Power Surge 10.1

Volume 10, Issue 1
September 14, 2020 – September 20, 2020
Neha Chauhan '21 | Sabrina Reguyal ‘22 | Joe Kawalec '21 | Rei Zhang ‘21 | Amy Amatya '21

Some Louisiana Residents Won’t Have Power for Weeks, If Not Months, After Hurricane Laura
August 31, 2020 | CNN | Holly Yan
Devastation has struck the environmentally precarious state of Louisiana on the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with the arrival of Hurricane Laura, the strongest storm to hit the region in over 150 years. The resulting damage to the power grid has left countless without electricity indefinitely. The echoes of this damage are felt in the state’s inability to transport and thus supply water, deaths linked to carbon monoxide poisoning from generator misuse, and inadequate recovery infrastructure. In the face of a future that only holds more frequent and intense natural disasters, Hurricane Laura stands as a reminder that environmental and energy justice are entwined pursuits, with material implications on the lives bound up in them. -AA

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Solar Prices Sink In The Age Of COVID
September 8, 2020 | Forbes | Ariel Cohen
Due to the unique and unexpected nature of the COVID-19 lockdown, energy demand has decreased, sparking drastic price drops for solar energy systems. This is a global phenomenon and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for solar energy has decreased to become competitive with thermal stations like coal-fired power plants. Specifically, installation costs for a rooftop solar panel can be as low as $0.40 per watt today compared to an average cost of $3.50 per watt fourteen years ago. In the United States, a new market study attributes continued growth in the solar energy market to a number of factors including expiring tax credits on renewables and a novel 30% tariff on solar panel imports. As the article says, “Global solar, it seems, is well positioned to weather the Covid storm.” -JK

Photograph: THE NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY (NREL)

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First U.S. Small Nuclear Reactor Design Is Approved
September 9, 2020 | Scientific American | Dave Levitan
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the first American small nuclear reactor design, which comes from the Portland-based company NuScale Power. The reactor design, known as a small modular reactors (SMR), is supposed to speed construction, lower cost, and improve safety as opposed to traditional nuclear reactors. This new development comes in line with similar research and construction in other countries, with SMRs reported to be in advanced stages of construction in China, Argentina, and Russia. However, skeptics have expressed some doubts about the safety and costs of the new design. In the meantime, NuScale’s first scheduled project is slated to deliver electricity to small, community-owned utilities in Utah and surrounding states, and is scheduled to be delivered in 2027 and operational in 2029. -SR

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BP takes $1.1bn stake in offshore wind farms as it agrees to Equinor deal
September 10, 2020 | The Guardian | Jillian Ambrose
BP is expanding its involvement in renewable energy, investing in offshore wind for the first time ever. In this $1.1 billion dollar deal, BP purchased a 50% stake in two new offshore wind projects currently being developed by Equinox. The projects are located offshore Long Island and off the coast of Massachusetts, and form part of BP’s strategy to increase investments in low-carbon endeavors, cut fossil fuel emissions, and shift towards energy rather than oil. The two farms, once completed, are expected to provide energy for around 2 million homes. -RZ

Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

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