The sun reflected in solar panels of the EnBW solar park at Gottesgabe, Germany, Friday, July 1, 2022. The world is set to add a record amount of renewable electricity capacity this year as governments and consumers seek to offset high energy prices and take advantage of a boom in solar power. (Patrick Pleul/dpa via AP)
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The Big Story
Texas grid stayed strong in sizzling summer thanks to solar: analysis
Electricity demand in Texas soared to record highs this summer, but the high reliability of utility-scale solar power was instrumental in keeping the grid running smoothly, a new analysis has found.
The rapid expansion of solar power played a particularly key role during peak electricity usage hours — amid a sizzling season of increased consumption, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
From June 15 through Sept. 15 — the highest power use period of the year — solar accounted for more than 10 percent of the peak electricity demand on 91 of those 93 days, per the report.
Nonetheless, solar power — and renewable energy in general — has become an escalating source of political tension, with Texas Monthly characterizing the situation as “The Texas GOP’s War on Renewable Energy.”
In June, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill establishing new tax breaks for economic development projects — while barring renewable energy initiatives from applying for such benefits, The Texan reported.
“There’s already federal incentives for renewable projects, and those will continue to be allowed,” Abbott said prior to signing, according to the Texas Tribune.
“As it concerns especially energy and power and the power grid, our focus is on dispatchable power,” the governor added, referring to resources such as natural gas or coal.
Yet during the 93-day stretch of usage highs this summer, solar energy regularly provided between 10 and 16 percent of peak-hour electricity needs, the IEEFA analysis determined.
“That’s particularly impressive because those peak demand hours usually come later in the day than when solar generation is not at its highest,” the authors noted.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas — Texas’s grid operator — typically endures the greatest electricity consumption in the late afternoon, with that peak period terminating at around 5 or 6 p.m., per the analysis.
Describing the growth of solar energy generation in Texas during high-demand months as no less than “extraordinary,” the authors noted that in 2019, solar accounted for only a bit more than 1 percent of electricity needs during these peak periods.
As Texans contended with soaring temperatures this summer, the grid set 10 new demand records, the analysis found.
The latest such record occurred on Aug. 10, when 85,464 megawatts were required at peak — up 6.6 percent from 2022’s record high.
But also on Aug. 10, solar power delivered 10,435 megawatts, or 129 percent more than during the 2022 peak event.
“The figures undercut a key argument used by fossil fuel advocates when talking about renewables — that they are not reliable or predictable,” the IEEFA authors stated.
“The data proves otherwise,” they added. “Solar is both reliable and predictable.”
Welcome to The Hill’s Sustainability newsletter, I’m Sharon Udasin — every week we follow the latest moves in the growing battle over sustainability in the U.S. and around the world.
President Biden on Wednesday directed federal agencies to take steps to restore salmon, steelhead and other fish populations in the Pacific Northwest. The White House said it was taking such actions because dam construction, population growth and overfishing have “severely depleted wild fish populations in the region.” It said that this has harmed tribes’ ability to hunt and fish, rights preserved under treaty. The White …
Farmers and ranchers in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico will be eligible to receive compensation for water conservation over the next year, following a recent agreement among these Upper Colorado River Basin states. Officials from the four states voted last week to revise and extend what’s known as the System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP) — an Upper Basin exploration of solutions aimed at stabilizing plunging water …
Scientists have documented the widespread exposure of more than 600 animal species to toxic “forever chemicals,” in a new interactive map released on Tuesday. As contaminated wildlife crop up in every corner of the planet, humans may be playing a sentinel role in transmitting the adverse effects of these compounds — known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — to other organisms, the researchers argued. …
All In: Building a Diverse, Equitable & Inclusive Energy Workforce
Thursday, Sept. 28, 5:45-7 p.m. ET — The Park at 14th, 920 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20005
As the U.S. prepares for the energy transition, a renewed focus has been placed on workforce diversity in the energy industry. Join The Hill as we look to answer questions about what companies in the sector can do and what role communities and government may play. The event will feature Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C), House Assistant Democratic Leader.
A team of multinational engineers say they may have devised a method to desalinate water with the power of the sun — and without the prohibitive investment that the technology typically requires.
Sunlight and circulation: Their new design — outlined in Joule on Wednesday — has a higher water-production rate and salt-rejection rate than all other solar-powered desalination concepts currently under evaluation, the authors contended.
