The governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are joining forces to build a new network for charging electric vehicles. The bipartisan plan aims to improve the region’s economy while also reducing toxic emissions from cars and trucks.
The new plan is called REV Midwest— the Regional Electric Vehicle Midwest Coalition. In addition to creating jobs and improving public health, its backers say it will help the Midwest compete for both private investment and federal funding.
Along with those broad goals, the plan promises to make it easier to find charging stations, which could boost adoption of electric vehicles if it eases drivers’ concerns about the range of their batteries.
“Today’s REV Midwest partnership is a bipartisan effort to build the future of mobility and electrification and connect our communities,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. “Our partnership will enable the Midwest to lead on electric vehicle adoption, reduce carbon emissions, spur innovation, and create good-paying jobs.”
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb emphasized transportation’s vital role in the U.S. economy, saying that new electric charging infrastructure is “needed to futureproof our transportation network and meet the demand as rapid adoption of electric vehicles continues.”
All five governors have now signed the REV Midwest agreement, which lays out several areas in which the states will coordinate their electrification efforts.
Part of the plan calls for the states to speed up the creation of a network that supports medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles and to coordinate their efforts so drivers will face similar regulations and charging operations across the region.
The governors also want the Midwest to capture a larger share of electric vehicle production. And their plan mentions equity a number of times — both in terms of spreading economic opportunity and making charging stations and other infrastructure widely available.
Under the agreement, the five states promise to “work together to enable an equitable transition to electric vehicles for all with specific consideration for communities that are historically disadvantaged.”
Some of those communities, a news release about the plan notes, are located near main highways or freight and shipping facilities — areas whose emissions and other negative impacts could be reduced by the switch to electric power.
It’s easy to take clean water for granted in the U.S., but not everyone around the world has clean water access. An inventor in Tampa is helping solve the problem.
Engineers at the University of South Florida created a solar-powered wastewater treatment machine called the NEWgenerator that treats wastewater. ‘NEW’ stands for nutrients, energy, and water.
The invention is about to be mass-produced to help communities in South Africa and India.
“What it is, is a packaged wastewater treatment system. We treat it to the point where you can reuse the water for non-potable use, such as for toilet flushing, for cleaning the facility,” said Robert Bair, a senior development engineer at the University of South Florida who helped develop the NEWgenerator.
The system prevents untreated wastewater from going straight into the environment, which happens in densely populated communities in developing countries.
“So not only is there an issue with access to clean drinking water, but there’s enormous deficit of sanitation systems or wastewater treatment systems globally,” said Bair.
After three years in a trial phase in South Africa, Bair said the NEWgenerator is now ready for mass production. USF engineers just shipped an upgraded version.
“Right now we’re talking with a South African company as well as an Indian company. And the idea is for them to manufacture it locally using local labor and local parts, so that they can reduce the cost of the system and implement it throughout their countries,” said Bair.
Their focus may be on the other side of the world, but Bair said there’s a water crisis right here, too.
“I think in the U.S., it’s easy to imagine that we’re far removed from this, but we have a number of septic tanks throughout the U.S. that are failing. And I think this technology could be applied in that context,” said Bair.
Bair said it’s fulfilling to see the NEWgenerator make a difference.
“I’m very passionate about it and I’m really excited to see it move forward,” he said.
The system started operating on a research and development basis in Durban, South Africa in 2018, and now it will be commercialized.
Widening electric power shortages in China has halted production at numerous factories including many supplying Apple and Tesla, while some shops in the northeast operated by candlelight and malls shut early as the economic toll of the squeeze mounted.
China is in the grip of a power crunch as a shortage of coal supplies, toughening emissions standards and strong demand from manufacturers and industry have pushed coal prices to record highs and triggered widespread curbs on usage.
Rationing has been implemented during peak hours in many parts of northeastern Chinasince last week, and residents of cities including Changchun said cuts were occurring sooner and lasting for longer, state media reported.
The State Grid Corp pledged to ensure basic power supply and avoid electricity cuts.
The power crunch has hurt production in industries across several regions of China and is dragging on the country’s economic growth outlook, analysts said.
The impact on homes and non-industrial users comes as night-time temperatures slip to near-freezing in China’s northernmost cities. The National Energy Administration (NEA) has told coal and natural gas firms to ensure sufficient energy supplies to keep homes warm during winter.
Liaoning province said power generation had declined significantly since July, and the supply gap widened to a “severe level” last week. It expanded power cuts from industrial firms to residential areas last week.
