• Some Countries Could Meet Their Total Electricity Needs from Floating Solar Panels

    Researchers calculated the global potential for deploying low-carbon floating solar arrays. The researchers looked at nearly 68,000 lakes and reservoirs around the world which were no more than 10km from a population center, not in a protected area, didn’t dry up and didn’t freeze for more than six months each year. The potential annual electricity generation from FPV on these lakes was 1302 terawatt hours (TWh), around four times the total annual electricity demand of the UK.

  • ARPA-H Announces Program to Enhance and Automate Cybersecurity for Health Care Facilities

    The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced the launch of the Universal PatchinG and Remediation for Autonomous DEfense (UPGRADE) program, a cybersecurity effort that will invest more than $50 million to create tools for information technology (IT) teams to better defend the hospital environments they are tasked with securing.

  • O-RAN Is Overhyped as Avoiding Chinese 5G Influence

    In recent years, countries have faced a stark choice between Chinese and Western suppliers to develop their 5G cellular network infrastructure. While Chinese suppliers such as Huawei and ZTE are not trusted because of their ties and legal obligations to China’s party-state, Western suppliers have struggled to compete on cost. The emergence of Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) technology has some promised, but the idea that O-RAN is a viable alternative to Chinese suppliers seems hollow.

  • What Are the Risks of Hydrogen Vehicles in Tunnels?

    In addition to electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles are also seen as an alternative to conventionally powered vehicles. Scientists have analyzed the risk and damage potential of hydrogen vehicles in tunnels and derived recommendations. Their conclusion? Any damage would be extensive, but its occurrence is unlikely.

  • Revolutionizing Energy Grid Maintenance: How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming the Future

    Scientists are leveraging the power of artificial intelligence to transform energy grid asset maintenance, helping U.S. power companies identify and address problems before they even occur, helping to ensure the security and reliability of America’s energy infrastructure.

  • Texas’ First-Ever Statewide Flood Plan Estimates 5 Million Live in Flood-Prone Areas

    The state’s flood plan shows which Texans are most at risk of flooding and suggests billions of dollars more are needed for flood mitigation projects. Texas plans to reduce the risk for those people by recommending solutions to harden Texas against floods and rising sea levels.

  • Emerging Threats to the U.S. Financial System

    In early 2021, a freewheeling, freethinking group of investors on Reddit plowed their money into GameStop, a video game retailer that several big hedge funds had bet against. The stock price shot up, some people made millions—and, to the delight of those on Reddit, the hedge funds had some very bad days. Researchers saw the GameStop story as a cautionary tale. If investors on Reddit could work together to move the markets like that, what could an adversary like China do?

  • Peak Water: Do We Have Enough Groundwater to Meet Future Need?

    Though vast stores of groundwater persist below Earth’s surface, the climbing cost of accessing it is on track to significantly reshape the geography of trade and drive users toward alternative water sources.

  • The Government Wants to Buy Their Flood-Prone Homes. But These Texans Aren’t Moving.

    The recent floods in Harris County, Texas, show why home buyout programs can be important. These programs involve the government buying, and demolishing, houses in flood-prone zones, that is, areas which typically flood first and worse. The Harris County flood control district wants to buy properties along the San Jacinto River that have flooded repeatedly. Some residents aren’t leaving.

  • Facing a Potentially Warmer, Drier Washington State, Scientists Develops Plans to Be Sure Nuclear Power Plants Stay Cool

    Waterways — tried and true cooling sources for nuclear power plants — could get warmer due to global climate change. Washington is planning ahead. Argonne scientists will use Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to work with Washington’s Energy Northwest on climate-ready nuclear reactor designs.

  • Small Hydroelectric Plants Could Provide Emergency Power During Outages

    Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is seeking a hydropower utility to collaborate on a case study, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), to understand how small hydroelectric plants operating at 10 megawatts or less can be upgraded to provide emergency power to critical loads (e.g., hospitals and emergency service providers) during outages.

  • America’s Grid Isn’t Ready for a Renewable Future. A New Federal Rule Could Change That.

    America’s energy system has a problem: Solar and wind developers want to build renewable energy at a breakneck pace, but too often the power that these projects can produce has nowhere to go. That’s because the high-voltage lines that move energy across the country don’t have the capacity to handle what these panels and turbines generate. At the same time, electric vehicles, data centers, and new factories are pushing electricity demand well beyond what was expected just a few years ago.

  • Texas Flooding Brings New Urgency to Houston Home Buyout Program

    The San Jacinto River is a national hotspot for ‘managed retreat,’ but recent floods show how far local officials still have to go.

  • Addressing the Colorado River Crisis

    Sustaining the American Southwest is the Colorado River. But demand, damming, diversion, and drought are draining this vital water resource at alarming rates. The future of water in the Southwest was top of mind for participants and attendees at the 10th Annual Eccles Family Rural West Conference.

  • Making Batteries Takes Lots of Lithium: Almost Half of It Could Come from Pennsylvania Wastewater

    Most batteries used in technology like smartwatches and electric cars are made with lithium that travels across the world before even getting to manufacturers. But what if nearly half of the lithium used in the U.S. could come from Pennsylvania wastewater?