Renewable Energy & Sustainable Engineering Panel
Time: Sunday, Sept. 27, 11:00am-11:50am
Panelist: Mary Hassan (Pitt Oakland, 2014)
This presentation will highlight the importance of offshore energy development in the US to diversify our power grid. It will highlight the intersection between engineering, biology, and sociology as made well-known by the teachings and writings of Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.Participants will learn learn more about how the ocean power can help our grid and why various jobs and interest groups play critical roles in this process. Access the presentation here.
Panelist: Nadine Humphrey (Pitt Oakland, 2018)
With the issue of climate change on everyone's minds, alternative energy generation methods, such as solar and wind energy, are on the rise. However, one of the main challenges with implementing these low-carbon energy solutions is infrastructure. Long term energy storage holds great potential for helping solar and wind energy overtake other sources of electricity. In recent years, long-duration solutions have started to emerge due to two connected trends. First, wind and solar energy are now competing effectively for capacity additions in several developed countries. This rapid increase and development of these resources has created its own push for long-term storage solutions in areas with high concentrations of wind and solar farms. Second, driven by this expansion, many states and nations are upping their targets for clean energy and are seeking alternatives to gas plants. These changes in energy priorities have allowed for more funding to be allocated to clean energy sources and have increased the market demand for long-duration energy storage technologies.This presentation will look at different forms of long-duration energy storage technologies, analyzing their potential and drawback. We will look at tried-and-true methods and work our way towards emerging technologies that have the potential to reinvigorate the energy sector. We look at factors such as plausible technology, recent investment, and energy storage potential. Access the presentation here.
Panelist: GodisPerfect Eadric (Arcadia, 2019)
Renewable energy, though already an established market, has recently gained additional attention with electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla taking the world by storm. Because these electric vehicles are chic, technologically advanced, and environmentally friendly, they seem to be the perfect solution to the greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. However, a closer analysis of electric vehicles reveals that while they are more eco-friendly than traditional gas and diesel vehicles, their batteries still have a carbon footprint. Electric vehicles, like most modern electronics, utilize lithium ion batteries, which are claimed to be the most efficient and economic battery. Though these batteries are effective, there are many environmental drawbacks to their use and manufacturing. Many erroneously believe that the work to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels ends with renewable energy generation. However, renewable energy will only truly compete with existing energy sources when it is reliable enough to replace them. Investing in eco-friendly batteries and storage systems is the next step towards a greener future.This presentation will discuss the environmental and ethical drawbacks of the most commonly used battery, lithium-ion batteries. Current methods of energy storage, or lack thereof, will be explored while emphasizing the importance of eco-friendly energy storage. Access the presentation here.