
In studies of the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in Nipton, Calif., Grodsky and other federal researchers have found declines in biodiversity.
ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY JOBS HOW TO
“We’re in the midst of this rapid and necessary energy transition, but we don’t have a clear path forward in terms of how to do it sustainably,” he said.

Steven Grodsky, a scientist with the United States Geological Survey, said more research is needed to understand the effects of solar development on desert ecosystems. Plants will be mowed but not completely razed in hopes that they will eventually grow back. “The company is working closely with state and federal agencies and has taken significant steps in project siting and design to minimize the overall environmental impacts of the project,” Bryan Garner, a spokesperson for the company, wrote in a statement. The developer, NextEra Energy Resources, a renewable energy company based in Florida, says the project will create 350 jobs during construction and generate $46 million in tax revenue for Nevada’s Clark County over 30 years.

It is part of a new generation of facilities that feature not only photovoltaic solar panels but also lithium-ion battery storage that enables delivery of electricity at night. Two-thirds of Nevada - including the Yellow Pine site - is public land overseen by the federal Bureau of Land Management, offering one-stop shopping for massive swaths of land.Ĭonstruction at the Yellow Pine site is expected to start in coming months and be completed by the end of next year. Solar developers have long viewed the Mojave as prime real estate because of its sparse population and abundant sunshine. “We know that we have to meet our renewable energy goals and that is going to rely a lot on solar energy at the utility scale, that we will need to develop in the desert.” “We try to be really pragmatic,” said Shayna Steingard, a policy analyst at Defenders of Wildlife, a national conservation group that works to protect native animals and plants. Other environmentalists believe more can be done to minimize the damage from solar farms, but accept some ill effects as the price of reducing carbon emissions. Note that because scientific computing is closely integrated with environmental and biosciences, some listings may appear in more than one category.“Is this really the way we want to do this?” Salter said. Scroll down or click on a button below to view open positions in each of the three CELS areas of focus.


We encourage those eager to engage with us in these efforts to apply for the positions that interest you. Advanced computing is closely integrated with our environmental science programs, which provide the nation with rigorous science and engineering analyses about the present and future state of the environment, and our biosciences programs, which employ state-of-the-art technology to conduct multidisciplinary basic research to better understand the fundamental molecular mechanisms of life.Īs it has throughout its history, Argonne will employ supercomputing and cutting-edge domain science to push the boundaries of scientific discovery, forging effective partnerships and taking the risks necessary to accelerate the pace of innovation to ensure U.S. CELS’ position at the forefront of scientific computing is attributable to some of the nation’s most powerful supercomputers and challenging opportunities in data science, mathematics, computer science, artificial intelligence, and more. The Computing, Environment, and Life Sciences ( CELS) directorate integrates Argonne’s research in life, environmental, and computing sciences.
