Connect with us

Published

on

The 704-megawatt (M) Revolution Wind, Rhode Island and Connecticut’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm, just hit a major milestone.

Revolution Wind’s site is more than 15 miles south of Rhode Island and 32 miles southeast of Connecticut. The first multi-state offshore wind project is a 50/50 partnership between offshore wind giant Ørsted and New England energy provider Eversource.

“America’s offshore wind industry is scaling up, and the first steel in the water at Revolution Wind is a tremendous milestone for Rhode Island and Connecticut’s clean energy journey,” said David Hardy, group EVP and CEO Americas at Ørsted.

During the offshore construction phase, a variety of vessels will be active at the site, including construction and transport barges, cable installation vessels, tugboats, supply and support vessels, and protected species observer monitor vessels. Simultaneously, onshore construction is underway on Revolution Wind’s transmission system in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.

In New London, Connecticut, the first turbine components have started to arrive at State Pier, the project’s staging and marshaling port, where they will be assembled by local union labor.

In Rhode Island, crews in Providence are readying for loadout of advanced foundation components built by local union labor at Ørsted and Eversource’s construction hub at ProvPort. Revolution Wind’s crew helicopters and Rhode Island-built crew transfer vessels are based out of Quonset Point.

When it comes online in 2025, Revolution Wind will generate 400 MW of clean power for Rhode Island and 304 MW for Connecticut. Combined, that’s enough clean power for more than 350,000 homes across both states. It will displace nearly 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually, the equivalent of taking more than 200,000 cars off the road.

Last weekend, the US offshore wind supply chain marked another major milestone with the christening of the ECO EDISON, the first-ever American-built, owned, and crewed offshore wind service operations vessel. Constructed by over 600 workers across shipyards in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, with components sourced from 34 states, the ECO EDISON will play a crucial role in operating and maintaining Ørsted and Eversource’s offshore wind projects in the Northeast, including Revolution Wind.

Rhode Island has set a goal of achieving 100% clean electricity by 2030, and Connecticut has set a goal of 100% clean electricity by 2040.

Read more: 2023 was a record year for wind power growth – in numbers


If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –ad*

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Florida rangers are now patrolling on electric bikes

Published

on

By

Florida rangers are now patrolling on electric bikes

Florida’s State Parks are stepping up their environmental and operational game, introducing a large fleet of powerful electric bikes to support park ranger patrols.

The Florida State Parks Foundation, under its sustainability-focused Greener Initiative, recently announced the expansion of e‑bike units across the state’s parks system. The fleet of Velotric Nomad e-bikes, each equipped with 750‑watt motors and with a claimed 65‑mile range, can offer a substantial 500‑lb payload capacity. They also feature 4″ wide fat tires optimized for riding on rough paths or off-road trails, making them ideal for park ranger patrols.

These e‑bikes are now being distributed to multiple locations throughout Florida, including Fort Clinch, Olustee Battlefield Historic, Rainbow Springs, Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center, and Suwannee River State Park.

According to Julia Gill Woodward, CEO of the Foundation, the overwhelming success of the first wave of e‑bikes prompted swift expansion. “The Greener Initiative has done incredible things to reduce our environmental footprint,” she noted, adding that it’s “even more amazing when Greener projects align with resources that support our rangers.”

Advertisement – scroll for more content

These additions bring the statewide fleet to 50 e‑bikes, funded via sales from the “Explore Our State Parks” specialty license plate. Starting in 2023, the Greener Initiative has rolled out a variety of efforts to make Florida’s parks cleaner and more efficient, including slashing emissions, cutting down on waste, lowering energy consumption, and enhancing the overall experience for visitors.

Electrek’s Take

I love this, and it’s a great example of how e-bikes are perfect for so many different patrol uses among park rangers, police officers, security companies, and other types of official fleet usage.

We’re seeing this more and more, and the reason is obvious: It works. E-bikes are a lot cheaper than alternatives like UTVs, golf carts, or “real” vehicles like cars and trucks. They require significantly less maintenance, and they’re a lot more fun too.

I just hope they mount some extra water bottle holders. I often ride in Florida, and in the summer, I can drink a gallon a day… on an electric bike!

Via: WCJB

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Meet the Lucid Gravity X: The electric SUV turned all-terrain beast

Published

on

By

Meet the Lucid Gravity X: The electric SUV turned all-terrain beast

Lucid’s most adventurous vehicle has just arrived. The Lucid Gravity can drive 450 miles on a single charge, comfortably fits seven, and is faster than the average sports car. Lucid promises the new X concept takes the electric family hauler to a new level.

Meet the Lucid Gravity X adventure-ready EV SUV

Lucid has been hyping the new model as “a bold new concept of electric exploration,” describing it as its most adventurous vehicle to date.

At Monterey Car Week on Friday, we finally got our first look at Lucid’s stunning new Gravity X concept. Based on the Lucid Gravity Grand Touring, which features an impressive up to 450 miles of EPA-estimated range, AWD, and a 0 to 60 mph sprint in just 3.4 secs, the X is designed to take you even further.

As Lucid put it, the X “advances this exceptional foundation, exploring what it would be like to push the limits further.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

The concept features a new look, lifted ride height, and added off-road elements for all on and off-road adventures. Lucid fine-tuned the front and rear ends to improve approach and departure angles. It also slapped all-terrain tires, protective skid plates, and tow hooks on it, just in case.

Lucid-Gravity-X
The Lucid Gravity X concept (Source: Lucid Group)

Like we first saw in the teaser, the X concept is equipped with an integrated crossbar with LED lights and a roof box.

Lucid says every detail on the new concept was intentional, from the Astral Drift satin paint to the topographical references to Big Spur and Death Valley on the hood.

The interior features upgrades, including premium leather seats, high-performance floor mats, and a microsuede steering wheel.

Lucid-Gravity-X
The interior of the Lucid Gravity X (Source: Lucid Group)

According to Lucid, the Gravity X, pronounced Gravity Cross, is “ready to go anywhere. Take on everything. And compromise nothing.”

Although it’s just a concept for now, the X gives us a glimpse into a future off-road Gravity trim. As we mentioned earlier this week, Lucid could be preparing to introduce a rugged new variant to compete with Rivian’s California Dune Edition R1S and R1T models.

What do you think of the rugged Gravity X Concept? Should Lucid bring it to life? It wouldn’t be surprising to see a new variant hit the market soon.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Wheel-E Podcast: Bafang automatic shifting motor, 50 MPH scooter, more

Published

on

By

Wheel-E Podcast: Bafang automatic shifting motor, 50 MPH scooter, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes new e-bikes from Heybike, the Priority Skyline launch, Segway’s new 50 MPH electric scooter, a Bafang hub motor with automatic shifting, and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Overcast

Pocket Casts

Castro

RSS

We also have a Patreon if you want to help us to avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 9:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:00 a.m. ET):

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Trending