In 2010, a megawatt hour of electricity gleaned from solar photovoltaic cost a global average $378 to generate. That's without the effect of any subsidies which may have been applicable in some areas. By 2019, that cost had tumbled down to just $68 - cheaper than nuclear and coal and only a little behind the most economically efficient option looked at in this chart - onshore wind. Wind energy, both onshore and offshore, has also seen decreases in costs since 2010, while the more established methods of nuclear and coal have either increased in price or seen only a slight drop.

2022 is set to be a record year in terms of the scale at which the switchover from fossil fuels to renewable sources will take place. It’s also a year in which we will see new and exotic sources of energy emerge from laboratory and pilot projects and start to become a part of everyday life. So let’s take a look at what is predicted to be some of the most impactful trends in the new energy sector over the next 12 months…

Growth in energy markets slowed in 2019 in line with weaker economic growth and a partial unwinding of some of the one-off factors that boosted energy demand in 2018.This slowdown was particularly evident in the US, Russia and India, each of which exhibited unusually strong growth in 2018.

Significant advances in transportation technology and the need for policy development are often triggered by sudden disruptive changes in technological capabilities. Furthermore, the continued development of the “Internet of Things” (IOT), which will ultimately connect people, processes and data into wide-scale networks, could affect how transportation services are provided in Texas. This study examines imminent disruptive communications technologies and assesses the implications of these developments on state transportation policy and associated implementation strategies.

The combined effect of climate change and society’s impact on the earth is intensifying struggles over natural resources while also threatening our infrastructure, food systems and quality of life.

It’s increasingly clear that today’s environmental conditions are not sustainable. Over the past few decades, we have made huge progress fighting disease, poverty and illiteracy. Now we must apply that same ingenuity to the problem of global warming and other consequences of human activity.

Several devices are used in the field of MR including head mounted displays, AR tablets, Cave Automatic Virtual Environments (CAVE), and AR projectors. These devices provide MR visualization and other functionalities for user interaction. In addition, tracked controllers, object recognition and tracking, or haptic feedback can be integrated to support intuitive usability. MR therefore provides an enhanced interface between digital data and users, due to improved visualization and controls.

MR technologies have several potential uses across industries. These include:

Artificial intelligence can help reduce construction costs in many ways. For example, the use of virtual reality goggles and mini-robots into buildings under construction to track the work as it progresses. AI is also being used today to design the routing of electrical and plumbing systems in modern buildings. Artificial intelligence is also beneficial for the development of safety systems at work sites, which reduces the risks of hazards and accidents.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), sometimes referred to as drones, are aircrafts without an onboard pilot. UAVs operate with varying degrees of autonomy, such as remotely controlled by a human operator or autonomously by onboard computers. They operate using a combination of technologies, including computer vision from CCTV, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and object avoidance (LiDAR) technology. UAVs are powered by electricity that is stored in an onboard battery.

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to “an application capable of processing tasks that are currently performed more satisfactorily by human beings insofar as they involve high-level mental processes such as perceptual learning, memory organization and critical thinking”. This is how the American scientist Marvin Lee Minsky, considered to be the father of AI, defines the concept. It was in 1956 at a meeting of scientists in Dartmouth (south of Boston) organized to consider the creation of thinking machines that he managed to convince his audience to accept the term.

There is little doubt that given the pace of disruption, and the price of infrastructure being driven down exponentially, existing concession contracts will be renegotiated. It would be wise to agree upon the broad principles of renegotiation upfront, at the signing of the concession agreement, in order to be able to preserve returns during the life of the investment and to ensure adequate debt service.