This is a repost from one of our sister publications, Windermere Sun, below:
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On Monday, September 20, 2021, the share of renewable energy (solar, wind, and hydro) on Australia’s main electricity grid shot above 60% (at 60.1%) for the first time at 12:10 pm, exactly one day and 15 minutes after its previous peak and record of 59.8% on Sunday, September 19, 2021, according to Dylan McConnell of the Climate Energy College in Melbourne, Australia, using data from OpenNEM. This new peak highlights the increased pace of transition into the clean or renewable energy and the shrinking output of coal as more solar and wind are rolled out across Australia. According to another data watcher, Geoff Eldridge from NEWLog, Sunday, September 19, 2021, did not just break the record for the share of renewable energy, but also the record for instantaneous wind and solar at 57%. The Australian Energy Market Operator also noticed: NSW record maximum rooftop solar PV (2,694.4 MW) and corresponding lowest minimums for network demand (4,867.4 MW) and Operation Demand (5,065.0 MW) and tweeted on Friday, September 24, 2021, “Spring is the season for records to bloom! Forecast mild temperatures and sunny weather in NSW and QLD on Sunday may see rooftop solar drive down energy demand from the grid to a new record low!” With such occurrence, NSW, the Australian state grid with the highest dependency on coal generation, would find it easier to align with the state government’s push to replace the aging coal fleet of more than 10GW with wind, solar, and storage under its renewable infrastructure plan. According to Eldridge of NEMLog, coal output on the main grid was at a record minimum of 9,161.6 MW at noon on Sunday, September 19, 2021 (or, at leas the lowest since Nov. 1, 2020), and was down 153.57 MW on the previous minimum on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021. It was also a record low share of coal generation (38.97%) on the main grid and for combined coal and gas (40.05%). The share of solar and wind could have been significantly higher were it not for the level of curtailment, either economic (switching off to avoid negative prices) or network (being forced to switch off due to grid issues or capacity constraints). On Sunday, September 19, 2021, the level of curtailment was more than 3.5 GW when that short-lived record was set. As the rollout of solar, wind, and storage (both battery and pumped hydro) continues to enter the grid, more records will change. AEMO forecasts that the rooftop solar, alone, will be able to reach 100% of demand in the state of South Australia some time this Spring (of Australia), around October, a FIRST for any gigawatt scale grid in the world! AEMO is also predicting that rooftop solar could meet up to 75% of demand on the entire main grid within next five years and is preparing the national grid to accommodate times of up to 100% solar and wind by 2025. ABC News: South Australia’s renewable energy boom has achieved a global milestone, in the video published on Oct. 25, 2020, “ABC News: South Australia runs purely on solar power in world first“, below:
Australia is preparing to build the world’s most powerful solar power plant. Engineers and builders will have to solve complex problems to cover an area equal to 17 thousand football fields that accommodate photovoltaic panels with a total capacity of 10 Gigawatts. The second challenge will be to transfer this energy to Singapore, the main consumer of electricity. There is also talk of exporting energy to Indonesia and various parts of Asia. But how exactly will the power plant be able to power a country more than three thousand kilometers away? In the video published on Sep. 21, 2021, “How Australia’s Most Powerful $16 Billion Solar Power plant Will Power Singapore“, below:
To begin with, it is worth understanding why energy problems have arisen in one of the most developed countries in the world. Australia faces regular power outages, and, unfortunately, South Australia suffers the most. There may be a lot of reasons: for instance, in September 2016, due to a storm, almost the entire state was left without electricity. One reason for the outages is that there are not enough storage facilities on the territory to supply more electricity during peak loads. The local authorities could not ensure the commensurate development of their own energy or storage capacities capable of providing electricity supplies during calm or cloudy weather. And it is quite difficult to restore the network because of the climatic conditions and long distances – Australia is not a tiny country. At the same time, electricity prices in the country are considered one of the highest in the world, in the video published on Jan. 13, 2021, “HOW ELON MUSK MANAGED TO SOLVE THE ENERGY CRISIS IN AUSTRALIA“, below:
