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By Eugene Bergh, North-West University South Africa, Feb 19 (The Conversation) South Africa boasts some of the best fossil records on Earth. <keyword id="6377866" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fossils" source="Orion">Fossils</keyword> are found in strata and rocks in many parts of the country. Some are billions of years old. There are microfossils dating back to the Archaean epoch, between 3.5 billion and 3.3 billion years ago, in the Barberton Greenstone Belt in the Mpumalanga province. The fossils of now extinct invertebrates that lived around 444 million years ago have been found in the Western Cape province. So, too, have fossils of large animals like sivatheres (giraffids) and sabretooth cats, 5 million years old. The country's fossils also contain an exceptional record of <keyword id="3516585" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="human-ancestry" source="Orion">human ancestry</keyword>, mapping our <keyword id="442862" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="evolutionary-history" source="Orion">evolutionary history</keyword> through time. But fossils aren't just pieces of the past that allow scientists to look backwards. They also provide geologists with important information about what future environments may look like, play a role in policy decision-making and have become a part of our daily lives - often without us realising it. <keyword id="16575418" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fossils-in-man-made-structures" source="Orion">Fossils in man-made structures</keyword> Fossils have provided humans with building blocks in architectural structures for centuries. The pyramids of Giza in Egypt are around 4,500 years old; the stones they are built from are millions of years old - 56 million to 34 million years, to be more precise. The building blocks of the pyramids contain trillions of fossilised remains of an ocean-dwelling organism called foraminifera. These organisms are still found in the oceans today. When they die, their shells become preserved and fossilise in sediment; this hardens into rock over a very long period of time. The stone from which the pyramids are constructed is called nummulitic limestone - a name derived from the foraminifera species it's made of, Nummulites gizehensis. And it's not just ancient civilisations that used fossils for building. Many modern buildings and structures in North America and Europe are made from building or paving stones containing fossils. These building stones were quarried from fossiliferous rock layers dated to the Jurassic or Cretaceous periods when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. Even in South Africa, some imported building stones contain fossils. The Bishop Gray Monument on St George's Square in Cape Town, for instance, contains marble with Mesozoic-aged cephalopod fossils that date back more than 65 million years. Fossils as indicators of economic resources We use minerals, petroleum, oil and natural gas daily. These geologic resources need to be discovered and evaluated before extraction. In regions where fossils occur, geologists use them to date rocks and sediments to find and evaluate these resources. Certain fossils are useful in that they provide an age to sediments or rocks; the organisms or animals that formed the fossils lived only during a narrow time period in Earth's history. Some rock strata house fossils that lived during an age and in an environment that can be linked to modern economic resources. This is important in finding where certain rock units are that can point to economic reserves. Fossils, particularly microfossils - the remains of very small to microscopic-sized animals or organisms - have been used in mineral, petroleum and oil exploration globally. In South Africa, microfossils found in the Karoo Basin in the centre of the country, the south coast and offshore of the west coast have all been used in oil, mineral and petroleum exploration. Fossil fuels When animals, organisms and plants die in certain environments and become buried under thick layers of sediment, heat and pressure transform their remains in such a way that they become part of petroleum, natural gas or coal. For the past 150 years vast amounts of these reserves have been extracted to provide a major source of the world's energy needs. Fossil fuels have played an immeasurable role in powering the global economy. They generate electricity, keep vehicles moving and keep industry running. Today it is estimated that nearly 80% of South Africa's energy needs are met by fossil fuels, particularly coal. However, fossil fuels are a non-renewable energy source. Burning them contributes to both climate change and health issues. There is an ongoing debate in South Africa, as in most other parts of the world, about how to use more renewable energy rather than relying so heavily on fossil fuels. Estimating future environmental changes Burning fossil fuels causes environmental harm - but studying fossils helps geologists to reconstruct past environments, offering insights into likely future environmental change. Geologists or palaeontologists study rocks that contain fossils to understand the environments they once inhabited. They then use this information to estimate how environments, sea levels or the oceans will change with time. An example of this is the Pliocene period (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago). It is often described as comparable to modern climate change: during the Pliocene, several global geologic events occurred which led to today's oceanic configurations. But something was missing during the Pliocene - humans. Nonetheless, scientists attempt to model what Earth's natural responses are to rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, in addition to the effects of humans, by studying the Pliocene when carbon dioxide levels were at similar levels to today. (The Conversation)

Four ways that fossils are part of everyday life

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Europe has ramped up its imports of diesel from Russia, Asia, and the Middle East amid an energy crisis.</li><li>Natural gas prices have skyrocketed, forcing some industries to burn diesel instead of their normal fuel.</li></ul>Europe is stepping up its imports of diesel from sources around the world as an energy crisis grips the continent, forcing industries to burn the oil product instead of increasingly expensive natural gas.Imports from Russia hit a four-month high in July after buyers initially cut back following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, according to commodities data company Vortexa, although purchases are likely to cool slightly in August as the river Rhine runs low.Meanwhile, there are seven tankers heading to the continent with diesel from Asia, and three more expected in the coming weeks, delivering a total of 5.7 million barrels. That's the most since January 2020, Vortexa told Insider.Early indications suggest diesel imports from India are set to double in August. And imports of diesel from the Middle East have surged 36% this month so far compared to a month earlier, Vortexa said.An <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/europe-energy-crisis-recession-oil-natural-gas-analysis-goldman-sachs-2022-8">energy crisis is fast engulfing Europe</a> as a number of factors combine to send natural gas and electricity prices skyrocketing.Russia has slashed the flow of natural gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which goes to Germany, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-gazprom-gas-nord-stream-pipeline-20-percent-cut-europe-2022-7">to just 20% of capacity</a> as tensions run extremely high over Ukraine.French nuclear power plants are beset by problems, with many off the grid for maintenance. And water levels on the river Rhine, which runs through Germany, are very low after a heatwave. That's made it more difficult to transport fuels such as diesel and coal to factories.Benchmark European natural gas prices have skyrocketed this year to 230 euros ($234) per megawatt hour, up from around 25 euros a year earlier, according to data from <a href="https://www.theice.com/products/27996665/Dutch-TTF-Gas-Futures/data?marketId=5419234&amp;span=2">the ICE Exchange</a>.Analysts have said high prices are forcing factories and other industries in Europe to burn diesel instead of using natural gas. The International Energy Agency this month <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-market-report-august-2022">revised up</a> its predictions for oil demand this year, with gas-to-oil substitution a key driver."European diesel imports are rising strongly so far this month, lad by non-Russian supplies, especially from Middle Eastern &amp; Indian sources," Vortexa chief economist David Wech said in a note to clients."With the Rhine water level decline, the market is struggling to place barrels where they are currently needed the most – in central Europe."In total, Europe's diesel imports stood at 1.76 million barrels a day in the first 17 days of August, Vortexa told Insider. That's up from 1.52 million in July as a whole, and 1.4 million in June.

