Industry news

29
Dec

A Peek into Tesla’s Battery Swap Station at Harris Ranch

Less than a week after Tesla’s official announcement of its battery swap pilot program, I decided to pit stop at Harris Ranch, CA, site to the first battery swap station, to see if there’s been any new activity since the last pictures were reported. As I made my way up the I-5 from 200 miles south of Harris Ranch, I

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29
Dec

Nigeria Signs Fresh Agreement For 1 GW Solar Power Capacity

Nigeria has adopted an approach to directly engage with prospective project developers to set up renewable energy projects. The government has recently finalised a new agreement to set up a lot more solar power capacity. In the latest round of negotiations, the Nigerian government has received pledges from three companies to set up a total of 1 GW solar power

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29
Dec

Will Seeo’s 400 Wh/kg Battery Fulfil Expectations?

Forbes, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Giacom, Green Car Congress, Xconomy, Reuters Pe Hub, The Green Optimistic, VentureBeat, and the MIT Technology Review have all written about the California start-up company Seeo. Korean electronics giant Samsung led in the recent $17 million round of series E investments. The other two investors, Khosla Ventures and Beijing-based GSR Ventures, increased existing holdings. According to President

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29
Dec

Why Do Some US States Have Higher Rooftop Solar Installation Than Others?

Why do some states outperform others so much when it comes to solar installations? In an effort funded by the US DOE’s SunShot Initiative, NREL researchers used statistical analysis and detailed case studies to better understand why solar market policies in certain states are more successful and lead to higher distributed solar PV installations. The report can be accessed here:

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29
Dec

Daimler Expands Manufacturing Capacities for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The German manufacturing powerhouse Daimler AG will be substantially increasing its production capacity with regard to lithium-ion batteries over the next few years — with ~€100 million in new investments via the Deutsche ACCUmotive subsidiary. As part of this new push, the company is currently constructing a new facility that’s set to be completed by the middle of 2015, in

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26
Dec

EPA Power Plant Carbon Regulations Late, Hostile Congress Likely To Fight Them

The EPA regulations limiting the amount of carbon that can be emitted by existing powerplants may be the most crucial step forward in environmental policy made by the eight-year Obama Administration. But those regulations will apparently be late in arriving for public comment–and they face a notably more hostile U.S. Congress over the next two years. As Politico noted in

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26
Dec

The Top 10 Energy Storage Stories of 2014

There’s no doubt that 2014 was a breakout year for grid energy storage — and if the industry plays its cards right, it could lay the groundwork for a lot more breakout years to come. Over the past twelve months, we’ve seen the creation of some of the first utility contracts for distributed, behind-the-meter battery deployments at a mass scale,

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26
Dec

Tesla Battery Swapping, EPA Carbon Regulations, Another 2016 Chevy Volt Teaser: Today’s Car News

Today we’ve got news of a pilot program for Tesla Model S electric-car battery swapping, a delay for EPA regulations that would limit carbon emissions from power plants, and yet another teaser for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt electric car. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla Motors’ battery-swapping pilot program will launch this week in California, with a

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26
Dec

Pacific Crest Securities Reaffirms Buy Rating On Tesla Motors (TSLA)

Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were given a booster in the arm yesterday, after analysts of Pacific Crest Securities released a research note that reaffirmed their bullish outlook for the car maker’s prospects. The research at Pacific Crest was headed by Brad Erickson, who has given Tesla a $316 price target and an Outperform rating. Given its ambitious production and unit

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26
Dec

India Announces 1,300 MW Solar Projects To Support Domestic Manufacturers

Close on the heels of announcing Ultra Mega Solar Power projects of 21,000 MW, The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (India) has approved another scheme for installation of 1,000 MW of grid-connected solar power projects by Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) and government organisations. This capacity is planned to come up during 2015–2018, and will be supported using a “Viability Gap

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