Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Operating Solar Projects In Nevada, 2021, Kristian Thymianos, Saha Salahi, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) both provide national databases that contain comprehensive lists of active solar projects in the United States. This fact sheet provides a list of operating solar projects in the State of Nevada.

Renewable Energy Access And Resilience In Urban Developing Areas: Distributed Solar Networks And Peer-To-Peer Energy Trading In Puerto Rico, Pascale Bronder

Harvey M. Applebaum ’59 Award

This senior essay under the Environmental Studies major at Yale University explores the environmental and social benefits of applying innovative technology to the energy sector. Three types of energy networks are analyzed, focusing on the use of distributed energy and peer to peer energy trading on a blockchain platform. The benefits of distributed renewable energy networks can most strongly be applied to locations in need of more reliable, resilient, and cost-effective electricity. Puerto Rico is a case study. Methods include analysis of U.S. Energy Information Administration and Census Bureau data as well as personal interviews with Puerto Rican energy developers. …

Agenda: Winter, Wilderness & Climate: Threats & Solutions, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, The Wilderness Society, Protect Our Winters

Winter, Wilderness, and Climate--Threats and Solutions (October 12)

In partnership with the Getches-Wilkinson Center, join The Wilderness Society and Protect Our Winters for an interactive presentation about energy development and climate impacts on public lands.

This event was held on Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., in the University of Colorado Law School, Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom.

Slides: Winter, Wilderness & Climate: Threats & Solutions, Jim Ramey, Lindsay Bourgoine

Winter, Wilderness, and Climate--Threats and Solutions (October 12)

Presenters:

Jim Ramey, The Wilderness Society

Lindsay Bourgoine, Protect Our Winters

56 slides

Slides: Appropriate Sustainable Energy Technologies: A Light To The World, Lakshman D. Guruswamy, Jason B. Aamodt, Blake Feamster

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Jason Aamodt, Attorney; Adjunct Professor, University of Tulsa

15 slides

Agenda: A Low-Carbon Energy Blueprint For The American West, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, University Of Colorado Boulder. Renewable And Sustainable Energy Institute, Western Resource Advocates, Rocky Mountain Research Station (Fort Collins, Colo.)

A Low-Carbon Energy Blueprint for the American West (Martz Summer Conference, June 6-8)

The future of the planet may depend upon our ability to increase energy supplies even as we reduce carbon emissions. This conference will address how a low-carbon energy program might evolve with a particular focus on the American West. It will focus on the future of energy in the West--on a “managed transition” to a different energy mix, on the need to nest this effort in a framework that acknowledges interconnections, and on identifying the most salient opportunities to consider the legal, political, financial, and technical challenges.

Dye Regeneration And Charge Recombination In Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells With Ferrocene Derivatives As Redox Mediators, Torben Daeneke, Attila J. Mozer, Tae-Hyuk Kwon, Noel W. Duffy, Andrew B. Holmes, Udo Bach, Leone Spiccia

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Ferrocene compounds are promising redox shuttles for application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Chemical modification of the cyclopentadienyl rings is easily achievable affording almost unlimited variation of the redox properties. This allows fine-tuning of the driving force for dye-regeneration and optimization of the energy conversion efficiency of DSCs. Herein, six ferrocene derivatives have been chosen for investigation which cover the large redox potential range of 0.85 V, by virtue of simple alkylation and halogenation of the cyclopentadienyl ring, and enable improved matching of the energy levels of the sensitizer and the electrolyte. Although the focus of this work was to …

Sustained Solar Hydrogen Generation Using A Dye-Sensitised Nio Photocathode/Bivo4 Tandem Photo-Electrochemical Device, Lei Tong, Akihide Iwase, Andrew Nattestad, Udo Bach, Martin Weidelener, Gunther Gotz, Amaresh Mishra, Peter Bauerle, Rose Amal, Gordon G. Wallace, Attila J. Mozer

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Solar hydrogen generation sustained for at least several hours is demonstrated using a dye-sensitised nickel(II) oxide photocathode and BiVO4 photoanode connected in a tandem configuration. H2 evolution rate is 120 nmol h−1 (>80% faradaic efficiency) without electrical bias or sacrificial oxidant/reductant, at pH = 7 using visible light (>420 nm).

