Each week, we take a look at three topics affecting the work that you do. Some of this directly affects the drilling community or the industry at-large but all of it is designed to make you a better informed professional -- in two minutes or less. 

Let’s get into it. 

A storm is coming

You may have heard the term recently. El Niño. Essentially as ocean water temperature heats up, it also raises the surface temperature of the Earth, by as much as 0.3 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a recent report from Inside Climate News. 

With the entire Earth warmer now than ever before, in a meeting with officials, policymakers, media and more, researchers noted that even a moderate El Niño could prove catastrophic. 

If the projected El Niño emerges on top of that warmer climate, there is a “serious risk of unprecedented weather extremes” that would not have happened during similar historical El Niños, said Fredi Otto, a professor in climate science at Imperial College London and a lead researcher with World Weather Attribution, a research group assessing how global warming affects climate extremes.

As months begin to get warmer here’s more on what this entails and how it could drastically affect multiple things across the drilling and construction industry. 

Courtesy / APPA

Solar getting a day in the sun

As solar continues to be viewed as a second or even tertiary form of energy here in the United States other countries are ramping up production and are hoping to reap the benefits of ongoing testing at a mass scale. 

According to a recent report in Canary Media, one such country is China, which has constructed a series of solar installations that are pushing beyond a gigawatt level, while the U.S. is still trying to get there. But it’s not just the Chinese. There are large scale solar infrastructures in places like India too, who are going to lengths to see if the sun’s energy is a bonus on land that is some of the most remote and receive the most sun, globally. 

Offers just another look at how renewables might just become a bigger talking point if these nations can prove a significant pull from the funding going into all of this ongoing beta testing. 

DOE going to great depth in water investments

The office of Hydropower and Hydrokinetics is continuing talks to potentially disburse upwards of $430 million in payouts to hydropower facilities. Looking it at it from a standpoint of being a “key component of [the Trump Administration’s] vision for an affordable, reliable, energy system,” if pushed through, the funding would support nearly 300 projects across 212 facilities in the United States. 

All part of the Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives program, the DOE suggests that this funding will “catalyze a $2.8 billion investment in America’s hydropower fleet.” Hydropower, which plays a role in keeping electrical grids stable, currently makes up just 5.86% of all utility energy generation in the U.S., according to DOE data.