Europe is ramping up its purchases of diesel from Russia and Asia as it burns the fossil fuel instead of natural gas

New Delhi, Nov 19 () India's hydroelectricity generation soared 16 per cent this financial year so far, the highest in five years, as the share of power generated from non-fossil fuels jumped to a record high, feeding the rising energy demand of the world's fastest-growing major economy.
 Power Minister R K Singh said electricity generation in India rose 7.4 per cent in the first quarter ended June 2019, and 6.7 per cent in July.
 It was flat in September and tapered in the following month as excess rainfall in several parts of the country reduced demand for air conditioning and irrigation requirement.
 "During April-October, electricity generation grew 1.2 per cent. There was a decline in October mainly because of excess rainfall led by a slump in air conditioning requirement. But, to say that this was due to some kind of slowdown in industrial production is nonsensical. There can be nothing further from the truth," he told here
 Singh said the opposition Congress has been trying to propagate a narrative of deepening growth slowdown in Asia's third-largest economy based on selective data interpretation.
 "Yes, October saw electricity generation fall by almost 13 per cent. But, this was only from conventional sources of generation. Renewable sources of electricity were not accounted for. Solar power generation rose in the month and so did hydroelectric power," he said.
 The minister said April-October 2019 has seen the highest growth in hydroelectricity generation in five years at 16 per cent (about 96 billion units).
 "Some people are deducing of a slowdown from lower plant load factor (or capacity utilisation) of coal-fired thermal power plants. But, they forget that lower thermal PLF was made up from higher generation from non-polluting non-fossil sources," he said.
 Non-fossil fuel sources accounted for 27.25 per cent of the total power generation in the country in April-October.
 He said November has seen an upturn in power generation despite no demand for air conditioning.
 "Last year, we saw air conditioners being used right up to December but this year due to excess rainfall there was negligible use of air conditioners in October and no use of them this month," he said explaining the reason for a monthly variation in electricity generation.
 October numbers for electricity generation are a "seasonal effect" and not a sustained trend, he said. "To say that there is a deepening industrial slowdown which has led to reduced power generation will be absolutely false," he said. KKS ANZ HRS

Hydroelectricity generation jumps 16 pc this fiscal so far; share of non-fossil fuel at record high

Energy for all is the need of the hour, especially in an emerging <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> like <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> where a big chunk of the population still can’t access <keyword id="1977921" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Modern-energy-sources">modern energy sources</keyword> and the overall growth of the country suffers due to such non-inclusion. The outlook is not exactly bright at this point as India ranks 69th among 124 <keyword id="6407494" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="countries">countries</keyword> in the recently released <keyword id="1970968" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="global-energy-architecture-performance-index">Global Energy Architecture Performance Index</keyword> (<keyword id="1977925" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="EAPI">EAPI</keyword>) Report 2014, prepared by the <keyword id="69007" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="World-Economic-Forum">World Economic Forum</keyword> in collaboration with <keyword id="6370971" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Accenture">Accenture</keyword>. 
 India, with an overall score of 0.48, has the second lowest <keyword id="1379968" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-performance">energy performance</keyword> in the <keyword id="1977931" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="BRICS-cluster">BRICS cluster</keyword> that also includes <keyword id="6355226" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Brazil">Brazil</keyword>, <keyword id="6358826" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword>, <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> and <keyword id="6355117" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="South-Africa">South Africa</keyword>. Interestingly, China lies at the bottom among the <keyword id="175259" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Brics">BRICS</keyword> (85th with a score of 0.45), but other countries in this group are way ahead of India and its neighbour. Ranked 22nd, Brazil tops the BRICS group with a score of 0.64, extracting 50% more <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> per unit of energy use than the average of the other <keyword id="486040" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="BRICS-countries">BRICS countries</keyword>. It is followed by the Russian Federation (28th, with a score of 0.62) and South <keyword id="12925" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword> (54th, with a score of 0.54). 
 The top 10 performers are mostly EU and/or <keyword id="1977933" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="OECD-nations">OECD nations</keyword> – <keyword id="6356961" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Norway">Norway</keyword>, <keyword id="22501" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="New-Zealand">New Zealand</keyword>, <keyword id="6354785" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="France">France</keyword>, <keyword id="23050" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sweden">Sweden</keyword>, <keyword id="103" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Switzerland">Switzerland</keyword>, <keyword id="49968" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Denmark">Denmark</keyword>, <keyword id="6363645" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Spain">Spain</keyword> and <keyword id="106735" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="latvia">Latvia</keyword> – with the exception of <keyword id="15385" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Colombia">Colombia</keyword> (7th) and <keyword id="57870" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Costa-Rica">Costa Rica</keyword> (9th). The US came in 37th, followed by <keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword>. The regions covered in the report include <keyword id="1977935" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="EU28">EU28</keyword>, <keyword id="195393" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="MENA">MENA</keyword>, BRICS, <keyword id="6378080" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="North-America">North America</keyword>, <keyword id="303353" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sub-Saharan-Africa">Sub-Saharan Africa</keyword> and the <keyword id="5891" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="ASEAN">ASEAN</keyword>. 
 
