Tag: Artificial Intelligence

Posted on

Biden vows to replace U.S. government fleet with electric vehicles

EV-cars-for-US-government

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Monday vowed to replace the U.S. government’s fleet of roughly 650,000 vehicles with electric models as the new administration shifts its focus toward clean-energy.

“The federal government also owns an enormous fleet of vehicles, which we’re going to replace with clean electric vehicles made right here in America made by American workers,” Biden said Monday

Biden criticized existing rules that allow vehicles to be considered U.S. made when purchased by the U.S. government even if they have significant non-American made components.

Biden said he would close “loopholes” that allow key parts like engines, steel and glass to be manufactured abroad for vehicles considered U.S. made.

READ MORE ….

Posted on

Santee Cooper approves $2M settlement in final VC Summer nuclear project lawsuit

santee-cooper

The State – Santee Cooper’s board approved a $2 million settlement Monday in the final lawsuit stemming from the failed V.C. Summer nuclear plant project.

Between 2014 and 2016, South Carolina’s public utility issued mini-bonds to individual investors in an effort to raise money for infrastructure projects, mainly the nuclear plant project in Fairfield County. The mini-bond sales would typically bring in $20 million to $25 million from investors into the state-owned utility, said Santee Cooper spokesperson Mollie Gore.

But in 2019, investors sued Santee Cooper, alleging the utility did not disclose issues surrounding the $9 billion nuclear project, leading to low interest rates.

READ MORE ….

Posted on

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 ….

Posted on

Importance of Electrical Construction Permit Inspections

3-Phase-Image

THE PERMIT AND INSPECTION PROCESS IS ESSENTIAL TO ENSURE THAT CODES, REGULATIONS, AND SAFETY ARE ENFORCED TO HELP PREVENT FAULTY OR POOR INSTALLATIONS THAT COULD JEOPARDIZE HUMAN LIFE. IN MOST CASES, ENGINEERING BLUEPRINT DRAWINGS ARE REQUIRED TO BE SUBMITTED ALONG WITH THE PERMIT REQUEST WHICH MUST BE SEALED BY A REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER (PE). OTHER PERMITS WITH SEALED DRAWING PLANS ARE REQUIRED FOR EACH DISCIPLINE, SUCH AS, ARCHITECTURAL, CIVIL, ELECTRICAL, FIRE PROTECTION, MECHANICAL, PLUMBING, STRUCTURAL, ETC.

READ MORE ….

Posted on

Fast-Charging Electric Car Battery Could Replace Internal Combustion Engine

Fastest-Charging-Battery

Zenger – An Israeli startup has produced 1,000 extra-fast-charging electric car batteries that could be the future for automobiles.

StoreDot‘s XFC proprietary lithium-ion batteries can be charged up to full capacity in just five minutes, compared to 30 to 40 minutes for other electric car batteries, including those made by Tesla. If the company’s batteries can be mass-produced over the next three years, it could mean gameover for the internal combustion engine.

StoreDot replaces the graphite used in traditional lithium-ion batteries with germanium-based nanoparticles, into which ions can pass quickly and more easily. The company plans to transition to silicon, which is less expensive than germanium, next year to make the cost equal to lithium-ion batteries.

READ MORE ….