Volume 10, Issue 4
October 12, 2020 – October 18, 2020
Neha Chauhan '21 | Sabrina Reguyal ‘22 | Joe Kawalec '21 | Rei Zhang ‘21 | Amy Amatya '21 | Zihan Lin ‘23 | Marie Li ‘23 | Riti Bhandarkar ‘23 | Casey Conrad ‘21 | Christopher Ferrigine ‘21
Renewables Won’t Save Us If The Electric Grid Is Not Ready
September 30, 2020 | Forbes | David Blackmon
Despite the media’s forecasting the end of the hydrocarbon age around the world, the road to a renewable energy future may not be so simple. Production and consumption are the main features of renewable energy on many people’s minds, but the most difficult factor could end up being distribution of that energy through the grid. Most of the energy grid systems we use today were designed around large fossil fuel-powered plants, and the complexities around integrating renewable energy sources into the grid may require a complete rethinking of how energy flows in the system. Some places have already started working on faster and more efficient grids, as in Slovenia, where power grid operator ELES has created a reputation for itself in smart grid innovations. -JK
An electrical offshore substation run by Germany's biggest power supplier Eon is pictured at the wind farm "Amrum Bank West" near the North Sea Island of Helgoland, November 4, 2015. Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images
Economics Alone Could Drive Greece to a Future Powered by Renewables
September 21, 2020 | BloombergNEF | BloombergNEF
By 2030, Greece could be leading the European pack in the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. By 2050, their power grid could be 90 percent renewable. Thanks to the lowering costs of renewables, it is cheaper to build offshore wind and utility-scale solar power projects than prevailing coal power plants. Not only are these renewables cheaper to build, they are also cheaper to operate. With continued advances in power storage systems across the country, the total cost of transition over the next three decades amounts to $33 billion. With time and effort, Greece is well on its way to a renewable future. -CC
Mirror-like photovoltaics get more electricity out of heat
September 21, 2020 | ScienceDaily
Researchers at the University of Michigan developed a thermal photovoltaic cell that reflects 99 percent of the energy that is not converted to electricity. Thermovoltaic cells have a minimum energy threshold, below which photons won’t be absorbed. To “recycle” the low energy photons, the researchers added a layer of air between the semiconductor and the gold backing, causing the cell to have a higher reflectivity. This allows the low energy to be reflected back into the atmosphere, where it might be reabsorbed and possibly repackaged into a higher-energy photon that can be used for energy. The recycling process increases the efficiency of solar cells now that rejected photons have the chance to be reused, which could help bring down the price of energy technology. -RB
California’s solar energy gains go up in smoke
October 1, 2020 | The Verge | Justine Calma
California’s wildfire-filled September has reduced the state’s solar power generation by nearly a third compared to July levels. As the smoke and the dust have blocked out sunlight across the state, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which oversees California’s solar grids, reports a decrease in energy generation by 30 percent compared to July and a decrease of 13.4 percent compared to the previous September. As wildfires continue to burn hotter, longer, and more land every year, the effect of these fires on California’s energy supply will need to be considered, as solar supplies nearly 20 percent of California’s electricity. -RZ
Smoke from Southern California wildfires drifts through the LA Basin, obscuring downtown skyscrapers in a view from a closed Griffith Observatory on September 17th, 2020. Photo by Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
When Zero-Carbon Nuclear Asks For Money, States Find It Hard To Say No
September 30, 2020 | Forbes | Scott Carpenter
On August 27, Exelon Corporation – one of the biggest suppliers of electricity in the U.S., as well as the largest non-governmental operator of nuclear power plants in the world – announced that it would close two nuclear plants in Illinois within a year. This news comes despite the fact that the plants produce 4 GW of power and are licensed to operate for several more decades. Exelon cited “revenue shortfalls in the hundreds of millions of dollars” as the cause. Illinois state and local officials denounced the move as reckless in that it would cost thousands of jobs and threaten state clean energy goals. In any case, Carpenter points out in his article that Exelon’s actions fit in with a clear pattern of nuclear companies announcing closures, entering talks with state officials, winning subsidies, and then rescinding the closures. While such brinkmanship has negative impacts on energy markets, it is also true that the U.S. nuclear fleet is aging and facing a great deal of pressure from natural gas. -SR
Shale Companies Had Lousy Returns. Their CEOs Got Paid Anyway.
October 2, 2020 | Wall Street Journal | Collin Eaton
In recent years, oil companies have continued to exhibit poor returns on investment and negative cash flows for reasons including high operation costs and growth-driven (as opposed to profit-driven) performance. Despite this, the oil industry’s CEO salaries continue to rise for the fourth year in a row, ranking fourth-highest across major US industries. Executive compensation is left unchecked due to flawed bonus formulas that reward oil output instead of overall financial success, and board-determined salaries, to the dismay of shareholders. Ongoing measures to limit CEO salaries, including reorienting shale operations profitably and percentage caps, are increasingly met by demands for more dramatic changes to the oil industry business model. -AA
Many Fossil Fuel Workers Like Me Want to Transition to Renewables - But We Need Support
September 29, 2020 | The Guardian | Matt Craigan
Matt Craigan is a fossil fuel worker in Aberdeen, Scotland. During an age that is witnessing tremendous efforts to make the transition to renewable energy, Craigan finds harsh economic consequences for his family and colleagues. The stability of the industry has been dwindling. In 2016, a long period of oil price drops led to unprecedented unemployment for fossil fuel workers like Craigan. The COVID pandemic also made life difficult. Craigan suggests that workers like him and his colleagues should be included in the transition by working across industries – fossil fuels and renewable energy – and receiving proper training. Ultimately, the government should facilitate the transition by creating more jobs in the green industry to economically support these industries and workers. - ZL