Mom Goes Blind So Her Daughters Can See (VIDEO): "As part of the Huffington Post's efforts to bear witness to the effects of the current economic environment on ordinary Americans, we're rounding up some of the most compelling stories reported by local news organizations around the country.
Monique Zimmerman-Stein has been nearly blind for the last two years from Stickler syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. She recently decided to forego her own treatment to save funds to treat her two daughters, who also suffer from the condition, reports Lane DeGregory of the St. Petersburg Times."
Monday, September 28, 2009
World's First Floating Wind Turbine Swtiches On
World's First Floating Wind Turbine Swtiches On: "The energy company Statoil has begun operation of the first full-size Hywind floating wind turbine at a location 10 kilometers off the Norwegian coast. What is remarkable about this turbine is that is is floating in the water, rather than being rigidly attached to the ocean floor.
Everyone who has paid attention to the issues of off-shore wind turbines knows that there are advantages to having constant, unobstructed winds to drive the turbines. But shorelines are prized for more than their energy potential. The numerous delays and lawsuits that sought to stop the Cape Wind project in the US show just how contentious the issue can be. But the Hywind turbine offers a new potential for offshore wind.
For a couple of years, EcoGeek been following the development of deep-water off-shore wind turbines which can avoid the largest problems typically associated with off-shore turbines. The Norwegian utility company StatoilHydro has been at the forefront of developing this with their Hywind project.
Statoil has decades of experience with operating deep sea drilling platforms for North Sea oil production, and is using that technology to support a wind turbine in deep water."
Everyone who has paid attention to the issues of off-shore wind turbines knows that there are advantages to having constant, unobstructed winds to drive the turbines. But shorelines are prized for more than their energy potential. The numerous delays and lawsuits that sought to stop the Cape Wind project in the US show just how contentious the issue can be. But the Hywind turbine offers a new potential for offshore wind.
For a couple of years, EcoGeek been following the development of deep-water off-shore wind turbines which can avoid the largest problems typically associated with off-shore turbines. The Norwegian utility company StatoilHydro has been at the forefront of developing this with their Hywind project.
Statoil has decades of experience with operating deep sea drilling platforms for North Sea oil production, and is using that technology to support a wind turbine in deep water."
Soon to Be Made In China: Electric Vehicle Charge Points
Soon to Be Made In China: Electric Vehicle Charge Points: "Nearly half of the electric car charging equipment installed worldwide by 2015 will be heading to China, according to a recent report from Pike Research. Today an announcement from Scottsdale, Ariz.-based charging infrastructure company ECOtality indicates that China’s role in the electric car charging boom will encompass not only installing the equipment domestically, but also building it for international deployment. Down the road, when you pull up to a charge point, there’s a good chance it could have been made in China.
ecotality-china-factory
ECOtality, whose subsidiary eTec snagged a nearly $100 million federal stimulus grant last month to support what the company describes as “the largest deployment of EV chargers and vehicles ever” (12,750 charging systems in five states for 5,000 Nissan LEAF electric vehicles), says this morning that it has formed two joint ventures with China’s Shenzhen Goch Investment, or SGI, in order to manufacture, assemble and sell EV charging equipment in China."
ecotality-china-factory
ECOtality, whose subsidiary eTec snagged a nearly $100 million federal stimulus grant last month to support what the company describes as “the largest deployment of EV chargers and vehicles ever” (12,750 charging systems in five states for 5,000 Nissan LEAF electric vehicles), says this morning that it has formed two joint ventures with China’s Shenzhen Goch Investment, or SGI, in order to manufacture, assemble and sell EV charging equipment in China."
Greentech Media: A Car Powered By Zinc?
Greentech Media: A Car Powered By Zinc?: "APET, a small Taiwanese company, says forget lithium. Zinc is where it’s at.
FRANKFURT, Germany -- It's a very long shot, but someday there may be cars and buses whose main chemical byproduct is sunscreen.
APET, or Advanced Power and Energy Sources Transportation, is touting the idea of using a zinc-air fuel cell to power vehicles. Oxygen and water would be mixed with zinc in a fuel cell stack to produce electrons to charge a battery. The main byproduct of the reaction would be zinc oxide, which could then be converted back into zinc fuel or sold as a chemical. Converting zinc oxide back to zinc could be accomplished with solar thermal concentrators.