Why we need EAPI Before we consider why India is lagging behind the rest, it is important to understand the dimensions of the ‘<keyword id="1977936" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-triangle">energy triangle</keyword>’ and what it takes to achieve top-level energy performance. During the past three years, the World Economic Forum has been working on the <keyword id="1978006" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="New-Energy-Architecture">new energy architecture</keyword>, defined as the integrated physical system of <keyword id="689119" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-sources">energy sources</keyword>, carriers and demand sectors. The ‘energy triangle’ frames the key objectives of the <keyword id="1977939" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-architecture">energy architecture</keyword> – the ability to provide secure, affordable and <keyword id="1977947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Environmentally-sustainable-energy-supply">environmentally sustainable energy supply</keyword>. Accordingly, the Global Index has used 18 indicators to assess 6 regions and 124 countries under three baskets – <keyword id="1977948" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Economic-growth-and-development">economic growth and development</keyword>, <keyword id="585025" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="environmental-sustainability">environmental sustainability</keyword> and <keyword id="1714410" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-access">energy access</keyword> &amp; security – while analysing the complex trade-offs and dependencies that affect the efforts of each country under review. 
 “Resource, wealth or <keyword id="352701" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Economic-Development">economic development</keyword> alone do not guarantee high performance on the Index,” said Roberto Bocca, senior director and head of energy industries at the World Economic Forum. “For an <keyword id="1977954" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Effective-energy-system">effective energy system</keyword>, countries need to focus on all three sides of the energy triangle – environmental sustainability, security of supply and affordability,” he added. Undoubtedly a difficult task, if you look at the toppers or any other country, for that matter. No single country has got a top score of 1/1 for the overall Index (an average of the scores posted under the three heads) and no one has hit a ‘perfect 1’ either, under any of the three baskets. 
 
 
 
Four factors hindering India’s energy performance 
Low access: Let’s look at the grassroots first. Energy access across BRICS is high, with the exception of India and South Africa which continue to face <keyword id="1977958" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lower-electrification-rates">lower electrification rates</keyword> for rural and low-income groups. In fact, India is the lowest performer within the BRICS cluster (0.54/1), with only 75% accessing modern energy sources. It means around 293 million people go without those, compared to just 4 million in China. 
 However, there are longer-term solutions on the cards. Alongside a number of national and international initiatives, the government is currently running the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme or <keyword id="398803" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="R-APDRP">R-APDRP</keyword>, directing around $10 billion over the coming years for <keyword id="1977960" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Grid-modernisation">grid modernisation</keyword>. India has also launched a <keyword id="856064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Remote-Village-Electrification">Remote Village Electrification</keyword> programme while the <keyword id="386624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ministry-of-New-and-Renewable-Energy">Ministry of New and Renewable Energy</keyword> is targeting the installed capacity from new <keyword id="430844" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="renewables">renewables</keyword> to reach 21,700 MW by 2017 (more on India’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Five-Moves-That-Will-Power-Indias-Green-Shift/articleshow/23463110.cms">green power</a> here). 
 
Increasing <keyword id="1977962" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-on-energy-imports">reliance on energy imports</keyword>: Large-scale economic expansion across the country has triggered bigger <keyword id="6417014" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-consumption">energy consumption</keyword> and a crippling dependence on imports – a major factor behind the ballooning trade and <keyword id="894126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="current-account-deficits">current account deficits</keyword>. India is one of the biggest importers of crude oil and more than half of its $191 billion <keyword id="113688" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="trade-deficit">trade deficit</keyword> in FY2013 – $109 billion, to be precise – accounted for oil, with the country importing around 82% of its requirements, mostly from the <keyword id="138623" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gulf-countries">Gulf countries</keyword>. Overall, 28% of the country’s <keyword id="1977965" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Net-energy-consumption">net energy consumption</keyword> is met through imports and among the BRICS, India has the <keyword id="1977966" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Highest-spend-on-fuel-imports">highest spend on fuel imports</keyword> relative to GDP (10%). 
 It’s a kind of vicious cycle, to say the least, which is negatively impacting the <keyword id="6356076" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="indian-economy">Indian economy</keyword>. “The whole mess in the <keyword id="52599" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="CAD">CAD</keyword> is due to the imports of both coal and oil,” Vivek Pandit, senior director for energy at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (<keyword id="6355001" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="FICCI">FICCI</keyword>) told FT. Worried by the current account deficit, <keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword> and <keyword id="68968" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="institutional-investors">institutional investors</keyword> gradually started withdrawing their support since March this year. This fuelled a substantial weakening of the <keyword id="6355302" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rupee">Rupee</keyword> and resulted in a drawdown of <keyword id="6368276" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Foreign-exchange">foreign exchange</keyword> to the tune of $12.8 billion. According to a PwC report, the drawdown could have been avoided, had India produced 17 million tonnes more oil than its current domestic production. 
 Worse still, <keyword id="1977973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indias-oil-import-dependency">India’s oil import dependency</keyword> is forecast to grow another 10 percentage points to exceed 90% by 2031. While increasing domestic exploration will help to a certain extent, India must try and curb the <keyword id="1977977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Oil-bills">oil bills</keyword> further by seeking new suppliers and buying more stake into African and other <keyword id="1977979" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Non-Gulf-oil-and-gas-assets">non-Gulf oil and gas assets</keyword>. 
 This part of the strategy is slowly taking shape as <keyword id="81864" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ONGC-Videsh">ONGC Videsh</keyword>, the overseas investment arm of <keyword id="55282" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="India-Government">India government</keyword>’s flagship oil and gas explorer <keyword id="118729" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Oil-Natural-Gas-Corp">Oil &amp; Natural Gas Corp</keyword>, has been pushing hard to build up a <keyword id="1977984" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Diversified-portfolio-of-foreign-assets">diversified portfolio of foreign assets</keyword> to minimise the country’s dependency on the Middle East. <keyword id="6354737" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ONGC">ONGC</keyword> Videsh has recently signed two multi-billion-dollar deals to buy into offshore natural gas assets in <keyword id="6372754" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mozambique">Mozambique</keyword>. It has a significant presence in <keyword id="48890" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Latin-America">Latin America</keyword> and is also looking for exploration assets in <keyword id="6356970" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myanmar">Myanmar</keyword>, <keyword id="6354759" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</keyword>, <keyword id="30174" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lebanon">Lebanon</keyword> and <keyword id="6355478" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Australia">Australia</keyword>. 
 
Prevalence of <keyword id="1896941" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-subsidies">energy subsidies</keyword>: Another factor that is dragging India down by increasing oil demand and widening the budget deficit. Both India and Russia are the lowest performers for the indicator on <keyword id="1977989" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Liquid-fuel-subsidies">liquid fuel subsidies</keyword>. India’s subsidies for diesel put it in the lower quartile globally for this indicator even as the country is trying to improve <keyword id="1977991" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-affordability">energy affordability</keyword> and access for lower-income groups. 
 
Coal-dependence hurts: At present, coal dominates the country’s <keyword id="1798751" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-mix">energy mix</keyword> with a robust 53% share in <keyword id="1977995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Primary-energy-consumption">primary energy consumption</keyword>, affecting India’s score in terms of environmental sustainability. The country has scored 0.41/1, underlining the challenge it faces in diversifying the energy mix beyond <keyword id="181402" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</keyword>. Although energy trade can have positive impacts here, it can also pose economic and <keyword id="1977997" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-security-risks">energy security risks</keyword>, especially as we are dependent only on a few trading partners. 
 Interestingly, 41% of the <keyword id="1200645" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-supply">energy supply</keyword> in the top 10 countries comes from low-carbon energy sources, compared to a global average of 28%. India, too, is rolling out low-carbon power generation through plans to increase <keyword id="43870" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="nuclear-capacity">nuclear capacity</keyword> from the current 4.4 GW to 5.3 GW by 2016. 
 
The bottom line “Our analysis concludes that there is no single way forward; each country must work with its own resources and constraints, making difficult choices and trade-offs,” said Arthur Hanna, Managing Director, Energy Industry, Accenture, and a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on New Energy Architecture. “The Index helps nations take stock of their energy transition challenges and address key barriers to success, such as market distorting subsidies, continued uncertainty around energy policy and funding for research and development of <keyword id="1978009" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="New-energy-sources">new energy sources</keyword> and technologies.” 
 
Keeping that in mind, can India cope with the transition and morph its energy policies accordingly? 
 
Top Image: Wikipedia 
Data chart: World Economic Forum

Energy
Performance: Is India
Losing Out On Power Play?

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6358584" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="HSBC">HSBC</keyword> will cut funding for the fossil fuel industry, starting with coal-fired power and mining.</li><li>Activist investors withdraw their own motions and say they support HSBC's decision.</li><li>Pressure has been on HSBC to cut funding to carbon-intensive sectors of the economy.</li></ul>HSBC said on Thursday it plans to end funding for coal-fired power and thermal coal mining projects by 2030 in developed economies by 2030 and worldwide by 2040, in response to pressure from investors.Non-profit shareholder ShareAction had previously <a href="https://shareaction.org/weve-filed-a-climate-resolution-at-hsbc-heres-why/">deemed HSBC's climate change statement of ambition unconvincing</a> and proposed their own motions for the upcoming annual general meeting at <keyword id="28249" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="europe">Europe</keyword>'s largest bank. HSBC said ShareAction had retracted their resolutions and support its own proposals, according to a statement issued by the bank and comments from the non-profit organization itself. HSBC agreed to several demands issued by the group, including annual progress reports and using coal investments as a starting point for taking specific action around funding. The bank has narrowly avoided shareholder revolt at its AGM as experienced last year by Barclays - who had not adjusted their resolutions, despite pressure led by ShareAction. HSBC is currently one of the largest funders of the fossil fuel industry in Europe. "We are pleased that ShareAction and a group of shareholders have agreed to support the resolution and would like to thank them for their positive ongoing engagement and constructive challenge and input as we have shaped the detail of our plans to support the direct financing requirements of our corporate clients in the low carbon transition," HSBC group chief executive Neil Quinn said in a statement. "This represents an unprecedented level of co-operation between a bank, shareholders, and NGOs on a critical issue, with a positive outcome for all," he said.As part of HSBC's net-zero strategy, which was announced in 2020, the bank has committed to instating a policy that will see fossil-fuel funding in the European Union and other developed <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword> end by 2030 and by 2040 in other markets, which rely more heavily on coal as an energy source.Further, the bank said it will analyze the impact of its <keyword id="43177" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Oil-and-gas">oil and gas</keyword> and power and utilities investment sectors this year and develop strategies to reduce their impact in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. Signatories to the <keyword id="3087299" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Paris-agreement">Paris agreement</keyword> agree to taking action to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, with a view to limiting this increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius."Today's announcement shows that robust shareholder engagement can deliver concrete results and sets an important precedent for the banking industry. Net zero ambitions have to be backed up with time-bound fossil fuel phase-outs and today HSBC has taken an important step in that direction," <a href="https://shareaction.org/shareholder-campaign-secures-hsbc-coal-phase-out/">ShareAction Senior Campaign Manager Jeanne Martin </a>said.

HSBC will end all funding for the coal industry by 2040, narrowly avoiding revolt among climate conscious-investors

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Much of the world's energy is sourced from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/fossil-fuel">fossil fuels</a>. </li><li>Several innovators and companies have developed inventions to help get the world off of non-renewable energy. </li><li>For example, the HomeBiogas 2.0 turns food waste into gas, producing up to three hours of cooking gas. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>Following is a transcript of the video.1. This whirlpool turbine can power dozens of homes in rural areas. It generates energy 24 hours a day. And can be installed in most rivers and canals. Free-flowing water powers up the generator's turbine. It's even safe for fish to pass through!2. The Waterotor turbine is made specifically for slow-moving water. It works in currents as slow as 2 mph…So it can be used almost anywhere. The designers say the turbine is the first of its kind. It's also safe for aquatic wildlife!3. This giant flower is made of solar panels. The SmartFlower mimics the way sunflowers absorb solar energy. The flower has a tracking system…Which it uses to track the sun, the same way real flowers do.4. The HomeBiogas 2.0 turns food scraps into gas! Bacteria digests the waste and turns it into biogas. The appliance can take up to 6 liters of waste per day… And can produce up to three hours of cooking gas. It can even make fertilizer!5. This floating solar plant generates more electricity than traditional solar plants. The water helps cool down the panels, improving their efficiency. The panels are designed to withstand extreme weather… And are even recyclable.6. These floor tiles use footsteps to generate electricity. They're made by Pavegen and can generate up to 7 watts of power per step. They're most effective in high-traffic areas, like cities. The company even used the tiles to charge a Tesla! 7. The GoSun Grill is powered using sunlight. Reflectors focus the sun's light rays onto a metal tube… Creating cooking temperatures up to 550° F. The food goes directly inside the cylindrical tube. 8. This panda image is made out of solar panels. China is on a mission to build 100 of these panda power plants. A single plant could power more than 10,000 households annually. The idea was proposed in 2015 by 15-year-old Ada Li Yan-tung. She suggested the design would get young people involved in renewable energy.9. These turbines make up America's first offshore wind farm. General Electric and Deepwater Wind collaborated on the project. Over a year… They'll emit 40,000 fewer tons of greenhouse gas than fossil fuels. And still generate the same amount of energy.10. The Ecocapsule is a micro housing pod. And can house two people for up to a year. It has all the necessary amenities: Kitchen, bathroom, and storage space. It's powered by solar cells and a wind turbine. It even collects and filters rain for drinking water. 11. The Saphonian is a bladeless wind turbine. It imitates a bird's wing or a fish's tail. And was designed after a ship's sails. Going bladeless could be cheaper than making traditional turbines… And it doesn't interfere with magnetic or radar waves!12. The Hydralight lantern is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional gas-lit lanterns. It runs on salt water and an energy cell. And uses the charged particles in the water to create electricity.The lantern is simple to use… Just a single dip in salt water… And it can give off over 250 hours of light. 13. This floating wind farm in Scotland is the first of its kind. Don't worry; it won't float away. It's held in place by suction anchors on the seabed. And can power 20,000 households for a year. 14. This sewage is being turned into biodiesel. The carbon content in human waste is converted into energy. The engineers say biodiesel can be used in regular diesel car engines… With little or no modifications. 15. This bladeless turbine mimics a hummingbird's wings! The Tyer Wind Converter uses a flapping motion instead of rotating blades. It's not as powerful as bladed turbines… But the smaller size makes it ideal for populated areas.16. This battery can make, supply, and store its own energy. The Eli-Home charges itself and can be used as an electric grid. Solar panels gather and store energy. It's easily removable and portable, and the best part… You can even control it with your smartphone.

16 inventions getting us off fossil fuels and into renewable energy

The climate pact signed by over 200 countries in Paris in the second week of December, setting a new goal to reach net zero emissions in the second half of the century, has hastened the transition away from fossil fuels and to a clean energy economy. 
 
Given the toll that burning coal and oil takes on climate and human health, a possible end of the fossil era is too good to be true. 
 
However, for billions of people battered by air pollution caused by burning of fossil fuels—especially those in cities like Beijing, Delhi and Tehran that are choking with dirty emissions—it is likely to a long wait before the fossil fuel reduction targets are achieved. 
 
Over the past 200 years, humans have made a huge effect on the carbon cycle. One of the biggest changes to the carbon cycle has occurred as a result of the widespread use of fossil fuels. 
 
Burning fossil fuel releases carbon dioxide that adds carbon that has been out of circulation for millions of years directly to the atmosphere. 
 
Over the last two centuries, concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has hugely increased—in 1800, the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere was about 280 parts per million, but now it has crossed 400 parts per million (‘parts per million’ points to the number of carbon dioxide particles out of every million molecules of air). 
 
Scientists believe that if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, CO2 will need to be reduced from current levels to at least 350 ppm. 
 
The statistics are alarming: More than 4,000 Chinese die daily from air pollution. 
 
In recent times use of vehicles run by fossil fuels have been reduced in many cities in Iran and Italy—besides the Delhi government’s decision to allow vehicles with alternative numbers to enter the city going ahead to reduce the number of vehicles by half—in efforts to clean up the toxic air. 
 
According to WHO, toxic air causes premature deaths of more than 7 million people every year. 
 
India, whose rapidly growing population is hugely dependent on coal, is likely to have severe repercussions. A recent study found that 660 million Indians lose an average of 3.2 years of life due to exposure to air pollution. Experts warn that the tragedy that is unfolding is threatening to escalate going ahead. 
 
The murky picture that is emerging as a result of reliance of fossil fuels has led to renewed focus on a shift towards alternative energy sources to run vehicles and in turn to enhanced development of electric vehicles (EVs) and vehicles run by hydrogen fuel cells (HFCVs). 
 
The ongoing talks between Google and automaker Ford Motor Co to help build the Internet search company's autonomous cars is seen as part of the emerging initiatives to move towards vehicles that reduce emissions. 
 
Electric vehicles are cleaner than petroleum-fueled vehicles and seen as a partial solution to global warming. Using low carbon power electric car emissions are about a quarter of an inefficient gasoline car and half that of a top hybrid. 
 
The recent launch of Tesla's long-awaited Model X electric car has created a lot of buzz. But given its huge pricing—$130,000 per car— it will be long wait for most environment-conscious car enthusiasts before seeing a palpable shift from fossil fuel-powered cars to EVs. 
 
However, since the release of the all-electric Nissan Leaf in 2011, an increasing number of automakers have jumped on the battery-electric or plug-in hybrid bandwagon. 
 Between 2016 and 2020, 24 new electric car models are expected to be launched in the US alone. Also, competition for the luxury Tesla Model S—which has about a 265-mile range between charges and costs between $70,000 and $105,000—has been mounting from mainstream car makers—Audi, Porsche and Mercedes are investing heavily on <keyword id="6358835" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Electric-cars">electric cars</keyword>. 
 
As competition grows tougher, price of EVs is expected to fall. In fact, besides battery cost, costs of motors and controllers have started dropping significantly. Taking a leaf from what happened to price of computers and smartphones, experts say as more electric cars are made, the sticker price of EVs will be equal to that of a similar-sized gasoline car within 10 years. 
 
Along with EVs, HFCVs are also gaining acceptance and momentum. Global automobile major Toyota is betting big on hydrogen fuel cell cars and is aiming to encourage an ecosystem of fuel cell suppliers and hydrogen fueling stations to enhance its plans to focus more on manufacture of HFCVs. 
 
However, the fact that HFCVs are more expensive—even if fuel-cells become cheaper and hydrogen production reach a critical mass, it will still be at least three times more expensive to power an HFCV car than an EV—will prove to be a drag on mass production of HFCVs in the near future. 
 However, as the perils of continued use of fossil fuels become more evident, countries across the globe are encouraging production of EVs and HFCVs, through tax cuts and subsidies, hoping vehicles driven by non-fossil fuels will help humanity combat <keyword id="6361617" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Climate-Change">climate change</keyword>. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Paris Agreement: Why a shift away from fossil fuels is crucial

<keyword id="50190" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Asian-Development-Bank">Asian Development Bank</keyword> (ADB) will provide a $ 500 million credit for introducing sun-based rooftop frameworks to help India expand its renewable vitality impression. 
 The financing involves $330 million from ADB and $170 million from the multi-benefactor <keyword id="247359" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Clean-Technology-Fund">Clean Technology Fund</keyword>, controlled by the subsidizing agency. 
 
"This funding should mean that 11 million fewer tonnes of greenhouse gases are emitted over the typical 25-year lifetime of solar rooftop systems," ADB said. 
 The financing will be channalised through state-possessed <keyword id="62034" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Punjab-National-Bank">Punjab National Bank</keyword>, which will utilize the ADB assets to tender loans to different developers and end-clients all over the nation to set up sun based housetop frameworks. 
 "There is a huge potential for India to expand its use of solar rooftop technologies because of the sharp drop in the price of solar panels, meaning the cost of producing solar energy is at or close to that from fossil fuels," said Anqian Huang, finance specialist in ADB's <keyword id="52011" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="South-Asia">South Asia</keyword> Department. 
 
Sourcing more solar energy will also help India meet the carbon emissions reduction target that it has committed to, as part of the recent global climate change agreement, Huang said. 
 Consolidated with an extra $ 300 million in subproject value speculation and $ 200 million in advances from business banks and different agents, the whole cost of the <keyword id="3716759" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="solar-rooftop-investment-program">Solar Rooftop Investment Program</keyword> is $ 1 billion. 
 
The Government aims to increase the amount of energy sourced from solar rooftop systems to 40 gigawatts by 2022. 
 
India has focused to lower its carbon outflows by 33% from 2005 levels in order to substitute it by non-fossil fuel based power under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. 
 
In addition, ADB has additionally dedicated to twofold its yearly financing for atmosphere relief and adaption to $ 6 billion by 2020 to bolster India's cause. 
 
The solar rooftop business sector is still at an early phase of advancement in India and familiarity with the most recent advances and the money related advantages is low. 
 
Banks see lending to such projects as risky, partly because of limited past experiences.

ADB is helping India realize its solar dreams, to provide $500 mn loans for solar rooftops

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>For climate skeptics arguing against the idea of human-caused climate change, Wei-Hock "Willie" Soon has been a major weapon.Soon, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/">Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics</a>, has argued for years that variations in solar energy are responsible for rising global temperatures - not the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases humans have been pouring into the atmosphere for decades.But newly released documents, obtained by Greenpeace, reveal a clear conflict of interest in Soon's climate research.Soon, it appears, has been deep in the pockets of the fossil-fuel industry - more than $1 million deep, in fact.<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1531939-foia-response-willie-soon-2012.html">Documents</a> obtained by Greenpeace <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/28/us-usa-climate-skeptic-idUSTRE75R2HD20110628">over the last four years</a> and released with the help of the <a href="http://www.climateinvestigations.org/">Climate Investigations Center</a> show that Soon has received $1.2 million in funding from the fossil-fuel industry over the last decade - money he failed to disclose in most of his scientific papers. That failure to disclose funding is an offense that could invalidate his published papers.The New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html">broke the story</a> on February 21. Soon is a vocal member of a small minority: Approximately <a href="http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/">97% of scientists</a> agree that climate change is largely caused by human activities. The <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>, which includes leading climate scientists from around the world, has released numerous reports on climate change warning of disastrous consequences if nations don't curb their greenhouse gas emissions.But Soon's research has focused on the idea that changes in the sun's energy can alter the Earth's climate and are responsible for recent warming trends. One of the <a href="http://www.scibull.com:8080/EN/abstract/abstract509579.shtml">most recent papers he co-authored</a>, published earlier this year in the journal <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">Science</keyword> Bulletin and co-authored with a known climate skeptic and non-scientist Christopher Monckton, attempted to refute the IPCC's newest projections. The paper argues that the IPCC used flawed science in its report and suggests that the impact of anthropogenic climate change may be less than half what the IPCC predicts. The paper proposed an alternative climate model, which was <a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/peer-reviewing-climate-denial">roundly criticized.</a>Soon's ideas don't hold water with many other climate scientists. Gavin A. Schmidt, head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which focuses on climate change, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html">told the Times</a> that solar variations should account for 10 percent of present-day warming trends at the very most.Critics have hypothesized that Soon is one of many experts paid by industry to foster doubt over otherwise scientifically settled issues. Greenpeace published a post that included the following statement:For years, we at Greenpeace have been working to make public the secret paper trails that show what everyone already knows: climate science deniers - #<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/fake-science-fakexperts-funny-finances-free-tax" target="_blank">Fakexperts</a> - are few and far between, and most of them are paid by companies most responsible for global warming to downplay the problem.It's not unheard of to accept funding from sources with a stake in the research's outcome. But many find the practice suspicious, and disclosing these funding sources is a crucial step in allowing the public to make its own judgments about the study's quality and motivations.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>While Soon has acknowledged some corporate funding in the past, the Times reports, the new documents show just how deep these financial ties run. A major portion of the funding - at least $409,000 - came from Southern Company Services, a utility-holding company that has invested heavily in coal-burning power plants, according to the Times.A spokesperson from the company reportedly <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html">told the Times</a>: "Southern Company funds a broad range of research on a number of topics that have potentially significant public-policy implications for our business."The documents also include funding agreements with ExxonMobil, the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, and several anonymous donors who extended grants through DonorsTrust. The documents indicate that these organizations funded proposals with the goals of comparing US temperature records with solar radiation records, and figuring out the physical mechanisms that allow solar radiation to influence climate. In some cases, Soon received multiple grants from different organizations for the same research proposal.It's clear from the documents that the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics knew about and approved of these grants. The real issue, they say, is Soon's failure to disclose his funding sources to the journals who later published his work - which is up to Soon to comply with, not the center.In 2011, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/28/us-usa-climate-skeptic-idUSTRE75R2HD20110628">Soon reportedly told Reuters</a> that he had "never been motivated by financial reward in any of my scientific research." But failure to disclose financial conflicts of interest in a paper is a serious problem for most scientific journals, which often rely on the authors to be honest about their funding.<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html">The Times reports</a>:As of late last week, most of the journals in which Dr. Soon's work had appeared were not aware of the newly disclosed documents. The Climate Investigations Center is planning to notify them over the coming week. Several journals advised of the situation by The New York Times said they would look into the matter.It's unclear yet if any of Soon's research will be retracted, which is a possibility for scientists who fail to report conflicts of interest in journals that require such disclosures. The Times reached Charles Alcock, director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He reportedly <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html">told the Times</a> that Soon's non-disclosure was "inappropriate" and that the issue was a "personnel matter, which we have to handle with Dr. Soon internally." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-nye-climate-change-solution-2014-11">Bill Nye Reveals Why Climate Change Is So Hard To Stop</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="AxOXZvcTr37R31H5kZhtz25mpv9kUfPu" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Leading skeptical climate scientist earned more than $1 million from the fossil-fuel industry

