1. These electric school buses are on their way to save the grid

Learning: "Loaded with ever more renewables, the grid will need to store a whole lot of energy. Enter: a new kind of magic school bus—one that can both charge and give power back."

Implication: "While an EV battery needs to be replaced when its capacity drops below 70 or 80 percent, it can still support the grid outside of the vehicle: You can bundle a bunch of them together to provide storage at dedicated facilities. And the price of batteries continues to decline, so it’s getting cheaper and cheaper to replace them in EVs.

As V2G matures, different regions might land on different rates for buying back electricity; it’ll depend on the local utility and what state-level regulations are eventually put in place. But to reach its full potential, V2G will have to properly incentivize people to opt in. The more participants, the less the demand on any one battery. Many wheels make light work."

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2. University of Texas at Austin launches pioneering hydrogen demonstration research hub

Learning:  "The Center for Electromechanics at the University of Texas at Austin formally opened a first-of-its-kind hydrogen research center at a late April ceremony. More than 20 industry stakeholders and sponsors support the center, which the university has styled a 'proto-hub.'

The research facility is equipped with facilities to make hydrogen from renewable natural gas, and from water and renewable energy via an on-site electrolyzer."

Implication: "The proto-hub will be engaged in a study for the U.S. Department of Energy for the next year. After that, it may expand to test additional hydrogen technologies and offer training opportunities for professionals who may work with hydrogen-related equipment, according to Michael Lewis, director of the Center for Electromechanics."

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3. Tidal microgrid could help power Maine island community

Learning: "Unstable power and high energy costs were among the energy resilience challenges that brought Eastport (Maine) to the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP) in 2021. The city was among the first 11 communities in the United States to join the technical assistance program, which combines the local knowledge of regional organizations with the expertise of national laboratory researchers to strengthen energy resilience in coastal, island, and remote communities."

Implication: "Now that Eastport's ETIPP project is completed, the Island Institute is supporting the city's new energy committee and will use funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energizing Rural Communities prize to continue supporting the installation of more renewable energy sources and a regional microgrid in Eastport."

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4. Programs to Promote Zero-Energy and Zero-Carbon New Homes and Buildings Are Growing

Learning: "Nearly two dozen efficiency programs are helping builders and designers construct growing numbers of new homes and buildings that can produce at least as much energy as they consume or be modified to do so in the future."

Implication: "The multiple benefits of zero-energy homes and buildings... include impacts on comfort, health, building resilience, employee satisfaction, and operating cost savings. Programs also report that it is helpful to have simple incentive structures that builders, designers, and developers can easily understand.

Minimizing new buildings' energy use and emissions is essential for combating climate change and can improve occupant comfort and health. Programs to advance zero-energy and zero-carbon buildings can be an important contributor to efforts to transform new construction markets and ultimately make designing and constructing these buildings common practice."

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5. Re-envisioning museums as innovation hubs for New Orleans’ next century

Learning: "Innovation hubs are spaces designed to provide resources for people to ideate and foster new solutions to a range of problems.  Collaboration, research and critical thinking fuel the work inside an innovation hub. With this perspective, the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) sees its role and that of other museums as centers for education, research and innovation to serve a broader range of societal goals."

Implication: "The time has come to think more broadly about how our local museums can provide the spaces we need to build a better, more inclusive and sustainable city.

HNOC will open two exhibitions this summer about issues at the center of local conversations: the impacts of ecological change on coastal communities (“Vanishing Bounty: Louisiana’s Coastal Environment and Culture”)" is one exhibit.

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