The city of Huludao told residents not to use high energy-consuming electronics like water heaters and microwave ovens during peak periods, and a resident of Harbin city in Heilongjiang province told Reuters that many shopping malls were closing earlier than usual at 4 p.m. (0800 GMT).
Given the current power situation “the orderly use of electricity in Heilongjiang will continue for a period of time,” CCTV quoted the provincial economic planner as saying.
The power squeeze is unnerving Chinese stock markets at a time when the world’s second-largest economy is already showing signs of slowing. China’s economy is grappling with curbs on the property and tech sectors and concerns around the future of cash-strapped real estate giant China Evergrande.
PRODUCTION FALLOUT
Tight coal supplies, due in part to a pickup in industrial activity as the economy recovered from the pandemic, and toughening emission standards have driven the power shortages across China.
The power pinch has been affecting manufacturers in key industrial hubs on the eastern and southern coasts for weeks. Several key suppliers of Apple and Tesla halted production at some plants. At least 15 Chinese companies have said in exchange filings that production had been disrupted by power curbs, while more than 30 Taiwan-listed firms with China operations had stopped work to comply with the power limits.
The steel, aluminum and cement industries have also been hard hit by the output curbs, with about 7% of aluminum production capacity suspended and 29% of national cement production affected, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a Monday note. Paper and glass could be the next industries to face supply disruptions, they said. Producers of chemicals, dyes, furniture and soymeal have also been affected.
GDP CUTS
The fallout of the power shortage has prompted some analysts to downgrade their 2021 growth outlook.
Nomura cut its third and fourth-quarter China GDP growth forecasts to 4.7% and 3.0%, respectively, from 5.1% and 4.4% previously, and its full-year forecast to 7.7% from 8.2%.
“The power-supply shock in the world’s second-biggest economy and biggest manufacturer will ripple through and impact global markets,” analysts at Nomura said in a Sept. 24 note, warning that global supplies of textiles, toys and machine parts could be affected.
Morgan Stanley analysts said production cuts, if prolonged, could knock 1 percentage point off China’s GDP growth in the fourth quarter.
Last week, major coal producers in China met to try and resolve shortages and curb price increases.
China, the world’s biggest energy consumer and source of climate-warming greenhouse gas, has said it aims to bring carbon emissions to a peak by 2030 and to net zero by 2060.
Source: Shivani Singh, Min Zhang in Beijing, Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Ben Blanchard in Taipei, Yiming Shen in Shanghai and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa, Tony Munroe and Susan Fenton. Yahoo News.
Ford Motor Company’s new $11 billion manufacturing plan, the biggest component of which will sit just outside Memphis, is part of a much bigger effort to put the U.S. at the center of the electric vehicle revolution, executive chairman Bill Ford says.
The big picture: Ford’s plans — for enormous facilities in both Tennessee and Kentucky, employing a combined 11,000 workers — are ambitious manufacturing efforts designed to minimize their environmental impact.
But Ford says these investments will also help the U.S. build its own supply chain for batteries, rather than continuing to import them from Asia — providing economic security, insulation from supply chain disruptions and ultimately bringing down the price of EVs.
“We need to, as a country, decide — do we want to have a domestic battery industry? And that’s something that’s kind of starting tomorrow,” Ford said in an interview conducted Monday, before the company publicly announced its new manufacturing plants.
Details: The company is building two battery manufacturing plants in Kentucky, as well as an enormous new complex near Memphis that will include both battery manufacturing and vehicle assembly for electric F-series pickup trucks.
Long-term, the plan is to perpetually recycle EV batteries in the U.S., and end imports of batteries made with precious metals like nickel, lithium, cobalt and copper from foreign mines.
“We’ll be importing a lot of these batteries initially, but then they stay within our country and start to be remade into American batteries, if you will,” Ford told me.
Ultimately, he said, a more robust U.S. supply chain will help bring down the cost of EVs.
“That does require us to completely remake our company in many, many ways. And we’re in the process of doing that,” said Ford, who is the great-grandson of Henry Ford.
The bottom line: “My great-grandfather was the ultimate sort of disruptor,” Ford said. “And I think if he looked at what we’re announcing … he might just say, what took you so long? And… he’d be right.”
Florida Power & Light (FPL) witnesses admitted to state regulatory authorities that their proposed rate hike of $ 1.53 billion over the next four years will cost residential customers disproportionately more than the largest commercial and industrial companies in the state. The FPL witness statements came during a one-day hearing to review a proposed four-year settlement between the state’s largest utility company and other interested groups.
Under questioning by opponents, more than one FPL executive acknowledged that company data shows that residential customers will pay $1 billion more in increases than industrial customers under the proposed deal, which if approved will be the largest rate increase in history, for the largest utility company in the state.
“That’s a lot of money,” said Bradley Marshall, the lead attorney for Earthjustice and other opponents before their questions prompted FPL experts to acknowledge elements of the settlement that weren’t included in the company’s promotional materials.
“It’s hundreds of dollars per residential customer that they shouldn’t pay to subsidize the rates of a few large companies,” he said.
But Robert E. Barrett, FPL’s vice president of finance, called it a “comprehensive arrangement” that balances the interests of all clients.
Source: US Media Press,(Truncated for salient material)
There’s new hope for our beaches thanks to a Boca Raton organization’s innovative robot.
4ocean’s “BeBot” has a simple mission: End the ocean plastic crisis.
“The BeBot is a solar-powered and battery-powered beach cleaning robot!
It’s remote control, and it sifts microplastic from the sand and smaller pieces of plastic from the sand and collects them into a container. So it’s designed to help clean coastlines of small pieces of plastic,” explained Alex Schulze, 4ocean’s cofounder.
Now, should you be worried about one of these things running you over while laying on the beach?
Schulze said there’s nothing to fear.
“You don’t have to be worried about it running over you. It’s controlled by an operator. So someone will always be right with the machine walking around and controlling it,” he said.
According to Schulze, the BeBot, which uses tank tracks to get around, has other uses.
“It has a tow hitch on it, so we can actually tow trailers and move all sorts of other things as well,” he said.
As for the price, Schulze said it all depends on the options.
“You gotta you have to look and see which one you want to get, and it all breaks down in different tiers.
Over the next few weeks, 4ocean will be testing the BeBot on beaches near our headquarters in South Florida. In the near future, we’ll also deploy an additional BeBot in Hawaii to support our local partners and existing cleanup initiatives on the island of Oahu” he said.
When it’s time for NASA’s Saiki spacecraft to power itself through deep space, it will be using more of a brain than just the courage to do so. Once like a science fiction novel, the efficient and quiet power of electric propulsion will provide the power to propel the Pushke spacecraft to the major asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The Orbiter’s Target: A metal-rich asteroid, also known as Psyche.
In August 2022, it will travel approximately 1.5 billion miles (2.4 billion kilometers) over three and a half years to reach the asteroid. Scientists believe that asteroids may be part of the core of planetesimals, which are components of early rocky planets. Once in orbit, the mission team will use the payload of scientific instruments to investigate what this unique target can reveal about the formation of rocky planets like Earth.
The spacecraft will use the Falcon Heavy Rocket’s large chemical rocket engine to blow past the launch pad and escape the Earth’s gravity. But once Psyche leaves the rocket, the rest of the journey relies on solar electric propulsion. This form of propulsion begins with a large solar array that converts sunlight into electricity and powers the spacecraft’s thrusters. They are known as Hall thrusters, and the Saiki spacecraft will be the first to use them beyond our lunar orbit.
As a propellant, Psyche carries a tank full of xenon. Xenon is the same neutral gas used in car headlights and plasma TVs. The spacecraft’s four thrusters use an electromagnetic field to accelerate and emit their xenon-charged atoms or ions. When those ions are released, they create a thrust that gently propels Psyche into space, emitting a blue beam of ionized xenon.
In fact, the thrust is very gentle, applying about the same amount of pressure as you feel if you have three-quarters in your hand. But it’s enough to accelerate Psyche in deep space. With no atmospheric drag to curb it, the spacecraft will eventually accelerate to speeds of 200,000 miles per hour (320,000 kilometers per hour).
They are so efficient that Psyche’s Hall thrusters could operate almost non-stop for years without running out of fuel. Psyche carries 2,030 pounds (922 kilograms) of xenon into the tank. Engineers estimate that if the mission had to use conventional chemical thrusters, it would burn about five times that amount of propellant.
“From the beginning, when we first designed the mission in 2012, we were talking about solar electric propulsion as part of the plan, without it, there would be no psychic mission,” said Lindy Elkins Tanton of Arizona State University. “And it has become part of the mission’s character. It takes a dedicated team to calculate orbits, and orbits using solar electric propulsion.”
Gentle operation
Psyche will be launched from the historic Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Seven months later, in May 2023, Falcon Heavy will place the spacecraft in orbit. In early 2026, thrusters will use a little, to do the delicate task of putting the spacecraft into orbit around the asteroid Psyche, a ballet, to return to orbit around that target.