India remains highly dependent on imports for minerals critical to accelerating its <keyword id="19951336" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="energy-transition" source="keywords">energy transition</keyword>, with a full reliance on shipping in lithium, cobalt and nickel, according to a report released Monday. The report, published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said that India's demand for <keyword id="19978839" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="critical-minerals" source="keywords">critical minerals</keyword> is expected to more than double by 2030, while domestic mining operations may take over a decade to start producing. It stresses that India needs a carefully crafted import strategy to mitigate potential trade risks while balancing international relationships to secure these essential minerals. IEEFA's report examines five critical minerals (and their compounds) - cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium and nickel - from the perspectives of import dependency, trade dynamics, domestic availability, and global price fluctuations. The findings show that India remains largely import-dependent for these minerals and their compounds, with 100 per cent import reliance for minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. "India should strive to de-risk its critical minerals sourcing by identifying new international resources and expediting <keyword id="20681115" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="domestic-production" source="keywords">domestic production</keyword>. A concerted effort to partner with and foster bilateral relations with <keyword id="23713985" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mineral-rich-nations" source="keywords">mineral-rich nations</keyword> should be a priority for India," said the report's co-author Charith Konda, Energy Specialist, IEEFA. "The country can also explore investment opportunities in resource-rich, friendly nations, such as Australia and Chile, as well as African countries like Ghana and South Africa," he added. The report said India depends heavily on China for synthetic graphite and natural graphite and it should explore cooperation initiatives with countries like Mozambique, Madagascar, Brazil and Tanzania which are some of the highest graphite producing countries. "As part of the Global South cooperation initiatives, these countries could be favourable partners for India for <keyword id="23713984" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="graphite-trading" source="keywords">graphite trading</keyword>," said the report's co-author Kaira Rakheja, Energy Analyst, IEEFA. India is also highly import-dependent for copper cathodes and nickel sulphates from just two countries - Japan and Belgium. The report suggests India could look at the US, the fifth largest producer of copper in the world, to diversify its suppliers and enhance <keyword id="23714709" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="supply-security" source="keywords">supply security</keyword>. For minerals like lithium oxide and nickel oxide, the dependency is low on one country, but overall imports largely come from Russia and China, both countries with potential trade risks. "Developing domestic lithium refining capacity will help India integrate with the global lithium supply chain," said Rakheja. The report also notes the significant efforts that the Indian government is making to improve domestic production of critical minerals with the auctions by the Ministry of Mines and the planned Critical Minerals Mission. "The critical minerals mining block auctions can serve as an opportunity for India to focus on building refining and processing capabilities to emerge as a global value-adding hub," said Rakheja. "Government support in the form of viability gap funding and technology development will help promote such auctions and ultimately the domestic production of critical minerals. "A stable supply of critical minerals is imperative for India to achieve its <keyword id="19895602" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="renewable-energy" source="keywords">renewable energy</keyword> goals," Konda said. India has committed to achieving 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel-based electricity installed capacity by 2030. Currently, the country's renewable energy installed capacity stands at 201 GW, with solar energy accounting for 91 GW. According to another study, the fast-developing South Asian nation needs to install around 7,000 GW of renewable energy capacity to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070.

