June 13, 20256 min readAir-Conditioning Can Surprisingly Help the Power Grid during Extreme HeatSwitching on air-conditioning during extreme heat doesn’t have to make us feel guilty—it can actually boost power grid reliability and help bring more renewable energy onlineBy Johanna Mathieu & The Conversation US Imagedepotpro/Getty ImagesThe following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.As summer arrives, people are turning on air conditioners in most of the U.S. But if you’re like me, you always feel a little guilty about that. Past generations managed without air conditioning – do I really need it? And how bad is it to use all this electricity for cooling in a warming world?If I leave my air conditioner off, I get too hot. But if everyone turns on their air conditioner at the same time, electricity demand spikes, which can force power grid operators to activate some of the most expensive, and dirtiest, power plants. Sometimes those spikes can ask too much of the grid and lead to brownouts or blackouts.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Research I recently published with a team of scholars makes me feel a little better, though. We have found that it is possible to coordinate the operation of large numbers of home air-conditioning units, balancing supply and demand on the power grid – and without making people endure high temperatures inside their homes.Studies along these lines, using remote control of air conditioners to support the grid, have for many years explored theoretical possibilities like this. However, few approaches have been demonstrated in practice and never for such a high-value application and at this scale. The system we developed not only demonstrated the ability to balance the grid on timescales of seconds, but also proved it was possible to do so without affecting residents’ comfort.The benefits include increasing the reliability of the power grid, which makes it easier for the grid to accept more renewable energy. Our goal is to turn air conditioners from a challenge for the power grid into an asset, supporting a shift away from fossil fuels toward cleaner energy.Adjustable equipmentMy research focuses on batteries, solar panels and electric equipment – such as electric vehicles, water heaters, air conditioners and heat pumps – that can adjust itself to consume different amounts of energy at different times.Originally, the U.S. electric grid was built to transport electricity from large power plants to customers’ homes and businesses. And originally, power plants were large, centralized operations that burned coal or natural gas, or harvested energy from nuclear reactions. These plants were typically always available and could adjust how much power they generated in response to customer demand, so the grid would be balanced between power coming in from producers and being used by consumers.But the grid has changed. There are more renewable energy sources, from which power isn’t always available – like solar panels at night or wind turbines on calm days. And there are the devices and equipment I study. These newer options, called “distributed energy resources,” generate or store energy near where consumers need it – or adjust how much energy they’re using in real time.One aspect of the grid hasn’t changed, though: There’s not much storage built into the system. So every time you turn on a light, for a moment there’s not enough electricity to supply everything that wants it right then: The grid needs a power producer to generate a little more power. And when you turn off a light, there’s a little too much: A power producer needs to ramp down.The way power plants know what real-time power adjustments are needed is by closely monitoring the grid frequency. The goal is to provide electricity at a constant frequency – 60 hertz – at all times. If more power is needed than is being produced, the frequency drops and a power plant boosts output. If there’s too much power being produced, the frequency rises and a power plant slows production a little. These actions, a process called “frequency regulation,” happen in a matter of seconds to keep the grid balanced.This output flexibility, primarily from power plants, is key to keeping the lights on for everyone.Finding new optionsI’m interested in how distributed energy resources can improve flexibility in the grid. They can release more energy, or consume less, to respond to the changing supply or demand, and help balance the grid, ensuring the frequency remains near 60 hertz.Some people fear that doing so might be invasive, giving someone outside your home the ability to control your battery or air conditioner. Therefore, we wanted to see if we could help balance the grid with frequency regulation using home air-conditioning units rather than power plants – without affecting how residents use their appliances or how comfortable they are in their homes.From 2019 to 2023, my group at the University of Michigan tried this approach, in collaboration with researchers at Pecan Street Inc., Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.We recruited 100 homeowners in Austin, Texas, to do a real-world test of our system. All the homes had whole-house forced-air cooling systems, which we connected to custom control boards and sensors the owners allowed us to install in their homes. This equipment let us send instructions to the air-conditioning units based on the frequency of the grid.Before I explain how the system worked, I first need to explain how thermostats work. When people set thermostats, they pick a temperature, and the thermostat switches the air-conditioning compressor on and off to maintain the air temperature within a small