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78 Results
Houston Energy Dialogues 2020
In 2020, Energy Dialogues and the Center for Energy Studies hosted a virtual event at which representatives from industry, academia, environmental groups and regulatory bodies focused on four themes: the impact of COVID-19 on global energy demand, resiliency in the energy industry, net-zero aspirations and pathways for transitioning to a lower-carbon future. This report summarizes the discussions held during the event.
Kenneth B. Medlock III June 28, 2021
Transmission towers against a sunset.
Engineers and Economists Prize Efficiency, but Nature Favors Resilience — Lessons From Texas, COVID-19 and the 737 Max
Baker Institute Rice Faculty Scholar and University Professor Moshe Vardi analyzes three recent crises — the 2021 winter storm in Texas, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Boeing 737 Max software failure — that highlight the cost of valuing efficiency over resilience and provide lessons for bringing society into balance.
Moshe Vardi May 19, 2021
An upward view of Houston's skyscrapers.
The Future of Houston as Energy Transitions
This report explores Houston's substantial comparative advantage in finding and developing low-carbon solutions and creating opportunities to efficiently and effectively deploy the region’s vast resources to produce and deliver cleaner, greener fuels to the nation and the world.
Kenneth B. Medlock III May 13, 2021
SF6: The Little Gas That Could ... Make Global Warming Worse
The atmospheric concentration of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) — the most potent greenhouse gas known to humanity and a chemical that is frequently used as an electrical insulator — is growing and thereby contributing to global warming. In a post for the Baker Institute blog, experts from the Center for Energy Studies explain whether we should be worried and what can be done to mitigate the risks.
Rachel A. Meidl, Michelle Michot Foss March 25, 2021
Power lines during a freeze.
For Energy Security, Power is the New Oil
Electricity is the new oil when it comes to energy security, writes Mark Finley, fellow in energy and global oil. The immediacy of power outages and the ubiquity of critical elements of modern life powered by electricity mean the impact of oil supply disruptions are a walk in the park compared to our power vulnerabilities.
Mark Finley February 25, 2021
Wind turbines and solar panels against a sunset.
Grids and Renewables
In the transition to a renewable energy future, we must invest in a new transmission infrastructure – some crossing state borders – that connects intermittent power, traditional power and users, write Center for Energy Studies experts.
Kenneth B. Medlock III, Olivera Jankovska, Julie A. Cohn February 22, 2021