Apps

Salk Tests Deep-Root Soybeans for Carbon Storage — 1dSalk soybeans grow roots up to a meter deeper; preliminary data show up to 30% more topsoil carbon. $18M Bezos grant funds Illinois trials.

Rachel Meyers Engineering these traits sounds useful, but they need to confirm it works at scale before expecting wide adoption.

Beijing Plans Citywide Drone Ownership Ban — 6dBeijing bans drone possession and storage citywide from Nov. 15, with fines and confiscation, after a June crash killed a pilot and injured 13.

Tom Gallagher The subsidies for turning in drones are a reasonable step to ease the transition for current owners before November.

China reportedly pauses approvals for new battery storage factories amid overcapacity concerns — Sep 7, 2026China paused approvals for new battery storage factory projects not yet under construction and launched a review of existing and planned capacity to curb chronic overcapacity in energy-transition sectors, continuing a broader crackdown after actions in EVs and solar panels. The government also announced export taxes on various batteries and photovoltaic cells starting in 2026–2028, while exempting new-technology batteries until December 2028.

Chris Dalton Curious how this affects battery prices globally if China actually reins in production instead of just talking about it.

NextEra, Dominion Offer Bill Credits and Data-Center Protections for Merger — 5dNextEra Energy and Dominion Energy are expanding their Virginia benefits package as they seek regulatory approval for their $67 billion merger, doubling residential bill credits to four years, pledging 1,000 new Virginia jobs, and expanding energy assistance and clean energy projects including solar and storage. The plan also aims to shield customers from data-center grid costs and accelerate local clean-energy development, with a merger closing anticipated in the second half of 2027.

Priya Raman The thousand new jobs and extra solar storage are welcome but I worry the 2027 closing date means delays that hurt customers sooner.

Horrific Surprise After 'Storage Wars'-Style Auction: Family Uncovers Gruesome Secret WithinReporting — Aug 17, 2022A New Zealand family that bought the contents of a storage unit in a practice seen on the reality show “Storage Wars,” in which bidders duel for hoped-for prizes left in abandoned storage lockers, got something they did…

Volvo Plans One of Sweden’s Largest Energy Parks — Sep 10, 2026Volvo Group plans one of Sweden's largest energy parks in Mariestad beside its planned battery cell factory, starting with about 70 MW/260 MWh of storage to support the regional grid and enable a future test bed for energy innovations, with commissioning targeted for 2027. The park will operate in two tracks and is designed to grow alongside the battery cell plant expected after 2030, reinforcing Volvo's regional industrial cluster and decarbonization efforts.

Priya Raman This storage addition makes sense to back up the grid while the battery plant scales up later.

Shenyang Conference Hears Call to Scale AI and EV Products — Sep 11, 2026The 2026 Global Industrial Internet Conference opened in Shenyang on September 9, bringing together global industry leaders to showcase progress in China’s industrial internet, ecosystem development, and Liaoning’s intelligent upgrading. Discussions highlighted the Shenyang-Dalian machine tool cluster’s breakthroughs, and urged enterprises to sharpen features, scale, and connect with emerging sectors like AI, computing power, and new energy vehicles, while energy and storage forums emphasize green transformation and digital transformation strategies.

Tom Gallagher Shenyang's machine tool strengths could really accelerate if they push harder into AI integration and EV supply chains.

Video: Hundreds of Absentee Ballots from 2020 Election Found Sitting in Storage UnitReporting — Jun 12, 2023A Michigan town has discovered almost 300 absentee ballots from the 2020 election sitting in a storage unit. “My biggest concern is why were they in a storage unit?” Thetford Township Supervisor Rachel Stanke said…

Another California Icon Flees — Public Storage Ditches Golden State For Texas — Feb 26, 2026Another California-founded business is relocating its headquarters out of state, this time to Texas. Public Storage, a real estate investment trust specializing in self-storage facilities, was founded in 1972 in San…

Richardson Plans 7 MWh Alaska Battery Storage DeploymentTech — Aug 19, 2026Richardson Electronics will deploy 18 customized battery energy storage systems across seven remote Alaska communities, totaling 7 MWh with completion by the end of 2027, built in collaboration with technology partners to bolster energy resilience. The company is also expanding its energy storage portfolio with the RESS211 and RESS422 commercial BESS platforms, broadening offerings for commercial and industrial applications and demand-management needs.

BMW iX5 Hydrogen Prototypes Test 466-Mile Range Ahead of Production — 5dBMW’s iX5 Hydrogen is advancing toward its first hydrogen-powered series production with extensive real-world and prototype testing; the third-generation fuel-cell system (co-developed with Toyota) is in a new assembly phase in Munich while Steyr prepares for production, as engineers validate the integrated drivetrain, high-voltage system, and storage to meet targets of up to 750 km range, sub‑5-minute refuelling, and 0-100 km/h in under 5 seconds. The program emphasizes coordinated system performance under high loads and knowledge transfer to Steyr for manufacturing, signaling BMW’s push to add a hydrogen option alongside its existing powertrains.