range around that set point. If the temperature is set at 68 degrees, the thermostat turns the AC on when the temperature is, say, 70, and turns it off when it’s cooled down to, say, 66.Every few seconds, our system slightly changed the timing of air-conditioning compressor switching for some of the 100 air conditioners, causing the units’ aggregate power consumption to change. In this way, our small group of home air conditioners reacted to grid changes the way a power plant would – using more or less energy to balance the grid and keep the frequency near 60 hertz.Moreover, our system was designed to keep home temperatures within the same small temperature range around the set point.Testing the approachWe ran our system in four tests, each lasting one hour. We found two encouraging results.First, the air conditioners were able to provide frequency regulation at least as accurately as a traditional power plant. Therefore, we showed that air conditioners could play a significant role in increasing grid flexibility. But perhaps more importantly – at least in terms of encouraging people to participate in these types of systems – we found that we were able to do so without affecting people’s comfort in their homes.We found that home temperatures did not deviate more than 1.6 Fahrenheit from their set point. Homeowners were allowed to override the controls if they got uncomfortable, but most didn’t. For most tests, we received zero override requests. In the worst case, we received override requests from two of the 100 homes in our test.In practice, this sort of technology could be added to commercially available internet-connected thermostats. In exchange for credits on their energy bills, users could choose to join a service run by the thermostat company, their utility provider or some other third party.Then people could turn on the air conditioning in the summer heat without that pang of guilt, knowing they were helping to make the grid more reliable and more capable of accommodating renewable energy sources – without sacrificing their own comfort in the process.This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Manus has kick-started an AI agent boom in China Last year, China saw a boom in foundation models, the do-everything large language models that underpin the AI revolution. This year, the focus has shifted to AI agents—systems that are less about responding to users’ queries and more about autonomously accomplishing things for them.There are now a host of Chinese startups building these general-purpose digital tools, which can answer emails, browse the internet to plan vacations, and even design an interactive website. Many of these have emerged in just the last two months, following in the footsteps of Manus—a general AI agent that sparked weeks of social media frenzy for invite codes after its limited-release launch in early March.As the race to define what a useful AI agent looks like unfolds, a mix of ambitious startups and entrenched tech giants are now testing how these tools might actually work in practice—and for whom. Read the full story. —Caiwei Chen Inside the race to find GPS alternatives Later this month, an inconspicuous 150-kilogram satellite is set to launch into space aboard the SpaceX Transporter 14 mission. Once in orbit, it will test super-accurate next-generation satnav technology designed to make up for the shortcomings of the US Global Positioning System (GPS). Despite the system’s indispensable nature, the GPS signal is easily suppressed or disrupted by everything from space weather to 5G cell towers to phone-size jammers worth a few tens of dollars. The problem has been whispered about among experts for years, but it has really come to the fore in the last three years, since Russia invaded Ukraine.Now, startup Xona Space Systems wants to create a space-based system that would do what GPS does but better. Read the full story. —Tereza Pultarova Why doctors should look for ways to prescribe hope —Jessica Hamzelou This week, I’ve been thinking about the powerful connection between mind and body. Some new research suggests that people with heart conditions have better outcomes when they are more hopeful and optimistic. Hopelessness, on the other hand, is associated with a significantly higher risk of death. The findings build upon decades of fascinating research into the phenomenon of the placebo effect. Our beliefs and expectations about a medicine (or a sham treatment) can change the way it works. The placebo effect’s “evil twin,” the nocebo effect, is just as powerful—negative thinking has been linked to real symptoms. Researchers are still trying to understand the connection between body and mind, and how our thoughts can influence our physiology. In the meantime, many are developing ways to harness it in hospital settings. Is it possible for a doctor to prescribe hope? Read the full story. This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Elon Musk threatened to cut off NASA’s use of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraftHis war of words with Donald Trump is dramatically escalating. (WP $)+ If Musk actually carried through with his threat, NASA would seriously struggle. (NYT $)+ Silicon Valley is starting to pick sides. (Wired $)+ It appears as though Musk has more to lose from their bruising breakup. (NY Mag $) 2 Apple and Alibaba’s AI rollout in China has been delayedIt’s the latest victim of Trump’s trade war. (FT $)+ The deal is supposed to support iPhones’ AI offerings in the country. (Reuters) 3 X’s new policy blocks the use of its posts to ‘fine-tune or train’ AI modelsUnless companies strike a deal with them, that is. (TechCrunch)+ The platform could end