From NPR News – Due to the arctic blast and frigid temperatures well below zero degrees, many electric vehicles (EV’s) were sadly affected. Since the frigid temperatures in the northern part of the U.S. reached levels below the EV’s normal operating temperature ranges for their batteries, the vehicles could not be re-charged or maintain a constant charge. This presented major obstacles for many Tesla owners in Chicago along with longer than expected lines for Supercharger stations.
Tesla to Recall Over 2-Million Electric Vehicles
Tesla has announced they will recall over 2-million electric vehicles that affect multiple Tesla models, like models S, X, Y, 3, and semi-trucks. The recall is due to its “full self-driving beta” software causing some life-threatening and unsafe conditions.
The recalls will include a free software update to patch any software bugs in the coding to improve driver safety.
China Reveals World’s Biggest Offshore Wind Turbine
By PowerMag:
“Two Chinese companies announced production of the largest offshore wind turbine built to date, a 16-MW unit developed by China Three Gorges (CTG) and Goldwind.
The groups on Nov. 24 showed off the turbine at a factory in Fujian province. The turbine has a 252-meter rotor diameter, with a 50,000-meter sweep area. The hub height is 146 meters.
Lei Mingshan, chairman of CTG, in a statement said, ‘the successful rollout of the 16-MW unit marks that my country’s wind power equipment industry has achieved a historic leap from ‘following’ to ‘running alongside’ and then to ‘leading’, creating the latest benchmark for the development of global offshore wind power equipment.’ ”
FERC Tightens Regulations for Inverter Based Resources
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued “new mandatory standards for inverter-based resources (IBRs) in an effort to enhance the reliability of the bulk electric system. IBRs are solar photovoltaic, wind, fuel cell and battery storage resources that use power electronic devices to change direct current power to alternating current power, to be transmitted on the bulk-power system.
In its November 17 action orders, FERC focused on three IBR-relateded actions:
- An order directing the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) to develop a plan to register the entities that own and operate IBRs;
- A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to direct NERC to develop reliability standards for IBRs that cover data sharing, model validation, planning and operational studies, and performance requirements; and
- An order approving reliability standards that are related to IBRs, which NERC proposed earlier in 2022.”
The CHIPS and Science Act Will Increase Demand for Engineers
“The $52 billion spending plan outlined in the CHIPS and Science Act that has been signed into law has significant implications for the semiconductor ecosystem—from chip manufacturers to engineers and production teams.
EE Times asked two design engineers to weigh in on the implications of the Act for engineers in the U.S., in the short and long term. Will it simply help return the design engineering process to status quo pre-2020? Or are there greater changes afoot that will drive a significant shakeup of the semiconductor design and manufacturing process? The answer lies somewhere in between.”
The Pilot Convenience Store Chain Begins Adding Hundreds of EV Charging Stations
Pilot is adding a competitive advantage in the race with other retailers on their plans to add electric vehicle charging stations. Pilot wants to create the “right experience” for its customers.
Pilot plans to add a total of 2,000 fast EV charging stations with protective canopies at 500 locations within the states as early as 2023. Pilot expects users to utilize their quick EV chargers between 15 to 45 minutes.