Energy (Video)

With a rapid shift of policy attention to the virus and economic recovery, how will the energy system change? And what will happen to climate emissions and policy? Speakers: Michael Davidson and David Victor Series: "Climate Crisis" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 35871]

In the fight against climate change, those with the least resources have been left behind. In the case of solar power, the vast majority of investment in the United States has gone to majority-white communities. This means not only are people of color losing out on the benefit of solar power, but society as a whole is losing out on potential advocates for clean energy. Dan Kammen, a professor at UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy is researching how we can reverse this trend and leapfrog toward clean energy for all. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 35619]

Transforming our energy infrastructure to support greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals will require the deployment of technologies such as electric vehicles and energy storage. Improper integration of these technologies into the electric grid and a lack of careful planning of their scale, however, can significantly reduce their real-world effectiveness in supporting GHG emissions reduction goals. Research by Brian Tarroja and his colleagues at UC Irvine presented here focus on identifying grid integration needs and life cycle planning considerations for electric vehicles and energy storage deployment to better ensure that their potential GHG benefits are fully realized in future electricity systems. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 35164]

Decarbonizing our electricity and transportation sectors will require large deployments of wind, solar, and storage. Ranjit Deshmukh develops models for planning and operations of low carbon electricity grids and analyzes tradeoffs between economic, environmental, and social objectives for regions in the U.S., India, and Africa. These models optimize wind, solar, and other generation, demand, and storage resources for region-specific conditions including spatial and temporal variability of renewable resources. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 35165]

California's recent drought has highlighted the need for a reliable source of water. Peter Stricker of SeaWell presents a reverse osmosis (RO) system to address climate-driven drought which is an entirely new approach to water supply. The SeaWell buoy is a self-contained floating vessel, moored to the sea floor, with seawater intake and brine diffusion outfall. It contains reverse osmosis equipment, electric power and water piping, and can permeate water at a rate of 950–3,800 acre-feet/year. The implementation plan is to deploy pilot SeaWell Buoys at a water cost already below the cost of State water,initially partnering with water districts to deploy five water portals. Landing sites could be chosen based in previously disturbed areas, such as decommissioned oil receiving facilities and sanitary district outfalls. These deployments will augment new water reuse projects, and share siting and infrastructure. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 35163]