Energy Impacts

Renewable Energy: Where are the Jobs? Panel Discussion

Daniel Morton — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 21:36:58 +0000

Renewable Energy: Where are the Jobs? Panel Discussion Daniel Morton Tue, 10/22/2024 - 15:36

Daniel Morton

On October 22, 2024, RASEI partnered with Colorado WRISE to host a panel discussion exploring careers in the renewable energy sectors.

The Colorado Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy, or Colorado WRISE, is a local chapter of the nationwide organization that seeks to change our energy future through the collective power of community. The panel consisted of seven leaders from across a range of renewable sectors, from national lab, through utilities and non-profits, to power systems.

The panelists introduced themselves with a short biography and answered questions on everything from how they made their way into careers in the renewable sector, to the future of careers in this growing space.

Thank you to all the panelists and organizers!

10/22/2024

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POSE Fall 2024 Kickoff Workshop

Daniel Morton — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 22:43:24 +0000

POSE Fall 2024 Kickoff Workshop Daniel Morton Mon, 10/07/2024 - 16:43

Daniel Morton

In early October of 2024, RASEI hosted the kickoff workshop for POSE, a new community being brought together to address some of the most critical challenges we face to do with plastics and polymers.

Polymer Solutions for the Environment, or POSE, seeks to establish a Center that will bring together expertise around the development of a circular polymer economy.

Plastics and polymers are critical materials in the modern age, forming the building blocks of everything from electronics to packaging, but this versatility comes with a cost, namely the waste and infiltration of the environment by microplastics.

This workshop brought together thought leaders in the polymer sector, from a cross section of academic, national lab and industrial organizations. The goal was to explore how best the POSE community can build a program that complements existing efforts in the field to drive the science and policy forward.

Three areas of focus were discussed, including the development of a circular polymer economy, the development of polymers that are needed for a just clean energy transition, and the integration of the science and technology research with policy, economics and social sciences.

It was a great meeting with more than 60 participants who came together to discuss ideas, present their research and approaches, and help shape the goals and directions of this nascent community.

10/07/2024

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Polymer Solutions for the Environment Fall 2024 Workshop

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 15:52:40 +0000

Polymer Solutions for the Environment Fall 2024 Workshop Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2024 - 09:52

Polymer Solutions for the Environment Fall 2024 Workshop

Monday October 7, 2024 | 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

CU Boulder, East Campus, SEEC Building C120

Join us at this kick-off workshop for the Polymer Solutions for the Environment initiative. This will be held at CU Boulder, on the East Campus in the SEEC Building, Room C120 on Monday October 7, 2024. This one-day workshop brings together key collaborators and stakeholders from across the region, with a focus on discussing and developing a roadmap for POSE. Talks will have a spotlight on how POSE can join and amplify the existing regional community of researchers in tackling Colorado's most pressing sustainability challenges and exploring the role of polymer science in addressing these issues. We plan to define the goals, milestones, and target research areas for POSE.

10/07/2024

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A worldwide analysis of stranded fossil fuel assets’ impact on power plants’ CO2 emissions

Daniel Morton — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 21:00:01 +0000

A worldwide analysis of stranded fossil fuel assets’ impact on power plants’ CO2 emissions Daniel Morton Fri, 08/30/2024 - 15:00

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 2024, 15, 7517

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The Green Paradox: How Stranded Assets are slowing down the Clean Energy Transition

Daniel Morton — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 20:44:57 +0000

The Green Paradox: How Stranded Assets are slowing down the Clean Energy Transition Daniel Morton Fri, 08/30/2024 - 14:44

Daniel Morton

Read the full paper here

As we transition to a clean energy economy many of the existing fossil-based industries have assets, such as oil and gas that is still in the ground and the associated infrastructure, that are going to be left behind. Instead of winding down the consumption of fossil fuels as we transition, demand is increasing, which is causing a rise in carbon emissions.

RASEI Fellow Don Grant (CU Boulder), in collaboration with Tyler Hansen (Dartmouth College), Andrew Jorgenson (University of British Columbia), and Wesley Longhofer (Emory University), used a broad range of analyses on a worldwide dataset of power plant’s CO₂ emissions to explore this so-called Green Paradox.

One of the core pillars of the Paris Agreement laid out for the global transition to a clean energy economy is that a significant portion of the currently owned fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground, causing such assets to become ‘stranded’. Much of the research around how we make this critical transition assumes that the prospect of such stranded fossil fuel assets will compel actors to divest away from resources and infrastructures associated with high emissions and replace them with clean innovations that will form the foundation of a different way of generating energy. However, not everyone is so optimistic. A more pessimistic prediction warns that these high-carbon sunset industries, in coalition with sympathetic policy makers, and supportive financiers are acting in a more defensive mode and are actively resisting the energy transition. A key issue that apparently galvanizes all the stakeholders is the right of each country, and corporation, to extract as much profit as possible from the existing fossil reserves. Essentially to extract and profit from all the oil and gas, and not leave it in the ground.

“We have found that in anticipation of stronger climate policies many power plants are adopting what we might call a ‘use it or lose it’ approach – they are burning fossil fuels as fast as possible while they still can. This has some real consequences for a countries ability to mitigate climate change in the future.”

