Porsche’s first EV – Porsche has announced the company’s first venture into the world of fully-electric vehicles. The Porsche Taycan is a four-door sports sedan available as the Taycan Turbo S and Taycan Turbo. “The Flagship Turbo S version of the Taycan can generate up to 750 horsepower (560 kW) of power in combination with Launch Control and overboost, while the Taycan Turbo can produce up to 670 horsepower (500 kW). The Taycan Turbo S will therefore accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds, while the Taycan Turbo can complete this sprint in 3.0 seconds. The top track speed of both all-wheel-drive models is 161 mph.” And now the EV market gets more and more crowded by the day. Source: Porsche
Jefferson County, Washington waives $100 fee for new solar customers – “The Jefferson County Public Utility District (PUD) is not only looking to make it more convenient for its customers to connect to solar power, but it also aims to capitalize upon its own solar project as an educational opportunity. On Aug. 19, PUD Communications Manager Will O’Donnell addressed the Port Townsend City Council, informing them that the PUD has submitted permits to install a ground-mounted 100-kilowatt community solar field at the corner of Lawrence and Kearney streets in Port Townsend, in a vacant lot adjoining a PUD substation. PUD General Manager Kevin Streett has said that, if those permits can be obtained, he hopes to begin construction in the spring of 2020… And on Aug. 21, the PUD Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Streett’s recommendation to remove a $100 application fee for new solar power and net metering customers. Streett explained that the application fee was created to cover the cost of a service that the PUD no longer provides to its solar power-generating customers.” Source PT Leader
More Coloradans work in advanced energy than hospitals – “Today, Advanced Energy Economy released a fact sheet showing that Colorado has 65,400 people working in advanced energy across the state. This represents more workers than those in Hospitals (60,401), and double those working in Mining, Oil & Gas Extraction (28,410) across the state. Colorado advanced energy jobs grew 4% last year (over 2017), twice the rate of the state’s overall jobs growth (2%). The fastest growing segments were Advanced Vehicles (22%) and Energy Efficiency (7%), which also represents the largest share of advanced energy jobs.” Source: Advanced Energy Economy
Vote Solar’s statement on Solar Together – In response to FPL’s nearly 1,500 MW SolarTogether program, Vote Solar filed testimony Tuesday asking regulators to to ensure that 100 megawatts of SolarTogether capacity be dedicated to reducing annual electric bills for at least 20,000 low-income households. The following is a statement on the filing from Vote Solar:
“Solar is now the cheapest electricity resource available to FPL, and every Floridian should be able to reap those benefits on their energy bills. Instead, the utility’s proposed SolarTogether Program would boost utility shareholder profits while putting solar out of reach for many of the more than 2 million FPL residential customers who suffer with higher-than-average energy burdens and the 1.4 million customers who live in energy poverty. We are urging the Commission to make some critical changes to ensure that this program is accessible and affordable for more consumers, especially low-income households who have the most to gain from lower bills and should not be excluded from our growing clean economy. As one of the largest utility-sponsored solar programs in the nation, SolarTogether has the potential to set the standard for Florida and the region, which is why it’s so important for the Commission to get this right.”
Source: Vote Solar
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The flood of electric vehicles rolling out over the next decade will have many fewer parts and assemblies than today’s gas-powered cars and trucks. And that will radically change the auto factory floor, with fewer jobs and the real possibility that the batteries and electric motors that power the new vehicles could be sourced offshore. You can get a sample copy of this report at ht.tps://cutt.us/C4SpL
Think about it: Fully electric cars don’t have multi-speed transmissions, radiators, fuel injectors, gas tanks, valvetrains or exhaust systems, to name just a few differences. While conventional drivetrains have as many as 2,000 parts, electric drivetrains can have fewer than 20.
At the most basic level, it’s an electric motor and a big battery. And those could easily be imported rather than built by an automaker or U.S. supplier.