Essays, Blogs, and Stories

MORGAN BAZILIAN CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY ON THE MINERAL AND METAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE ENERGY TRANSITION September 17, 2019

MORGAN BAZILIAN CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY ON THE MINERAL AND METAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE ENERGY TRANSITION

Dr. Morgan Bazilian giving a congressional testimony to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate regarding the “Mineral and Metal Foundations of the Energy Transition.” Morgan Bazilian Testimony | Full Senate Hearing | Read Full Testimony. September 17, 2019.

URBAN ELECTRIFICATION: KNOWLEDGE PATHWAY TOWARD AN INTEGRATED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENDA August 22, 2019

URBAN ELECTRIFICATION: KNOWLEDGE PATHWAY TOWARD AN INTEGRATED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

This paper outlines a vision for advancing a research and development (R&D) agenda to thoroughly examine the characteristics and relationships among urbanization, electrification, and cities, including the imperative of shifting renewable sources for electricity. It uses a systems approach to trace current knowledge and identifies knowledge gaps on diverse and not yet connected elements of this emerging field, while calling for a more active collaboration among engineering, and physical and social sciences in the development of an integrated R&D agenda. August 22, 2019.

ENERGY TRANSITIONS AND LOCAL ACTION: THE CASE OF COLORADO’S COAL TRANSITION August 21, 2019

ENERGY TRANSITIONS AND LOCAL ACTION: THE CASE OF COLORADO’S COAL TRANSITION

The energy transition is underway. While this transition is occurring across many dimensions of the energy value chain having a dynamic impact on consumers and producers alike, it is often simply described as a move to a cleaner, low- or zero-carbon system. The contours of the pathway remain unclear, but certain aspects are already visible. The dramatic rise in solar and wind power generation in electricity systems and the rise of electric vehicles are occurring in multiple economies across the globe as is an increased focus on energy efficiency. August 21, 2019.

GLOBAL ENERGY TRANSPORT SECURITY August 20, 2019

GLOBAL ENERGY TRANSPORT SECURITY

 A series of attacks and detentions for oil cargo ships this year have made the Strait of Hormuz a geopolitical hotspot once again, harkening back 35 years to the so-called “tanker wars,” part of the Iran-Iraq War. And while Hormuz’s role as the world’s primary most important oil transit route has not changed, much else about the energy security landscape has – especially growth in liquefied natural gas markets. The concerns around disruptions to oil markets are now salient for natural gas markets as well. August 20, 2019.

ELECTRICITY AS COERCION: IS THERE A RISK OF STRATEGIC DENIAL OF SERVICE? August 20, 2019

ELECTRICITY AS COERCION: IS THERE A RISK OF STRATEGIC DENIAL OF SERVICE?

Increasing the interconnection of electricity systems both within and between countries has much promise to help support clean energy power systems of the future. If the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing in one place, an electricity grid with high voltage transmission lines can move electricity to where it is needed. This shared infrastructure and increased trade can possibly serve as a basis for peace between neighbors in conflict, but it may also serve as a tool of coercion if the electricity can be cut off by one party. August 20, 2019.

APPLYING MACHINE LEARNING TO GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION August 8, 2019

APPLYING MACHINE LEARNING TO GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION

Payne Institute Faculty Expert Sebnem Duzgun, professor and Fred Banfield Distinguished Endowed Chair of Mining Engineering at Colorado School of Mines, has been awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to apply new machine learning techniques to geothermal exploration.  Duzgun will receive $500,000 over 18 months for her project, which was one of 10 nationwide recently selected for DOE funding. August 8, 2019.

THE UNITED STATES’ GAS FLARE-UP: WHY AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEM THAT WAS ON THE DECLINE IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE July 28, 2019

THE UNITED STATES’ GAS FLARE-UP: WHY AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEM THAT WAS ON THE DECLINE IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE

When companies drill for oil, the process can also release natural gas (primarily composed of methane) as a byproduct, called associated gas. For safety reasons and to release pressure in the system, the associated gas needs to be removed. Typically, this has been done by venting (releasing) or flaring (burning) the gas. Of the two, flaring is preferable, since it converts methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas to carbon dioxide, a less powerful one. But natural gas flares are still wasteful and environmentally harmful.  July 28, 2019.

OIL’S POWER PLAYERS June 5, 2019

OIL’S POWER PLAYERS

Payne Institute initiative on the Future of Oil and Gas partnered with Natural Resource Governance Institute on an essay on the role of National Oil Companies in the energy transition in Foreign Policy. The United States may be a growing force in energy markets, but national oil companies still reign supreme. June 5, 2019.

FOUR META-CHALLENGES TO POWER SECTOR REFORM IN SUB-SAHARAN MARKETS May 17, 2019

FOUR META-CHALLENGES TO POWER SECTOR REFORM IN SUB-SAHARAN MARKETS

Sub-Saharan African countries urgently need more electricity services to foster economic growth and job creation. While plugging the energy gap is not sufficient to address all the region’s economic woes, it is a fundamental building block to the wider aspirations of these societies. Still, reforming power sector regulations and governance across the region continues to be fraught with problems. May 17, 2019.

THESE ARE THE 4 MOST LIKELY SCENARIOS FOR THE FUTURE OF ENERGY May 9, 2019

THESE ARE THE 4 MOST LIKELY SCENARIOS FOR THE FUTURE OF ENERGY

The pressures on the global energy system are unprecedented. Demand is being fuelled by a growing population and economic growth, but powering the world still depends on fossil fuels, and creates two-thirds of global emissions. Emissions resulting from human activity will need to be at net zero by 2050 to limit global warming, according to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. But last year, global energy-related CO2 emissions rose to the highest level ever. Added to this is a shifting geopolitical landscape, which has seen the transition to an inclusive, sustainable, affordable and secure energy system slow down. May 9, 2019.

INTERNET OF THINGS: ENERGY BOON OR BANE? April 29, 2019

INTERNET OF THINGS: ENERGY BOON OR BANE?

Since the dawn of the internet, a digital revolution has transformed life for millions of people. Digital files have replaced paper, email has replaced letters, and cell phones provide access to many services that facilitate daily life. This digital revolution is not over, and there is now a growing deployment of technologies grouped under the term “Internet of Things” (IoT)—a worldwide network of interconnected objects that are uniquely addressable via standard communication protocols. April 29, 2019.

THE MISSING INTERNATIONAL PIECE OF THE GREEN NEW DEAL April 29, 2019

THE MISSING INTERNATIONAL PIECE OF THE GREEN NEW DEAL

When U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey released the text of the Green New Deal in February 2019, they were paying homage to the policies that lifted the United States out of the Great Depression. The resolution tied action on climate change to a wider set of social objectives, including creating jobs in renewables and other clean technologies, targeting the country’s vast need for improved infrastructure, and addressing issues as varied as sources of income and health care inequality. This essay focuses on what is missing—an international dimension. April 29, 2019.

PAYNE INSTITUTE, KAPSARC HOST ROUNDTABLE ON ENERGY MARKETS April 16, 2019

PAYNE INSTITUTE, KAPSARC HOST ROUNDTABLE ON ENERGY MARKETS

The Payne Institute for Public Policy at Colorado School of Mines in collaboration with the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) recently brought together global experts to discuss analytical approaches to blending political science with the study of energy markets. April 16, 2019.

SENSITIVE INTERVENTION POINTS IN THE POST-CARBON TRANSITION April 12, 2019

SENSITIVE INTERVENTION POINTS IN THE POST-CARBON TRANSITION

We propose to examine how to exploit similar sensitive intervention points (SIPs) and amplification mechanisms in socioeconomic, technological, and political systems to advance climate change mitigation. We focus on research and policies in which an intervention kicks or shifts the system so that the initial change is amplified by feedback effects that deliver outsized impact. April 12, 2019.

GRAD STUDENT CONTRIBUTES TO WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM INDEX April 3, 2019

GRAD STUDENT CONTRIBUTES TO WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM INDEX

A Colorado School of Mines graduate student got an unique inside look at the World Economic Forum as a member of the team that produced the global organization’s 2019 report on the energy transition. Steve Dahlke, a PhD candidate in the Mineral and Energy Economics program and a Payne Institute Research Fellow, was among the core team that produced “Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2019,” which summarizes insights from WEF’s annual Energy Transition Index. April 3, 2019.

HOW DO WE DESIGN AN INCLUSIVE ENERGY TRANSITION? March 25, 2019

HOW DO WE DESIGN AN INCLUSIVE ENERGY TRANSITION?

The need to accelerate the global energy transition is urgent, as highlighted by the World Economic Forum’s Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2019 report. It summarizes findings from the 2019 Energy Transition Index (ETI), now in its eighth year. March 25, 2019.

MORGAN BAZILIAN SPEAKS ABOUT THE CHANGING GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE FOR MINERALS AND METALS IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION March 15, 2019

MORGAN BAZILIAN SPEAKS ABOUT THE CHANGING GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE FOR MINERALS AND METALS IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION

Morgan D. Bazilian speaks about emerging changes in demand and trade patterns for the mineral and metal inputs into core technologies of the energy transformation, such as batteries and solar PV. These changes will have impacts on technology development, markets, security, and geopolitics at the Innovation Agora during Ceraweek by IHS Markit.  March 11-15, 2019.

