Tom Raftery's newsletter - Issue #16

Wow - it has been a whirlwind week of news here in Europe. I avoided any Brexit related stories in last week's newsletter, but this week I included one in the climate section, just to balance the bad news from Britain with some good news :)

The Internet of Things (IoT)

When I first heard about a connected hearing aid, I have to admit, I thought this was a bit of a gimmick, but on reading this short piece, I can definitely see how it would be very useful

A connected hearing aid is an Internet of Things device I can get behind — www.theverge.com When I get a pitch about a new gadget, my first reaction is typically skepticism coupled with severe doubt that the product actually does what it promises. My skepticism is amplified even further...

Here you have my latest report on the Internet of Things - and what it means for industry, and the evolution of the Smart Home

Is the IoT hype justified? Will it change everything, or is it a passing fad? — tomraftery.com All the buzz in tech these days is about the Internet of Things. Is the hype justified? Will it change everything, or is it a passing fad? Tl; dr. It depends, yes, and no. In that order. To expand a little on that: Is the hype justified? It depends on where it is being used, and what…

Energy

Bloomberg have a very interesting analysis of Tesla's bid for SolarCity - well worth a read

‘Tesla Solar’ Wants to Be the Apple Store for Electricity — www.bloomberg.com The SolarCity deal isn’t only about putting panels on your house.

Which is timely given Bloomberg's predictions on the future of solar (spoiler alert - it has a bright future (pun intended!))

Solar Power to Grow Sixfold as Sun Becoming Cheapest Resource — www.bloomberg.com The amount of electricity generated using solar panels stands to expand as much as sixfold by 2030 as the cost of production falls below competing natural gas and coal-fired plants, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

CleanTech/Misc

On the transportation front, Sweden is trialling a way of charging hybrid trucks as they drive

Sweden opens world’s first electric highway for trucks — www.globalconstructionreview.com It works in the same way as a tram, using overhead lines accessed with extendible pantographs. The lines are supplied by Siemens and the trucks, which are fitted with hybrid electric diesel motors, are made by Scania.

And speaking of the move to electric vehicles, Volvo are now saying that their current range of internal combustion cars will be their last. From here on out, their cars will be electric.

Climate

Some good news from the UK on the climate front in two stories - in the first, the Brexit, if it happens, need not be bad news for the environment, despite much speculation to the contrary

Don't panic, Brexit doesn't have to spell gloom for the environment Michael Jacobs: The UK government has just set an ambitious new carbon target. Now we need to mobilise support to protect our many other environmental laws

And lastly for this week, some more good news from the UK (boy is it needed!), the Uk has set itself some ambitious targets for the climate for 2030

UK sets ambitious new 2030s carbon target Amber Rudd allays fears that target would be casualty of EU referendum and adopts fifth carbon budget to reduce emissions 57% by 2030 on 1990 levels

Finally

Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter. I hope you found it interesting. If you did, you should also check out my blog

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