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Offshore wind has significant potential to bring abundant, renewable power into homes and businesses in coastal communities. But wind power plant operators need solid information about conditions, such as wind speeds at various times of day, to confidently make sound investments in technology and wind plant locations. Such is the case for California, which is looking to add offshore wind to its power resources. In fall 2020, DOE’s PNNL partnered with WETO and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to deploy two offshore wind research buoys off the northern and central California coastlines — near Humboldt and Morro Bay, California, respectively.

Earlier this year, the buoy stationed near Humboldt was taken offline for some technical upgrades. A research team streamlined that buoy’s power use and incorporated more efficient data management capabilities.

The buoy also invited a new passenger on board.

Hitchin’ a Ride Is for the Birds (and Bats)

Enter ThermalTracker-3D, a technology developed by PNNL and supported by WETO. ThermalTracker-3D is designed to track bird (avian) and bat behaviors and attributes — such as flight height and speed — needed for assessing potential risks from offshore wind energy development.

The prototype technology, equipped with specialized software and a pair of thermal, stereovision cameras, hitched a ride on the Morro Bay buoy 20 miles off the coast of Humboldt County with the purpose of collecting information about seabird and bat activity. Paired with the buoy, avian and bat activity can be correlated with various weather and ocean conditions.

This image, created from a sequence of ThermalTracker-3D photo frames, shows the flight track of a bird over the Pacific Ocean. Image courtesy of Shari Matzner, PNNL

The Results Bob In

The yearlong deployment is ending in fall 2021 for the Morro Bay buoy, with those results starting to land in the team’s hands in real time.

“So far, we’ve noted a lot of variability in daily wind speed, especially in the upper part of the turbine rotor layer, at Morro Bay,” said Raghu Krishnamurthy, a PNNL Earth scientist who is analyzing the data. “We are also finding that the wind speed increased roughly one and a half times at night.”

At the Humboldt location off the northern coast, steady-state winds — winds that provide consistent power production during all hours of the day — are being observed at each altitude. These data will provide further insight about the minimum daily power production available from offshore wind power plants in California during all seasons.

The PNNL team continues to thoroughly analyze the buoy data as it comes in and will publish a technical report at the end of 2021.

ThermalTracker-3D also continues to pull in avian data — recording data continuously and transmitting the flight data to shore every hour. In its first 30 days at sea, the system recorded 699 flight tracks — the first time that continuous, “24/7” observations have been made in U.S. coastal waters.

One of two offshore wind research buoys that are managed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), as depicted in an artist’s rendering. The buoys are equipped with instrumentation that can take wind speed measurements as high as 250 meters, the height of today’s wind turbines. Results will help wind power plant operators make decisions for states such as California on investments and locations. Image by Mike Perkins, PNNL

Floating — and Flying — Into the Future

The Morro Bay buoy will also be recovered from the ocean and undergo similar upgrades as the Humboldt buoy, which will remain deployed until spring 2022. It will then take a tropical trip to the coast off Oahu, Hawaii, to support offshore wind energy planning for that state.

ThermalTracker-3D is installed on the Humboldt buoy as part of its update. Photo by Shari Matzner, PNNL

Meanwhile, once ThermalTracker-3D completes its first California stint, the research team plans to develop a system for potential future deployment on an offshore wind turbine. This effort will compare postconstruction seabird behavior with the baseline data collected off the buoy — completing the understanding of how seabirds are affected by offshore wind energy development.

The data from the buoy and ThermalTracker-3D deployments will be available to the wind energy research community on the Data Archive and Portal, which is managed by PNNL. In August, R&D World Magazine announced that ThermalTracker-3D is a finalist for an R&D 100 award in the Software/Services category; winners will be announced later this year.

Courtesy of Energy.gov & PNNL, The Newest Dynamic Duo for Offshore Wind Research, ThermalTracker-3D joins forces with offshore wind research buoy during California deployment.

 

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Former DOT official says NYC’s 15 MPH e-bike speed limit will risk lives

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Former DOT official says NYC's 15 MPH e-bike speed limit will risk lives

If Mayor Adams gets his way, New York City will institute a new speed limit on electric bicycles, reducing the cap to just 15 mph (24.1 km/h) from the previous e-bike speed limit of 25 mph (40 km/h). It’s a move that is ostensibly meant to protect New Yorkers, but which experts have said will actually result in risking more lives.

It’s a prime example of doing more harm than good, says Michael Replogle, the former policy director for NYC’s Department of Transportation and an internationally recognized expert in the field of sustainable transportation.

The issue is that the reduced speed limit means that slower e-bikes will constantly come into conflict with higher speed traffic, routinely being passed by multi-ton cars and SUVs.

Despite the 25 mph (40 km/h) city-wide speed limit for cars in NYC, the de facto speed limit is really 35 mph (56 km/h), which is the speed at which traffic cameras begin to record infractions and issue citations.

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Previously, electric bicycles were permitted to travel at speeds up to 25 mph, helping them more closely match the speed of vehicular traffic and thus reduce the conflict rate between vulnerable cyclists and dangerously large and heavy vehicles. “I can tell you it feels much safer as a cyclist if you’re going close to the speed of the traffic than if you’re going half the speed of traffic,” Replogle explained.

“I strongly oppose the proposed rule to limit e-bikes to a 15 mph speed limit. It is an ill-considered idea to improve safety which will be counterproductive,” Replogle continued, according to NYC Streetsblog. “It is also likely to put New Yorkers at risk of a criminal record or entrapment in President Trump’s immigration dragnet.”

A large portion of the e-bike riders in NYC are immigrants who work as food delivery riders or bike couriers who are depended upon by thousands of New Yorkers every day.

“It’s a war on bikes, it’s a war on immigrants, and it undermines traffic safety,” Replogle added. “I think it’s Adams basically trying to mount a populist assault on cycling.”

Despite e-bike accidents being cited as the supposed reason for the city’s reduced bike speed limit, cars account for virtually all of NYC’s traffic-related injuries and deaths.

Electrek’s Take

I know this might come as a shock, but the experts here are correct and the politicians are wrong.

Reducing e-bike speed limits won’t make things safer; it’s just more likely to get people killed due to increased car crashes with cyclists.

This whole issue came about because a few pearl-clutching New Yorkers with money and power saw an e-bike whizz past them closer than they were comfortable with, and wanted it to stop. This has nothing to do with protecting people’s lives. If that were the primary goal, then they’d limit cars to 15 mph, not e-bikes. Only one of the two is a highly effective killing machine, and I’ll give you a hint – it’s not the one that weighs as much as a small child.

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Electrek FSGP 2025: New teams, new cars, same solar spirit

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Electrek FSGP 2025: New teams, new cars, same solar spirit

The sun has set on a frantic day of scrutineering at this year’s Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP), as teams scramble to qualify for a spot on the starting line tomorrow morning. Electrek FSGP 2025 is shaping up to be one of the event’s most attended ever, thanks to a strong showing of first-time and returning schools. But that also means new and unproven vehicles on the track.

Today, I walked through a couple of bays and talked with a few of the teams able to spare a minute; almost all of them were debuting completely new cars that were years in the making. Building a solar car is no easy feat. It’s not just the engineering and technical know-how that’s often a hurdle for them; it’s more often monetary. However, one of the things that makes this event so special is the camaraderie and collaboration that happen behind the scenes.

Northwestern University is back with a completely new car this season, its eighth since the team’s original inception in 1997 during the GM Sunrayce days. Its motor controller, which is responsible for managing the flow of power from the batteries to the motor, was given to them by the Stanford team. Stanford had extras and could spare one for Northwestern, which needed a replacement. It doesn’t stop there. Two members of the Northwestern team (Shannon and Fiona) told me four other teams helped them with a serious tire replacement around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, saving them from missing important parts of scrutineering.

This is also an exciting year for the West Virginia team, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary as a solar car team, making them one of the oldest teams on the track. With age comes wisdom though: WV is competing again this year with its single-occupant vehicle, Sunseeker. The team ran into issues after last year’s American Solar Challenge (ASC) cross-country event when the vehicle’s control arm, an important part of the suspension that connects the wheels to the chassis, broke. They tell me this year they’re back with a completely redesigned control arm made of both aluminum and steel. Thank you, Hayley, John, and Izzy, for taking the time to talk.

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We’re also seeing new builds this year from the University of Florida, the University of Puerto Rico, NC State, and UC Irvine. Believe it or not, the latter team has never competed in an American Solar Challenge/Formula Sun Grand Prix. This is their first year. UC Irvine doesn’t expect to be on the starting line tomorrow but hopes to be on the track soon after.

On the other hand, we have tried-and-proven cars like my personal favorite, Polytechnique Montréal’s Esteban, which undergoes minor improvements each year. I talked a little bit with this team today, and they told me the car’s motor was dropped, disassembled, and cleaned in preparation for the event. Polytechnique Montréal has passed scrutineering and will appear on the starting line tomorrow.

Polytechnique Montréal

Teams that haven’t wrapped up scrutineering in the last three days can still complete it, though doing so will eat into time on track.

Last year, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) and Polytechnique Montreal took first place in the Single-Occupant Vehicle (SOV) and Multi-Occupant Vehicle (MOV) classes, respectively. There’s something in the water in Canada.

You can learn more about the different classes and the specific rules here.

I’ll continue to post more updates as the event continues!

2025 Electrek FSGP schedule

The 2025 Electrek FSGP will again be held at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which, interestingly enough, General Motors occasionally uses for Corvette testing and development. A bit of a full-circle moment being so close to the company that started it all.

The event is open to the public and FREE to attend. Come see the solar car race up close!

Racing starts on July 3 from 10am to 6pm CT and continues through July 5 from 9am to 5pm CT.

July 2 (Wednesday)

  • 9am–7pm: Scrutineering
  • 10am–8pm: Altair Challenge

July 3 (Thursday)

  • 10am–12pm: Altair Challenge
  • 10am–6pm: Hot Track
  • 6pm–8pm: Evening Charging

July 4 (Friday)

  • 7am–9am: Morning Charging
  • 9am–5pm: Hot Track
  • 5pm–8pm: Evening Charging

July 5 (Saturday)

  • 7pm: Awards Ceremony
  • 7am–9am: Morning Charging
  • 9am–5pm: Hot Track

2025 Electrek FSGP teams

Purdue

Kentucky

Florida

Berkeley

UT Austin

Iowa State

RIT

Northwestern

Michigan State

Stanford

Illinois State

Washington

Virginia Tech

Illinois

Waterloo

British Columbia

Missouri S&T

Georgia Tech

Poly Montreal

SIUE

Calgary

Rutgers

Toronto

Florida Poly

Virginia

UC Irvine

Western Ontario

NC State

McMaster

Montana State

UOP

Western Michigan

Puerto Rico

App State

If you’re interested in joining us in sponsoring these events, please get in touch here!

Featured image via Cora Kennedy for Electrek FSGP/ASC.

Note: The Formula Sun Grand Prix is not in any way associated or affiliated with the Formula 1 companies, FORMULA 1 racing, or the FIA Formula One World Championship.

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Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

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Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!

We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


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