2016 was a turning point for Electrical Engineering. When you look back to this date 20 years later, you will realize that, it was the historic turning point for electrical engineering. It has grown from a niche profession, to one of the most important elements for mankind. Here are the 5 most important things that had happened in 2016: #5: China's High Speed Rail (HSR) tracks exceeds 20,000 Km By the end of 2016, China has 22,000 Km of High Speed Rail. More than the whole world's HSR combined. It took China 11 years to build the first 10,000 km of HSR; but it only took China another 3 years to double this figure. How long is 20,000 Km? It is half-way round the globe. The earth's circumference is 40,000 Km. Now it is more preferrable to travel by train. #4: All major car makers are committed to bring out new electric vehicle models to the market 2016 was an important year for car makers. The number of electric cars on the road has hit the 2 million mark, rising from near zero in 2010. Following the incredible success of Tesler, all car manufacturers around the world have announced plans to bring out one or more electric vehicle to the mass market in the very near future. #3: Generating electricity from solar and wind is now cheaper than fossil fuel. In 2016, according to the World Economic Forum, the average price of generating electricity from wind and solar have gone down to around US$100 per Mega-Watt Hour, for most of the new wind-farms or solar-farms around the world. And this is cheaper than oil or coal. Once the economics is tilted towards renewable, there is no reason to go back to fossil fuel power plants, even if we do not consider the carbon emission problem. #2: Lithium Battery Pack price has dropped below US$200 per Kilo Watt Hour In 6 years, the price of Lithium Battery pack has dropped 80% down to the US$200/KWh psychological mark. However, it is not the end of the story, it continues to drop at a rapid pace. Many parts of the world (e.g. US, Europe, China) are now setting up Giga Factory to mass produce this item. Very soon Lithium Battery will replace fossil fuel as the preferred portable energy storage media. Most experts agree that the price will continue to fall below $100/KWh, before it levels off. #1: The Paris Climate Agreement has been passed The deal unites all the world's nations in a single agreement on tackling climate change for the first time in history. The consensus is to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to limit the global temperature rise to "well below" 2 degree C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times and "endeavor to limit" them even more, to 1.5 degree C. So each country of the world needs to rethink its energy policy, in order to work towards a zero carbon emission economy. This means a drastic change to energy consumption, electricity production and mass transportation for all mankind. So what do you think? Would you like to join us, and become an electric engineeer? Give us your comments.
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AuthorDr. Norbert Cheung, Archives
October 2020
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