Silicon Valley: Epicentre of Technology and Innovation

It's only when you travel around California that you can really appreciate quite how geographically diverse this region is. 

In just 10 days, we experienced the hot, barren Mojave Desert, with its imposing geological features; lush palm oases sustained by underground aquifers; snow-capped peaks of Mount San Jacinto; 7.6 million year old cinder cone volcanoes; the flat, smog-covered Central Valley; lush rolling hills of the Carrizo Plain; the cool, damp climes of Monterey Bay; and jagged towering mountains of Pinnacles National Park.

But it's not just these geographical elements that enable solar and wind power to be captured and anthropogenically utilised by this state. This innovation and implementation is the result of an element which was not central to our biogeographical field-trip, but is something we could not help but account for. The human population. 

We started our trip in the low-lying, sprawling city of LA and finished in the foggy urban environment of San Fransisco. But it was my trip to the latter than really made me question the catalyst of California's word-leading stance on sustainable technology. 

Whilst in San Fransisco, we visited the US Geological Survey, located in Palo Alto. Driving through Silicon Valley, home to countless entrepreneurial start-ups and many of the world's largest tech companies, we passed Stanford University. This world-renowned institution, with its high-calibre STEM research, has created an hub of scientific, engineering and technological knowledge, with 70% of residents in Menlo Park (to the east of Palo Alto) holding a degree.

In addition, this region has a high-density of venture capital and private equity firms, which fuel these  innovative ideas, propelling them into successful companies.

Therefore, it is this combination of world-leading research, significant capital investment and high-density of passionate, highly-intelligent individuals that has formed this powerhouse of innovation, including many discoveries in the world of environmental sustainability which has driven California's renewable energy expansion.

Entrance of the US Geological Survey in Palo Alto, California

Tesla is just one of these world-leading corporations, founded and headquartered in Silicon Valley. The company started with a focus on electric cars, but are now world leaders in the research, design and production of renewable home energy storage, with the higher capacity, second generation Tesla Powerwall battery unveiled in late 2016.

However, Silicon Valley has much more to offer in the renewable space than just the well known global companies. In my next post, I will will explore some of these smaller companies, focusing on their innovative research and exciting products on offer.

Two Years On

Nearly two years ago, I started this blog, which coincided with the start of my MSc in Climate Change. At the time, measures implemented by the UK Government were not conducive to supporting and invigorating renewable energy investment and expansion in our country. 

It appears that this was just the tip of the iceberg for those working to mitigate climate change... To say that a lot has happened since then is an absolute understatement. 

2016 was one of the most politically turbulent years ever experienced by many of us. This has had, and will have, severe impacts on the remarkable environmental progress that has been made over the past decade. Recently, we have seen Trump sign an executive order to advance the Keystone & Dakota pipelines, place climate change sceptic Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA, review the Clean Power Plan and threaten to remove the US from the Paris Agreement.

On a personal level, my Climate Change Masters is now complete and my doctorate in Climatology has begun. With the shock result of the EU vote, then the US election, I woke up on November the 9th feeling helpless. Speaking to my Dad, I was told in no uncertain terms "Well, this just means you have a more important job to do".

And he's right. Although the battle to limit global temperature rise to below 2°C is becoming increasingly difficult, the rapid advance in global renewable energy capacity is so vast that I'm now struggling to keep up to date with the all the news stories. 

But there is one location that will always attract my attention. 

I have long-studied California's progressive attitude towards renewables, and in March, I was fortunate enough to fly to the sunshine state on a research trip. Although I was aware of California's advanced environmental measures, I was still left astonished by the seemingly endless expanse of wind turbines in the Mojave Desert, vast solar-farms in the Carrizo Plain and numerous homes that had proactively installed thermophotovoltaic panels. 

Since returning, I have become somewhat obsessed with reading up on the policies and technological advances coming out of this region, particularly in renewable energy and drought mitigation measures. This is a state that realised its need to reduce its fossil fuel dependence during the 1970s oil crisis, and by 1998, the  Renewable Energy Programme had been founded, headed up by the California Energy Commission. Over past two decades, this programme has been responsible for a significant statewide investment in solar and wind power. 

