When people think about energy, they don’t often think of industrial heat. But that heat is critical for sustaining modern life. Without a lot of heat, this very article could not exist. Heat is responsible for all of the infrastructure and almost all electricity in the United States and the…
This week, the Biden administration halted plans to purchase 6 million barrels of crude oil to begin replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). With the reserve at an unprecedented low since the U.S. began stockpiling, this raises questions about how and when it might be refilled. Aii newsletter subscribers likely…
Just over a month ago, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $2 million investment in Lithium-ion battery recycling. You can find these batteries in almost anything that is rechargeable – power tools, phones, laptops, electric vehicles, and more. But what makes recycling them such a big deal and, according…
Much of the developed world is undergoing an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable and technology-based natural energy sources. To date, 96 countries representing almost 80 percent of carbon emissions have made net-zero pledges. Besides a massive investment in renewable energy sources and an increase in overall power production,…
Nuclear energy tends to get a bad rap in modern politics. Past accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima have scarred the minds of those who were alive to witness the catastrophes and have made it difficult for even newer generations to trust nuclear capabilities. Much of the fear surrounding nuclear…
In 2013, wind and solar power combined to produce less than 5 percent of all U.S. utility-scale electricity. In 2022, that number was 13.6 percent. Renewable energy sources are expected to make up at least 33 percent of all U.S. power generation by 2030 without major changes to energy policy….
As climate and energy policy continues to evolve, the EPA recently released a new proposed rule for environmental standards regarding emissions from coal and natural gas-fired power plants. An integral part of the proposal is reducing CO2 emissions through a process called carbon capture. First used as early as 1972,…
As temperatures rise and the summer power demand begins to take form, policy makers and industry leaders gathered in Columbia, South Carolina to discuss the state’s energy future. From economic competitiveness to new manufacturing, the need for new and resilient energy to meet current and future demand is essential. The…
In the United States, the conversation around decarbonization generally centers around the same handful of options. In large part, the policy approaches include tax, subsidy, grants, or favorable regulatory emphasis. The technological and industrial tools for decarbonization often include wind and solar as the popular energy generators, batteries as the…
When it comes to decarbonizing the U.S. economy, one could be forgiven for thinking the answer is as simple as ramping up wind and solar. While that is an option – albeit one that on its own would take decades – a more realistic approach is to identify what the…
There seems to be agreement from all sides that hydrogen is the fuel of the future. It is combustible and energy rich, and because its molecular formula is all H, there is no carbon in the equation to emit. If our utility-scale electricity on the grid, industrial and commercial heat,…
Longer trains can be a blessing or a curse, depending on where you sit. Certainly when stuck at a blocked crossing, one can only see the negatives. But what does a more wholistic assessment of longer trains reveal? Does the frustration outweigh the benefits, or are longer trains a key…
Blue, Grey, Green – oh my! The road to the emerald city of the future seems to feature a number of alternative energy projects with varying levels of promise. Perhaps the most touted yet least utilized at scale is hydrogen. But there seem to be many variations of hydrogen comprising…
This month, the population of the planet is believed to have surpassed 8 billion living people. This milestone serves as a reminder of the importance of critical natural resources, infrastructure, agriculture, and various services. Without well-functioning markets, supply chains, and governments, millions of people will be exposed to heat or…
Coal is primarily used to create electricity in the United States. For coal to create electricity, bituminous or subbituminous coal is burned, which turns water into steam that turns a turbine and creates electricity. Bituminous and subbituminous coal is found in abundance in West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. In…
