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One of the perks of working at Forbes is the fact that the magazine has been published for over a hundred years, which means there’s plenty of history at your fingertips when you’re curious about something. It was in that spirit this week that I found myself reading a 1929 interview with Thomas Edison, then 82 years old. Even at that age, Edison declared himself to be an optimist about the future of electricity, an industry he described at the time as “a screaming baby” in terms of its maturity.
Perhaps of great interest to readers of this newsletter, Edison believed that “the time will come when mankind will draw large-scale electrical energy directly from the sun,” states the article. For the great inventor, the amount of energy that spills onto Earth every day in the form of sunlight is a huge opportunity and regrets that in his own time, harnessing that energy was impossible. “It’s as if we were creatures walking in a constant rain of gold coins yet unable to bend down and pick up a single coin.”
The Big Read
Chris Crisman/Forbes Collection This may interest you : Inflation reduction bill to give the U.S. solar energy industry much-needed growth.
BP Bets $4 Billion On Green Landfill Gas, Yielding Another Fat Payday For The ‘Shalennial’ Rice Brothers
Thanks to federal subsidies, extracting methane from landfills is twice as profitable per unit of energy as pumping oil—with zero carbon emissions. This may interest you : New batteries give jolt to renewables, energy storage.
Discoveries And Innovations
A new report finds that Germany’s decision to reduce its investment in wind energy in 2015 was a key factor in increasing its dependence on Russia for natural gas imports.
Colombian chemist Maria Camila Aguilera is working on an iron-based catalyst for the manufacture of the chemical, which could open up a cheaper, more abundant and less toxic alternative to current palladium catalysts.
Fusion power company Tokamak Energy announced that it has the highest “three product” yield for its reactor to date, which is a significant milestone in developing a commercial fusion power plant.
Sustainability Deals Of The Week
Better Battery Factory: Sila, which has commercialized the silicon anode that allows conventional lithium batteries to increase their capacity, has just been awarded $100 million from the Department of Energy to fund construction of its manufacturing facility.
Combating Deforestation: A consortium of investment firms including Norfund, British International Investment and Finnfund has invested approximately $200 million into the Africa Forestry Impact Platform with the aim of reducing deforestation on the continent.
‘Narwhal’ Fund: Climate technology venture firm Propeller has launched an inaugural $100 million fund in partnership with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to invest in companies developing sustainable ocean-based technologies.
On The Horizon
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned that this winter would see the third consecutive season of La Niña conditions. That likely means drier-than-average conditions in the south and wetter-than-average conditions for other reasons. It is also likely to expand drought conditions in the great plains and western states.
What Else We’re Reading This Week
This Barbie Was Trash (Bloomberg)
If You Don’t Live in Sponge City yet, You Will Soon (Wired)
Global CO2 emissions grow less than one percent this year thanks to renewables (Popular Science)
Green Transportation Update
The race to electrify the auto market shows no sign of abating any time soon as every major manufacturer commits to adding new zero-emissions vehicles and making the batteries and motors they need. The latest to join the fray is German luxury giant BMW, which is pouring $1.7 billion into upgrading Spartanburg, South Carolina, planting and producing batteries at a new plant in nearby Woodruff. The company says it will offer six electric models in the US by 2030, ensuring more competition for EV leader Tesla.
The Big Transportation Story
Elon Musk’s Fortune Has Fallen By More Than $100 Billion In Less Than A Year
Elon Musk is still the richest person in the world, resulting from his more than 20% ownership of Tesla, but he’s taken a huge financial hit due to clearly bearish stock market conditions. In fact, his fortune has fallen by more than $100 billion in less than a year due to Tesla’s declining market value. In quarterly earnings reported this week, the electric car maker’s earnings fell short of some analysts’ expectations. Add to that concerns about a possible recession, and investors spooked. “He sells expensive cars, so a recession isn’t going to be good for his business,” Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co., told Forbes.
More Green Transportation News
By Numbers: Comparing the Resale Value of Electric Cars
Waymo Expands Its Electric Robotaxi Services To Los Angeles
Jaguar E-Type Classic Offered As EV
Jeep Goes All-Electric With Retaliation At Paris Motor Show
Europe’s Electric Revolution Demands Affordability, But Paris Car Show Won’t Require
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How many solar panels would it take to run the world?
“How many solar panels can power the world? 23 billion solar panels. That’s how much we’re going to need. (Of course, the world will never be 100% solar-powered. Other sources, such as wind and hydropower, have a big role to play.
