Energy: Electrification of everything may not work
Well bummer: It would take a wind farm on about 100,000 acres to generate the same amount of electricity as a one-gigawatt nuclear plant that typically occupies less than 1…
Autos: NHTSA proposes 58 mpg auto fleet requirement
Is this technically feasible? US proposes raising vehicle fuel economy standards to 58 miles per gallon by 2032 | Reuters This is separate from an EPA proposal making what some…
Energy: New tech could dramatically lower cost of producing hydrogen from water
Newly invented catalyst could dramatically improve how hydrogen is extracted from water.
Energy: Living off grid – and the realities
This seems to be an honest assessment of living off grid. Youtube and Instagram portrayals leave out the details and too often present an idyllic and unrealistic portrayal of what…
Big infrastructure projects are hard
California’s plan is to build an electric train that will connect Los Angeles with the Central Valley and then San Francisco in two hours and 40 minutes. But 15 years…
Energy: Microsoft contracts with nuclear fusion company
To deliver fusion produced electricity starting in 2028: Microsoft signs nuclear fusion deal as part of sustainability push (axios.com)
Energy: “California utility companies propose charging customers based on how much money they make”
Three major utility companies in California are looking to restructure customer billing, and part of that means customers could be charged based on how much money they make. Source: California…
EVs: Current EV batteries have issues
EV batteries have a significant environmental cost. Recycling them has its own set of human and environmental problems. The bigger problem is that we still insist on using cars for…
EVs: 1 in 5 EV public charging stations do not work
And the failure rate is increasing: Roughly one in five public charging attempts fails, with 72% of them attributed to equipment issues. “Just adding stations isn’t the answer … we…
Climate oops: Ethanol fuel mandates may increase carbon emissions versus just using gasoline
Abstract The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) specifies the use of biofuels in the United States and thereby guides nearly half of all global biofuel production, yet outcomes of this keystone…