Challenges of Connecting Wind and Solar Power to the Grid

How the Tonga eruption caused some of the fastest underwater flows in history, and why many U.S. renewable energy projects are on hold

First up on this week’s show, we hear about extremely fast underwater currents after a volcanic eruption. Producer Meagan Cantwell talks with sedimentary geologist Michael Clare and submarine volcanologist Isobel Yeo, both at the U.K. National Oceanography Centre. They discuss the complex aftermath of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption, including fast and powerful ocean currents that severed seafloor cables.  

Watch a related video on last year’s eruption by Meagan: How the Tonga volcanic eruption rippled through the earth, ocean and atmosphere.

Next on the show, an unexpected slowdown in connecting renewable power to the electrical grid. Freelance journalist Dan Charles joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss how problems with modeling energy flow in the electrical grid are holding up wind and solar power projects across the country.

This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.

About the Science Podcast

Authors: Sarah Crespi, Meagan Cantwell; Dan Charles

Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk7170 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices