And while wind, solar, and green hydrogen are already on the rise, there are still important steps to be taken the coming year to increase their sustainability — and improve what they’re capable of.
To find out how this will work, TNW spoke with three experts.
Wind power
Floating offshore wind is a “game changer” for the renewable energy industry and a “key technology” against climate change, Felipe Cornago — Commercial Director Offshore Wind, at BayWa r.e. — told us.
That’s because it has the potential not only to take advantage of areas with higher wind intensity, but also to open up markets previously incompatible with bottom-fixed technologies.
Compared to fixed installations, floating offshore wind farms also come with reduced environmental impact in maritime ecosystems, as well lower construction costs.
Illustration of the Hywind Tampen, Norway’s floating offshore wind far. Credit: Equinor
But despite accelerated development in recent years, as Cornago noted, there are still numerous challenges to be addressed.
“This is why industry and government efforts in 2023 should focus on a number of areas, including the establishment of clear regulatory frameworks as well as improving grid connection and grid planning,” he explained.
As per Cornago, focus should also be placed on the standardization of technological and commercial solutions. Currently, there’s a gamut of different designs and manufacturing methods, all of which drives costs up.
Finally, he believes that the lack of expertise in developing floating offshore wind platforms will start being mitigated in the coming year. This will be done “by tapping into pre-existing infrastructure and knowledge from the development of bottom-fixed offshore wind,” as well as “adapting existing supply chains.”
Solar
According to Frank Jessel — Global Director of Solar Trade at BayWa r.e. — 2022 has seen a rapid expansion in the adoption of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and their accompanying energy storage solutions.
Jessel expects this trend to continue in 2023 “with the endorsement of renewables within the residential and commercial PV market higher than ever, and the price of PV systems in particular falling mid-term due to technological improvements, decreasing freight prices, and economies of scale.”
However, there are still challenges that hinder accelerated growth and require solutions, he added. These are disruptions in supply chains and a shortage of skilled workers regarding the installation of PV systems.
Green hydrogen
Green hydrogen, powered by renewable sources such as wind and solar, is a clean and promising alternative to fossil fuels.
But for the industry to achieve efficient production, it’s necessary to recognize the vital role of digitalization, David Hall, VP Power Systems at Schneider Electric UK & Ireland, told TNW.
“The challenges in the scaled production of green hydrogen can be addressed largely by using new digital technologies available today,” he explained.
For starters, digital twin technology and 3D modeling allows the simulation of data throughout the entire lifecycle of a green hydrogen plant, reducing costs, risks, and time.
Secondly, Hall highlighted the importance of an “overarching” Energy Management System that will indicate the optimal times to use electricity from the grid and forecast power generation, to ensure hydrogen’s required volume production on a low-cost basis.
Finally, he noted the need for a Unified Operating Center. This translates to the use of a Pi system — a software that collects and analyzes operational data — that can bring together all the different assets to allow for better decision making, optimal performance, and reduced downtime.
Iberdrola will invest €17 million in a green hydrogen facility to supply energy to vehicles and machinery at the port of Felixtowe in the UK. Credit: Iberdrola
Facilitating the faster adoption of wind, solar, and green hydrogen requires our efforts beyond 2023, but starting to apply some of the above measures definitely marks a significant start.
2022 was a year of highs and lows for job seekers. A turbulent economic landscape was scarred with job losses across the tech industry, rising inflation across Europe, and high energy and grocery costs drove a cost of living crisis, which, combined with a looming recession, made many workers understandably nervous.
Given that environment, it would be easy to think it’s a bad time out there for anyone looking for a new job, particularly if they work in the tech industry. The truth, of course, is a little bit different.
Those layoffs we’re seeing across tech behemoths such as Salesforce, Meta, and Amazon to the superstar fintech unicorns like Klarna and Stripe, are in many cases a reaction to previously over-confident predictions, and have been done in order to cut costs and preserve cash runways as the global economy slows down.
However, many sectors and jobs within tech remain remarkably buoyant as the effects of the pandemic give with one hand and take with the other. While some ecommerce companies, like Shopify, are feeling the pinch as future growth predictions failed to materialize once we went back to normal habits, the flipside is that the cloud computing and SaaS sectors are experiencing growth.
The pace of cloud adoption accelerated hugely during the pandemic thanks to the rise of remote working. A few months into the pandemic, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella went on record to say that Microsoft had seen two years of digital transformation in two months as customers started adopting cloud solutions.
More cloud services mean more security is needed to protect them and, as a result, cybersecurity roles are in hot demand, as are artificial intelligence and machine learning jobs. For example, OpenAI’s recent launch of ChatGPT was a mainstream success, garnering thousands of column inches in the media. Data science is another growth sector with the International Data Corporation (IDC) reporting that global data will grow to 163 zettabytes by 2025.
Echoing wider societal trends, jobs focusing on areas such as energy and sustainability, and policy and enforcement roles in the fields of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity and inclusion measures are also tipped for growth.
But which jobs are in decline?
What the current round of tech layoffs does underline sharply is the kinds of roles we will be seeing less of in 2023.
Recruitment and HR functions look set to take a hit with Amazon announcing plans to make hundreds of its recruitment staff redundant last November. According to a confidential October 2021 internal paper, the company has been working towards handing over some of its recruiters’ tasks to an AI technology it calls Automated Applicant Evaluation (AAE). Built internally, AAE was first tested in 2021.
Another area slowing down is sales. This is broadly typical of a downturn and, according to Layoffs.fyi, sales roles account for 20% of the laid-off tech workers with the consumer and retail sectors accounting for almost 40,000 layoffs in 2022.
Necessary though it is, marketing budgets and teams often get slashed when there’s a downturn and belts need to be tightened. Development and research roles and teams will generally be left alone, if at all possible, but budgets for media activations, events, sponsorships, and all the other niceties around brand promotion are often allowed to lie fallow until economic outlooks improve.
Whether you’re already working in a secure sector or looking to shore up your employment prospects for 2023, The House Of Talent Job Board has a range of opportunities available. We’re looking at three jobs in growth areas below, and there are thousands more open roles to discover.
Front-end Developer (Mid-level/Senior), Cloud Solutions, The Hague
Cloud Solutions creates innovative digital products for its clients, including global e-commerce platforms, content websites and high-traffic middleware solutions. Work takes place in sprints of two to three weeks in teams consisting of (UX) designers, QA specialists, business analysts, solution architects, a scrum master, and a project manager. Within this team, the Front-end Developer will be responsible for delivering high quality software.
To apply, you’ll need two or more years of experience developing JavaScript/TypeScript applications with React, strong communication skills (both verbal and in writing), and experience with styling solutions such as Styled Components, Emotion, CSS Modules, and SCSS. Apply for this role now.
Data Scientist, Vodafone, Dublin
Vodafone is working hard to build a more connected, more inclusive, and more sustainable world. As part of this mission, it’s hiring a Data Scientist to work in its Commercial Operations Data Science team. You’ll produce analysis and actionable insights from multiple data sources to identify trends, providing outside-in perspective through voice of the customer and analysis. You’ll translate data into actionable insights and recommendations to improve customer satisfaction and grow value.
You’ll need around four years of experience as a Data Analyst or Data Scientist working with large data warehouses, analyzing data, and delivering actionable insights. Experience in using relational databases/data warehouses and experience with statistical software (R, Python) and database languages (SQL) is also required. Get the full job spec here.
AI/ML – Annotation Analyst, German Market, Apple, Barcelona
At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. The AI/ML team is passionate about technology, and is now looking for a motivated Annotation Analyst who demonstrates active listening, integrity, and acute attention to detail.
You’ll need fluency in German with excellent comprehension, grammar, and proofreading skills, English reading comprehension and writing skills, and active listening skills with the ability to understand verbal nuances. Additionally, you’ll need an understanding of the regions and cultural variations where German is spoken so you can demonstrate critical thinking skills in evaluation of Siri’s language usage and dialect. Interested in applying? Get more information here.
Aside from serving great food made from fresh ingredients, restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill strives to promote health and wellness by making healthy food more accessible and creating engaging experiences. This January, it kicks off the year with a Chipotle AR experience that motivates fans to keep their New Year’s health resolutions.
Chipotle AR Experience: No Quitting on Quitter’s Day
Chipotle fans are no quitters. And Chipotle is all set to prove this as it launches its new Snapchat Lens this Friday, January 13. The first Friday the 13th of this year also happens to be Quitter’s Day, the day when people are most likely to give up on their New Year’s resolutions. For Chipotle, this is the perfect day to give fans the drive to push forward and not quit their journey to good health.
“We’re making New Year’s resolutions fun by gamifying the experience and offering balanced meals made with real ingredients that you feel good eating,” said Chipotle CMO, Chris Brandt, in a press release shared with ARPost.
To help motivate people to keep their health resolutions this year, the Chipotle AR experience will encourage fans to move and meditate using AR Lens. Chipotle-inspired exercises and meditation prompts will guide users as they move their bodies and calm their minds for holistic well-being.
Moreover, 100,000 participants who complete the prompts will be rewarded with promo codes (10,000 codes will be awarded per day from January 13 through January 23, 2023) for free guacamole—an irresistible healthy treat that tastes great with almost everything.
New Lifestyle Bowls Inspired by New Wellness Trends
Aside from the Chipotle AR experience, the company is also launching a new Lifestyle Bowl menu to further inspire consumers to maintain their healthy resolutions. Lifestyle Bowls are digital exclusive menu items available in the United States and in Canada.
The new lineup of bowls is inspired by wellness trends popular among the Gen Z and Millennial crowd. It features seven new Lifestyle Bowls that reflect the individualized, holistic interpretations of wellness of the younger generations.
The 2023 Lifestyle Bowl menu includes the Wholesome Bowl, Grain Freedom Bowl, Plant-Powered Bowl, Full Veggie Bowl, Go Half Veggie Bowl, High Protein Bowl, and Balanced Macros Bowl. The new Lifestyle Bowls were designed to make healthy habits easy to sustain and incorporate into daily routines.
Chipotle AR Experiences to Live Your Best Lifestyle
With its new wellness-inspired AR experience, Chipotle has positioned itself as the first restaurant brand to create a Snapchat Lens that promotes fitness and health.
As it strives to meet the needs and demands of modern consumers, the global food giant is likely to create more Chipotle AR experiences that encourage consumers to maintain healthy habits. By leveraging immersive technologies to enhance customer experiences, Chipotle helps fans live their best lifestyle.
At CES 2023 HTC revealed its new Vive XR Elite headset which is positioned as a Quest Pro competitor. In terms of features and hardware, the headset is largely a refinement of formfactor over anything else; and while it’s undoubtedly compact and lightweight, it may be hampered by an unclear value proposition and some ergonomic details that went overlooked.
Everyone’s head shape, nose size, and eye positions are different. That said, the first time I put on Vive XR Elite it was clear to me that there wasn’t nearly enough room for my nose… something that I have no issue with on almost every other major headset on the market (even HTC’s other VR headsets).
It’s not that it’s impossible to get the pressure off your nose—the optional top-strap (which HTC smartly included) makes this easy enough—but the problem is that if I raise the headset up to get weight off of my nose, my eyes are no longer in the sweet spot of the lens, making the view through the headset sub-par. More padding around the nose would have a similar issue of moving the lenses out of the sweet spot.
While I didn’t get to use the headset for an extended period of time, I have a strong suspicion that the nose thing is going to be a literal and figurative pain point on this headset. And as someone who doesn’t have a particularly large nose, I can’t imagine I’m going to be the only person with this issue.
Photo by Road to VR
The nose thing isn’t the only ergonomic oversight that was immediately apparent. There’s also the fact that the rear pad, which is designed to cup the back of your head, doesn’t cushion your head enough to prevent contact between your skull and the battery on the back. That means that as you tighten the headset you can feel a big, flat, plastic surface pushing against your head. That’s compared to something like the Quest 2 Elite Strap (which the rear of Vive XR Elite appears to emulate), where I can only feel the pads hugging the back of my head, but never the battery behind them.
Photo by Road to VR
Beyond these worrying ergonomic subtleties, the headset’s fundamentals feel solid across the board, making the Vive XR Elite the company’s most refined standalone to date. But from a feature and performance standpoint, the headset feels more like Quest 2 than Quest Pro, which puts it in an awkward place with its $1,100 pricetag.
Visually, Vive XR Elite’s pancake lenses are pretty good on the clarity front, with good edge-to-edge clarity, though falling short of the excellent lenses on Quest Pro. The use of non-Fresnel lenses means a reduction in glare and god rays compared to Quest 2, though the resolution and visibility of the screen door is about the same between the two headsets (1,920 × 1,920 vs. 1,920 × 1,832). And while the peripheral field of view feels a little tight, the added dioptre control (for changing the focus of each lens) will be welcomed by those with glasses, and even those without will be served well by the continuous IPD adjustment (which includes an on-screen measurement readout and calibration pop-up).
Photo by Road to VR
Inside-out head-tracking feels pretty good and is surely ‘good enough’, though the instantaneous rotational latency doesn’t feel as tight as Meta’s bar-setting inside-out solution. Importantly, the tracking feels better than Vive Flow, which in my experience has too much latency for long-term comfort. Controller-tracking on Vive XR Elite also feels solid, and with cameras on each side pointed almost entirely to your left and right, coverage ought to be good (potentially surpassing Vive Focus 3).
As the name implies, the HTC is pushing the XR Elite as a headset that does passthrough AR in addition to VR. The headset’s color pass-through view isn’t stellar. Similar to Meta’s headsets, the XR Elite attempts to rebuild the depth of the real world virtually to provide geometric correction and depth cues, but even with a depth-sensor on-board (which Quest Pro lacks), my experience with the headset’s passthrough AR showed a lot of warping due to incorrect depth-mapping.
Without being able to do a direct side-by-side comparison, my impression was that XR Elite wasn’t quite as sharp as Quest Pro when it comes to passthrough AR. Granted, the passthrough AR on both headsets headsets is definitely in the same approximate ‘class’ (not sharp enough to read text from your smartphone and quite poor dynamic range at that).
Photo by Road to VR
Just like with Quest Pro, the quality and application of passthrough AR feels entirely undercooked, with the handful of AR apps I tried on the headset not sufficiently answering the question ‘why AR?’. But now that another headset on the market is embracing and enhancing this capability, perhaps the answers to that question will come a bit sooner.
– – — – –
Photo by Road to VR
Considering its performance and features, Vive XR Elite seems to share the same core problem as Quest Pro—and that’s the value proposition. Even if we ignore any potential ergonomic mishaps… at best Vive XR Elite is akin to a somewhat more compact version of Quest 2. And even if we ignore that Quest 2 has a much more extensive content library… it’s difficult to see how, for most people, Vive XR Elite can justify an $1,100 price tag compared to Quest 2 at $400.
Quest 2 users have a few choices when it comes to cutting the cable and playing PC VR games over Wi-Fi. You can opt for something like a dedicated dongle, or simply configure your network for the most optimal Wi-Fi setup, which usually means having your PC connected directly to the 2.4/5Ghz router with an Ethernet cable and maintaining line of sight with the router. If your PC has Intel’s latest Wi-Fi 6e AX1690 card though, that’s about to change.
Intel announced at CES 2023 that they’ve partnered with Meta to make better use of its flagship Wi-Fi card by optimizing it for use with Quest 2, which means reduced latency and no need for Ethernet cables connecting to your PC.
As reported by Wi-Fi Now, Intel says its Killer Wi-Fi 6e AX1690 card is now capable of using its Double Connect Technology (DCT) for VR headsets like Quest 2. Although the product of an Intel/Meta partnership, Intel’s it’s likely other standalone headsets will benefit too, including Pico 4 and the newly unveiled Vive XR Elite too.
Intel says AX1690, which is compatible with the Intel’s 13th-gen Core HX platform, is capable of reducing overall wireless PC VR gaming latency from 30ms to just 5ms, essentially making it indistinguishable from conventional wired connections, such as Link. We haven’t seen it in action yet, so we’re reserving judgment for now, but it basically seems like having all the functionality of that slick $99 dongle from D-Link, albeit built into your PC gaming rig.
Image courtesy Intel
“I’m a firm believer that pushing the boundaries of wireless in VR and AR will only be possible if the whole industry work together,” said Meta Reality Labs Wireless Technology chief Bruno Cendon Martin. “I’m extremely happy to see the announce today by Intel Corporation Wireless CTO Carlos Cordeiro of the work we’ve been doing together to get Wireless PC VR to the next level with Meta Quest and Intel Killer.”
Intel also released a video to demonstrate the benefits of using two simultaneous Wi-Fi connections which enable VR headsets to wirelessly access data directly from a PC (1-hop) vs. through an access point (2-hops) for reduced latency and better PC VR gaming experiences throughout the home.
Ioanna is a writer at SHIFT. She likes the transition from old to modern, and she’s all about shifting perspectives. Ioanna is a writer at SHIFT. She likes the transition from old to modern, and she’s all about shifting perspectives.
The first ever orbital satellite launch from the UK — and Europe — is set for takeoff tonight (Monday, January 9). The so-called “Start Me UP” mission, led by US-based Virgin Orbit, will set out from Spaceport Cornwall at Newquay Airport at around 21: 15 UTC.
You can watch the launch via Virgin Orbit’s livestream below:
Founded in 2010, the Plantation, Florida-based company initially exited the gate with consumer ambitions for its first AR headset, Magic Leap 1 (previously styled ‘One’). After awkwardly straddling the segment with its $2,300 AR headset, the company made a decisive pivot in mid-2020 when co-founder Rony Abovitz announced he would be stepping down as CEO, positioning the company to reprioritize its future devices away from consumers. It has since released Magic Leap 2, which is largely targeted at enterprise.
For a while, Evernote was on top of the world. The Californian note-taking app surfed the 2000s tech productivity boom to become the leader in its field. But then it fell from grace, becoming sluggish, buggy, and expensive. Users abandoned the platform, heading in droves to other note-taking apps.
On one hand, this could be concerning for remaining users. Evernote will no longer be an independent company, meaning there could be huge changes to its current direction. But on the other hand… good?
I was an Evernote user for close to a decade before I switched last year. Things had simply gotten too bad with the bloated, slow, and cumbersome software, so I turned to Bear, a streamlined and beautiful bit of app.
With a new owner, Evernote now has an opportunity for a clean start. Bending Spoons already has a suite of consumer apps that are modern, powerful, and intuitive, and we have to believe the Italian company will use its expertise to shape a new Evernote.
The question is what should it do? How can Bending Spoons bring Evernote to its former glory? Well, we have some ideas.
Speed up Evernote apps
This was one of the main reasons why I moved away from Evernote. While I used and loved some of the app’s features (such as web clipping and document scanning), the main reason I used Evernote was for, well, notes.
While the speed of writing and searching on desktop was acceptable, the same wasn’t true on mobile devices — especially if they were a few years old.
If Bending Spoons wants to bring the shine back to Evernote, making its range of apps as lightning fast as possible would be a good start.
This is a photo of the old Evernote app from a meetup in Paris. Credit: Heisenberg Media
Remove the bloat…
In the mid-2010s, as Evernote was in the midst of accepting huge amounts of VC funds, the company diversified its offerings in order to open up more revenue streams. What that buzzwordy sentence means in human speak is Evernote jammed a whole load of features into the app and tried to be active on as many stores as possible.
Much of this was poorly planned and tested, leading to the software being infamously described as a “bug-ridden elephant” by Jason Kincaid.
While there have been upgrades to Evernote since that have improved overall performance, it still feels that the app is trying to do too much. Of course, having multimedia capabilities and integration into multiple apps is great for some people, but Evernote’s core mission should be note-taking. Instead, it feels focused on things like chat, calendar, and tasks, despite these areas of its software performing far worse than competitors.
Bending Spoons should either look at shearing back Evernote’s features, or allowing people to easily deselect certain features so the app can act as seamlessly as possible.
…but combine app functionality
Evernote has an array of different apps outside of its core bit of software — and some of these should be folded back into the main product.
Aside from Web Clipper. That’s still an excellent extension and app.
On one hand, combining these apps into Evernote is antithetical to the above point of reducing bloat, but hear me out.
The software has tried to do many of the things you don’t want a note-taking app to do. Why, for example, would I ever want to chat on the same thing I’m writing on?
But look at those apps above again. They include a sketcher, a document scanner, and a handwriting app — all things that are useful to taking notes. Instead of being walled off from Evernote and largely forgotten about, these should be key features to make the process of taking notes as powerful as possible.
Reduce Evernote’s price
Cost was a huge element of me abandoning Evernote. At the time, I was paying €70 a year to take notes. That’s a silly amount of money — especially with how I used it.
I never got anywhere near the allocated 10GB a month of storage, had no need of calendar integration or task management, and never found a reason to connect to Google Drive. So what was I paying €70 a year for?
Bear — my current app — costs me around €14 ($15) for the same period, and I can’t say I’ve missed any of Evernote’s features since my transition.
I understand there will be some power users who want to use a full suite of features, but I guarantee there are scores more who just want to clip sites and store notes. So why not introduce a tier that’s closer to €20 a year? Something that offers all the basic features that people need?
Finally, Evernote must respect users
If Bending Spoons wants to save Evernote and for it to reclaim some its former glory, the first thing it should do is respect users. Stop pushing upgrades on people at every single possible opportunity. Stop being so overly restrictive on the number of devices individuals can use the free version with. Stop ignoring users’ complaints.
Instead, there needs to be a culture of respect and dialogue, treating those who use Evernote like people, rather than walking dollar signs.
Yes, Evernote has taken a fall, but it still has a strong enough brand and enough fans to become special again. The days of the unbridled tech boom are done, but there’s still a place for excellent apps doing simple things well. Let’s see if Bending Spoons can make that happen.
Across Europe and North America, more and more people are deciding to ditch their reliance on public utilities such as water, gas, and electricity to live and operate independently. And they’re doing so for a number of different reasons — a desire to connect with nature, be more self-sufficient, save energy, or generally live a more sustainable lifestyle are just a few.
In The Netherlands, this kind of living is increasingly seen as an attractive, and viable, option; there’s a whole thread dedicated to self-sustainable living in the r/Netherlands subreddit, and in 2016 The Netherlands became home to the first high-tech off-grid pilot eco-village developed by ReGen Villages.
“When COVID hit, almost overnight there was an exodus from urban areas. People were looking to move to the suburbs or the countryside because they wanted to feel like they could provide for themselves,” says founder James Ehrlich.
ReGen developed “Village OS” software, which not only uses machine learning to design and plan off-grid neighborhoods, but also acts as a local server, monitoring the village’s infrastructure for risks and improvements. This “digital twin” Ehrlich tells TNW, can, “understand the various nutritional flows, if you will, across the neighborhood.”
To power the eco-villages of the future, we’ll need to rethink the way we collect, use, and share energy. Watch as tech expert, Erwin van der Zande, explains how we can make energy grids smarter and more efficient.
Ehrlich knows how to develop off-grid communities that house 400-500 homes, as well as planning the different systems that come into play involving food, electricity, and water, so it’s pretty safe to say he’s an expert in off-grid living. We asked him: how can the average techie live off-grid?
Power
When it comes to actually powering your off-grid home, there are a few different options.
First, Ehrlich tells TNW, whether you’re retro-fitting your traditional home to make it less reliant on public utilities or building an off-grid home from scratch, it’s worth looking into how you can improve its energy efficiency.
Your traditional Dutch row house, made out of brick, is an energy sieve. But by putting a south facing glazing across the back, like a little greenhouse that’s connected to the back of the home, you can improve the R-Value [or insulation] of the house overall. It generates heat that comes back into the house and creates a bit of humidity, which is really nice during the dry winters. You can grow things there, it’s a lovely place to sit, to have coffee, tea, whatever.
Perhaps one of the most common, and increasingly affordable, off-grid energy sources are solar photovoltaics (PV), or solar panels. Solar panels allow you to capture sunlight, convert it into electricity, and store it in a battery.
“Solar voltaic is something that a lot of people use as a supplement to power their home, but also as a means to power their electric vehicle,” Ehrlich says. “There’s various companies that have this kind of battery storage now, so the technology is going to get better and better. This means [people living off-grid are] able to reduce their overall energy usage.”
But solar panels aren’t the only option, and also aren’t the best one for regions that don’t see a lot of sunlight (ahem, the Netherlands).
“People who live in a moderately windy area could put up a small wind turbine that doesn’t vibrate and doesn’t make a lot of noise,” Ehrlich says. “They’re a little more expensive, and the efficiency isn’t quite there yet, but they’re getting better. The point is they can be a supplement to battery storage when you don’t get much sun.”