APET's key technology is a pouch filled with zinc that slides in and out of the fuel cell stack, said Andrew Huang, the CEO whose has worked for various battery companies.
'You can tell when the zinc has been used because it turns white,' he said during an impromptu interview at the International Auto Show taking place this week in Frankfurt.
APET has created several fuel cells and built a car that it will show off later this year in Taipei. The picture with this article is one of its zinc fuel cells powering three 75 watt light bulbs. The initial target market will be buses in China and delivery vehicles.
A small, but growing number of companies say that the 30th element on the Periodic Table could go a long way toward solving the vexing problem of electrical storage. Switzerland's ReVolt Technologies raised 10 million euros earlier this year and 24 million euros in all to develop zinc air batteries. Other zinc companies include PowerAir, a zinc air spun out of Lawrence Berkeley Labs, PowerGenix (nickel zinc) and ZPower (silver zinc.) Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institut are looked at ways to use zinc as a way to store heat at solar thermal power plants.
Zinc does not have the same energy density as lithium. Lithium-air batteries (which store energy by combining lithium with oxygen) can store 3,400 watt hours of energy per liter, said Jeff Dahn, a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada during a recent presentation at IBM's Almaden Lab. Lithium-cobalt batteries can store 1,450 watt hours per liter. Zinc batteries hold 830 watt hours per kilogram.
But zinc is far safer than lithium and not prone to 'thermal runaway reactions,' say advocates.
It's also cheap: Pennies consist of 97.5 zinc. The fuel cell stack will cost around $3,600, way less than the estimated $15,000 to $20,000 cost of a lithium-ion battery for a compact electrical car.
A car with one of the zinc fuel cells will effectively run on 288 pouches and a fully-stocked fuel cell will take a car 300 to 350 kilometers. The zinc fuel cell also weighs far less, improving mileage and giving designers more freedom.
'It is more realistic than lithium air,' Huang said. 'We've done it.'
Another knock against zinc batteries have been that they wear out after a few charges. APET gets around that with its removable pouch.
The challenge now? Moving from the fringe."
FRANKFURT, Germany -- It's a very long shot, but someday there may be cars and buses whose main chemical byproduct is sunscreen.
APET, or Advanced Power and Energy Sources Transportation, is touting the idea of using a zinc-air fuel cell to power vehicles. Oxygen and water would be mixed with zinc in a fuel cell stack to produce electrons to charge a battery. The main byproduct of the reaction would be zinc oxide, which could then be converted back into zinc fuel or sold as a chemical. Converting zinc oxide back to zinc could be accomplished with solar thermal concentrators.
APET's key technology is a pouch filled with zinc that slides in and out of the fuel cell stack, said Andrew Huang, the CEO whose has worked for various battery companies.
'You can tell when the zinc has been used because it turns white,' he said during an impromptu interview at the International Auto Show taking place this week in Frankfurt.
APET has created several fuel cells and built a car that it will show off later this year in Taipei. The picture with this article is one of its zinc fuel cells powering three 75 watt light bulbs. The initial target market will be buses in China and delivery vehicles.
A small, but growing number of companies say that the 30th element on the Periodic Table could go a long way toward solving the vexing problem of electrical storage. Switzerland's ReVolt Technologies raised 10 million euros earlier this year and 24 million euros in all to develop zinc air batteries. Other zinc companies include PowerAir, a zinc air spun out of Lawrence Berkeley Labs, PowerGenix (nickel zinc) and ZPower (silver zinc.) Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institut are looked at ways to use zinc as a way to store heat at solar thermal power plants.
Zinc does not have the same energy density as lithium. Lithium-air batteries (which store energy by combining lithium with oxygen) can store 3,400 watt hours of energy per liter, said Jeff Dahn, a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada during a recent presentation at IBM's Almaden Lab. Lithium-cobalt batteries can store 1,450 watt hours per liter. Zinc batteries hold 830 watt hours per kilogram.
But zinc is far safer than lithium and not prone to 'thermal runaway reactions,' say advocates.
It's also cheap: Pennies consist of 97.5 zinc. The fuel cell stack will cost around $3,600, way less than the estimated $15,000 to $20,000 cost of a lithium-ion battery for a compact electrical car.
A car with one of the zinc fuel cells will effectively run on 288 pouches and a fully-stocked fuel cell will take a car 300 to 350 kilometers. The zinc fuel cell also weighs far less, improving mileage and giving designers more freedom.
'It is more realistic than lithium air,' Huang said. 'We've done it.'
Another knock against zinc batteries have been that they wear out after a few charges. APET gets around that with its removable pouch.
The challenge now? Moving from the fringe."
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Future of Cars Was Hydrogen, Once - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com
The Future of Cars Was Hydrogen, Once - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com: "The enthusiasm for electric vehicles keeps growing, but only few years ago the auto industry was betting on hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars.
That led to some sleepless nights for early backers of electric cars — including Alan E. Salzman, the chief executive officer of VantagePoint, a pioneer in green capital venture and an early believer in Tesla, the electric car company.
“We were afraid this was going to be our Segway,” Mr Salzman said, referring to the funky personal transportation device that has failed to achieve much commercial success. “You’re putting how many hundreds of millions of dollars into a golf cart?”
But enthusiasm for hydrogen has ebbed, while the electric vehicle industry is looking increasingly healthy.
“In the span of four years,” Mr. Salzman continued, “we’ve gone from skepticism to the other extreme. From hydrogen to electric vehicles. These are big sea changes.”
Mr. Salzman was speaking at an energy conference hosted by The Financial Times on Thursday in New York City, the same day a Boston-based battery maker, A123, had its initial public offering. The sale was the second-most successful so far this year, with shares surging 50 percent.
Also speaking on the panel were Neil S. Suslak, a managing director at Braemar Energy Ventures, an investor in A123, and David Lincoln, the founder of MD Element Partners, a clean technology venture firm.
Mr. Lincoln said that venture capital funds had about $20 billion to $24 billion to invest in clean technology this year. That amount is dwarfed by government funds, which could reach $200 billion in the clean energy field 2009, thanks to the administration’s push for renewable power.
“Over all, the stimulus is very good, but I do worry about the government skewing the market, picking winners and losers,” Mr. Lincoln said.
One of these winners has been A123, which received $249 million from Department of Energy."
That led to some sleepless nights for early backers of electric cars — including Alan E. Salzman, the chief executive officer of VantagePoint, a pioneer in green capital venture and an early believer in Tesla, the electric car company.
“We were afraid this was going to be our Segway,” Mr Salzman said, referring to the funky personal transportation device that has failed to achieve much commercial success. “You’re putting how many hundreds of millions of dollars into a golf cart?”
But enthusiasm for hydrogen has ebbed, while the electric vehicle industry is looking increasingly healthy.
“In the span of four years,” Mr. Salzman continued, “we’ve gone from skepticism to the other extreme. From hydrogen to electric vehicles. These are big sea changes.”
Mr. Salzman was speaking at an energy conference hosted by The Financial Times on Thursday in New York City, the same day a Boston-based battery maker, A123, had its initial public offering. The sale was the second-most successful so far this year, with shares surging 50 percent.
Also speaking on the panel were Neil S. Suslak, a managing director at Braemar Energy Ventures, an investor in A123, and David Lincoln, the founder of MD Element Partners, a clean technology venture firm.
Mr. Lincoln said that venture capital funds had about $20 billion to $24 billion to invest in clean technology this year. That amount is dwarfed by government funds, which could reach $200 billion in the clean energy field 2009, thanks to the administration’s push for renewable power.
“Over all, the stimulus is very good, but I do worry about the government skewing the market, picking winners and losers,” Mr. Lincoln said.
One of these winners has been A123, which received $249 million from Department of Energy."
Book Review - 'Crude World - The Violent Twilight of Oil,' by Peter Maass - Review - NYTimes.com
Book Review - 'Crude World - The Violent Twilight of Oil,' by Peter Maass - Review - NYTimes.com: "The End of Oil?
