Category: Policy

Should California Only Important Electricity Through HVDC Lines During the Rainy Season?

Should California Only Important Electricity Through HVDC Lines During the Rainy Season?

Should California Only Important Electricity Through HVDC Lines During the Rainy Season?

03/28/19

“Should California only import high voltage electricity from other states at certain times of the year?”

California has ambitious plans with renewable energy. Not only is it the leading market in the United States, but plans to completely decarbonize its energy grid by 2045! However, this may require importing wind energy from Wyoming and Hydropower from the Pacific Northwest. The most efficient way to do this is to use HVDC lines with low levels of resistive losses. However, with the advent of climate change, California is experiencing much more and longer periods of drought. This creates fertile conditions for fires, which can be easily triggered in the case of a power line fault. Given that HVDC lines are at such high voltages, a single slip from one can cause intensive damage. As a result, it might be wise for California to only import electricity during the rainy season. Doing this will increase resilience protection and help stabilize the grid during the less sunny winter days. Since wind and hydro resources are also more plentiful when it rains, it would be a great way for other states to offset their surpluses during this time. This might be unnecessary if advanced fault detection and diagnostic technologies are used, but only studies will be able to say for sure!

How Building More Housing in California Would Drastically Reduce Climate Change

How Building More Housing in California Would Drastically Reduce Climate Change

How Building More Housing in California Would Drastically Reduce Climate Change

03/26/19

“How can we fight climate change by building more housing in California?”

Although my home state of California is a global leader in Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Electric Vehicle Adoption, we are seriously lagging behind in critical area: housing development.

As a result of California’s neglection of residential construction combined with a booming economy over the past few decades, millions have been drawn to the Golden State without making more room for them. This has created a lack of supply with heavy demand, making housing costs skyrocket and pushing out residents further and further away from job centers. This has caused commute lengths to increase, releasing more pollution into the atmosphere and exacerbating climate change.

If California is truly committed to fighting climate change, then it needs to commit to building much more housing near transit and job centers. Upcoming Bill SB-50 holds much promise, which allows for construction of apartment buildings a half-mile from a railway station, quarter-mile of a high-frequency bus stop, or within “job-rich” neighborhoods.

The EPA Federal Test Procedure and Why It Is Important

The EPA Federal Test Procedure and Why It Is Important

The EPA Federal Test Procedure and Why It Is Important

03/23/19

“How are vehicles tested for emissions and fuel economy in the United States?”

In the United States, in order to sell a car the emissions and fuel economy must be known. But how can this be accomplished? Well, what if we were to make the vehicle undergo a series of standardized and controlled drive-cycles and measure fuel consumption? This way, not only can we measure its performance for that trip but compare it to every other vehicle that underwent a similar trip. Well, it turns out the EPA does exactly with The EPA Federal Test Procedure.

Image credit: Wikipedia

Why Agricultural Farms are Being Converted into Solar Farms in the American Midwest

Why Agricultural Farms are Being Converted into Solar Farms in the American Midwest

Why Agricultural Farms are Being Converted into Solar Farms in the American Midwest

03/20/19

“Why are agricultural farms being turned into solar farms in the American Midwest?”

A crisis and a boom is running through the American Midwest right now. Crop prices have collapsed do much that in some areas farming yields $0/acre. But due to new renewable energy incentives being passed in Illinois and Minnesota and the fact that solar provides a fixed return, many farmers are installing solar panels over their cropland. As a result, Illinois and Minnesota re experiencing tremendous growth rates in their solar industries. This is Why Agricultural Farms are Being Converted into Solar Farms in the American Midwest.

Image credit https://www.washingtonpost.com

Cyclone Idai and Why Communities Need to Prepare for Climate Change Resilience

Cyclone Idai and Why Communities Need to Prepare for Climate Change Resilience

Cyclone Idai and Why Communities Need to Prepare for Climate Change Resilience

03/19/19

“Why does Cyclone Idai in Mozambique show that cities need to build climate change resilience?”

The Mozambique city of Beira was recently hit by Cyclone Idai. Due to the intensity of the storm and the lack of resources, over 90% of the city was destroyed. The infrastructure was so damaged that metal roofs flew off of buildings. Since catastrophic climate events will rise in the future, cities will need to invest to change how to combat these problems. This is Why Communities Need to Prepare for Climate Change Resilience.

Image credit: https://qz.com/africa/1576018/cyclone-idai-mozambique-death-toll-could-rise-to-over-1000/

How to Properly Use Distributed Energy Resources for Resilience

How to Properly Use Distributed Energy Resources for Resilience

How to Properly Use Distributed Energy Resources for Resilience

03/18/19

“How should we use distributed energy resources to build resilience?”

Distributed energy resources such as solar and wind energy are shaping up to be the next dominant paradigm in energy. And one of their most touted benefits is the increased resilience that they will bring. However, research has shown that this will only occur if they are deployed in a careful manner. This means that they will need to be planned to provide backup to vulnerable transmission lines, relieve congestion, and be placed under control of grid operators. This is How to Use Distributed Energy Resources for Resilience.

Why Wind Turbines Need Roads

Why Wind Turbines Need Roads

Why Wind Turbines Need Roads

03/16/19

“Why do we need to build roads to have wind energy?”

Wind turbines are one of the greenest sources of energy available to us. However, just because it doesn’t produce any greenhouse gases during operations doesn’t mean that no pollution occurs over its lifespan. Wind turbines need permanent service roads and temporary construction roads for proper service. This is Why Wind Turbines Need Roads.

How Isolating Grid Infrastructure from the Internet can Increase Resilience to a Cyber Attack

How Isolating Grid Infrastructure from the Internet can Increase Resilience to a Cyber Attack

How Isolating Grid Infrastructure from the Internet can Increase Resilience to a Cyber Attack

03/15/19

“How can we increase security by making the grid go offline?”

In the modern world, it seems like everything is becoming connected to the internet. Although this has brought revolutions in communication, it has also left many components viable to a cyber attack. The grid is no different, and has already been hacked because of this. To prevent this from happening, the grid can simply be disconnected from the internet. That way no attacker can come in and tinker with the components. This is How Isolating Grid Infrastructure from the Internet can Increase Resilience to a Cyber Attack.

Why Seasonal Energy Storage is Necessary for Large-Scale Penetration of Renewables

Why Seasonal Energy Storage is Necessary for Large-Scale Penetration of Renewables

Why Seasonal Energy Storage is Necessary for Large-Scale Penetration of Renewables

03/14/19

“Why should we be able to store energy for months?”

Energy storage is the biggest bottleneck in the deployment of renewable energy. Not only are we currently limited in the amount we can store, but also the time, as decay occurs the longer it is stored. And with the deeper penetration of renewables, energy will have to be stored for longer durations, so that charge can be stored during the sunny summer months and extracted in the dark winter ones. This is Why Seasonal Energy Storage is Necessary for Large-Scale Penetration of Renewables.