Bosch Thermostats Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks!

Bosch-Thermostat-Cyber-Threats

From FoxNews – Smart thermostats have increased over the last decade as a residential internet of things (IoT) device with Wi-Fi enabled connectivity to home networks. Many home IoT devices have been exposed to cyber threats and vulnerabilities where the Bosch thermostats are the latest to be affected. This issue affected the Bosch thermostats “could allow hackers to access and manipulate the thermostat’s settings or even install malicious software.”

Read More…

Pennsylvania Is Moving from Coal Power to Renewables

New-Solar-Power

As coal power and other fossil fuels continue to decline as the nation’s leading power generation source, more power utilities are increasing renewable energy sources such as solar power.

Pennsylvania is replacing their planned fossil fuel generation retirements with clean solar power. The state is helping promote more jobs and job transitions for the green switch from traditional carbon emission type power generation into renewable energy resources.

(Continue Reading at Powermag.com…)

Tesla to Recall Over 2-Million Electric Vehicles

Tesla-Recalls
Photo from Tesla.com

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.

(Continue Reading at USA Today…)

FERC Tightens Regulations for Inverter Based Resources

FERC-Regulatory

By Renewable Energy World:

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.”

Continue Reading…

The CHIPS and Science Act Will Increase Demand for Engineers

CHIPS-Act

By EE Times / Design Lines:

“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.”

Continue Reading…

Five Reasons Remote Technology Makes Sense

Remote-Control-SCADA-Automation

PowerMag – The case for advanced analytics and remote diagnostics: During the last 25 years significant advancements have been made in remote monitoring capabilities for power plants. A number of operations and maintenance (O&M) functions can routinely be managed remotely, and it is also becoming more common for peaking and renewable energy plants to be remotely operated reliably and safely.

Operating and maintaining a full-scale power plant remotely presents challenges that require sophisticated systems, reliable sensor and diagnostic equipment, stable high-bandwidth communication, and advanced security protocols. Even with progress made in each of these areas, some plant managers don’t foresee a scenario where remote operations will become the norm. But even in cases where there are no plans to run a generating station from a remote location, there is still a solid case for adopting remote technology.

Here are five reasons why the case for remote technology is stronger today than ever before.

READ MORE ….