As a result, my next set of blogs will focus directly on this, linking in some of the research and understanding that I gained from my time out there.

Wind Farm in San Bernardino County, California

A Shift in the Political Importance of Climate Change?

The political turmoil of 2016 has caused widespread fear amongst us; myself included. Recently I have been obsessing whether we are on the verge of an instrumental shift in the political importance of Climate Change.

To say I've been concerned about the future of our planet since Brexit is an understatement.

Fracturing a powerful union that has been so significant in revolutionary scientific research and policy is a terrifying prospect. Since the vote, we have seen the abolishment of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, a strong push for fracking and a significant reduction in scientific research funding.

Then we add the election of Donald Trump to be the next President of the United States.

This poses an even greater threat to international efforts to combat climate change, with just some of his recent quotes including: "We're going to cancel the Paris Agreement"; "We're going to stop all payments of US tax dollars to UN global warming programs"; and "I want clean coal and we're going to have clean coal and we're going to have plenty of it. We're going to have great, clean coal".

So in response to my initial question... yes; I do believe we are on the verge of a global shift in the importance of climate change, both in political and public opinion. But not in the way I had originally expected.

And that is because it appears the world is ready to fight to ensure global Climate Action.

It is understandable that the science community, NGO's, the UNFCCC and many members of the public are fearful of the impact that Brexit and Trump's presidency will have on global efforts to combat climate change. But people are, however, ready to speak out to ensure the Paris Agreement is respected and that the climate change scepticism promoted by Trump, is not widely accepted.

For example, since his election, many world leaders have spoken out.

President Hollande warned Trump that he must respect the Paris Agreement; China have quashed Trump's ridiculous claim that Climate Change is a "hoax invented by the Chinese"; Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary General, has spoken directly to Trump about the urgency and importance of tackling climate change; and NASA scientists have stated that they will not stand for any interference with future climate research.

People are ready to fight.

Ban Ki-Moon: Climate Change Action is Unstoppable 

Source: Reuters

I am fully aware that the next four years have been made more difficult as a result of 2016's political events, however, I am now questioning whether Trump's uncontrollable, vehement and raucous environmental claims will be as detrimental as they first appear.

Thus far, all it has done is bring the issue of climate change back onto the global stage and straight into our media. Everyone loves to hate a pantomime villain and Trump has become a figurehead for many to loathe. This means all of his vociferous claims are projected straight onto the world stage and many that had little interest in lobbying for climate action have now become engaged. 

Since the 9th November, new articles have been published daily about tackling climate change. Every day, another world leader is expressing the importance of continued collaborative effort in mitigating this global issue. Everyday, my friends and colleagues are on social media, sharing articles and expressing their disgust at Trump's nonsensical environmental claims.

So, yes there is an uphill struggle ahead and I am fully prepared for the additional effort now required to prevent us from moving backwards. But despite my initial despair, it appears people have been motivated- and actually, I now feel far less alone in the battle to mitigate climate change.

Bristol: Leaders in City-Scale Clean Energy

Bristol will always have a soft spot in my heart. A beautiful city and home to the fantastic university that my brother was fortunate enough to graduate from last year. Despite now living in Brussels, he aims to move back there one day, to once again enjoy the fantastic quality of life that this unique and dynamic city provides. And I completely understand his justification. 

This is a city that was awarded the European Green Capital award in 2015 because of its high environmental standards and innovative low-carbon energy projects. This award demonstrates that Bristol is a role model, not only in the UK, but also in Europe. 

Bristol: European Green Capital, 2015
Source: Sustainable Cities Collective

Although the following list is not exhaustive, it demonstrates some of the exciting initiatives in the city over recent years:

- In November 2015, the city announced plans to become a low-carbon city with the aim to cut 50% of carbon emissions by 2025 and 80% of emissions by 2050. 