Remote Sensing Of Co2 And Ch4 Using Solar Absorption Spectrometry With A Low Resolution Spectrometer, C Petri, T Warneke, N Jones, T Ridder, J Messerschmidt, T Weinzierl, M Geibel, J Notholt

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Throughout the last few years solar absorption Fourier Transform Spectrometry (FTS) has been further developed to measure the total columns of CO2 and CH4. The observations are performed at high spectral resolution, typically at 0.02 cm(-1). The precision currently achieved is generally better than 0.25%. However, these high resolution instruments are quite large and need a dedicated room or container for installation. We performed these observations using a smaller commercial interferometer at its maximum possible resolution of 0.11 cm(-1). The measurements have been performed at Bremen and have been compared to observations using our high resolution instrument also situated at …

Remote Sensing Of Atmospheric Trace Gases By Ground-Based Solar Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Clare Paton-Walsh

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The changing composition of the earth’s atmosphere is a matter of intense scientific research as we strive to understand details of the physical and chemical mechanisms that control our climate. Fourier transform spectroscopy has been applied very successfully to the study of trace gases in the atmosphere by examining terrestrial atmospheric absorption lines in the infrared spectrum from the Sun. In fact many gases were first discovered in the atmosphere during the 1940’s from their absorption features in the infrared solar spectrum. These early optical absorption measurements of the atmosphere using the Sun as a source were made with grating …

Slides: Celebrating Flpma: Land Use Planning At The Blm, Marcilynn Burke

The Past, Present, and Future of Our Public Lands: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Public Land Law Review Commission’s Report, One Third of the Nation’s Land (Martz Summer Conference, June 2-4)

Presenter: Marcilynn Burke, BLM Deputy Director - Programs and Policy, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, (Washington, D.C.)

30 slides

Slides: Impacts Of Oil Shale On Carbon Emissions, Jeremy Boak

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

Presenter: Dr. Jeremy Boak, Center for Oil Shale Technology & Research, Colorado School of Mines

43 slides

Evidence Of Solar And Tropical-Ocean Forcing Of Hydroclimate Cycles In Southeastern Australia For The Past 6500 Years, Hamish A. Mcgowan, Samuel K. Marx, Joshua Soderholm, John Denholm

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Evidence of solar and tropical‐ocean forcing of climate cycles has been found in numerous palaeoclimate records. Numerical modelling studies show physical mechanisms by which direct and indirect solar forcing may affect climate, while there is mounting evidence of solar forcing of tropical ocean‐atmosphere teleconnections. This study has developed a 6500 year record of dust deposition, a proxy for regional hydroclimate variability for the Snowy Mountains region of Australia. Spectral analysis of the record provides evidence of statistically significant cycles in dust deposition of 35–43 years, 62–73 years, 161 years and 2200 years. These correlate with variability in solar irradiance and …

Flexible And Compressible Goretex-Pedot Membrane Electrodes For Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Attila J. Mozer, Dillip K. Panda, Sanjeev Gambhir, Anthony C. Romeo, Bjorn Winther-Jensen, Gordon G. Wallace

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

A porous, flexible electrode based on a PTFE (Teflon) membrane (Goretex) coated with a metallic current collector and a conducting polymer (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), PEDOT) has been developed for applications in solidstate dye-sensitized solar cells. Its low sheet resistance and compressibility make it an ideal electrode on uneven TiO2 surfaces with high efficiency and reproducibility. The porous nature of the electrode enables the feed-through of reactants and treatment agents, which opens up exciting opportunities to interface these photoelectrochemical devices with electrocatalytic, energy conversion, and storage systems. Postfabrication bonding of the photoanode and the Goretex-Au-PEDOT electrode is demonstrated.

Ionic Liquid Electrolyte Porphyrin Dye Sensitised Solar Cells, Vanessa Armel, Jennifer Pringle, Maria Forsyth, Douglas Macfarlane, David L. Officer, Pawel W. Wagner

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Ionic liquid electrolytes based on a number of imidazolium, quaternary ammonium and phosphonium cations have been developed for porphyrin dye sensitised solar cells yielding efficiencies of up to 5.2% at 0.68 Sun.

