Commentary Series - Payne Institute for Public Policy

Forging a Greener Future: The Imperative of Decarbonizing Steel Production 8/26/2024

Forging a Greener Future: The Imperative of Decarbonizing Steel Production

Payne Institute CCUS Program Manager Anna Littlefield and PhD candidate at School of Mines Edikan Udofia write about the EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel mill, a longstanding institution in this industrial area for more than a century and how it is evolving as part of the push to decarbonize the global steel industry. Collaborating with Lightsource bp, the mill is shifting to solar energy, positioning itself as the first steel mill in North America to operate predominantly on solar power. The solar conversion is set to abate almost half a million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. August 26, 2024.

OIL DEPOT FIRE IN PROLETARSK RAGES ON FOR SIXTH DAY 8/23/2024

OIL DEPOT FIRE IN PROLETARSK RAGES ON FOR SIXTH DAY

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin writes about how firefighters are now in their sixth day of battling a massive blaze that erupted at an oil storage facility in Proletarsk, Russia. The fire ignited early on Sunday, August 18th, following the downing of Ukrainian drones by Russian air defense systems near the town. August 23, 2024.

The Colorado Geothermal Frontier

Payne Institute Program Manager Anna Littlefield and CSM PhD Candidate Edikan Udofia write about how in Chaffee County Colorado, residents and visitors alike have long taken advantage of the natural hot springs generated by thermal anomalies deep underground. Soon, this same heat may be tapped to provide energy for the local community. August 20, 2024.

Navigating Environmental Challenges in Iraqi Kurdistan Amid Ongoing Conflicts

Payne Institute Fellow Peri-Kwan Aqrawi-Whitcomb writes about how in the Kurdistan region of Iraq the scars of conflict are not just etched into the land but are also woven into the very air the people breathe, the water they drink, and the soil they till. This semi-autonomous region, once a cradle of ancient civilizations, is now at the epicenter of a different kind of battle—one against the relentless march of environmental degradation fueled by climate change and man-made disasters. August 16, 2024.

Locked Up for the Long Term: Risk Mitigation and Liability Assumption in the Geological Storage of CO2 8/5/2024

Locked Up for the Long Term: Risk Mitigation and Liability Assumption in the Geological Storage of CO2

The Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab looks at Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS is an integral activity in the effort to limit global warming and its harmful effects. That contribution requires a significant scaling of CCS operations, and initiatives for new CCS projects are indeed proliferating. August 5, 2024.

Satellite Data Shows Park Fire Devastation 8/2/2024

Satellite Data Shows Park Fire Devastation

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin, Communications Associate Kristin Ziv, Senior Research Associate Christopher Elvidge, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about the largest active wildfire in the U.S, the Park Fire in northern California, ignited last Wednesday (the 24^th of July) and quickly engulfed more than 360,000 acres – approximately 560 square miles – by Sunday. As of Monday (29 July), the fire was about 12% contained. Arson has been cited as the cause. August 2, 2024.

Satellite Data Reveals Scale and Intensity of Colorado’s Front Range Fires 8/1/2024

Satellite Data Reveals Scale and Intensity of Colorado’s Front Range Fires

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin, Communications Associate Kristin Ziv, Senior Research Associate Christopher Elvidge, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about the four separate wildfires that have erupted since Monday, July 29, along Colorado’s front range foothills, consuming more than 8,300 acres, and being fought by hundreds of firefighters. One person has died, and thousands have been forced to evacuate. On Wednesday, July 31, Gov. Jared Polis ordered the deployment of the National Guard to aid in the firefight. August 1, 2024.

Geological Storage Risk Mitigation: The Way Forward 7/29/2024

Geological Storage Risk Mitigation: The Way Forward

Payne Institute Program Manager Brad Handler, Lindene E. Patton, and student researcher Siddhant Kulkarni write the fifth and last paper in a series that identified the operational, financial and business model risks through the lifecycle of a geological storage project. These papers then discussed steps that are being taken to mitigate each risk, as well as to ensure that adequate funds are available to pay for closure and for environmental damages should any occur. In addressing these risks, this series averred that the regulatory landscape appears adequate to address them. July 29, 2024.

Long Term Stewardship: Releasing Residual Liability 7/29/2024

Long Term Stewardship: Releasing Residual Liability

Payne Institute Program Director Brad Handler, student researcher Siddhant Kulkarni, and Lindene Patton write the fourth paper in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a climate mitigation tool envisions the permanent underground storage of CO2. In a carbon geological storage project, the final phase is referred to as Long Term Stewardship (LTS). It follows the Post Injection and Site Care (PISC) phase, i.e., after the injection well has been plugged, the developer has monitored the subsurface for any CO₂ leaks for the prescribed period, and the site has been “closed.” July 29, 2024.

