Nikhil Chandhok’s Post

Mutual interests of climate scientists and power engineers probably never overlapped the way it has become over past couple of decades or so (biggest common interest used to be load forecasting) and must say that while it has definitely grown multifold, it's still WIP, the picture is still unfolding!! Both of them solve a big problem for the other!! One, for the reason that electrification and so power systems are seen amongst the biggest saviors from "climate catastrophe" (catastrophe scale, timeline and mitigation methods are debatable but let us agree warming is there and this is what seems to be driving a major part of energy policies everywhere for past some time)!! Second, for the reason that whatever nuances weather creates, and these have grown almost by a power of two (x squared), have to be managed by power engineers to ensure a secure and reliable power system operation which is the backbone of all economic activities!! Good to get to know the basics of other while one was my main subject of study!! #learningcontinues #climatesciences #powersystems #renewableenergy #powerengineering #powersystems #climatechange #electrification #gridstability #gridreliability

Back to the future: integrating heating/cooling and thermal systems. Massive impact, planetary and financial, await jumping on all of this. The catalyst? Stop pretending carbon is free and stop subsidizing its massive destructive costs. https://lnkd.in/ei8Nsb5b

It's clear that ERCOT requires a more reliable and affordable power supply to meet weather demands. While renewable energy sources contribute to our electric grid, carbon capture and storage stands out as a proven technology to develop more reliable dispatchable power. https://bit.ly/4cxxgaE #carboncapture #carbonstorage #CCUS #energy #txenergy #Texas #ERCOT #power #innovation #sustainability

Learn from Chris Hayhurst more about how #simulation is helping to tackle the #climatecrisis, the major challenges facing today’s engineers working with renewables, and the place of multi-domain simulations.

Book review: "𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗳𝘆" by Saul Griffith (https://lnkd.in/ecZkACwG). I just discovered this book (published in 2022) through the recent podcast of the author with Michael Liebreich: https://lnkd.in/e-yWT4hU.  It starts with a conversation about 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀 - indeed Saul Griffith has worked on a project for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which resulted into a very detailed mapping of US energy use: https://lnkd.in/e98EA7_y. The chart confirms how "leaky" our current energy systems are - 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝟭/𝟯 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆" 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝘂𝗽 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, the remaining 2/3 are wasted as heat released to the atmosphere.  But this book goes further - it shows detailed Sankey diagrams for each of the main sectors: residential, commercial, industrial and transportation. These allow for a fascinating deep-dive into the energy and carbon impacts of (US) daily activities, and the materials they require. 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 will result into 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 "𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆" 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 - 𝟱𝟴% 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀, according to the detailed calculation explained in the book (and it does not even include the recovery of industrial waste heat).  It is eye-opening to discover the significant impact due to waste heat from power plants, the fossil fuels' own supply chain and... "accounting curiosities" linked to choices in the comparision between hydro and nuclear, and fosill fuels (a consequence of the "primary energy fallacy"). The solid data foundation for the book helps elminating "noise" and focussing on the essential.  Decarbonization will be achieved through electrification - which will mainly be about solar and wind on the supply side; and electrical motors and heat pumps on the demand side. The main impact comes from 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, made every 15 - 20 years by citizens and companies. These technologies must reach 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟬 to grow their installed based fast enough, through the replacement of boilers and ICE transportation that reach end of life. The book tackles also heads-on the challenge of intermittency and the required solutions in storage (batteries and thermal) and grid upgrades.  It focuses also on 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ("𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀") 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - decarbonization becoming almost a side effect. While written from a US household perspective, the main points driven in the book are very relevant for the light industry.  If properly designed, integrated and financed, infustrial heat pumps allow to 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 for industrial heat <200°C / <400°F.

10 Science Moments You Need to Know About in 2024: In 2024, wind and solar in the U.S. are projected to surpass coal production by 90 billion kilowatt hours, aided by the increased capacity of solar panel construction. Vineyard and South Fork Wind farms will contribute, along with the start of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Farm construction. However, further efforts are necessary to mitigate the effects of a warming world. - Artificial Intelligence topics! #ai #artificialintelligence #intelligenzaartificiale

I’ve been hearing from a variety of sources how much data center growth driven by the need for greater AI computing capacity is upsizing everything; now, it’s electricity. In the past, Google, Facebook, and others made renewable energy a mandatory part of their needs to select Tennessee and the Southeast for new locations. What will AI industry leaders do? Will they help us decarbonize or “heatonize” our atmosphere?

Energy modeling, Take 3. This summer I covered regulators' demands for more transparent modeling (https://lnkd.in/eUCWYmXE), and earlier this month I moderated a fun+spicy panel at Stanford on open power grid models (video in production). Now IEEE Spectrum has posted my chat with Princeton energy modeler Jesse Jenkins. We discussed: How rapid modeling shaped the Inflation Reduction Act Simulation's limitations The imperative for greater transparency (of course!), And how the grid can get the US to net zero Shameless plug: If you're looking for an articulate speaker on climate solutions and policy, maybe it's me. More on that at: https://lnkd.in/g26XePtN

Cutting carbon emissions on the US power grid: Online model enables users to calculate the least-cost strategy . To help curb climate change, the United States is working to reduce carbon emissions from all sectors of the energy economy. Much of the current effort involves electrification—switching to electric cars for transportation, electric heat pumps for home heating, and so on. #TechTrends #TechInnovationsDaily #DigitalFrontiers #FutureTechInsights

We're going to need a lot more energy as the world progresses, regardless. We must get cracking on everything in the renewable energy mix. And I do mean everything. Demand will only grow, especially as we get deeper into the human-generated climate shift.