Microsecond Dye Regeneration Kinetics In Efficient Solid State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using A Photoelectrochemically Deposited Pedot Hole Conductor, Attila J. Mozer, Dillip K. Panda, Sanjeev Gambhir, B. Winther-Jensen, Gordon G. Wallace

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Microsecond dye-regeneration kinetics was observed in efficient solid state dye-sensitized solar cells using photoelectrochemically deposited poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT) hole conductors using transient absorption spectroscopy. The dye-regeneration rate is orders of magnitude slower than the case using the I-/I3- redox couple or commonly used small molecule hole conductor and is attributed to the low dye to PEDOT ratio within the films.

Catalytic Solar Water Splitting Inspired By Photosynthesis. Homogeneous Catalysts With A Mechanical ("Machine-Like") Action, Gerhard F. Swiegers, G Charles Dismukes, Leone Spiccia, Robin Brimblecombe, Annette Koo, Jun Chen, Gordon G. Wallace

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Chemical reactions may be controlled by either: the minimum threshold energy that must be overcome during collisions between reactant molecules / atoms (the Activation Energy, Ea), or: the rate at which reactant collisions occur (the Collision Frequency, A) (for reactions with low Ea). Reactions of type (2) are governed by the physical, mechanical interaction of the reactants. Such mechanical processes are unusual, but not unknown in molecular catalysts. We examine the catalytic action and macroscopic properties of several abiological mechanical catalysts and show that they display distinct similarities to enzymes in general. An abiological model of the Photosystem II Water …

Slides: Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems Program (Efd), Rich Haut

Best Practices for Community and Environmental Protection (October 14)

Presenter: Rich Haut, Houston Advanced Research Center

23 slides

Slides: Integrated Policy, Planning, And Management Of Water Resources, Robert Wilkinson

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Robert Wilkinson, Ph.D., Director of the Water Policy Program, Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California-- Santa Barbara

60 slides

Improved Performance Of Porphyrin-Based Dye Sensitised Solar Cells By Phosphinic Acid Surface Treatment, K Sunahara, Alessandra Allegrucci, S Mori, Naomi A. Lewcenko, Leone Spiccia, Attila J. Mozer, Lynn Dennany, Pawel W. Wagner, David L. Officer

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Chemical surface treatment of porphyrin-sensitised titania films using bis-(4-methoxyphenyl)phosphinic acid after dye adsorption, results in large improvements in DSSC efficiencies which originate primarily from higher short circuit currents. The result was attributed to a positive shift in the TiO2 quasi-Fermi level with simultaneous retardation of charge recombination. High device performances have been achieved even using simplified electrolyte matrices devoid of the common additives, LiI and t-butylpyridine.

A Spectroscopic And Dft Study Of Thiophene-Substituted Metalloporphyrins As Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Dyes, Sanjeev Gambhir, Keith C. Gordon, David L. Officer, Samual J. Lind

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

A combination of density functional theory calculations, electronic absorption and resonance Raman spectroscopy has been applied to a series of beta-substituted zinc porphyrins to elucidate how the substituent affects the electronic structure of the metalloporphyrin and assign the nature of electronic transitions in the visible region. The use of conjugated beta substituents invokes a large perturbation to both the nature and energy of the frontier molecular orbitals and results in the generation of additional molecular orbitals from the parent metalloporphyrin species. A complicated electronic absorption spectra is observed which can be rationalised by an extension of Goutermans' four-orbital model. The …

Long-Term Tropospheric Formaldehyde Concentrations Deduced From Ground-Based Fourier Transform Solar Infrared Measurements, N B. Jones, K Riedel, W Allan, S Wood, P I. Palmer, K Chance, J Notholt

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

We report a 13-year (1992–2005) dataset of total column measurements of formaldehyde (HCHO) over Lauder, New Zealand, inferred from solar infrared spectra measured using a high-resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS). Ambient HCHO concentrations at this rural location are often close to levels typical of remote marine environments (<250 ppt), which are close to the detection limit using standard techniques. Consequently we develop a new method that successfully produces HCHO columns with sufficient sensitivity throughout the whole season. HCHO columns over Lauder have a strong seasonal cycle (±50%), with a mean column of 4.9×1015 molecules cm−2, peaking during summer months. A simple box model of CH4 oxidation reproduces the observed broad-scale seasonal cycle, but significantly underestimates the seasonal peak HCHO ground concentrations during summer. This suggests the existence of an additional significant source of HCHO, possibly isoprene that cannot be explained by oxidation of CH4 alone. The ground-based FTS column data compare well with collocated HCHO column measurements from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) satellite instrument during the operational period of GOME (1996–2001, r2=0.65, mean bias=10%, n=48).