DEBATING THE FUTURE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN OIL COUNTRY March 13, 2019

DEBATING THE FUTURE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN OIL COUNTRY

Major oil companies are boosting their investments in EV charging tech. The trajectory of EVs will also influence global oil demand growth (although they’re just one of many factors like growth in petrochemicals, shipping, and aviation). March 13, 2019.

MINERAL MARKETS LACK TRANSPARENCY March 13, 2019

MINERAL MARKETS LACK TRANSPARENCY

Morgan Bazilian, executive director of the Payne Institute, was featured in a Houston Chronicle article about no transparent mineral trading sites like there are for petroleum products. March 13, 2019.

THE GROWING PAINS ALBERTA FACES AS IT SHEDS ITS BOOM-AND-BUST PAST February 21, 2019

THE GROWING PAINS ALBERTA FACES AS IT SHEDS ITS BOOM-AND-BUST PAST

Here in Calgary, in particular, we have come to accept that economic roller-coaster. But this time, somehow, the wild ride feels different. And it’s not just the sense you get from people swapping anecdotes in coffee shops and bars. It’s different decisions being made by individuals, institutions, government and industry. Those involved in the energy business, especially, are making changes based on the expectation of new realities. February 21, 2019.

NEW SPACE MINING POLICY NEEDED, SAYS COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES February 21, 2019

NEW SPACE MINING POLICY NEEDED, SAYS COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES

At Colorado School of Mines in the US, home to the world’s first graduate programme in space resources and the Payne Institute for Public Policy, a group of researchers are calling for policies to be developed now to ensure the advancement of the burgeoning industry. February 21, 2019.

NEW POLICY NEEDED TO ADVANCE SPACE RESOURCES INDUSTRY February 19, 2019

NEW POLICY NEEDED TO ADVANCE SPACE RESOURCES INDUSTRY

Space mining – the extraction and use of resources from the moon, asteroids and more – once sat firmly in the realm of science fiction. Now, the first missions to harvest water from the permanently shadowed regions of the moon could be only a decade away. February 19, 2019.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON POWER SYSTEMS February 5, 2019

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON POWER SYSTEMS

Climate change threatens all industries with storms, wildfires, droughts, heat waves and rising seas, and the energy industry has no special standing. “Together, these risks can lead to power outages, increased electricity prices and increased maintenance, and capital costs – along with damaging economic, environmental, and public health consequences,” explain Debabrata Chattopadhyay, Morgan Bazilian and Mohar Chattopadhyay. “Growing evidence now suggests the entire energy supply chain, particularly power generation transmission and distribution, is vulnerable to climate change and disaster events. February 5, 2019.

REENVISIONING THE ROLE FOR NATURAL GAS IN A CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE February 1, 2019

REENVISIONING THE ROLE FOR NATURAL GAS IN A CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE

To meet climate goals, enormous changes to the world’s energy systems are required. The impacts will no doubt be significant for fossil fuels ranging from coal, to oil, to natural gas. With regard to natural gas, various regional and national pipeline systems represent important and large infrastructures with long life spans. February 1, 2019.

STRENGTHENING THE EU RESPONSE TO ENERGY POVERTY January 14, 2019

STRENGTHENING THE EU RESPONSE TO ENERGY POVERTY

Energy poverty in the European Union poses a distinct challenge across member states and requires tailored, targeted action. EU policymakers need to strengthen the response to energy poverty and engender action across member states, moving beyond the focus on vulnerable consumers in energy markets. January 14, 2019.

BANK ON THE BANKS December 31, 2018

BANK ON THE BANKS

Multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank, have been encouraging countries to invest more in green-energy technologies. Analysis of project data suggests their own renewable energy portfolios have also grown in step. December 31, 2018.

QATAR WILL LEAVE OPEC – HERE’S WHAT THIS MEANS December 6, 2018

QATAR WILL LEAVE OPEC – HERE’S WHAT THIS MEANS

Payne Institute Fellow Jeff D. Cogan reports on Is OPEC dead or alive? Oil markets watched closely this week as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries worked with Russia to try to cut back production, which suggests the group still has some vitality. But earlier in the week, longtime member Qatar decided to quit OPEC. It’s the surprise move by Qatar that is a better indicator of the group’s situation. Here’s what these developments mean for OPEC — and the rest of the world. December 6, 2018.

 

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DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, viewpoints, or official policies of the Payne Institute or Colorado School of Mines.