Ed Rubin on Coal Via the Post Gazette

In this op-ed for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Scott Institute Researcher and Engineering and Public Policy Professor Ed Rubin discusses the issue of coal, carbon capture, air pollution policy, and the role of innovation.  He concludes the op-ed with the following:

"So, will carbon cuts kill coal? Not likely.

Evidence suggests that technology innovations “pulled” by policy requirements and catalyzed by sustained investments in clean-energy technology can indeed allow domestic coal resources to be utilized economically while achieving long-term cuts in carbon emissions. U.S. leadership in this arena also would spur other nations to follow and open new markets for U.S. businesses.

Looking back decades from now, predictions of coal’s demise will again have been proven wrong."

CMU Student chose to discuss Data Center Energy Use

CMU Engineering & Public Policy Ph.D. student Nathaniel Horner was recently selected to present at the Young Researchers’ Conference on Energy Efficiency & Biomass to be held during the World Sustainable Energy Days events this February in Wels, Austria.  He will present his work on data center energy use and discuss why the current, industry standard performance metric might not necessarily lead to “green” facilities.  

Young Researchers’ Conference: http://www.wsed.at/en/programme/young-researchers-conference-energy-efficiency-biomass/

World Sustainable Energy Days: http://www.wsed.at/en/world-sustainable-energy-days/

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Costa Samaras blogs on US-China Climate Deal via WBUR

Costa Samaras of the Scott Institute writes in a blog for WBUR's OnPoint that the "U.S.-China Climate Deal is an Important Step In Long Road Ahead."  You can see the blog here.   The blog follows up on a interview he did with OnPoint about the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

Scott Institute Researcher Lee Branstetter delivers opening address at United Nations Climate Change Workshop

Lee Branstetter, Scott Institute researcher and professor of public policy and economics at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz and Dietrich Colleges, has been invited to deliver the opening address at the United Nations Framework Climate Change Convention’s Technology Executive Committee (TEC)  workshop titled “Strengthening National Systems of Innovation in Developing Countries: Covering the Entire Technology Cycle for Climate Technology” on Oct. 13 in Bonn, Germany. Branstetter will set the scene with his talk, “What are national systems of innovation for climate technology?”

The workshop will support the TEC’s work on enhancing enabling environments for and addressing barriers to technology development and transfer, in accordance with its mandated functions. It will have three sessions:

• Strengthening national systems of innovation
• Issues related to knowledge transfer between national systems of innovation
• Knowledge transfer mechanisms: enhancing collaboration.

 The workshop will be webcast. Audience members may pose questions for workshop participants on Twitter with the hashtag #climatetech.

Is Energy the New Steel?

Heinz College faculty member Karen Clay, associate professor of economics, program chair for the Master of Public Management program and an energy expert for CMU’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, was a distinguished panelist on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Energy Forum this past Tuesday. The panel discussed whether energy might be the 21st century equivalent of steel in the Pittsburgh's region economy. See video highlights of the forum at http://powersource.post-gazette.com/energyforum.

Scott Institute Team Authors Guide for Managing, Implementing Variable Energy Resources

Carnegie Mellon University's Jay Apt and Paulina Jaramillo led a team of 22 researchers in a review and analysis of the technical and policy options available for integrating variable energy resources — such as wind and solar power — into the existing power system. Their new book, "Variable Renewable Energy and the Electricity Grid," is part of the RenewElec project and addresses how the United States could increase the amount of electricity it produces from renewable energy sources.

Carnegie Mellon's Erica Fuchs Discusses How Global Redistribution of Manufacturing Is Changing Innovation

Sending U.S. products overseas to be manufactured may be cheaper, but it also may stifle innovation depending on the technology and the constraints facing firms, says Fuchs in her paper published this week in Science.

Learn more and watch the video: 

http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2014/july/july31_manufacturinglocation.html