Tech – Aotea Green – Great Barrier Island News

Venus and Starlink Satellites. Photo / Mike Lewinski / Creative Commons

Sun’s Fury Sends Elon Musk’s Starlink Satellites Plummeting to Earth, NASA Warns

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites are dropping out of the sky faster than expected — and it’s the sun’s fault. According to NASA scientists, powerful solar storms are heating Earth’s upper atmosphere and creating extra drag on satellites in low orbit.…

Huntly Gets $150m Battery Upgrade – But Coal Isn’t Going Anywhere

Genesis Energy has announced a $150 million investment in grid-scale battery storage at its Huntly Power Station — a move that confirms the coal- and gas-fired plant will remain in operation for the foreseeable future. “Most people said to me…

EV Uptick in NZ, But Sales Still Well Below Peak

There was a flicker of life in New Zealand’s electric vehicle market last month — but it’s a long way from the glory days of the Clean Car Discount boom. Fully electric vehicles made up 5.5% of new vehicle sales…

The AT520-AI is a solar-powered, fully automated trap that uses artificial intelligence, camera sensors, and mesh networking to identify and kill pest species with zero by-catch.

Tech - Aotea Green

This Kiwi-built AI trap identifies, targets and kills pests — with a photo to prove it

A New Zealand-designed pest trap powered by artificial intelligence, solar energy, and long-range wireless networking is being hailed as a breakthrough in pest control technology — one that could render mass poison drops obsolete. The AT520-AI combines an automatic resetting…

Tech - Aotea Green

New Battery Tech Could Store Power and Remove Carbon

Photo / Sweetie Khatun By Daniel Commandeur, University of Surrey; Mahsa Masoudi, University of Surrey, and Siddharth Gadkari, University of Surrey

Tech - Aotea Green

Starlink Adds Battery Power Option for Off-Grid Users

Starlink has announced a dedicated DC-to-DC power supply for its Standard terminal, finally offering a manufacturer-approved solution for off-grid and mobile users. The unit allows users to power their dish directly from a 12V–48V DC source — cutting out the…

AI Traps Differentiate Predators from Native Birds

Halo’s Conor Haughton with an ATV full of standard mustelid traps Photo / Supplied By Cosmo Kentish-Barnes, RNZ Country File A pilot using artificial technology to differentiate predators from native birds could be a game-changer for pest control. More than 4000 pest control…

Starlink Mini claims to bridge the digital divide, one remote location at a time.

SpaceX Expands Reach with portable, USB-powered ‘Starlink Mini’

The world of satellite internet is expanding, and Great Barrier Island might soon feel even less remote. SpaceX has unveiled the Starlink Mini, a compact, portable satellite, USB-powered internet dish promising to revolutionise access to the internet for off-grid locations.…

Tama Toki’s Electrifying New Mission: From Rongoā to Renewable Energy

The mysterious Mark 1 Smart battery prototype, seen being fabricated in a video on the Aotea Energy website. Set to be produced by Aotea Energy in late 2024, it will be released on Great Barrier Island first. Photo / AoteaEnergy.com…

A rendering of Climeworks’ Generation 3 direct air capture plant. Photo / Climeworks

Australia to Host New Carbon Capture Plant

A rendering of Climeworks’ Generation 3 direct air capture plant, critics say it’s far from being a definitive solution to climate change. Photo / Climeworks A company claiming it will make carbon capture viable is expanding to Australia. Climeworks, a…