Tesla and the Transformation of Electric Cars

Tesla garners as much media attention as do the Big Five of the digital economy—Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook. Tesla’s valuation now exceeds those of major U.S. automakers, and is now positioned to compete in the highly contested category of mid-to-upper priced vehicles. But the resurgence of electric vehicles (EVs) is not just an American phenomenon. It is an even bigger story in a few other countries. 

You can continue reading the story and detailed analysis at

https://waveep.com/blog/tesla-transformation-electric-cars/

Why Dow 20,000 Is So Boring?

(Source: Wall Street Journal)

The financial media cannot stop tweeting about the possibility of Dow Jones Index breaching the 20,000 mark. Rising stocks boost public confidence and sense of affluence. Yet, for the broad population, the rising market index doesn’t seem to generate widespread excitement. Why is that? A possible reason is: lower direct participation by the public in market activities, both in listed securities and new issues (IPOs).

You can continue reading the story and detailed analysis at
Why-Dow-20000-is-so-boring/ 

Ivanpah – A Sad Postscript

Sadly, my worst fears about the Ivanpah’s projects under-performance came true (see the blog “Operational Hiccups at Ivanpah”).  The project owners BrightSource, Google, and NRG have requested financial relief from the federal government.  After going live in February, the project has accumulated payment deficits of over $400M on its loan repayments.

You can continue reading the story and analysis at Ivanpah postscript continued

Operational Hiccups at Ivanpah Solar Worry Me

The world’s largest solar thermal facility was brightly unveiled to the American Public in Ivanpah, CA by the U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on February 13.  The project, designed and sponsored by BrightSource Energy and owned by BrightSource, NRG Energy, and Google, cost $2.2 billion and received $1.6 billion federal loan guarantees through the Department of Energy.

You can continue reading the story and analysis at Ivanpah plagued with troubles

Energy Productivity is Key to Profits and Growth

“If energy efficiency improved by 2% a year, the entire global population at the turn of this century could live at the American standard of living with less energy than we use today.”  Dr. Richard Muller, speaking at WAVE event “GENIUS: Ideas and People that Move Us,” makes no apologies for being a capitalist, one who believes that “a solution which is not profitable is not sustainable.”  The key to profitable investing, he believes, is efficiency in the use of energy and resources.  Or, as he is more likely to say, energy and resource productivity.

You can continue reading the story and analysis at Energy productivity

Electric Cars – Are the Savings Real?

The government website Energy.gov contends that it costs about 3 times less to drive an electric vehicle.  An eGallon costs $1.22 versus $3.56 for a gallon of gas.

I’m not convinced.  I’d rather drive a hybrid car rather than an electric car.  Here is why.

You can continue reading the rest of the story and analysis here.

Technology is Not Enough - A Parable

Every day, I see hundreds of cars moving.  Why do the cars move?

A simple question like unlocks a series of esoteric thoughts to a physicist like me.  Generations of scientific discoveries help us understand and explain the car’s movement.  You have the laws of motion, Thermodynamics, energy conversion and conservation, friction, electromagnetism and electricity, quantum mechanics that allow us to design chips at nanoscale, and gravity and general relativity whose understanding is essential for accurate operation of the GPS.  Nearly all of our scientific knowledge of physical worlds is neatly encased in the movement of the car.

you can continue reading the parable at WAVE's blog site