Archive for the 'Energy' Category
Tesla’s Giant Battery in Australia Reduced Grid Service Cost by 90%
May 11th, 2018Via: Electrek: Tesla’s giant Powerpack battery in Australia has been in operation for about 6 months now and we are just starting to discover the magnitude of its impact on the local energy market. A new report now shows that it reduced the cost of the grid service that it performs by 90% and it […]
Europe: Plastic Trash Piling Up, China No Longer Wants It
May 11th, 2018Via: Reuters: Europe has sent just over half the plastic waste it used to ship to China to other parts of Asia since Beijing’s environmental crackdown closed the world’s biggest recycling market in January. The knotty problem is what to do with the rest. … In an overcrowded continent where landfills are much more restricted […]
California: Starting in 2020, Most New Homes Must Include a Solar Power System
May 9th, 2018Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — I’m such strident solar power advocate that, when the topic comes up, people in the room who know me roll their eyes and think, “Oh god, here we go again…” My wife and I have had 5kW of panels on our roof since 2014 and […]
Oil Rises Past $70
May 7th, 2018Via: Reuters: The dollar rose to fresh 2018 highs on Monday while oil prices surged to their highest since late 2014, driven by declining Venezuelan crude production and worries the Unites States could re-impose sanctions on Iran. … U.S. crude rose 73 cents to $70.45 a barrel, while Brent gained $1.22 to $76.09.
Australian Government Launches Urgent Fuel Security Review as Reserves Dip Below 50 Days
May 7th, 2018Via: New Zealand Herald: Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has ordered an urgent review of Australia’s liquid fuel reserves as the country dips below 50 days, but says it should “not be construed as Australia having a fuel security problem”, reports news.com.au. The International Energy Agency mandates that countries hold at least 90 days’ supply, but […]
Volkswagen Doubles EV Battery Order To $48 Billion
May 4th, 2018Via: Fortune: A few hours after Elon Musk berated analysts for what he perceived as unimaginative questions, Volkswagen AG said it was writing a check for batteries that almost match Tesla’s entire market value. VW has awarded battery-purchasing contracts worth 40 billion euros ($48 billion), double from just a few weeks ago. The deals take […]
Mercedes Gives Up on Home Energy Storage, Can’t Compete with Tesla
May 3rd, 2018Man oh man. Nobody said it was going to be easy. Via: GTM: Mercedes-Benz will stop manufacturing residential batteries and dissolve its U.S. energy subsidiary, ending a short-lived challenge to Tesla’s energy storage empire.
Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
April 24th, 2018Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Where’s the electricity coming from to charge up those buses? A lot of it is still coming from coal, but China’s coal use has peaked: The real game changer is clean energy. The price of solar photovoltaic is at an all-time low, enough to compete […]
Tesla Battery Degradation Less Than 10% After 160,000 Miles
April 15th, 2018Via: Electrek: Battery degradation is one of the biggest concerns for electric car owners and potential buyers, but data from Tesla battery packs have been very reassuring so far. Now the latest data shows less than 10% degradation of the energy capacity after over 160,000 miles on Tesla’s battery packs. A group of Tesla owners […]
Battery Makers Descend on Australia, Canada Cobalt Developers
March 18th, 2018Via: Reuters: Nervous Asian battery makers are turning to early-stage cobalt projects in Australia and Canada to lock in supplies of the critical battery ingredient ahead of expected shortages as demand for electric vehicles revs up. Mine developers say interest from Japanese and Korean firms is particularly strong as they compete with rivals from China, […]