In the video published on Oct. 29, 2017, “Elon Musk gets emotional over Australia’s energy emergency (Part Two) | 60 Minutes Australia“, below:
Australian Renewable Energy Agency CEO Darren Miller told Sky News Australia has made “incredible progress” in the transition to renewable energy sources, in the video published on May 18, 2021, “Australia making ‘incredible progress’ in the transition to renewable energy”, below:
Internationally recognized leader on global climate change, Christiana Figueres tells Liz Hayes we have just three years to get our renewable energy house in order, in the video published on Oct. 31, 2017, “Australians have just three years to get our renewable energy house in order | 60 Minutes Australia“, below:
This is a repost from one of our sister publications, Windermere Sun, below:
Elon Musk, 2018 (Attribution: The Royal Society, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en, Presented at: WindermereSun.com & sunisthefuture.net)
Elon Musk talks about his plan for the sun. It’s already very normal day when Elon Musk talks about some revolutionary idea and this speech is no exception, in the video published on Sep. 12, 2021, “Elon Musk – Sun is The Future“, below:
In order to be sustainable, we have to have sustainable means of production and consumption of energy, to drive electric cars in order to reduce CO2 emission, and to generate sustainable energy. Sustainable energy may be in the form of solar, nuclear, hydro-thermal, hydro, and wind energy. The primary form of energy to be generated will be solar. Sustainable or solar energy production combined with stationary storage, the world can be powered many times over by solar energy. About a third of our energy use is electricity, about a third of energy use is for for heating, and a third of energy use is in transport. There is enough energy from the sun to support all three areas of energy use/need. There is 1 gw per square km amount of energy coming from the sun. The earth is already almost entirely solar powered. The amount of energy needed to power our civilization is tiny compared to energy from the sun (1 gigabit per square kilometer). At 20% efficient solar panels, that’s 200 Mw per square kilometer. There would be plenty of energy for all three areas of energy use from solar, with some contribution from wind, geothermal, and tidal. And we need to stop subsidizing burning fossil fuels. For more about the use of solar energy, please visit: Sun Is The Future and Sun Is The Future youtube channel. Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
Within two weeks after Hurricane Irma swept over St. John (smallest of the three main U.S. Virgin Islands), a survivor used debris from a nearby home to spell out “SEND TESLA“. With significant loss of life, lack of drinking water, dehydration, food scarcity, and disappearing power grid in Puerto Rico, the humanitarian effort by Tesla stepping in to help was truly welcomed. Bloomberg reported that Tesla had been sending hundreds of its Powerwall battery systems to be paired with solar panels to help restore the power back to the battered island. The monumental destruction brought by hurricanes Irma and Maria on the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in September is opening up the possibilities for companies such as Tesla to move in and establish a presence. Tesla sent representatives to the island to begin signing up survivors for solar services.
Tesla indicated that some of the systems (Tesla Powerwall+Solar Panels) are already in Puerto Rico and others are on their way. Bloomberg also reported, “The company (Tesla) has employees on the ground to install them and is working with local organizations to identify locations.” The Puerto Rico island is still mostly without without power.
Thanks to Tesla for bringing power/electricity back to some of the people of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.
Mia Farrow’s Twitter further reminds us of the BBC report of 55% of the people in Puerto Rico are without drinking water. Hopefully, President Trump’s visit tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017) to Puerto Rico will bring more attention, help, and water being dropped in by the U.S. National Guard to these Americans at Puerto Rico.
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
Hyperloop pod carriages major components designed by Elon Musk (presented at WindermereSun.com & sunisthefuture.net)
Hyperloop tube (presented at WindermerSun.com & sunisthefuture.net)
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The vision of Elon Musk, once a simple sketch in Musk’s blog back in August of 2013, will soon become a reality. At the speed of 760 mph, this high speed mode of transport would allow commuters to travel between Orlando and Miami in 26 minutes or between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 30.15 minutes (twice as fast as commercial air travel). It is truly enabling us to travel at a blink of an eye. As an alternative to boats, aircrafts, automobiles, and trains, Elon Musk’s vision was that of hyperloop transporting people (and cars) via electromagnetically levitated pods/capsules enclosed inside of steel low-pressure tubes. Musk described the design looking like a shotgun with the tube running side by side for most of the journey and closing the loop at either end. The tube is partially evacuated to reduce friction. The capsule or pod carriage rides on a cushion of air forced through multiple openings at the capsule’s bottom (as though capsules are suspended midair by air casters, think of pucks on air hockey table float around ), further reducing friction. The capsules would be propelled (accelerate or decelerate) by linear induction motors (which are magnetic) placed at intervals along the route. These tubes would be mounted on columns 50 to 100 yards apart and the pods or capsules inside would travel up to 760 mph. Finally the hyperloop vehicle itself contains air compressor near the front to intake excess air in the tube and exhaust in the back because excess air would cause resistance and drag that would slow down the vehicle.
Since Elon Musk has made the hyperloop design/technology open source, there had been multiple governments, universities, companies worldwide exploring this concept . Hyperloop One, launched in 2014, previously known as Hyperloop Technologies, is a company in Los Angeles, California, that is working to commercialize the Hyperloop for moving passengers and/or cargo at airline speeds at a fraction of the cost of air travel. The concept of Hyperloop transportation was introduced and named by Elon Musk in August 2013, although he is not directly involved with Hyperloop One. The company has raised $160 million and demonstrated a form of propulsion technology in May 2016 at its test site north of Las Vegas. Its new round of funding on September 21, revealing an additional $85 million received from investors such as DP World, Caspian VC Partners, WTI, and OurCrowd.com. So, in total, Hyperloop One has raised $245 million since its launch in 2014 and is now worth more than $700 million. Hyperloop One has completed a 500m Development Loop (DevLoop) in North Las Vegas and just after midnight on May 12, 2017, the company held its first full-scale Hyperloop test, becoming the first company in the world to test a full-scale Hyperloop. The test combined Hyperloop components including vacuum, propulsion, levitation, sled, control systems, tube, and structures.
Hyperloop One is currently developing passenger and cargo system routes in the United States, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates. It is also in early talks with Indian government to build one in India. Its publicly stated goal is to deliver a fully operational Hyperloop system by 2021. Officials with Hyperloop One placed the Florida route on a list of 10 that had cleared an initial proposal review. Each of the cities will now receive resources to help develop feasibility studies for the regions.
“The Hyperloop One Global Challenge started as a call to action for innovators, engineers, trailblazers and dreamers around the world who shared our vision of creating a new mode of transportation,” stated Shervin Pishevar, cofounder and executive chairman of the Hyperloop One group, in an announcement of all of the finalists. Below, is the announcement of Hyperloop One Global Challenge in June of 2016:
Outcome of The Hyperloop One Global Challenge, announced on September 14, 2017:
Winning Teams.Routes Represent United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, India, and Canada
CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation), Hyperloop One and AECOM Enter Public-Private Partnership to Begin Feasibility Study
Hyperloop One Announce World’s First Global Summit around Hyperloop One Technology
For more details, please refer to HERE
We will be expecting wonderful collaborative efforts and new mode of transportation in the 2020’s. Our world is getting smaller, mostly due to innovations, open source, and great collaborations.
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
This is a repost from one of our sister publications, Windermere Sun.
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Space X’s CRS-12 Mission (presented at WindermereSun.com)
Space X’s CRS-12 Mission (presented at WindermereSun.com)
Space X’s CRS-12 Mission (presented at WindermereSun.com)
Space X’s CRS-12 Mission (presented at WindermereSun.com)
Space X’s CRS-12 Mission (presented at WindermereSun.com)
Space X’s CRS-12 Mission (presented at WindermereSun.com)
Space X’s CRS-12 Mission (presented at WindermereSun.com)
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As I’ve promised some of our readers, I will try to cover as much of the Space X launches, as often as possible!
For those of you who are not as familiar with Space X, Space X designs, manufacturers and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. It was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology by Elon Musk, with the ultimate goal of enabling human/earthlings to live on other planets.
For my solar and sustainable living friends, yes, I believe one of the components of sustainability of earthlings is space exploration. So, I also have friends and readers from this area and intend to also cover news and information about our space travel, space technology, and inter-galatic intrigues.Space X launched the delivery mission on Monday, August 14, 2017, on a Falcon 9 rocket. The CRS-12 Dragon spacecraft was launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Monday, August 14, 2017, at 12:31 EDT (16:31 UTC). The mission is sending a robotic Dragon cargo capsule on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA.
About eight minutes after the launch, the first stage of the two-stage Falcon 9 came back to earth, touching down at Space X’s “Landing Zone 1” at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, sitting next door to Kennedy Space Center.
On Wednesday, August 16, 2017, at 6:52 am EDT (10:52 UTC), the uncrewed Dragon Spacecraft was captured by astronauts using International Space Station’s robotic arm-Canadarm2, as the two spacecraft were flying over the Pacific Ocean, just north of New Zealand. The Dragon cargo ship was filled with more than 6,400 lbs (2,900 kg) of supplies, science experiments and food and yes ice cream for the space station’s Expedition 52 crew. After the successful delivery and receiving the “Congratulations on a job well done,” message from astronaut Andreas Morgenson of the European Space Agency being radioed to the station’s crew from NASA’s Mission Control in Houston.Below, U.S. Commercial Cargo Craft (Dragon Spacecraft) arrives at the International Space Station:
Video was taken back in 2012, of the Hatch Opening Between Dragon & ISS (International Space Station), below:
Space X so far has 14 such rocket landings and the company has reflown two landed boosters to date. It is the goal of the company and Elon Musk to develop fully and rapidly reusable systems in order to dramatically reduce the cost of space exploration.
For a view of the International Space Station and how it works, here is a HD documentary of tour inside the International Space Station (ISS) shown by NASA Astronaut Sunita (Suni) Williams. She describes how the station is divided into two pressurized modules, floating to each as she demonstrates scientific instruments, brushes teeth, drinks water and using the bathroom, all in zero gravity. Sunita “Suni” Williams is an American astronaut of Indian-Slovenian descent holding several spacewalking records by a woman, below:
If you think this is pretty cool, enjoy exploring, and like math and sciences, you may like to consider becoming an astronaut some day and/or join the Planetary Society or at Planetary Society!
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
This is a repost from one of our sister publications, Windermere Sun, below:
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South Australia, World’s Biggest Lithium Ion Battery Farm (credit: Tesla, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
Elon Musk’s tweet about South Australia’s battery farm for renewable energy (presented at WindermereSun.com)
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Elon Musk has followed through with his promise to solve the growing energy crisis in South Australia in 100 days! Tesla (TSLA) cofounder and energy division head Lyndon Rive boldly claimed, back in March of 2017, that he would commit to installing the 100-300 megawatt hours of battery required to prevent the increasingly frequent blackouts of South Australia within 100 days. He said the company could do the same in Victoria, where the closure of the 1600 MW Hazelwood coal plant in March was raising more fears of increasing blackouts across the eastern states electricity market next summer, following a near blackout in NSW on February 10 after an unexpected spike in demand due to a heat wave. Musk upped the ante by not only backing Rive’s claim but also insisting that if the 100 MWh of battery system would not be installed within 100-day window, he (Musk) would offer the service completely free of charge. When the billionaire-entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes asked Musk in March, if Tesla was serious when it claimed it could quickly end blackouts in South Australia,”Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you?” Musk tweeted at the time.
Tweets to Elon Musk from Australia (presented at WindermereSun.com)
To solve South Australia’s energy crisis, Tesla (TSLA) has teamed up with French renewable energy firm Neoen and an Australian state government (with a South Australian company CPP doing the ground work) to install the world’s largest lithium ion battery farm. Paired up with Neoen’s existing Hornsdale Wind Farm in the state of South Australia, near Jamestown, north of Adelaide, the battery farm will have three times the capacity as the next biggest in the world. South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill said this extraordinary collaboration would deliver a grid-scale battery that would “stabilize the South Australian network as well as putting downward pressure on prices. Battery storage is the future of our national energy market, and the eyes of the world will be following our leadership in this space.” The project is intended to sustain 100 MW of power and store 129 MWh, being able to power about 30,000 homes, according to Tesla. The project is currently slated for completion by December to harness the existing Hornsdale Wind Farm to charge the mega-battery while the wind is blowing and discharge power when it is most needed. Musk commented, “It’s a fundamental efficiency improvement to the power grid, and it’s really quite necessary and quite obvious considering a renewable energy future.” In essence, by storing renewable (wind and solar) energy during off-peak hours and then discharging that energy during peak hours, utility companies are able to cut costs, improve reliability and resiliancy, and reduce reliance on non-renewable energy sources.
Tesla was able to beat the other 91 international bidders for this project. It is understandable, for the company has made substantial progress in the utility front since introducing Powerwall and Powerpack about two years ago. Tesla now supplies energy to the Hawaiian Island of Kauai using a large solar energy plant running on the Powerpack technology. Medium size businesses are also turning to Tesla tech for energy storage, including the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Southern California Edison’s Mira Loma substation in Ontario, California powering 15,000 homes. So, while the South Australia project may have an ambitious timetable, Tesla’s impressive resume suggests that the 100-day goal should not be a problem for Tesla.
tweets to Elon Musk from Ukraine (presented at WindermereSun.com)
In the meantime, rumor has it that citizens from other countries have also taken to social media to ask Musk for help. A user by the same of @5AllanLeVito asked Musk to bring a similar project to Ukraine, above. Musk’s response “Sure”, and laid out the cost. New Zealand and others may soon to follow. Thank goodness for new technology Twitter: much will be accomplished within much shorter period of time! Hurray for the renewable future! Hurray for America’s adopted son, Elon Musk, in his progress/effort in saving our planet earth!
Perhaps the Floridians should start tweeting Elon Musk for our battery system!
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
This is a repost from our sister publication, Windermere Sun, below:
wind surfing (photo by Olga Shevchenko, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
sunset sun rays (photo by Susan Sun Nunamaker, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
wind turbine (photo by Paul Davison, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
solar panels reflecting the sky (photo by: Debbie Mous, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
wind farm (photo by Drew Broadley, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
solar energy (photo by: Alla Leitus, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
Oh my God dis is my favourite 🙂 (photo by kenchu, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
Solar Panels on Space Vehicle (photo by: SpaceX, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
wind energy (photo by Arno Nym, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
solar panels (photo by Rainer Berg, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
windmill (photo by Christophe Grasseau, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
skyscraper solar stone (photo by: Valerij Zhugan, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
windmill (photo by Dora Mitsonia, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
solar (photo by frederico pinto, presented at: WindermereSun.com)
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monthly net electricity generation from selected fuels (Jan.-March, 2017, credit: U.S. EIA), presented at: WindermereSun.com
monthly net electricity generation from selected fuels, in % (Jan.-March, 2017, credit: U.S. EIA) presented at: WindermereSun.com
In March of 2017, according to a new U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report, ten percent of all of the electricity generated in United States came from wind and solar power. This milestone demonstrates that renewable energy are becoming significant source of electricity in U.S. and no longer need to be classified as “alternative” energy. Texas is the biggest wind power producer while California is the largest solar producer in USA.
Below, in italics, is taken from EIA report on June 14, 2017)
For the first time, monthly electricity generation from wind and solar (including utility-scale plants and small-scale systems) exceeded 10% of total electricity generation in the United States, based on March data in EIA’s Electric Power Monthly. Electricity generation from both of these energy sources has grown with increases in wind and solar generating capacity. On an annual basis, wind and solar made up 7% of total U.S. electric generation in 2016.
Electricity generation from wind and solar follows seasonal patterns that reflect the seasonal availability of wind and sunshine. Within the United States, wind patterns vary based on geography. For example, wind-powered generating units in Texas, Oklahoma, and nearby states often have their highest output in spring months, while wind-powered generators in California are more likely to have their highest output in summer months.
