Volume 8, Issue 4
October 14, 2019 – October 20, 2019
Neha Chauhan '21 | Sabrina Reguyal ‘22 | Joe Kawalec '21 | Rei Zhang ‘21 | Amy Amatya '21 | Patrick Huang ‘21
To keep the lights on during California’s blackouts, people are using solar power
October 10, 2019 | Fast Company | Adele Peters
PG&E, Pacific Gas and Energy, has recently shut down power to about 800,000 consumers in California, as part of an attempt to reduce the risk of wildfire. Some homeowners have invested in a system that includes solar panels, a battery, and inverters, which allows the home to use and store solar energy. In times of normal operation, batteries can help provide power during hours of peak demand. Beyond individual homeowner benefits, these solar power systems can also further mitigate fire risk by reducing reliance on transmission lines. Recently, California has passed a new subsidy on solar batteries to help facilitate installation of solar power in low-income and disadvantaged households. With increasing attention on fire risk and energy, interest in solar power as an alternative to transmitted electricity is rising. -RZ
‘This Did Not Go Well’: Inside PG&E’s Blackout Control Room
October 13, 2019 | New York Times | Ivan Penn
Pacific Gas & Energy (PG&E), the sprawling energy utility that services most of Northern California, cut electricity for over 700,000 homes and businesses on Wednesday due to weather forecasts of high winds and dry conditions, and high risk of wildfire. The news was made public on Monday. PG&E’s operations unraveled shortly after, as the communications and computer systems failed and the utility’s website crashed from the volume of customers trying to check whether they would be impacted. Roads and businesses lost power without warning and nursing homes and other critical services rushed to find backup power. Ultimately, PG&E chose to carry out this operation due to its likely responsibility for past wildfires, including Camp Fire, the state’s most destructive wildfire ever. As climate change makes wildfires more frequent and intense, these blackouts may become more common. However, the consensus after this week is that utilities need to be better prepared to manage such drastic operational events. -SR
The Hydrogen Economy Is Within Grasp And Progressive Energy Companies Know It
October 8, 2019 | Forbes | Ken Silverstein
Displacing fossil fuels by producing green hydrogen from a carbon-free source is one popular path for addressing climate change that many renewable energy advocates are looking into. This method of creating electricity and synthetic fuels is the primary goal of Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, the founder of a two year-old company named Enapter. The electrolyzer that Enapter makes helps provide energy for an electric current that can split water to make hydrogen and oxygen gas. This hydrogen gas is stored until it’s pumped into a fuel cell, which then generates electricity, overall an “ultra-clean” and emission-less method of generating electricity. Schmidt sees a future where hydrogen will become “cheaper than a gallon of gasoline,” and as many other countries begin to take hydrogen seriously, we could be seeing a new era of green hydrogen energy. -JK
Seeking New Energy, an English Town Digs Deep
October 7, 2019 | NY Times | Mark Ellwood
In the county of Cornwall located in southwestern England, locals are anticipating the development of a new geothermal plant that will hopefully bring both electricity and economic stimulus to the area. Beneath Cornwall lies a large granite deposit from which useful energy can be extracted by pumping water into the ground; the water is heated by radioactive compounds in the granite and converted to steam, which can then power steam turbines or be used for heating. The soonest upcoming project is estimated to begin construction in March and produce enough electricity to power 3,000 homes. Although the region is more closely associated with the Cornish steam engine and the Industrial Revolution, these recent developments indicate a promising transition to renewable energy sources. -PH
Climate and Energy Experts Debate How to Respond to a Warming World
October 7, 2019 | New York Times | James O’Brien
The New York Times interviewed various energy executives about the clean energy transition, with interviewees spanning groups like Chevron and the Environmental Defense Fund. Representatives from fossil fuel companies advocated for their respective energy sources, sharing the view that completely phasing out fossil fuels is neither realistic nor necessary. They also all explicitly stated that climate change is real and requires immediate action. BP said that they are doing their part to be “consistent with the Paris goal” by spending, “$750 million on low-carbon activities,” less than 10% of their yearly revenue. This captures another New York Times article released earlier in the week that says oil companies have moved away from denying climate change and towards advertising their own contribution towards climate mitigation, but that these contributions aren’t reflected in their financial activity. So, the fossil fuel industry is making steps in the direction of climate action, but there is still a long way to go. -AA
Saudi Aramco Still Not Worth $2 Trillion, No Matter How Much Crown Prince Wants It To Be
October 11, 2019 | DealBreaker | Jon Shazar
In an unfortunate turn of events for Saudi Aramco, it was announced on Friday that investment bankers valued the nationally held firm at $1.3-1.5 trillion, well below the $2 trillion valuation that Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman was hoping for. Aramco has experienced similar outcomes before, with their previous IPO attempt two years ago fetching a valuation of $400 billion to $1 trillion, almost half what the Crown Prince had hoped for. At that time, Aramco, and ostensibly the Saudi Royal Family, refused to move ahead with the IPO, due to the substantial differentiation in valuation. Two years later, it has yet to be seen if they will see the significant increase in valuation as a green light to go public. With oil prices surging from their historic lows in the 2014-2016 period and a cloudy future for the industry moving forward, this may present a perfect opportunity for the Saudis to cash in on what would be the largest IPO ever, creating the liquidity needed to diversify the oil-dependent Saudi economy.
-CVA