Power Surge 8.8

Volume 8, Issue 8
December 2, 2019 – December 8, 2019
Neha Chauhan '21 | Sabrina Reguyal ‘22 | Joe Kawalec '21 | Rei Zhang ‘21 | Amy Amatya '21 | Patrick Huang ‘21

Trump Energy Pick Faces Questions on Coal, Nuclear Power
November 14, 2019 | Reuters | Timothy Gardner
Dan Brouillette, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Rick Perry as the U.S. Secretary of Energy, was questioned on energy greenhouse gas emissions and nuclear power during his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, November 14. Perry is alleged to be involved in the controversial Ukrainian foreign policy that is the heart of the Trump impeachment probe. During the confirmation hearing, senators from both parties treated Brouillette warmly. Brouillette is a former lobbyist at Ford Motor Co and Louisiana state energy regulator. During his hearing, he stated that he would further Trump’s “energy dominance” strategy of increasing U.S. output of oil and natural gas, while also supporting research on carbon capture and advanced nuclear power plants. He emphasized that fossil fuels would support a significant share of global energy needs for the next 40-50 years, and that there is a need to further technologies that would curb climate change. -SR

Like Restaurants, Buildings Will Get Grades (D’s for Energy Guzzlers)
November 21, 2019 | New York Times | Jane Margolies
Starting next year, all mid- to large-sized buildings in New York City will be required to post energy grades given to them by the city, reminiscent of health inspection grades posted on restaurant windows. The new system was signed into law last year with the aim of reducing buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions, which account for ⅔ of the entire city’s emissions. In addition to annual inspections, the new program will require buildings to report their energy use trends and conspicuously display their earned letter grades, which some hope will encourage a shift toward environmentally-conscience operations. Though the grades are only a small step in a modest subset of the population, they will hopefully pave the way for stricter regulations and fines. -AA

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One of the largest coal-fired power plants in the Western US has just closed for good
November 19, 2019 | CNBC | Pippa Stevens
The Navajo Generating Station closed its doors for good on Monday after being in operation for almost 50 years, a sign of the times as consumers shift to cheaper and cleaner power sources. This plant closure is one of 540 coal-fired plants that have closed since 2010, with eight coal companies filing for bankruptcy just this year. The owners of the plant determined that it was uneconomical to continue operating, a “difficult but necessary” decision that was exacerbated by the “changing economics of the energy industry.” With the demand for coal falling to its lowest level in 40 years last year and renewable energy sources providing more of the U.S.’ electricity than coal in April, the casualties of the coal industry are piling up. -JK

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A new solar heat technology could help solve one of the trickiest climate problems
November 20, 2019 | Vox | David Roberts
Heliogen, a solar power company, has come out of left field with a new way to use the sun’s rays to produce sustained high temperatures. They have developed a new way of concentrating solar power (CSP), which uses hundreds of mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a water tower, heating water to power a steam turbine. Heliogen has improved on CSP by relying on increased innovations in computing power to prevent miscalibration of mirrors and ensure that all the mirrors are precisely aligned onto the central tower. This new method of CSP can produce temperatures up to 1000 °C, whereas previously, conventional methods of CSP could only reach 560 °C. Heliogen is hopeful that they will eventually be able to produce temperatures of 1500 °C, which is in the range needed for common industrial processes like concrete and steel production. Reaching 1500 °C would enable the production of carbon-free industrial heat, and possibly direct fuel generation, a step towards carbon neutral power. -RZ

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California to Stop Buying From Automakers That Backed Trump on Emissions
November 18, 2019 | New York Times | Coral Davenport
California’s government has said that it will no longer purchase vehicles from automakers such as General Motors, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, and others for its state agencies. This ban is in response to these companies’ support for the Trump administration, which is lowering previously set vehicle pollution standards set and taking away California’s ability to set its own standards. The 2,000 to 3,000 new vehicles that California’s state agencies purchase each year will now be solely from Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW. In the same statement, California’s government also established that the state may only purchase sedans that are electric or hybrid vehicles. Governor Gavin Newsom is hoping to leverage California’s buying power to push for lower carbon emissions, even if the federal government and some automakers are in opposition. -PH

Power Surge 8.7

Volume 8, Issue 7
November 17, 2019 – November 23, 2019
Neha Chauhan '21 | Sabrina Reguyal ‘22 | Joe Kawalec '21 | Rei Zhang ‘21 | Amy Amatya '21 | Patrick Huang ‘21

A Third of All Americans Live Somewhere That Will Use 100% Green Energy
November 14, 2019 | Forbes | Ken Silverstein
With a dozen states and 200 cities and counties committing to 100% green energy, the clean energy movement is getting most of its traction at the local level. Kelly Trumbull, project manager at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, noted the “bipartisan support for clean energy” at the local level and how it “transcends political boundaries.” For example, California has more than 65 cities and counties powered by 100% carbon-free energy and Hawaii passed the nation’s first green law in 2015, with other states currently following in their footsteps. Six investor-owned utilities have also set 100% clean energy or carbon-free targets, boding well for a clean energy transition in the industrial sector. Still, this is not an easy change and prices for these utilities can be expensive, so smart policy-making is necessary for introducing clean energy in new areas. -JK

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America is Now the World’s Top Oil Producer, but Cracks are Emerging
November 7, 2019 | CNN | John Defeterios
In less than a decade, shale exploitation has pushed the U.S. to become the No. 1 oil producer in the world. Much of this comes from the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, which is responsible for ⅓ of the country’s output. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) recently predicted that the shale boom will only continue to increase. The gradual movement toward independence in crude oil has had profound effects on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, as seen in President Trump’s reluctance to deploy troops to protect crude flow. We also see the beginnings of vulnerabilities in the U.S. oil market, with downsizing and 200 shale bankruptcies happening in the last four years. -AA

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More Cracks Appear in the Iran Nuclear Deal as Iranian Relations with the West Worsen
The past week has been quite pessimistic with regards to the maintenance of the Iran Nuclear Deal, a process which was kickstarted in May 2018 when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord and imposed renewed sanctions on Iran. The 2015 deal was originally designed to reduce sanctions and keep Tehran one year away from creating an atomic bomb. On November 10, 2019, Iran began constructing a second nuclear reactor at the Bushehr power plant, with a third reactor planned in the near future. Iran began enriching uranium to 4.5% in order to supply Bushehr although the deal limits it to 3.67%. Then, on November 11, 2019, the IAEA reported that Iran began refining uranium at Fordow, a location built in a mountain to protect it from aerial attacks and hidden from U.N. inspectors until 2009. The Iran Nuclear Deal had banned enrichment and nuclear materials at that site. Finally, on November 12, 2019, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded to EU pressure to stick to the deal with a sharp rebuff, arguing that its critics had not upheld their own commitments during the past 18 months.” -SR

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Formula 1 launches a plan to become carbon neutral by 2030
November 12, 2019 | The BBC | Andrew Benson
Formula 1, the auto racing sport, has often been criticized for its high carbon emissions. To address these criticisms, Formula 1 has published a plan to become carbon neutral by 2030. The sport calculated that it has to offset 256,551 tons of carbon yearly, not including travel by fans. It plans to address this carbon reduction goal through a combination of planting more trees and carbon capture. Formula 1 plans to immediately begin carbon reduction projects to start moving towards this goal. These projects include studying the thermal efficiency of F1 engines, requiring a certain percentage of biofuels to be used in races, and addressing waste at their races. By 2025, the industry plans to make all events sustainable by eliminating single-use plastics and ensuring reuse, recycling, or composting of all waste. -RZ

EU Bank Takes ‘Quantum Leap’ to End Fossil-Fuel Financing
November 14, 2019 | Bloomberg | Ewa Krukowska
The European Investment Bank, a public financial institution whose shareholders are the European Union’s member states, has agreed to enact a new energy policy supporting clean renewable energy while drastically raising the bar on fossil fuels, including natural gas. By 2021, the bank will not consider financing projects that exceed the emissions threshold of 250 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour. As a result, any projects that plan to burn fossil fuels will need to implement technologies that significantly mitigate carbon emissions. Despite some hesitation from Germany and other central European countries that support financing for natural gas projects, this new development is another major part of the initiatives the EU is taking to uphold the commitments made at the 2015 Paris Agreement and combat climate change. -PH