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Category: sustainability – Page 158
In the first and second parts of this series, pv magazine reviewed the productive lifespan of residential solar panels and inverters. Here, we examine home batteries, how well they perform over time, and how long they last.
Residential energy storage has become an increasingly popular feature of home solar. A recent SunPower survey of more than 1,500 households found that about 40% of Americans worry about power outages on a regular basis. Of the survey respondents actively considering solar for their homes, 70% said they planned to include a battery energy storage system.
Besides providing backup power during outages, many batteries are integrated with technology that allows for intelligent scheduling of the import and export of energy. The goal is to maximize the value of the home’s solar system. And, some batteries are optimized to integrate an electric vehicle charger.
Tesla suspends the base Model Y AWD in the United States. This might have to do with the upcoming Cybertruck and 4680-cell shortage at Giga Texas.
Tesla has built new in-car software specifically for Hertz’s growing fleet of Tesla vehicles for rent around the world.
Back in 2021, Hertz announced an important effort to electrify its fleet of rental cars, led by a massive purchase of 100,000 Tesla Model 3 vehicles. More recently, the company added Model Y vehicles to the order.
The rental company’s Tesla fleet has been growing over the last few years, and it reported that Tesla vehicles are increasing Hertz’s customer satisfaction.
Sunlight is an inexhaustible source of energy, and utilizing sunlight to generate electricity is one of the cornerstones of renewable energy. More than 40% of the sunlight that falls on Earth is in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet spectra; however, current solar technology utilizes primarily visible and ultraviolet rays. Technology to utilize the full spectrum of solar radiation—called all-solar utilization—is still in its infancy.
A team of researchers from Hokkaido University, led by Assistant Professor Melbert Jeem and Professor Seiichi Watanabe at the Faculty of Engineering, have synthesized tungstic acid–based materials doped with copper that exhibited all-solar utilization. Their findings are published in the journal Advanced Materials.
“Currently, the near-and mid-infrared spectra of solar radiation, ranging from 800 nm to 2,500 nm, is not utilized for energy generation,” explains Jeem. “Tungstic acid is a candidate for developing nanomaterials that can potentially utilize this spectrum, as it possesses a crystal structure with defects that absorb these wavelengths.”
China is looking for a clean, sustainable energy source and is turning to the power of nuclear fusion.
What is a clean source of power that could provide clean and unlimited energy? Nuclear energy, which uses nuclear fission, comes to mind. But there is another potential source of energy that would promote sustainability – nuclear fusion.
Nuclear fusion is the opposite of nuclear fission. Fission means splitting atoms apart, which results in the release of energy. Fusion is when two atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus. Fusion is the process that powers the Sun and the stars.
‘Antarctica could transform from Earth’s refrigerator to a radiator’ as Earth is losing sea-ice that helps maintain balance in the planet’s temperature.
Recently, satellite data depicted that the sea ice in and around the Antarctica region reached record-low levels during winter.
This is a concerning development, given Antarctica’s historical resistance to global warming, BBC reported on Sunday (September 17). Scientists caution against unstable consequences of climate change in the polar regions.
“In particular, the wind turbine sector uses very large quantities of a rare earth magnet that’s an alloy of neodymium, iron and boron (NdFeB). These NdFeB magnets are critical components used in PMSGs (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator) in larger onshore and offshore wind turbines”.
Extracting the rare earth magnets from end-of-life wind turbines and enabling their use in new wind turbines, both onshore and offshore
Named Re-Rewind, the partnership, partly funded by Innovate UK, aims to establish the UK’s first circular supply chain for the rare earth magnets used in wind turbines.
“From high-quality construction steel, copper and other metals to a range of rare earth elements (such as praseodymium and dysprosium), modern wind turbines contain a wealth of materials which, if they cannot be sourced from recycled channels, must be mined, leading to increased environmental impacts and resource scarcity”, the newly created partnership states.
We’ve highlighted a lot of bright innovators over the years, usually before they become household names. Sergey Brin of Google was on the list in 2002. JB Straubel was honored in 2008 when he was CTO of Tesla. That year also saw Andrew Ng make the list (he’s one of the biggest names in AI right now, and he came back this year to write an intro essay, which I highly recommend.)
As I looked through the folks who made the list in the climate and energy category in 2023, I noticed a few trends. In particular, there was a concentration in two areas I think a lot about: batteries and fuels. So let’s take a closer look at a few of this year’s innovators and consider what their work could mean for the future of climate action.
As you probably know if you’re a frequent reader here, I see batteries as one of the most crucial pieces of technology in the fight to address climate change. Not only are powerful, long-lasting batteries crucial to electrifying vehicles and other forms of transportation, but they are expected to play a growing role on the grid, storing energy from intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar for when it’s most needed.
Singapore’s first electric cargo vessel is due to start sea trials and launch in the fourth quarter, according to Yinson Green Technologies, part of a consortium chosen by the city-state to help electrify marine craft.
The Hydromover, developed by the Goal Zero consortium, is near completion, YGT Chief Executive Officer Eirik Barclay said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur this week. YGT will also be introducing an electric vessel for transferring crew — developed with Norwegian startup Lift Ocean AS — by the end of the year, Barclay said. That craft is called the Hydroglyder.
“We want to be part of all associated services with clean electric vessels, starting with Singapore,” Barclay said. YGT is a subsidiary of Malaysia-listed Yinson Holdings Bhd. Yinson shares have risen about 3% this year.