Attn: We Could Have Roads That Will Charge Your Car as You Drive
Modern conventional wisdom holds that cars will soon be driving themselves. But they could be charging themselves, too.
Highways England, the United Kingdom’s highway department, just rolled out the results of a £200 million feasibility study on roads that charge electric cars as they drive. The conclusion: it could actually work.
The technology is being billed as a potential solution for range anxiety, the concern drivers have that electric vehicles will run out of juice mid-drive without anywhere to charge. Theoretically, in-motion charging allows for unlimited range for electric vehicles without ever stopping to charge.
Associated Press: California Efficiency Measure Fails to Create Green Jobs
Three years after California voters passed a ballot measure to raise taxes on corporations and generate clean-energy jobs by funding energy-efficiency projects in schools, barely one-tenth of the promised jobs have been created, and the state has no comprehensive list to show how much work has been done or how much energy has been saved.
Money is trickling in at a slower-than-anticipated rate, and more than half of the $297 million given to schools so far has gone to consultants and energy auditors. The board created to oversee the project and submit annual progress reports to the Legislature has never met, according to a review by The Associated Press.
McClatchy: Climate Warrior Obama Gives OK to Arctic Drilling
President Barack Obama is ending restrictions on Shell’s drilling in the Arctic Ocean -- even as he prepares a trip to Alaska to highlight the dangers of climate change.
The Interior Department, satisfied that Shell can handle any emergencies, is approving the oil company's request to drill deep enough to hit oil in the waters off the northwest coast of Alaska. Shell is betting that it will find a giant pool.
“Now that the required well control system is in place and can be deployed, Shell will be allowed to explore into oil-bearing zones,” said Brian Salerno, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
Scientific American: Bulk Energy Storage Would Increase Total U.S. Electricity System Emissions, Study Says
While there’s no doubt that energy storage can help integrate renewable energy with the grid, a recent study by Eric Hittinger of the Rochester Institute of Technology and Inês Azevedo of Carnegie Mellon University indicates that bulk energy storage would most likely increase total U.S. electricity system emissions if it were installed today, because it would typically store electricity generated from fossil fuels rather than renewable sources.
Forbes: 5 African Cleantech Startups You Need to Watch
Africa is extraordinarily rich in energy power potential. According to McKinsey and Company’s 2015 Brighter Africa report, the continent has 10 terawatts or more of potential capacity for renewable energy. If sub-Saharan Africa pushes renewables, it could result in a 27 percent decrease in carbon emissions worldwide.
But sub-Saharan Africa is in an energy crisis. Two out of three Africans lack access to electricity -- that’s 621 million people. The Brighter Africa report also stated the sub-Saharan Africa region has 13 percent of the world’s population, but 48 percent of the share of the global population without access to electricity.
Here’s a look at five African cleantech startups bringing power to the continent.