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Clean energy and jobs

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America’s clean energy industry is unquestionably under attack by the Trump administration.  The administration is blocking renewable energy projects on federal lands, slashing clean tech tax credits, and putting in place new regulatory hurdles for solar and wind power and electric vehicles.  During the first half of the year, businesses cancelled $22 billion worth of clean energy projects, which would have created more than 16,000 jobs, ironically mostly in Republican areas.  Federal clean energy tax credits have generated billions of dollars in economic value annually, providing a strong return on investment for every federal dollar spent.

Last year, clean energy jobs grew three times faster than the rest of the economy.  The U.S. added nearly 100,000 jobs in solar, wind, batteries, energy efficiency, grid upgrades, biofuels, and electric cars.  In total, more than 3.5 million Americans hold jobs related to clean energy. 

Clean energy investments create substantial economic growth.  The clean energy transition creates opportunities in manufacturing, engineering, installation, and maintenance.  These new jobs far outweigh job losses in the fossil fuel sector.  Investments in clean energy had been projected to create massive numbers of new jobs and significantly boost the U.S. GDP by 2030, often providing new opportunities for rural communities.

Overall, clean energy has been one of the hottest and most promising job sectors in the country.  Now that clean energy job growth is at serious risk, so is the health of the overall economy.

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More Americans Working in Clean Energy Than as Servers or Cashiers

Photo, posted July 28, 2025, courtesy of Bronx Community College via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

AI and the appetite for natural gas

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A recent survey of the plans of U.S. electricity utilities for meeting projected future demand indicates that they are looking to build twice as much natural gas capacity as they had anticipated just 18 months earlier.  The reason?  Data centers.  These warehouses full of computers that form the backbone of the internet are multiplying rapidly as companies are adding power-hungry servers for artificial intelligence. 

Data centers used less than 2% of U.S. electricity prior to 2018.  They consumed 4.4% in 2023.  By 2028, they are projected to use anywhere between 6.7 and 12%.  While overall electricity demand had been relatively flat for the past 20 years, now the power grid is scrambling to keep up.

The long-term plans of utilities have been favoring renewables for a while.  Previous industry-wide projections had 258 gigawatts of new wind and solar versus 102 gigawatts of new natural gas plants through 2035.  These plans showed that wind and solar could overtake natural gas as the country’s largest source of electricity by that year.  But newer plans adding additional generating capacity have mostly added new gas and very little renewables.

Utilities are leaning heavily on natural gas in part due to the inertia of regulatory actions that define the rate-setting process.  The grid is simply not set up to adapt to new technology and to deal with the unprecedented changes that data centers bring about.

Ultimately, the continuing reliance on natural gas will be an unfortunate burden on the consumer and on the environment.

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Riding the High From Data Centers, the Grid Cannot Kick Its Gas Habit

Photo, posted January 23, 2023, courtesy of Aileen Devlin / Jefferson Lab via Flickr.

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Global solar power on the rise

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The current administration has essentially declared war on renewable energy.  President Trump stated recently that his administration will not approve solar or wind power projects.  Renewable companies are unlikely to receive permits that were once a normal course of business. Now, the United States is likely to struggle to meet its growing demand for electricity while the world moves ahead with solar power.

Solar power is the fastest-growing source of electricity worldwide.  Installations are up 64% in the first half of this year.  During that period, countries installed 380 gigawatts of solar power, compared with 232 gigawatts in 2024.

China is the main source of the growth.  It installed more than twice as much solar in the first half of the year as it did in the first half of 2024.  Under tremendous administration pressure, the U.S. saw solar installations rise by just 4% year over year.

China’s exporting of low-cost solar panels is driving growth of solar elsewhere, including India and much of Africa. 

China is at a crossroads with energy technology.  For the first time, solar power is not just supplementing coal power, but replacing it.  As a result, Chinese policymakers need to choose between propping up coal – which is an important industry in many cities – and doubling down on renewables, which are a major driver of the country’s economic growth.

The U.S. is currently headed in the direction of trying to prop up the fossil fuel industry and gut the renewable energy industry, with little or no regard for either the economic or environmental consequences.

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Global Solar Installations Up 64 Percent So Far This Year

Photo, posted April 6, 2025, courtesy of Pencils for Kids via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The largest solar power plant

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The Middle East is known for its vast petroleum resources and oil has been its primary source of wealth.  But the desert region is now becoming a significant center for solar energy as well.  The world’s largest single-site solar park is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, located in the United Arab Emirates.

Currently, 1 GW of solar is operational at the facility, but work is underway that will add 1.8 GW more capacity. Over 2.2 million solar panels have been installed to date and there will be more than 3.9 million by the time the next phase is completed. By the end of the decade, the capacity of the facility is expected to reach 7.2 GW, exceeding the original 5 GW target.  The plant will contribute about a third of Dubai’s total electricity capacity.

This solar plant will be one of the 15 largest power plants in the world.  Most of the largest ones are hydroelectric plants.  The biggest is the Three Gorges Dam in China, which has an enormous 22.5 GW capacity. The only non-hydro plant in the top 10 is the Jebel Ali natural gas plant, located in the United Arab Emirates.  China’s Jiuquan Wind Farm has a capacity of nearly 8 GW.  The largest power plant in the United States is the Grand Coulee Dam, which has a 6.8 GW capacity.

The world’s hunger for electric power continues to grow, especially with the surging use of AI technology.  As a result, there will be growing numbers of increasingly larger power plants.

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World’s largest solar park adds 1 GW

Photo courtesy of the Dubai Media Office.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

More floating solar

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Floating solar power is starting to gain some traction in the United States.  Installing solar panels on rafts so that they float on water instead of sitting on land allows them to not take up land that can be used for other purposes.  There are other benefits as well.

The world’s largest floating solar farm is one in Shandong, China, and produces 320 MW of power.  Floating solar has been common in Asia for years.  To date, floating solar only makes up a tiny fraction of the installed solar power in the U.S. and is mostly limited to small-scale projects.  The largest in the U.S. is the 8.0 MW Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant in Millburn, NJ.  A floating solar array in the water reservoir at the Cohoes Water Filtration Plant in New York’s Capital Region is currently under construction.  A 6-MW floating solar system is now being built in the Village of Monroeville, Ohio.

Floating solar systems have the advantage that covering the surface of reservoirs dramatically reduces the amount of evaporation that occurs, which is a real benefit in drought-stricken regions like California.  In addition, proximity to the large body of water keeps solar panels cool, which allows them to generate more electricity than their land-based counterparts.

Estimates are that federally controlled reservoirs alone have the potential to host roughly 1,000 GW of floating solar capacity.  It is more expensive to install them than conventional land-based solar and floating solar competes with recreational use of bodies of water.  Nonetheless, the floating solar market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

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Ohio’s largest floating solar array is now under construction

Photo, posted May 28, 2025, courtesy of Mike Popp / University of Arkansas via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Energy droughts

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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

Recycling solar panels

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The use of solar energy has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years. It is the fastest growing source of energy in the U.S.   Solar panels have a useful life of about 25 to 30 years and there are growing numbers that have been around that long.  They contain valuable materials, including silver, copper, and aluminum, as well as some hazardous materials, so just committing them to landfills is a bad idea from many perspectives.

Recycling solar panels is a relatively new but increasingly important business.  At the present time, roughly 90% of panels that have lost their efficiency due to age or that are defective end up in landfills because that is much cheaper than recycling them.  The best option is to reuse them where their reduced efficiency is acceptable.  This includes in developing nations or in other places that are able to make use of the lower power in exchange for lower installation cost.

Estimates are that the area covered by solar panels in the U.S. that are due to retire by 2030 would cover about 3,000 football fields.   The amount of potential waste contained in all of those panels is quite substantial.

There are new companies dedicated to solar panel recycling such as one called SolarCycle that are trying to change this situation.  It is much more expensive to have SolarCycle take away solar panels than to send them to landfills, but it is difficult to find landfills that accept panels and many clients want to minimize the environmental impact of their old panels.

Only 10% of retired solar panels are currently recycled. That that is likely to change as economics and regulations continue to evolve.

