Editor Blogs

April 2018

Researchers Extract Hydrogen From Sunlight

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

We pine for a lot of “Holy Grails” in this industry but one above all – cheap renewable energy. It’s the key to everything. And a team from the UK’s University of Exeter has made great strides towards solving it. The researchers developed a new technique to convert hydrogen from sunlight. And while us

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04/27/2018

Electrify America to Deploy 2,000 Fast Chargers on Roads by The End of 2019

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

We’ll never sell electric cars to John Q. Midwest – and anyone with a longer commute – until we solve the issue of “range anxiety.” Tesla's Supercharger network is a great start, and Electrify America is following up with 2,000 fast chargers at a total of 484 charging stations by the end of 2019. Each charging station, offering from 4-10 CCS1 chargers, will accommodate vehicles that char

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04/24/2018

Elon Musk Admits to "Excessive Automation" Right After Tesla Autopilot Death

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Define “irony.” How about this – Elon Musk admitted to “excessive automation” at Tesla’s Fremont facility right after Tesla’s vehicular autopilot killed someone. Or maybe it’s just a poor choice of words. Granted, the driver involved in the fatal Tesla SUV crash was probably at fault – Tesla’

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04/20/2018

Rick Perry's Nuanced History With Green Energy and America's Place in the Alt Energy World

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry has announced $105.5 million in funding for solar power. The DOE outlay will support 70 projects to advance solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) technologies. “Investing in all of our abundant energy sources, including solar technologies, will he

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04/17/2018

Tesla Goes to War With the NTSB: Transparency vs. Radio Silence

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has kicked Tesla off the board investigating the fatal crash of a car running Tesla’s “Autopilot.” Tesla claims they initiated the breakup. Self-interest aside, this sorry incident highlights the need for transparency with imperfect technology. Last mont

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04/16/2018

Powering the Raspberry Pi; a Case Study

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

Since its launch in 2012, the Raspberry Pi has become a bit of a phenomenon. Initially conceived to introduce schoolchildren to programming, the pocket-sized, Linux-based computer quickly became the best selling computer ever to be designed in the UK with over 20 million unit sales to date. From the classroom, th

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04/13/2018

Study: LEDs More Expensive, Less Available in Low-Income Areas

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

This probably seems like a great big ‘duh’ moment – high-efficiency lighting is less affordable for low-income households. But a University of Michigan study confirmed much more than that – energy-efficient lightbulbs are actually less available in high-poverty urban areas. The Energy Independence and Securi

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04/11/2018

Researchers: Carbon Taxes Can Reduce Climate Change

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Researchers at MIT and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that carbon taxes can help battle climate change. The researchers also concluded that some of these taxes would be fair. Wait, what? We’ve all heard about the fabled “cap and trade” schemes – systems whereby government sets a cap

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04/06/2018

Against Threat of Tariffs, China Cuts Taxes for Domestic Chipmakers

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

So the U.S. enacts a host of policies designed to punish Chinese imports, and China responds with tax cuts that bolster domestic industry. Go America? Amidst a potential trade war with China, the US is threatening $50 billion worth of tariffs. The Trump administration has already levied stiff tariffs on imported solar panels – most of which come from China – and that move threatens to de

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Date:

04/02/2018