In this virtual briefing, three Duke University experts—Tyler Norris and Dalia Patiño-Echeverri (Nicholas School of the Environment) and Tim Profeta (Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability)—discussed their new national-scale analysis of how the existing U.S. power system can accommodate data centers and other large new loads without requiring major generation and transmission expansion.

Long and Ward, two nationally recognized experts in climate resilience and emergency management, will discuss actionable solutions to help communities prepare for and recover from climate-related disasters. The event will be held Tuesday, Feb. 25, as part of Appalachian State University’s Pathways to Resilience initiative.

Researchers from Duke University have said that integrating more flexibility into U.S. power grids could help provide the energy needed to power future load growth, particularly the electricity needed to support artificial intelligence and data centers, reports POWER. The group discussed the findings of their recent study in a Feb. 19 webinar.

A new Nicholas Institute report has determined that data center operators could unlock up to 76 GW of new capacity in the United States by curtailing their energy use during periods of grid stress, writes Data Center Dynamics.

North Carolina Wildlife Federation named Nicholas Institute research associate Jin Bai as its Wildlife Volunteer of the Year. The federation recognized Bai for "extraordinary dedication to bird conservation, citizen science and community engagement."

Over seven years, an 800-strong team of researchers and surveyors—led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N., Duke University and WorldFish built a global dataset that aims to make small-scale fishing more visible. The work culminated with a study in Nature that details the global impacts "so that it will be clear for governments that small-scale fishing cannot continue to be overlooked in terms of policymaking,” former Duke faculty member Xavier Basutro told Mongabay.

The U.S. power system has the potential to more quickly add large loads while mitigating the need for costly system upgrades—as those loads can occasionally cut their power use when the grid is most stressed. Daily Energy Insider reports on recent research from the Nicholas Institute rethinking the common paradigms around data center–driven load growth.

U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement will not only reduce its influence in international climate negotiations, but will also “trickle down” closer to home, Nicholas Institute expert Jackson Ewing told the Winston-Salem Journal. If the Trump administration begins deprioritizing renewable energy and different investments designed to address climate change, it "could undermine some of the investments that have been made in North Carolina under the previous administration through the Inflation Reduction Act,” he said. 

At a time of increasing power demand concerns in the United States, a new study from Duke University has found significant potential for load integration onto the power grid should flexibility measures be taken, reports Smart Energy International.

Federal funding for clean energy projects faces an uncertain future, potentially upending workforce training programs at many community colleges, writes Work Shift. A federal electric vehicle infrastructure program, which earmarked up to $1 billion for Southeastern states and was highlighted in a report authored by Nicholas Institute expert Trey Gowdy, is among those paused by an executive order calling for a 90-day review to ensure that clean energy projects are aligned with the Trump administration’s energy policy.