This task requires special attention, as scientists know very little about asteroids that can only be seen as small spots of light with a telescope. Ground radar suggests that it is about 140 miles (226 km) wide and has the shape of a potato. That is, scientists do not know how the gravitational field works until it reaches it. When the mission conducts scientific research over 21 months, navigation engineers will use electric propulsion thrusters to fly the spacecraft through orbital progression that gradually brings the spacecraft closer to Pushke.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which manages the mission, uses a propulsion system similar to Deep Space 1 in the engine, launched in 1998 it flew by asteroids and comets before the mission ended in 2001. The first spacecraft to orbit two extraterrestrial targets, the Dawn Mission, lasted 11 years and in 2018 ran out of the last hydrazine propellant used to maintain its orientation.
Propulsive partner
Maxar Technologies has been using solar electric propulsion to power commercial communications satellites for decades. But for Psyche, they needed to adapt their ultra-efficient Hall thrusters to fly in deep space, where JPL engineers came in. Both teams are using solar electric propulsion, by using the Hall thruster for the first time when Psyche crosses the lunar orbit.
“Sun electric propulsion Technology has the potential to play a key role in achieving the right combination of cost savings, efficiency and power to support future scientific missions beyond Mars, “said Steven, McDonald’s Pushke Program Manager.
In addition to supplying thrusters, Maxar’s team in Palo Alto, California was responsible for building a van-sized chassis for the spacecraft that houses electrical, propulsion, thermal, and guidance and navigation systems. When fully assembled, Psyche moves to JPL’s huge thermal vacuum chamber for testing, simulating a deep space environment. By next spring, the spacecraft will be shipped from JPL to Cape Canaveral for launch.
In advance of Climate Week NYC, L’Oréal USA—the largest subsidiary of the L’Oréal Groupe, and the conference’s Opening Ceremony Sponsor, today announced that it has reached carbon neutrality for scopes 1 and 2 emissions for all 25 U.S. sites, across 12 states, including its manufacturing and distribution facilities, administrative sites, and research and innovation sites.
Since 2005, L’Oréal USA has been advancing its renewable energy ambition through a multi-pronged approach aimed at improving energy efficiency and transitioning to 100% renewable energy.
This is in-line with the beauty leader’s global sustainability commitment, L’Oréal for the Future, which states that all L’Oréal operated sites worldwide must reach carbon neutrality by 2025. With this announcement, the U.S. subsidiary has achieved this goal four years ahead of schedule.
“L’Oréal’s sustainability ambition is a transformational effort that has touched every department, becoming a source of pride, inspiration and education for all our 11,000 U.S. employees,” said Stéphane Rinderknech, President & CEO, L’Oréal USA. “Our brands and products are some of the most recognizable in the world, and more than 2 out every 3 products we sell in the United States are manufactured here. Our customers can be proud their products are made in facilities that use 100% renewable energy. While we are proud of these achievements, we know this is not enough to meet the moment we are in today and must push ourselves ever farther to meet the climate crisis head-on.”
L’Oréal USA reached carbon neutrality for Scopes 1 and 2 emissions across its U.S. footprint through a strategy that includes:
Energy Optimization L’Oréal USA’s manufacturing facilities have implemented measures to reduce energy consumption, ranging from a switch to LED lighting to more specialized equipment such as high-efficiency air compressors and vacuum pumps.
In 2016, L’Oréal USA joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings, Better Plants program in an effort to optimize energy reductions. Through this program, L’Oréal USA gained access to DOE’s performance measurement tools, energy analytics, and experts to identify new opportunities for energy savings, as well as provide insights and best practices with the DOE to the greater benefit of manufacturers nationwide.
L’Oréal USA also earned the distinction of 2017 Green Power Partner of the Year from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Since 1996, L’Oréal has been an Energy Star Partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a member of the EPA’s Green Power Partnership.
Direct Renewable Energy Projects Seventy percent of L’Oréal USA’s sites have on-site renewable energy projects. L’Oréal USA is continuously ranked among the top 25 companies for overall U.S. solar capacity by the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA).
Since 2005, the company has installed more than 50,000 solar panels across the country totaling 57 miles.
The largest commercial solar array in Kentucky – L’Oréal USA built the largest commercial solar array in Kentucky at its Florence Haircare manufacturing facility, which provides 1.4MW of power through 4,140 solar panels. This 686,000 square foot plant, is the company’s largest manufacturing site in the U.S. and its largest worldwide by tonnage produced.
