The Daily Chronicle

While the world is reeling in the aftermath of a global pandemic, Renault is looking to the future. The French-based automaker recently announced a move to halt its petrol car production in China. The move comes after Renault realizing China as the world’s most expansive market for cars. 

Amid speculation, Renault China released it’s the newest model, the KZE, which is primarily Renault’s first all-electric city car. The KZE is a brainchild of a partnership between Renault, and tech-based automotive company eGT New Energy Automotive Co. Renault has a 25% bid on the partnership 

The French automaker will focus on producing a range of 4 new EVs in collaboration with Jiangxi Jiangling Group Electric Vehicle. According to the agreement, Renault will gain a 49% stake in the joint agreement with automaking company Brilliance. The venture aims to produce all-electric, light consumer-based vehicles 

According to Chinas Renault Chairman Francois Provost, the firm looks to establish itself in the electric vehicle business and light commercial vehicles. Francois further iterates that there is hope for the electrical division in Renault as electric vehicle sales are on the rise. 

The Renault KZE comes as the latest electric car to hit the market segment. Though its inclusion seems rather recent, it’s a concept that has been in the works since 2019. Yet it features top of the range specifications like a massive 26.8kWh battery pack coming at a reasonably priced $9000. Born out of the innovative city in Shiyan Hubei, the City KZE is mostly available in China. This move will, however, spread as the company sets to heaven a new version start production in Europe 

The latest addition is the European styled KZE that will be called the Dacia Spring. According to speculation, the newly introduced Dacia will come with significant improvements, including a more extended range and better safety capability. This urban vehicle comes to hit the market in 2021. Renault has its targets set on European markets with the Dacia Spring 

Renault is in the process of converting its China-based firm. The firm will nil longer produce petrol-driven cars but will shift production sorely to electric vehicles. Renault administration figures that the company brill benefit much to move all production of its electric cars division to China and have the production have its source from there. 

Should the plan go as planned, Renault will see to an entire Chinese produced EV production line. All other markets will have access to the EVs by importing. 

COVID-19 pandemic has orchestrated economic recession in different nations. The epidemic started in China and spread throughout the globe. Additionally, the majority of industries are shut down due to either a government directive or lack of resources to continue production. Also, all nations have closed their borders to minimize the spread of coronavirus while other nations have conducted city lockdown to contain the virus in their respective cities. Since China is a major outsourcing country, its closure has stopped most companies from operating since new products like phones, vehicle parts, and other raw materials are not supply. The renewable energy sector is not left out in the pandemic. The earlier predictions by the International Energy Agency (IEA) may pale due to the impact of COVID-19 in human resource and supply of products.

According to IEA analyst, Heymi Bahar, the records set for 2020 may fail due to the negative impact of coronavirus. He further added that as days go by, new strategies to combat the virus are instigated that destroy the industry also. The IEA stated that a review is currently in the process concerning the 2020 goals set by the company. The company forecasted that by the end of 2020, 50 per cent of energy production would shift from fossil fuel to renewable.

The rules governing social distancing has stagnated the installation of solar panels since employees require to be close to each other during the installations. Social distancing has affected solar panel installation, although another renewable construction like wind turbines and hydropower construction is unaffected. Bahar stated that solar power might seem insignificant, but its contribution to global power energy is tabulated as 20%. Additionally, in the year 2018-2019, solar energy accounted for 40% of the total energy produced globally. He further notes that in 2018 the solar power contributed 26% of the worldwide electricity and according to IEA predictions, the percentage will rise to 50% by the end of 2024 hence generating 1,200 GW extra to the present capacity.

The oil industry has also encountered a drop in the oil price since the onset of the pandemic. The initial oil price stood at $66 per barrel. However, the price dropped to $30 per barrel due to the epidemic. The low oil prices have necessitated the investors to shift from fossil fuel to renewable since the renewable offer an attractive investment opportunity. Once the pandemic is over, a significant shift will occur from fossil fuel to renewable and new renewable industries will erupt. 

The website of Equis By Deviana Chuo March 31, 2020, headquartered in Singapore of renewable energy and leftover infrastructure inventor Equis Development campaigns to investing over $4 billion in the projects of renewable energy athwart the Asia Pacific in the coming two years, the top executive told Deal Street Asia (DSA). Moreover, to renewable energy, Equis will similarly invest about $2 billion in reprocessing infrastructure, said the managing director Russell David. To achieve these needs, the firm may increase bank financing based on dealing with one project one by one. The target markets of the firm comprise advanced Asia Pacific souks such as South Korea, Australia, Taiwan and Japan. The strategies of Equis are to develop projects of 225MW biomass in Japan rating at $1.4 billion as well as complex fusion micro-grids to upkeep communities and remote mining operations in Australia. 

The firm announced on Monday the completion of its attainment of South Korea’s Jara one, the project of the Solar prized at $50 million. Equis will finance the achievement through the blend of core accruals of bank financing (80 per cent of the capital) and (the remaining 20 per cent of the money), and Russell said. It is in Sinan Town, the province of South Jeolla; Jara includes a solar generation project of 22MW and battery storage system having about 70MWh. 

