Payne Institute Fellow Dr. Jay Lemery contributed to this article about how the CU School of Medicine’s Climate and Health Program focuses on how climate change and extreme weather events impact human health. While first responders on the ground will focus on the immediate fallout from hurricane Ian, a group of doctors in Colorado is looking at the bigger picture. September 28, 2022.
Payne Institute CCUS Program Manager Anna Littlefield, Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler, and Director Morgan Bazilian write an opinion piece about promoting safe and secure injection of CO2 is in the public’s interest, and how Colorado is poised to be central in the effort. Amid growing interest in using carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS, as a tool in the fight against climate change, several states’ legislatures approved CCS-related rules governing commercial and liability issues during their recently ended sessions. Colorado was not among them. September 28, 2022.
Payne Institute Fellow Alex Gilbert is featured on this podcast about the latest developments in nuclear energy innovation, policy, and deployment. In the podcast, he discusses the types of nuclear technologies in the development pipeline, how they differ from older technologies, which technologies are being piloted, and how recent policies—especially the Inflation Reduction Act—are incentivizing the deployment of these technologies. September 27, 2022.
Payne Institute Program Manager Jordy Lee contributes to this article about how no one wants a mine in their backyard. Clean energy will require a lot of metal. As global demand for these “critical minerals,” a group that includes lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper, is projected to increase by 400-600 percent driven by a surge in manufacturing of renewable technologies. September 22, 2022.
Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian and Gregory Brew write about how green technologies depend on the supply of a few key resources. But one important component of the the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been largely overlooked. Built within the IRA is a commitment to increasing the domestic U.S. supply of critical minerals—lithium, nickel, manganese, and graphite, among others—to provide the materials necessary for a vast expansion in electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, and renewable power production infrastructure. September 16, 2022.
Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian and Communications Associate Simon Lomax write an opinion piece about how President Joe Biden’s landmark climate and clean energy bill. American green groups have lauded the legislation, which was signed into law last month and provides $369bn in federal climate and clean energy incentives. But now comes the really hard part: turning hundreds of billions of dollars of incentives into real projects. September 15, 2022.
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Kathleen Hancock is featured on this podcast about how Ukraine and the IAEA say they’ve learned of a serious development at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The challenges facing the European Union as ministers meet to discuss what to do about soaring energy prices, as Russia threats to cut off natural gas supplies to Europe. September 9, 2022.
Payne Institute ESG Research Associate Baba Freeman writes about how energy poverty is widespread in African countries and power generation capacity has continued to lag population and economic growth. The prospects for adding generation capacity are currently diminished as global financial institutions reduce lending for carbon-based energy developments in response to the adverse effects of climate change. This paper looks at the economic feasibility assessments of African landfill power generation projects from literature and develops options for policymakers to boost landfill gas power penetration on the continent. September 8, 2022.
Payne Institute Critical Minerals Research Associate Caitlin McKennie, Director Morgan Bazilian, and Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler write about how the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act heralds an unprecedented era of climate investment for the U.S. Such investment brings with it the promise of new jobs across the clean energy landscape. For rural communities that have historically depended on fossil fuel development or use, however, included several in Colorado, the outlook is at least more complicated. September 6, 2022.
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Paulo Tabares-Velasco is the assistant director of the new Rocky Mountain Industrial Assessment Center (RMIAC). The center assists small- and medium-sized manufacturers to reduce carbon emissions, lower energy costs by offering free energy system assessments for local manufacturers, with the goal of helping them improve their facilities’ energy efficiency and reduce their carbon emissions. August 30, 2022.