Shifting the energy paradigm
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Inside: EDITORIAL
Shifting the energy paradigm ENERGY SECTOR ANALYSIS
Materials opportunities and challenges for lowenergy computing: Devices ENERGY SECTOR ANALYSIS
Gone with the wind: The life and death of a wind turbine rotor blade ENERGY QUARTERLY ORGANIZERS CHAIR Y. Shirley Meng, University of California, San Diego, USA Andrea Ambrosini, Sandia National Laboratories, USA Kristen Brown, Commonwealth Edison Company, USA David Cahen, Weizmann Institute, Israel Russell R. Chianelli, The University of Texas at El Paso, USA George Crabtree, Argonne National Laboratory, USA Brian J. Ingram, Argonne National Laboratory, USA Elizabeth A. Kócs, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA Sabrina Sartori, University of Oslo, Norway Subhash L. Shinde, University of Notre Dame, USA Anke Weidenkaff, Fraunhofer IWKS and Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany M. Stanley Whittingham, Binghamton University, The State University of New York, USA Steve M. Yalisove, University of Michigan, USA
“Materials opportunities and challenges for low-energy computing: Devices” title image: Scientists introduce a hybrid concept called mixed-precision in-memory computing, which combines a von Neumann machine with a computational memory unit. Credit: IBM Research and Nature Electronics. “Gone with the wind: The life and death of a wind turbine rotor blade” title image credit: Shutterstock.
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Shifting the energy paradigm
Nearly all societies have an insatiable demand for energy to transport ourselves and goods, entertain and communicate with each other, and moderate our environment. Globally, a well-established energy paradigm exists for production, consumption, transmission, and storage. The coupling of technologies, infrastructure, markets, and governmental policies reinforces this paradigm through a mature, vast, and complex system. In the United States, more than 80% of energy consumption is sourced from natural gas, coal, or petroleum. In Europe and China, the distribution of energy sources varies. Europe relies less on natural gas in lieu of renewables, nuclear, and hydro; whereas coal supports nearly 60% of China’s energy usage. Notwithstanding these variations and the growth of renewables (e.g., solar-energy production increased ~600% in the United States from 2010 to 2018), the global picture is clear: fossil fuels reign supreme. The developed world was served well by this system during the previous century. Fossil fuels provided inexpensive electricity, transportation, and heating fuels; however, associated negative environmental, geopolitical, and climate impacts are well-documented. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, it seems a good, albeit somewhat arbitrary, time to evaluate our policies, research, development, and contemporary concept of energy in society. It is time for a new energy paradigm. This requires political and social determination to make the necessary changes toward a long-term su
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