“What happens when a community lacks sufficient access to energy resources?”
In the developed world, it is hard to imagine not having access to electricity. But in many parts of this the developing world, this is a pure reality. When a community lacks sufficient access to energy, they are said to be in Energy Poverty. Energy poverty can affect all factors of human development, such as emergency medical situations not having enough power or children not being able to do homework at night because of lack of access to lighting.
“How can we charge appliances that are not solar-powered using solar power?”
Solar energy is one of the cleanest energy sources known to humanity. But not everything is solar powered. However, we can make a workaround using Solar Chargers, which directly convert solar energy into electricity that can be used by all sorts of appliances.
Distributed Energy Resources have a problem. They tend to generate a large surplus of energy at midday when it is not needed, and a dearth at night when usage goes up. But some outside of the box thinking can fix this problem. We know that because the Earth revolves around its axis every day, different parts of the surface will be exposed to the sun at different times. So what if we were to take the surplus energy at the sunny parts and send it over to parts where the sun is absent using a Supergrid? In this way, A Supergrid can help Grid Stability.
“How can we measure an object’s surface temperature?”
Engineers and Scientists love to measure things. And one of the most important things to measure is often the surface temperature of objects. So how can we accomplish this? Well, we can use a thermistor with a specialized shape for surface monitoring called a Surface Temperature Probe to accomplish this.
Knowing the Albedo of a surface is very useful, whether it be for deploying solar energy or making scientific measurements on the moon. But how can we accomplish this? Well, by placing one pyranometer towards the sky and another one facing the surface, we can find how heavy the albedo is. These instruments are known as albedometers and are great for many purposes.
“How can IoT help make sure that wind turbines are operational?”
The Internet of Things is on the rise. From building automation systems to fleet platooning, it can be found everywhere. But did you know that IoT can help Wind Turbine Maintenance? Well, it turns out that by placing sensors which can monitor the performance of internal components, we can predict when systems are going faulty. This will have monumentous implications with the ever-increasing supply of wind energy.
How Electric Vehicle Charging Forecasting will Help with Net Zero Emissions Policy
09/20/18
“How can predicting electric vehicle charging help with environmental policy?”
Electric Vehicles are one of the fastest growing market segments in the world. Their smaller pollution factor will greatly help in decarbonization policy. But they have one catch to them. Because they require a great deal of charging and might replenish their energy at non-peak generation times, they have the potential to cause great harm to the grid. But if we can predict when and how EVs will charge it can allow us to plan out policies to achieve balance. This is How Electric Vehicle Charging Forecasting will Help with Net Zero Emissions Policy.
“What is the Trans Bay Cable and why is it so important for the city of San Francisco?”
Grid transmission projects are everywhere where there is a need for electricity. But some are more important than others. Before 2010, the city San Francisco and its southern peninsula were subject to wild grid fluctuations and had to rely on dirty power plants in the center of the city due to its relative geographic isolation from the rest of the state. But soon enough a need for a connection was realized, and The Trans Bay Cable was produced as a result. The Trans Bay Cable is an HVDC current underwater cable that connects San Francisco, California and Pittsburg, California in the East Bay. The cable can provide up to 400 megawatts of power at a DC voltage of ±200 kV( around 40% of San Francisco’s peak power requirements). Once this was completed, San Francisco was able to shut down its central power plants, improving the air quality and carbon emission portfolio of the city. It just goes to show how a little bit of grid planning can make such a huge difference!
Remember how we said that California might pass a law to go carbon-free by 2045? Well, it looks like it just did that. California Governor Jerry Brown signed bill SB 100 on Monday, effectively shifting the weight of the state to achieve a 60% renewable portfolio by 2030 and 100% by 2045! The state will also look at pathways to decarbonize other carbon-intensive sectors such as transportation. Although commendable, much work will be needed to make these goals a reality. Paramount is finding a way to solve the duck curve and reducing the state’s dependence on natural gas (which currently supplies a third of the state’s power). All in all, I am very excited yet cautious at these results and look forward to all of the future work to achieve this. If California can get this right, then other states and countries might follow suit with similar programs.
Isaac's Science Blog 