Problem and Solution Edition
Happy Friday folks.
Today we offer you a problem and solution edition. We don’t take any of the problems lightly by any means but thought that by combining our new energy technology features with some otherwise gloomy news, we might add a little hope to certain situations. Here goes.
Problem: From CommonWealth Magazine, “Report raises gas utility safety issues. A panel reviewing the physical integrity and safety of the state’s natural gas distribution system found a gap exists between the way gas utilities say their crews perform work on the gas system and the way that work actually happens in the field. It also found that National Grid, the utility serving eastern Massachusetts, including Boston, is struggling to contain leaks on its gas distribution system.”
Solution: From UPI, “Bats inspire new technique to find corroding metal in oil, gas pipelines. Using the unique ultrasound system deployed by bats as inspiration, engineers have developed a new way to locate corroding metal in oil and gas pipelines. To hunt prey and dodge objects while flying through the air, usually in the dark, bats use a combination of different ultrasound wavelengths. The new corrosion detection system uses two different kinds of radiation, fast neutrons and gamma rays. Ultrasonic or electromagnetic methods are typically used for finding corrosion in pipes, but the techniques don’t work for underground pipes or pipes with concrete or plastic insulation. The new system works on all kinds of metal and composite pipes.”
Problem: From the Washington Post Energy 202: “Trump backs down from building nuclear waste site in Nevada. President Trump with one single tweet appeared to reverse his administration’s support of entombing dangerous radioactive material under the Yucca mountain…The administration had promised to finish building the Yucca repository, first proposed in the 1980s as the site to store the nation’s ever growing pile of spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive waste.”
Solution: From Popular Mechanics, “You Should Know About This Chernobyl Fungus That Eats Radiation. Scientists have discovered that a longtime fungal resident of the Chernobyl complex could actually “eat” radiation. In an upcoming paper, scientists will share the results of growing the fungus on the International Space Station. Scientists have known about this fungus, and similar extremophile organisms that can thrive on radiation, since at least 2007. The variety found in Chernobyl “can decompose radioactive material such as the hot graphite in the remains of the Chernobyl reactor,” Nature said in 2007. The fungus grows toward the hottest and most radioactive places, like phototropism but for deadly toxins. How can this fungus process radiation in this way? Because it has tons of very dark melanin pigment that absorbs radiation and processes it in a harmless way to produce energy. Scientists believe this mechanism could be used to make biomimicking substances that both block radiation from penetrating and turn it into a renewable energy source.
Problem: Climate Change: Climate Models Are Running Red Hot, and Scientists Don’t Know Why, Bloomberg Green. The world’s oceans are speeding up — another mega-scale consequence of climate change, Washington Post. Climate Change: It’s a Buzzkill for Bumblebees, Study Finds, New York Times…
Solution: From Vice.com “This Renewable Energy Device Powers 100 LEDs with a Single Drop of Water. What if your umbrella could charge your phone? That speculative tech just got a bit closer to reality now that scientists have designed a small, highly efficient electricity generator that can create enough charge with a single droplet of tap, rain, or seawater to power 100 LED light bulbs. The researchers hope that, alongside solar and wind power, the approach can help tackle the world’s energy crisis. Obviously, generating electricity with water is nothing new. But the study, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, looked at how a unique connection between the water droplets and the generator interface increased the generator’s overall power. By coating their droplet generator in a material with a near-permanent electric charge, the team observed that their generator was able to slowly collect charge from continuously falling droplets and store it until reaching its capacity. This allowed the generator to more efficiently convert the droplet’s energy. From just a single droplet the generator was able to generate enough power to light up 100 small LED light bulbs, and with four droplets it could power nearly 1,500.”
That’s the recap for this week. Enjoy the stories below and have a wonderful weekend.
Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling
FERC reorganizes to address landowner disputes, E&E News
Jim Cramer, ‘Mad Money’ host, declares fossil fuels dead, Grist
Japan Races to Build New Coal-Burning Power Plants, Despite the Climate Risks, New York Times
Fight to stop gas-powered generation plant may be futile, Stamford Advocate
Coal-fired electricity declines in New York and New England, WTEN
Report raises gas utility safety issues, CommonWealth Magazine
Bats inspire new technique to find corroding metal in oil, gas pipelines, UPI.com
Why Democratic presidential candidates, for once, are not fighting over ethanol, Vox
Democrats’ Fracking War Heats Up As 2020 Voting Begins, HuffPost
Climate change fears put US gas utilities on defensive, Financial Times
Weymouth Compressor
DEP to meet with Newton man, other gas project opponents, Wicked Local Newton
Compressor station foes to meet with regulators Friday, Patriot Ledger
BU Professor Is On Hunger Strike Over Weymouth Compressor, WBUR
State To Install Permanent Air Monitoring Station In Weymouth, WBUR
The Cohasset Democratic Town Committee votes to support the efforts of the Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station in Weymouth, Wicked Local
Climate Change/RGGI
Lawmakers hear about enforcement and energy curtailment for Global Warming Solutions Act, True North Reports (VT)
Poll tested public opinion on climate change, Taunton Daily Gazette
Climate Models Are Running Red Hot, and Scientists Don’t Know Why, Bloomberg Green
