Flint Hills Resources has taken notable steps to integrating renewable energy into its oil refining operations signaling a shift in how traditional energy companies approach electricity use. Through adding on site solar generation, the company reduces its reliance on the grid while making itself more energy self-sufficient. In Corpus Christi, Texas, Flint Hills is installing just under 57,000 solar panels across 100 acres of land which will help provide power to the Corpus Ch

I'm incredibly grateful to share the conversation I had with Dr. Carey King of the Energy Institute at UT Austin. We focused on the trade-offs of integrating renewable energy into the grid, engineering challenges, lessons from the past, and emerging renewable energy technology. Among other topics, I learned about the Jevons paradox which I found especially interesting. It explains that as technology makes something more efficient, the world ends up using more of it, not less.

Most people associate solar power with rooftops and renewable energy on Earth, but its first use was actually in space. In 1958, the satellite Vanguard I became the first spacecraft powered by solar. It wasn't just practical, it was necessary as traditional batteries were too heavy and didn't live as long as they needed to. The success of solar power in orbit made its way to develop on Earth, eventually becoming a clean energy solution. Contributing around 6.5% to global ener