up striking agreements like Reddit and Google. (The Verge) 4 RJK Jr’s new hire is hunting for proof that vaccines cause autismVaccine skeptic David Geier is seeking access to a database he was previously barred from. (WSJ $)+ How measuring vaccine hesitancy could help health professionals tackle it. (MIT Technology Review) 5 Anthropic has launched a new service for the militaryClaude Gov is designed specifically for US defense and intelligence agencies. (The Verge)+ Generative AI is learning to spy for the US military. (MIT Technology Review) 6 There’s no guarantee your billion-dollar startup won’t failIn fact, one in five of them will. (Bloomberg $)+ Beware the rise of the AI coding startup. (Reuters) 7 Walmart’s drone deliveries are taking offIt’s expanding to 100 new US stories in the next year. (Wired $) 8 AI might be able to tell us how old the Dead Sea Scrolls really are Models suggest they’re even older than we previously thought. (The Economist $)+ How AI is helping historians better understand our past. (MIT Technology Review) 9 All-in-one super apps are a hit in the Gulf They’re following in China’s footsteps. (Rest of World) 10 Nintendo’s Switch 2 has revived the midnight launch eventFans queued for hours outside stores to get their hands on the new console. (Insider $)+ How the company managed to dodge Trump’s tariffs. (The Guardian) Quote of the day “Elon finally found a way to make Twitter fun again.” —Dan Pfeiffer, a host of the political podcast Pod Save America, jokes about Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s ongoing feud in a post on X. One more thing This rare earth metal shows us the future of our planet’s resources We’re in the middle of a potentially transformative moment. Metals discovered barely a century ago now underpin the technologies we’re relying on for cleaner energy, and not having enough of them could slow progress.  Take neodymium, one of the rare earth metals. It’s used in cryogenic coolers to reach ultra-low temperatures needed for devices like superconductors and in high-powered magnets that power everything from smartphones to wind turbines. And very soon, demand for it could outstrip supply. What happens then? And what does it reveal about issues across wider supply chains? Read our story to find out. —Casey Crownhart We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.) + Sightings of Bigfoot just happen to correlate with black bear populations? I smell a conspiracy!+ Watch as these symbols magically transform into a pretty impressive Black Sabbath mural.+ Underwater rugby is taking off in the UK.+ Fed up of beige Gen Z trends, TikTok is bringing the 80s back.

Nearly two decades ago, scientists made an alarming discovery in upstate New York: Bats, the world’s only flying mammal, were becoming infected with a new, deadly fungal disease that, in some cases, could wipe out an entire colony in a matter of months. Since then, the disease — later called white-nose syndrome — has spread across much of the country, utterly decimating North American bats that hibernate in caves and killing over 90 percent of three bat species. According to some scientists, WNS has caused “the most precipitous wildlife decline in the past century in North America.” These declines have clear consequences for human populations — for you, even if you don’t like bats or visit caves. Bats eat insect pests, such as moths and beetles. And as they decline, farmers need to spray more pesticides. Scientists have linked the loss of bats in the US to an increase in insecticide use on farmland and, remarkably, to a rise in infant deaths. Insecticide chemicals are known to harm the health of newborns. The only reason we know any of this is because of a somewhat obscure government program in the US Geological Survey (USGS), an agency nested within the Interior Department. That program, known as the Ecosystems Mission Area (EMA), is the biological research division of Interior. Among other functions, it monitors environmental contaminants, the spread of invasive species, and the health of the nation’s wildlife, including bees, birds, and bats.White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease, has caused massive declines in a handful of bat species, including the tricolored bat, shown here in flight. J. Scott Altenbach/Bat Conservation InternationalThe Ecosystems Mission Area, which has around 1,200 employees, produces the premier science revealing how animals and ecosystems that Americans rely on are changing and what we can do to keep them intact — or risk our own health and economy. This program is now at an imminent risk of disappearing.Send us a confidential tipAre you a current or former federal employee with knowledge about the Trump administration’s attacks on wildlife protections? Reach out to Vox environmental correspondent Benji Jones on Signal at benji.90 or at benji.jones@vox.com or at benjijones@protonmail.com.In the White House’s 2026 budget request, the Trump administration asked Congress to slash funding for EMA by about 90 percent, from $293 million in 2025 to $29 million next year. Such cuts are also in line with Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s conservative policy roadmap, which calls for the government to “abolish” Interior’s Biological Resources Division, an outdated name for the Ecosystems Mission Area.Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also reportedly trying to fire government employees in the Ecosystems Mission Area, though a federal judge has so far blocked those efforts. Eliminating biological research is not good. In fact, it’s very bad.For a decade now, EMA’s North American Bat Monitoring Program, or NABat, has been gathering and analyzing data on bats and the threats they face. NABat produces research using data from hundreds of partner organizations showing not only how white-nose syndrome is spreading — which scientists are using to develop and deploy vaccines — but also how bats are affected by wind turbines, another known threat. Energy companies can and do use this research to develop safer technologies and avoid delays caused by wildlife regulations, such as the Endangered Species Act. The irony, an Interior Department employee told me, is that NABat makes wildlife management more efficient. It also helps reveal where declines are occurring before they become severe, potentially helping avoid the need to grant certain species federal protection — something the Trump administration would seem to want. The employee, who’s familiar with Interior’s bat-monitoring efforts, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by the Trump administration. A northern long-eared bat with white-nose syndrome. Steve Taylor/University of IllinoisA dead bat infected with white-nose syndrome under UV light. USGS“If they want to create efficiencies in the government, they should ask us,” another Interior employee told Vox. “The damage that can be done by one administration takes decades to rebuild.”In response to a request for comment, an Interior Department spokesperson told Vox that “USGS remains committed to its congressional mandate as the science arm of the Department of the Interior.” The White House did not respond to a request for comment. In a Senate appropriations hearing last week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum refused to commit to maintaining funding for EMA.“There’s no question that they don’t know what EMA does,” said a third Interior employee, who has knowledge of the Ecosystems Mission Area.Ultimately, it’s not clear why the administration has targeted Interior’s biological research. EMA does, however, do climate science, such as studying how plants and animals are responding to rising temperatures. That’s apparently a no-go for the Trump administration. It also gathers information that sometimes indicates that certain species need federal protections, which come with regulations (also a no-go for President Donald Trump’s agenda).What’s especially frustrating for environmental advocates is that NABat, now 10 years old, is starting to hit its stride.“We should be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of this very successful program that started from scratch and built this robust, vibrant community of people all collecting data,” said Winifred Frick, the chief scientist at Bat Conservation International, an environmental group. “We have 10 years of momentum, and so to cut it off now sort of wastes all that investment. That feels like a tremendous loss.” Meanwhile, the cost of maintaining the program is less than 1 percent of Interior’s overall budget.The government’s wildlife monitoring programs are “jewels of the country,” said Hollis Woodard, an associate professor of entomology at University of California Riverside who works with USGS on bee monitoring. “These birds and bats perform services for us that are important for our day-to-day lives. Literally everything I value, including food, comes down to keeping an eye on these populations. The idea that we’re just going to wipe them out is just terrifying.”Update, June 2, 12:58 pm ET: This article was originally published on May 29, 2025, and has been updated to include newly public details on the 2026 White House budget request.See More:

The NAACP is calling on local officials to halt operations at Colossus, the “supercomputer” facility operated by Elon Musk’s xAI in South Memphis. As reported in NBC News, leaders from the civil rights group sent a letter Thursday to the Shelby County Health Department and Memphis Light Gas and Water criticizing the organizations’ “lackadaisical approach to the operation of this dirty data center” and calling on them to “issue an emergency order for xAI to stop operations completely” — or if there’s no order, to at least cite and stop the company from allegedly violating clean air laws. The letter expressed particular concerns around the gas turbines that xAI runs to power Colossus. The company has applied for a permit to continue operating 15 gas turbines at the facility, although the NAACP said authorities have “allowed xAI to operate at least 35 gas turbines without any permitting” over the past year. City officials have previously said xAI did not need permits for the turbines’ first year of use. These turbines reportedly emit hazardous air pollutants, including formaldehyde, at levels exceeding EPA limits. The NAACP’s letter also pointed to the turbines’ nitrogen-oxide emissions. Noting that the Colossus facility is located near South Memphis’ Boxtown neighborhood, which the letter described as a “historically Black community,” the NAACP said the location perpetuates “the trend of industries adding pollution to communities who do not cause the problem.” “Instead of [the Shelby County Health Department] working to reduce health issues known in the area including that cancer risks are already four times the national average, it has allowed xAI to operate above the law,” the NAACP added. The NAACP’s letter is addressed to Shelby County Health Department Director Michelle Taylor, as well as Memphis Light Gas and Water’s commissioners; Taylor is leaving her role in Shelby County to become the commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW TechCrunch has reached out to the NAACP and xAI for comment. A spokesperson for Memphis Light Gas and Water told NBC News that it had not yet received the NAACP letter.

While Europe races to phase out fossil fuels and electrify everything from cars to heating systems, it’s turning a blind eye to a reliable and proven source of clean energy lying right beneath our feet.  Geothermal energy offers exactly what the continent needs most: clean, local, always-on power. Yet, it only accounted for 0.2% of power generation on the continent in 2024. Something needs to change. The recent blackout in Spain, triggered by a failure in the high-voltage grid, serves as a warning shot. While solar and wind are vital pillars of decarbonisation, they’re variable by nature. Without steady, around-the-clock sources of electricity, Europe risks swapping one form of energy insecurity for another. A much bigger wake-up call came in 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For years, European governments had built an energy system dependent on imports of natural gas. When that stack of cards shattered, it triggered an energy crisis that exposed the vulnerable underbelly of Europe’s power system.  The answer to these problems lies, in part, a few kilometres underground. According to the International Energy Agency, geothermal energy has the potential to power the planet 150 times over. But it’s not just about electricity — geothermal can also deliver clean, reliable heat. That makes it especially valuable in Europe, where millions of homes already rely on radiators and district heating systems, many of them still powered by natural gas. Geothermal plants also come with a smaller footprint. They require far less land than an equivalent solar farm or wind park. What’s more, the materials and infrastructure needed to build them — like drilling rigs and turbines — can be largely sourced locally. That’s a sharp contrast to solar panels and batteries, most of which are imported from China.   Geothermal energy is not theoretical. It doesn’t require scientific breakthroughs. We’ve been drilling wells and extracting energy from the Earth for centuries. The know-how exists, and so does the workforce. Decades of oil and gas exploration have built a deep bench of geologists, drillers, reservoir engineers, and project managers. Instead of letting this expertise fade, we can redeploy it to build geothermal plants. The infrastructure, such as drilling rigs, can also be repurposed for a cleaner cause. Geothermal could be the ultimate redemption arc for oil and gas. Sure, drilling deep isn’t cheap — yet. But a new crop of startups is rewriting the playbook. Armed with everything from plasma pulse drills to giant radiators, these companies could finally crack the cost barrier — and make geothermal available pretty much anywhere. Just as SpaceX disrupted a sclerotic rocket industry with its cheap launches, these startups are poised to succeed where the geothermal industry has failed.  All that’s missing is investment. While billions are being funnelled into high-risk technologies like fusion or nuclear fission reactors, funding for geothermal tech is minuscule in comparison, especially in Europe. Yet, unlike those technologies, geothermal is ready right now.   If Europe wants to achieve climate neutrality and energy sovereignty, it must stop ignoring geothermal. We need bold investment, regulatory reform, and a clear signal to industry: don’t let geothermal become a forgotten renewable. Grid failures, missed climate targets, deeper energy dependence — these are the risks Europe faces. It’s time to start drilling, before it’s too late.  Want to discover the next big thing in tech? Then take a trip to TNW Conference, where thousands of founders, investors, and corporate innovators will share their ideas. The event takes place on June 19–20 in Amsterdam and tickets are on sale now. Use the code TNWXMEDIA2025 at the checkout to get 30% off. Story by Siôn Geschwindt Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehic (show all) Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehicles, he's happiest sourcing a scoop, investigating the impact of emerging technologies, and even putting them to the test. He has five years of journalism experience and holds a dual degree in media and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. When he's not writing, you can probably find Siôn out hiking, surfing, playing the drums or catering to his moderate caffeine addiction. You can contact him at: sion.geschwindt [at] protonmail [dot] com Get the TNW newsletter Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week. Also tagged with

the fastest one 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 first drive: Engineered for insane speed Now that Chevrolet can fit turbos to the Corvette, it's gone and done just that. Michael Teo Van Runkle – May 30, 2025 10:00 am | 0 Chevrolet has given its latest Corvette variant a four-figure power output to go with a six-figure price tag. Credit: Michael Teo Van Runkle Chevrolet has given its latest Corvette variant a four-figure power output to go with a six-figure price tag. Credit: Michael Teo Van Runkle Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Chevrolet provided flights from Los Angeles to Austin and accommodation so Ars could drive the ZR1. Ars does not accept paid editorial content. AUSTIN, Texas—By just my third lap in the top-spec 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, I glanced down at the speedometer toward the end of the Circuit