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Does Elon Musk support the environment?
If there’s one point that critics and fans of Elon Musk agree on, it’s that the billionaire is an environmental defender. Musk founded Tesla, a company that aims to help build a sustainable world.
Does Elon Musk support climate change? While Musk admits in brackets that he believes global warming to be a ‘big risk’, he emphasizes how important demographics he thinks, ‘Mark these words.’
Does Elon Musk support fossil fuels?
Top line. Tesla CEO and world’s richest person Elon Musk on Monday endorsed additional efforts to drill for natural gas and oil in the short term, in line with his recent shift in the use of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels and nuclear energy.
What does Elon Musk say about renewable energy?
Musk said the transition to a sustainable economy should be “as soon as possible”, adding that sea breezes have “huge untapped potential” and he is also a proponent of nuclear energy.
Is Elon Musk eco friendly?
In 2018, Elon Musk sounded like a staunch environmental warrior when he declared “climate change is the greatest threat facing humanity this century.” He has backed that concern by building two highly successful companies capable of directly reducing carbon emissions: Tesla. and Solar City.
Did Elon Musk say Drill for oil?
Earlier this year, Elon Musk called for drilling for more oil, which is surprising, but it was in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how it sent gas prices skyrocketing: Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil and gas output urgently.
Has Elon Musk helped the environment?
Tesla is changing the electric vehicle game Greenhouse gases are contributing to global warming and replacing those gas-consuming vehicles with quiet, emission-free electric cars is a real win for our lungs, as well as the lungs of the planet.
Is Gigafactory solar?
Just days since reports emerged that the first solar panels at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas facility were being put in place, the number of solar panels already installed on the roof of a massive electric vehicle production facility has grown significantly.
What’s in the Gigafactory? Tesla coined the term gigafactory to refer to factories that produce electric batteries on a large scale, primarily for use in electric vehicles (EVs) but also for a variety of other renewable energy storage applications.
Will Giga Texas have a solar roof?
In August, Gigafactory Texas drone operator Jeff Roberts took photos of the solar array on the roof, showing the progress of the installation. Tesla, which doesn’t traditionally advertise, has turned its roof into a giant billboard visible from space.
Does Tesla Gigafactory run on solar?
New satellite images show that Tesla is significantly expanding its rooftop solar array at the Nevada Gigafactory as it aims to become the largest in the world. In 2017, Tesla announced plans for a giant 70 MW rooftop array at the Nevada Gigafactory, which would be the largest in the world by a wide margin.
Will Giga Texas have solar panels?
Designed to be a clean zero energy plant upon completion, the facility will be powered by solar power, and installation is already underway.
Can you get solar roof in Texas?
Currently, Texas solar installations generate enough energy to power more than 935,000 homes. The five largest cities in Texas each have more than 800,000 residents who are increasingly seeing solar energy as a benefit. Prices have fallen by more than 70% in the last 10 years, making installing PV systems more affordable.
What is a Gigafactory for energy?
The Gigafactory is a large factory that manufactures lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), energy storage, and other battery-powered devices on a gigantic scale. The term was coined by Tesla founder Elon Musk to refer to his factories, of which there are 4 currently under construction and a 5th in progress.
How do Gigafactories create power?
Upon completion, Tesla expects the Gigafactory to be the largest building in the world – and to be powered entirely by renewable energy sources. Designed to be a clean zero energy plant upon completion, the facility will be powered by solar power, and installation is already underway.
How many Gigafactories would it take to power the earth?
The Gigafactory And, in a recent video, CEO and founder Elon Musk was actually quoted as saying: “We actually did the math to figure out what it would take to transition the whole world to sustainable energy. You’d need 100 Gigafactories.”
What is a Gigafactory battery?
Gigafactory or GigaFactory is a general term referring to “… a facility that manufactures batteries for electric vehicles on a large scale”. The term was originally used by electric car manufacturer Tesla, Inc. to refer to their battery manufacturing facility.
Can 100 Gigafactories power the world?
The Gigafactory And, in a recent video, CEO and founder Elon Musk was actually quoted as saying: “We actually did the math to figure out what it would take to transition the whole world to sustainable energy. You’d need 100 Gigafactories.”
Where does Tesla get its raw materials?
Automakers wanted to use electricity all at once and this was starting to cause problems. Raw materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt are becoming more difficult to obtain, leading to soaring prices.