Articles by

Paul Gipe

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38th Annual Windmill-Wildflower Hike Planned for Tehachapi 18 May 2024

By

Paul Gipe

Tehachapi Windmill-Wildflower Hike 2024 38th hike Paul Gipe and Georgette Theotig will lead a hike among the wind turbines on ... Read more
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Vehicle Efficiency in International Units and with Feedback

By

Paul Gipe

Lots of feedback on my last post: EV Efficiency: Miles per Gallon of Gasoline Equivalent. Friends and colleagues sent me ... Read more
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EV Efficiency: Miles per Gallon of Gasoline Equivalent

By

Paul Gipe

I’ve been telling anyone who will listen, “No one should buy any passenger car that gets less than 100 miles ... Read more
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Nyckelharpa Concert in Bako

By

Paul Gipe

Our friends organized a group to see a concert dubbed “blue grass and swedish.” The Swedes were bringing their Nyckelharpa. ... Read more
Smith Putnam 1,000 kW wind turbine atop Granpa's Knob, Vermont on 30 August 1941. Archives of Carl Wilcox. Note that the blades on the downnwind, flapping rotor are feathered.

Smith-Putnam Operating Hours and Generation

By

Paul Gipe

“The turbine ran until March 26 when it threw a blade at 3.10 am. During this time it generated 61,780 ... Read more
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EVs are Clearly Cleaner, Quieter, and More Fun than Fossil Fueled Vehicles

By

Paul Gipe

Amost nine years ago I wrote a series of articles explaining why we chose to drive electric. These essays were ... Read more
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Caltrans Shandon Solar-Powered DCFC Station In Service

By

Paul Gipe

We stopped at Caltrans Shandon rest area on Hwy 46 as part of a road trip from Bakersfield to the ... Read more
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Winter Driving & EVs Don’t Work in the Cold Meme

By

Paul Gipe

By now everyone’s heard the January 2024 horror stories from Chicago about how you can’t charge EVs in extreme cold. ... Read more
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Update on Murder at DC Fast Charge Station: Trial Date Set

By

Paul Gipe

The trial of Sebastian Parra and Robert Pernell Roberts for the murder of Benny Alcala Jr. at an Electrified America ... Read more
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400 GW of Solar PV in 2023!

By

Paul Gipe

Toby Couture of E3 Energy Analytics expects 400GW of solar generating capacity in 2023. The growth of solar PV has been staggering, he says, and presents the following statistics to prove his point. . . in 2023, the world is adding more than 1GW every. single. day.
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New Solar-Powered Level 2 Station in New Cuyama—the Back of Beyond

By

Paul Gipe

Santa Barbara County has installed a new solar-powered level 2 station in New Cuyama. We first noticed this station at the end of November. It was taped off then and when we passed it again a week later it was still taped off. Both times the indicator on the EVSE suggested the batteries were fully charged. We have no idea why it was taped off. It looked operational. For those who don’t know, New Cuyama is the back of beyond. It’s on Route 166 that runs east and west, leading from the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley to the coast.
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Capacity Factor, Power Ratings, Specific Area, Specific Power, Rated Power, and the Silent Wind Revolution

By

Paul Gipe

I’ve written extensively about the misuse of wind turbine power ratings and why the term “capacity factor” should not be used.[1] In short, don’t use it. There are much better descriptors of wind turbine performance. Many of the outlandish claims by inventors rely on the improper use of power ratings and capacity factor. It’s easy for unscrupulous promoters to hoodwink the public, the media, and even some engineers with the sleight of hand that “power ratings” and “capacity factors” makes possible.