Plumber Shortage Expected to Reach 550,000 by 2027Business — Aug 30, 2026Modern kitchens are evolving into integrated spaces that fuse aesthetic design with high-performance systems, prioritizing open layouts, seamless storage, concealed technology, and social gathering—evidenced by remodels in Tulsa, showroom experiences, and contemporary design insights. Simultaneously, industry context, including the economic impact of plumbing manufacturers and anticipated skilled-worker shortages, highlights the broader costs and logistics behind kitchen projects and updates that expand storage, efficiency, and family-centered living.

Iran Reportedly Resumes Missile ProductionWorld — Sep 8, 2026Iran has restarted ballistic-missile production, assembling liquid- and solid-fuel missiles from stockpiled components and rebuilding facilities in limited quantities for quicker reconstitution. Satellite imagery and assessments indicate a faster recovery after 2026 strikes, with reopened storage sites and projected production at tens to hundreds of missiles per month, alongside Tehran publicly signaling a new ballistic missile and pre-emptive-strike doctrine that could threaten U.S. naval forces.

Iran’s Oil System Under Strain as Storage Space Nears Breaking Point — Apr 28, 2026Iran’s oil industry is facing mounting pressure as storage capacity tightens amid ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns about long-term damage to the country’s most important economic sector…

‘Storage Wars’ Star’s Suicide Under Investigation as Cyberbullying Allegations Surface — Apr 22, 2026Questions are mounting following the death of longtime “Storage Wars” personality Darrell Sheets, as a former co-star claims online harassment may have played a role. According to an exclusive report from Page Six …

Search Warrants Target Epstein Files Stashed In Storage Units Across US — Feb 23, 2026Jeffrey Epstein didn’t just hide secrets behind the walls of his mansions. According to a bombshell new report, he allegedly built a shadow network of storage units across the United States — stashing computers, CDs…

U.S. Crude Futures Turn Negative for First Time on Scant Storage, Weak DemandReporting — Apr 20, 2020U.S. crude oil futures turned negative on Monday for the first time in history as storage space was filling up, discouraging buyers as weak economic data from Germany and Japan cast doubt on when fuel consumption will…

Brookfield to acquire Aypa Power, expanding North American battery storage — Jul 23, 2026Brookfield to acquire Aypa Power for about $7 billion enterprise value (roughly $3 billion equity), adding North America’s leading standalone battery storage platform with ~6.5 GW of operating/contracted capacity and a development pipeline exceeding 20 GW. The deal covers Aypa’s project portfolio, development platform and ~200-person team, strengthening Brookfield’s North American energy storage footprint and aligning with its global transition strategy through long-term contracted cash flows.

Probiotics Revive Heat-Stressed Red Sea Corals — Sep 3, 2026A field study in the central Red Sea during a 2022 heatwave found that both live probiotic and inactivated postbiotic treatments improved the health of corals under thermal stress, demonstrating that microbial therapies can work outside laboratories. The research highlights the practical scaling advantages of postbiotics, such as longer shelf life and easier storage, which could facilitate broader deployment to protect coral reefs.

Charlotte storage auction yields 25 pounds cocaineWorld — Aug 8, 2026Several Charlotte-area outlets report that a storage-unit auction buyer found about 25 pounds of cocaine, along with small amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl, inside the unit and authorities seized the narcotics; no arrests were announced. The stories note cooperation between Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Mint Hill police and highlight potential trafficking charges under North Carolina law.

Vertiv to buy UtilityInnovation Group in deal worth up to $2.6 billion — Sep 3, 2026Vertiv to acquire UtilityInnovation Group in an all-cash deal valued up to $2.6 billion, comprising $1.45 billion at closing plus up to $1.15 billion in earnouts tied to EBITDA milestones over 12 and 24 months. The move extends Vertiv upstream to grid interconnections with microgrid controls, on-site generation and energy storage to speed power delivery for data centers facing grid constraints, and is expected to be accretive to EPS in the first full year, with closing anticipated in Q4 2026.

Sam Okafor Q4 2026 close is a long runway. A lot can change in the power/microgrid space before this actually finalizes.

BC Hydro Plans Vancouver Island Battery StorageEnvironment — Jul 20, 2026BC Hydro is advancing British Columbia’s first utility-scale battery storage facility near Duncan on Vancouver Island, with a planned capacity of at least 100 MW to boost grid reliability and meet growing demand, targeting operation by 2030. The project will be developed through a procurement process to pre-qualify suppliers and invite proposals, as part of BC Hydro’s Powering Growth plan to modernize the province’s electricity system.

Texas woman stung by 300 killer bees RockportHealth — Aug 25, 2026A Texas woman recovering from a spine injury was attacked by more than 300 Africanized bees at a Rockport storage facility, with deputies and firefighters spraying her off and coordinating her evacuation as an auto gate hindered escape. Experts warned about the aggression of Africanized bees and the incident raised public-safety concerns about such swarms.

Solar-plus-storage rollout accelerates across businesses worldwideEnvironment — Jul 24, 2026Commercial and industrial PV systems increasingly rely on integrated solar-plus-storage to maintain power during grid outages, since grid-tied inverters cannot island and continue supplying critical loads. These systems come in DC-coupled configurations with a single hybrid inverter and AC-coupled configurations that add a separate battery inverter, both operable under manual or EMS-controlled management to supply independent, flexible energy when needed.