Manisha Rane-Fondacaro

Abstract:

The climate change time bomb is waiting to explode its fury with frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves, and rainfall unless we limit the global temperature increase to below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. To avert this situation we have to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030 [1], and we can if the entire world works together—collaborating and exchanging knowledge and technology. 

Globally, all nations trying to expand their renewable energy portfolio are facing the same problems regardless of their geographic location— 

• NIMBY or not in my backyard—public resistance to renewable energy installations for aesthetic reasons and fear of loss in property value 
• Siting delays for environmental reasons, or inadequate or nonexistent policies on renewable energy installations on government and municipal lands, and inadequately trained workforce 
• Interconnection delays due to inadequate transmission bandwidth to carry renewable electricity 
• Intermittency in renewable power and the need for fossil fuel power to bridge that gap 
• Opposition from the fossil fuel industry and lobby who stand to lose the most in terms of profits and jobs.

In 2019, globally 41 million people were employed by fuel supply & power generation sectors [2], and assuming one dependent per employee makes 82 million (~1%) of the world population supported by the fossil fuel industry in 2023. Moreover, after information technology and the financial sector, energy is the most profitable sector on the global stock market and is a major component of most state-sponsored retirement plans and U.S. social security. Hence going cold turkey on fossil fuel energy is not an option. We need a well-orchestrated transition from the fossil fuel industry that repurposes its manpower, infrastructure, and value chain to the maximum, and ensures continuity and amplification of tax revenue generation from renewable energy.

And through economy of scales, a one-size-fits-all solution can deeply discount the levelized cost of clean energy and green hydrogen as compared to other renewable energy technologies, making it affordable for every nation and expediting its adoption.

I will present how we can expand a network of solar microgrids comprising solar, electrolyzer, fuel cell, and hydrogen & energy storage in New York State to: 

• Produce the cheapest electricity and green hydrogen to collectively end the “Tale of Two Grids” which has resulted in 92.7% zero emissions electric supply (and the remainder from fossil fuel) in upstate New York, and merely 5.5% zero emissions electric supply (and rest from fossil fuel) in downstate due to transmission congestion [3] 
• Build a clean hydrogen network to offset the intermittency in renewable electricity from solar and wind power to deliver weather-resistant electricity in New York State with 6σ reliability without investing in expensive transmission system upgrade 
• Decarbonize hard-to-decarbonize sectors including fertilizer, steel & concrete, ammonia, methanol production, etc. 
• Facilitate expansion of EV charging infrastructure, and 
• Discuss how we can implement this model worldwide to achieve the economic prosperity of every nation through energy independence.