Problem/ Solution Statement Problem Sample Clauses

Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. The size of wind turbine towers is constrained by transportation size and weight making conventional towers prohibitively expensive for larger next-generation turbines in California. Overhead traffic signals, road width and weight regulations limit conventional steel tubular towers to sub-optimal diameters of 4.3 meters (14 feet.). As a result, the tallest wind turbine towers installed in California are 100-meter (m) tall with turbine capacity of 3.3-megawatts (MW).

Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. Future offshore wind development in California will create a risk to seabirds for collision or displacement. Existing seabird models, which describe the density and species composition in the California Current, can be used to identify hot spots for seabird activity, but these models do not delineate the presence of seabirds at different heights above the sea surface. Without incorporating flight height and how flight behavior changes with wind speed, it is difficult to accurately estimate the potential impact to seabirds from offshore wind farms. As different size turbines are being designed for use in an offshore environment, the existing two-dimensional spatial models of seabird populations will be unable to estimate the difference in potential impacts 1 Please see subtask 1.3 in Part III of the Scope of Work (General Project Tasks) for a description of from shorter turbines compared to taller turbines because seabird flight height and behavior is not described in the current spatial information.

Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. California’s forest health crisis is an emergency of unprecedented scope and scale, with disastrous implications for the state’s environment, economy, energy systems, and human life. Unlike essentially all other technologies and solutions proposed to respond to the crisis, gasification has the potential to process forest waste in a way that extracts value and sequesters a large portion of its carbon. Before the recipient’s development of the pre- commercial Powertainer technology, no one had developed gasification technology that could economically respond to the problem. As a result, there have not yet been any large-scale deployments of distributed, commercial-scale gasification technology. The acceleration of tree mortality and persistent drought conditions make finding solutions to this problem more critical with each passing day.

Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. To achieve robust zero emissions targets, cities and load-serving entities require advanced energy solutions that enable the cost-effective deployment and integration of distributed and renewable energy resources, and the cost-efficient rehabilitation of homes to a near Zero Net Carbon standard.3 Achieving these outcomes in disadvantaged communities requires a combination of innovative technology, scaled finance, and the inclusive engagement of cities, NGOs, and community residents.

Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. Climate change poses an urgent and significant threat to California and the nation. California has taken a leadership position in supporting cutting edge science to understand the nature of the threat and possible actions to mitigate that impact. However, California cannot solve this threat alone and does not have all of the solutions. 1 Please see subtask 1.3 in Part III of the Scope of Work (General Project Tasks) for a description of Critical Project Review (CPR) Meetings. SB 379 (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, 2015) requires local governments to address climate adaptation and resiliency strategies applicable to city or county local hazard mitigation plans or other climate adaptation plans or documents. Information sharing among federal, state, regional, and local agencies forms a critical part of preparation of these documents. The California Energy Commission is sponsoring a set of studies in coordination with the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), jointly referred to as the “Fourth California Climate Change Assessment” or the “Assessment”) to assess the impacts and implications of climate change for California. The Energy Commission is funding studies of the state’s energy sector and the CNRA is funding non-energy sector studies. In addition, a number of externally funded research projects have aligned with the Assessment’s timeline and underlying climate scenarios to substantially expand the overall effort at no cost to the state. Results of these new peer-reviewed scientific studies will be available in 2018. A number of public events are planned in California to discuss the results. However, an additional public workshop in Washington, D.C. is needed to discuss the scientific results with federal, state, and local resilience planning leaders and experts outside of California. In addition, the Assessment must be put into the context of an overall strategy to foresee and manage weather-related extreme events at local to national geographical scales.

Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. Mechanical steam traps are one of the leading causes for steam loss within a steam system. While methods exist to monitor the performance of the steam traps, this is often labor intensive and requires knowledge on how to accurately assess performance. Often steam traps will fail and cause a substantial amount of steam loss, which increases natural gas use and GHG emissions and causes process and production issues. With natural gas prices being low, there is a cost barrier to implementing new energy efficient technologies to reduce natural gas use and GHG emissions. 1 Please see subtask 1.3 in Part III of the Scope of Work (General Project Tasks) for a description of Critical Project Review (CPR) Meetings.

Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. California is experiencing an affordable housing shortage and subsequently grappling with an ever-increasing homeless population. Simultaneously, the worsening climate crisis disproportionately affects low-income populations and community members experiencing homelessness. Combined, these realities demonstrate the urgent demand for creating affordable, climate-resilient communities for people to live. These developments need to not only be rapidly scalable; they must also be fully decarbonized, zero net energy projects, so as not to further contribute to the climate catastrophe. This is easier said than done. The reality is that evaluating and implementing the emerging energy technologies required for all-electric, zero net energy construction is typically cost- prohibitive in affordable development. In most cases, there is not sufficient funding to deviate from the business-as-usual approach, and the projects that manage to do so tend to be one- offs. Project teams that are able to achieve progressive sustainability goals in affordable development projects must prioritize replicability and dissemination. Highly innovative, rapidly buildable, broadly replicable, climate-resilient design outcomes are needed.

Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. Electrification of large weight-class vehicles such as heavy-duty buses is challenging and costly due to high-power charging needs, demanding duty cycles, and large amounts of energy required. This results in a high cost of electrification to transit fleet operators due to up-front electric infrastructure (CAPEX) and higher operating expenses (OPEX). The costs of both OPEX and CAPEX have proven to be a significant hurdle in transportation electrification broadly, however, these expenses are more pronounced in MDHD applications where higher power requirements are needed. To accelerate electrification of public transport, there needs to be a better understanding of the drivers behind the total cost of operation and solutions to make electrification of these MDHD fleets more economically viable. Also, installing charging infrastructure for heavy duty vehicles in urban locations where space is already at a premium continues to be a challenge. Further, as transportation electrification is accelerated, it becomes even more critical that we continue to decarbonize the electric grid to realize the full benefits of transitioning these fleets to electric.

Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. The increased emphasis on resiliency in the state is driving the need for longer duration energy storage backup capabilities. Longer duration energy storage and energy discharge is needed to respond to unplanned grid outages, curtailment risk, Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) and to increase renewables penetration. DAC and Low-Income Communities are especially vulnerable to preemptive shutoffs. Many of them cannot afford emergency generators. As wildfires become more common, new energy storage/discharge technologies are needed that provide economical, standalone power when the grid is down. The California grid is facing three issues that could benefit from longer duration energy storage: