How Low Cost Wind and Solar Push The Market For Renewable Hydrogen

Clean Power

Published on January 14th, 2019 by Tina Casey

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Natural gas gets a lot of credit for toppling coal out of first place for power generation in the US, but gas stakeholders might want to put that celebratory champagne back on ice for a while. Wind and solar already beat natural gas on price in some parts of the US grid, a trend that is likely to spread. On top of that, renewable hydrogen could quickly replace natural gas in two other major markets, fuel and fertilizer production — with an assist from wind and solar power.

A Pathway For Renewable Hydrogen

For those of you new to the topic, hydrogen is an abundant fuel, but it does not exist in nature. It has to be extracted from something else, and right now that something is mainly natural gas.

On the plus side, more sustainable alternatives have begun to emerge. Substituting biogas for natural gas is one option. Another is using renewable energy to separate or “split” hydrogen from water with an electrical current.

Water-splitting (aka electrolysis) makes no sense from a sustainability perspective, if the electrical current is generated from fossil fuels. Wind and solar have changed the game.

However, even with low cost wind and solar the economics still don’t quite work out. Electrolysis requires a catalyst to kick off the reaction, and conventional catalysts are based on platinum and other expensive metals.

Bad news!

Help Is On The Way

Back to the good news. A few years ago, CleanTechnica took note of the company Dioxide Materials, which is among those working on the catalyst issue. In 2015 Dioxide Materials received a $2 million slice of funding from ARPA-E, as part of a $125 million round of awards aimed at accelerating “transformational” energy R&D.

The company’s name also popped up again last December in connection with plans for a zero emission ferry in the San Francisco Bay.

Last week CleanTechnica reached out to Dioxide Materials for an update, and learned that the company spun off the renewable hydrogen work into an outfit called Alchemr.

Rich Masel, who is CEO of Dioxide Materials and chair of the Alchemr board of directors, graciously shared some thoughts on the renewable hydrogen market in a phone interview with CleanTechnica.

As Masel sees it, the market for renewable hydrogen in the auto sector is going to take a long time to develop. In contrast, opportunities exist here and now in the market for ammonia, the main ingredient in fertilizer production (following comments edited for clarity and flow):

CleanTechnica: What is the market for renewable hydrogen?

Masel: There is a big market for hydrogen, but not for cars. That’s going to take a long time. The big market is in ammonia plants.

Ammonia is typically made from natural gas. Until two years ago that was cheapest way to make it. Now that is slowly changing in some areas.

In China, for example, there is a shortage of natural gas in winter so they turn off fertilizer plants. In Italy, they don’t have enough natural gas to make the fertilizer they need. In Africa, the fertilizer needs to be made close to the marketplace. In Chile natural gas is very expensive, but they just built a two cents per kilowatt hour wind farm [note: solar is also super cheap in Chile].

In these kinds of applications, electrolyzing water is economical.

Look at Colorado. Renewable energy was 1.8 cents average per kilowatt. At that price electrolysis is reasonable. You’re close to natural gas.

What About That New Catalyst?

Mr. Masel emphasized that as far as Alchemr is concerned, the high-volume market for renewable hydrogen right now is in ammonia production and industrial applications, not hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

That’s pretty evident, considering the sluggish pace of fuel cell passenger cars. The prospects for future growth look better for shipping and logistics (think semi trucks and forklifts). Still, Masel is focused on the present:

Masel: California refineries used 1 billion cubic feet of hydrogen annually, all made from natural gas.

When I look at the market for renewable hydrogen it’s not for cars. It’s going to replace natural gas or coal for industrial uses.

CleanTechnica: What innovation is Alchemr bringing to electrolysis?

Masel: There are two ways to make hydrogen. One is an old fashioned electrolyzer, but you can’t turn it on and off so easily. They are also gigantic.

The other is PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) electrolyzers. They work perfectly fine but they use a lot of platinum. We get the same performance with nickel, iron, and stainless steel.

The problem is that the capital expenditure is pretty high for both PEM and old fashioned electrolyzers. We’ve built a system that’s the size of a PEM unit, without the platinum. That also reduces operating costs because replacement of the catalyst is less expensive.

CleanTechnica: Who are your customers?

Masel: We can’t right say anything specific right now about major companies, but we are working with two. For hydrogen you have to look at the real market opportunities — to lower the carbon footprint of various major industries, like making fertilizer.

For CO2 it’s the same kind of thing. The Europeans have said they are banning fossil fuels, so oil companies are looking for alternatives. You have to have a carbon source aside from biofuel.

Onward And Upward For Renewable Hydrogen

Masel wrapped up the conversation by nothing that the total hydrogen market last year was $160 billion.

Look for the company’s signature renewable hydrogen under the trademarked name Cleandrogen. The Alchemr website also provides these details about the company’s trademarked Flexolyzer electrolyzer, billed as a “complete alkaline anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer:”

…The unit includes corrosion resistant 5 cm² anode and cathode flow fields, an MEA with base metal catalysts, metal gas diffusion layers, o-ring seals, and Teflon gasketing.

Got all that? On a side note, the ammonia angle is also interesting from a transportation perspective. Researchers are beginning to work on the idea of using sustainable ammonia as an economical transportation and storage medium for hydrogen.

As for Dioxide Materials, the company has some interesting carbon dioxide recycling projects up its sleeve, including a room temperature system designed for use on Mars. Yes, we are going to Mars.

Circling back around to that thing about wind and solar being cheaper than natural gas in some electricity markets, don’t just take our word for it. The trend was recently underscored by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, who crunched the numbers on a county-by-county basis.

Follow me on Twitter.

Image: via Alchemr.

Tags: Alchemr, Dioxide Materials, Hydrogen

About the Author

Tina Casey specializes in military and corporate sustainability, advanced technology, emerging materials, biofuels, and water and wastewater issues. Tina’s articles are reposted frequently on Reuters, Scientific American, and many other sites. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on Twitter @TinaMCasey and Google+.

source http://ncairways.co/renewable-energy/how-low-cost-wind-solar-push-the-market-for-renewable-hydrogen-cleantechnica-2/

Only Negativism and Anti Modi Agenda Will not Work: Arun Jaitley

74% Of India’s New Power Capacity Addition In 2018 Was Renewables

Clean Power

Published on January 21st, 2019 by Saurabh

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India added a total (net) of 17.6 gigawatts power generation capacity in 2018, a record percentage (74%) of that capacity was based on renewable energy technologies — primarily solar power. The huge capacity coming online from renewable energy sector has made 2018 the greenest year in terms of new capacity addition so far.

Also Read : India’s Wind Capacity Crosses 10% Share In Overall Installed Base

Of the 17.6 gigawatts of total capacity added last year, 4.1 gigawatts came from fossil fuel-based technologies (various forms of coal and natural gas), around 435 megawatts were contributed by large hydro, and 13.1 gigawatts came from renewable energy technologies. Hydro power projects with installed capacity over 25 megawatts are not classified as renewable energy projects. Solar power projects with total capacity of 8.9 gigawatts and wind energy projects of 2.2 gigawatts were commissioned last year.

Thus, in the total capacity addition, solar power had an impressive share of 50%, while wind energy had a share of 12%. New capacity added in the fossil fuel sector shrunk to 24%, this was, however, marginally higher from the 21% witnessed in 2017.

The net capacity addition in H2 2018 declined sharply from 12.7 gigawatts added in H1 2018, but showed marginal improvement when compared with the capacity added in H2 2017 (3.3 gigawatts). The low capacity addition was the result of a massive crash in new capacity added in the fossil fuel sector, and subdued growth in the solar and wind energy sectors. Only 335 megawatts of net capacity added in the fossil fuel sector.

Still the share of renewable energy in the net overall capacity addition was an incredible 93% in H2 2018, the best in a half-yearly period when there was a net positive addition in the fossil fuel sector. Of the net capacity addition of 4.9 gigawatts, 4.6 gigawatts came from renewable energy capacity. The share of solar power was 59%, wind 15%, and fossil fuel 6%.

The sharp rise in renewable energy capacity addition last year reflected well in the share of low-carbon power generated. The share of renewable energy in overall power generation in India stands at an all-time high of 9% for the period of January-November 2018, with final numbers for December awaited. Q3 2018 saw the record-breaking share of wind and overall renewable energy technologies in overall power generation at 8.2% and 11.9%, respectively. Q3 2018 also marked the first quarter ever when the share of renewable energy crossed 10% in the overall power generation in India.

Tags: India, india renewable energy, India Solar Power, india wind energy

About the Author

Saurabh An avid follower of latest developments in the Indian renewable energy sector.

source http://ncairways.co/renewable-energy/74-of-indias-new-power/

India’s Wind Capacity Crosses 10% Share In Overall Installed Base

Clean Power

Published on January 21st, 2019 by Saurabh

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India’s renewable energy sector achieved yet another major milestone. The country’s wind energy capacity crossed the 10% share mark in the overall installed base in the last quarter of 2018.

Wind energy remains the dominant technology in India’s nearly 76 gigawatts of renewable energy installed capacity (as of 31 December 2018). India saw the addition of 523 megawatts of wind energy capacity in the last quarter of 2018, pushing the total wind energy installed capacity to over 35 gigawatts. India’s total power generation installed capacity stood at 351 gigawatts at the end of last year. 

Wind energy has remained the largest renewable energy technology in India, in terms of installed capacity, for several years. Being a mature technology, the presence of domestic and international turbine manufacturers, supportive feed-in tariff regimes across multiple states, early identification of wind energy potential in the country, and financial and tax incentives associated with installed of wind energy projects bolstered the sector.

However, of late the capacity addition has been highly regulated and nearly fully linked to the wind energy tenders issued by the central and state governments. Since the introduction of competitive auction regime in February 2017, India has auctioned 9.8 gigawatts of wind energy capacity. A very large majority of this capacity is under various stages of development.

While being a major milestone for the wind energy sector in India, the rise in installed capacity has slowed down with the government’s focus shifting towards the solar power sector over the last few years. The installed wind energy capacity in India has increased from around 23.4 gigawatts at the end March 2015 to 35.1 gigawatts at the end of December 2018. The average quarterly capacity addition in the sector over this period has been around just 800 megawatts. Only in three of the 14 quarters between this period has the sector seen capacity addition of over 1 gigawatts.

In comparison, India’s solar power capacity has grown from 3.7 gigawatts at the end of March 2015 to over 26 gigawatts at the end of December 2018. The average quarterly capacity addition has been twice that in the wind energy capacity. Eight of the 14 quarters during the period have seen more than 1 gigawatts of capacity addition.

Growth in the solar power sector will continue to outpace that in the wind energy capacity, and with less than 10 gigawatts of difference now between the two technologies, the former could overtake the latter in a matter of months.

India plans to have an installed wind energy capacity of 70 gigawatts by March 2022, and 140 gigawatts by March 2030. The share of wind energy in India’s total power generation stands at 4.6% between January and November 2018, up from 4.1% in 2017. 

 

Tags: India, India Power Sector, india wind energy

About the Author

Saurabh An avid follower of latest developments in the Indian renewable energy sector.

source http://ncairways.co/renewable-energy/indias-wind-capacity-crosses-10/

TEPCO & Ørsted Sign MoU To Explore Japanese Offshore Wind Projects

Clean Power

Published on January 21st, 2019 |
by Joshua S Hill

January 21st, 2019 by Joshua S Hill

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Danish power giant Ørsted has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, better known as TEPCO, to explore the possibility and to work jointly on developing offshore wind projects in Japan.

Following in the footsteps of a similar Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Japan’s Electric Power Development Co., better known as J-Power, and French multinational electric utility ENGIE back in September 2018, and building on TEPCO’s plans to build up to 6 or 7 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy — outlined by TEPCO’s president Tomoaki Kobayakawa in July 2018 who outlined offshore as the company’s primary focus — the new MoU will focus first on the Choshi offshore wind project near Tokyo. TEPCO has been carrying out a seabed survey to examine the feasibility of developing the Choshi offshore wind farm, announced last November, located off the coast of the Chiba Prefecture.

“We’re confident that the partnership combining TEPCO’s extensive expertise in the Japanese power business and Ørsted’s unparalleled track record in the offshore wind business will lead to success in the Choshi project,” said TEPCO Representative Executive Officer and President, Tomoaki Kobayakawa. “We hope that this first step paves the way for expansion beyond the coastlines of Japan for the development, construction, operation and ownership of offshore wind projects.”

“TEPCO is aiming to make renewable energy a core generating source by developing 6-7 GW of renewable energy projects in Japan and overseas. The partnership with Ørsted will provide us with a very strong platform to scale up our renewable energy business as one of our main pillars of business growth.”

Beyond the Choshi project, TEPCO and Ørsted will also work towards building a strategic partnership for broader collaboration. It’s also worth noting the way in which TEPCO phrased its statement from Tomoaki Kobayakawa, which suggests that TEPCO will also look to work with Ørsted in developing offshore wind projects away from Japan, as well as in Japanese waters, in line with TEPCO’s July comments.

“Our vision is to create a world that runs entirely on green energy, and we look forward to expanding our presence in the Asia-Pacific region and bringing over two decades of offshore wind knowledge into this partnership for the Choshi project,” added Ørsted CEO and President, Henrik Poulsen.

