Volume 11, Issue 1
February 22, 2021 – February 28, 2021
Amy Amatya '21 | Rei Zhang ‘21 | Ben Buchovecky ‘23 | Joe Kawalec '21 | Riti Bhandarkar ‘23 | Neha Chauhan ‘21 | Zihan Lin '23 | Sunay Joshi ‘24

Texas Storms, California Heat Waves and ‘Vulnerable’ Utilities
February 18, 2021 | New York Times | Ivan Penn

Wildfires in California and the current winter storm in Texas have exposed the nation to two drastically different responses to energy insecurity and climate change. While California amped up environmental regulations, Texas has chosen to deregulate and let the free market run its course. The two phenomena not only hint at future considerations the Biden Administration will need to make in advancing the clean energy transition, but they give us a glimpse into a future that will melt environmental degradation and human peril together. Though California’s and Texas’ predominantly-natural-gas power plants were infrastructurally unprepared for extreme weather, the bigger issue lies in grid management and how we deliver energy reliably, equitably, and cleanly. Electrifying our world in the face of climate change, then, looks like overhauling state grids, decarbonizing our energy systems, and adapting our utilities to prepare for the worst.  -AA

Why Wind Turbines Don’t Freeze in Cold Climates—De-icing and Carbon Fibers
February 16, 2021 | Forbes | Scott Carpenter 

Texas, a state that relies on wind power for 23% of its electricity supply, has nearly half of its wind turbines experiencing failure earlier this week. Many blamed the vulnerability of wind turbines in cold weather for contributing to Texas’ power shortage crisis. However, in countries like Canada and Sweden, wind turbines remain effective in their notoriously cold climates. Wind turbines in these places are armed with “cold weather kits” such as de-icing and heating tools. In Canada, the built-in heating systems in wind turbines can keep the turbines functioning effectively in temperatures down to -22 °F. Another method employed by a Swedish company involves applying layers of carbon fibers. The fibers are heated to prevent icing. For a state like Texas, where the climate is warm, the turbines are not well prepared for the frenzy cold.  - ZL 

With A Decarbonized Future Bearing Down, Refineries Look At The Nitty-Gritty Of The Transition
February 18, 2021 | Forbes | University of Houston Energy Fellows

Owners of refineries and industrial plants are known contributors to carbon emissions and making these places more energy efficient through decarbonization would be a big step towards reducing national greenhouse gas emissions. Growing awareness about humanity’s culpability in climate change, as well as an invested interest in a more sustainable future, is pushing companies to double down on their carbon footprint. Refineries have a number of options for starting to decarbonize, including operational and facility improvements. For example, an upgrade to the efficiency of a boiler system can reduce the need to burn fuel. Still, changes require time and money so refineries will need to choose their investments wisely as they navigate any transitions to electricity or infrastructure. -JK

New tidal turbine shows promise in Japan
February 16, 2021 | CNBC | Anmar Frangoul

Testing of a new tidal turbine off the coast of Naru Island in Japan yielded positive results after the turbine generated 10 MWh during its first 10 days of operation. Tidal and wave energy production is aptly suited for the island nation’s long coastline. This is by no means a new technology, but the turbine installation represents Japan’s new drive to expand renewable energy. Last month, a Japanese shipping company partnered with Bombora Wave Power to scope out sites for Bombora’s new mWave wave energy converter in Japan and surrounding regions. The mWave technology uses an air-filled membrane that compresses when waves pass overhead, pushing the air through a turbine to generate electricity. For Japan, this is a step in the right direction, as the government has pledged to go carbon neutral by 2050 but still relies primarily on fossil fuels. -BB

Ignoring pandemic, Americans installed record amounts of solar and wind energy
February 18, 2021 | CBS | Irina Ivanova

This year, despite the major economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. installed record numbers of renewable energy projects. According to data released by BloombergNEF and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy earlier this week, 33.6 gigawatts of solar and wind energy were added to the grid, a 61% increase from the year before. This surge was partly an effect of current energy policy. The solar tax credit created by Congress was set to expire in 2020, so many solar projects were started in 2019 in a rush to qualify for the credit. Combined with the falling cost of solar, interest in developing solar projects rose in the last year. Ethan Zindler, head of Americas at BloombergNEF, told reporters that the rise of clean energy combined with the emissions drop due to the pandemic, put the U.S. on track to achieving the goals stated in the 2016 Paris Agreement on climate change, although this is likely to be only a temporary change. -RB