Financial Risk Management for Geological Storage 7/22/24

Financial Risk Management for Geological Storage

Payne Institute Program Manager Brad Handler, Lindene E. Patton, student researchers Siddhant Kulkarni and Felix Ayaburi, and Darshil Shah write the third paper in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a climate mitigation tool envisions the permanent underground storage of CO2. The U.S. government has implemented several policies designed to position Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects for growth. These include a regulatory framework and financial incentives such as Internal Revenue Service Section 45Q tax credits and grants. July 22,2024.

Preliminary Evaluation of Community-Oriented Risk Analysis of Carbon Capture, Transport, and Storage in the United States 7/15/24

Preliminary Evaluation of Community-Oriented Risk Analysis of Carbon Capture, Transport, and Storage in the United States

Mines Civil and Environmental Engineering PhD student researcher Nicolas G. Perticari Pesci writes the second in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS projects are slated to be multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects comprised of carbon dioxide pipelines, capture sites, and injection wells for the sub-surface. While the technical feasibility of carbon capture projects is explained systematically, for example as part of the permitting application for Class VI wells for geological storage, the social implications of projects are equally important and must also be evaluated to better understand risks and holistic mitigation of liability for all involved parties. July 15, 2024.

GEOLOGICAL STORAGE: RISKS AND OPERATIONAL RISK MITIGATION 7/8/2024

GEOLOGICAL STORAGE: RISKS AND OPERATIONAL RISK MITIGATION

Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler, Payne Institute CCS Program Manager Anna Littlefield, and student researcher Felix Ayaburi write the first in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a climate mitigation tool envisions the permanent underground storage of CO2. The prospects for large scale adoption of geological storage has raised concerns regarding the risks — of property damage, environmental degradation, and to human health— if stored CO2 were to leak to the surface or into shallow water resources. July 8, 2024.

INTRODUCTION: RISK MITIGATION IN GEOLOGICAL STORAGE OF CO2 7/8/2024

INTRODUCTION: RISK MITIGATION IN GEOLOGICAL STORAGE OF CO2

The Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab writes the introduction to a series of papers that looks at Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS is an integral activity in the effort to limit global warming and its harmful effects. That contribution requires a significant scaling of CCS operations, and initiatives for new CCS projects are indeed proliferating. July 8, 2024.

SATELLITE DATA CAPTURES POWER OUTAGES IN SUDAN’S CIVIL WAR 5/19/2024

SATELLITE DATA CAPTURES POWER OUTAGES IN SUDAN’S CIVIL WAR

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin, Communications Associate Kristin Ziv, Senior Research Associate Christopher Elvidge, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how a horrible full-scale civil war in Sudan is creating chaos, anarchy, mass starvation, and the world’s largest population of internal refugees – approximately nine million. The researchers have created a temporal profile of nighttime lights for Khartoum where seasonal variations in lights within a year can be seen, but the interannual radiance was stable until the conflict started in April 2023. May 19, 2024.

NAVIGATING COMMERCIAL ADVISORY IN THE VCM 5/16/2024

NAVIGATING COMMERCIAL ADVISORY IN THE VCM

School of Mines Mineral and Energy Economics Masters candidate Jared Andreatta and Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler write an explainer of the various types of Commercial Advisory services firms that participate in the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM). These advisory firms primarily help buyers find, evaluate and transact carbon offset credits, but offer distinct approaches. May 16, 2024.

SATELLITE DATA REVEALS THE START OF CANADA’S WILDFIRE SEASON 5/16/2024

SATELLITE DATA REVEALS THE START OF CANADA’S WILDFIRE SEASON

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin, Communications Associate Kristin Ziv, Senior Research Associate Christopher Elvidge, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how as of May 14, 2024, there are 143 active wildfires in Canada, and 39 are out of control, according to Canadian experts and officials. The Earth Observation Group has calculated the temperatures and spatial extent of active burning across Canada with their Nightfire algorithm applied to data collected by NOAA’s Visible infrared Imaging Spectrometer Suite (VIIRS). May 16, 2024.

