Elon Musk invited by German Minister of Economy & Energy after VW Gate

Elon Musk was invited yesterday by the German Minister of Economy & Energy, right after VW Gate ...

- "What will you say to your kids or grand kids ?" ... they will say: "Nobody told you ?"  ... :(

- Germany is a huge leader for Solar Power Generation, but not for Sustainable Power Consumption

- Put a Price on CO2 & Incentives for Renewables won't be necessary

- Sun => 1GW/km2 & Solar Panels => 200 MW/km2, so, combined with Energy Storage, the Power is here to supply heating, transportation, etc,  and replace fossil fuels completely , no problem :)

- Tesla Model III : Elon says it will come out ASAP: they will build GigaFactory & Assembly at the same time, expect 2 to 2.5 years

- Says Airbus and its Electric Plane is a great move for them

30 MW Storage Battery To Be Built In Germany

The state of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany is investing in electricity storage by developing a 30 MW lithium-ion battery there. It will be built by SK Innovation Co. Ltd., a South Korean company. Saxony-Anhalt is the site of something called the Solar Valley because of the infrastructure there that has been created over the years to support solar power. About €9 billion have been invested since 1991.



Companies such as Innotech Solar, Hanwha Q-Cells, and Enercon have a presence in Saxony-Anhalt. It is only fitting that it would be the site of a 30 MW battery storage project.

"This was just the first step. We have many renewable energy plants here and often generate more electricity than we need. So far that power has been given away, and that's lost money," State Premier Reiner Haseloff explained.

Batteries can store electricity generated by solar and wind power when conditions are favorable, so it can be used when they are not. Electricity storage is the second part of the renewable energy solution. By investing in new battery systems, Germany is continuing down the path it started on to shift away from nuclear power.

Coal is still very active, but eventually, as the prices of solar and wind power keep decreasing, they will become even more prevalent. Developing more robust storage capacities will likely make renewables even that much more appealing.

In 2011, it was reported that well over 60% of Saxony-Anhalt's electricity came from renewable sources, so capturing the excess with battery storage only makes sense.

Saxony-Anhalt can't be dismissed as an anomaly. Another German state can generate even more of its electricity from renewable sources.

As new batteries are developed and connected to the energy systems in these places, it would appear that there then will be a whole lot of renewable energy in operation. A 5 MW energy storage system recently became operational in Mecklenburg, a northern German state. Creating, launching, and operating a 30 MW storage battery would be a huge accomplishment, relative to other such storage batteries.

Source: CleanTechnica

BMW C Evolution Breakdown on the Freeway - Controller Problem

Last tuesday, heading to work on the freeway, going uphill at 110 km/h on the left lane, I experienced a severe breakdown having no more response from the throttle and the LCD display illuminated in red with yellow and red warnings. I had to pull over quickly to the right lane and could safely stop at the upcoming freeway exit





My warning lights on, I stopped and restarted the scooter turning it OFF and ON again, but that did not have any effect :(
I tried this procedure several times and decided to get off the bike and safely call the BMW Assistance which indicated to call the Police because I was on the freeway - they are the ones dealing with this kind of situation -
"A towing truck should be on its way and you should be towed within half an hour" the Police said





I finally waited 40 minutes before I could be towed and brought back to Boulogne, at the BMW Motorrad shop next to where I live; I walked to my parking and went to work with the LEAF ASAP, arriving two hours later than usual ...

The shop took care of my scooter almost right away and called me in the afternoon saying its had been fixed, through a firmware upgrade touching the power electronics - I must admit that I was a bit sceptical when I heard this at first - and test rode it fine for 13 km on the same freeway

The next morning, happy to pick up the bike, I had the warning light and engine sign, in yellow this time instead of red, they were surprised and so was I ... I asked them if they checked the "error log" (?) of the bike and they said they did not see anything but decided to replug it into the diagnosys tool right away and see what it says. Then they told me it was a power electronics fault and that I should leave them the bike until it is fixed ...







They will have to deal with a French representative in touch with Germany for any repair touching the electric components of the scooter and it could take some time; The repairs would be performed in the only shop certified to do that with two specially trained mechanics in Paris 17th district (BMW Motorrad Tocqueville)
It seems to be the first failure of this type among the few C Evolution on the road right now

The dealer agreed to lend me the demo C Evolution for the day, having test rides booked the other days, so I used to commute it and brought it back at 7 PM;



Talking to one of the salesmen, he told me he would see with the shop (seperate location in Boulogne) if they could speed up the repair or at least give me some more info on the on going process

The next day I used the LEAF to go to work again and was happy to receive a call from this same salesman telling me BMW France would lend me a C Evolution during the repair period and I should get it the coming week; Few minutes later the shop called to announce they received the replacement scooter for me and I could pick it up the next day at the shop opening; I requested a full charge to be performed ...

And the next morning, after signing a one month contract, I left with a brand new 1000 km old identical scooter and I rode it since then ...





Thanks BMW France for lending me (one of) your demo C Evolution !  :)

SMA's Energy Storage System : Installation of the Sunny Boy Smart Energy

One year after revealing it to InterSolar Europe and winning a price for it, SMA just posted a video for the installation of their ESS - Energy Storage System - named Sunny Boy Smart Energy on their US Youtube Channel

As you probably remember it features a rather small battery pack of 2kWh only and has to be installed along with their Sunny Home Manager




" The current SMA Tech Tip shows how quickly and easily the new Sunny Boy Smart Energy can be installed as part of the SMA Integrated Storage System.

The Sunny Boy Smart Energy combines a modern photovoltaic inverter and a storage system and is, along with the Sunny Home Manager, one of the core components of the simplest storage solution currently available for residential applications.

Our colleague Jan explains how it works in the new video.

Happy watching. "

Bjorn visits Germany with his Tesla Model S : Nürburgring and the Autobahn at Top Speed

Bjørn Nyland is driving his Tesla Model S 85 kWh Performance on the famous Nürburgring for the first time. He is going quite fast and at the same time not risking too much to wreck his beautiful car and remember his wife is next to him (!)

He says : "I had to take it easy around the track so we could make it safely back home to Norway." He sure is right :-)

Average usage around the ring: 516 Wh/km.

Awesome videos, Bjorn, thanks for sharing all your TMS experiences !

Before that he released two Autobhan videos, one going at 180km/h, which fast not not too much (for us European) and then, few days later, going this time at 215 km/h which limited top speed ont he Tesla Model S I think (?)

Yeah baby ! This is getting fast isn't it ? But I think the best is not the top speed, but the way to get there: the amazing acceleration ! (like when I ride my BMW C Evolution, it is just mind blowing, its accelerates like a rocket !)




Bjorn will be releasing his TMS European Tour video soon and here is a teaser ...

BMW i8 Manufacturing