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A December study by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concludes the United States can fully decarbonize its power sector through the use of existing technologies and that tackling decarbonization through a federal policy framework, rather than individual states setting clean energy goals, can help to significantly lower the costs.
The research found that interstate coordination and an expansion of the nation s transmission system could lower the cost of fully decarbonizing the electrical grid by 2040 by 46%, relative to an approach where states pursue individual goals.
A separate study sponsored by Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG), a coalition of energy companies and renewables groups, concluded that a comprehensive approach to building transmission lines to serve Eastern load centers could could save consumers $100 billion on electric bills by 2050.
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Buildings account for about 40 percent of U.S. energy consumption, and are responsible for one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions. Making buildings more energy-efficient is not only a cost-saving measure, but a crucial climate change mitigation strategy. Hence the rise of “smart” buildings, which are increasingly becoming the norm around the world.
Smart buildings automate systems like heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); lighting; electricity; and security. Automation requires sensory data, such as indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, and occupancy status. Smart buildings leverage data in a combination of technologies that can make them more energy-efficient.
Method finds hidden warning signals in measurements collected over time
When you re responsible for a multimillion-dollar satellite hurtling through space at thousands of miles per hour, you want to be sure it s running smoothly. And time series can help.
A time series is simply a record of a measurement taken repeatedly over time. It can keep track of a system s long-term trends and short-term blips. Examples include the infamous Covid-19 curve of new daily cases and the Keeling curve that has tracked atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations since 1958. In the age of big data, time series are collected all over the place, from satellites to turbines, says Kalyan Veeramachaneni. All that machinery has sensors that collect these time series about how they re functioning.