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As Millions of Solar Panels Age Out, Recyclers Hope to Cash In

Photo, posted November 23, 2024, courtesy of Mussi Katz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Green transit in London

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TfL – Transport for London – the operator of the transportation system in Britain’s capital city, has signed a deal with EDF Renewables to purchase electricity from a huge solar array to be erected next year in Essex.  TfL has the goal of powering 100% of its entire transit system – including its sprawling underground railway network – with renewable electricity by 2030.

The forthcoming 1,000-acre solar facility will also transform low-quality farmland by incorporating the planting of trees and hedgerows as well as setting aside some areas for natural regeneration, attracting a greater number of species of plants and animals, expanding biodiversity in the area.  Looking after nature and protecting the environment are key elements in TfL’s contracts, in keeping with its wider goals to be greener, more sustainable, and well-adapted to climate change. 

The solar facility will generate 80 gigawatt-hours annually for the transit authority, roughly enough electricity to power 29,000 homes, comprising about 20% of its total output.  Powering the entire sprawling London underground railroad network is equivalent to powering 420,000 homes.  Over the course of the 15-year contract with EDF, TfL expects to save over 30,000 tons of carbon from its operations.

TfL plans to secure 70% of its electricity use from power purchase agreements for renewable electricity from various sources with the remainder from green tariffs.  The Mayor of London has set the goal for London to be a net zero carbon city by 2030.

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London Inches Closer to Running Transit System Entirely on Renewable Power

Photo, posted March 5, 2017, courtesy of Albert Koch via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Geothermal energy may be safe

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The Trump Administration is outwardly hostile to renewable energy, especially solar and wind power.  Federal support for these energy sources that are by far the most rapidly growing energy sources across the globe is being gutted while fossil fuels are being propped up.

There is also renewed enthusiasm for nuclear power and, somewhat surprisingly, geothermal heat.   Geothermal is a renewable and clean energy source that has long been mostly overlooked and underfunded.  The main reasons are its expense and the fact that its large-scale use is unproven. 

Historically, geothermal energy has relied upon naturally occurring features such as hot springs and shallow underground heat sources.  However, technological breakthroughs that began in 2013 have led to enhanced geothermal systems, or EGS.  EGS makes use of the fact that if you drill deep enough into the earth pretty much anywhere, you will encounter substantial amounts of heat.  EGS plants pump water three miles down or more where it encounters rock that reaches over 500 degrees.  The piping hot water is then brought to the surface where it spins turbines to generate electricity.

Several companies are developing EGS in the U.S.  financed by tech companies seeking power for their AI activities, the Defense Department, and even by fossil fuel companies who use comparable drilling technology for fracking.

The so-called Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress in July that eliminates tax credits for wind and solar energy preserves tax credits for geothermal projects.

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Why U.S. Geothermal May Advance, Despite Political Headwinds

Photo, posted September 30, 2019, courtesy of Stephen D Strowes via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Solar power in Europe

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In June, solar power was the largest source of electricity in the European Union for the first time.  Solar supplied a record 22% of the power for the 27-country bloc.  At least 13 of the countries produced new monthly highs for solar power in June.  The Netherlands got more than 40% of its electricity from solar power and Greece 35%.  Other countries with record solar generation included France, Germany, and Sweden.

These solar records are for the most part a result of continuing installations of solar power in recent years as well as long stretches of hot and sunny weather.

Across the EU, nuclear power was the second largest source of electricity, followed by wind, natural gas, and hydropower.  Coal generated only 6% of the EU’s electricity, a new monthly low.  In fact, 15 countries in the EU don’t use any coal to generate electricity at all, including Austria, Belgium, and Ireland, which shut down its last coal plant in June.  All fossil fuels combined generated less than 24% of EU electricity in June, just a little more than the record low of 22.9% set in May, 2024.  Natural gas generation was somewhat higher than last year because of lower levels of hydro and wind generation.

Europe has been grappling with brutal heatwaves with triple-digit temperatures in multiple countries.  The heatwaves were, of course, accompanied by plentiful sunshine, which at least provided abundant solar power at midday, when there was the greatest demand for air conditioning.  This helped to take some of the pressure off the grid and helped to prevent blackouts.

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In a First, Solar Was Europe’s Biggest Source of Power Last Month

Photo, posted May 28, 2025, courtesy of Mike Popp via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Five amazing renewable energy projects

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Worldwide investment in renewable energy topped $2 trillion in 2024.  For Climate Solutions Week, we wanted to highlight some amazing projects around the world that showcase innovative technology, ambitious scale, and the commitment to a cleaner and sustainable future.

In Morocco, the Noor Solar Power Station is a huge concentrated solar power facility that generates power for more than a million Moroccans.  The facility stores some of the heat generated by the sun in molten salt so it can continue to produce power after sunset.

The Three Gorges Dam in China is the world’s largest power plant by installed capacity.  The 32 turbines generate enough electricity to power millions of homes. 

The Alta Wind Energy Center in California is one of the largest onshore wind farms in the world.  The 600 turbines at the facility provide clean electricity for up to 450,000 homes.

The Yamakura Dam Floating Solar Project in Japan has more than 50,000 solar panels that provide electricity for about 5,000 households.  The plant is located atop the surface of the Yamakura Dam reservoir and is one of the largest floating solar installations in the world.

The Hellisheiði Power Station in Iceland is one of the world’s most technologically advanced geothermal energy plants.  It taps into Iceland’s volcanic geology and draws both high-pressure steam and hot water to provide both electricity and heat to thousands of local homes and businesses.  

These five projects are just a sampling of the renewable energy development going on all over the world.

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Powering the Future: Innovative Renewable Energy Projects Around the World

Photo, posted December 1, 2019, courtesy of Richard Allaway via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Solar on farmland

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New studies have found that devoting a small percentage of U.S. farmland to producing solar power would benefit both the country’s energy system and its farmers.

Currently, about 46,000 square miles of farmland – about the area of Pennsylvania – is being used to grow corn to make ethanol.  One study looked at the impact of using some of this land for solar power instead of corn ethanol.

Not much of all this farmland is close enough to electrical transmission lines to be practical for utility solar power.  In fact, only about 1,500 square miles fits the bill.  But if even this small fraction of the corn growing land was used instead for solar power, it would generate as much energy each year than from all of the farms growing corn for fuel.

Solar installations on farms are helpful for farmers as well.  The land beneath the panels can be used to grow wildflowers that attracts the bees, wasps, and other insects needed to pollinate crops in the nearby fields.  In addition, the solar arrays provide a steady income stream for farmers.

In some places, farmers can earn substantially more from leasing their land for solar than from growing crops.  But a study of farms in California suggests that the best option is to do both.  Farmers who both grow crops and host solar arrays can have more financial security than those who do just one or the other.  The income from solar arrays is pretty predictable and is paid throughout the year.  Income from crops can drop off from, for example, a seasonal drought, or from extreme weather events.

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To Help Growers and the Grid, Build Solar on Farmland, Research Says

Photo, posted June 9, 2016, courtesy of Matt Lavin via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Saharan dust and solar power

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The world is a big place but even things that are far away can have serious local consequences.  The effects of distant Canadian wildfires on air quality in Florida is a good example.

Europe is increasingly becoming reliant on solar energy to meet its targets for climate change mitigation and energy security.   According to new research by four Hungarian universities, mineral dust carried on the wind from the Sahara Desert is not only reducing electricity generation from solar power across Europe but it is also making it harder to predict what gets generated.

The Sahara releases billions of tons of fine dust into the atmosphere each year.  Tens of millions of tons reach European skies where the tiny particles scatter and absorb sunlight, reduce the amount of light reaching the surface, and even promote cloud formation.   All of these things reduce the output of photovoltaic systems.

In addition, conventional weather forecasting tools don’t consider the effects of Saharan dust events, so that scheduling of solar power for the energy system becomes less reliable.  Incorporating these events into new forecast models will be essential.

Apart from the atmospheric effects of the dust, there are also long-term impacts due to dust contaminating and eroding the physical infrastructure of solar panels thereby further reducing their efficiency and increasing maintenance costs.

Over time, south-to-north transport of Saharan dust is likely to become more pronounced due to a steeper thermal gradient.  Currently, the quantities of atmospheric dust, the dynamics of its transport, and the physical properties of the dust itself are not very well understood.  Understanding these things will be crucial for Europe’s energy future.

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The shadow of the wind: photovoltaic power generation under Europe’s dusty skies

Photo, posted March 11, 2023, courtesy of Mark Wordy via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Renewables dominate new global power

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The current administration in the United States is adversarial towards renewable energy and highly supportive of the use of fossil fuels.  Unquestionably, this will create rough waters for the clean energy industry and, unfortunately, will throw a monkey wrench into the world’s efforts to mitigate climate change.  But it cannot stop what has become a powerful global trend.

In the words of U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres: “Renewable energy is powering down the fossil fuel age.”

According to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency, renewables accounted for 92% of new power capacity worldwide last year.  Solar is by far the fastest-growing form of renewable power, accounting for 77% of new capacity.

In the U.S., renewables accounted for about 90% of new installed capacity in 2024.  The country added nearly 40 GW of solar power capacity as well as 5 GW of wind power.  Renewables now make up about 30% of the country’s large-scale power generating capacity.  Adding in all carbon-free electricity sources (which include nuclear power), nearly 44% of the country’s electricity was carbon-free.

Headwinds against the growth of renewable energy are getting stronger in the US, but the global trend driven by both economics and environmental concerns is powerful and will continue.  For one thing, in much of the world, solar power is simply the cheapest way to produce electricity and that is pretty difficult to ignore. Global trade wars and economic turmoil will impact renewable energy much as they will other industries, but the long-term trend is clear.

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Renewables Made Up More Than 90 Percent of New Power Installed Globally Last Year

Photo, posted November 23, 2022, courtesy of John Morton via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The year in energy

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Last year saw some major trends in the global energy sector. Perhaps the most dramatic was the shift to renewable power, which continued to outpace the projections of both financial analysts and industry experts.  2024 saw new highs in renewable installation, largely due to China, which accounted for more than half of all the solar power installed globally.  Huge solar installations also came online in California and Nevada during the year.  On the other hand, the amount of coal burning for the year also exceeded expert predictions, also largely due to China.

A second trend was increasing sales of electric vehicles, which reached a new high, although short of expectations.  A major driving force in EV sales is the dropping price of lithium-ion batteries, which fell by 20% in 2024.  Again, China was a major factor with roughly half of all its domestic vehicle sales being electric.

Coal’s decline is being slowed by the rising demand for electricity.  The increased use of electric heating and cooling along with the increasing use of EVs are major factors.  But the proliferation of energy-hungry data centers incorporating artificial intelligence capabilities is driving up the demand for power even more. 

Perhaps the clearest indication of the future for global energy comes from investors, who put about $2 trillion into clean energy last year.  That is twice as much as invested in oil, coal, and natural gas.

The history of energy has seen the Age of Coal and the Age of Oil.  By all indications, we are now heading into the Age of Electricity.

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The Year in Energy in Four Charts

Photo, posted November 23, 2024, courtesy of Mussi Katz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A big year for battery storage

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A decade ago, the ability of utilities to store large amounts of electricity in batteries was basically nonexistent.  In the past several years, growth in battery storage systems has exploded.  As of the end of November, the US had about 24 gigawatt-hours of storage capacity in place.  This is 71% more than just a year ago.  Nearly half of the battery storage in the US is located in California.  Texas, Arizona, and Nevada are also leaders in deploying battery storage.

Battery storage allows solar and wind generating plants to keep operating when there is reduced demand for their output and have the electricity that they produce be available later when demand rises.  Storing this excess electricity essentially extends the hours of the day when clean energy can be used.

Equally important, the existence of battery storage reduces the need for peaker plants, the fossil-fueled power plants that only turn on at times of peak demand, such as during hot afternoons.

There are 1,000 peaker plants in the US and they are generally heavily polluting, inefficient, and expensive to operate.  Some 63 million people live within a three-mile radius of one of them and are exposed to harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.  Peaker plants also release more greenhouse gases than other power plants do for every unit of electricity they generate.

Many battery storage facilities are co-located with, or otherwise support, solar energy plants.  The amount of solar energy in the US is growing rapidly and surpassed the 100-gigawatt mark in 2024.  As solar power continues to expand, so will battery energy storage.