- Transport: Many of you will already have seen the 2014 articles on the running of the first bus to be powered by human and food waste. The biomethane gas produced by this waste is used to fuel the bus, which transports passengers from Bristol to Bath. It can travelling 186 miles on a single tank of gas, with the yearly waste of a single passengers able to fuel the bus for 37 miles. 

- The city is working in partnership with the Carbon Trust and investing in an ambitious decarbonised heating network in order to encourage local installation projects of new low-carbon heating systems. By late 2015, the city had 20MW of renewable heating installed. Plans for a large-scale district heating system promises to supply low-carbon heat to a large proportion of the city - £5m has already  been approved for the first phase of this project. 

- Local low-carbon heating projects have also taken off, with the DECC providing £700,000 for a low-carbon heating system at Bristol's Easton Community Centre. This uses solar-powered heat pumps to trap summer air for use in winter. 

These projects are already taking off and huge funding is going into this leading environmentally sustainable city. Its approach to low-carbon heat is particularly innovative and exciting. For many of these projects, Bristol has led the way in testing these technologies. Many UK cities (particularly London), are fortunate enough to have an exemplary city demonstrating where green policies and innovation have worked, which presents a pioneering model that can help inform future developments. 

Challenging the Tesla battery

Although the Tesla Powerwall is one of the most widely publicised and well-known, there are a number of exciting companies that have also entered the market, increasing competition, driving the development of storage capacity and pushing down prices. Some of these models are more developed than others, but all highlight the huge investment, innovation and research going into this area. Whilst not an exhaustive list, below are some of the organisations that have introduced their renewable batteries into this expanding market.

Dyson

By partnering with the battery start-up Sakti3, Dyson are set to invest $1bn by 2020 to develop solid-state lithium ion batteries which are able to store far greater amounts of energy than the current liquid-state batteries. This development could revolutionise electric vehicles by enabling greater renewable energy storage, making them direct competition for petrol vehicles.

Nissan

This exciting announcement happened only in the last few days, with Nissan's "xStorage" set to compete with Tesla's domestic battery for renewable energy storage. The battery is a 4.2kWh system, costing £3,000, available to order across Europe from September. This is smaller an more expensive than the Tesla Powerwall which is expected to be around £2,000 for the smaller 7kWh system and £2,500 for the larger 10kWh system. However, xStorage costs include installation and will also be available to order in Europe. Comparatively, the Powerwall (sold-out to mid-2016) is predominately focused at present on Australian and US markets.

Nissan's "xStorage" domestic battery
Source: www.alphr.com

Mercedes-Benz

This battery is smaller than some of the others, with 2.5kWh's of storage. However, it has the potential to be combined with other batteries to increase its capacity for use on an industrial-scale- therefore it is not limited to purely domestic use. Prices have not yet been released, with orders currently confined to Germany but future plans to expand its geographical remit. 

Samsung

The Samsung SDI ESS is a lithium-ion energy storage battery, ranging from domestic model capacities of 3.6kWh to 8kWh's. In addition, there is also a commercial option with potential to function both as an energy saving and back-up power option for businesses in the case of power shortages.

Powervault

This is an extremely exciting battery option, predominately due to the size and nature of the company behind the model. Powervault went on sale in 2015 and is the work of a small London-based start-up. The battery capacity ranges from 2 to 4kWh's and is a cheaper than other options at around £1,000, all designed and assembled in the UK.

There is certainly increasing demand for renewable energy storage and it is clear that companies are competing to be the key market supplier. It is fantastic to see this competition forcing greater financial investments and research in order to produce more compact and cost-effective models with greater storage capacity. Additionally, small, innovative and flexible start-ups are also developing their own models which makes this competition even more exciting as these companies can sometimes be more flexible, imaginative and innovative than some of the larger, more bureaucratic,  multi-national organisations. There are certainly many small companies with big names and funding behind them that we need to keep a keen eye on in future.

Clean Energy Storage: The Tesla Powerwall

Since it launched in 2015, I have been really excited about this innovative technology. For those of you that aren't already familiar with the Tesla Powerwall, it is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that can be installed in homes to store the energy generated from domestic solar panels. There are many benefits to this technology, as I will outline below, although I will also highlight some of its major limitations which are preventing its more widespread distribution.

