Volume 10, Issue 7
November 2, 2020 – November 8, 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

How the Virus Slowed the Booming Wind Energy Business
October 26, 2020 | New York Times | Ivan Penn

The EDF’s (Environmental Defense Fund’s) $374 million project of installing 99 wind turbines in southern Nebraska was struck by the pandemic in early April. All hopes to complete the project by the end of 2020 were shattered by the persisting pandemic, which has infected many of the workers. At the same time, the project’s cost is expected to increase and threaten its financial viability due to the delay. Moreover, government funded incentives may not apply if the project is postponed for too long. A loss of workers not only affected those on site but also the availability of project components as suppliers also halted their operations in response to the surge in COVID cases. The pandemic and other challenges associated with the upcoming winter leave executives uncertain about meeting the project deadline. The continuous growth of the wind power industry is falling victim to coronavirus like every other business around the world. -ZL

World’s First Ocean Hybrid Platform Converts Tidal Waves Into Energy
October 28, 2020 | IEEE Spectrum | Qusi Alqarqaz

Sinn Power, a German start-up, has built the world’s first ocean hybrid platform in Heraklion, Greece. Phillip Sinn, the founder, says the platform harnesses wave, wind, and solar energy to provide from eighty kilowatts of power to houses to up to two megawatts to industrial facilities. In this case, open-ocean power is complicated by the need to shield sensitive components from water. Sinn Power is still testing the structure, but Sinn highlights the interest his product has attracted from numerous investors as a sign of the potential of ocean-energy projects. - RZ

Oil, Gas Vs. Clean Energy: Which Will Have Best Jobs In The Future?
October 26, 2020 | Forbes | Jim Magill

The energy jobs of tomorrow are currently big questions in the energy industry, as a major transformation from fossil fields to clean energy looms on the horizon. Most experts agree that this transition is inevitable, but the time-scale of large-scale changes can vary from as early as 2030 as proposed by the Green New Deal to by 2050 when many nations have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions. One recent study found that occupations in clean energy are likely to come with better benefits than jobs across the private sector, and to have pay competitive with that in the fossil fuel industry. However, another study that surveyed energy-related construction trade workers found that participants generally perceived better skill development, benefits, and opportunities in the oil and gas industry. The need for a stable and steady job will be an important factor in the transition of the energy industry, especially considering the recent economic downturn. -JK

These Zombies Threaten the Whole Planet
October 30, 2020 | New York Times | Alec Jacobson

Canada’s zombie wells – oil drilling sites that have been inactive but not dismantled – continue to contaminate the landscape and its people with noxious fumes and toxic chemicals. Nearly 100,000 zombie wells intersperse a country struggling to meet its climate goals. Sites that have been inactive for over a decade persist due to pushback from the oil industry: wells that have been long decommissioned are allowed to be suspended indefinitely rather than removed, and suspension mechanisms can be as simple as leakage-prone rubber plugs and valves. Canada’s rural and farming communities end up bearing the brunt of this contamination. The result is companies’ and governments’ enacting climate violence against the poor, a reflection of the fact that we have a long ways to go in our global pursuits of climate stability, energy transition, and environmental equity. -AA

Emissions and Coal Have Peaked as Covid-19 Saves 2.5 Years of Emissions, Accelerates Energy Transition
October 27, 2020 | Bloomberg NEF | Veronika Henze

According to Bloomberg NEF’s 2020 investigative report and model, greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector have peaked and are on a clear downward trend for the future. From COVID-19 alone, global emissions are down 8 percent. These impressive predictions are based on expanding solar and wind-powered projects globally, which together will account for more than half of global electricity by mid-century. In China and India, it is modeled that energy derived from coal-fired power plants will peak before 2030. Even given these predictions, the model estimates 3.3 degrees Celsius warming by 2100. A lower warming future is possible further investments and resources are devoted to wind and solar power, electric vehicle adoption, low carbon heating systems, and zero-carbon fuels. To stay below the Paris Agreement target of 2 degrees Celsius by 2100, emissions would need to decrease by 6 percent annually. Between $78 and $130 trillion would need to be invested by 2050 in order to have fully renewable global electricity, manufacturing, storing, and transportation sectors. Hydrogen fuel is a leading candidate in the low carbon transition, though it is still in developmental stages. Time will tell if these predictions hold true in the near future. -CC