Editor Blogs

April 2021
Daylight no barrier to the rise of solar power
Sometimes you forget the extent of the impact that renewables have had over the last 10 years. It wasn’t until I received a press release today that spelled out the rapid increase in adoption in the US that I looked for data. The latest figures I could find showed 90,891 million kilowatt hours of solar thermal an
Date:
04/28/2021
Elon Musk Claims
They can’t all be winners. And some losers are a bit more catastrophic than others… Case in point – Elon Musk’s solar roof tile project. If a broken clock is right twice a day, what do you call a business mogul with a better track record than King Midas? What happens when he goes down in flames? On Monday, Musk adm
Date:
04/27/2021
97.4% of Scottish electricity demand met through renewable energy
It is always nice to see your country lead the world and gain plaudits for their achievements. It is especially fulfilling when that achievement is something you really care about. Scotland is where I grew up and live now, and after decades of being known as a major producer of fossil fuels from the North Sea, th
Date:
04/22/2021
Fatal Tesla Crash Had No One in the Driver's Seat

The fiery Tesla crash, which took four hours to put out and claimed two lives, had no one in the driver's seat.

Well, this is a first. We’ve seen fatal crashes with driver assistance features activated and a neglectful driver, but this is the first such accident with no one in the driver’s seat. On Saturday, a 2019 Tesla Model S – presumably with its “Autopilot” driver assistance feature on – missed a
Date:
04/18/2021
Eliminating Rare Earth Minerals from Motors
Rare earth minerals are one of the most contentious issues in the technology industry today. While the vast majority of companies are trying to push their green credentials, much of the technology we use relies on rare earth materials, such as neodymium and dysprosium, which are re
Date:
04/14/2021
Will Offshore Wind Job Boon Surpass Offshore Drilling Losses?
While offshore drilling remains a hotly-contested topic, the U.S. is moving full-spin ahead on offshore wind farms (and their associated benefits). Danish power company Ørsted signed a memorandum of agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to gather data related to climate change. “Hav
Date:
04/11/2021
VW Expands on EV Infrastructure Commitments
Germany is usually one of the most proactive governments in the world when it comes to green issues. However, the country’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, is one of the few remaining European leaders that has not put a definitive timescale for phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles into law. Her reluctance to
Date:
04/07/2021
Elon Musk Wants to Blanket the Globe with Satellite Internet
Starlink

In-space photo of 60 stacked Starlink satellites orbiting Earth prior to deployment.

At this point, you probably shouldn’t be surprised to see Elon Musk’s name associated with yet another quasi-futuristic technology. I say “quasi” because the idea of satellite Internet isn’t entirely new, with (failed) ventures as far back as the ‘90s, and the first Internet-ready satellite for consu
Date:
04/04/2021