Attleboro area state senators support climate-change legislation, Sun Chronicle
The world’s oceans are speeding up — another mega-scale consequence of climate change, Washington Post
Clean Energy Center’s focus could shift from jobs to climate change, Boston Globe
7 takes on Senate climate change debate, CommonWealth Magazine
Power plant emissions down 47% under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Connecticut Mirror
Program to focus on ‘blue carbon’ habitats, climate change, Salem News
Climate Change Is Ruining My Birthday Outside
Maine must plug in to fight climate change, study concludes, Portland Press Herald
Rhode Island towns moving to block TCI, Boston Herald
Climate Change: It’s a Buzzkill for Bumblebees, Study Finds, New York Times
Baker announces climate change grants in New Bedford, South Coast Today
Renewables
$64 Million Makes It Official: Renewable Hydrogen In, Natural Gas Out (Eventually), Clean Technica
This Renewable Energy Device Powers 100 LEDs with a Single Drop of Water, Vice.com
Clash between Holyoke gas utility, advocacy group imperils $275,000 clean energy grant, MassLive
New York unveils $6m co-investment fund to support emerging clean energy firms, Energy Central
Wellesley-based Vanguard Renewables Ag part of a project to convert dairy farm manure to natural gas, Wicked Local
Martha’s Vineyard Running Entirely on Renewable Energy? Town Meeting Voters May Get to Decide, Cape and Islands NPR
How this Danish energy company is transitioning from oil and gas to all renewables, Fast Company
Attleboro wins Green Community designation and $244,000 grant, Sun Chronicle
Wind
GAO urged to probe energy project ‘double standard,’ Worcester Telegram
Mass. lawmakers, Trump administration spar over Vineyard Wind review, CommonWealth Magazine
How the end of a major tax incentive may impact wind energy, PBS Newshour
Suit filed over proposed wind project in Guilford, The Daily Star (NY)
For offshore wind, expect more delays, CommonWealth Magazine
New York aims to kick off solicitation for up to 2.5 GW of offshore wind in 2020, Utility Dive
The world’s biggest offshore wind developer wants a carbon-neutral supply chain, CNBC
Wind Turbine Blades Can’t Be Recycled, So They’re Piling Up in Landfills, Bloomberg Green
State: Blittersdorf Should Pay $2,500 Penalty In Kidder Hill Case In Irasburg, Caledonian Record
Leading Marine Mammal Acoustic Expert Joins Vineyard Wind, Cape Cod Today
Offshore wind transportation to receive boost from state grant, RICentral.com
NH moving ahead with planning & development of offshore wind energy, WMUR9
Grant to aid MMA study of offshore wind technology, Cape Cod Times
ConCom to draft conditions for Brayton Point project, southcoasttoday.com
Solar
Chopping Down Trees For Solar Panels? The Choice Isn’t Clear-Cut For Stoughton Church, WBUR
Solar farm company promises savings for residents, Salem News
SEIA backs carbon pricing for New York wholesale power, PV Magazine
Anti-solar panels pointed at space could generate power at night, Techspot
Captona Adds 24 MW of New England Solar to Portfolio, Solar Industry
R.I. electric utilities agree to buy power from new Connecticut solar project, Providence Journal
Energy Efficiency/Storage
How ConEd and National Grid are experimenting with energy storage in New York, Utility Dive
‘All-Electric’ Movement Picks Up Speed, Catching Some Off Guard, New York Times
Going electric has more perks than you might think (beyond saving the planet and gas money), Mashable
VCs poured $1.7 billion into batteries in 2019. Here are the 9 startups that scored the biggest deals., Business Insider
Polar Beverages of Worcester bottles energy savings, Telegram
EVs
Super Bowl Ads Hyped Electric Cars. But Will Anyone Buy Them?, New York Times
Cost of electric school bus service in Amherst districts may be too much, Daily Hampshire Gazette
Sluggish sales throw the future of electric vehicles into uncertainty, Axios
There are Cars and Then There are Electric Cars, Boston Broadside.com
U.S. House Democrats propose electric vehicle charging network, Reuters
Nuclear
You Should Know About This Chernobyl Fungus That Eats Radiation, Popular Mechanics
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station warns of layoffs as decommissioning continues, MassLive
Duxbury: Safety Precaution Reduced After DPH Deems Pilgrim Power Nuclear Station Not a Threat, WATD
We need nuclear power to fight climate change, but is it doomed?, New Scientist
Plymouth: EPA Permit Issued to Monitor Wastewater at Pilgrim, WATD
The Energy 202: Trump backs down from building nuclear waste site in Nevada, Washington Post
Market/Grid/Policy/Prices
ISO-NE capacity prices fall to new low, but latest auction shut out some renewables and storage, Utility Dive
CMP corridor opponents say they have signatures to put western Maine project to a vote, Bangor Daily News
Opponents Of CMP Transmission Line Submit Signatures For Statewide Vote On Project, Maine Public
Power to the people: Bernie calls for federal takeover of electricity production, Politico
30,000 Connecticut residents still have banned electricity deals, Energy Central
Final New Jersey Energy Master Plan Makes Way for Microgrids, Microgrid Knowledge
Women in energy are far less represented than corporate average, Axios
EEI rallies Wall Street with sunny prospects for electric utilities, Daily Energy Insider
Quincy moving ahead with municipal aggregation, Patriot Ledger
Eversource reminds customers: Energy assistance programs available, Stamford Advocate
Editorial/Opinion
Is natural gas essential for the state to reach zero-carbon goals?, Hartford Courant
Letter: Legislators need to address gas leaks, Salem News
Columnist Marty Nathan: Locust swarms and the climate emergency, Daily Hampshire Gazette
Tom Evslin: Preparing for electric vehicles, VTDigger
How to maximize Vt’s electric status, St. Albans Messenger
Time for New York to lead on fossil fuel divestment, New York Daily News
Mainers’ health vulnerable to climate change, Kennebec Journal
To protect ecosystem, improve balance on critical regulatory panel, The Day
Picking apart Rep. Kearney’s fishy argument, CommonWealth Magazine
Our view: Report is a roadmap for gas system improvements, Salem News
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