Energy transition: India remains highly dependent on imports of critical minerals, says report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Amazon wants to expand its use of nuclear power to meet rising AI energy needs.</li><li>The company's energy strategy team recently pitched CEO Andy Jassy on the benefits of nuclear power.</li></ul>In June, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-big-tech-cash-king-wall-street-wants-a-piece-2024-10">Amazon's</a> Global Energy Strategy team pitched CEO Andy Jassy the idea of doubling down on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-google-microsoft-openai-big-tech-investment-nuclear-ai-race-2024-10">nuclear power</a> to support its growing network of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-energy-centers-water-energy-land-2023-10">data centers</a>.The group argued that nuclear can be more reliable and cost-efficient than other clean energy sources, such as wind and solar. Jassy agreed, according to an internal Amazon document from the third quarter that was obtained by Business Insider."We have strong conviction that nuclear power is the most economical and credible path to scale carbon free energy to meet the next decade's rapid capacity growth," the company's energy strategy team wrote. "We took this conviction to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-andy-jassy-wooed-wall-street-overhauled-bloated-tech-giant-2024-7">Andy Jassy</a> in June 2024, and received approval to execute against our proposed expansion to the carbon free energy strategy through new nuclear generation."<div type="image" title="Andy Jassy onstage at an event." height="1293" width="1940" msid="114563910" hostid="261" sizebytes="57026"></div>Fast forward a few months and Amazon's nuclear ambitions are becoming clearer. Last week, Amazon <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-invests-in-nuclear-for-aws-following-google-and-microsoft-2024-10">led</a> a $500 million investment in X-energy to develop small modular reactors, following <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/data-centers-amazon-ai-nuclear-power-grid-2024-5">an earlier deal</a> to buy power from a nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/servicenow-ceo-bill-mcdermott-ai-software-2024-10">Generative AI</a> is the main reason for this sudden interest in nuclear energy. Running these new AI workloads in data centers requires <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-centers-energy-cloud-microsoft-chatpgt-amazon-google-2023-7">way more electricity</a> than traditional computing tasks. Burning <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/data-centers-energy-demand-utilities-green-renewable-2023-10">more coal</a> and other fossil fuels is bad for the environment, so nuclear is an attractive alternative, despite its checkered safety record.Amazon sees nuclear as a key part of dealing with this AI-driven <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-data-centers-delays-costs-power-labor-shortages-aws-ai-2024-10">surge in energy demand</a>. The company considered tapping into at least four additional existing nuclear power plants and sought even more small modular reactor deals. It also looked at other energy sources, such as geothermal, to meet long-term renewable energy goals, according to the internal document."Machine Learning, GenAl and commercial capacity demand continues to significantly outpace available power capacity globally and requires new solutions that are reliable, cost-effective and carbon free," the document explained, while noting that success in this space would help Amazon Web Services meet customer needs for sustainable data center capacity.<h2 id="9f054fc5-4a26-481d-81e9-4ebeece00b52">Amazon considers all solutions</h2>An Amazon spokesperson said the final details of the company's plans could be "very different from the preliminary ideas," and cautioned against drawing conclusions from an "outdated" document.The cloud giant supports more than 500 solar and wind projects, and has been the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy for four years in a row. It's also investing in emerging technologies through a Climate Pledge Fund, the spokesperson added."There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for transitioning to carbon-free energy and we believe all viable and scalable options should be considered, so we frequently consider a wide range of projects before deciding which ones we move forward with," the spokesperson wrote in a statement.<h2 id="e4e8b6a9-955c-4738-a29e-1533eb23b75f">Big Tech's embrace</h2><div type="image" title="three mile island" height="1343" width="2000" msid="114563911" hostid="261" sizebytes="136424"></div>Amazon isn't the only big tech company embracing nuclear to meet AI's insatiable hunger for power.Google recently <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-nuclear-power-ai-data-centers-2024-10">unveiled</a> a partnership with Kairos Power to build small modular nuclear reactors. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman loves talking about nuclear and has backed projects. Microsoft <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/three-mile-island-nuclear-plant-reopens-power-microsoft-ai-push-2024-9">struck a deal</a> to get power from the Three Mile Island nuclear plant.That last deal highlights the nuclear industry's troubled past. In 1979, Three Mile Island <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happened-three-mile-island-worst-us-nuclear-disaster-2019-8">experienced</a> a major disaster that stalled the US nuclear sector for decades. There have been even worse events in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/chernobyl">Chernobyl</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/haunting-photos-of-the-fukushima-disaster-zone-2017-3">Fukushima</a>.<h2 id="991ea7a5-102b-4e4a-bbbd-ca9c560c342b">"Piano Man"</h2>Prior to the June meeting with Amazon's Global Energy Strategy team, Jassy approved another nuclear plan in December 2023, according to the internal document obtained by BI.Under that plan, codenamed "Piano Man," Amazon targeted existing nuclear plants that had spare capacity. The company wanted to sign agreements that gave it access to "dedicated, reliable power" in the future. The first project within this strategy was announced in March, when Amazon <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/data-centers-amazon-ai-nuclear-power-grid-2024-5">agreed</a> to pay $650 million to purchase energy from a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, the internal document showed.Amazon considered at least 4 other similar nuclear projects, the document stated. One was in Maryland for an option to use up to 0.88 gigawatt of energy. Another was in Texas for 1.2 gigawatts. There were two other arrangements in Pennsylvania for 0.96 gigawatt and 0.9 gigawatt of power each. In general, a one gigawatt plant is estimated to have enough capacity to power roughly 876,000 households for a year.It is unclear whether Amazon is still looking into these types of "Piano Man" deals."There are limited pipeline opportunities after these projects, but we will continue to develop all feasible options," the document explained.<h2 id="8dc1cc69-aec8-4677-aef7-89452bc1e7b2">Learning curve</h2><div type="image" title="The cooling towers of a nuclear power plant against a blue sky." height="1414" width="2121" msid="114563912" hostid="261" sizebytes="98642"></div>Amazon has also been "actively conducting due diligence" on more than a dozen opportunities in the small modular reactor space. As part of this, the company has developed relationships with utilities, nuclear construction companies, and the US Department of Energy, according to the document.Nuclear power can be safer, more reliable, and more cost-efficient in the long term compared to other power sources, according to Jacopo Buongiorno, a nuclear engineering professor at MIT. However, he said some of the new advanced small modular reactors are still being tested and often use different designs and systems, making them a relatively riskier option."There will be a learning curve because some of these technologies are not mature yet," Buongiorno told BI.<h2 id="1b22c795-2c48-4282-8e9c-8728dc854c1e">Prioritize 'earlier access to power'</h2>The internal Amazon document described the company's nuclear initiatives as part of a broader "non-standard" energy plan. The company also looked into power arrangements for natural gas plants and geothermal energy."As we drive development of first of a kind, non-standard energy sources within the industry, our scope is primarily medium to long term, supplying power in large amounts beyond 2030," the document stated.In 2024, Amazon's goal is to deliver 8 gigawatts of incremental renewable energy, the document said. Amazon reached 4.1 gigawatts of renewable energy in 2023 and 10.2 gigawatts in 2022, it noted.The internal document listed the main "tenets" that the Global Energy Strategy team follows. It emphasized delivering "highly reliable, cost-effective" power on time, and making bets on technologies that are "on the cusp of scaling and mass adoption."It also stressed the need to find the earliest available power options."While we target obtaining large amounts of power over time, we will prioritize opportunities with the earlier access to power," it said.Do you work at Amazon? Got a tip?Contact the reporter, Eugene Kim, via the encrypted-messaging apps Signal or Telegram (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="c-link">+1-650-942-3061</a>) or email (<a target="_blank" href="mailto:ekim@businessinsider.com">ekim@businessinsider.com</a>). Reach out using a nonwork device. Check out Business Insider's <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/insider-guide-to-securely-sharing-whistleblower-information-about-powerful-institutions-2021-10">source guide</a> for other tips on sharing information securely.

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