of the Americas' long back straight and spied 181 mph (291 km/h) displayed for a split second. Not bad for Chevy’s newest flagship sports car, especially given that the $174,995 ZR1’s twin-turbocharged V8 pumps all 1,064 horsepower to the rear wheels only. The US’s only purpose-built F1 track made for an excellent setting to taste Corvette’s latest; the ZR1 also commanded your attention while conquering the steep uphill toward the first corner, then winding through a series of challenging corners with plenty of elevation change. Luckily, the car itself is an engineering marvel, and Chevy brought along a team of engineers to explain exactly how the total package comes together to enable such a breathtaking pace, as well as how Chevy can responsibly sell such a powerful car to the general public at all. The entire point of switching the Corvette’s eighth generation to a mid-engine layout was to improve weight distribution and allow the Corvette to compete against much more exotic competition from European OEMs like Ferrari. The front-engined car's engine bay also lacked the width to add a pair of turbos, due to the suspension and tire orientation, which dictated the use of a supercharger that kept peak power to “just” 755 hp (563 kW) in the last Corvette to wear the ZR1 badge. It's a tight fit in there. Credit: Michael Teo Van Runkle COTA reveals the ZR1's excellent balance, especially when specced with the optional aero package, carbon fiber wheels, and Michelin’s Cup 2 R tires. The tires—in effect, grooved slicks—allow for improved lateral acceleration but also the ability to consistently put the four-figure horsepower down to the asphalt. Yet Chevy’s engineers readily admitted the original target for ZR1 was just 850 hp (634 kW), until 1,000 came into sight and required some serious creativity to reach reliably. Biggest turbos ever The ZR1’s engine, dubbed LT7, shares much with the 5.5 L naturally aspirated LT6 engine in the less-powerful, cheaper Z06. It’s still a flat-plane crank with dry-sump oiling, even if clever eyes inspecting an LT6 might have noticed that the dry-sump oil tank allowed for the placement of turbos all along. The dual 74-millimeter turbos, the largest ever fitted to a production car, required new intake routing, and computer control of the wastegate actuation maintains an anti-lag boost of 6 to 7 psi even under a closed throttle. Turbo speed sensors allow the turbines to spin closer to maximum speed before the vanes physically break apart—a mechanical system typically needs to maintain a 7 percent margin of error, but the ZR1’s is more like 2–3 percent. That's a massive turbocharger, and there are two of them. Credit: Michael Teo Van Runkle The eventual power output actually wound up breaking two of Chevrolet’s dynos during early testing, we're told. So the C8’s eight-speed dual-clutch transmission also needed beefing up with physically wider gears that were shot-peened for additional strength, plus a revised lubrication system. The engine, meanwhile, creates enormous cooling demands when running at full throttle, which plays hand in hand with the downforce requirements of hitting such high speeds. Consequently, the ZR1 sacrifices its usable frunk in favor of a massive radiator, while the hood’s heat extractor also releases trapped air and feeds it over the roofline. This freed up more space for additional cooling via the front fascia, which further benefits from canard spat dive planes. On the sides, an additional inlet on the side strakes complements the enormously wide scoops that debuted on the Z06. Coupes then get a split rear window—which harks back to Corvettes of old, while releasing hot air from the engine bay—plus new shoulder NACA intakes that directly feed the air box with cooler oxygen that even creates a ram air effect akin to mild supercharging. Cooling for the ZR1 became an even higher priority, because the LT6 and LT7 employ extremely tight tolerances between the crankshaft and connecting rods, which mandates keeping the 5W-50 oil below 120° C (248° F) at all times. And the system simply works, as even on a hot and humid Texas day, I only noticed oil temperatures cresting above 104° C (220° F) occasionally. The interior is better than any prior generation of Corvette, but it feels prosaic compared to the cockpits of its more exotic mid-engined rivals. Michael Teo Van Runkle The interior is better than any prior generation of Corvette, but it feels prosaic compared to the cockpits of its more exotic mid-engined rivals. Michael Teo Van Runkle Lightweight carbon-fiber wheels are mounted with the stickiest road-legal tires Chevy could fit. Michael Teo Van Runkle Lightweight carbon-fiber wheels are mounted with the stickiest road-legal tires Chevy could fit. Michael Teo Van Runkle The ZR1 gets added cooling and more wings. Michael Teo Van Runkle The ZR1 gets added cooling and more wings. Michael Teo Van Runkle Lightweight carbon-fiber wheels are mounted with the stickiest road-legal tires Chevy could fit. Michael Teo Van Runkle The ZR1 gets added cooling and more wings. Michael Teo Van Runkle The hardtop convertible ZR1 lacks the split-engine venting and shoulder intakes, while cutting into headroom so much that I skipped out while wearing a helmet. Other journalists noticed a drop-off in performance for the convertibles, and probably more so than the mild weight gains of just about 100 lbs (45 kg) might suggest. Instead, temperatures probably came into play, as the ECU drew back timing and instead allowed mild overboost of 24–25 psi to compensate for the Texas day. Even so, an engineer admitted he thought the engine was probably down 5–10 percent on power. The fact that I hit my highest-ever top speed despite the ZR1 potentially giving up somewhere between 53 to 106 hp (40–80 kW) only makes this Corvettes sound even more insane. But I essentially wound up driving the turbos, since the DCT’s gear ratios carry over from the Stingray and therefore drop out of peak power when shifting from second to third and third to fourth. I suspect nothing short of an F1 racecar feels this fast on a circuit of this size. A track designed for corner exit speeds double my pace in the ZR1 helps explain why Chevrolet declined to set us loose on public roads behind the wheel. We drove it on track—will owners cope with this much power on the street? Credit: Michael Teo Van Runkle That’s a concern for potential buyers, though, and why the ZR1’s electronics undoubtedly ratchet back the insanity. Chevy still uses Bosch’s ninth-generation traction control, which debuted on C7 and operates on a 10-millisecond loop, even if the ABS runs at 5 milliseconds—while the ESC is at 20 milliseconds. I suspect this computerized nannying slowed me down a fair amount, in addition to the torque-by-gear restrictions in first and second that purposefully protect driveline components. We’ve probably reached peak internal-combustion Corvette, which is something of a hint about the all-too-real question of where Chevy can go from here. If so, this car reaches a new level of unfathomable American ingenuity, combined with a newfound level of refinement and traction management that attempts to belie the undeniable absurdity to a minimal, arguably necessary, extent. 0 Comments

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario, from www.ola.org   Two recent bills introduced in the Ontario Legislature are poised to gut environmental protections, and severely curb the authority of municipal planners. Here’s a summary of the tabled bills 5 and 17, focused on areas of relevance to architects. Bill 5: Repealing the Endangered Species Act, introducing regulation-free Special Economic Zones The omnibus Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, is ostensibly aimed at stimulating the economy by removing barriers to development. One of its key components is replacing the province’s Endangered Species Act with a hollowed-out Species Conservation Act. The new act allows the government to pick and choose which species are protected, and narrowly defines their “habitat” as the nest or den of an animal—not the broader feeding grounds, forests, or wetlands they need to survive. Developers must currently apply for a permit when their projects threaten a species or habitat, and these applications are reviewed by environmental experts. This process would be replaced by an online registration form; when the form is submitted, a company is free to start building, including damaging or destroying habitats of listed specied, so long as the activity is registered.  The new Species Conservation Act will completely exclude migratory birds and certain aquatic species. “It’s a developer’s dream and an environmental nightmare,” writes environmental lawyers Ecojustice. Bill 5 also contains provisions for creating Special Economic Zones, where provincial and municipal laws do not apply—a status that the Province could claim for any project or proponent. This would allow work on these projects to be exempt from zoning regulations and approvals, as well as from labour laws, health and safety laws, traffic and speeding laws, and even laws preventing trespassing on private property, notes advocacy group Environmental Defence. The Bill specifically exempts the Ontario Place redevelopment from the Environmental Bill of Rights. As a result, explains lawyers from Dentons, “the public will not receive notice of, or have opportunity to, comment on proposals, decisions, or events that could affect the environment as it relates to the Ontario Place Redevelopment Project.” Advocacy group Ontario Place For All writes: “The introduction of this clause is a clear response to the overwhelming number of comments—over 2200—from the community to the Environmental Registry of Ontario regarding the Ford government’s application to cut an existing combined sewer overflow (CSO) that will be in the way of Therme’s planned beach. The application has the CSO emptying into the west channel inside the breakwater and potentially allowing raw sewage into an area used recreationally by rowers, paddlers, swimmers, and for water shows by the CNE. The Auditor General’s Report estimated the cost of moving the CSO to be approximately $60 million.” The Bill also amends the Ontario Heritage Act, allowing the Province to exempt properties from archaeological and heritage conservation requirements if they could potentially advance provincial priorities including, but not limited to, transit, housing, health, long-term care, or infrastructure. Another part of the bill would damage the clean energy transition, notes Environmental Defense. “Bill 5 would enable the government to ban all parts of energy projects that come from abroad, especially China. China makes the majority of solar panels (over 80 per cent), wind turbines (around 60 per cent) and control systems in the world,” it writes. “If enacted, Bill 5 would likely end solar power installation in Ontario and deprive Ontarians access to the cleanest source of new electricity available.” In the Legislature, Liberal member Ted Tsu noted, “They called this bill, Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act. However, upon studying the bill, I think a more appropriate short title would be ‘don’t protect Ontario and use tariffs as cover to unleash lobbying act.’ That is a summary of what I think is wrong in principle with Bill 5.” Bill 5 has undergone its second reading and will be the subject of a Standing Committee hearing. Bill 17: Striking down green development standards, paring down planning applications Bill 17: Protecting Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 aims to dismantle the City of Toronto’s Green Building Bylaw, along with limiting municipal authority in planning processes. These changes are proposed in the ostensible interest of speeding up construction in order to lower housing costs. The bill states that municipalities must follow the Building Code, and prohibits them for passing by-laws or imposing construction standards that exceed those set out in the Building Code. This seems to deliver a major win to development group RESCON, which has been lobbying to strike down the Toronto Green Standard. Fifteen municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area currently have green development standards. Non-profit group The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) notes that green standards do not slow housing construction. “In 2023, Toronto exceeded its housing targets by 51%, with nearly 96% of housing starts being subject to the Toronto Green Standard. Overall, Toronto’s housing starts have grown or stayed consistent nearly every year since the TGS was implemented.” The group also notes that the Ontario Building Code’s energy efficiency requirements have not been updated since 2017, and that Ontario’s cities will not meet their climate targets without more progressive pathways to low-carbon construction. Also of direct impact to architects is the proposed standardization of requirements for “complete” planning applications. Under the tabled bill, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing will have the power to govern what information or material is required (or prohibited) in connection with official plan amendments, zoning by-law amendments, site plan approval, draft plans of subdivisions, and consent applications. This would prevail over existing Official Plan requirements. Currently, the Ontario government is proposing that sun/shadow, wind, urban design and lighting studies would not be required as part of a complete planning application. The bills would also deem an application to be complete not when it’s accepted by a municipal planning authority, but solely on the basis of it being prepared by prescribed professional. The prescribed professions are not yet defined, but the government has cited Engineers as an example. Bill 17 proposes to grant minor variances “as of right” so long that they fall with a certain percentage of current setback regulations. (They are currently proposing 10%.) This would apply to urban residential lands outside of the Greenbelt. The Bill proposes amendments to the Development Charges Act that will change what municipalities can charge, including eliminating development charges for long-term care homes. The bill limits Inclusionary Zoning to apply to a maximum 5% set-aside rate, and a maximum 25-year period of affordability. Dentons notes that: “While not specifically provided for in Bill 17, the Technical Briefing suggests that, the Minister of Infrastructure will have authority to approve MZOs, an authority currently held only by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.” Environmental Defense’s Phil Pothen writes: “Some of the measures proposed in Bill 17—like deferring development charges—could help build smarter and faster if they were applied selectively to infill, mid-rise and multiplex housing. But the bill’s current language would apply these changes to sprawl and McMansion development as well.” He adds: “Bill 17 also includes provisions that seem aimed at erasing municipal urban rules and green building standards, imposing generic road-design standards on urban and suburban streets and preventing urban design. Those changes could actually make it harder to speed up housing—reversing progress toward more efficient construction and land use and the modes of transportation that support them.” The Bill would also amend the Building Code to eliminate the need for a secondary provincial approval of innovative construction products if they have already been examined by the Canadian Construction Materials Centre of the National Research Council of Canada. The Ontario government is currently seeking comment on their proposed regulation to standardize complete application requirements. They are also currently seeking comment on the proposed regulation that provides for as-of-rights within 10% of current required setbacks. These comment periods are open until June 26, 2025. The post New Ontario bills gut environmental protections, eliminate green building bylaws appeared first on Canadian Architect.