Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Storage, GHG Emissions, Utilities, Sourcing Renewables  -  March 25, 2023

Weekend Reads: Decarbonization's Challenge for Utilities; Recharging EVs on the Road

It's the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web:

Can Utilities Rise To The Challenges Presented By Decarbonization? (Forbes)  The electricity network is among the greatest inventions ever, ushering in global economic and social progress. Yet, the system faces enormous tests and presents unique challenges to the nation’s 1,600 utilities, which center on decarbonization and electrification. How will power companies cope? The trend toward carbon neutrality could pay big dividends for utilities. The growth of electric vehicles (EVs) and the demand for renewables are driving change — all amplified by adding energy efficiency and battery storage technologies. 

10 Big Findings from the 2023 IPCC Report on Climate Change (World Resources Institute)  March 20 marked the release of the final installment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), an eight-year-long undertaking from the world’s most authoritative scientific body on climate change. Drawing on the findings of 234 scientists on the physical science of climate change, 270 scientists on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability to climate change, and 278 scientists on climate change mitigation, this IPCC synthesis report provides the most comprehensive, best available scientific assessment of climate change. It also makes for grim reading. 

Comparing The Net Value Of Geothermal, Wind, Solar, & Solar+Storage In The Western United States (CleanTechnica)  Studies show that a diverse portfolio of zero-carbon resources will be needed to decarbonize the U.S. electricity sector, and that high-capacity-factor renewable resources like geothermal could become particularly important in later stages of decarbonization as the capacity contribution of variable, weather-dependent resources like wind and solar declines with increasing market share. Yet while wind, solar, and — more recently — storage have all seen significant U.S. deployment in recent years, deployment of new geothermal plants has barely budged over the same period. 

Climate change: Can we really take CO2 back out the air? (BBC)  Humanity is on thin ice. Only rapid reductions in fossil fuel use, increased efficiency and deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors can mean we avoid the worst of climate change, according to a new report published by the United Nation's (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The new report should serve as a "a survival guide for humanity", according to UN chief Antonio Guterres, who recommended an "everything, everywhere, all at once" approach to climate action. 

States test an electrifying idea: roads that can recharge your electric vehicle (States Newsroom)  On two short stretches of road, transportation officials hope to make history. Over the next two years, they plan to embed technology in the pavement in Detroit, Michigan, that can charge electric vehicles while they’re being driven. The wireless system will be the first U.S. test of so-called inductive charging on public roadways, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

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