December has been another big month for the environment with the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (also referred to as the Paris Climate Talks and COP21) ending in a broad, world-wide agreement to reduce greenhouse gasses in an attempt to combat global warming. The agreement confirmed the target of keeping the rise in temperature from the pre-industrial world to below 2°C, which scientists believe is necessary to prevent a global catastrophe. The agreement even establishes for the first time, that the world should be aiming for a rise of only 1.5°C to protect island states, which are the most threatened by the rise in sea levels. The Paris agreement requires all countries to review their contributions every five years from 2020; they will not be able to lower their targets and are encouraged to raise them. In addition, countries will aim to achieve carbon neutrality in the second half of the century. See CPO21 for more information. Continue reading Paris Climate Change Agreement and More
Reflection on DOE Solar Decathlon and Cal Poly INhouse
This past October U. S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015 concluded with final judging of the 14 entries at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. The Solar Decathlon challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency. Stevens Institute of Technology won top honors overall (see photo); University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, took second place; and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, came in third place. Continue reading Reflection on DOE Solar Decathlon and Cal Poly INhouse
Cancellation of Keystone Pipeline – A win for climate change or misplaced symbolism?
On Friday President Obama announced that he had rejected the request from TransCanada to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline which ultimately would have transported 800,000 barrels a day of heavy oil from the Canadian oil sands to the US Gulf Coast refineries. This ended a seven-year review that had become a contentious political issue and symbol of the debate over his climate policies. Continue reading Cancellation of Keystone Pipeline – A win for climate change or misplaced symbolism?
MIT Plan for Action on Climate Change
On October 21st the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) issued its Plan for Action on Climate Change. This document was the culmination of a year of discussions within the MIT community on the risks of climate change and the role that MIT should play as a leader on climate sciences and energy innovation. MIT’s position is that overwhelming evidence shows that the world is warmer than it was in the pre-industrial age, and that present-day climate change is due to human activity, in particular the emission of greenhouse gasses. MIT supports the 2C Challenge which aims to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and sees the need for a world-wide, aggressive but pragmatic transition plan to achieve a zero-carbon energy system. Continue reading MIT Plan for Action on Climate Change
Senate approves MOX funding, but future remains cloudy
Most of the energy news recently has been focused on renewables, particularly solar and wind, which makes it particularly interesting when a different energy source makes the headlines. This article regarding the MOX (Mixed Oxide) fuel fabrication plant, currently under construction in South Carolina, addresses a relatively obscure offshoot of the topic of nuclear power, that of fuel reprocessing. What makes it triply interesting is that it has geopolitical ramifications with regard to a 2000 treaty between the US and Russia to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium and also illustrates how incredibly complicated and expensive it is to do anything with the word “nuclear” in it. Continue reading Senate approves MOX funding, but future remains cloudy
Solar Power International 2015: A Volunteer’s Perspective
Our World of Energy is proud to introduce Alyssa Parr to our website visitors as our Higher Education Contributor. Alyssa is an architecture student and solar energy enthusiast studying at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and has co-led Solar Cal Poly, a multidisciplinary team designing and constructing INhouse, a net-zero home for the Solar Decathlon 2015. The following is her first guest blog for OWOE, and we hope to be hearing much more from her in the future.
As human beings, everything we encounter and experience grows from the sun’s energy. Similar to how plants receive nourishment from the sun through photosynthesis, solar photovoltaic power converts the sun’s direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) to provide electric energy. Imagine a gathering of thousands of humans — inventors, entrepreneurs, investors, policy-makers, and enthusiasts — in which the ultimate goal is to transition our planet toward clean energy through solar power.
September 14th-17th, 2015, I experienced Solar Power International (SPI) from the perspective of an exhibit hall volunteer. Continue reading Solar Power International 2015: A Volunteer’s Perspective
California – 50% renewable energy by 2030
On Wednesday California’s Governor Jerry Brown dramatically increased California’s climate-change goals by signing a bill that commits the state to use renewable energy for half its electricity and make existing buildings twice as energy-efficient by 2030. California already has some of the world’s toughest air quality standards, and in 2006, under Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger, mandated that renewable energy should make up one-third of its electricity by 2020. The state is well on its way to meet that goal with 25% of electricity coming from renewables last year, driven by significant increases in solar and wind power. Continue reading California – 50% renewable energy by 2030
Solar Power International Conference – Successes and Challenges
The Solar Power International (SPI) Conference was held in Anaheim, CA from September 14-17. Billed as the largest solar trade show in the nation, SPI had approximately 15,000 attendees and over 600 exhibitors. The solar power industry has had two outstanding years in 2014 and to date in 2015, and the conference reflected the energy and excitement of a vibrant and growing industry. Walking around in the exhibit hall, one could definitely feel the energy both from the attendees and exhibitors. For anyone who hadn’t been exposed to what happens behind-the-scenes to convert sunlight into electricity, the show would have been an eye-opener. From the tiniest electrical switch or solar photo-voltaic cell manufacturers, to product distributors and installers, to technology integrators, to engineering and construction companies, to financial institutions, to industry advocacy groups and support organizations, the range of products and number of companies and individuals are truly impressive. Although the mood of the conference was definitely upbeat, it was clear, when you dug a bit deeper, that the industry has a number of significant challenges ahead. Continue reading Solar Power International Conference – Successes and Challenges
Texas’ Luminant to Purchase 116 MW Of Utility-Scale Solar
In an announcement made on September 8th, Luminant has agreed to buy 116 megawatts of solar power from SunEdison’s new 800-acre Castle Gap solar facility in West Texas. Luminant is the largest generator of electricity in Texas and had total generating capacity at the end of 2014 of 15.4 GW, including coal, nuclear, and natural gas powered electrical generating plants. Total generation for 2014 was approximately 75% from coal and 25% from nuclear. Luminant is also one of the largest utility purchasers of wind power in the United States with approximately 700 MW of wind power under contract in 2014. Continue reading Texas’ Luminant to Purchase 116 MW Of Utility-Scale Solar
Shell Abandons Arctic Exploration
The oil industry has taken a number of huge hits this year with the collapse of oil prices. The latest is the announcement from Royal Dutch Shell that they are abandoning their Arctic drilling program in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of northwest Alaska after years of effort, over $7 billion spent, numerous regulatory battles, and unrelenting challenges from environmental groups. Shell announced that they found indications of oil and gas, but that they weren’t sufficient to warrant further exploration in the so-called Burger prospect. The well will be plugged and abandoned in accordance with U.S. regulations. The problem is that geologists believe the Arctic holds a quarter of the world’s undiscovered conventional oil and gas reserves. Shell’s high profile failure likely means that other companies won’t make similar attempts, and this resource will be unavailable to meet both US and world demand for oil that is expected to grow by another 10% over the next several decades. Continue reading Shell Abandons Arctic Exploration