US to use AI to track the impact of offshore wind on endangered whales
Two US environmental agencies say they will start using AI to better monitor the impact of offshore wind farms on marine animals, particularly endangered North American right whales, of which there are only about 360 left in the world.
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced their new joint strategy to protect the whales as the East Coast sees a ramp-up in offshore wind farm development.
The approach uses both artificial intelligence and passive acoustic monitoring to gauge where the whales are at a given time and then monitor the impacts of wind development on the whales. The plan also details measures to avoid building in areas that could impact whales, set noise limits during construction, and well as support research to develop new, quieter technologies that could reduce any impact on marine life. The organizations also want to conduct “robust sound field verification” to measure current noise levels in more accurate ways.
The strategy was developed to support President Biden’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. As of September 2023, there were 30 offshore wind lease areas along the East Coast.
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring offshore wind energy development is done in a responsible manner,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “That’s why we have increased our efforts to develop a strategy – based on the best available science – that will allow us to protect the North Atlantic right whale while meeting our offshore wind goals that are necessary to curb climate change and protect the environment.”
The Associated Press reports that the news was timed with the announcement that Equinor and energy behemoth BG are switching leases for offshore wind projects in Massachusetts and New York. Equinor will now take on full ownership of the Empire Wind projects, and BP will take ownership of the Beacon Wind projects, with Equinor saying it is taking a loss of about $200 million, the AP writes.
Electrek’s Take
Over the past 13 months, dead whales have been washing ashore on the East Coast, with opponents pointing to offshore wind projects as the culprit. Still, the agencies say that, for now at least, there is no evidence that offshore wind development is harming or killing whales, with many of them hit by ships or entangled in fishing gear. The International Whaling Commission estimates that more than 300,000 whales or dolphins die every year due to entanglement in fishing gear. (I live by the Atlantic coast in France and can attest to the grim reality of this – I regularly see dead dolphins that have clearly been entangled in fishing gear on the beach.) For its part, the NOAA confirmed that 67 large whales were entangled in fishing nets in 2022, which is the most recent data available.
The biggest threat, of course, is climate change. Right whales are among the most endangered animals in the world and close to extinction, with only 70 reproductively active females thought to be still alive. “Climate change is impacting every aspect of their survival, from changing ocean habitat, prey availability and affecting migratory patterns – making the transition to cleaner, renewable energy critically important,” said NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit.
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Credit where credit is due: in a massive, 32-car multinational independent test, Tesla’s Autopilot ADAS came out on top, the new affordable Tesla turns out to be a corner-cutting Model Y, and one of the company’s original founders compares the Cybertruck to a dumpster. All this and more on today’s episode of Quick Charge!
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Tesla is again teasing the new Roadster, which is now five years late, as “the last driver’s car” before self-driving takes over.
The chicken or the egg. Is Tesla delaying the Roadster to match the development of self-driving technology, or is it delaying the development of self-driving technology to match the delayed release of the Roadster?
The prototype for the next-generation Tesla Roadster was first unveiled in 2017, and it was initially scheduled to enter production in 2020; however, it has been delayed every year since then.
It was supposed to achieve a range of 620 miles (1,000 km) and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds.
It has become a sort of running joke, and there are doubts that it will ever come to market despite Tesla’s promise of dozens of free new Roadsters to Tesla owners who participated in its referral program years ago.
Tesla used the promise of free Roadsters to help generate billions of dollars worth of sales, which Tesla owners delivered; however, the automaker never delivered on its part of the agreement.
Furthermore, many people placed deposits ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 to reserve the vehicle, which was initially scheduled to hit the market five years ago.
When unveiling the vehicle, CEO Elon Musk described it as a “halo car” that would deliver a “smack down” to gasoline vehicles.
That was almost eight years ago, and many electric hypercars have since launched and delivered this smackdown.