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Battery projects soared again in 2024

Photo, posted August 3, 2024, courtesy of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A solar peaker plant

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Peaker plants are power plants that the grid makes use of during times of particularly high electricity demand.  The power they supply is typically high in cost and usually high in greenhouse gas emissions.  When operating the electricity grid, power sources are generally called upon in order of marginal cost.  Only when demand is very high do grid operators make use of the highest-cost assets that tend to be fossil-fueled power plants that can start and ramp up quickly. 

For years, there has been the idea that solar-powered peaker plants could eventually replace the polluting fossil-fueled ones.  Recently, the renewable energy developer, owner, and operator Arevon Energy began commercial operations of the Vikings Solar-plus-Storage Project in Imperial County, California.  It is the first utility-scale solar peaker plant in the United States.

The plant utilizes a 157-megawatt solar array combined with 150 MW and 600 MWh of battery energy storage.  It can shift low-cost daytime solar energy to higher-cost peak demand periods.  The result is a lowered cost of electricity for nearly one million customers of San Diego Community Power.

The project contradicts the often-held notion that renewable energy is inherently unreliable.  It can provide carbon-free electricity at specific times of critical need.  Typical hybrid solar + storage plants provide electricity during daylight hours and store only excess generation in their battery systems.  The Vikings project is specifically designed to shift the entirety of its generation from solar hours to the peak demand period.

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Arevon fires up the first solar + storage peaker plant in the U.S.

Photo, posted October 15, 2024, courtesy of Jay Inslee via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Giant batteries in the Earth

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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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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

A giant solar project for Google

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One of the largest solar projects in the US has recently come online in Texas.  Three solar farms built side-by-side in Buckholts, Texas by SB Energy can provide 875 megawatts of electricity, nearly the size of a typical nuclear power plant.  The project will supply the largest solar energy purchase ever made by Google and the electricity generated will be used to power its new operations in the area.  Google will use about 85% of the project’s solar power for data centers in Ellis County and for cloud computing in the Dallas Region.

In total, Google has contracted with clean energy developers to bring more than 2,800 megawatts of new wind and solar projects to Texas.  Google expects to spend $16 billion through 2040 to purchase clean energy for its global operations.

According to the International Energy Agency, data centers’ total electricity consumption could reach more than 1,000 terawatt-hours in 2026, which is more than double the amount used in 2022.  One terawatt-hour is enough energy to power 70,000 homes for a year.  So, it is not surprising that large technology companies are investing heavily in energy technologies.

Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have all recently announced investments in nuclear energy to power data centers.  These companies all have made commitments to seek sources of carbon-free electricity to power their data centers and their increasing efforts in artificial intelligence.  Because of the rise of artificial intelligence, the large companies are not meeting their commitments to reduce their carbon emissions and are needing to greatly increase their efforts to obtain clean power.

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One of the largest solar projects in the US opens in Texas, backed by Google

Photo, posted March 27, 2016, courtesy of Ben Nuttall via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

How much energy storage is needed?

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Energy storage is a critical aspect of modern energy systems as they move towards heavy dependence on renewable sources such as solar and wind that don’t produce energy at the same rate all the time.  Excess energy generated by solar power needs to be stored for when the sun isn’t shining; excess wind energy needs to be stored for when the wind isn’t blowing.  But how much storage capacity does the energy system need to have?

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a model that can be used to project what a system’s storage needs would be if it were to shift entirely to renewable sources.

The model accounts for how energy production from renewable sources would change during different times of day and different times of the year.  For example, there is much more solar energy generation in the summer when the days are longer, and it is sunny more often.

There is also the issue of short-term vs. long-term energy storage.  Short-term energy storage does not refer to how long a storage device can store the energy.  It refers to how long it can provide power at its rated level.

The study focused on Italy’s energy system, which has suffered in recent years because it had difficulties in obtaining natural gas from Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.

As the world moves increasingly towards renewable power sources, energy systems need to be able to account for the variability of those sources.  The new model offers policymakers critical information for use in energy system planning.

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Model Projects Energy Storage Needs for Fossil Fuel-Free Energy System

Photo, posted October 28, 2016, courtesy of Daxis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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