment ( ROS ) and the United States Orbital Segment ( USOS ) , which is shared by many nations . , the American portion of ISS is being funded until 2024 . Roscosmos has endorsed the continued operation of ISS through 2024 but has proposed using elements of the Russian Orbital Segment to construct a new Russian space station called OPSEK .   On 28 March 2015 , Russian sources announced that Roscosmos and NASA had agreed to collaborate on the development of a replacement for the current ISS . NASA later issued a guarded statement expressing thanks for Russia 's interest in future co-operation in space exploration but fell short of confirming the Russian announcement .

Renewable energy <=SEP=> Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources , which are naturally replenished on a human timescale , such as sunlight , wind , rain , tides , waves , and geothermal heat . Renewable energy often provides energy in four important areas : electricity generation , air and water heating/cooling , transportation , and rural ( off-grid ) energy services .   Based on REN21 's 2016 report , renewables contributed 19.2 % to humans ' global energy consumption and 23.7 % to their generation of electricity in 2014 and 2015 , respectively . This energy consumption is divided as 8.9 % coming from traditional biomass , 4.2 % as heat energy ( modern biomass , geothermal and solar heat ) , 3.9 % hydro electricity and 2.2 % is electricity from wind , solar , geothermal , and biomass . Worldwide investments in renewable technologies amounted to more than US$ 286 billion in 2015 , with countries like China and the United States heavily investing in wind , hydro , solar and biofuels . Globally , there are an estimated 7.7 million jobs associated with the renewable energy industries , with solar photovoltaics being the largest renewable employer . As of 2015 worldwide , more than half of all new electricity capacity installed was renewable .   Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas , in contrast to other energy sources , which are concentrated in a limited number of countries . Rapid deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency is resulting in significant energy security , climate change mitigation , and economic benefits . The results of a recent review of the literature concluded that as greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emitters begin to be held liable for damages resulting from GHG emissions resulting in climate change , a high value for liability mitigation would provide powerful incentives for deployment of renewable energy technologies . In international public opinion surveys there is strong support for promoting renewable sources such as solar power and wind power . At the national level , at least 30 nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20 percent of energy supply . National renewable energy markets are projected to continue to grow strongly in the coming decade and beyond . Some places and at least two countries , Iceland and Norway generate all their electricity using renewable energy already , and many other countries have the set a goal to reach 100 % renewable energy in the future . For example , in Denmark the government decided to switch the total energy supply ( electricity , mobility and heating/cooling ) to 100 % renewable energy by 2050 .   While many renewable energy projects are large-scale , renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries , where energy is often crucial in human development . United Nations ' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity . As most of renewables provide electricity , renewable energy deployment is often applied in conjunction with further electrification , which has several benefits : Electricity can be converted to heat ( where necessary generating higher temperatures than fossil fuels ) , can be converted into mechanical energy with high efficiency and is clean at the point of consumption . In addition to that electrification with renewable energy is much more efficient and therefore leads to a significant reduction in primary energy requirements , because most renewables do n't have a steam cycle with high losses ( fossil power plants usually have losses of 40 to 65 % ) .   Renewable energy systems are rapidly becoming more efficient and cheaper . Their share of total energy consumption is increasing . Growth in consumption of coal and oil could end by 2020 due to increased uptake of renewables and natural gas .

Solar energy <=SEP=> Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating , photovoltaics , solar thermal energy , solar architecture , molten salt power plants and artificial photosynthesis .   It is an important source of renewable energy and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power . Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic systems , concentrated solar power and solar water heating to harness the energy . Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun , selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties , and designing spaces that naturally circulate air .   The large magnitude of solar energy available makes it a highly appealing source of electricity . The United Nations Development Programme in its 2000 World Energy Assessment found that the annual potential of solar energy was 1,575 -- 49,837 exajoules ( EJ ) . This is several times larger than the total world energy consumption , which was 559.8 EJ in 2012 .   In 2011 , the International Energy Agency said that `` the development of affordable , inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits . It will increase countries ' energy security through reliance on an indigenous , inexhaustible and mostly import-independent resource , enhance sustainability , reduce pollution , lower the costs of mitigating global warming , and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise . These advantages are global . Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments ; they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared '' .