Old Crank
Old Crank's JournalThis is good news for renewable energy
Ocean turbines in Scotland have been running for more than 6 years without any unscheduled maintenance or failures. Tides don't care about sun or wind. Also won't interfere with the view from Trump's golf courses.
The MeyGen tidal energy project off the coast of Scotland has four turbines producing 1.5 megawatts each, enough electricity collectively to power up to 7,000 homes annually. On Thursday, the Swedish company SKF announced that its bearings and seals on one of the turbines had passed the 6 1/2-year mark without needing unplanned or disruptive maintenance. It has been working closely with the industry for a decade on design and testing.
https://apnews.com/article/tidal-energy-turbine-marine-meygen-scotland-ffff3a7082205b33b612a1417e1ec6d6
EV sales in Europe for the first half of 25
Tesla has fallen to 8th place.
https://insideevs.com/news/765283/volkswagen-tesla-sales-europe-cm/
We are officially here in Germany for the long haul.
Signed the sales contract, signed the loan papers for a flat. Now we wait for the Land registry to do their thing.
Ten year fixed at 3.3% and we can put up to 20K towards principle every year. What a procedure.
Now we get to deal with the move process and the new kitchen installation by the end of September.
The police state is here, now.
Militarized kozentration camps, military taking over parks, shipping people out of the country, firing people for working in the last administration.
The GOP doesn't care. This what the oligarchs want.
Got an Email from Social Security today.
They are bragging that a large number of Social Security recipients will no longer be taxed on their benefits.
What they didn't mention was the billions of dollars this takes out of the trust accounts. Income taxes levied on Social Security go back to Social Security to be used later. This means that the time frame to exhaust the trust fund will come sooner that the last report stated.
Another way to hack away at the system.
Start your campaigns now to raise the amounts to be paid into the system and raise the max salary limit into the system.
Well it worked,
my social security payments have been moved from my US bank to my German bank.
What a procedure. Most of the issues involve security. They don't want you to just change bank deposit on-line.
It has to be mailed in and then you get a call from a person at the consulate near you. You need to sign into MyID to show you are you.
Fun stuff, the man I talked to was great and we got it done. The first attempt sounded too much like a scam, Unlisted number with no call back, wanted a pin, and other personal information. So I hung up. Had to call the consulate during the hours that they work on SSocial Security. All is good.
Would you rather have cheap energy, or stupid culture wars?
This is from the substack posting Noahpinion. I agree with a good deal of what he says but this article is spot on about the new tax bill.
There are many things to despise about Trump’s deeply unpopular budget bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, or BBB. It would expand the national debt to dangerous levels with irresponsible and unnecessary tax cuts. It would shift the distribution of income upward. But perhaps the most ridiculous, pointless, and downright insane feature of the BBB is its attack on American energy supply.
......
CNN has an interactive tool that allows Americans to see how much their energy bills could go up if Trump’s BBB passes, according to estimates from the think tank Energy Innovation. They write:
....
And of course nuclear and geothermal, which Trump also wants to raise taxes on, are among the most stable energy sources that exist.
It’s also notable how many GOP districts and red states would be hurt by this disastrous policy. Although I don’t believe the purpose of industrial policy should be to create jobs, it’s undeniable that the boom in solar, wind, and batteries has generated a ton of economic activity in Republican-leaning areas.
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/would-you-rather-have-cheap-energy
And so it begins.
Scientists leaving to do research else where.
https://www.politico.eu/article/meet-first-academic-refugees-fleeing-us-france-science-program/?utm_campaign=feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=later-linkinbiohttps://www.politico.eu/article/meet-first-academic-refugees-fleeing-us-france-science-program/?utm_campaign=feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=later-linkinbio
Two new e-cars on my street.
The first is the Hyundai Ioniq 6. Pretty snazzy. It is a 5 seater. I talked to the owner and he gets better than the EPA distance rating per the EPA. It is priced well for its ilk.
From Car and Driver: https://www.caranddriver.com/hyundai/ioniq-6
The next is a Chinese SUV. Named for the company's owner, first name. WEY 05. This one costs more but not too bad even with the EU tariffs on Chinese cars. Pretty delux set up. By Great Wall Motor. The article says plug in hybrid. I couldn't see an exhaust pipe when I walked around it. This is what Tesla is competing with in Europe even without his other issues. Tesla is falling behind.
https://www.caranddriver.com/hyundai/ioniq-6
The Hyundai
The GWM WEY 05
I thought the BeBop was cute
Here comes the new Renault R5 electric only. Plays into the retro theme. Currently outselling Tesla in France and getting notice in the rest of Europe. Renault is also making their own batteries. Plus there is a very important optional accessory that I would just have to have if I were to get one.
A wicker baguette holder. Mais oui!
https://www.businessinsider.com/test-drive-renault-5-ev-french-european-car-of-year-2025-6#:~:text=It's%20the%20accessory%20you%20didn,re%20driving%20a%20French%20voiture.
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Name: RalphGender: Male
Current location: München, DE
Member since: Tue Nov 14, 2017, 07:17 AM
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