The world’s fifth-largest economy looked more like a developing country last week, as PG&E purposely cut power to millions of people in Northern California for days.

We knew this was coming. The growing safety and financial risks of wildfires in the state mean mass power outages will become more common. But in this case, PG&E was slammed for the way it handled things.

We’ll dig into the scope, the fallout and the solutions of California’s public safety power shutoffs to minimize wildfire threats.

Then: Dyson made a big business out of selling $400 hair dryers and $500 vacuum cleaners, but it couldn’t make a high-end electric car work. We’ll talk about why Dyson wrote off its EV plans.

Finally, the Trump administration lifts a tariff exemption for bifacial solar panels. Why are these two-sided solar panels becoming so popular now? And will new tariffs halt their rise in the U.S.?

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Additional resources:

  • New York Times: Inside PG&E’s Control Room
  • Bloomberg: What Happens When a Vacuum Company Tries to Make an Electric Car
  • GTM Squared: Has Bifacial Solar Finally Moved From Theoretical to Practical?

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