Power Surge 8.3

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

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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

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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

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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

Power Surge 8.2

Volume 8, Issue 2
September 29, 2019 – October 5, 2019
Neha Chauhan '21 | Sabrina Reguyal ‘22 | Joe Kawalec '21 | Rei Zhang ‘21 | Amy Amatya '21 | Patrick Huang ‘21

Nuclear energy too slow, too expensive to save climate: report
September 23, 2019 | Reuters | Marton Dunai, Geert De Clercq
This year’s edition of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR) came out this week. It concludes that nuclear power is no longer competitive enough to combat climate change, both in terms of cost and capacity. The WNISR estimates that levelized costs -- a calculation that takes into account the entire lifetime of a plant -- have increased by 23% over the past decade, while for utility-scale solar and wind, it has dropped by 88% and 69%. The average construction time for reactors worldwide is estimated as a bit less than 10 years, which the report’s authors argue is too slow to achieve carbon reduction goals. In considering this article, it is important to note that author Mycle Schneider is aprominent anti-nuclear scientist and activist. Furthermore, the International Energy Agency warned this May that the pending decline in nuclear energy output will endanger climate goals, as advanced economies could lose 25% of their nuclear capacity by 2025. -SR

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First gas station in America to ditch oil for 100% electric vehicle charging opens in Maryland
September 26, 2019 | CNBC | Jacob Douglas
In Takoma Park, Maryland, a big step has been taken towards switching from petroleum-powered cars to electric vehicles (EVs) by RS Automotives, a local gas station open since 1958 that is switching to exclusively electric charging. The owner of the station, Depeswar Doley, considered this transition as an alternative to the way that oil and gas companies structure contracts. Maryland already has over 20,700 registered EVs and an electric taxi service, so the arrival of this electric charging station could further encourage EV use. As Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan puts it, “This fully converted gas-to-electric charging station is a prime example of our administration’s commitment to the environment and transportation.” -JK

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Southern State Energy Officials Celebrate Fossil Fuels as World Raises Climate Alarm
September 26, 2019 | Inside Climate News | James Bruggers
At the same time as the United Nations Climate Summit, a very different meeting of the Southern States Energy Board was occurring in Kentucky. The Board’s stated mission is to "enhance economic development and the quality of life in the South through innovations in energy and environmental policies." Speakers at the conference doubted “mainstream” climate science and pledged their support of fossil fuels and emitting carbon dioxide. Attendees, from state and federal agencies to fossil fuel industry representatives, were united by their shared goal to ease oil, gas, and coal regulations while the presidential administration is in favor of further deregulation. The meeting was heavily shaped by, and reflected the views of, Governor Bevin of Kentucky; he denies that climate change is a real phenomenon and is dismissive of alarm over climate change. -RZ

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New ways to make vertical farming stack up
August 31, 2019 | The Economist
The concept of vertical farming involves growing produce on stacked, modular layers, often in a controlled environment so that less energy and other resources are used in the agricultural process. While traditional greenhouses use natural sunlight for lighting, vertical farms, especially in urban areas where compactness is important, typically rely on LEDs. Intelligent Growth Solutions, a company based in Scotland, has reduced the energy demand of its vertical farming towers by adjusting the wavelengths of light that LEDs emit so that photosynthesis and plant growth is optimized for different crops. This and other processes, according to the company, allow the towers to achieve greater yield compared to other greenhouses with the same amount of growing space and similar energy costs. These developments may increase access to fresh food and do so in a resource efficient manner. -PH

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Utilities’ Big Promises on CO₂ Questioned by Analysts
September 25, 2019 | Scientific American | Benjamin Storrow
With the surge in corporations pledging to lower emissions in response to increasing public pressure, some climate analysts are growing skeptical that companies will act on these promises. The list of companies has recently grown to include Duke, American Energy Provider, and NRG - all of which are within the top ten largest carbon-emitting companies. These companies have made plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, a figure that aligns with climate research done on the level of reduction needed to prevent uncontrollable warming. However, most of them also have plans to run coal plants until 2040. Pressures on coal have led them to turn to another fossil fuel, natural gas. In the end, in order to begin to hope for neutral emissions by 2050, companies need to phase out - not replace - their fossil fuel use, starting now. -AA