QUICK NEWS, August 19: THE RISING OF WIND; THE UTILITY WAY OF SOLAR; THE RACE TO SUPPLY EV BATTERIES HEATS

THE RISING OF WIND etter wind turbines could spell trouble for coal; From taller towers to more efficient turbines, the case for wind energy is growing.

Sami Grover, August 17, 2015 (Mother Nature News)

“…[Construction is set to begin on a 200-plus megawatt North Carolina wind installation, the first large-scale wind farm in the Southeast with] a hefty power purchase agreement from web-giant Amazon…[It shows how] wind turbines are getting taller and cheaper, and they're able to produce energy more efficiently, more of the time, in more places across the country…While the developers are using taller towers (93 meters, compared to the standard 80-meter towers used until recently) it won't be long before we could see towers reaching up to 140 meters or more…[because] the higher you go, the stronger and more consistent wind speeds will be…[And turbines aren't just getting bigger; they're getting more efficient…[What's becoming increasingly evident] is that the cost of wind power isn't just coming down. It's ability to produce power is consistently going up too…Things really do look bright for wind energy…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

THE UTILITY WAY OF SOLAR Power companies may have found a new way to crack into the solar business

Chris Mooney, August 19, 2015 (Washinton Post)

“…[N]ew research out of the University of Texas at Austin suggests there could be a kind of ‘middle ground’ in the conflict between some utilities and solar installers. The potential ‘win¬win,’ as the researchers put it, involves so-¬called community solar — solar energy projects or panels that are in effect shared by a group of people, such as the inhabitants of an apartment building, rather than sitting on a single residential rooftop…[Business model innovations for deploying distributed generation: The emerging landscape of community solar in the U.S.] found that at least some utility companies seem to like community solar programs, are already offering them, and plan to expand them…[because customers] clearly want access to solar, and some utility industry representatives find community solar to be a great way to give it to them — in a manner that allows the utility to continue to service these customers’ full electricity demand…[and many] Americans still lack access…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

THE RACE TO SUPPLY EV BATTERIES HEATS Panasonic Leads in EV Batteries With 39% Market Share, But Others Aim for Its Crown; LG Chem could claim lead in the emerging $30 billion market, if it can accelerate sales…

August 18, 2015 (Lux Research)

“Panasonic is currently the runaway leader in the nascent battery market for electric vehicles, but LG Chem has the potential to overtake it in [a still emerging market that] will be a $30 billion market in 2020…[but] most auto majors are quickly offering [plug-in] more options…[including the] Volkswagen Group…Renault-Nissan will account for 9% of this market in 2020…[but] its joint venture that sources batteries from NEC, has underperformed, hobbled by high costs and lagging technology, leaving an opening for LG Chem…New technology beyond the current Li-ion batteries is key to the lower cost and higher performance need…Samsung Ventures has invested in solid-state battery developer Seeo and in graphene-silicon anode maker XG Sciences…Volkswagen has backed Quantumscape and GM Ventures has invested in Sakti3, Envia Systems, and SolidEnergy Systems…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet