Tag: industry news

I have seen a number of blog posts, panel discussions and news articles that extol the idea of energy leapfrogging. A recent Business Week column on India described, “leapfrogging the nation’s ailing power-distribution infrastructure with solar-powered local networks — the same way mobile-phones have enabled people in poor, remote places to bypass landlines.” The dramatic increase in cell phone coverage

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This is the 50th anniversary of New York’s Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the span that connects Staten Island with Brooklyn. As a child growing up in Brooklyn I remember watching its towers rise as if by magic. I always connected it with the 1964 World’s Fair which took place the same year the bridge opened, thinking they were both signs of the

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As we wind down the year 2014, there have been a few moments – some forward thinking and others outright overdue – in the world of energy that we can look back on and be thankful. Overall, countries around the world took a good step forward in the direction of a cleaner planet, more conscious leaders and further engaged people.

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Controversy is brewing as utilities consider “repowering” old coal-fired power plants across the US with natural gas. Several environmental groups initiated lawsuits to stop these plants from converting from coal to gas. Environmentalists want to shut the plants and replace the power they generate with renewables. Utilities argue this is not always possible, particularly in the short term. This is

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Hard on the heels of last week’s historic US-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change, in which China pledged for the first time to cap its CO2 emission by 2030, China’s State Council has just announced a new energy strategy action plan that includes, also for the first time, a cap on national coal consumption by 2020.  This is another major

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The Texas grid has (mostly) kept the lights on despite having minimal reserve margins for years. But if ERCOT, which operates the state’s grid, implements the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions, it will reduce grid reliability in the state even further, according to a new analysis from the council. “The timing and

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By Jan-Emile van Rossum. The Netherlands is among the countries with the highest electric vehicle market penetration in the world. As of August 2014, a total of 40,880 highway legal plug-in electric vehicles were registered in the Netherlands, comprising the second-largest fleet per capita in the world after Norway. It’s no wonder, considering the country’s progressive policies, affinity for innovation,

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Scotland just keeps managing to surprise as, and according to independent trade body Scottish Renewables, it’s done it again, with numbers from the first half of 2014 showing that renewable energy was Scotland’s largest source of power. The figures showed that, for the first half of 2014, renewable energy generated 32% more electricity than any other single source of power

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The life of Tesla owners can really be tough. There are a lot of problems Tesla owners face after getting the car. As an example, a Missouri lady on the Tesla Motors Club forum recently lamented that her husband keeps making fun of her while they are on vacation. I’ll let her own words explain: We’re on vacation and my

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There are a number of EV enthusiasts who look down on plug-in hybrids and extended-range electric vehicles. Well, for anyone who really wants us to get off gasoline, and with the potential of existing 100%-electric cars, it’s hard not to be absolutist about it. But it’s important to remember that people who get plug-in hybrids get them because they want

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