About the Author
Michelle Lewis is a writer and editor on Electrek and an editor on DroneDJ, 9to5Mac, and 9to5Google. She lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. She has previously worked for Fast Company, the Guardian, News Deeply, Time, and others. Message Michelle on Twitter or at michelle@9to5mac.com. Check out her personal blog.
Today
Bill Magness, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Texas’ power grid, was fired by ERCOT’s Board of Directors yesterday after the state’s disastrous cold weather power outages. This follows the resignation on Monday of DeAnn Walker, the chair of the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas. Seven ERCOT board members have also stepped down over several weeks – many of whom did not live in Texas.
March 3
Electrek‘s Michelle Lewis asked Anthony Allard, EVP, head of North America, Hitachi ABB Power Grids, how the US can make its power grids more resilient and better support clean energy, and what Hitachi ABB is doing to support large-scale electric vehicle deployment.
Hitachi ABB Power Grids digitizes all elements of the energy value chain and brings power grids into a sustainable energy future. In July, Hitachi ABB announced Grid eMotion Fleet, an EV charging system for large-scale public transport and commercial mobility. The company will also be providing energy storage systems to support large-scale EV deployments.
March 2
Six utilities today announced the formation of the Electric Highway Coalition. It’s a plan to ensure that electric vehicle drivers have access to a network of charging stations on major highway systems on the Atlantic coast, in the Midwest and South, and in the Gulf and Central Plains regions.
March 1
The Petaluma, California, City Council this week unanimously moved to ban new gas stations, and existing stations won’t be allowed to add new gas pumps – but they can add electric chargers. The council must approve the ban during a second reading in order to make it official.
The Biden administration is calling for action in order to stem climate change for a wide range of sectors, and that of course includes buildings and transport as major emitters. It’s going to require the rapid implementation of innovative new ideas and products.
Enter ready-to-roll – literally – “organic energy company” GO-OPV. All the products and applications are manufactured by GO-OPV from organic film printed by Brazilian company Sunew. The product is a thin film called ORENgE that can capture any light and convert it to clean energy in a more efficient way than traditional solar panels. The panels are thin, flexible, ultra lightweight, and can be used both vertically and horizontally.
February 26
During last week’s power crisis in Texas, prices surged to the market price cap of $9,000 per megawatt-hour for several days, resulting in some huge bills for a lot of homeowners. (To put that in perspective, the state’s seasonal average is $50 per megawatt-hour.) The entire US, not just Texas, has a lot of infrastructure work to do in order to avoid more power crises like this. But in the meantime, how can consumers protect themselves from exorbitant surprise power bills when extreme weather increasingly occurs?
February 25
Consumer Reports has launched a new Green Choice program for cars. It will use a green leaf icon to identify the new cars, SUVs, and minivans with the best fuel efficiency and lowest contributions to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and smog formation.
Systemic tax abuse, corruption, and money laundering slow down climate action, says the United Nations’ High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (FACTI Panel).
The FACTI Panel, which includes former world leaders and central bank governors, business and civil society heads and academics, says bankers, lawyers, and accountants who enable financial crime must face punitive sanctions.
The panel has today released its final report, “Financial Integrity for Sustainable Development,” in which it says stronger laws and institutions are needed to prevent cross-border corruption and money laundering. As much as 2.7% of the global GDP is laundered by criminals annually.
Electrek spoke with Dalia Grybauskaitė, FACTI co-chair and the former president of Lithuania, about how governments can tackle climate change with global finance reform.
February 24
Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, given their light weight and theoretical high capacities, are a promising alternative to conventional lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for large-scale energy storage systems and electric vehicles. But Li-S batteries currently suffer from poor longevity.
Now, scientists from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in Korea have discovered a new catalyst material’s ability to significantly improve lithium-sulfur battery life, giving them great commercial potential.
February 19
Newly inaugurated US President Joe Biden wasted no time in rejoining the Paris Agreement to fight climate change on January 20. After 30 days, the US has today officially once again become part of the 189-country agreement.
February 18
Electrek spoke with Derya Baran, assistant professor of material science and engineering at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, about solar trends.
Baran’s work pushes boundaries in the solar sector, including inventing inkjet-printed solar panels so light they can rest on a soap bubble. She was recognized by the MIT Technology Review as a 2020 Innovator Under 35 in the MENA region.
We asked Baran what she sees as the top 5 future solar trends. This is what she said.
