Blog - All Comments

RE: ANDRITZ is Replacing the Old Hickory Dam Equipment

kmikemoo — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 03:16:54 GMT

This is awesome. This equipment was designed and built back when energy was cheap and small inefficiencies - like concentricity - were acceptable losses.

I did chuckle at the change in power factor rating. On the generation side, kVA is what matters - because it's really all about amperes. kW is a marketing number - calculated based on NEMA MG-1 in the US. Almost pure fiction - unless your generator is engine limited (lacks the horsepower to carry the true (real) power load). Engine limited generators are not the norm because they come with a host of other issues (high voltage dip, slow recovery times, no overload capability, etc.) Hydropower only experiences this during times of low water.

RE: ANDRITZ is Replacing the Old Hickory Dam Equipment

DAB — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 19:15:08 GMT

Based upon recent flooding patterns, the US needs to go through Kentucky and create a similar water flow control system. Plus we can always use more power sources.

RE: Farmers in Egypt Use Solar Panels to Grow Crops

ralphjy — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:02:47 GMT

It would be nice to see the long term plan for sustainability of these installations. Witnessing all the issues with replacing aging infrastructure makes me worry about large scale deployments of this type in harsh environments.

RE: Farmers in Egypt Use Solar Panels to Grow Crops

beacon_dave — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:59:41 GMT

We have a small 50kW agrivoltaics demonstrator as part of the solar farm here at the uni.

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/about-us/blogs/inside-the-operation-lancaster-universitys-pioneering-journey-to-net-zero-carbon-emissions

Looks like we are growing deer under the main arrays [emoticon:c4563cd7d5574777a71c318021cbbcc8]

RE: NASA Plans to Launch a Nuclear Reactor in Space

Qbit — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:54:44 GMT

Great progress since 1965, excited to see it in the void.

RE: Researchers Create Digital Twin of a Battery to Uncover What Causes Degradation During Fast Charging

Qbit — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 10:30:04 GMT

Unbelievable! Anything related to photonic processing?

RE: AI Data Centers Require a Lot of Water, Where Does It Go?

DAB — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 19:48:44 GMT

If I was an enterprising company, I would integrate the data centers into a salt water desalination plant using the heat from the chips to heat the water and then condense fresh water from the evaporated steam. That way you could more easily get local governments to invite you in to build your data centers.

RE: Honeycomb-Shaped 3D PV Modules Could Generate More Electricity Than Flat Panels

kmikemoo — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:58:44 GMT

We can only hope that this technology makes it to market.

RE: Ancient Cities Are Now Using Solar Panels in Roof Tiles

beacon_dave — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 18:54:16 GMT

Looks like they have gone with individual tiles rather than grouping several tiles into a more traditional sized solar panel.

Lots of connections !

RE: Ancient Cities Are Now Using Solar Panels in Roof Tiles

DAB — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 18:24:17 GMT

This approach makes sense.

You greatly extend the life of the roof and provide local power.

win win.

RE: Researchers Develop Water Battery That Can Be Safely Disposed

DAB — Thu, 21 May 2026 20:45:02 GMT

I am not sure that you can make a cost effective battery with this technology.

If it is not as good as the Lithium battery and it does not last as long as a Lithium battery, where is the market?

RE: Microsoft Surface Book 2 Power Supply Teardown

Cleberson — Sat, 02 May 2026 17:19:51 GMT

Hi Guys. I'm looking for the schematic of the power supply Model 1798, Microsoft Laptop. Somebody help me. Tks.

RE: A Modeling Study Predicts That Solar Farms Could Produce Rainfall

DAB — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 18:23:10 GMT

Interesting, but I doubt that the rain would fall where the updraft is located.

When you watch weather patterns, an updraft just starts the process.

You still need the moisture and accumulation over time to reach a point where you have a cloud with rain potential.

It would be more economical to equip tankers with rain collectors and sail them into precipitation over the ocean.

You would get good clean water and then be able to take it to where you need it.

RE: A Modeling Study Predicts That Solar Farms Could Produce Rainfall

dougw — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:45:19 GMT

It sounds like even just darkening land surfaces would have a similar effect.

RE: Deep Fission is Burying Nuclear Reactors One Mile Deep

DAB — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:16:06 GMT

They must be using funny math, because I do not see how this approach can make a power plant less expensive.

There is also a lot of security concerns about this approach.