The past few years has also seen a swathe of smart composting tech that’s far less smelly.
If you’re considering wind turbines, it’s worth looking through local government guidelines, like the U.S. Department of Energy’s checklist, which asks questions such as whether your area gets enough wind, if there’s enough physical space around you, and if towers are allowed in your area.
“Wind turbine technologies are getting better, smaller, blade free, and noise free, and are easy to fold up in case of storms or bad weather,” Ehrlich says.
Electric vehicles themselves can also be used as power sources by acting as bidirectional chargers. Many EVs, including several Kia models, are V2D-enabled, which means they act as large batteries that can power electronic devices using an internal or external socket.
Other types of bidirectional chargers include V2G (EVs that export energy to support electric grids), V2H (EVs that can power homes), and V2L (EVs that can power appliances or other EVs). For example, the Kia EV9 set to be released in 2023, will have vehicle-to-grid (V2G) functionality, meaning your car could export energy to the grid when demand is high.
Food and waste
Living off-grid can also extend to creating a self-sustaining food source. In fact, one of the earliest inspirations for ReGen Villages came from Ehrlich’s encounter with a biodynamic farming community.
I stumbled upon this lovely community in Northern California of organic, biodynamic, small plot family farmers and started to learn about eco villages. These wonderful, small communities had essentially cobbled together passive home technology connected to heat exchange with early solar PV panels, solar thermal, and other things like bio waste, anaerobic digestion, biomass, and biogas. I was really just blown away by the resiliency these measures are able to sustain and by the delicious food that was being produced on site.
For ReGen Villages, Ehrlich has developed a system that relies on, “a combination of non tilled soil farming, with at least one to two meters of good topsoil [and] permaculture, which essentially creates a completely edible neighborhood. You replace, wherever possible, the foliage with things that you can eat.
Over a period of time these orchards and food forests really start to produce and over produce. We marry that with controlled environment farming, either heated greenhouses or non heated greenhouses, depending on where we are in the world. In addition, we also include aquaponic and aquaculture systems, freshwater shrimp, and several different species of fish.”
Boiling water is slow and inefficient considering how much you need on a daily basis.
For an individual looking to move off-grid, but not join an eco village, Ehrlich says the same principles apply: “We strongly recommend that people replace their lawn, wherever possible, so that it can be food bearing.” This also has a profound social impact. “If enough people do it, you start to have this dialogue with your neighbors about what you’re producing, what you have extra, and what they have extra. We see that in our community.”
Ehrlich also mentions “light animal farms,” such as chicken coops, a single cow, or smaller herds and flocks of sheep, goats, and turkey — and not just as a food source.
The animal waste is actually a food and nutrition source for vermiculture. Anaerobic digestion kicks in. You also get heat and energy from anaerobic digestion produced by compost piles. In addition to that, black soldier fly larvae and aquatic worms eat their own weight every day in food and animal waste. They then become the perfect food for the chickens, fish, and other small animals. So it’s really an amazing circle of life.
For individuals looking to go off-grid, there are traditional composting methods, but the past few years has also seen a swathe of smart composting consumer tech that’s far less smelly, and can be brought inside or into urban environments.
Water
Having access to clean water is an incredibly important aspect of off-grid living and, well, basic survival.
While boiling water can help purify water, it’s slow and inefficient when considering how much water you need to stay hydrated, bathe, and more on a daily basis.
There are plenty of consumer-facing water filtration systems that remove viruses, bacteria, and pathogens, at all different price points. Several blogs about off-grid living have reviews of various waterfiltrationmethods and hardware.
An off-grid future
As Ehrlich points out, a lot of these off-grid systems and technologies have actually been around for a long time:
When my father was a kid in the early 30s, he vividly remembered electric vehicles in New York City being used to deliver ice, and as taxi cabs and small buses. But there were very powerful interests that didn’t want to see people potentially generating their own power, running their own vehicles, and having no need for oil changes, tuneups, etc.
Buckminster Fuller, an American architect, once said:
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
As consumer hardware continues to evolve, and communities like ReGen Villages make off-grid living increasingly normalized, an off-grid future is not as far out of reach as we may think.