LEEDING POWER BACK TO COMMUNITIES THROUGH GREEN BUILDING CODES 5/10/2024

LEEDING POWER BACK TO COMMUNITIES THROUGH GREEN BUILDING CODES – ADVICE FOR POLICYMAKERS CONSIDERING LEED CERTIFICATION

Payne Institute Student Researcher Nathan Li compares goals of original, local green building codes and their potential for projects to use LEED certification as a path of compliance. By using his professional experience in LEED certification to analyze these codes’ language and priorities, he provide guidance on the applicability of LEED to achieve energy efficiency and renewable energy goals set by jurisdictions. Nathan then makes suggestions to policymakers not to rely on the widespread acceptance of LEED to communicate a sustainability commitment, but instead use locally specific codes that require needed changes in their communities. May 10, 2024.

Mapping of Dimmed Nighttime Lights in Ukraine During the War 3/27/2024

Mapping of Dimmed Nighttime Lights in Ukraine During the War

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin writes about how the impact of the war in Ukraine on nighttime light intensity using satellite data. Nighttime light observations from Suomi NPP satellite (2012-2024) covering Ukraine and surrounding areas were analyzed. March 27, 2024.

New Method for Tracking Down Methane Emissions on Oil and Gas Sites 3/27/2024

New Method for Tracking Down Methane Emissions on Oil and Gas Sites

Payne Institute Student Researcher William Daniels, Faculty Fellow Dorit Hammerling, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how reducing methane emissions is a key component of short-term climate action. Empirical data and transparent models are key pillars of emission reduction efforts. Payne Institute researchers William Daniels, Meng Jia, and Dorit Hammerling have developed a completely open-source analytical framework for detecting single-source methane emissions, determining the source location, and estimating an emission rate using data from continuous monitoring systems (CMS). March 27, 2024.

Exploring policy choices for addressing forever chemicals 3/25/2024

Exploring policy choices for addressing forever chemicals

Payne Institute Communications Associate Kristin Ziv, Student Researcher Isabel Guajardo Retamales and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how on March 20, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) convened a pivotal hearing titled “Examining PFAS as Hazardous Substances.” The session focused on the risks associated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of synthetic chemicals found in various industrial and consumer products. March 25, 2024.

STEEL RISING: HARNESSING NIGERIA’S POTENTIAL FOR GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY 2/29/24

STEEL RISING: HARNESSING NIGERIA’S POTENTIAL FOR GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY

Payne Institute student researcher Edikan Udofia writes about Nigeria is endowed with more than 2 billion metric tons of iron ore reserves and is striving to position itself as a key player in the worldwide steel sector. Despite encountering challenges in the past regarding enhancing its steel manufacturing capabilities, Nigeria is currently well-placed to harness its abundant mineral wealth and enhance its steel production capacity. February 29, 2024.

VIIRS SENSORS SHOW BREADTH OF TEXAS WILDFIRES 2/29/2024

VIIRS SENSORS SHOW BREADTH OF TEXAS WILDFIRES

Payne Institute Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin, Senior Research Associate Christopher Elvidge, Communications Associate Kristin Ziv, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how using the VIIRS Nightfire satellites, the Earth Observation Group at the Payne Institute for Public Policy has calculated the temperatures and spatial extent of active burning in the Texas Panhandle with their Nightfire algorithm applied to data collected by NOAA’s Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer Suite (VIIRS). February 29, 2024.

EOG’S VIIRS SATELLITES CONFIRM DRONE ATTACKS ON RUSSIAN OIL INFRASTRUCTURE 2/16/2024

EOG’S VIIRS SATELLITES CONFIRM DRONE ATTACKS ON RUSSIAN OIL INFRASTRUCTURE

Payne Institute Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin, Communications Associate Kristin Ziv, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how using the VIIRS Nightfire satellites, the Earth Observation Group at the Payne Institute for Public Policy was able to confirm several of the recent Ukrainian drone attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in Russia that have occurred over the past several weeks. February 16, 2024.

SOLAR SURGE PUTS PRESSURE ON SILVER SUPPLY (BUT LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING) 2/14/24

SOLAR SURGE PUTS PRESSURE ON SILVER SUPPLY (BUT LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING)

Payne Institute Communications Associate Kristin Ziv and Director Morgan Bazilian write about the global demand for solar panels and as it soars, so does the demand for silver – a key component in the manufacturing of photovoltaic (PV) panels. Solar installations are breaking records worldwide in both volume and low price, according to BloombergNEF. February 14, 2024.

PAYNE INSTITUTE’S EOG MEASURES CHILEAN WILDFIRES

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Mikhail Zhizhin, Christopher Elvidge, Communications Associate Kristin Ziv, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about the Chilean wildfires which could be the deadliest on record, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. With its VIIRS Nightfire satellites, the Earth Observation Group can detect wildfires all over the world within two hours after the satellite overpass. With this algorithm, EOG can not only detect, but characterize wildfires in size and temperature. February 9, 2024.