Wall Street Journal (February 10)
European scientists have set a “nuclear-fusion energy world record” and the “findings suggest this approach can be scaled-up for use in power plants.” The experiment successfully “generated 59 megajoules of fusion energy for five seconds,” but “the researchers weren’t able to overcome a major obstacle: generating more energy than they had to put into the experiment.” A scaled-up version looks set to do so as early as 2025. Currently “35 firms globally are racing to be the first to create net-energy machines and to commercialize them by delivering electricity to the power grid.”
Tags: 2025, Commercialize, Electricity, Energy, Europe, Net-energy machines, Nuclear fusion, Obstacle, Power grid, Power plants, Scientists, World record
New York Times (February 3)
In a move “that is unheard-of for an advanced economy…. Japan now plans to build as many as 22 new coal-burning power plants—one of the dirtiest sources of electricity—at 17 different sites in the next five years, just at a time when the world needs to slash carbon dioxide emissions to fight global warming.”
Tags: Advanced, CO2, Coal burning, Dirtiest, Economy, Electricity, Japan, Power plants, Unheard-of
Financial Times (March 26)
“Ten years ago, you knew where you stood with your energy suppliers. Oil companies sold road fuel, while utilities supplied electricity and gas. Today those lines of demarcation are blurring: utilities can fill up your car and oil companies want to keep your lights on.” This will make for a “period of intensified competition and instability, as companies that were previously able largely to forget about each other are now forced to battle for dominance.”
Tags: Blurring, Competition, Electricity, Energy, Fuel, Gas, Instability, Intensified, Oil, Suppliers, Utilities
The Times (March 11)
“Although sporadic electricity supplies returned to Caracas and other cities yesterday, millions of Venezuelans were still without power after more than 60 hours, the longest blackout in the country’s modern history.”
Tags: 60 hours, Caracas, Electricity, Longest blackout, Modern history, Power, Sporadic, Venezuela
Time (January 27)
“Germany gets more than a third of its electricity from burning coal,” but a government-panel “has recommended that Germany stop burning coal to generate electricity by 2038 at the latest, as part of efforts to curb climate change.” The proposal needs approval by lawmakers, but a recent ZDF opinion poll indicates strong public support: “73 percent of Germans agree a quick exit from coal is very important.”
Tags: 2038, Climate change, Coal, Electricity, Germany, Lawmakers, Public support, Quick exit
The Economist (July 14)
“Throughout rural parts of South Asia and Africa…mini-grids are increasingly seen as one of the most promising ways of connecting the 1.1bn people in the world who still lack access to electricity.” According to the World Bank, this will also require “microfinance and vocational training” to help users make the best use of electrification.
Tags: Access, Africa, Electricity, Electrification, Microfinance, Mini-grids, Promising, Rural, South Asia, Vocational training, World Bank
Wall Street Journal (March 18)
“The batteries that power our modern world—from phones to drones to electric cars—will soon experience something not heard of in years: Their capacity to store electricity will jump by double-digit percentages, according to researchers, developers and manufacturers.”
Tags: Batteries, Capacity, Drones, Electricity, EVs, Manufacturers, Phones, Power
Newsweek (February 16)
“We’re on the cusp of a fourth industrial revolution. First came the steam trains, followed by electricity and after that, information technology—each transforming our working practices and automating jobs previously performed by humans. These days of course, it is robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning driving the change.” Not only are these being employed to complete routine tasks, “but they are increasingly capable of accomplishing tasks requiring cognitive abilities.”
Tags: AI, Cognitive abilities, Electricity, Industrial Revolution, IT, Jobs, Machine learning, Robotics, Steam trains
Nikkei Asian Review (April 20)
“Transportation and logistics networks brought to a standstill by the recent earthquakes in Kyushu are starting to return to life, while utilities are striving to restore such crucial services as electricity and gas.” Kumamoto Airport has partially reopened and the shinkansen resumed service to Kagoshima, but nearly 100,000 households still lack running water and gas. In contrast, electricity has been restored to all but 6,500 households.
Tags: Airport, Earthquakes, Electricity, Gas, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Kyushu, Logistics, Service, Shinkansen, Transportation, Utilitie, Water
Bloomberg (March 11)
“It’s been five years since the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl shook Fukushima. Roads have been rebuilt and electricity has been restored. But life has still not returned to normal for many of the prefecture’s residents.”
