Tag: energy

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Invasion of the Smart Thermostats

One of my favorite shows when I was kid was Beyond 2000, which I loved for a variety of reasons: the geekiness, the environmental hopefulness, the futuristic optimism, and let’s not forget the Australian accents. I think it always left with me an idealistic vision of how technology could not only be used to improve lives, but also solve real problems.

I don’t know if the show holds up, and if I’m being honest, I can’t say I remember too many specifics from the show — it’s been decades since I’ve seen it. I do recall one episode featuring an indoor ski slope in a Japanese mall — ok, hardly solving real world problems — but I know others definitely dealt with renewable energy and things of that sort. Ever since, I’ve wanted to try to bring some of that Beyond 2000 future into my actual life.

And that is how I ended up with 11 smart thermostats in a house for two people. 🤪

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That Breezy Feeling

There are more three dozen offshore wind farms in the world, many with the potential of producing more than 200 megawatts of electricity. Most are in the United Kingdom and Germany. One is in the United States.

Located a few miles south of Rhode Island, the Block Island Wind Farm is pretty modest. Its five turbines have the nominal capacity of 30 megawatts — enough to power all of Block Island, which has begun decommissioning its diesel generators.

A few weeks ago, I traveled with almost two dozen other journalists to the wind farm to learn more about the project and to see the monster turbines up close.

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