energy demand

Energy droughts

September 9, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

With new ways of doing things, there are always new problems. Our energy systems are increasingly dependent upon solar and wind power. These energy sources are free to take and aren’t going to run out, but they also depend on natural processes that are out of our control. In particular, the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow.

Fortunately, the two sources of energy are typically not in sync and often when one is diminished, the other can take up the slack. But it is possible for both sun and wind to not be present, and it can even happen for an extended period of time. This is known as a compound energy drought. There are some parts of the country where these energy droughts can last for nearly a week.

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory studied the phenomenon and its potential impact on the electric grid. Looking at 40 years of weather data, the study found that the longest energy drought occurred in California for 6 days; the longest in Texas was 37 hours.

The study further investigated the possible connection between energy droughts and energy demand, again mapping historical data over the past 40 years. The impact of an energy drought depends on how much demand for energy exists at the time.

The data from the study will provide critical insights into the design and management of multi-day energy storage facilities that can provide the resilience of the electric grid that is required. Clearly, the storage needs in a place like California will be substantially greater than those in Texas. As more and more of the grid depends on wind and solar power, appropriately designed and operated storage facilities will be essential.

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“Energy Droughts” in Wind and Solar Can Last Nearly a Week, Research Shows

Photo, posted February 10, 2023, courtesy of Guilhem Vellut via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Giant batteries in the Earth

December 23, 2024 By EarthWise 1 Comment

The wind and the sun are inexhaustible sources of energy, and we are tapping into them to produce electricity at a growing rate around the world. But neither of them is always available when we need them. When the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing, they don’t work.

An opposite problem also exists. When our energy needs are low, but it is sunny or windy, solar and wind power are all dressed up with nowhere to go. Energy storage is the answer to both of these problems. When there is excess generation, store the energy for later use. When there is need for energy and not enough is being generated, tap into the energy that is stored.

Giant banks of lithium-ion batteries are the rapidly growing form of energy storage, and they are increasingly providing resilience in the electric grid. But battery storage is short-term energy storage. Even the largest battery banks can only provide a few hours of electricity.

So, there is a real need for “long-duration energy storage” – systems that provide at least 10 hours of backup power and sometimes much more – for the grid to be fully reliable.

Pumped hydro storage, which uses water from elevated reservoirs to drive turbines, has been around for a long time. Historically, this is the largest form of energy storage in the world. Other methods include pumping compressed air into underground caverns or lifting massive blocks into elevated positions. All of these techniques use excess electricity to place things like water, air, or cement into a position where they can be used to drive electrical generators.

The grid of tomorrow will store energy in giant battery banks, but also in the ground, in reservoirs, and in large structures.

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Web Links

How giant ‘batteries’ in the Earth could slash your electricity bills

Photo, posted March 21, 2024, courtesy of Sandra Uecker/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The last coal plant in Britain

October 31, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The Industrial Revolution, which basically got underway in the mid-19th century, was largely enabled by coal, which fueled iron manufacturing, railroads, steam engines, and more. Most of these things got their start in Britain, which inspired the rest of the world to follow suit.

The world’s first coal-burning power plant began producing electricity at the Holborn Viaduct in London in 1882. This September, Britain – the birthplace of coal power – shut down its last coal-burning power station when the 2,000-megawatt Ratcliffe-on-Soar facility ceased operations. Uniper, the company that operated the plant, will be converting the 750-acre site to a low-carbon energy hub.

Shutting down coal plants is not a simple matter, as they are the lifeblood of entire towns and regions where they are located. Finding fair transitions for workers is an uphill battle that has to take place in many locations.

Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel, producing more greenhouse gas than others, but historically was the cheapest and most abundant source of power in many countries. In recent decades, it has been replaced by gas, nuclear power, and most recently, renewables like wind and solar.

The coal era has ended in much of the world. The United States still gets 16% of its electricity from coal, but that number keeps getting smaller. Unfortunately, the great majority of coal use is in the world’s two most populous countries: India and China. Both are adding renewable energy sources, but both have rapidly climbing energy demand. China’s coal consumption is expected to peak this year and flatten out. But there is still work to be done to bring an end to coal power.

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Web Links

Britain Shuts Down Last Coal Plant, ‘Turning Its Back on Coal Forever’

Photo, posted March 13, 2016, courtesy of Arran Bee via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Falling U.S. Carbon Emissions

September 16, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Reducing carbon emissions is a goal embraced by nearly every country in the world, but actually accomplishing it isn’t easy. It is true that renewable energy sources are playing a growing role in energy systems, but counterbalancing that trend is growing energy demand, especially in developing countries.

Here in the US, energy-related CO2 emissions actually went up nearly 3% in 2018 compared with 2017. But the US Energy Information Administration is now forecasting a 2% drop in emissions this year.

The main reason energy-related emissions are headed lower at this point is coal-fired power plant retirements. More than 90% of the coal used in the US goes toward electric power and utilities are increasingly turning away from coal.

The rapid shift away from coal has mostly been due to the increasing use of natural gas. Natural gas is not actually a clean and green fuel, but it is definitely less carbon-intensive than coal. Overall, the total installed capacity of renewable sources – hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass – has now actually surpassed the capacity of coal plants. Given that renewables have in many places become the cheapest power option, there is little chance that coal has much of a future, despite efforts by the current administration.

The electric power sector is gradually moving away from all carbon-emitting sources – a trend that is being reinforced by legislation in many states. The real CO2 emissions leader is petroleum, which accounts for nearly half of the total. We have a long way to go to reduce emissions from the use of petroleum. There are over 250 million cars and trucks on US roads and only a little over a million of them don’t burn fossil fuels.

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Photo, posted November 6, 2017, courtesy of Cindy Shebley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Can Germany Meet Its Energy Goals?

February 4, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Germany has been a global leader in efforts to decarbonize its massive economy. A national initiative known as Energiewende – or clean energy transition – has been in place since 2010 and relies heavily on renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and energy demand management.

The program has involved some of the most aggressive deployment of renewable energy sources in the world. Germany was the first country to install 1 GW of solar energy and still has the 5th largest amount of solar power in the world despite actually being a country with fairly limited sunshine. Germany has nearly 30,000 wind turbines, most of which are onshore, unlike many other countries in northern Europe. Over the past five years, government support and cost to consumers for the shift to clean energy have totaled over $180 billion.

However, despite these efforts, Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions have not declined as rapidly as expected, even though nearly 40% of the country’s electricity now comes from renewable sources.

This lack of expected success comes as a shock to the environmentally conscious German population, nearly 90% of which supports the program.

There are two major problems Germany faces. One is that Germany is Europe’s largest producer of coal, which still generates more than a third of the country’s power. The other is that Germany’s large auto industry is still married to gas- and diesel-fueled cars and emissions from the country’s cars are a big problem.

The Energiewende program was driven by political will and investment certainty. It is unclear whether Germany can muster these forces again. The Merkel government has dragged its feet on environmental issues in recent years. It remains to be seen what effect shifting political power in Germany will have.

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Web Links

Carbon Crossroads: Can Germany Revive Its Stalled Energy Transition?

Photo, posted August 15, 2011, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rising Again

May 8, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

If we want to avoid drastic global warming this century, we need to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions over time. For the previous three years, emissions had been holding steady, but last year, global emissions from the use of coal, oil and natural gas increased by 1.4%. According to the International Energy Agency, this unfortunate new data should serve as a strong warning that we need to increase our efforts to combat climate change.