The construction work of the project events projected to begin next month. Equis has already started working on expanding the capacity of Jara solar to 80MW and the battery storage system of Jara solar to 260MWh, laterally with the novel 400MW substation. The value of the project pegs at about $250 million. “This promise trails our former, fruitful investment into a 207MWh storage system of the battery in August 2019, the largest of Korea,” Sung Woo Yang said, South Korea-based handling director of Equis. South Korea, the fourth largest in the economy of Asia, targets to produce 35 per cent of its power from renewables by 2040. Temporarily, Equis, incorporation with the municipality of Sinan, is also locating up the endowment that will allow the local civic to invest in schemes. 

The attainment of Jara is the 19th project that is protected and funded by Equis succeeding its restructuring. The energy of Equis was g to the United States, which is headquartering of (GIP) Global Infrastructure Partners in January 2018. Following the attainment, Equis has efficient its total asset and capital organization model and has brought its cohorts and staff less than one corporate entity, Development of Equis.

Battery storage offers a stable, efficient, and reliable sources of power. Consequently, power storage in batteries incorporates lithium-ion that stores a more extensive capacity of power, and other cells use cobalt. Therefore, if a state experiences a power shortage due to higher electricity demand, the energy sector can channel the battery power into the grid system and supply energy in the country. Several countries have established state-owned firms to store electricity in batteries in either gig watts or megawatts. Germany has joined in the wave, and its newly founded power storage factory currently saves power using the lithium-ion technology.

Tesvolt is currently the company that produces storage batteries that vary in different capacities from 9.6KWh to the MWh. The company is estimated to yield a daily power capacity of 1MWh and 255MWh yearly. German has encountered an increase in energy demand tripling 2019 energy demand. The company is thus necessitated to boost the power grade to meet the high energy demands in the state. Likewise, like top-rated companies, Tesvolt has committed to providing health care to its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected numerous organizations and companies.

Despite the coronavirus, Daniel Hannemann notes that the company has attained significant turnover numbers in the opening quarter of the season. He further added that the health of their employees is the company’s top priority, and the firm will take care of its employees during the pandemic. However, Daniel revealed uncertainties of how the coronavirus will affect the power demand. He states that the company will operate more closely with its clients to aid and overcome the current challenges through innovation, elasticity, and ingenuity.

The company has placed measures to ensure that all employees are safeguarded against coronavirus while the production process is ongoing. First, the company has initiated platforms by which employees can work from home. The tactic will ensure that their workers avoid public places when boarding to work hence minimize the risks. The company isolates the employee needful in the company such that every staff works in isolation from the other. Simon Schandert, the engineering manager, stated that the company is pleased that the production process is still ongoing, and the employees’ safety is considered to minimize and control the spread of the virus.

Additionally, the company’s battery production occurs in two stages. First, the batteries are charges then discharged in an automated procedure, and defects are checked. Likewise, factors like the voltage, temperature, and resistance should comply with the standards. Lastly, full automation is conducted that involves a selection of high qualities batteries to the next level and removal of low-quality cells.

Many space exploration companies are on a roll to allow its workers to operate from home. The industry with an approximated value of $400 billion is one of the many sectors that will see a shift in operations to working while at home. Experts speculate that this plan will not bring a delay to anything new. The industry is also increasing its planning to have itself situated for a substantial number of jobs taking place from domestic places. However, there are concerns that these policies may impede the growth and development of the industry at large.

NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Blue Origin, among others, are only a few examples of the companies which have integrated the limit on corporate voyages to space. The agencies have inculcated special reorganizing activities and use the shifting of individual staff members to remote network regions. However, provided the coronavirus outbreak ensues, it will almost be impossible to develop multiple satellites and make software for specialized machines all while operating on research teams. The United States confirmed that the Johns Hopkins University

There is, however, no definite plan of action at the moment concerning the shift to cater for work from home. According to leader of NASA science division, Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, the steps to have the plans come to realization are not yet in place 

In a posting made by the space agency’s Marshal Space center situated in Huntsville, Alabama, the center revealed that an employee tested for a positive match for the coronavirus. The outcome forced the center to call off all operations, citing a lockdown save for selected personnel scheduled for space missions explorations. At the moment, the center is recorded as a Stage 3 region prompting minimal access to the site. All non-essential employees are required to be off the grounds

Jody Singer, who is the current director at Marshall, assured the employees that all was well. The workers are expected to go home with a set of instructions to follow suit. 

The Marshall Space Center is among one of the space centers to close following the closure of the Ames Space center after an employee’s tests returned positive.  Ames Space Center is currently registered as a “Phase 3” site joining the ranks of other regions. The Ames center had a workplace coronavirus check during the week, but the NASA official explained that the center’s sensitivity remains minimal at the time though further tests are set to set matters straight definitively