News

A specialized microscope allows investigations of single molecules of cellulase enzymes. Compared to biofuel

biofuel

Liquid fuels that are produced from renewable biological sources, including plants and algae. Biofuels offer an alternative to some of the challenges of solar, wind, and other alternative energy sources.

Source: Energy.Gov Source

crops like corn, breaking down cellulose from nonedible plant parts or grasses grown on marginal lands is slow and inefficient. Cellulose is the building block of plant cell walls. However, using these non-food plants could help avoid concerns about using food sources for fuel.

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed free data sets to estimate how much energy any building in the contiguous U.S. will use in 2100. These data sets provide planners a way to anticipate future energy needs as the climate changes. Considering only today’s buildings, the team analyzed energy use and weather records dating back to 1980, identifying which months displayed the most typical weather patterns.

From severe storms to recent unprecedented cold and heat waves, extreme weather events are impacting electric utilities, grid operators, and ultimately customers like never before. At the same time, the energy sources that power the grid are evolving, integrating higher percentages of renewable sources. This evolution in both weather and the power grid is raising new questions.

From the air you breathe to the seafood you eat, marine algae have some involvement—they consume carbon dioxide

carbon dioxide (CO2)

An important heat-trapping gas, also known as a greenhouse gas, that comes from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural gas), from wildfires, and natural processes like volcanic eruptions.

Source: NASA Source

and produce oxygen through photosynthesis and feed fish and shellfish. One day, marine algae could also be used to make widely available eco-friendly plastics or fuel. But growing algae for commercial purposes—called aquaculture—often requires a lot of carbon dioxide to speed up growth.

Students from John B. Murphy Elementary School in Chicago appeared nervous. They were just about to meet the judges for the Middle School Electric Car Competition, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. After all, the judges included some of the nation’s most respected engineers and research-and-development scientists.

The inaugural in-person tutorial workshop of the E3SM

Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM)

The Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) project includes Earth System Models, simulations, and predictions to investigate energy-relevant science using code optimized for DOE's advanced supercomputers.

Source: NVCL Web Page Source

project took place at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in Berkeley, CA. Supported by the US Department of Energy’s BER EESSD ESMD program area, this event marked a significant milestone. The workshop attracted a diverse cohort of 56 participants.

Through the Exascale Computing Project (ECP), significant work was invested in porting the Model for Prediction Across Scales-Ocean (MPAS-Ocean) to GPU via use of openACC pragmas. This effort made clear that modification of MPAS-Ocean loops with these pragmas would not be sufficient to achieve sufficient performance gains on GPU.

The University of Oklahoma Won 2023 Technical Track With Their Design for Sustainable Greenhouse Heating and Cooling Using Geothermal

geothermal

Heat energy from the earth—Geo (earth) + thermal (heat).

Source: US Department of Energy Source

Energy. The team designed a system of geothermal wells in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, to heat and cool the Tribe’s 40,000-square-foot greenhouse, supporting efforts for native food sovereignty.

When comparing model simulations of Earth’s recent warming to real-world observations, differences can arise from several factors, including model errors in the simulated response to increased greenhouse gases and natural fluctuations within the climate system. Natural climate variability, also called internal variability, can change regional and global atmospheric temperature by moving heat within the climate system.

Celebrate National Ocean Month With a Closer Look at NREL’s Water Power Champions. Every year, on World Ocean Day, we are reminded that a healthy climate requires healthy oceans—and vice versa—and any push toward a clean energy transition must take Earth's oceans into account. This year's World Ocean Day focused on "Catalyzing Action for Our Ocean & Climate."

Chemical interactions of natural biogenic organic gases emitted from forests with anthropogenic species in the atmosphere cause the formation of thousands of tiny secondary organic aerosol (SOA)

secondary organic aerosol (SOA)

Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOAs) are air pollutants emitted from natural and man-made sources. They are produced through a complex interaction of sunlight, volatile organic compounds from trees, plants, cars or industrial emissions, and other airborne chemicals.

Source: EPA Environmental Protection Agency Source

particles that scatter radiation and seed clouds affecting the Earth’s energy balance and hydrological cycle.

Amidst the transition from April showers to May flowers, Purdue University hosted more than 100 attendees at the fourth annual Quantum Science Center, or QSC, summer school. Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research at Purdue, emphasized the importance of training emerging talent at the undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral levels in the ever-growing field of quantum science.