Archive for the 'Energy' Category
Toyota To Sell Battery Powered EVs by 2020 After Finally Realizing Fuel Cell Program Was a Disaster
November 7th, 2016Well, better to have just one lost decade than two lost decades. Good job, Toyota. Via: Electrek: The news comes as Toyota is having difficulties selling the Mirai, its hydrogen cars, in the US. Despite cutting the price on several occasions, with now a lease at only $350 (down from $500) in California, the Japanese […]
Delhi Pollution: The Road to Hell
November 6th, 2016Via: Quartz: New Delhi is ghastly right now. So much so that the government in the national capital has shut down 1,800 schools for the first time ever, forcing a million students to stay at home to avoid breathing in the deadly smog that continues to shroud the city. This comes a week after firecracker […]
Energy Giant Shell Says Oil Demand Could Peak in Just Five Years
November 6th, 2016Via: Bloomberg: Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the world’s second-biggest energy company by market value, thinks demand for oil could peak in as little as five years, a rare statement in an industry that commonly forecasts decades of growth. “We’ve long been of the opinion that demand will peak before supply,” Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry […]
‘White House Readies to Fight Election Day Cyber Mayhem’
November 3rd, 2016Oh sure, you mean like this: Via: NBC: The U.S. government believes hackers from Russia or elsewhere may try to undermine next week’s presidential election and is mounting an unprecedented effort to counter their cyber meddling, American officials told NBC News. The effort is being coordinated by the White House and the Department of Homeland […]
Elon Musk Claims New 2170 Battery Is “Highest Energy Density Cell in the World… That Is Also the Cheapest”
November 2nd, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Update: No, I Can’t Sell You a Tesla Powerwall 2 in NZ While I do sell solar power systems, including battery systems for on and off grid applications, I don’t have access to Tesla equipment. In NZ, Tesla was dealing exclusively through Vector, but Tesla […]
‘Tesla Powerwall 2 Is a Game Changer in Home Energy Storage’
October 28th, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Yep. I’d agree with that. As far as I can tell, this authoritatively blows away all other residential energy storage options. 14 kWh capacity for $5,500, 5kW (7kW peak) inverter included, AC/DC charging options. It looks like hybrid, backup and off-grid modes will be available. […]
About Half a Million Solar Panels Were Installed Every Day Around the World in 2015
October 26th, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — *grin* Via: IEA: The International Energy Agency said today that it was significantly increasing its five-year growth forecast for renewables thanks to strong policy support in key countries and sharp cost reductions. Renewables have surpassed coal last year to become the largest source of installed […]
Tesla Powerwall 2.0 Announcement on Friday
October 26th, 2016Via: Electrek: Tesla will unveil its next generation Powerwall, sometimes called ‘Powerwall 2.0‘, at an event on Friday. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been hyping the product since August saying that “no other company has anything close to it.”
Batteries May Trip ‘Death Spiral’ in $3.4 Trillion Credit Market
October 23rd, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Via: Bloomberg: Battery technologies starting to disrupt the electricity and automobile industries may also emerge as a trillion-dollar threat to credit markets, according to Fitch Ratings. A quarter of outstanding global corporate debt, or as much as $3.4 trillion, is linked to the utility- and […]
Nano-Spike Catalysts Convert Carbon Dioxide Directly Into Ethanol
October 20th, 2016Via: PhysOrg: In a new twist to waste-to-fuel technology, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an electrochemical process that uses tiny spikes of carbon and copper to turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into ethanol. Their finding, which involves nanofabrication and catalysis science, was serendipitous. “We discovered somewhat by […]