As more and more of the regulations and policies prescribed by the Paris Agreement come into action, fossil energy companies are not taking anticipatory action. Instead of divesting away from high-emission technologies in favor of more renewable energy sources, they are accelerating the extraction of fossil fuels, maximizing their profit before those resources are deemed worthless. “We have found that in anticipation of stronger climate policies many power plants are adopting what we might call a ‘use it or lose it’ approach – they are burning fossil fuels as fast as possible while they still can. This has some real consequences for a countries ability to mitigate climate change in the future.” explains Don Grant.

While several previous studies have explored the theoretical factors that are driving these decisions, this is the first empirical study to explore how this acceleration in asset extraction impacts the pollution level of downstream consumers, such as power plants, in anticipation of stronger climate policies. It required a team that brought together various perspectives to tackle these questions, Grant explains a little more about how the team came together “Andrew Jorgenson and Wesley Longhover, are both sociologists and we have worked together for close to a decade looking at super polluting power plants. We recently wrote a book called Super Polluters. We brought in Tyler Hanson, an economist, because he recently published some very interesting work on stranded assets. When we started to ask questions about stranded assets, we knew that we needed to go outside our discipline and tap into the expertise of an economist.” By bringing in the economist’s perspective for this research the team was able to develop an understanding of how to both theorize the stranded assets and how to measure them. This approach provides the first study that can offer some empirical evidence to begin to resolve the debate around the green paradox.

This has been hard to analyze since data on power plants’ CO₂ emissions have been lacking. The team constructed a global dataset that contains information from nearly 12,000 individual power plants in operation in 2009 and 2018, including their CO₂ emissions, technical specifications, and environmental characteristics. Those included in the study were responsible for 88% of the world’s electricity-based CO₂ emissions. With this comprehensive dataset in hand two hypotheses around the green paradox were tested.

Power plants will pollute at higher levels in countries with more at-risk fossil fuel reserves because these countries are more likely to exercise regulatory leniency to soften the otherwise disruptive effects of stranded assets on their economy (government revenues, employment, and energy security).
Assuming that most power plants are locked into long-term fossil fuel contracts and many of the fuels that they have acquired are from their host country, then in countries with more at-risk assets, power plants will have a vested interest in shifting the processing of fossil fuels forward to capitalize on their purchase of coal, oil, and gas, and use their plant equipment while they still can.

Consistent with both predictions, their findings indicate that not only do power plants release more CO₂ in countries where more fossil fuel assets are in jeopardy of being stranded, but in those same countries, plants also operate at closer to full capacity, causing them to emit CO₂ at even higher levels. “Imagine that you have a cell phone contract that lasts for 12 months,” suggests Don, “and you get 10,000 h, or a certain amount of data in that contract. Then you’re told that the company is going to fold sometime in the near future. What would you do? You would use them up.”

“This is a business-driven decision, and until countries put together policies to compensate fossil fuel industries and utilities for stranded assets, one might expect this process to continue”.

Resolving the debate around the green paradox and its societal impacts needs to happen soon. “Companies are doubling down. Until now it has been something of a conceptual debate and this is the first study that can offer some empirical evidence to begin to resolve this dispute” explains Don. There is more at stake than just resolving a debate. “This is a business-driven decision, and until countries put together policies to compensate fossil fuel industries and utilities for stranded assets, one might expect this process to continue”.

By exploring the empirical evidence behind the Green Paradox, this research moves the debate forward. With proof that this is happening, we must now think about how to influence this situation. “We are just beginning to figure out how you might address this, and researchers are starting to tackle these questions” says Don. A critical part in accelerating an equitable clean energy transition is making sure that countries who are dependent on such stranded assets are compensated and incentivized. Otherwise, they will extract every last drop of their fossil fuels.

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Sustainability pathways for perovskite photovoltaics

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Sustainability pathways for perovskite photovoltaics Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/23/2024 - 00:00

NATURE MATERIALS, 2024

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Closing the Loop: Unexamined Performance Trade-Offs of Integrating Direct Air Capture with (Bi)carbonate Electrolysis

Anonymous — Wed, 01 May 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Closing the Loop: Unexamined Performance Trade-Offs of Integrating Direct Air Capture with (Bi)carbonate Electrolysis Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/01/2024 - 00:00

ACS ENERGY LETTERS, 2024, 9, 2472-2483

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The Oil Machine Documentary

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0000

The Oil Machine Documentary Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/09/2024 - 00:00

Daniel Morton

On Tuesday April 9, 2024, RASEI hosted a screening of The Oil Machine Documentary as part of the campus-wide 2024 Conference for World Affairs.

Find out more about The Oil Machine Documentary

How can we break our addiction to oil? So much of modern society is built on, and with, oil. As we make the necessary transition to clean and renewable energy sources, so much is going to have to change. This documentary uses the UK’s North Sea oil economy as a discussion piece to explore a number of the different perspectives involved, everything from large oil companies, oil workers, to climate scientists and activists. The film provides a voice to a broad range of different perspectives and tensions involved in this transition and discuss some of the complexities on how we are going to make this change.

The screening, which attracted more than 50 people, was followed by a panel discussion with RASEI Fellows Kat Knauer and Jeff Logan, and executive producer Jame Marriot. The ideas and topics presented in the film prompted some interesting group discussions around the urgency of the transition and drew comparisons to the original effort that was put forth to access oil.

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A roadmap for tandem photovoltaics

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 06:00:00 +0000

A roadmap for tandem photovoltaics Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/20/2024 - 00:00

JOULE, 2024, 8, 3, 658-692

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Sustainability research at a national laboratory

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Sustainability research at a national laboratory Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/08/2024 - 00:00

NATURE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, 2024, 1, 198-200

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