“As the largest player in the Japanese electricity industry, TEPCO has deep insights into the local power market and the regulatory requirements. This MoU is the first step in Ørsted and TEPCO’s aspirations to deliver on Japan’s ambitions for domestic renewable power generation at a large scale and contribute to making Japan a leading offshore wind market in the Asia-Pacific. We welcome this first opportunity to work with TEPCO and look forward to strengthening our relationship further.”

Japan’s offshore wind sector has received significant support of late, due in large part (unfortunately) to the disastrous nuclear meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011. The Japanese Government has committed to increasing the deployment of renewable energy projects and the passing of a legislating foundation for designating large-scale offshore wind development areas. Specifically, Japan is targeting 10 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy by 2030 as part of a larger plan to reach a 22-24% renewable share of electricity generation by 2030. According to Ørsted’s Head of Group Press Relations, Tom Lehn-Christiansen, “While this target is for onshore and offshore wind combined, I believe it’s fair to say that offshore wind is well positioned due to its scalability and the fact that Japan is mountainous, which means there’s limited space for onshore renewables.”

Expectations are also high for the country’s solar industry which is expected to add 17 GW worth of new solar capacity between the end of 2017 and the end of 2020, according to a report published in October 2018.

As for Japan’s offshore prospects, Wood Mackenzie analysts expect both Japan and neighboring South Korea to boast an offshore base of over 2 GW each by 2027. This might even be low-balling things, given comments made by TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa in July 2018, promising that his company was looking to develop between 6 GW and 7 GW of renewable energy across Japan and overseas, focusing primarily on offshore wind. This was followed only a few months later by the MoU signed between J-Power and ENGIE. Considering also the prospect of Taiwan’s own burgeoning offshore wind goals — having already awarded 5.5 GW worth of capacity to be developed by 2025 — offshore wind in East Asia is shaping up to be a hot commodity.

Tags: East Asia, ENGIE, J-Power, Japan, japan offshore wind, japan wind, Japan’s Electric Power Development Co, Ørsted, taiwan, TEPCO, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings

About the Author

Joshua S Hill I’m a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we’re pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket!

I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.

source http://ncairways.co/renewable-energy/tepco-orsted-sign-mou/

BJP dismisses opposition election alliance

NEW DELHI

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday dismissed the opposition’s chances at upcoming elections after hundreds of thousands of people attended a weekend rally bringing together 23 disparate parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Massive job losses and farm distress have damaged the aura of invincibility Modi and his ruling BJP had until recently as the world’s biggest democracy approaches a general election due by May.

But the opposition suffers too from a perceived lack of leadership, so sought to project unity at Saturday’s rally and bind forces against Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.

They have not, however, presented a candidate to replace him, saying their first priority was to defeat Modi.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, a top BJP leader and government troubleshooter, said a “presidential style vote casting Modi against an opposition coalition would help BJP. Every General Election has its own script that is dictated by the prevailing political environment.”

He said Opposition politics has thrown up at least four desirous Prime Ministers  (Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and KCR) wishing to challenge Narendra Modi.

He said the anti-Modi rally organised by Opposition parties in Kolkata, became significantly “a non-Rahul Gandhi rally,” by his conspicuous absence. “All four ambitious politicians pursue fanciful strategies to replace PM Narendra Modi. However, Congress can at best dream only to be a pillion rider.”

The main opposition party Congress has already ruled out naming its leader Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has dominated Indian politics for decades, as a prime ministerial candidate before the election.

“It is obvious that the level of satisfaction with PM Shri Narendra Modi ji is very high. If that weren’t so, what was the need for multiple disparate forces to come together against him? Jaitley said.

“The opposition is making Prime Minister Modi’s continuation in office as a key political issue. We in the BJP welcome this agenda being set by the opposition,” Jaitley said on Twitter.

“What has been presented by the opposition is a post-election leadership battle, no common programme, no policy and a disastrous memory of their administrative disabilities … It is only the fear of (Modi’s) popularity and comeback that is bringing (them) together.”

source http://ncairways.co/india-news/bjp-dismisses-opposition-election-alliance/

Sourav Ganguly comes to aid of stricken former India team mate

Ban on KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya was a bit over the top: Allan Border

India vs New Zealand: Should not get too caught up with ‘sensational’ Virat Kohli, says Ross Taylor

The Rooftop Solar “Neighborhood Effect” Transforms Florida Community

Clean Power

Published on January 21st, 2019 by Steve Hanley

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Almost a year ago, CleanTechnica reader Rich Blair walked into his local Tesla store to ask about rooftop solar system. He met up with Morgan Harding, who became his Tesla solar adviser. Within a short time, Blair had a 19.825 kilowatt solar array — 61 panels x 325 watts each — with 3 inverters on the roof of his home in Venice, Florida. Since then, 6 of his neighbors have installed Tesla rooftop solar systems of their own. That means 10% of the 70 homes in his Stonewalk community are now Tesla solar customers.

Why? Mostly it was pure economics. Blair, who owns a Tesla Model S, was sending $400 a month on average to Florida Power & Light, thanks to having two teenagers in the house and two 80-gallon electric hot water heaters. His monthly payment on the Tesla rooftop system comes to $308. That includes a Powerwall residential storage battery, which is on backorder due to high demand but should be installed shortly. The federal tax credit is sweet, too, wiping out Blair’s entire 2018 federal tax bill.

The utility company pays Blair for any electricity he feeds back into the grid. The reimbursement rate is only about 20% of the retail rate the utility charges its customers but, until his Powerwall gets installed, every little bit helps. As of January 20, his solar system has produced 167% more electricity than Blair’s home has used this month.

FP&L doesn’t pay solar customers for excess energy every month. Instead it maintains a “bank account” of excess production throughout the year, then zeroes out the account on December 31 each year. Any excess is refunded in the form of a credit on the January bill.

Rich Blair had been investigating rooftop solar systems for some time. He lives in sunny Florida, after all. Why did he end up doing business with Tesla? “I compared 4 different solar companies and went with Tesla because they offered a more turnkey solution. My decision to go solar was not only about reducing my carbon footprint, but also about what was economically feasible.”

The Tesla solar referral program was part of his decision. With 6 neighbors already purchasing systems from Tesla, it’s clear the referral system works. “But reducing my carbon footprint and the financial feasibility were also motivating factors,” Blair says. There are other advantages as well. As soon as his Powerwall gets installed, he will be better able to charge his Model S with solar power any time of day. Also, “The cost of my solar system is fixed while electricity rates goes up every year,” he adds.

Blair also has high praise for Florida Power & Light. “Our electric provider, unlike some utilities, was great to work with and swapped the net meter within a few days after the county inspection. The county inspector, who sees a lot of new solar systems, had nothing but praise for Tesla.”

If you are in the market for a rooftop solar system, you owe it to yourself to talk with a Tesla representative. Tell ’em a very happy Rich Blair sent you.

Tags: Florida, Florida Power & Light, Florida solar, rooftop solar, Tesla solar, Tesla solar referral program

About the Author

Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and anywhere else the Singularity may take him. You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” Elie Wiesel

“Life is not measured by how many breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away.”

source http://ncairways.co/renewable-energy/the-rooftop-solar-neighborhood-effect-transforms-florida-community-cleantechnica/

MS Dhoni is still world’s best ODI finisher: Ian Chappell

Sugar manufacturing delivers economic sweetener

“Tesla Killers” Lookin’ … Totally Tame — CleanTechnica Sales Charts

Cars

Published on January 20th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan

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For years, we heard and read so much hype about “Tesla killers.” It was like fingernails on a chalkboard from the beginning, because it just didn’t make sense, but it started getting really absurd as you saw the titles pop up frequently for all manner of EVs and concept cars.

A handful of models had the label pinned on them consistently for a decent period of time. And just to be clear, it was largely media outlets that did the pinning (non-cleantech media outlets). I don’t recall seeing many auto execs talk of crushing Tesla, even if that was their hope or their insinuation from time to time.

On the backs of Tesla’s latest production and sales numbers, and leading into my newest edition of “Nasty Tesla Charts,” I thought about comparing some Tesla vehicle sales to “Tesla killer” sales. Let’s go for a stroll through these.

Chevy Bolt

The Chevy Bolt was perhaps the most hyped Tesla killer. GM was getting its long-range, fully electric, fairly affordable car out to the public sooner than Tesla. The vehicle won prestigious awards and much praise from reviewers and early owners. Alas, it’s no Tesla, and certainly no Tesla killer, as the sales have shown.

Jaguar I-PACE

The Jaguar I-PACE is another top contender for most hyped Tesla killer. The car again has received great reviews and seems to be a wonder, fun contributor to the EV market, but its sales volume is not comparable to the sales volume of Tesla’s Model 3.

We don’t have a precise number for the I-PACE globally, which would be the most sensible scale on which to compare Tesla vehicles with the Jaguar I-PACE for the final months of 2018. Without those, I’ll give Jaguar a bump and count all of its sales against all of Tesla’s sales.

Porsche Mission E (now Taycan)

No sales yet.

BMW i4, i5, or iNext

No sales yet.

Lucid Air

No sales yet.

Faraday Future FF91

No sales yet.

Mercedes-Benz EQC

No sales yet.

Audi e-tron

Approximately 600 sales in December, its intro month, according to EV Volumes.

Volvo Polestar

No sales yet.

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Clearly, we’re having some problems finding a Tesla killer that’s in production. So perhaps we should dig back further in time.

BMW i3 & i8

The BMW i3 and i8 were actually considered potential Tesla killers once upon a time. In fact, they may have been the first to be designated that title.

Official i8 sales have not been published globally, but it’s really a niche vehicle, so we can just leave it alone for now. The i3 is priced in the vicinity of a Model 3, but it was originally presented as a threat to Tesla when the Model 3 was the “Model E” and little more than a dream. So, let’s go ahead and throw its global sales up against both the Model S and the Model 3.

Want to give BMW an extra shot at this? How about comparing all of the German automaker’s plug-in vehicles to Tesla’s trio? They’ve probably all been called Tesla killers at one time or another. Again, we’re going global.

Well, not only are BMW plug-in vehicles not yet acting as Tesla killers, but Tesla handily outsells all of them combined.

The truth is, even the most popular Tesla killers are not a threat to Tesla. They are a threat to the gasoline and diesel arms of traditional automakers. All of them are working together to raise plug-in sales around the world. But even in the midst of that team effort, Tesla is the clear leader, so perhaps it’s best to retire the stale “Tesla killer” term. With approximately 2% global market share for all plug-in vehicles, there’s a ton of room for Tesla to grow as sales of other automakers’ electric cars grow.

Note: If you would like to cut pollution and go electric by buying a Tesla, feel free to use my referral code — http://ts.la/tomasz7234 — to get 6 months of free Supercharging. If you would like to cut pollution by getting a Tesla Energy rooftop solar or solar + Powerwall system, you can also use our referral code to get an extended 5-year warranty. The deadline to use a referral code for the above benefits is February 1, 2019.

Tags: audi, audi e-tron, BMW, BMW i3, bmw i8, Chevy Bolt, EV sales, Tesla, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, Tesla sales

About the Author

Zachary Shahan Zach is tryin’ to help society help itself (and other species). He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He’s also the president of Important Media and the director/founder of EV Obsession and Solar Love. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada.

Zach has long-term investments in TSLA, FSLR, SPWR, SEDG, & ABB — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in these particular companies and feels like they are good cleantech companies to invest in. But he offers no professional investment advice and would rather not be responsible for you losing money, so don’t jump to conclusions.

source http://ncairways.co/renewable-energy/tesla-killers-lookin-totally-tame-cleantechnica-sales-charts-cleantechnica/

Fans Thrilled After ICC Puts MS Dhoni’s Picture As Twitter Cover Image

The International Cricket Council (ICC) got a big thumbs up from MS Dhoni fans after it used the former Indian skipper’s picture as the cover image of the official Twitter handle. Cricket’s governing body took the step after MS Dhoni was adjudged the Man of the Series in the just-concluded ODI series against Australia. MS Dhoni notched up three consecutive half-centuries in the series which included two successive match-winning knocks. After the veteran’s picture was set up as the cover, fans took to Twitter to applaud the move.

One of the fans tweeted, “The best cover photos @ICC and @cricketworldcup @msdhoni.”

While the another said, “Loved to see cover pic of @ICC #Dhoni #TeamIndia @msdhoni #INDvsAUS @BCCI #TeamIndia.”

Another fan said, “When you wake up in the morning and see something like this on @ICC cover photo.”

The best cover photos @ICC and @cricketworldcup @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/JqkIJ2W6Hx

— Rajashree (@KjRajashree) January 20, 2019

When you wake up in the morning and see something like this on @ICC cover photo,@msdhoni is love #truemsdian #MSDhoni #ms pic.twitter.com/S4DtqhQkIt

— Priyanshu (@tox_eec) January 20, 2019

Ohh that cover photo “m loving it” @ICC @BCCI @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/8E9lylVJCz

— waquar haider (@waquarhaider2) January 20, 2019

See who become the cover photo of @ICC . None other than our Thala @msdhoni . @SriniMaama16 @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/G0WAmFp99A

— Akshay (@akshay_lak) January 19, 2019

Glad to see @ICC uploaded it’s cover as @msdhoni pic pic.twitter.com/F16R5kTkYm

— Om kumar (@om_kumar07) January 19, 2019

Loved to see cover pic of @ICC #Dhoni #TeamIndia @msdhoni #INDvsAUS @BCCI #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/NikbDpHZrV

— Sai Krishna madamshetty (@MadamshettySai) January 19, 2019

@ICC official FB Page and Twitter handle uploaded @msdhoni pic as their cover pic pic.twitter.com/W4hHgMzopN

— Nilanjan Goswami (@SanskariBalak) January 19, 2019

Whats ah cover photo @ICC @BCCI

We are watching cricket for Msd not a Indian team @msdhoni @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/DF5Ks2A20s

— Sivanesh A (@SivaneshA4) January 19, 2019

Despite not being at his fluent best, Dhoni notched up 193 runs in the three-match ODI series against Australia. It consisted a high score of an unbeaten 87, which came in the third and final ODI in Melbourne.

However. Dhoni after the end of the series said, it was not about where he bats after playing for 14 years.

A veteran of 335 ODIs, the 37-year-old’s next assignment will start from Wednesday in New Zealand, when India play the Black Caps in the first of the five-match ODI series at McLean Park in Napier.

Dhoni averages over 50 in ODIs with a high score of an unbeaten 183 runs. He has 10 centuries and 70 half-centuries under his belt in this format.

Dhoni has also been crucial behind the stumps, over the years, taking 311 catches and recording 117 stumpings in ODIs.

source http://ncairways.co/sports/fans-thrilled-after-icc-puts-ms-dhonis-picture-as-twitter-cover-image-cricket-news/

More Human Death, Health Damage Caused By Vehicle Emissions

Air Quality

Published on January 20th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan

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A recent news item — €70 Billion A Year In EU Health Damage Caused By Vehicle Emissions — reminded me of the following article, which is a piece I wrote in 2016 to try to more directly communicate the issue to people. Initially, the title was “This Stealth Terrorist Killed ~53,000 Americans Last Year.”

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Humans are interesting. We often don’t do long-term planning all that well, and that includes planning for a year out, for 5 years out, and for our eventual time of death.

We are frightened like little kittens about things that might affect us immediately — bees, unfriendly dogs, a fast-approaching car, etc. We are frightened of extremely unlikely but direct harms — being in a plane crash, being attacked by terrorists, being mugged on a dark street. But we largely ignore real threats that are much more likely to cause us harm — like air pollution from our cars and our neighbors’ cars.

A World Health Organization (WHO) study a few years ago found that there are 7 million premature deaths a year from outdoor air pollution. There are many, many more people who don’t die young from such pollution but who do suffer in one way or another from it. In dollar terms (pretending that we can quantify these things), “air pollution from road transport costs OECD countries approximately $1 trillion a year in negative health effects (cancer, premature death, asthma, heart attacks, etc.).”

In the USA, an MIT study found that there are 200,000 premature deaths a year coming from air pollution. Road transportation accounts for 53,000 of those new additions to the graveyard and crematorium. Electricity generation from coal and natural gas power plants accounted for 52,000 a year.

→ Related: Economic Benefits Of Electric Vehicles

Due in part to all of the driving that takes place in California and its large population, the total number of premature deaths a year in the Golden State was estimated to be 21,000, “mostly attributed to road transportation and to commercial and residential emissions from heating and cooking.”

These are real deaths. These are real people. Yet we treat them like abstract numbers, strangers we’ll never know or become. Few people decide this is enough to make them take action, to make them change things in their lives. If terrorists rolled in from Uzbekistan and murdered 53,000 Americans a year, the population would be up in arms. There would be nonstop outcry and media coverage. Donald Trump, Republicans, Democrats, and Rastafarians would be plowing forward with grand plans to quickly and strongly defeat the terrorists.

If another 52,000 Americans a year were being murdered by another group of terrorists — the “PPP Clan of South Africa*,” for example — the country would be in a state of insane turmoil, angst, imbalance, and war.

Alas, it’s just us. We’re the only ones killing ourselves. No terrorists or gang members. Just the continuous hunt of 105,000+ Americans a year from our decisions to burn stuff. If you’re not living in the United States, the story isn’t much different — find the stats for your country. These attacks dwarf anything any other humans are directly doing to the population.

→ Related: Solar & Wind Subsidies = Less Than $0 In USA … Because Clean Energy Saves Lives!

Yes, once upon a time, imagining alternatives to pollution was challenging. Today? You have to be mighty picky to ignore, oppose, and reject cleantech offerings. There are transportation options for a wide variety of classes, driving needs, styling preferences, brand allegiances, etc. There are good rooftop solar options in many markets, community solar systems if rooftop doesn’t work, green energy procurement options from utilities, and even a nationwide renewable energy option from Arcadia Power.

But people decide they are more or less fine with the pollution coming out of their tailpipes. They are okay with their electricity sources, even though they probably don’t even know what those are. Heating with natural gas? Well, that’s just they way things go.

If terrorists were killing 53,000 Americans a year and we had easy solutions to stop that, you know we would. It would be a different world in 2018 2020. Unfortunately, these are stealth terrorists, and the country is sleeping like Rip van Winkle.

If you would like to cut pollution and go electric by buying a Tesla, feel free to use my referral code — http://ts.la/tomasz7234 — to get 6 months of free Supercharging. If you would like to cut pollution by getting a Tesla Energy rooftop solar or solar + Powerwall system, you can also use our referral code to get an extended 5-year warranty. The deadline to use a referral code for the above benefits is February 1, 2019.

→ Related: Investigating The Air Pollution Crisis (State of Pollution Series) and our State of Pollution series.

*Power Plant Polluters Clan

A version of this article was originally published in 2017 on CleanTechnica.

Tags: air pollution, air pollution costs, Air pollution deaths, California, California air pollution, California pollution, Pollution, pollution costs, who, World Health Organization

About the Author

Zachary Shahan Zach is tryin’ to help society help itself (and other species). He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He’s also the president of Important Media and the director/founder of EV Obsession and Solar Love. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada.

Zach has long-term investments in TSLA, FSLR, SPWR, SEDG, & ABB — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in these particular companies and feels like they are good cleantech companies to invest in. But he offers no professional investment advice and would rather not be responsible for you losing money, so don’t jump to conclusions.

source http://ncairways.co/renewable-energy/gas-cars-more-human-death-cleantechnica-2/

Government sacks two PNB executives for alleged lapses in $2 billion fraud

NEW DELHI –

One year ago the country’s biggest bank scam took place.

Shares of the 124-year-old state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) lost more than half their value since the $2 billion fraud came to light. In just first two days, PNB lost Rs 8000 cr of market value.

A political storm brewed over India’s biggest bank fraud. The Punjab National Bank had said billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi has made “vague” offers to repay some of the $1.77 billion he and companies linked to him obtained in loans abroad using fraudulently acquired guarantees of the state-owned lender.

The CBI had accused two executive directors – K. Veera Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan – of the bank of breaching the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines.

Today, the government has sacked the two senior executives of the bank for allegedly failing to prevent the fraud.

The firing of the two senior executives is the first instance of sacking of the bank’s employees since it said that billionaire diamond jeweler Nirav Modi and his uncle had for years fraudulently raised billions of dollars in foreign credit by conspiring with staff at the bank.

Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who left India before the fraud was discovered, have denied the accusations.

In a stock exchange filing late on Friday, the country’s second-biggest state bank said the government had removed two senior executives from the office of executive director with immediate effect. The filing did not give a reason.

The government then fired them because “they failed to use global payments network SWIFT to detect the fraud”, the sources said, declining to be identified because the reasons for the sacking have not been made public.

“They were not able to supervise and there was dereliction of duty on their part,” said one of the sources, a government official.

source http://ncairways.co/india-news/government-sacks-two-pnb-executives-for-alleged-lapses-in-2/

Hashim Amla breaks Virat Kohli’s record but faces flak for ‘selfish innings’

Virat Kohli Is The Greatest ODI Batsman Ever, Says Michael Clarke

It has been said time and again that Virat Kohli is destined to be an all-time great of the game but former Australia captain Michael Clarke believes that the Indian skipper is already the “greatest ODI batsman to have ever played the game”. “To me, Virat Kohli is the greatest batsman to have ever played one-day cricket. I have no doubts after seeing what he has achieved for India,” Clarke, a former World Cup-winning captain said.

Kohli has already scored 10,385 runs in 219 ODIs at an astounding average of 59 plus, including 39 hundreds.

Kohli, the best Test and ODI batsman in the world, recently led India through a historic tour of Australia.

Under his leadership, India became the first team ever not to lose any series on a tour Down Under.

The 30-year-old became the first Indian and Asian captain to win a Test series on Australian soil.

He also led India to their first ever bilateral ODI series win in Australia.

Moreover, he continued to add to his rapidly-rising tally of international hundreds.

“You have to respect Virat’s passion to win games for his country. Yes, he has aggression but no one can question his commitment, how much he has achieved. He is the greatest in ODIs,” Clarke said.

Kohli’s next assignment begins on Wednesday as India are travelling to New Zealand to play a limited-overs series that will included five ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).

The first ODI between India and New Zealand will be played in Napier on Wednesday (January 23).

source http://ncairways.co/sports/virat-kohli-is-the-greatest-odi-batsman-ever-says-michael-clarke-cricket-news/