Bloomberg: SolarCity Chooses Its Relatives (for Loans)
Among the many disconcerting things about Tesla's offer to buy SolarCity was this line from Elon Musk during the June 22 conference call explaining the deal:
"Since SolarCity is constrained in the short term from just going out and raising equity itself, Tesla would provide a bridge loan, if needed. I actually don't think it's going to be needed, to be clear..."
This was disconcerting because, to summarize, a company burning a lot of cash was talking about buying another company burning a lot of cash and throwing out the idea of maybe lending that target company some cash to tide it over.
So far, Tesla hasn't provided that bridge loan. But on Tuesday evening, SolarCity did reveal that it needs the money and that Musk is providing it himself. Musk, along with Lyndon and Peter Rive -- SolarCity's CEO and technology chief, respectively -- are buying $100 million of a $124 million offering of "solar bonds."
Scientific American: Can Hungry Fungi Recycle Lithium Batteries?
Growing demand for rechargeable lithium batteries used in consumer electronics and electric vehicles is driving efforts to expand battery recycling, primarily to recover lithium, cobalt, and other valuable metals.
But typical battery recycling methods, such as smelting and acid leaching, have significant disadvantages: Smelting is a high-temperature, energy-intensive process, and both processes generate harmful waste.
So Jeffrey A. Cunningham of the University of South Florida is looking for a greener way to recycle lithium batteries. At the American Chemical Society national meeting in Philadelphia on Sunday, Cunningham reported on research that may pave the way for fungi to play a role in future battery recycling.
Paul Gipe: Close-Up Photos of Ogin DAWT Dismantlement in San Gorgonio Pass
More photos of the Ogin ducted wind turbine dismantlement have been “thrown over my transom.” These close-up photos show far more detail of the disassembly and scrapping process than before.
Ogin’s Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbine, or DAWT, is a direct descendant of FloDesign’s ducted turbine announced with much fanfare in the tech and popular press in 2008.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency was hyping FloDesign’s “innovative” wind turbine by saying it “could deliver 300% more power than existing wind turbines of the same rotor diameter by extracting more energy over a larger area.” Elsewhere, FloDesign was telling the media it could do all this for 30% less cost than conventional turbines. Since then, FloDesign erected at least one prototype on Deer Island in Boston Harbor.
The Hill: Adviser Assures That Trump Supports Fracking
Donald Trump’s top energy policy adviser is trying to downplay the GOP presidential nominee's support for local bans on hydraulic fracking.
Oil tycoon Harold Hamm on Tuesday told The Wall Street Journal that Trump’s recent comment endorsing “local control” of fracking policy stemmed from a misunderstanding of the issue.
“Donald Trump did not understand that concept at the time in my opinion,” Hamm, head of Continental Resources Inc., said at a conference in Denver. “He does now."
Quartz: The Netherlands Is Considering a Ban on Gas-Powered Cars
Gasoline-powered cars may soon be a thing of the past. But the Netherlands wants to get there quicker.
The Dutch government is debating the possibility of banning new gas and diesel cars from 2025. The initial proposal, which was brought forward by the Labor Party, called for an outright ban of all petrol and diesel cars, but was eventually modified so the ban only affected the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. Traditional cars already in use will still run on the streets.
The proposal has since passed in the lower house of the Netherlands’ parliament. It now needs to pass through the Dutch senate.