ISWA & Let’s Do it World! Establish Memorandum of Understanding

30.12.2016

The Memorandum between the ISWA & Lets Do It! will create opportunities for an exchange of know-how and cooperation for sustainable solid waste management on a global scale.

SWA and Let’s Do It World! have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which recognises one another’s shared values and principles and will create opportunities for mutual cooperation between the two.

Let’s Do It! is a civic-led mass movement that began in 2008 when 50,000 people united to clean up the entire country of illegally dumped solid waste in just five hours.

Since then, Let’s Do It! has spread this model—one country in one day—around the world. To date, 113 countries and 16.1 million people have joined Let’s Do It! to clean up illegally dumped waste. The ultimate, but not final, goal of is to gather as many people in as many countries by September 8, 2018, which will be World Cleanup Day!

This MOU will create a closer link and allow ISWA and Let’s Do It! to combine their specific expertise in order to better achieve the common goal of a clean and healthy planet as well as promoting waste prevention and sustainable waste management on a global scale. ISWA’s global knowledge capacity and experience, combined with Let’s Do It!’s energy and ability to engage a mass-movement can lead to a positive change in our vision to ease the waste burden the planet faces.

As part of this cooperation, ISWA President Antonis Mavropoulos will be one of the keynote speakers at the Let’s Do It! Clean World Conference in January 2017.

Take a look at the conference programme via the link above. We would also like to encourage you to to take a look around the Let’s Do It! Website and find out how you can get involved in cleaning up your country or city as part of World Cleanup Day!

Source: iswa.org

Accurate Solar Energy Forecasting Could Save Ratepayers Millions

30.12.2016

A 2015 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and IBM found that more accurate day-ahead predictions of solar energy generation levels would save ratepayers in California $5 million in avoided costs. Solar forecasts, which integrate weather patterns and solar production estimates to help grid managers predict how much solar energy will be produced across their system on a given day, allow utilities to better allocate resources and avoid the need to ramp up reserve power plants. But grid managers have run into a problem that’s as old as time: it’s hard to predict the future.

The SunShot Initiative-funded study specifically examined the impact of day-ahead forecasts because reserve power plants, like natural gas and oil-fired plants, are allocated by utilities to manage day-ahead scheduling needs. For example, if the next day is expected to be cloudy and a forecast predicts lower than usual solar production, utilities can prepare to bring backup plants online. However, problems arise when grid operators overestimate the amount of solar power that will be produced and have to ramp up reserve plants on short notice, which adds costs. Grid operators also risk underestimating solar production, requiring them to turn off—or curtail—solar farms because they already committed conventional, baseload power plants to meet their predicted demand. Either way, an accurate forecast would allow utilities to determine the least-cost option for power and build confidence in solar power availability.

The technical solution to this problem may not be far away. IBM put its research to the test and utilized Watson, the artificial intelligence supercomputer known for winning “Jeopardy!”, to tackle more accurate forecasting. By developing a self-learning weather model, the platform synthesizes data from a variety of sources including historical weather data and real-time measurements from local weather stations, satellites and ground-sensor networks. This model, researchers believe, could improve solar forecasts by as much as 30 percent.

This foundational work is now being bolstered by a second round of funding from SunShot. The Solar Forecasting 2 funding opportunity seeks innovations that would improve forecasting in both the near-term and the day-ahead horizon, providing up to 48 hours of predictability. Of special interest is the accurate prediction of large-scale cloud movement, which can affect solar generation across large areas. Anticipating cloud positions across longer time scales has been particularly challenging for existing forecasting models because of the complex factors that influence how clouds are formed, move, and dissolve.

In addition, the projects supported by the new funding opportunity will advance solutions that integrate solar power forecasts with grid management systems. By partnering with a grid management entity that coordinates generation throughout a given transmission system, researchers can not only test the solution under real-world conditions, but also establish the relationships that are needed to operationalize new technologies within individual utilities and across the broader independent grid operators. These kinds of partnerships will help modernize utility operations, while enabling entrepreneurs to develop technologies that are needed in the marketplace.

The SunShot Initiative will continue to work with utilities to reduce the costs associated with solar energy, while also working to increase the flexibility and resiliency of the nation’s electrical grid as it accommodates growing amounts of solar power each day. Learn more about SunShot’s systems integration work.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

Panasonic Investing $256M in Tesla’s Buffalo Solar Manufacturing Plant

30.12.2016

Following Tesla’s recent acquisition of SolarCity, the California-based company just scored another big win. Panasonic will invest more than $256 million in Tesla’s New York solar cell factory. The Japan-based electronics company is already partnering with Tesla to build electric car batteries at its Nevada Gigafactory, and this investment, announced December 27, positions Panasonic more firmly in the automotive industry than ever before, marking the fulfillment of the company’s’s gradual shift away from consumer electronics.

Tesla’s production facility in Buffalo is expected to be up and running within just a few months. According to Tuesday’s announcement, production of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules will begin in the summer of 2017. By 2019, the two companies expect to be churning out the equivalent of one gigawatt of solar power modules each year.

The news of Panasonic’s hefty investment in the Buffalo manufacturing plant is the first development since Tesla first named the electronics company as its partner in mid-October, which was contingent on the completion of Tesla’s merger with SolarCity. While that initial announcement came with very few details (in part because the merger wouldn’t be finalized for another month), this update illustrates the enormous scope of Panasonic’s commitment to the solar power market. The PV modules Panasonic produces at Tesla’s facility will be used primarily in the Powerwall and Powerpack systems, Tesla’s off-grid power solutions. While Tesla’s “solar roof” is still on deck, there is no word on when production on that line might begin.

SolarCity previously promised the creation of over 1,400 jobs at the Buffalo facility and Tesla’s announcement Tuesday reaffirms that commitment and elaborates that the figure includes more than 500 manufacturing jobs—an important footnote for a city that once relied heavily on blue collar industries like steel and automotive manufacturing.

Source: inhabitat.com

Scotland Should Power Ahead with 50 Per Cent Clean Energy Target, Say Campaigners

30.12.2016

wind, vetro park, krave — Photo: Pixabay

Green groups have called on Scottish ministers to set an ambitious new target to source half of Scotland’s energy needs for electricity, heat and transport from renewable sources by 2030.

In October WWF Scotland released analysis showing meeting half of Scotland’s energy needs with renewable technology is an achievable goal.

Today, the campaign group has teamed up with trade body Scottish Renewables to reignite calls for a more ambitious renewables target, following a “landmark year” for clean energy in the country which saw renewables generating 59 per cent of the country’s electricity needs, according to official statistics released last week.

WWF Scotland outlined some of the clean energy achievements seen in Scotland this year, including the world’s first fully operational array of tidal turbines start spinning, the opening of the largest solar farm in the country in Tayside, and the UK’s biggest community rooftop solar project completed in Edinburgh.

“2016 was without doubt a landmark year for renewables in Scotland,” Lang Banks, WWF Scotland director, said in a statement. “However, following the ratification of the Paris climate agreement, we can and should go much further. Analysis has shown that a 50 per cent renewables target for all our energy needs by 2030 is not only needed, but that it is achievable. Ministers should now make this a Scottish government target and bring in the policies needed in its forthcoming energy strategy.”

The Scottish government is set to publish its third climate plan in the new year, alongside a new energy strategy setting out how it plans to transition to a low-carbon economy.

Source: businessgreen.com

Ukraine: Energy Efficiency in Municipalities

29.12.2016

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ is currently helping Ukrainian municipalities to train experts and implement energy-efficiency upgrades, for example. These efforts are proving successful: initial measures have already enabled municipalities to cut annual energy consumption by up to ten per cent – with further savings in sight. Nursery schools have undergone comprehensive energy retrofits and have been equipped with solar installations, slashing energy consumption there by up to 50 per cent.

‘The money saved can now be invested where it is needed. At long last children have warm rooms in winter, and there is enough money for other vital investment. This allows us to continue to improve the children’s learning environment and living conditions,’ notes Sabine Müller, GIZ country director in Ukraine, speaking at an event organised by GIZ and rbb inforadio on 6 December in Berlin.

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), GIZ is also helping to set up energy agencies. The port city of Odessa is the first in the country to benefit from its own municipal energy agency, which raises public awareness of ways to save energy and helps the city and its citizens cut energy costs. For instance, it has introduced an urban energy monitoring system that measures the energy consumption of more than 500 municipal properties. The measures are based on careful evaluation of the data supplied by the system and deliver direct energy savings of around five per cent.

Source: giz.de

Solar-Powered Farm From a Box is a Compact Farm Kit that Feeds 150 People

29.12.2016

Two acres of land is enough to farm a sustainable food supply for as many as 150 people, and now a San Francisco startup is making it even easier to get that farm growing. Farm From a Box is a shipping container kit that holds all the essentials for setting up a two-acre farm (except the land, of course). Founders Brandi DeCarli and Scott Thompson got the idea after working on a youth center in Kenya where shipping containers were being used to substitute where infrastructure lacked. That project didn’t address food insecurity, though, which led DeCarli and Thompson to found their own venture specifically for that purpose.

Farm From a Box is a kit designed to make it easier for all types of organizations to start growing sustainable food. Nonprofit humanitarian agencies, schools, community groups, and even individuals can buy a $50,000 kit, which comes with a complete water system including a solar-powered pump and drip irrigation system. Together, those features help conserve water by using it more efficiently, delivering water directly to the roots of growing plants. All of the kit’s components are solar-powered, so the kit also includes 3 kW of solar energy capacity which is enough to power the water pump as well as WiFi connectivity that makes it possible to monitor the farm conditions remotely. Because the built-in solar power technology generates more than enough energy to power the farm’s equipment, the farm is suitable to run completely off the grid.

All the prospective farmer needs to have is viable land, of course, and seeds. Luckily, the Farm From a Box team realizes that farming is largely about skill and science, so the kit also includes three stages of training materials on sustainable farming, farm technology and maintenance, as well as the business of farming. In a recent interview with Smithsonian Magazine, DiCarli explained that the farm kit was designed to “act as a template” and that it’s possible to “plug in” components that specifically fit the farm’s local climate and the farmers’ needs. Those options include internal cold storage, to help preserve crops between harvest and consumption or sale, and a water purification system, if needed.

So far, Farm From a Box has deployed one prototype at Shone Farm in Sonoma County, California. A project of Santa Rosa Junior College, the farm is part of a larger outdoor laboratory in which students learn how to cultivate crops in drought conditions, and then the harvest is used to supply the farm’s own community-supported agriculture (CSA) program as well as the college’s culinary arts program. DiCarli said the Shone Farm prototype turned out to be “more efficient than we had even planned,” with “really high” production and energy output. Farm From a Box has a number of other potential sites lined up already, in Ethiopia, Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan, as well as additional test farms in California and a veteran-partnered site in Virginia.

Source: inhabitat.com

KfW First Development Bank to Sign Master Agreement with Green Climate Fund (GCF)

29.12.2016

On the occasion of the Green Climate Fund’s board meeting, KfW recently signed a master agreement with the GCF. The complex agreement governs the rights and obligations of the GCF, the accredited institutions and their implementation partners, and is a major prerequisite for implementing specific projects.

“Signing this agreement is an important milestone in our further cooperation with the GCF, which can now enter its active stage. We are proud to be the first major international development bank to have negotiated this hurdle,” says Dr Norbert Kloppenburg, Member of the Executive Board of KfW Group.

The Green Climate Fund is to become a key instrument in funding the resolutions of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The GCF works with accredited institutions to provide projects in developing countries with grants and loans. KfW has been accredited in 2015 as one of the first international institutions to finance GCF climate projects.

In the meantime, the GCF now has commitments from numerous countries for more than USD 10.3 billion, of which USD 1.2 billion has already been pledged for projects. So far, one project proposed by KfW to the GCF has been approved: the climate adaptation project in Bangladesh. This project will see the building of 45 new cyclone protection shelters along Bangladesh’s coastline in three of its poorest districts, while 20 other shelters are to be “climate-proofed” and 80 km of storm-proof access roads constructed. Further GCF projects of KfW in developing countries are currently in the pipeline, e.g. a water supply project in the Simiyu region in Tanzania.

Source: kfw.de

Taxi GPS Data Could Unsnarl Traffic in Developing Regions, World Bank Says

29.12.2016

taxi-cab, New-York, USA — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

In most cities, some portion of that traffic has typically been made up of taxis and, more recently, cars linked to ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft. But could these cars help solve the traffic problems they have seemingly created?

That’s the goal of the Open Transport Partnership, a program led by the World Bank and ride-hailing services Easy Taxi, Grab, and Le Taxi, which let users hail cabs using smartphone apps. It seeks to use GPS data from taxis to decrease traffic congestion in developing countries, according to VentureBeat.

The initiative builds on a pilot program launched in the Philippines in April, with the goal of demonstrating how real-time traffic information could address congestion. That program used anonymized GPS data from 500,000 Grab drivers to illuminate traffic patterns.

A similar model will now be applied to other ride-hailing services in additional countries, including Brazil, Colombia, and Malaysia.

Driver data from participating companies is shared with local agencies to “develop better, evidence-based solutions to traffic and road-safety challenges,” a World Bank statement said.

The program makes use of data that already exists, potentially providing officials with insight into urban traffic patterns without having to undertake costly dedicated data-collection projects.

A coordinated program on this scale has not been attempted in the U.S., but Uber has experimented on supplying data to cities for analysis.

Google-owned Waze also provides real-time traffic information to users through its app, performing a similar function for those individual users as the Open Transport Partnership does for city governments.

Source: greencarreports.com

China to Cut Solar & Wind Tariffs as Costs Continue to Fall

29.12.2016

China’s price regulator announced this week that it will cut tariffs paid to solar and wind projects in order to reflect the continuing decline in project costs.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance communicated news from China’s national price regulator and economic planner, which on Monday announced it would reduce the amount of money it pays to newly completed wind and solar projects for their electricity. The cuts to tariffs for solar will be by as much as 19%, and by as much as 15% for wind, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). This will reduce subsidies paid to new wind and solar projects by approximately 6 billion yuan annually, or around $863 million.

The NDRC has also encouraged local authorities to continue to make use of auctions to select renewable energy developers, in an effort to keep prices low.

Renewable energy costs haven’t only been falling in China, with dramatic cost declines around the world. A report from GTM Research in early December revealed that solar prices had already fallen 33.8% since the first half of 2016, and expects solar costs to continue to decline. Wind costs also continue to decline, especially offshore wind which has fallen 22% as a result of competitive bidding — a figure which is only likely to fall further at the next census, given recent low-price auction wins in Europe.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Renewables = 25% Of UK Electricity Generation In 3rd Quarter, Met 60% Of Scottish Needs In 2015

29.12.2016

renewables, obnovljivi izvori — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Electricity generated by renewables has accounted for 25% of the UK’s total electricity generation for the third quarter according to government figures, while the same report reveals that renewables accounted for nearly 60% of Scotland’s electricity needs in 2015.

New figures published by the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in its Energy Trends December 2016 report show that renewables’ share of electricity generation increased to 25% in the third quarter, up from 23.6% a year earlier. Specifically, offshore wind electricity generation increased by 3.8% and onshore wind generation increased by 19.4%, accounting for 3.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) and 4.6 TWh respectively.

Solar PV increased its share by an impressive 30%, growing to 3.5 TWh up from 2.7 TWh due to increased capacity. Unfortunately, keeping renewable energy’s contribution from soaring even higher, bioenergy fell by 14.5% due to outages at the Drax power station.

All told, with renewables accounting for 25%, the remainder was made up with 25% from nuclear energy (which you can fight over whether it’s a good or a bad thing), and gas with 43.6%. Coal only accounted for 3.6%, down from 16.7% a year earlier.

“The Government took the right decision when it announced the phasing out of coal, and its confidence in low carbon generation has been repaid by growth in the sector,” said Maf Smith, RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive.

“Renewables are now part of our energy mainstream, helping us modernise the way we keep the lights on by building new infrastructure for the generations to come. Wind is playing a central role as a reliable part of our new modern energy system, delivering reliable low carbon power at low cost.”

The Energy Trends report also highlighted the impressive role renewable electricity generation is playing in Scotland. According to the report, renewable energy produced enough power to meet 59.4% of Scotland’s electricity needs throughout 2015 — up from 49.7% in 2014.

“These figures are great news for Scotland,” said Jenny Hogan, Director of Policy at industry body Scottish Renewables. “They underline the disproportionate contribution that Scotland is making to the UK’s efforts to clean up our energy system.

“We know that to fight climate change we must reduce the amount of carbon emitted by our energy sector, and renewables are doing just that.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Strengthen Cooperation on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

29.12.2016

UN Environment Deputy Executive Director, Ibrahim Thiaw and the Secretary-General of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, Patrick I. Gomes signed recently, in the margins of the joint ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that aims to reinforce the collaboration between the Secretariat of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Secretariat) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) in the field of environment and climate change.

The MOU with the ACP Secretariat has been updated to align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as other key international agreements such as the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the SAMOA Pathway. In addition, it recognizes UN Environment’s strengthened regional mandate, as agreed in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012.

“This is a very important moment for UN Environment and for our relationship with the ACP countries and its Secretariat,” Mr. Thiaw said at the signing. “Our collaboration under the terms of this new Memorandum of Understanding will help consolidate and further develop our cooperation on environment and climate change in the context of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.”

The Secretary General of the ACP States said “The ACP Secretariat is happy to strengthen its collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme and we look forward to implementing concrete activities over the next few years to the benefit of the ACP Member States.”

The MoU supports a coherent, comprehensive and integrated approach towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and will focus on a number of areas, including, inter alia policy, capacity-building, knowledge sharing, the green economy, climate change and the sustainable management of natural resources.

The ACP Secretariat and UN Environment have been working together many years on a wide range of programmes, projects and activities, and this MOU will enhance this long-term relationship while at the same time focus on the priorities of ACP Member States and in particular Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries and landlocked countries in Africa.

Source: unep.org

EBRD Finances Krumovgrad Gold-Silver Mine in Bulgaria

29.12.2016

EBRD to become shareholder in Canadian investor Dundee Precious Metals to promote highest industry standards. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is investing C$ 43.7 million (approximately US$ 32.7 million equivalent) in the development of the Krumovgrad gold and silver mining project in south-eastern Bulgaria to promote the highest industry standards.

The Bank is acquiring up to a 9.99 per cent equity stake in the project developer, Dundee Precious Metals, an international investor active in Bulgaria and other countries.

The company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, specialises in gold and copper mining and processing. It entered the Bulgarian market in 2003 with the acquisition of the Chelopech gold mine. The EBRD has been supporting the upgrade and development of this operation, bringing vital investment and best practices to the sector.

Expanding its activities in Bulgaria, Dundee Precious Metals is planning to invest US$ 184 million in the Krumovgrad open-pit mine, where the introduction of digital and technological innovation will transform key aspects of mining.

The investment will enhance efficiency and safety through an advanced telecommunications system based on the “internet of things”, where equipment can send, receive and analyse data to optimise costs and manage risks. It will also pioneer an integrated waste-management facility, a high level of waste reuse and recycling, and a state-of-the art flotation process for ore processing and metal recovery. The mine is expected to be operational by the end of 2018.

Eric Rasmussen, EBRD Director for Natural Resources, said: “Dundee Precious Metals is a longstanding partner of the EBRD in Bulgaria. By becoming its shareholder we are taking our cooperation to the next level. This ever-closer partnership will enable us to work together to further raise standards in the mining sector, focusing on innovation, sustainability and employment opportunities.”

Rick Howes, President and CEO of Dundee Precious Metals, commented: “We are very pleased to be building on our existing partnership with the EBRD. We view this strategic investment as a strong endorsement of our Krumovgrad project and the environmental and social responsibility practices at our operations. Our board and senior management team look forward to the EBRD’s continued support as we explore opportunities to grow our business and advance our Krumovgrad project toward commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2018.”

Mining, quarrying and metal processing are a key sectors of the Bulgarian economy. They account for around 20 per cent of the value of annual industrial output and 12 per cent of yearly exports. The mining and quarrying sector directly employs approximately 26,000 people and is a significant source of employment through related industries.

As a shareholder of Dundee Precious Metals, the EBRD will work with the company to attract talent to sustainable mining in Bulgaria. The Bank will promote partnerships with local colleges and universities to introduce apprenticeship programmes and encourage young people to pursue mining careers. It will also promote employment and training opportunities for women in this traditionally male-dominated sector.

Supporting foreign investors who bring technological innovation to the economy and provide employment, especially in regions that need an economic boost, is a priority for the EBRD in Bulgaria.

In 2016 the EBRD has invested €620 million in the Bulgarian economy. In the years ahead, the Bank will aim to keep the level of investment at about €200 million annually in response to local demand.

To date, the EBRD – one of the largest institutional investors in Bulgaria – has invested over €3.4 billion in more than 230 projects in the country. Some 80 per cent of the Bank’s investments in Bulgaria are in the private sector.

Source: ebrd.com

Madrid Bans Half of Cars from Roads to Fight Air Pollution

29.12.2016

Madrid has ordered half of most private cars off the roads on Thursday to tackle worsening air pollution, a first in Spain.

The restrictions will operate between 6.30am and 9pm and will be re-evaluated daily depending on pollution levels. The city council said in a statement: “vehicles with even-number registration plates will be allowed to drive around on even-number days and cars with odd-number registration plates on odd-number days”.

The measure is activated when levels of harmful nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere go above 200 microgrammes per cubic metre in at least two measuring stations for two days running, and if the air is unlikely to clear imminently.

There are exceptions to the ban, such as for mopeds, hybrid cars, those carrying three people or more or used by disabled people. Buses, taxis and emergency vehicles are also exempt.

“It’s not about traffic restrictions but about the important issue of public health,” deputy mayor Marta Higueras said. “Lots of people suffer from breathing problems and are very affected by pollution.”

With 3.2 million residents and 1.8m cars, Madrid often suffers from bad bouts of pollution. The move to ban half of cars is level three on a scale of four anti-pollution measures. Level four bans taxis from the city, except those that are hybrid cars.

The measure implemented by the city hall, which has been led by an alliance of leftist groups since 2015, sparked criticism from the conservative Popular party (PP) which ruled Madrid for nearly a quarter of a century and governs at the national level.

Íñigo Henríquez de Luna, a PP spokesman in Madrid’s local parliament, called the move “ideological” and said authorities should do more to encourage residents to avoid using their cars rather than punish them.

The anti-pollution measures were implemented by former PP mayor Ana Botella just before municipal elections in May 2015.

Source: theguardian.com

Tesla’s Next Supercharger Could Charge Electric Cars in Mere Seconds

28.12.2016

Elektromobil, Tesla, punjač — Photo-ilustration: Pixabay

When it comes to electric vehicles becoming the norm, many people scoff at the idea of having to plug in their cars and wait around for the batteries to recharge. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk may have a solution in the form of a next-gen Supercharger capable of recharging a Tesla vehicle battery in mere seconds. Over the weekend, Musk hinted (on Twitter, of course) that the Supercharger V3 would serve up at least 350 kW, which is more than twice the output of current Superchargers on the Tesla network.

The teasing began when another Twitter user asked Tesla‘s head idea man when solar panels would be installed on the existing Supercharger stations, to which Musk said, “There are some installed already, but full rollout really needs Supercharger V3 and Powerpack V2, plus SolarCity. Pieces now in place.” When Electrek writer Fred Lambert wondered whether the V3 chargers would hit the 350 kW mark, Musk laughed it off, implying he may have something even more powerful in mind. “A mere 350 kW … what are you referring to, a children’s toy?” Musk tweeted in response.

Tesla’s current Superchargers are already the fastest electric car battery-charging units on the planet, capable of recharging a car battery in minutes rather than hours, but there is always room for improvement. The current Superchargers top out at 150 kW, so if V3 can offer up 350 kW (or more, as Musk may have been suggesting), Tesla drivers won’t have to wait around while their car batteries get juiced up. Instead, the new Superchargers could potentially be capable of charging the batteries in just a few seconds, a practice recently named “flash charging.” If such charging speeds could be obtained without sacrificing performance, Tesla drivers will be able to recoup tons of time, especially on long-distance journeys.

And, if the Supercharger V3 is installed at stations across the US, a cross-country Tesla road trip will be even faster. Given how eager some Tesla drivers are to set records, we bet it will only take a few days after the install until someone beats the current coast-to-coast record.

Source: inhabitat.com

Spanish Energy Firm Buys Two Biomass Facilities

28.12.2016

Spain’s Ence – Energía y Celulosa on Dec. 15 said it will buy Spanish utility Endesa’s stake in two biomass plants.

“This operation constitutes a new step in fulfilling our Strategic Plan, which plans to achieve 383 MW of installed capacity in biomass generation by 2020,” Ence CEO Ignacio Colmenares said in a statement.

Ence said that the two plants — Enemasa and La Loma — mainly use olive stones (biomass derived from the treatment of the olive for oil extraction), abundant in the surroundings of the installations, and have a total power of 32 MW. Together the plants are expected to reach an estimated net production of 175 million kWh in 2016.

According to the company, the two power plants began commercial operation in 2003 and they have advanced systems for the minimization of emissions.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

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