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Energy

Staying Warm and Saving Money: Navigating the Warm Home Discount Scheme

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The warm home discount scheme is a UK government initiative that offers eligible low-income and vulnerable energy customers a £140 discount on their energy bills during the winter season.

While customers who receive pension credit automatically qualify for the discount, other qualifying low-income households must apply for it. Their eligibility is subject to their energy provider offering the scheme and availability of funds.

It is important to note that the discount is directly applied to customers’ energy bills rather than being paid out separately. As the energy crisis continues to impact household bills, the warm home discount scheme has gained increased attention from ministers seeking solutions to address the issue. [Read more…] about Staying Warm and Saving Money: Navigating the Warm Home Discount Scheme

The Ultimate Guide to Comparing Business Energy Providers

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As a business owner, you know how important it is to keep your expenses in check. One of the largest expenses for a business is electricity, and without proper management, it can quickly spiral out of control.

That’s why it’s crucial to find the right energy provider for your business, one that fits your specific requirements and helps you save money.

However, with so many options out there, comparing business energy providers can seem daunting. [Read more…] about The Ultimate Guide to Comparing Business Energy Providers

Sarcos cleared to use robotic technology to build solar field for US Department of Energy

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Sarcos Technology and Robotics, a maker of robotic systems including exoskeletons, has successfully completed final validation of its Outdoor Autonomous Manipulation of Photovoltaic Panels (O-AMPP) project.

During this field trial, Sarcos collaborated with Mortenson, JLG Industries, Array Technologies, and Pratt Miller to achieve this critical project milestone at a Mortenson project site, which validated the Sarcos robotic solar field construction solution.

Kiva Allgood, president and CEO, Sarcos, says: “Achieving this market validation and field test milestone is a mission-critical step on our path to commercializing our robotic solar field construction solution and, ultimately, enhancing safety and productivity in the solar field construction industry. [Read more…] about Sarcos cleared to use robotic technology to build solar field for US Department of Energy

Rope Robotics says its robotic wind turbine blade repairs pay off in six months

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After over 18 months in operation, having repaired over 150 rain-damaged onshore wind turbine blades on three continents, the patented robot from Denmark’s Rope Robotics, the world leader in robotic blade maintenance, has demonstrated return on investment for turbine owners within just six months.

Compared to manual alternatives, the robot can repair the blade around four times faster at half the cost.

An increasing problem, rain erosion damage compromises aerodynamic performance of the blade and at worst can lead to blade failure and expensive turbine downtime. [Read more…] about Rope Robotics says its robotic wind turbine blade repairs pay off in six months

Five Reasons Home Solar is a No-Brainer

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Currently, home solar panels have become very popular worldwide. Renewable energy seems to be the best solution for all those who have concerns about unpredictable fluctuations in the natural gas market, rising prices, and a possible crisis.

Solar panels can provide a private home with at least partial independence from fluctuations in the energy market. In addition, it is the most environmentally friendly solution, and its owner will have more control over costs.

The active use of solar panels to provide electricity to buildings (in which solar energy is converted into electrical energy) and of heating buildings (in which thermo-solar devices are used in the heating systems of houses) started about 35 years ago. [Read more…] about Five Reasons Home Solar is a No-Brainer

Electric Future: Two wheels good, four wheels not so much

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If you want to get anywhere fast in any developing country in the world, the best way is by motorbike. While most European and North American countries have relatively good-quality road networks that cover most if not all their regions, the same cannot be said of countries in Asia and elsewhere.

Even inside a typical Asian city, the traffic congestion is so bad that you can expect to be sitting in a four-wheeler for several hours to make a few km from one side of an urban sprawl to another. And outside these built-up areas, in rural settings, you’re highly unlikely to be complete your journey unless you’re on two wheels because either roads simply don’t exist or they’ve fallen into serious disrepair.

For these reasons and more, motorcycles are a massively popular mode of transport in Asia. In fact, when it comes to the number of electric motorcycles and scooters worldwide, the vast majority – 90 percent – are in the Asia Pacific region alone, according to Global Market Insights, which values the market now at $30 billion in total across the lithium-ion and sealed lead acid battery types. Annual growth is forecast at more than 5 percent. [Read more…] about Electric Future: Two wheels good, four wheels not so much

Electric Future: Battery production facilities bloom on both sides of the Atlantic

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Battery production plants are popping up and blooming on both sides of the Atlantic, with one or two exceptions, such as BritishVolt, which went into administration recently

Viridi Parente, a developer of battery storage technology, has selected Bright Machines to digitally transform the company’s US electric battery manufacturing facility.

Bright Machines Microfactories, the company’s full-stack assembly automation solution, modernizes manufacturing by leveraging data and artificial intelligence, providing Viridi with new capabilities to meet the increasing demands for its zero-carbon emission energy battery solutions.

Viridi manufactures battery energy storage systems on a 42-acre campus in Buffalo, New York. Its efforts have and will continue to lead to significant job creation in the historically disadvantaged East Buffalo community where its facility is situated. [Read more…] about Electric Future: Battery production facilities bloom on both sides of the Atlantic

Electric Future: MIT showcases electric autonomous boat technology

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If you like the idea of zero-emissions travel on the water, an electric autonomous boat might be the right mode of transportation for you.

Scientists from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Senseable City Laboratory, together with Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute) in the Netherlands, have been showcasing the final project in their self-navigating trilogy: a full-scale, fully autonomous robotic boat that’s ready to be deployed along the canals of Amsterdam.

“Roboat” has come a long way since the team first started prototyping small vessels in the MIT pool in late 2015. Last year, the team released their half-scale, medium model that was 2 meters long and demonstrated promising navigational prowess.

This year, two full-scale Roboats were launched, proving more than just proof-of-concept: these craft can comfortably carry up to five people, collect waste, deliver goods, and provide on-demand infrastructure. [Read more…] about Electric Future: MIT showcases electric autonomous boat technology

Electric Future: Siemens providing software platform to support nascent electric airplane market

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Swedish electric airplane maker Heart Aerospace has selected the Capital product lifecycle management suite from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of software and services to support its design, development, and certification of zero emission electric aircraft.

Siemens’ Capital will provide electrical and electronic (E/E) system design and support as Heart Aerospace addresses the market and regulatory demands of escalating performance and commercial certification requirements.

As part of the extensive electrification in these aircraft, Heart Aerospace must address the complexity of the Electrical Wiring Interconnect System (EWIS) while also addressing electrical system compliance risk. [Read more…] about Electric Future: Siemens providing software platform to support nascent electric airplane market

Electric Future: Stalled car revolution

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How green are electric vehicles?

Believe it or not, if you had been walking through Manhattan in 1900, there is a good chance you would have seen an electric car. Roughly one third of cars on the road in New York back then were electric, while the city’s taxi fleet had 30 electric vehicles (EVs). It was to be a brief heyday.

It was Henry Ford’s Model T – first produced in 1908 – that signalled the beginning of the end of the electric car. Suddenly, petrol-fuelled cars were relatively affordable and, thanks to Ford’s pioneering use of the production line, ubiquitous.

Improved roads and cheaper petrol prices saw the electric car all but disappear by the mid-1930s, and it wasn’t until the 1970s – amid soaring oil prices and gasoline prices – that the potential of EVs began to be seriously considered again. [Read more…] about Electric Future: Stalled car revolution