Environmental, Water Resources, and Coastal Engineering Seminar Series

Virtual seminar link: https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/96156963811?pwd=QVRwSmlRZ1lqWm1xL0JVcG9RWC9Zdz09

Abstract: Coal use in the United States is fading fast, falling from the leading source of electricity to about 20 percent today. However, coal power plants remain leading sources of particle-forming sulfur emissions, ozone smog-forming nitrogen emissions, and climate-warming greenhouse gases. Most of coal’s decline has been replaced by natural gas, itself a fossil fuel. Government outlooks suggest that coal’s decline could slow in the absence of new policy. This raises questions about the extent to which variable wind and solar power can replace the coal that remains, as a new administration aims for net-zero electricity. This talk will begin by characterizing the impacts of coal power plants on climate, air pollution, haze, and health. It will then show how wind and solar can serve as complementary resources, balancing each other’s variable output. Modeling will be presented for Texas as a case study, and broader lessons will be gleaned from national studies of decarbonized electricity.

Biography: Daniel Cohan is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University. He was a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award and served on NASA’s Air Quality Applied Sciences Team. His scientific publications focus on the modeling of atmospheric chemistry and air pollution formation; soil and biogenic emissions; and the environmental impacts of energy. His forthcoming book, Confronting Climate Gridlock, will be published by Yale University Press next year.