Slides: The Future Of Energy: What Are The Major Projections For The U.S. Energy Future, And What Are The Implications For The West?, Gary Bryner

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Gary Bryner, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science

9 slides

Slides: "Mitaku Oyasin" Means "We Are All Related", Bob Gough

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Bob Gough, NativeEnergy, Inc.

72 slides

Slides: Fuel Choice Determines Transmission, Doug Larson

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Doug Larson, Western Interstate Energy Board

26 slides

Enhanced Performance Of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Utilizing Platinum Electrodeposit Counter Electrodes, Attila J. Mozer, George Tsekouras, Gordon G. Wallace

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Enhanced performance was observed for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) utilizing counter electrodes based on Pt electrodeposits compared to counter electrodes based on sputtered Pt. Scanning electron microscopy of Pt electrodeposits revealed that the use of an initial cathodic overpotential pulse followed by steady electrodeposition at a mild cathodic potential yielded ∼40nm particles, compared to ∼600nm particles when no such pulse was used. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) of electrode materials suggested that Pt electrodeposits would give enhanced performance as DSSC counter electrodes compared to sputtered Pt, and this was confirmed by device testing. EIS characterization of DSSCs under …

Slides: Tribal Perspectives On Natural Resource Policy, Donald Wharton

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Donald Wharton, Native American Rights Fund

16 slides

Long-Term Tropospheric Formaldehyde Concentrations Deduced From Ground-Based Fourier Transform Solar Infrared Measurements, Nicholas B. Jones, K Riedel, Barbara M. Allen, S. W. Wood, Paul Palmer, K Chance, Justus Notholt

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

We report a 13-year (1992–2005) dataset of total column measurements of formaldehyde (HCHO) over Lauder, New Zealand, inferred from solar infrared spectra measured using a high-resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS). Ambient HCHO concentrations at this rural location are often close to levels typical of remote marine environments (<250 ppt), which are close to the detection limit using standard techniques. Consequently we develop a new method that successfully produces HCHO columns with sufficient sensitivity throughout the whole season. HCHO columns over Lauder have a strong seasonal cycle (±50%), with a mean column of 4.9×1015 molecules cm−2, peaking during summer months. A simple box model of CH4 oxidation reproduces the observed broad-scale seasonal cycle, but significantly underestimates the seasonal peak HCHO ground concentrations during summer. This suggests the existence of an additional significant source of HCHO, possibly isoprene that cannot be explained by oxidation of CH4 alone. The ground-based FTS column data compare well with collocated HCHO column measurements from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) satellite instrument during the operational period of GOME (1996–2001, r2=0.65, mean bias=10%, n=48).

Ground-Based Solar Absorption Ftir Spectroscopy: Characterization Of Retrievals And First Results From A Novel Optical Design Instrument At A New Ndacc Complementary Station, Aldona Waiacek, J R. Taylor, K Strong, R Saari, T Kertzenmacher, Nicholas B. Jones, David W. Griffith

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The authors describe the optical design of a high-resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS), which serves as the primary instrument at the University of Toronto Atmospheric Observatory (TAO). The FTS is dedicated to ground-based infrared solar absorption atmospheric measurements from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Instrument performance is discussed in terms of instrumental line shape (ILS) and phase error and modulation efficiency as a function of optical path difference. Typical measurement parameters are presented together with retrieval parameters used to derive total and partial column concentrations of ozone. Retrievals at TAO employ the optimal estimation method (OEM), and some impacts of the necessary …

First Detection Of Meso-Thermospheric Nitric Oxide (No) By Ground-Based Ftir Solar Absorption Spectroscopy, Aldona Wiacek, Nicholas B. Jones, K Strong, J R. Taylor, Richard L. Mittermeier, Hans Fast

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

We report the first detection of mesospheric-lower thermospheric (MLT, 50–130 km) NO from ground-based FTIR solar absorption spectra using Lorentz- and Doppler-broadened solar absorption lines in the stratosphere and in the MLT, respectively. We present the first characterization of vertical sensitivity in the FTIR NO retrieval and show that MLT NO partial columns can be retrieved with ~1 independent piece of information using a climatological NO profile extending up to 130 km. The information content analysis also improves the characterization of stratospheric partial column retrievals and is relevant to NO results obtained at other Network for the Detection of Stratospheric …