Charles Yang

My hot take today is about a little noticed announcement the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released quietly today. It has reopened an opportunity to fund carbon dioxide transportation networks. This is a positive and a much-needed development because Cipher reporting earlier this year revealed that many of the carbon storage projects are not just dependent on securing permits but also on delivering the captured CO2. Aware of the paucity of transport networks, DOE itself noted, the U.S. will need to capture and permanently store approximately 400–1,800 million metric tons of CO2 annually by 2050 to meet its commitments. https://lnkd.in/ef7JPEgr In other top reads by my colleagues, Cat Clifford highlighted a Bloomberg article that spotlights how Holtec International, a company involved in making nuclear waste storage casks, is now looking to revitalize a nuclear plant headed for decommissioning. And Bill Spindle reported about an upcoming gathering of corporate heads of fossil fuel and tech companies. We try to stay on top of breaking news about the global developments in the cleantech and climate space and share them with you so continue reading our Top Reads and Hot Takes at Cipher News. Cheers!

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Biden-Harris Administration publishes the first-of-its-kind Climate Resilience Game Changers Assessment. In it it highlights game-changing technologies including advanced grid control systems for our energy sector, next-generation desalination and recycling technologies for our nation’s water, and Resilience Hubs that support public safety and promote community health. The Assessment also highlights innovations like next-generation remote sensing, analytics, and forecasting technologies, which can be useful across a wide range of sectors, as well as novel approaches for harnessing the resilience benefits of natural systems. https://lnkd.in/gDP5hpQb

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In a filing to the GA Public Service Commission, Microsoft says Georgia Power's plans "undervalue renewable energy’s contributions to capacity & resource adequacy needs and result in overly carbon-intensive capacity additions." Yes, load growth is real. No, it doesn’t mean that we should build more new gas plants, as some (not all) utilities claim. Clean generation, grid storage, GETs — we have the tools. Let’s address 21st century grid challenges with 21st century energy solutions. https://lnkd.in/ehcPNVaP

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🚨 Exciting developments for AI and public safety! The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at enhancing public safety through cutting-edge AI research and evaluation. This collaboration leverages the strengths of both agencies, focusing on innovative AI applications that will support the public in critical areas such as disaster response, cybersecurity, and energy reliability. This MOU represents a strategic commitment to harness AI responsibly and effectively, ensuring the security and resilience of our communities while setting high standards for AI performance and safety. Kudos to DOE and DOC for leading the charge on this important initiative! #AI #PublicSafety #Innovation #Collaboration

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ICYMI: Check out our new Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Insights article on the power of collaboration! As CCAs pioneer new models for clean energy procurement, it's crucial to shre insights with their fellow organizations to further developement. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g9CHRTAn #AlwaysBeLearning #TripepiSmithLife 👍

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"Utilities have for decades “been using the same playbooks to build centralized generation and associated transmission and distribution to meet long-term demand needs. And it’s largely worked,” Shah said. “But with demand growth accelerating from data centers, new manufacturing, a surge of electric vehicles and electrified appliances ... an old grid operations paradigm needs to be updated.” After roughly two decades of stagnant electricity demand, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. now forecasts an approximately 15% to 20% increase in electricity consumption over the next decade, DOE noted in its brief. And by 2050, demand could double to meet net-zero emissions targets. Importantly, this demand growth is not unprecedented, according to Louise White, a senior consultant with the DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions and Loan Programs Office. Before 2005, the U.S. experienced periods of 10-year load growth of up to 30%, she said." https://lnkd.in/eZXGKWHf

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The ongoing feud between Connecticut utilities and their regulators has spilled over into the state’s efforts to implement performance-based regulation (PBR) for its electric utilities. PBR essentially covers to efforts to better align the profit incentives for utilities, which have regulated monopolies, with state policy goals. PBR mechanisms can be used to better-incentivize affordability, resilience, distributed energy deployment, and electrification. I spoke with a whole bunch of people about what the fight in Connecticut could mean for the state's clean energy transition, and whether it will influence PBR in other states. While the utilities are concerned that they will not be able to recover a reasonable rate of return on their investments in the new proposed framework, consumer and environmental advocates have argued that these concerns are overblown. Read the full story here at RTO Insider LLC https://lnkd.in/eYgeCEWN