Tesla Powerwall Installation
Source: ecomento

Key benefits:

- Flexibility:
In the western world, many users take for granted the luxury of always having regular and constant access to energy. With this new solar energy storage technology, the inflexibility of solar energy- with its supply being limited only to the hours when the sun is shining- is nullified. The option to store this energy gives the luxury of flexibility that households are used to when using fossil fuels.

- Power back-up: 
If demand at a particular time is not met with the solar energy supply, households need not rely on fossil fuels to fill this gap as the battery will provide a power back-up. A household could become totally independent of the grid by using some form of battery storage.

- Prevents Waste: 
During the middle of the day, the majority of people are away from their home and unable to make full use of the energy created by their solar panels; installation of this battery ensures that the excess energy, captured by the solar panels, is stored and not wasted.


This technology allows people (on a domestic scale) to make the most of the renewable energy they are producing. A wonderful example I recently came across was the installation of a Tesla Powerwall battery in a home in Wales. This has allowed the family to store the solar energy from their photovoltaic panels, which they had previously been unable to exploit as they were typically away from their home during the day when the solar radiation, and therefore the energy production, was at its highest.


Key Limitations:

- Domestic-scale only:
At present, this battery is only being produced on a domestic scale and has not been upscaled sufficiently to allow for industrial use. However, many developments are taking place, which could present further opportunities in future.

- Cost:
At present, the Tesla Powerwall isn't affordable for most households. With solar panels already a huge expense, the addition of this battery is not an option for most people.

- Size:
As you can see for yourself in the image above, this isn't the most compact and subtle design.  A home would not only need the space, but hopefully a suitable housing design that will allow for this to be installed in a garage or utility room.


Overall, it is clear that there are some limitations of the Tesla Powerwall, both in its design and cost. However, the thing to really point out here is the huge progression that this technology signifies: a phenomenal step forward in capturing and storing sustainable energy. Significant improvements are also being made to reduce the limitations of this battery; This means that, in the future, we should be seeing these technologies become a much more viable option. Hopefully the development will not only impact domestic-consumers, but also industrial organisations. In addition, it has really driven the interest and development in sustainable energy storage, with other companies seeking to capitalise on this market. 

Clean Energy Storage

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, storage of renewable energy seems to be one of the greatest barriers to entirely replacing fossil fuels with clean energy.

In my next few posts, I intend to investigate this crucial and exciting area by looking at existing solutions and some of the innovative, less developed ideas to assess how realistic it is to expect a solution that can revolutionise this sector in coming years.

The lack of flexibility of renewable energy is a key problem, and one which prevents many nations from fully supporting the transition to cleaner energy. With a globalised world so heavily reliant on energy to support our every need, access to a constant supply to meet national demand at all times, is absolutely imperative for maintaining economic development and high quality of life. Rapidly developing countries, such as India, experience periods of the day where energy demand is not met. Therefore, as a country, they are focused on resolving these issues to continue their economic growth and improvement in standards of living. 

India's power supply and demand gap
Source: A.T. Kearney

Therefore, it is understandable that many see renewable energy as a step back for a nations development. It may lead to occasions where demand is not met and this is unimaginable in a developed country such as the UK, where we have the luxury of switching on a light, the kettle, or charging our phone at any given moment, without so much as a thought about how that energy is being provided and whether it may run out. A brief power cut is enough of an inconvenience.

So yes, at present, the full clean energy revolution is unrealistic, because for a complete transition to occur, we must ensure that demand can also be met. This is why energy storage is so exciting and important. I think it is fair to say, whoever creates a solution that is not only efficient on an industrial scale, but also cost effective, will have a name that goes down in history.

I will be covering some of the existing areas that are starting to transform this area. These include compressed air, flywheel technology and batteries. The most well known energy storage system is likely to be the Tesla Powerwall, so this will be looked at in more detail in my next post.