Volume 7, Issue 7
April 14, 2019 – April 20, 2019
Neha Chauhan '21 | Joseph Kawalec '21 | Amy Amatya '21 | Patrick Huang ‘21 | Rei Zhang ‘21 | Sabrina Reguyal ‘22
China Targets Nuclear Fusion Power Generation by 2040
April 12, 2019 | Reuters | David Stanway
A senior scientist involved in China’s nuclear fusion energy project stated that the project aims to begin producing power from an experimental reactor by around 2040. China has already spent around 6 billion yuan ($893 million) on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which is located in the city Hefei of Anhui province. EAST is a large doughnut-shaped structure that heats hydrogen isotopes until they turn into a plasma and begin to fuse, releasing energy. Song Yuntao, deputy director of the Institute of Plasma Physics at the Hefei Institute of Physical Science, said on Thursday that the project had been awarded an additional 6 billion yuan in funding. He states that the institute plans to begin construction on a fusion reactor, to be completed in ten years, and afterwards set up a powergenerator by 2040. At the same time, Song stated that fusion research remains dependent on international cooperation rather than competition, and China remains an important member of a 35-nation consortium devoted to ITER, a 10-billion euro ($11.29 billion) fusion project in France that is projected to generate first plasma by 2025. -SR
After Pollution Crisis, Puerto Rico Aims to Eliminate All Coal Power Next Year
April 10, 2019 | Forbes | James Ellsmoor
Puerto Rico very recently committed to ending all coal power-based electricity generation in 2020, as announced by Governor Rosselló. This initiative is part of Puerto Rico’s new push to become more self-reliant, which includes the Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act, passed in March of this year. The Act lists several clean energy goals, with the aim of Puerto Rico’s achievement of 100% renewable energy by 2050. While the Act sets a hard deadline to end coal-burning for power by 2028, Governor Rosselló has committed to the earlier date of 2020, due to his pledge to end fossil-fuel reliance as soon as possible. The country’s push for renewable energy is aimed at increasing Puerto Rico’s self-sufficiency, stability, and sustainability. -RZ
By 2030, Over Half Of New Electricity Connections Will Be Off-Grid
April 11, 2019 | Forbes | Miriam Tuerk
With 2018 being a record year for investing in off-grid power investments, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that “71% of new electricity connections will be via off-grid or mini-grid solutions.” The central electrical grid infrastructure is becoming increasingly unstable, and strategic investors are seeing off-grid investments as replacements. The pay-as-you-go (PAYG) business model enables recurring revenue over time. It is a proven method and an attractive choice for companies such as Zola Electric. PAYG provides a steady source of income to finance energy projects and early markets for off-grid electricity that have been maturing in recent years, making it interesting to follow for the future. -JK
China's plans for the electrified, autonomous and shared future of the car
April 4, 2019 | The Economist
Although China's carmakers do not boast the same manufacturing pedigree as their American and European counterparts, they may hold a number of advantages as the industry makes transitions. Firstly, China is one of the world’s largest battery producers, and current policies favor electric vehicles and the development of charging infrastructure. Furthermore, a credit system has been implemented to encourage Chinese car-making companies to shift away from traditional designs that use an internal combustion engine. China’s car-making industry may also take significant steps forward in the sectors of autonomous driving and car sharing because of the collaboration and resources of big tech giants and artificial intelligence research. In these aspects, China’s differences from the rest of world both in technology and policy may enable the country to take an important role in the future of transportation. -PH
America is Losing the World’s Biggest Manufacturing and Climate Race: Electric Vehicles
April 8, 2019 | Forbes | Paul Bledsoe
In the U.S., the electric vehicle (EV) industry represents the creation of thousands of new jobs, lower costs for vehicle owners, and the reduction of the country’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Electric vehicles are also predicted to drive the global auto industry in the next decade. However, the U.S. is falling behind in electric vehicle production to China, which is responsible for 40% of global manufacture of electric vehicles. This is partly due to inadequate tax incentives: current policies limit tax credits for EV manufacturers to 200,000 vehicles per company (which Tesla and GM have already exceeded). This article encourages Congress to create no-cap tax credits, credits that are inversely proportional to vehicle price (to increase the volume of EV sales), and incentives for trading in low-mileage vehicles for electric vehicles. In light of opinion polls showing that almost three-fourths of consumers would consider tax credits in their decision to purchase an electric vehicle, these policies could be effective. -AA