Category: News

October 31 2017

U.S. Trade Panel Proposes Duties of Up to 35% in Solar Case

Written by Ari Natter. This article first appeared in Bloomberg News. Members of the U.S. International Trade Commission recommended tariffs on imported solar modules of up to 35 percent, as they discussed what remedies they would propose to President Donald Trump in a trade case that could upend the $29 billion U.S. solar industry. In […]

October 31 2017

China to Move Closer to Starting National Carbon Market

This article first appeared in Bloomberg News. China’s top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, submitted a plan to the State Council to start a carbon-trading system nationwide, people familiar with the matter said. The plan needs approval from the council, China’s cabinet, the people said, asking not to be identified because they […]

October 31 2017

Microsoft Is Getting Hungry for Fuel Cells

Written by Anna Hirtenstein. This article first appeared in Bloomberg News. Microsoft Corp. is moving to use fuel cells at its power-hungry server farms, saying the technology may double the efficiency of energy used. The software company is testing how it can use the devices to generate electricity and plans to install a 10-megawatt fuel […]

October 31 2017

Exxon Is Not Threatened by Tesla

Written by Joe Carroll. This article first appeared in Bloomberg Technology.  Exxon Mobil Corp. says the existential threat to oil producers from electric cars is overblown. Despite concern that electrification will render obsolete the gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine, the world’s biggest crude explorer says the 158 year-old oil industry won’t go gentle into that good […]

October 30 2017

The World’s Tiniest Power Market Will Leverage Big Data to Sell Solar

Written by Chris Martin. This article first appeared in Bloomberg Markets. It will be the world’s smallest electricity market. In mid-December, National Grid Plc will flip the switch on an automated trading system that pays hospitals and research facilities at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to sell electricity from their onsite solar panels, batteries or […]

October 30 2017

Hong Kong’s Richest Man Doubles Down on Electric Cars

Written by Prudence Ho. This article first appeared in Bloomberg News.  Billionaire Li Ka-shing agreed to buy shares in O Luxe Holdings Ltd. for the second time in a month, a deal that would make Hong Kong’s richest man the second-largest investor in the owner of an electric-car maker. Shares of O Luxe rose. Goldrank […]

October 30 2017

Toyota Explores Airless Tires to Build Lighter Electric Vehicles

Written by Kevin Buckland. This article first appeared in Bloomberg Technology.  Toyota Motor Corp. is eyeing airless tires to help reduce the weight of battery-electric and fuel-cell vehicles and boost performance, even though the technology is years away from being ready for commercial use. The automaker is using airless tires — featuring individual motors in […]

October 27 2017

Latest U.S. State to Offer Nukes a Lifeline Is Connecticut

Written by Jim Polson. This article first appeared in Bloomberg Markets. Connecticut took a step toward propping up nuclear energy on Thursday, wading into a national debate over how to keep aging reactors running that’s become so intense that even the Trump administration is weighing in. A bill passed Thursday and sent to Connecticut Governor […]

October 27 2017

We’ll All Be Relying on Congo to Power Our Electric Cars

Written by Thomas Wilson. This article first appeared in Bloomberg News. The cars of the future will depend increasingly upon supplies of an obscure metal from a country in the African tropics where there has never been a peaceful transition of power and child labor is still used in parts of the mining industry. Most […]

October 26 2017

Wind Farms of a Certain Age Eyeing Surgery to Extend Lifespans

Written by Brian Eckhouse. This article first appeared in Bloomberg Markets.  Even for wind farms, middle age is a time for nips, tucks and sometimes replacement surgery. At least 600 megawatts of U.S. wind farms have already undergone significant upgrades, primarily in California, and NextEra Energy Inc., the largest producer of North American wind power, […]