Category: energy
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The sustainability peril of E-commerce (I): Small batches lead to more emissions
Recently I have been discussing with David Steven of Boston Strategy International, a world expert on sustainable supply chains, on the topic of carbon foot printing. One of the interesting points we talked about is the impact of the growth of the E-commerce sector on global carbon emissions. Researchers have been studying this for a…
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The Dawn of the Modern Power Grid Started Right Here in Massachusetts (and It was Clean Energy!)
Electrification is indeed the single great achievement of our society. And yet, I was delighted to find out the modern power grid actually started in Massachusetts, a state I live currently. In the late 1800s, technologies started to converge to build an electrified society. In 1882, Edison’s direct current (DC) system was built in Manhattan.…
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Measuring the Carbon Footprint of a Supply Chain: 3 Scopes
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol has established a set of standards to measure and manage GHG emissions. To me it seems to be the dominant framework in measuring the carbon footprint of an organization and/or a supply chain. The key to understanding the GHG protocal is that it includes three scopes: Scope 1: Any emission that…
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Zero-Carbon Economy: A Grand -and Necessary – Vision
I just watched a video produced by Cambridge University called “The Climate Crisis: Towards Zero Carbon”: Well done, Cambridge! The video first shows that data on historical CO2 levels and temperature makes it irrefutable that the current climate crisis is created by us humans. The video then highlights a few important areas for decarbonization: Energy…
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More power lines, or rooftop solar panels? There is no easy answer (but here is a way to think about it)
New York Times recently had an article by Ivan Penn titled “More power lines, or rooftop solar panels?” which poses an important question: Should we rely on large-scale power grid to deliver clean energy, or bet our future on distributed energy resources (DER) such as rooftop solar panels? First of all, let me say Penn’s…
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ICCT’s Report on the Lifecycle Comparisons of GHG Emissions of Gas Cars vs. EV is Filling a Void
Today The International Council on Clean Transportation release a report called “A global comparison of the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of combustion engine and electric passenger cars“, which I find a satisfying read. Its key findings can be highlighted in the following graph: The graph is quite dense, so let me point out a few…
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Modeling Driving Distances (3)
Since my last post on using NTHS dataset to fit people’s driving distances, I have made some further modifications: (1) There are some very large TRPMILE data values, in the order of 1000 miles. While there are most likely valid data – After all, people do travel that far – I realize that this is…
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Modeling Driving Distances (2)
The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) is probably the most comprehensive data source on driving behaviors of people in the US. It captures travel by US residents in all 50 States and the District of Columbia that includes trips made by “all modes of travel (private vehicle, public transportation, pedestrian and cycling) and for all…
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Modeling Driving Distances (1)
In order to qualitatively study range anxiety, one of the first steps is to understand people’s driving behavior. A basic question is: What is the statistical distribution of trip lengths of a typical consumer? I found the answer on National Household Travel Survey’s website: https://nhts.ornl.gov/. The variable I am interested in is called “Vehicle trips”,…
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Digital Technology and Clean Energy
I just finished a book titled “Energy’s Digital Future” authored by Professor Amy Myers Jaffe. The book raises a few very important points that are worthy of deeper discussion (and more urgent action): The future of clean energy is digital (i.e. driven by technology). We need more swift and powerful US energy policies to ensure…
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Range Anxiety for Electric Vehicles (EV) – Part I
To a consumer who is considering purchasing an EV, range anxiety is a real thing, even though the name may suggest it is psychological. Moreover, range anxiety has multiple dimensions. People use cars for three types of trips: Commute, excursions (i.e., short errands), and long trips. Let’s take a close look at each. Daily Commute…
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Small change in mean can result in big change in extremes
We have witnessed the recent extreme heat in the US Pacific Northwest. The city of Seattle (one of my favorite cities!) set a new record for the highest temperature ever recorded: 108 degrees. Incidentally the previous record high of 105 degrees was only 11 years ago in 2009. Why do we see extreme weathers more often? I think…
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Wow What a Great Data Site
Recently I came across a beautiful data analytics website while I was reading on why renewable energy is showing greater and greater momentum in replacing traditional fossil fuel-based energy. I was mesmerized by the graphs there. Here is an example: Astounding, isn’t it? As the credit on the bottom of the chart shows, the website…
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How to Provide Electricity Access to Rural Africa: An Example
How to provide electricity access to the remote regions in developing countries is a vast topic, both in terms of its scope and its related research. Take Africa as an example. The majority of people in Africa live in rural areas, but more and more people are moving to cities each day. One central question…