Climate and Energy

The first annual conference of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute convened leaders in science, policy, business, and international affairs to discuss the barriers that prevent clean energy from achieving full-scale deployment as well as solutions for overcoming those barriers.

The intermittency of many renewable energy resources may present major problems for our electric grid. This variability could prevent them from serving as baseload power providers, which contribute the necessary constant flow of energy into the electric system. Creative fixes for this challenge exist and may provide solutions for scaling up renewables in the future. For instance, wind and hydroelectric power can be paired to smooth the energy supply going into the grid, while smart grid technologies can be used to manage intermittent and distributed resources on the operator side. Other truly innovative solutions, including solar fuel production, are being explored. With continued research and experimentation, can renewables replace coal and nuclear power? The first annual conference of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute convened leaders in science, policy, business, and international affairs to discuss the barriers that prevent clean energy from achieving full-scale deployment as well as solutions for overcoming those barriers.

The government and the private sector both have important roles to play in improving the efficiency and success of clean energy research and development. While the government has realized the strategic importance of investment in clean energy R&D, entrepreneurs have found interesting ways to create public-private partnerships, and universities have found ways to commercialize energy technologies. Better coordination between the public and private sector can greatly increase the efficacy of investments. The first annual conference of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute convened leaders in science, policy, business, and international affairs to discuss the barriers that prevent clean energy from achieving full-scale deployment as well as solutions for overcoming those barriers.

Communities around the world can be sources of experimentation and inspiration as we move towards a clean energy future. In the northeastern United States in particular, cities and states are leading the way in engaging citizens and communities to work together on clean energy and sustainability issues—from bold pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the formation of the nation’s first functioning cap-and-trade system, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. What lessons have these efforts taught us so far and how can the transition to a clean energy economy most effectively bring jobs and sustainable economic development to our communities? The first annual conference of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute convened leaders in science, policy, business, and international affairs to discuss the barriers that prevent clean energy from achieving full-scale deployment as well as solutions for overcoming those barriers.

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is seen as both crucial to achieving desired levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and prohibitively expensive. Furthermore, there is uncertainty over CCS’s safety and feasibility. To have a real role in a clean energy future, what CCS developments, demonstrations, and discoveries must take place? The first annual conference of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute convened leaders in science, policy, business, and international affairs to discuss the barriers that prevent clean energy from achieving full-scale deployment as well as solutions for overcoming those barriers.

The first annual conference of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute convened leaders in science, policy, business, and international affairs to discuss the barriers that prevent clean energy from achieving full-scale deployment as well as solutions for overcoming those barriers.

For renewable energy projects to come online at a pace necessary to mitigate global warming, the siting and construction of transmission lines to connect those projects to the grid will need to be streamlined. The current regulatory system is fragmented and complex, impacts on local communities and wildlife are difficult to balance, and the cost of transmission projects can be prohibitively expensive. In addition, the development of energy projects and transmissions lines—often separate projects—can be dependent on one another, so coordination between multiple stakeholders is necessary. The first annual conference of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute convened leaders in science, policy, business, and international affairs to discuss the barriers that prevent clean energy from achieving full-scale deployment as well as solutions for overcoming those barriers.

Lloyd Irland, lecturer and senior scientist at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies discusses how unused wood from harvested trees at home could help reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels.