We have to consider this – because, any failure of a grid connected energy storage system risks the whole project going down in flames. Just as happened with the handful of electric car fires, an energy storage system fire could become the target of ire by certain political types and poison…
This week the two top stories of the Intersolar US 2015 trade show were – Tesla Motors CTO JB Straubl giving the Keynote address, giving the Solar industry fair warning the Solar City / Tesla Motors duo was planning to shake things up – and that in the previous 12…
Let’s face it, the $7,500 federal tax credit for the Tesla Model S is hard to defend. Only the wealthy can afford a $100,000 car, and the wealthy hardly need the tax credit. This factoid opens the door to criticism against the whole project of electric vehicle adoption. I…
Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are taking off in a big way, in the U.S.A. That’s not just a claim by a random meme picture on Facebook, the latest Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reports say so. According to the recently-released “Energy Infrastructure Update” report from the Federal Energy…
Tonight Tesla Motors announced what we’ve expected, but it’s a bigger deal than expected. Specifically, Tesla Motors is launching what’s essentially a new business unit, Tesla Energy, and positioning itself not as an automaker but as an “energy innovation company”. Tesla Energy’s product line is, initially, grid-tied energy storage units…
Barely detectable levels of Cesium-134 have been detected in the Pacific Ocean within 100 miles of the U.S. West Coast. Despite the so-called radioactive plume having nearly reached the coast, we shouldn’t be afraid (yet) that the Pacific Ocean is being absolutely fried with nuclear radiation from Fukushima. The results…
In the electric car field we’re worried about public perception of electric car safety. Despite the fact there’s over 200,000 gasoline car fires per year in the U.S. alone, causing hundreds of fatalities and property damage costs, there is inordinately outsized attention paid to the very small number of electric…
At the intersection of smart grid services, on-site renewable energy generation, on-site grid energy storage, and electric cars, is the new energy energy model. I’ve recently written a few posts about the stone age energy model, where we burn things to create heat, motion or light. Most cars, trucks, etc…
Today Lockheed-Martin announced new Fusion Reactor technology which could shift humanity’s energy supply from the stone-age mentality to the modern energy paradigm. Some of my recent postings have drawn a distinction between the old energy paradigm, that I’ve called the stone age energy mindset (burning things to get light, heat…
The starting point of LongTailPipe is cars and the transportation system, looking at solutions to the transportation system’s negative environmental impact. We look at the full spectrum of impacts and solutions, even though we seem to focus on electric vehicles. That’s why the topic is sometimes fracking, and we’ll cover…
Last week at the Vetter Fuel Economy Challenge in Utah, Terry Hershner became the first electric motorcycle rider to win the challenge. With new modifications to his 2012 Zero S electric motorcycle, he easily finished the 172 mile route, at 2/3rds the cost of the closest finisher. In the fuel…
One of the negative impacts of regular gasoline powered cars is the lead-acid battery that drives the starter motor, and also helps to run the 12 volt system. Lead acid battery production has a negative impact because Lead is obviously one of the horrid chemicals. While lead acid batteries are…
From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/05/09/fact-sheet-president-obama-announces-commitments-and-executive-actions-a For Immediate Release May 09, 2014 FACT SHEET: President Obama Announces Commitments and Executive Actions to Advance Solar Deployment and Energy Efficiency Private and Public Sector Commitments and Executive Actions Will Create Jobs and Cut Carbon Pollution Today, President Obama announced more than 300 private and public sector commitments…
Today, Honda launched a new project – the Honda Smart Home – that’s a glimpse into the future of buildings and transportation. And, it’s a future that isn’t terribly far away because most of the project uses off-the-shelf equipment. The idea is to look beyond zero emission vehicles to a…
In some circles official denials of a theory are taken as proof the theory is true. On Tuesday, the 3rd anniversary of the Fukushima Daichi earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant disaster, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Allison M. Macfarlane wrote on the NRC’s blog that because of “the Pacific’s…
