GHG Emissions, Solar, Sourcing Renewables, Wind  -  April 6, 2024

Weekend Reads: Taylor Swift's Carbon Footprint, Cracking Geothermal Energy

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

U.S. aiming to ‘crack the code’ on deploying geothermal energy at scale (The Guardian)  A limitless supply of heat exists beneath our feet within the Earth’s crust, but harnessing it at scale has proved challenging. Now, a combination of new techniques, government support and the pressing need to secure continuous clean power in an era of climate crisis means that geothermal energy is finally having its moment in the U.S.

Taylor Swift's Carbon Footprint Revealed in New Study (Newsweek)  Taylor Swift is breaking record after record thanks to her impressive Eras Tour — but it is also increasing her carbon footprint. 

Uranium is being mined near the Grand Canyon as prices soar and the U.S. pushes for more nuclear power (U.S. News & World Report)  The largest uranium producer in the United States is ramping up work just south of Grand Canyon National Park on a long-contested project that largely has sat dormant since the 1980s. The work is unfolding as global instability and growing demand drive uranium prices higher.

U.S. experienced staggering growth in solar and wind power over the last decade (Grist)  When you live far from the sprawling fields befitting utility-scale solar and wind farms, it’s easy to feel like clean energy isn’t coming online fast enough. But renewables have grown at a staggering rate since 2014 and now account for 22 percent of the nation’s electricity. Solar alone has grown an impressive eightfold in 10 years.

Supporting strategic end uses is key to making hydrogen hubs the building blocks to scale (Utility Dive)  As the global community confronts the escalating climate crisis, the prospect of clean hydrogen provides a reason to be optimistic. However, the scarcity of hydrogen incurs high opportunity costs. In order to unlock the true potential of clean hydrogen as a tool for accelerating the phaseout of fossil fuels, it must be deployed strategically to decarbonize sectors of the economy that are hard to electrify. 

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