Fortune: Volkswagen Promises Its Next Electric Car Will Be as Revolutionary as the Beetle
Volkswagen has released photos -- and some big promises -- of an electric-vehicle concept car it plans to unveil at the Paris Motor Show later this month. And while the images don’t show much beyond LED headlights reminiscent of the 1960s and '70s-era Lite-Brite toy, the automaker went peddle-to-the-metal with marketing hyperbole by calling the car a “new ambassador to the automotive world,” “one-of-a-kind,” and a signal of “brand’s entry into a new era.”
The concept car is intended to give investors and consumers the first clear indication of what the Volkswagen’s planned portfolio of electric cars will look like. Keep in mind that VW is calling this a “design study,” which means it will have a lot of flashy innovations that probably won’t make it into the final product.
Reuters: India Loses WTO Appeal in U.S. Solar Dispute
India lost its appeal at the World Trade Organization in a dispute over solar power on Friday, failing to overturn a U.S. complaint that New Delhi had discriminated against importers in the Indian solar power sector.
The WTO's appeals judges upheld an earlier ruling that found India had broken WTO rules by requiring solar power developers to use Indian-made cells and modules. The appeal ruling is final, and India will be expected to bring its laws into compliance with the WTO rules.
“This report is a clear victory for American solar manufacturers and workers, and another step forward in the fight against climate change,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement.
Popular Science: Solar-Powered Helicopter Takes Flight
This year we saw a solar-powered plane circumnavigate the globe and a solar-powered boat gear up to do the same. As of last week, we can add to that list of clean energy marvels the first-ever piloted flight of a solar-powered helicopter.
A team of undergraduates at the University of Maryland has developed a four-rotor helicopter equipped with an array of solar panels. The craft took to the air for 9 seconds, lifting more than a foot off of the ground. (By point of comparison, the Wright brothers’ first flight lasted just 12 seconds.)
Sacramento Bee: Are California's Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Markets Losing Power?
Are hybrid and electric vehicles losing their juice in California, far and away the nation’s leading market for those auto segments?
On the surface, the answer is yes. Up the road, experts believe that electric vehicles in particular are due to take off.
“Sales of alternative-powered vehicles have not kept pace with the rest of the new vehicle market,” the Sacramento-based California New Car Dealers Association noted in its recently released report on statewide new motor vehicle registrations recorded in the first half of 2016.
Washington Examiner: Republicans to Rally Around Renewable Energy in D.C.
A conservative clean energy summit will descend on Washington next week to show that "it's OK" for Republicans to support wind and solar.
The summit, backed by groups representing young conservative and Christian voters, will hear from a number of Republican lawmakers who support renewable energy and want conservatives to take back leadership from the left on the subject, and to some degree climate change.
Former presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tops the list of Republicans addressing the Conservative Clean Energy Summit being held Thursday on Capitol Hill. Graham will be joined by Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a key Republican advocate for wind energy subsidies and senior member on the Senate Finance Committee.