An early commitment to solar energy in Arkansas – L’Oréal USA was one of the first major corporations to commit to solar energy in Arkansas, where it built the third largest solar array in the state in 2017. The 3,600 solar panel installation now provides 1.2 MW of renewable energy for its 450,000 sq. ft. factory in North Little Rock, one of the company’s premiere cosmetics manufacturing plants globally.
Renewable Energy in L’Oréal USA administrative offices – In 2012, L’Oréal USA installed solar panels at its Berkeley Heights office. What was already a LEED Gold certified building, the new solar project provided renewable energy for 60% of the office’s energy needs, as well as electric vehicle charging stations for employees.
Locally Sourced Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)
To make up the difference between on-site solar capacity and usage, L’Oréal has strict parameters for the purchase of RECs. All certificates must be locally sourced to ensure the company is driving systemic change through renewable energy expansion in the local communities in which it operates. RECs must be attributable to a local or semi-local renewable energy project close to the site which uses it. Through this approach, L’Oréal aims to provide the demand for increased renewable energy supply in the countries in which it operates. These RECs have been generated by several wind, hydro and solar power projects in the states of California, Florida and New York.
Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) L’Oréal uses onsite gas for space and water heating. To address the company’s gas usage, L’Oréal USA sites procure RNG from landfill gas projects in Texas and New York that capture and convert methane C1 – Internal use produced from the natural decomposition of organic materials. These projects turn an otherwise wasted resource into pipeline-quality RNG that displaces the use of fossil-based natural gas.
What’s Next? Launched in June 2020 as the next phase of the global beauty leader’s sustainability ambition, “L’Oréal for the Future” represents a radical transformation of the company’s global business that is comprised of ambitious goals for 2030 and 2050 – encompassing every footprint of its products and accounting for the company’s own impact and that of its 1.5 billion consumers.
The company has set long-term goals to reduce its entire inventory of greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030, in absolute terms compared to 2016, and by 2050 aims to further reduce emissions and become a net zero company.
These goals were set in accordance with the Science Based Targets, which aim to limit global warming to 1.5°C, according to climate scientist recommendations, as set by the Paris Agreement. L’Oréal’s goals are guided by the concept of Planetary Boundaries, which projects the limits humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come.
The price of solar energy increased in every market in the second quarter, marking the first time that has happened since 2014, according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie.
Prices in the utility scale segment increased the most, jumping 6 percent in the quarter compared to the second quarter of 2020.The major reason for the increase is supply chain constraints, according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight report. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie began tracking this data in 2014.
“This is a critical moment for our climate future but price increases, supply chain disruptions and a series of trade risks are threatening our ability to decarbonize the electric grid,” SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said. “If we want to incentivize domestic manufacturing and drive enough solar deployment to tackle the climate crisis, we must see action from our federal leaders.”
The report said recent enforcement actions on Xinjiang metallurgical grade silicon, along with two new tariff petitions, could further exacerbate supply chain constraints and increase solar system prices.
**(Smart Energy utilizes all American Made Solar Panels built right here in Florida, we do Not have supply constraints and have NOT raised pricing)**
Overall, the industry is growing as the solar industry accounted for 56 percent of all new U.S. electric capacity additions in the first half of 2021. The U.S. officially surpassed 3 million solar installations in the second quarter, driven by a strong recovery in the residential sector. Residential solar was up 2 percent over the first quarter and 46 percent from the second quarter of 2020 when installations were limited by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The solar industry continues to demonstrate strong quarterly growth, and demand is high across every segment,” Michelle Davis, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report, said. “But the industry is now bumping up against multiple challenges, from elevated equipment prices to complex interconnection processes. Addressing these challenges will be critical to expanding the industry’s growth and meeting clean energy targets.”
Wood Mackenzie forecasts that the U.S. will average just over 29 gigawatts (GW) of new annual solar capacity additions through 2026. However, this rate is not high enough to reach President Joe Biden’s 2035 clean energy targets. The solar industry must install more than 80 GW of solar annually from 2022 through 2035 to reach that goal.
Among other stats in the report, community solar was up 16 percent over last year’s quarter with 177 MWdc installed, while commercial solar was up 31 percent with 354 MWdc installed. Also, utility-scale solar set another record for second-quarter installations at 4.2 GWdc. Texas, Arizona, and Florida accounted for nearly 3 GW of the quarterly total.
Source: Dave Kovaleski, Daily Energy Insider, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Wood Mackenzie.
