Volume 1, Issue 10
April 4, 2016 – April 10, 2016
Jason Mulderrig | Anushka Dasgupta
Energy Storage:
Solar and Wind Energy May Be Nice, But How Can We Store It? http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/04/05/470810118/solar-and-wind-energy-may-be-nice-but-how-can-we-store-it
April 5, 2016 | Jeff Brady Listen to this selection from NPR’s Morning Edition for an overview of three unconventional energy storage companies: SolarReserve, LightSail Energy, and Ice Energy. These companies were founded on the idea that while batteries, which employ chemical energy, are effective, they are too expensive and limited in scope to fill in all the gaps between renewable energy supply and demand. They offer alternative methods of storing up energy generated on-site. SolarReserve’s Nevada plant, for example, use concentrated solar technology to generate thermal energy which can be stored by heating molten salt. Ice Energy’s idea of shifting supply by freezing and melting ice left me a bit skeptical, but it could be useful as homeowners transition to using renewably generated power. I definitely recommend reading about LightSail’s fledgling concept of storing energy by compressing air! -AD
Oil and Gas:
Good News and Bad About America’s Leaking Methane http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2016/04/03/theres-good-news-and-bad-news-about-americas-leaking-methane/2/#1a324f8050c9
April 3, 2016 | Jeff McMahon Adam Brandt, a Stanford researcher that studies methane emissions in America, just released a new study that gave both praise and concern to those concerned about such emissions. Brandt’s study came as an encouragement because his study found that about 20% of the methane leaks in the American gas infrastructure accounts for 90% of the infrastructure’s methane emissions. So, if these 20% leaks could be plugged, then most of the methane emissions from the American gas infrastructure could be eliminated. However, due to the great complexity of the gas infrastructure and how little information about such infrastructure is released to the public from each individual well, the emissions reports in Brandt’s reports are undoubtedly an underestimate. Even though Brandt’s study confirmed that we can reduce most of the methane emissions from American gas infrastructure from plugging a relatively small number of wells, the study still asserts that the emissions problem is undoubtedly larger than current measurements indicate. -JPM
Power Distribution/The Grid:
Five Years After Fukushima, Japan Launches Massive Electric Sector Deregulation http://www.forbes.com/sites/ucenergy/2016/04/04/after-five-years-fukushima-sparks-opportunity-as-one-of-the-largest-deregulations-begins/#384a9b54ecf4
April 4, 2016 | Koichiro Ito This month, Japan is set to deregulate both its generation and retail electricity sectors. This deregulation has the strong potential to modernize Japan’s energy sector, lower electricity prices for consumers, and boost the recent sag in Japan’s economy. This deregulation was partially brought about by the tsunami disaster in March 2011. Before the tsunami, Japan’s government was unwilling to deregulate the electricity sectors due to political influence from various Japanese power companies. But, after the tsunami, consumers and government officials have grown frustrated. Electricity prices have risen due to reliance on fossil fuel imports in order to produce electricity lost from the the closure of essentially the entire entire nuclear power plant fleet in Japan post Fukushima. But with deregulation, competition is set to increase, electricity prices will drop, and technological improvements to the Japanese grid will surely be encouraged. -JPM
Government Reveals Details About Energy Grid Hacks http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/05/technology/energy-grid-hacks/
April 5, 2016 | Jose Pagliery This month, Japan is set to deregulate both its generation and retail electricity sectors. This deregulation has the strong potential to modernize Japan’s energy sector, lower electricity prices for consumers, and boost the recent sag in Japan’s economy. This deregulation was partially brought about by the tsunami disaster in March 2011. Before the tsunami, Japan’s government was unwilling to deregulate the electricity sectors due to political influence from various Japanese power companies. But, after the tsunami, consumers and government officials have grown frustrated. Electricity prices have risen due to reliance on fossil fuel imports in order to produce electricity lost from the the closure of essentially the entire entire nuclear power plant fleet in Japan post Fukushima. But with deregulation, competition is set to increase, electricity prices will drop, and technological improvements to the Japanese grid will surely be encouraged. -JPM