Hi Everyone,
Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!
Do check out the short video on how Sprint is planning leveraging 5G technology for use by autonomous EV charging units. To me this is yet another example of how technological innovations are being brought to bear on solving for climate-friendly mobility solutions.
Electric scooters continue to be controversial, with both Miami Beachand Milwaukee recently banning their use. One key problem is where they are left after being used, so some are now leveraging GPS technology to prescribe where the scooters can be parked through ‘geo-fences’.
Feel free to forward on to others who may be interested in also subscribing.
Thanks,
Peter
Canada’s Generation Energy Council report released
A new report has been released providing recommendations to Canada’s Federal government under its Generation Energy initiative, mapping the transition to a reliable, affordable, low-carbon economy in the future. Four pathways are recommended:
- Wasting less energy
- Switching to clean power
- Using more renewable fuels
- Producing cleaner oil and gas
BP buys major electric vehicle charging company in latest oil industry move toward EVs
Excerpt: The oil industry is seeing the writing on the wall when it comes to electric vehicles and several oil industry giants have recently made significant investments in electric vehicles. BP has been one of those oil giants and now it makes another move in the same direction by buying the UK’s biggest electric vehicle charging company. Electrek
The London Evening Standard had this to say: Chargemaster has the UK’s largest network of EV charging points, with more than 6500 across the country serving 40,000 customers. It also makes units for home charging.
S Korea to invest $2.3B in hydrogen fuel cell vehicle industrial ecosystem over next 5 years
Excerpt: In 2018, the plan envisions the investment of 150 billion won (US$135 million) in establishing a special corporation for hydrogen filling stations, with the goal of reducing the cost of filling station construction by 30%. For 2019, the plan envisions spending 420 billion won (US$377 million) for the production of hydrogen buses and demonstrations, hydrogen storage vessels for buses, and the mass production of a domestic CNG reforming device for the production of hydrogen.Green Car Congress
PG&E proposes four energy storage projects, including world’s biggest battery
Excerpt: California’s PG&E asks for approval to build four new energy storage projects totaling nearly 570 MW, including a 300 MW battery installation at a natural gas-fired power plant owned by Vistra Energy joining a growing list of power companies investing in storing electricity. VST says the battery project – which it would own – would be the largest of its kind in the world and would be capable of running for four hours while putting out the same amount of power as a small natural gas plant. Seeking Alpha
How do people process doom-and-gloom climate news? How should they?
Excerpt: “Climate change has all the hallmarks of an issue which is difficult for people to engage with psychologically,” says Lorraine Whitmarsh, professor of environmental psychology at the University of Cardiff in Wales.
People perceive the risks of climate change “as both considerably uncertain and also as being mostly in the future and geographically distant, all factors that lead people to discount them,” according to a 2009 American Psychological Association report on the topic.
Comment: Many of the suggestions I’ve seen have to do with making it personal and emphasizing local benefits, or not even mentioning climate change at all and instead focus on the economic benefits of energy efficiency or health benefits of eating less red meat. Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Denmark’s Carbon Footprint Is Set to Rise Sharply
Excerpt: Despite its reputation as a green energy pioneer, a Danish government memorandum obtained by newspaper Politiken suggests that the country’s carbon emissions are due to rise sharply, by as much as 10 percent between now and 2030. The potential culprits: Apple, Facebook, and Google, among others. City Lab
Wärtsilä, Hyundai to partner on second-life EV batteries for storage
Excerpt: As electric vehicles take hold, eventually used batteries will begin to pile up. They may not be suitable for transportation any longer, but storage developers say they can still be used in grid applications ultimately helping maintain reliability and add renewables. Utility Dive
Sprint to test robotic, self-driving EV chargers in NYC
Comment: ever wonder what 5G tech could enable? Check out the video below for how Sprint uses 5G for ‘micro positioning’, far better than GPS, to bring the EV charger to your car, rather than the other way around. At least that’s what they are working towards.
Excerpt: Getting the robots from the testing stage to reality depends on a confluence of new technologies, including 5G, IoT installation and autonomous vehicle tech. Utility Dive
California utility wants to spend $760 million on 48,000 EV charger buildout
Excerpt: Southern California Edison wants to spend $760.1 million to deploy some 48,000 charging ports over a four-year period. The program would follow a $343 million investment in chargers for medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles.The proposal from SCE also contains provisions that would require deployment of charging stations in disadvantaged communities and shift drivers toward charging at off-peak hours, among other things. Bloomberg
ENLIL Turbines- Generating Power Through Passing Vehicles
Comment: Isn’t this cool? I think there are some many ways like this that we could be using wind with smaller scale turbines, providing the hook up and economics work out.
Excerpt: The device is capable of producing approximately 1 kilowatt per hour of electricity. A single ENLIL turbine can easily provide the average daily electricity needs of two households. Buzz On Earth