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The Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (IoT4Ag) Center, a collaboration led by Penn Engineering and Purdue University, is revolutionizing data collection for rural farms. Bob Brier, IoT4Ag managing director at the University of Pennsylvania, emphasizes that the Center is focused on adapting agriculture to meet the grand societal challenges of food, energy, and water conservation. Learn how this initiative is driving the future of farming: https://bit.ly/3ZopPPB University of California, Merced, University of Florida

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ECRS deployment is about to change - but what will that mean for battery energy storage systems in ERCOT? NPRR 1224 was approved by ERCOT's Board earlier this week. That means new triggers for ECRS deployment are coming - which should prevent excessive 'artificial scarcity' price spikes this summer. Check out this explainer vid from Modo's ERCOT Market Lead Brandt Vermillion. #BatteryEnergyStorage #ERCOT #AncillaryServices

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We’re excited to invite industry partners to collaborate with our talented Duke AI Master of Engineering students on hands-on practicum projects for Spring 2025. This is a unique opportunity to leverage fresh ideas, cutting-edge AI development, and innovative problem-solving through student-driven projects designed to tackle your business challenges.  What’s in It for You? ·     Explore new AI technologies and solutions—at no cost and with minimal risk. ·     Collaborate with a dedicated team of 3-5 Duke graduate students ·     Recruitment advantage: Work directly with top AI talent—boosting your visibility among   future leaders in AI. ·     Shape the future: Contribute to the next generation of AI professionals by guiding students' hands-on learning. What We’re Looking For: We are seeking AI-focused projects that challenge students to solve meaningful business problems through innovative solutions. Ideal projects will: ·  Leverage advanced AI techniques (e.g., machine learning, NLP, computer vision) to address real-world business challenges. ·  Involve hands-on prototyping and solution development that can deliver meaningful insights or outcomes. ·  Encourage collaboration with a company mentor providing ~30-60 minutes per week to guide the team. Ready to Collaborate? Complete our Project Scoping Form by October 30th to help us understand your idea and match it with student skills. If you have any questions or need more details, feel free to reach out to me or Jon Reifschneider. Let’s work together to explore innovative AI solutions and make a lasting impact! #AI #MachineLearning #IndustryCollaboration #AIInnovation #DukeUniversity #AIProjects #AIInternships #FutureofAI

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New survey report of nearly 930 clean energy and clean vehicle businesses revealed a substantial boost in growth, innovation, and job creation thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), CHIPS Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). These landmark laws have energized advancements in: 🏗️ Energy efficiency improvements 🏭 New manufacturing technologies 🔋 Renewable energy and storage 🚗 Electric and alternative transportation Across the U.S., companies report significant economic growth, more jobs, and an expanding footprint. Interviews with stakeholders from six key states, spanning construction, manufacturing, and professional services, underscore the tangible benefits brought by this bipartisan support for clean energy. The future is bright for clean energy and is powered by innovation and opportunity! Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/gkf3kCe6 #CleanEnergy #CleanEnergyJobs #Innovation #IRA

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☑️ U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is making moves towards revolutionizing interconnection processes for renewable energy projects. 🌞 ☑️ DOE's proposed "Interconnection Innovation exchange" (i2X) program promises 35 formidable solutions to improve the interconnection process. 💡 ☑️ Central to these proposals is the encouragement of workforce development and the potential benefit of enabling interconnection customers to fund and carry out their own studies. 📚 The solar industry is in a period of evolution as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) works to revolutionize the interconnection process for renewable energy projects. Interconnection process allows a solar array or solar power plant to connect to the broader electricity grid, creating a mutually beneficial cycle of energy exchange. Over time, the surge in interconnection requests has necessitated a more efficient and streamlined process. In response, the DOE presents its Interconnection Innovation exchange (i2X) program. This ambitious ‘roadmap’ suggests 35 solutions to expedite and improve the process. One prominent proposal is the "connect and manage" approach, successfully implemented in Texas, likely to drastically accelerate interconnections. Moreover, a recommendation in the roadmap is to enable interconnection customers to finance and implement their studies, thereby promoting self-reliance and expediting project completions. Significantly, the plan emphasizes the need for workforce development, especially in higher education. This shift seeks to boost the number of trained professionals in the solar industry and thus hasten the transition to clean energy. For more information on selling solar virtually across the USA visit www.tstpros.com 📈🌎🔆

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Issue 3 of #DCCleanTech is on the wires! In this issue we are covering a lot of ground: 🤑 Nearly $16 billion in government-backed clean tech funding awards. We have all the details, including a deep dive on the DOE Manufacturing & Energy Supply Chains Office (MESC) battery supply chain grants. 💰 More than $2 billion in new clean energy finance opportunities across the USG. From solar, to storage, to CCUS, to critical minerals and a new United States Department of Defense Office of Strategic Capital loan program, we have you covered. 🇨🇳 Analysis and charts galore on the U.S. Government’s China policy and its implications for the clean tech sector. We’re going deep on the recent USTR 301 tariffs, UFLPA, and covering China Week on the Hill. Subscribe for free and dig into the monthly roundup of funding opportunities and clean tech analysis at www.dccleantech.com

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“U.S. Department of Energy Industrial Efficiency and Decorbanization Office’s (IEDO) request for information (RFI) is seeking strategic and technical feedback on decarbonizing America’s industrial sector and positioning the United States as a leader in the global clean energy economy.    The RFI will inform a new DOE vision study, Pathways for U.S. Industrial Transformations: Unlocking American Innovation, which will identify cost-effective and industry-specific strategic pathways to achieve a thriving U.S. industrial sector with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.   Input is specifically required regarding the challenges, barriers, opportunities, and pathways associated with the development, deployment and integration of nuclear technologies to reduce emissions associated with various industries.   Those who are interested in providing input are encouraged to review IEDO’s industrial decarbonization pathway analysis summary and respond to this RFI by 5 p.m. ET on June 24, 2024.   For more information: DOE Seeks Input on Strategies to Decarbonize America’s Industrial Sector | Department of Energy” https://lnkd.in/geEkGBH6 #decarbonization #green #nuclearenergy #carbonfree #DOE #IEDO

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Marine Cloud Brightening (#MCB), is a proposed approach to improve the world’s safety and security amid a changing climate. However, significant uncertainties, related in part to challenges to modeling both the natural processes that underlie MCB and proposed MCB approaches, are a barrier to advancing our understanding. In a paper published in Geoscientific Model Development, Phil J. Rasch, Haruki Hirasawa, Mingxuan Wu, Sarah J. Doherty, Robert Wood, Hailong Wang, Andy Jones, James Haywood and Hansi Singh, define a new protocol that allows researchers to configure MCB simulations in a standardized and more realistic way. This is critical to enable comparison of how climate responds to equivalent implementations of MCB across different models – and, ultimately, identify which responses appear to be robust and which are less certain. This new protocol marks a significant advance in coordinating MCB research, with the potential to both further science and expand participation by researchers globally. It is part of the work supported under SilverLining’s Safe Climate Research Initiative and ARISE modeling program and through the University of Washington’s MCB Program, which is funded by the generous support of a growing consortium of individual and foundation donors. See https://lnkd.in/gr7f6_-M for more information Access the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/gNgJAYRC #climate #research #SRM #MCB

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Does it matter if the weather data you're using is new? Check out our article (available free for the next 50 days):  https://lnkd.in/esM8TnzD This research compares the impact of weather data on residential energy performance using the TMY3 (1991-2005) and newer TMYx (2007-2021) in 64 US locations. Danny Parker Karthik Panchabikesan Linda Lawrie #climatedata #climatechange

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