This has been broadcast on PBS stations. It’s very important and seems to show that global warming is affecting the Arctic more, with permafrost thawing and releasing alot of methane. This is increasing the greenhouse effect and is making climate change model predictions fall behind. The implications are frightening – climate models need to be corrected! Warming is happening faster!
2022-02-03 Tesla Cathode Plant At GF Texas
I had assumed that the Project Bobcat at GF Texas would be the cathode plant. There already have been steel beam deliveries for a building with the name cathode. But the article doesn’t say anything about that, but the map shows that it is in the same location. So this application may be for the same building. The steel has been there since last year so it’s time they get the building built.
2022-02-03 Electricity: China Uses 2600 MW By Year End
Wow! 2600 GW total by year’s end! That’s *twice* as much as the whole US uses! But it’s really amazing that half of that will be renewables, which is a very commendable achievement since China’s renewables have grown a huge amount very quickly. The only sad part is that so much of the total is from the worst form of generation, coal. What’s even worse is that the rest of the world is so dependent on China for so much of its goods. It would be nice if we could just say we’re not going to buy anything made in China that was made with fossil fuel power. Anything to incentivize them to get rid of the coal power plants! 😢
https://wognews.net/news/2022/2/china-non-fossil-electricity-50#.Yfk1HI8ZSgU.facebook
2022-02-02 Court Rules Against Utility’s Billing For Solar Panels
This is in Indiana in Indiana courts. But it may set precedent for future rulings in other state or federal courts. Consumers with rooftop solar are getting fed up with the utilities changing or removing the pay that they’re getting for selling solar power back to the utility.
The court needs to make a rule that encourages utilities to generate more renewable electricity. For example the utility is charging rooftop solar customers $20 to be connected to the grid. If the utility has 20% of its total electric generation coming from renewables, then it would be allowed to charge that customer 20% or 1/5 of $20, which is $4.00. As the utility’s percentage of renewables increases, the utility would be allowed to increase their percentage of the $20 monthly charge. This incentive program should get the utilities to take action to convert to renewables.
https://www.14news.com/2022/02/01/court-rules-against-centerpoint-billing-methods-solar-panels/
2022-02-01 Level 5 Autonomy Needs Smart Roads
From FB group TSLA…
I think that level 5 autonomy is going to need the roads to have some role in driving the vehicle. There are a lot of transitory and emergency events that take place that will best be handled by the roads than by vehicles.
Seems to me that a huge amount of time and computing power would be saved by having a system that keeps track of conditions that have major effects on driving. Cars without autonomy would benefit if they could avoid bad situations.
Daniel A. Willis
No, not the road itself. A road is at the location where there is a traffic jam or accident, and the information would be kept in a local or regional database for vehicles to query.
2022-01-30 Panasonic To Make 4680 Cells In Japan
This article has important information about the problems that Panasonic has had at GF Nevada. They will take production of 4680 cells to Japan.
2022-01-29 Court Upholds Calif Net Neutrality Law
Court upholds California Net Neutrality Law. This is a blow to the telecom providers, that wanted to throttle the speeds of users to make more money.
2022-01-29 Energy Storage Cost Report From DOE, LiIon vs Lead Acid Batteries
This 120 page publication (.PDF) gives costs and characterizations of energy storage systems.
This 9 page (abstract) compares lead-acid and lithium batteries.
2022-01-28 Greta Thunberg Addresses
This was 3 years ago and nothing major has changed; the climate changes have become worse. She said in 2078 she will be 75 yrs old, but it’s possible that most of the people on this planet may be dead; victims of climate change. I’m already that age and I may not live to see the end of this decade. Others younger than I shall be responsible for climate action or inaction. Their fate is in the hands of a few and those few may be held responsible for inaction.
If you deny climate change and you refuse to change your way and climate changes cause widespread disaster and discontent then you may find your human rights may be denied and you may summarily be imprisoned or executed. They used to call this lynching. You will have no rights because your inaction has delayed the changes required to combat climate change.
It’s incumbent on you to change the inaction to action if you expect to survive into the future.
2022-01-28 Tesla: 50% Growth Possible At Fremont, Shanghai
Elon said the chip shortage was a lot like the toilet paper fiasco. But what really inspires me is that they said that there’s a lot of life left in the old girl in Fremont and that California can be up there with the biggest carmakers in the US. Fremont was originally a GM and Toyota assembly plant and is a mish-mash of buildings that have been revised and added to. The old girl has had a lot of facelifts and tummy tucks to get where she’s at, and what’s really inspiring is they say there’s still a lot of life in the old girl yet.
Quote:
<< Tesla’s CFO Zach Kirkhorn sees a bright future ahead. He noted, “As we look forward, we expect 2022 to be another significant and exciting year for the company. We continue to drive for vehicle volume growth at or above 50%, as Elon mentioned, and our plans show that this is actually achievable with just our Fremont and Shanghai factories.” Meanwhile, Giga Austin and Giga Berlin will surely accelerate growth this year. >>
