QUICK NEWS, January 13: GM UPS EV RANGE, PRICE RACE W/BOLT; NEW OFFSHORE WIND SITES TO OPEN; NEW WAY TO HARVEST OCEAN WAVE ENERGY
GM UPS EV RANGE, PRICE RACE W/BOLT Chevy Bolt electric car targets Tesla with low price, long range
Brian Threvenot and Jerry Hirsch, January 12, 2015 (LA Times)
“…[General Motors]unveiled its battery-powered Chevrolet Bolt, challenging Tesla in the race to produce an affordable electric car…The Bolt concept car made its debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, alongside a redesigned 2016 Volt, the second generation of Chevrolet's pioneering plug-in hybrid…The all-electric Bolt boasts a groundbreaking combination of low price and long driving range. It will sell in the low $30,000s, after government incentives, and travel up to 200 miles on a battery charge…Most all-electric cars in the Bolt's price range, including Nissan's Leaf and Fiat's 500e, can travel about 80 miles on a charge. Tesla's Model S has a range of 265 miles, but typically sells for $80,000 to $100,000…Tesla has garnered headlines with the promise of its Model 3 -- at half the cost of a Model S -- but that vehicle may be years away…The Volt succeeded by other measures, however. It has run a neck-and-neck race with the Nissan Leaf for the title of bestselling plug-in car…In designing the 2016 Volt, Chevrolet systematically addressed consumer complaints about the original…[The mileage] will increase to 41 mpg. The electric-only range increases to 50 miles…” click here for more
NEW OFFSHORE WIND SITES TO OPEN Wind energy shifts direction; Feds to auction sites off Martha’s Vineyard
Lindsay Kalter, January 11, 2015 (Boston Globe)
“With the Cape Wind project on the ropes, the [offshore wined] industry’s future in Massachusetts may rest on a federal wind power auction…Twelve companies have qualified to bid Jan. 29 as the federal government auctions four commercial leases for 742,000 acres of sea roughly 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The power generated, if leased and used by the industry, could provide electricity for about 1.4 million homes, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said…The Massachusetts Wind Energy Area that is up for auction is farther offshore than Cape Wind’s estimated $2.5 billion project to install 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound…The auction comes as Cape Wind’s $150 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy is in jeopardy after National Grid and NStar backed out of their contracts with the company, saying it had missed a Dec. 31 deadline for the necessary financing and had not provided collateral to extend the deadline…From the beginning, the Cape Wind project was fraught with criticism…Christopher Boelke, field office supervisor for the national Marine Fisheries Services, said…people may view [the lease area’s projects] as “less intrusive” than Cape Wind, given that it’s farther offshore…” click here for more
NEW WAY TO HARVEST OCEAN WAVE ENERGY New method of harvesting wave energy
January 1, 2015 (Energy Harvesting Journal)
“…Alabatern Wave Energy from Scotland has created WaveNET, an offshore array-based wave energy converter that uses the motion of waves to generate electricity. The floating structure of the WaveNET is flexible in all directions, and capable of capturing power from the ocean regardless of wave direction and array orientation. WaveNET arrays are formed by interconnecting the unique SQUID generating units…The most significant benefits of this array-based approach to wave energy come from improvements in power yield and potentially dramatic reductions in project costs…[T]he ocean's energy pushes and pulls the array's structure; each SQUID unit's articulated joints flex, absorb some of the wave's energy, with any unabsorbed energy passing to the next unit, all the way through the array. This unique design allows the array to respond to the full orbital motion of the waves, from any direction, and allows power capture from 5 of the 6 elements of wave energy: pitch, roll, heave, surge and sway…WaveNET arrays appear from the surface as a series of isolated buoys, similar to those of mussel farms, reducing visual impact and potential conflict with other sea users. As much as 300 MW per km² is possible for large arrays. This compares to 15-20 MW/ km² for other wave devices…” click here for more
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