Monthly solar output is highest in the summer months, regardless of location, because of the greater number of daylight hours. About half of all utility-scale solar power plants in the United States use some form of sun-tracking technology to improve their seasonal output.
Based on seasonal patterns in recent years, electricity generation from wind and solar will probably exceed 10% of total U.S. generation again in April 2017, then fall to less than 10% in the summer months. Since 2014, when EIA first began estimating monthly, state-level electricity generation from small-scale solar photovoltaic systems, combined wind and solar generation has reached its highest level in either the spring or fall. Because these seasons are times of generally low electricity demand, combined wind and solar generation also reached its highest share of the U.S. total during these times of year.
Based on annual data for 2016, Texas accounted for the largest total amount of wind and solar electricity generation. Nearly all of this generation was from wind, as Texasgenerates more wind energy than any other state. As a share of the state’s total electricity generation, wind and solar output was highest in Iowa, where wind and solar made up 37% of electricity generation in 2016. In addition to Iowa, wind and solar provided at least 20% of 2016 electricity generation in six other states.
In almost all states, wind makes up a larger share of the state’s total electricity generation than solar. Among the top dozen states, only California and Arizona had more solar generation than wind in 2016. Three states in the top 12—Iowa, Kansas, and North Dakota—had no generation from utility-scale solar plants in 2016 and relatively little output from small-scale solar photovoltaic systems.
EIA analyst Owen Comstock said state renewable goals are one of the biggest reasons how wind and solar are able to reach this milestone. Most states require a certain portion of their electricity to be generated from renweables. States such as California is currently setting its goal to obtain 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, and lawmakers in CA are debating about the possibility of expanding that to 100% by 2045.
For those of us in Florida, even without with any government incentive or mandate, due to the dramatic dropping of cost in solar and wind, as long as we pay attention and take actions, we will be on our way to hit the 100% renewables goal before 2045. Based on SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association), Floridians have installed 725.1 MW solar by 2016 (404.7 MW was installed in 2016). More will be provided in the next post.
Photographed, gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
Below is a repost from our sister publication, Windermere Sun.
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Tesla Dual Motor design (credit: Tesla/Screen shot)
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After all that’s been going on with Trump Administration this week, I seriously need to report/share on some topics that would make me feel good. Last night, as I came across an article about Tesla’s dual-engine or dual motor design, I realized that I never did report, in detail, about this intriguing design in the past. I’ve known about Tesla’s self-driving or autopilot optional feature in Tesla Model S/X/3, but did not mention much about its dual motor design until last night. It is very impressive both in its efficiency and optimized outcome in speed and acceleration. It can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.20 seconds, with top speed at 155 mph. Any of the Tesla cars that comes with dual motor/engine would come with “D” in its model name. In the video below, one can see the front drive unit and rear drive unit of Model S. Its uniqueness is in its ability to be able to shift its dynamic power from front to rear in a matter of millilseconds. So its torque can be quickly adjusted, much better and quicker than the historical mechanically linked system (linked with the shaft). So, this is a design equivalent to the digital system, replacing the old analog system. Its constant optimal efficiency level is actually able to compensate for the increased mass of a dual motor design. Every thing is improved with this design. In Elon Musk’s words, “it’s like having your own roller coaster.” It is actually coming with the option of having 3 settings: Normal, Sport, and Insane. Elon Musk also assured us that future designs of Tesla will continue to improve. The more affordable Tesla’s Model 3 (costing about $35,000) should be arriving by the end of 2017. Model 3 of 2017 currently comes with single motor, and Model 3 dual motor design can be ordered in 2018.
I was also very happy to find out about Elon Musk’s presentation in December of 2016 for Tesla Solar Roof. So, hopefully one day, soon in the future, we will be able to order an autopilot, dual motor, solar powered car from Tesla. In the mean time, apparently Tesla is also planning on bringing a new compact SUV to the market. This vehicle will be the crossover version of the Model 3 and will be called Model Y, expected to be rolled out by 2020.
