What is TERRA Renewable Energy Technologies?

Solar power comes from light that is emitted by the sun. We use technologies such as photovoltaic panels (PV) convert sunlight into electricity that we can use. This electricity can be used to power your home and lower your electric bill. Storage technologies such as battery systems can also allow the use of solar power during times when the sun is not shining.

Community solar programs are a great way to increase solar energy participation by groups that can not currently access solar energy. These programs allow participants access to solar energy by allowing them to rent or buy panels in an existing PV system. This system does not have to be where the participants live and can allow them to pool their resources to access affordable solar energy.

Hydroelectric energy is a type of renewable energy that harnesses the potential energy of water in motion from a reservoir or dynamic body of water like a river. That potential energy is then converted to electrical energy when the water moves a turbine that spins a generator. This has long been the most adopted renewable energy generation type due to it’s scalability and overall cost. Hydroelectric energy has traditionally been developed using a reservoir and dam to store the water’s potential energy and use that energy when electrical demand is needed.

Other emerging hydroelectric technologies are becoming more economically feasible. Low head and tidal energy have becoming more viable and are useful in more remote and rural areas where grid power and other larger scale power is not feasible.

Cyber security refers to the body of technologies, processes, and practices designed to protect networks, devices, programs, and data from attack, damage, or unauthorized access.  The primary goal of cyber security is to secure all organizational assets from external and internal threats, as well as disruptions caused by natural disasters, social disruptions, and other environmental instabilities. This latter aspect in particular has great weight for the U.S. energy sector: our needs and demands for energy only increases over time, both in the more traditional forms and new/emerging energy technologies and resources. The finding, extraction, processing, refinement, and distribution of those resources, the meeting of U.S. energy demands, all of these things are highly dependent on complex technical operations and facilities. All of these things are potential targets for exploitation, damage, risk, and attack. As such, there are few industrial/governmental sectors more intricately co-dependent with high-functioning cybersecurity systems than the U.S. energy sector. What's more, this area of "energy protection", for lack of a better term, is at present severely under-developed in terms of emerging talent and personnel. 

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has acquired quite a number of nuanced definitions over the last twenty years. In its broadest but also most encompassing form, AI is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. It is related to the similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence, but AI does not have to confine itself to methods that are biologically observable. At its simplest form, artificial intelligence is a field, which combines computer science and robust datasets, to enable problem-solving. It also encompasses sub-fields of machine learning and deep learning, which are frequently mentioned in conjunction with artificial intelligence. These disciplines are comprised of AI algorithms which seek to create expert systems which make predictions or classifications based on input data. The issue of environmental sustainability across the board is becoming a more critical issue to CEOs and boards as the finance world drives this change. In energy, AI can use deep predictive capabilities and intelligent grid systems to manage the demand and supply of renewable energy. By more accurately predicting weather patterns, AI can optimize efficiency, cutting costs, and unnecessary carbon pollution generation. In water resource management, AI can help reduce or eliminate waste while lowering costs and lessening environmental impact. AI-driven localized weather forecasting will help reduce water usage. In materials science, AI can help researchers find new materials for solar panels, for turning heat back into useful electricity and to help find absorbent materials as components of CO2 scrubbers (taking CO2 out of the atmosphere.) The list is nearly limitless in terms of how AI and cybersecurity will become increasingly important in the overall field of energy.