Tesla has partly blamed the delays on improving the next-gen Roadsters and added features like the “SpaceX package,” which is supposed to include cold air thrusters to enable the vehicle to fly – Musk has hinted.
Many people don’t believe any of it, as Tesla has said that it would launch the new Roadster every year for the last 5 years and never did.
Now, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s head of vehicle engineering, made a rare new comment about the next-generation Roadster during an interview at the X Takeover event, an annual gathering of Elon Musk cultists, last weekend.
He referred to Tesla’s next-gen Roadster as the “last best driver’s car” and said that the automaker did “some cool demos” for Musk last week:
We spent a lot of time in the last few years rethinking what we did, and why we did it, and what would make an awesome and exciting last best driver’s car. We’ve been making it better and better, and it is even a little bit more than a car. We showed Elon some cool demos last week and tech we’ve been working on, and he got a little excited.
The timing matches Musk’s recent claim that Tesla is going to have ‘the most epic demo ever, ’ but we heard that one before.
We suspected that the comment might be about the Tesla Roadster, as the CEO made the exact same comment about Roadster demos in 2019 and 2024. You will not be shocked to hear that these demos never happen.
Electrek’s Take
The “last best driver’s car” before computers are going to drive us everywhere. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy if you continue to delay the car. It might literally be the last car ever made that way. How would we ever know?
The truth is that the Roadster was cool when it was unveiled in 2017, but that was a long time ago. Tesla would need to update the car quite a bit to make it cool in 2025, and I don’t know that cold air clusters are it. You will have extreme limitations using those.
The Roadster is almost entirely in the “put up or shut up” category for me at Tesla. They need to stop talking about it and make it happen; otherwise, I can’t believe a word.
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The PV5 is already available in several markets, but will Kia launch it in the US? After Kia’s electric van was spotted testing in the US again, a US debut could be in the works.
Is Kia’s electric van coming to the US?
Kia launched the PV5, the first dedicated electric van from its new Platform Beyond vehicle (PBV) business, in South Korea and Europe earlier this year, promising it will roll out in “other global markets” in 2026.
Will that include the US? Earlier this year, Kia’s electric van was caught charging at a station in Indiana. Photos and a video sent to Electrek by Alex Nguyen confirmed it was, in fact, the PV5.
Kia has yet to say if it will sell the PV5 in the US, likely due to the Trump Administration’s new auto tariffs. All electric vans, or PBVs, including the PV5, will be built at Kia’s Hwaseong plant in South Korea, which means they will face a stiff 25% tariff as imports.
Following another sighting, a US debut cannot be ruled out. The PV5 Passenger model was spotted by Automotive Validation Engineer Chris Higa (@Chrisediting) while testing in Arizona.
There’s no denying that’s Kia’s electric van, but it doesn’t necessarily confirm it will launch in the US. But it could make sense.
Despite record first-half sales in the US, Kia’s EV sales have fallen significantly. Sales of the EV9 and EV6 are nearly 50% less than in the first half of 2024.
To be fair, part of it is due to the new model year changeover, but Kia is also doubling down on the US market by boosting local production. Earlier this year, Kia said the EV6 and EV9 are now in full-scale production at its West Point, GA, facility.
The PV5 Passenger (shown above) is available in Europe with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh or 71.2 kWh, rated with WLTP ranges of 179 miles and 249 miles, respectively. The Cargo variant has the same battery options but offers a WLTP range of either 181 miles or 247 miles.
During its PV5 Tech Day event last week, Kia revealed plans for seven PV5 body types, including an Open Bed (similar to a pickup), a Light Camper, and even a luxury “Prime” passenger model.
Kia is set to begin deliveries of the PV5 Passenger and Cargo Long variants in South Korea next month, followed by Europe and other global markets, starting in Q4 2025. As for a US launch, we will have to wait for the official word from Kia.
Do you want Kia to bring its electric van to the US? Drop us a comment below and let us know your thoughts.
Source: Chris Higa, TheKoreanCarBlog
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