Below is a re-post from one of our sister publications, Windermere Sun:
Over some of the social networks, our previous post of Climate March Orlando on April 29, 2017 received much attention and debate/discussion regarding climate change. At one point, I did comment, “I am optimistic, for solar and wind costs have already dropped tremendously in recent years. Solar is more cost effective than conventional fossil fuel in many places. Electric vehicle and solar e-vehicles are coming in. These progress will all help in keeping carbon emission in check or be reduced in our earth’s atmosphere.”
Case in point, I’d like to share a video that demonstrates how Panasonic is building the full-length solar roof for Japan’s Prius Prime plug in hybrid, below:
Panasonic announced an advanced solar car that will debut as the 2017 model Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid in Japan (the Prius Prime) last week. This is going to be the first commercially available, mass produced passenger car to feature an optional solar charging system! Improvements in solar technology efficiency combined with advanced design and technologies to laminate three-dimensional curved glass have allowed a high output (tripling the output of previous solar roof that was only able to ventilate parked cars and auxiliary charging of the standard 12-volt lead acid battery). As the solar panels and electric vehicle become cheaper and more efficient, the potential range boost will likely to occur. The 2017 Prius Prime is a plug-in hybrid with about 25 miles of range available on a fully charged battery before it needs gasoline.It gets 54 miles per gallon (combined city-highway EPA estimate) when running on gas. Its EPA estimated electric mileage is 133 mpg-e.
Its solar roof option will initially be offered only in Japan (on Japanese models) until Toyota and Panasonic develop an improvement to the reinforced curved glass panels, which would not pass U.S. rollover standards.
The panel is capable of producing 180 watts of electricity, which is apparently enough to power car accessories (which weren’t specified) and also charge the lithium-ion batteries. According to Toyota, this panel can add up to 3.7 miles of range a day to the car’s battery while parked, and it also helps charge the battery while the car is in motion. It also fits the contours of the Prius roof and doesn’t change the design.
Tesla CEO Elon Musktweeted in November 2016 that he wanted a solar roof option for the Tesla Model 3, Tesla’s affordable long-range electric car that had record pre-sales. Whether it will be Tesla solar car or Toyota solar car make it into the U.S. showroom first, one thing to be certain: our streets will soon be covered with Solar Powered Electric Vehicles….to reduce carbon emissions and to slow down the warming of our planet earth! I gladly await for the electric vehicle that will allow me to have both self-driving and solar powered features long before I reach my 80’s. It is an amazing world we’re living in!
This is a repost from one of our sister publication, Windermere Sun, below:
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Tesla Solar Roof (credit: Tesla/Solar City)
Tesla Solar Roof (credit: Tesla/Solar City)
Tesla Solar Roof (credit: Tesla/Solar City)
Tesla Solar Roof single held up by CEO Elon Musk (credit: Tesla/Solar City)
Tesla Solar Roof (credit: Tesla/Solar City)
Tesla Solar Roof single held up by CEO Elon Musk (credit: Tesla/Solar City)
Tesla Solar Roof (credit: Tesla/Solar City)
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Just weeks after our previous reporting of Tesla/Solar City’s Solar roof, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that their Tesla/Solar City solar roof will be cheaper than the conventional/traditional roofing material. Previously Elon Musk said their solar roof would be cheaper, when taking into consideration of the fact that power would be generated from these solar roofs. But now he believes that the cost of manufacturing and installing their solar roofs will be less than the traditional roofs even before taking into consideration of its power generation. Solar City is the largest solar manufacturer and installer in USA. In November of this year, the share holders approved the merger of Tesla and Solar City. Tesla’s solar roofs are expected to hit the market in Summer of 2017.
It’s a no brainer: Tesla/Solar City solar roofs will cost lower, are stronger and last longer, better insulated, and generate power! So when it’s time for you to replace your existing roof or building your roof for the first time, think about Tesla-Solar City Solar Roof!!!
Talk about revolution! Elon Musk continues to lead the charge of this revolution for our Renewable Future!
