Solar power is saving Texan tushies right now. German ones, too. And perhaps, one day, tushies ’round the world.
Through June and July, WEI researchers talked to the media about electrostatic motors, a court challenge against a Superior gas plant, and the Supreme Court's most recent ruling on the authority of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Feeling clingy: Wisconsin startup reinvents electric motors with static cling
Centered
Remember the trick where you rub a balloon on your head and it sticks to the wall? The same driver of that phenomenon — static electricity — is helping Wisconsin startup C-Motive Technologies reinvent the electric motor to create what it calls the world’s first commercially viable electrostatic motor.
“What we’re doing is fundamentally different because we don’t use magnetism; we use the force of static cling,” said CEO Matt Maroon. “It is the same force that causes socks to stick together when they come out of the dryer.”
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Superior gas plant faces new court challenge; opponents question environmental review
Wisconsin State Journal
As they launch a new legal challenge, environmental groups are panning a federal review that says a planned natural gas power plant in Superior would reduce greenhouse gas emissions despite pumping millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.
La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative and two Minnesota utilities are seeking a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service to finance the $700 million Nemadji Trail Energy Center, which they say will help them transition away from coal-fired power.
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Court’s EPA decision aside, markets and innovation steadily at work
In Business Madison
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling rejecting the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to reshape the nation’s energy grid has been roundly criticized by groups that believe reining in the causes of climate change cannot wait for constitutional niceties such as congressional and state approval.
Whether they hate or love the high court’s ruling, those who believe in the urgency of climate change action should now place more trust in three forces — innovation, incentives, and market adoption — that can move the dial. Wisconsin can be a poster child for all.
Opinion: Texan politicians won’t say this, but solar is saving their tushies right now
The Washington Post
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A new type of electric motor
Wisconsin Public Radio
WPR Host Larry Meiller talks with Dan Ludois, inventor and professor, about a new type of electric motor that's more efficient and sustainable than what's commonly used today.
Featured Researchers