The system works by taking in saltwater and allowing it to circulate in swirling eddies that mimic the circulation of the ocean.
This circulation, combined with the sun’s heat, causes the water to evaporate and leave the salt behind.
The water evaporates? Yes — but the resulting water vapor can then be condensed and collected as pure drinking water, the scientists explained.
And in the meantime, the residual salt keeps circulating through and out of the device, rather than piling up and clogging the system, according to the researchers.
Acting like the ocean: “When seawater is exposed to air, sunlight drives water to evaporate. Once water leaves the surface, salt remains,” co-author Lenan Zhang, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Device Research Laboratory, said in a statement.
With higher salt concentrations and denser liquid, the heavier water flows downward, according to Zhang.
“By mimicking this kilometer-wide phenomena in small box, we can take advantage of this feature to reject salt,” he said.
Zhang worked on the design with other colleagues at MIT as well as several scientists at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.
Optimizing flow: The team’s design centers around a thin box, topped with a dark material that efficiently absorbs sunlight, according to their outline.
The box is separated into a top half, with a ceiling that is lined with an evaporator layer, and a bottom half.
Tilting the device in a large vessel of saltwater allows the force of buoyancy to drive water upward through a tube and into the top chamber.
The higher-density saline flows downward and is funneled through a membrane into the bottom chamber, creating potable water.
What’s in the membrane? The membrane is made of the water-repellant compound polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), one of thousands of types of “forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS.
These synthetic compounds, some of which are linked to cancer, are found in a variety of household products, including nonstick pans, cosmetics and waterproof apparel.
What does that mean for the device? Asked whether the water that flows through the membrane could be contaminated, the scientists said they believe the water is safe to drink.
Co-author Yang Zhong, an MIT graduate student, acknowledged in a written statement that “it is true that there are growing concerns about contamination from PTFE in our food and water supply nowadays.”
Nonetheless, Zhong explained that the water collected from condensation in their device “is not in direct contact with the PTFE membrane.”
The scientists leverage the water-resistant nature of the material, meaning that “only pure water vapor from evaporation can traverse the membrane.”
PTFE is also stable at low temperatures and only tends to decompose at 260 degrees Celsius, while the system is kept well below 100 degrees Celsius.
The system’s water quality has undergone rigorous testing via mass spectrometry.
“All saline water subjected to testing showed a reduction in salinities by more than four orders of magnitude after desalination, which met the World Health Organization’s standards for drinking water,” Zhong added.
Suitcase-size desalination: Evaluating the real-life potential of their device, the scientists estimated that if their model was scaled up to the size of a small suitcase, it could produce about 4 to 6 liters of drinking water per hour.
The system could last several years and generate water at a rate and price that is less expensive than tap water.
It could passively produce enough water to meet the daily requirements of a small family, while also providing a useful tool off-grid.
Solving real-world problems: “That means that, for the first time, it is possible for drinking water produced by sunlight to be cheaper than tap water,” Zhong said in a statement.
“This opens up the possibility for solar desalination to address real-world problems,” he added.
On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
By October 14, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) must either sign or veto a lengthy slate of bills approved earlier this month by the state legislature. After vetoing legislation on Monday that would have required judges to consider whether parents have affirmed their children’s gender identities during custody disputes, he signed three bills on Tuesday that support protections for LGBTQ Californians. He also signed laws to increase taxes on guns and ammunition to improve school safety. Among the sustainability-themed proposals on his desk is a landmark bill that would require businesses to disclose emissions and another that would demand disclosure of climate-related financial risk.
Ohio’s two senators are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study whether a public health emergency exists in East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of the February derailment of a Norfolk Southern train.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency against eBay, which it accuses of selling harmful products, according to a press release.
Story at a glance A new WalletHub survey found that Virginia, New York and Utah are the most teacher-friendly states. New Hampshire, Washington D.C., and Hawaii are the least teacher friendly, the survey found. The U.S. is facing a shortage of 300,000 teachers and staff, according to the National Education Association. Virginia, … Read more
A Ukrainian man is being hailed a hero after jumping into a canal in Long Island, New York, to save a driver who crashed into the water Tuesday morning, authorities said. Read more
What People Think
Opinions related to sustainability submitted to The Hill:
