As demand for energy skyrockets amid the rise of AI, one of Tesla’s co-founders is betting on a new solution: giving old EV batteries a second life. JB Straubel, who helped launch Tesla and served as its CTO until 2019, founded Redwood Materials in 2017 to recycle batteries and build a closed-loop supply chain for electric vehicles. Now, Straubel is using EV batteries that still hold usable capacity for grid-scale energy storage. Redwood’s new energy division recently partnered with AI infrastructure company Crusoe to launch its first microgrid, showcasing how repurposed batteries can help power data centers. CNBC visited Redwood’s Nevada operations to see how the company has grown and to learn more about its plans to use second-life batteries to meet the surging energy needs of the AI era
WTF Happened to Nuclear Energy?
What happened to the promise of nuclear energy? This once seemingly futuristic and clean power source has fallen by the wayside, with countries even turning off their nuclear reactors during an energy crisis. Let’s dig into why people are so afraid of nuclear energy, and if their fears are realistic.
We Said Goodbye to the Power Grid… Forever
This is the full tour of our off-grid solar power system. We’ve been off-grid for over a year now and it’s so rewarding!
What caused Spain and Portugal’s power cut? | BBC News
Spanish power company Red Eléctrica has ruled out a cyber-attack as the cause of Monday’s mass blackouts, that left millions across Spain and Portugal without power.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro also said there was no indication that a cyber-attack was behind the outages.
Electric grids suffered two “disconnection events” – systems recovered from the first, but the second triggered the power cuts in both Spain and Portugal, with no indication of human error.
Why the Biggest Battery Company is Betting Against Lithium
Sodium-ion battery technology isn’t exactly new, but something interesting is happening. CATL, the world’s biggest lithium battery manufacturer, says that up to half the market could switch to sodium. That’s right—the biggest name in lithium batteries is betting against lithium. Looks like lithium might need to recharge its reputation. After all, sodium-ion batteries are nearly as good lithium, and salt is much cheaper and easier to access than lithium. So maybe its not surprising that CATL and some other companies are getting ready to manufacture huge numbers of them in preparation for what could be a massive market shift. But is sodium really the future of energy storage, or is it just another battery technology destined to live in lithium-ion’s shadow?
What I Learned After 1 Year with New Solar Panels
It’s been a full year since I installed these solar panels and a large home battery on my new house … and I’ve got some news. They say solar power can save you thousands on energy bills, but what actually happened. This past year was a bit of a rollercoaster ride from the challenges of getting them installed to seeing how well they handled powering my all-electric house through heat waves, freezing temperatures, and a couple of small power outages. Spoiler alert: solar isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Was my net zero house ready for all of it? Was I able to achieve net zero energy? And most important … was it worth it? Let’s just say, I learned some pretty surprising lessons that may be of use to you.
The death of clean, green energy in the USA? Not a chance! Here’s why…
“Drill baby drill”, said Donald Trump many times on the campaign trail, along with all sorts of other threats to upend Biden’s climate policies and hand power firmly back to the fossil fuel industry. Only trouble is, it won’t be quite as easy in practice as it is in rhetoric.
RethinkX reveals the shocking exponential growth of battery storage worldwide
RethinkX reveals the shocking exponential growth of battery storage worldwide
Should We Build A Geothermal Power Plant In Yellowstone?
Yellowstone National Park is one of the most famous tourist destinations and nature reserves in the world. And it’s also the perfect place for…. geothermal power plants? Let’s talk about the weird reason why NASA is all for building a power plant in our favorite national park.
China Is Outspending the U.S. to Achieve the ‘Holy Grail’ of Clean Energy | WSJ U.S. vs. China
The U.S. and China are in a high-tech race to achieve and commercialize an elusive clean energy source: nuclear fusion. Fusion has the potential to create nearly limitless energy with no carbon emissions and very limited radioactivity. If China wins, it would have a leg up in a growing competition over energy resources as the U.S. is trying to shift more supply chains within domestic borders.
WSJ explores what’s at stake as the competition over energy resources intensifies around the world.