QUICK NEWS, February 9: DEMYTHOLOGIZING SOLAR; GEORGIA WEIGHS EV INCENTIVES; ROBOT TO STUDY WAVE, TIDAL ENERGY
DEMYTHOLOGIZING SOLAR 11 Solar Energy Mythbusters
Diane MacEachern, February 6, 2015 (Care2)
“…A lot of myths swirl around solar energy that prevent people from making a well-informed decision about whether it’s right for them…Myth 1 – I should wait until solar technology gets more efficient…Myth 2 – Solar doesn’t work when it’s cool, cloudy or foggy…Myth 3 – I can store excess solar energy in batteries…Myth 4 – It is a lot of trouble to maintain solar panels…Myth 5 – Solar panels will cause my roof to leak, deteriorate, or collapse…Myth 6 – Solar is so expensive, I’ll never make back the money I put into it…Myth 7 – When the power goes out, my home will still be powered…Myth 8 – Solar will look ugly on my roof…Myth 9 – Installing solar panels will increase my property tax…Myth 10 – Solar panels require a tracking system to follow the angle of the sun…Myth 11 – It is very difficult to figure out what kind of solar system I need…” click here for more
GEORGIA WEIGHS EV INCENTIVES Ga. lawmakers consider changes to electric car tax credits
February 7, 2015 (AP via The Moultrie Observer)
“Georgia’s generous $5,000 tax credit for electric vehicles is the target of three separate bills in the state House, including one lawmaker trying to end the write-off altogether…Two other bills would lower the credit over time and expand the type of vehicles eligible in the meantime — including the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt or Toyota’s line of hybrid cars and SUVs…The debate in Georgia comes as other states mull credits as a way to boost sales of alternative fuel vehicles with a higher sticker price than traditional cars. The U.S. Energy Department is in the midst of a campaign to make electric vehicles more affordable in the next ten years, with consumer rebates high on the list of strategies…Each bill before Georgia lawmakers would make significant changes to the write-offs that have been credited with lifting the state to No. 2 in electric vehicle sales, trailing only California…The amount of low or zero-emission vehicle credits paid out by the state exploded from about $310,000 in 2011 to about $15.4 million in 2013…Electric vehicles are particularly popular in metro Atlanta, where electric vehicle owners can use highway lanes off-limits to solo drivers in a traditional car and a Nissan dealerships runs regular radio ads claiming best in the nation sales of the plug-in Leaf…” click here for more
ROBOT TO STUDY WAVE, TIDAL ENERGY New tool monitors effects of tidal, wave energy on marine habitat
Michelle Ma, February 5, 2015 (UW Today)
“…[The ‘Millennium Falcon’] robot will deploy instruments to gather information in unprecedented detail about how marine life interacts with underwater equipment used to harvest wave and tidal energy. Researchers still don’t fully understand how animals and fish will be affected by ocean energy equipment…The UW research team [will eventually deploy the Millennium Falcon and the instruments it transports, called the Adaptable Monitoring Package,in large-scale tidal- and wave-energy projects]…The instrument package can track and measure a number of sights and sounds underwater. It has a stereo camera to collect photos and video, a sonar system, hydrophones to hear marine mammal activity, sensors to gauge water quality and speed, a click detector to listen for whales, dolphins and porpoises, and even a device to detect fish tags. A fiber optic cable connection back to shore allows for real-time monitoring and control, and the device will be powered by a copper wire…” click here for more
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home