DRONES TO FIND THE FOSSILS OF DINOSAURS

Drones and dinosaurs may seem like an unlikely combination, but scientists in Australia are using present-day technology to track prehistoric footprints. The prints were laid in Western Australia about 130 million years ago.

Taking advantage of modern technology, a team of paleontologists from the University of Queensland is using low-flying drones to get a bird's eye view of dinosaur tracks which are preserved in stone in a 200km stretch of the West Kimberley coast. This vantage point is hugely beneficial, as the footsteps are often hidden by jagged rock and are therefore difficult to identify.

"It's allowing us to get up above some of the more interesting track sites, and get lots of good video footage, which is really exciting, and lots of fun,” team leader Steve Salisbury told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

That footage will be processed through software, providing researchers with 3D imagery of the paths of sauropods, and potentially theropods. The different types of prints are easily distinguishable – sauropods left behind circular imprints and theropods made their mark with bird-like, three-toed tracks.

The fossilized footprints stretch from the coastal town of Broome to James Price Point, 60km north.

Although some of the dinosaur tracks are well-known, others have been kept secret by local Aboriginal people and scientists, who feared they could be stolen or vandalized. Such concern wasn't unwarranted – one dinosaur print was drilled from rock to be sold on the black market in the 1990s.

The footprints are part of the mythology of the local Yawuru people, who say they are keen to have the prints documented if it leads to better management and protection.

But some of the tracks are being discovered for the very first time, millions of years after they were laid.

"There are a couple of new ones that have emerged on this trip, and sometimes it's just mind-blowing just how much there is to document," Salisbury said.

But there's more to the documentation than one might think. The team has to battle with the area's enormous tides, which erode footprints and dictate when scientists can work.

HUGE SOLAR PROJECT OF APPLE

Apple commitment to 100 percent solar announced earlier this year will "propel the commercial market into a new dimension."

This unprecedented $850 million project is the largest solar power supply contract signed by an enterprise customer and represents over 12 percent of the entire commercial and industrial (C&I) capacity installed across the U.S. in 2014.

Here are some of the key takeaways from van Gerven's op-ed piece recently published by greentechmedia.com (GTM):

A Road Less Traveled

Although C&I solar projects have been commercially viable in many regions of the U.S., "It represents the smallest application when compared to residential and utility-scale solar systems," stated van Gerven. In fact, installations have been stagnant for the past three years, and surprisingly the MW total added for 2014 was even less than 2012.

Why So Slow To Grow?

The global financial meltdown in 2008 caused corporate decision makers to focus on core business issues and effectively put a freeze on corporate spending.

According to van Gerven, "When companies were fighting for survival, it was not the time to sign new long-term solar PPAs. Balance sheets did not justify such investments, and banks would have not approved loans for solar procurement."

Marketing Wrong Product Mix?

The solar industry may have overemphasized marketing rooftop PV panels to C&I customers. There just isn't enough rooftop area available on most buildings as compared to the electric load needed to be offset in order to make a project attractive to decision makers.

"Large-scale solar installations, located off-premises, provide some clear advantages over commercial rooftop solar," van Gerven said.

Large Scale Solar Projects

"First Solar's ground-mounted California Flats power plant, with a total capacity of 280 megawatts, covers 2,900 acres of land," van Gerven continued. "Electricity generated by the power plant will be shared between Apple and California utility Pacific Gas & Electric."

The 130 MWs of solar power that Apple requires to offset its entire corporate power profile is similar to a utility scale project.

These huge "utility-scale solar power plants" have a much better cost structure than typical on-site C&I systems.

Related Link: Cowen Previews Apple Earnings, Sees Upside In China

Green Corporate Image

In the case of Apple, the company was looking to offset its total power consumption, including: retail stores, data centers and corporate offices with renewable energy.

Apple's rationale to customers and shareholders was that "an energy-efficient facility is good, but a 100 percent renewable energy facility is better."

According to the letter, Apple was able to achieve "30 percent in 2010 and 94 percent in 2013, the addition of electricity from California Flats will bring Apple to 100 percent."

Corporate Budgets

Apple entered into a 25-year power-purchase agreement (PPA) from First Solar's 130-megawatt Monterey California Flats solar plant.

Apple CEO Tim Cook stated, "We expect to have very significant savings, because we have a fixed price for renewable energy, and there is quite a difference between that price and the price of brown energy."

Having a long-term, guaranteed price for energy becomes a hedge against future fossil fuel price increases.

Investor Takeaway

First Solar is hoping that an "Apple Factor" will help accelerate C&I solar adoption by other enterprise customers and government agencies.