NASA is Completing Phase One of an Initiative to Put Nukes on the Moon

1.) Ontario’s grid operator, IESO, has teamed up with DER aggregator Energy Hub to develop a 90 MW virtual power plant, controlling enrolled thermostats in 100,000 homes.  All of this was accomplished since just the middle of last year.

2.) The North American Energy Standards Board has started work on a standardized services contract making it easier to aggregate DERs into virtual power plants, improve data sharing practices, and strengthen cyber-security.

3.) Citing high collision and damage costs and challenges to operational efficiency Hertz said it may further cut its EV fleet. Hertz’s CEO commented that customers in certain areas of U.S. are less familiar with EVs and more likely to get into accidents.

4.) Ford CEO Jim Farley commented the company is re-thinking its EV strategy after incurring a 2023 loss of $4.7 billion in its EV business.  Ford is working to better match supply with existing demand, while a formerly secret ‘skunkworks’ team is focused on developing a smaller and more affordable EV platform.

5.) Toyota will invest $1.3 billion in its Kentucky plant to support EVs, including a battery pack assembly line and ability to manufacture its electric SUV. Total electric investments now stand at $10 billion.

6.) Octopus Energy subsidiary Octopus Electric Vehicles has launched a used EV leasing program in the Houston Texas area, including unlimited free home charging. Leases range from $249 to 699 per month, and cover seven types of used EVs, and include the Chevy Bolt, to the Tesla Model 3, and the Audi e-Tron.

7.) NASA is completing phase one of an initiative to put nukes on the moon, with a concept design for a small reactor weighing less than six metric tons and generating 40 kilowatts, without direct human intervention. Target date is sometime in the 2030s.