Volume 8, Issue 3
October 7, 2019 – October 13, 2019
Neha Chauhan '21 | Sabrina Reguyal ‘22 | Joe Kawalec '21 | Rei Zhang ‘21 | Amy Amatya '21 | Patrick Huang ‘21
Battle of the bulbs? Department of Energy moves to undercut lighting efficiency standards
October 3, 2019 | CNET | Ry Crist
In 2007, new standards for energy efficiency in lightbulbs were passed into law; after ten years, the amount of energy used by lighting has been reduced by more than half. However, the Trump administration has recently created exceptions to the 2007 standards. These exceptions would allow certain types of energy-inefficient bulbs to remain on the market, in spite of the Department of Energy’s standards. Compared to halogen or LED bulbs, the exempted bulbs could increase a consumer’s energy consumption by anywhere from 250 to 600 percent. The exemptions are set to take place on October 7th, with a public hearing scheduled for the 15th. -RZ
Britain, Struggling With Brexit, Eyes Another Retreat. This One’s From Fossil Fuels.
October 3, 2019 | NY Times | Somini Sengupta
In the past decade, Britain has shown significant progress in its transition away from fossil fuels through energy production from renewable sources such as wind. More recently, the country’s government set a target this past summer to bring greenhouse emissions to net zero by 2050. However, the tense political atmosphere surrounding Brexit has affected these efforts. Specific policies to meet the net-zero benchmark and to address other important measures, such as phasing out cars that burn fossil fuels, have not been implemented. Beyond relying on pure rhetoric, the British government will need to both increase electricity output without using more fossil fuels and encourage consumer behavior that is more environmentally friendly if Britain is to turn the tables on its energy future. -PH
This Kite Could Harness More of the World’s Wind Energy
October 1, 2019 | CNN | Ahiza Garcia
Makani, a California-based renewable energy company, is testing a self-flying kite to harness energy from the strongest winds in the middle of the ocean, where typical off-shore turbines can’t be built. Only 6 percent of the world’s energy comes from wind due to limitations in setup and maintenance. The kites could also provide power to communities that don’t have reliable resources for renewable energy but do have offshore wind potential, particularly island nations that pay high prices for imported fossil fuels. Makani’s kites work by moving electricity generated by rotors to the grid through a 1,400-foot-tether. Though they’re still undergoing testing, the hope is that they’ll operate 24/7, only returning to the platform to which they’re tethered in insufficient wind. -AA
Is the World Ready for Floating Nuclear Power Stations?
September 30, 2019 | IEEE Spectrum | John Boyd
The world’s first floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) arrived at its dock in Pevek, Chukotka, by Russia’s eastern Arctic coast, on September 14th. It had traveled 9,000 kilometers by towboat, from its shipyard in St. Petersburg, to Murmansk, where it was loaded with nuclear fuel. The FNPP, named Akademik Lomonosov, is comprised of a non-motorized barge and two pressurized-water reactors. It will replace an old land-based nuclear plant and a brown coal-fired plant, thus cutting 50,000 tons of CO2 emissions a year, according to Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation. To address the environmental and safety concerns that such a construction entails, especially since the plant must endure the Arctic cold and rough seas, the FNPP is moored and secured to a special pier, and coastal structures, dams, and breakwaters have been installed to protect the barge. -SR
A Massive Investment: Google Announces 18 New Renewable Energy Deals
October 3, 2019 | Forbes | Ilker Koksal
With the global renewable energy market expected to exceed $1.5 trillion by 2025, the movement for investing larger and larger amounts into green energy is growing amongst large corporations. Google recently announced a record-breaking 18 new deals that span the United States, Chile, and Europe. As of this announcement, Google has 52 projects in the renewable energy sector, with Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai noting that the majority are related to wind energy. The declining cost of solar energy pushed them to focus on investing primarily in solar projects in the U.S. as well as a hybrid solar and wind project in Chile. -JK