“Harnessing Sunlight for Energy Grids: Future Foresight Considerations for Sustainability”

with Shona V.Z. de Jong, Queens University, Canada

Date/Time: Tuesday, December 3, 2024; 6:00-7:00 pm PST, 9-10 pm EST

Register: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/event/register/446097

Abstract:

Optimistic predictions envision solar photovoltaic (solar PV) power as the renewable energy source to support the global electricity supply.  This raises some hard questions: What future foresight issues and potential consequences should we consider in the energy transition related to solar panels? Who is acknowledging the debt of resources connected to life cycle of PV systems as well as the physical vulnerability of solar PV to rapid environmental change ? Preliminary research results are offered, highlighting several anticipated costs and benefits of solar PV power to the year 2050 and beyond.

By attending this talk you will learn about:

• The global drive for solar PV power as the renewable energy source to support the global energy supply.
• The significant expenditure of raw materials and fossil energy required in every stage of solar PV production
• Interdisciplinary research identifying locations where solar panels face particular risks from climate change related events (example: the Hail Alley of North America)
• Incoming empirical evidence of solar panel performance, driving a need for critical infrastructure hardening engineering studies and extreme weather event forecast capability and capacity
• Solar PV power risk and vulnerability analysis and step by step action plans being reviewed by the IEEE P7800 Working Group: Recommended Practice for Addressing Sustainability, Environmental Stewardship and Climate Change Challenges in Professional Practice (see the IEEE Planet Positive 2030 initiative)

Biography:

Shona V.Z. de Jong, Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen’s University, Canada

Shona has served as a member of the Canada Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, where she contributed to the development of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Emergency Management Strategy. Shona also co-chaired the Canadian Chapter of the International Association for Promoting Geoethics and served on the boards of the Canadian Risk and Hazard Network and the Canadian Geoscience Education Network.

Shona focuses on global sustainability challenges related to natural resource management and environment-human interactions. Her work spans the fields of earth systems (natural hazards and climate change), environmental law and human rights.

She recently collaborated with the University of Calgary on an earth science education strategy for the Government of Canada Earthquake Early Warning System. Prior to that she contributed to several national science-to-policy initiatives. These include the Residential Flood Insurance Program for high-risk Canadians, the National Research Council (NRC) Wildfire Urban Interface Guidelines, and the NRC Energy Efficiency for Buildings project. She also contributed to the Geological Survey of Canada’s Risk-Based Land Use Planning Guidelines, a natural hazard risk reduction strategy for Auckland Council in New Zealand and Westmoreland Farmers in Jamaica. She has specialized in qualifying and quantifying the impact of extreme events on communities, infrastructure, real estate, and insurance systems Practical implementation of action plans by Indigenous populations across Canada, New Zealand, Jamaica, Samoa, and Zimbabwe has been a priority.

Currently, Shona is collaborating with IEEE Planet Positive Initiative as well as participating in IEEE Working Groups developing the following standards: IEEE P2890, P7800, and P7011