Global Energy: What might occur through 2050
This article highlights trends that are likely to occur through 2050. The organization presenting the information is Resources for the Future (RFF), an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC. The mission of RFF – a 501(c)(3) – is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement with 5 core values:
Improving both environmental and economic outcomes.
Adhering to the highest scientific and professional standards.
Preserving nonpartisanship, integrity, and trust.
Building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.
Leading to better public- and private-sector decisions.
Fully charged EV batteries in five minutes?
Battery swapping – which simply means changing out depleted electric vehicle (EV) batteries for fresh, recharged ones – is an alternative to charging batteries at a recharging station or at home. Close to half of the electric heavy-duty trucks sold in China in 2023 were equipped with battery-swap technology, and the country is experimenting with swaps for personal cars.
Solar and Wind Boom Sparks Conflicts on Land Use
Although solar and wind farms require less land than some rival non-fossil-fuel power sources (such as biomass burning), they require MORE land than fossil fuels. Using agricultural or forested land has become a problem throughout the world. This article reviews ways to reduce the impact of solar farms through building solar farms on old industrial, brownfield sites, and decommissioned landfills; installing floating solar panels on existing lakes behind dams; growing forage crops such as alfalfa and hay in the gaps between solar panels; grazing sheep in rows between solar panels; incorporating crops that require afternoon shade; and forbidding solar farms on top of peat deposits, prime ag land, and replacing forest with panels. Building floating wind farms in deeper waters can avoid much of the killing that occurs when birds fly into the structures, particularly at night.
‘Green Grab’: Solar and Wind Boom Sparks Conflicts on Land Use – Yale e360
Virginia Tops California as Nations #1 Electricity Importer
Almost 10% of all U.S. electricity is sent across state lines in the lower 48. Twenty-five states produce more electricity than they consume and export electricity to states where consumption exceeds supply. Virginia imports 36% of the electricity used in the state, making it the largest electricity importer in the continental U.S. Due to all the data centers being built, the increase in the demand for electricity in Virginia will be twice the increase predicted for the rest of the country. In fact, unconstrained demand for power in Virginia could double within the next 10 years.
Virginia now imports 40% of our power needs versus 18% in 2020, and the cost of imported power is 10 times higher than it was during the previous year, but half of solar projects proposed in Virginia were rejected or withdrawn.
Virginia Tops California as Nation’s #1 Electricity Importer Virginia Solar Summit Blog
Appalachian Power Company requests reduction to pay rate for net-metering solar customers
Net-metering allows residents and companies to install generation sources on their roof or property to provide the electricity they need, mostly through the use of solar panels. Any excess electricity generation can be sold to the local power company. Appalachian Power (ApCo)currently pays $0.16 per kilowatt hour for the excess power and wants to grandfather that rate for current participants for 25 years, while offering new participants $0.04 per kilowatt hour.
In California, when the net-metering payment rate was reduced, it led to a loss of 77% to 85% in sales and 17,000 jobs. If the net-metering payment is reduced in Virginia, the demand for roof-top solar panels will go down in spite of funding available to homeowners for solar installation. Also, roof-top solar panels help avoid turning agricultural and forested land into solar farms.
The State Corporation Commission is expected to review ApCo’s request to lower the amount paid to customers who use net-metering. The result could set a precedent ahead of Dominion submitting its petition next year.
Appalachian Power Company requests reduction to pay rate for net-metering solar customers • Virginia Mercury
Transparent paperboard could replace single-use plastics
Scientists at a research lab in Japan have produced a paper-based material that could be an ideal replacement for those single-use plastics. A cup made from the transparent material could hold just-boiled water for over 3 hours with no leakage. When the researchers coated the cup with a plant-derived fatty acid salt, it became completely waterproof. To test the degradability of the material in case of accidental release into the ocean, the researchers submerged paperboard sheets at sites located at four different ocean sites of varying depths. The material fully decomposed in 300 days at deep ocean depths. The degradation was even faster in shallower depths because of warmer temperatures.
Close to 2 million metric tons of plastic enters the oceans every year, and much of that plastic is single-use beverage bottles, cups, and straws.
Transparent paperboard could replace single-use plastics
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