By MICHAEL HIRSH
Published: September 25, 2009
Oil is the curse of the modern world; it is “the devil’s excrement,” in the words of the former Venezuelan oil minister Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, who is considered to be the father of OPEC and should know. Our insatiable need for oil has brought us global warming, Islamic fundamentalism and environmental depredation. It has turned the United States and China, the world’s biggest consumers of petroleum, into greedy, irresponsible addicts that can’t see beyond their next fix. With a few exceptions, like Norway and the United Arab Emirates, oil doesn’t even benefit the nations from which it is extracted. On the contrary: Most oil-rich states have been doomed to a seemingly permanent condition of kleptocracy by a few, poverty for the rest, chronic backwardness and, worst of all, the loss of a national soul.
Skip to next paragraph
CRUDE WORLD
The Violent Twilight of Oil
By Peter Maass
Illustrated. 276 pp. Alfred A. Knopf. $27
Related
Times Topics: Oil and Gasoline
We can’t be rid of the stuff soon enough.
Such is the message of Peter Maass’s slender but powerfully written new book, “Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil.” Unquestionably, by fueling better and faster transportation and powering cities and factories, oil has been critical to modern economies. But oil has also made possible the most destructive wars in history, and it has left human society in a historical cul-de-sac. Despite much hue and cry today, Maass argues, we seem unable to move beyond an oil-based global economy, and we are going to hit a wall soon.
Maass, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, tends to endorse the predictions of industry skeptics like Matthew Simmons, who argues the earth is about to surpass “peak oil” supplies. Even with the recent fallback in prices, the petroleum that’s left to discover will be harder and more expensive to extract. Last year’s $147-a-barrel oil was just a “foretaste of what awaits us,” Maass writes.
Maass is less interested in crunching oil-supply numbers, however, than in exposing the cruelty and soullessness of humankind’s lust for this “violence-inducing intoxicant,” as he calls it. His book teaches us an old lesson anew: that the true wealth of nations is not discovered in the ground, but created by the ingenuity and sweat of citizens. It’s the same lesson the Spanish learned centuries ago when they discovered gold, the oil of their time, in the New World. They piled up bullion but squandered it on imperial fantasies and failed to build enduring prosperity, while destroying the civilizations from which they seized it.
Destruction, or at least a lack of progress, has been the fate of most of the nations unlucky enough to sit on top of large pools of “black gold” today. They have grown corrupted by it, their leaders relieved of the need to show accountability as long as they can buy off well-connected foreigners and pay for the security and protection they need from their own angry, disenfranchised citizens. In starkly titled chapters — “Fear,” “Greed,” “Empire,” “Alienation” and so on — Maass shows how each oil state has found its own way to failure. “Just as every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, every dysfunctional oil country is dysfunctional in its own way,” he writes."
By MICHAEL HIRSH
Published: September 25, 2009
Oil is the curse of the modern world; it is “the devil’s excrement,” in the words of the former Venezuelan oil minister Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, who is considered to be the father of OPEC and should know. Our insatiable need for oil has brought us global warming, Islamic fundamentalism and environmental depredation. It has turned the United States and China, the world’s biggest consumers of petroleum, into greedy, irresponsible addicts that can’t see beyond their next fix. With a few exceptions, like Norway and the United Arab Emirates, oil doesn’t even benefit the nations from which it is extracted. On the contrary: Most oil-rich states have been doomed to a seemingly permanent condition of kleptocracy by a few, poverty for the rest, chronic backwardness and, worst of all, the loss of a national soul.
Skip to next paragraph
CRUDE WORLD
The Violent Twilight of Oil
By Peter Maass
Illustrated. 276 pp. Alfred A. Knopf. $27
Related
Times Topics: Oil and Gasoline
We can’t be rid of the stuff soon enough.
Such is the message of Peter Maass’s slender but powerfully written new book, “Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil.” Unquestionably, by fueling better and faster transportation and powering cities and factories, oil has been critical to modern economies. But oil has also made possible the most destructive wars in history, and it has left human society in a historical cul-de-sac. Despite much hue and cry today, Maass argues, we seem unable to move beyond an oil-based global economy, and we are going to hit a wall soon.
Maass, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, tends to endorse the predictions of industry skeptics like Matthew Simmons, who argues the earth is about to surpass “peak oil” supplies. Even with the recent fallback in prices, the petroleum that’s left to discover will be harder and more expensive to extract. Last year’s $147-a-barrel oil was just a “foretaste of what awaits us,” Maass writes.
Maass is less interested in crunching oil-supply numbers, however, than in exposing the cruelty and soullessness of humankind’s lust for this “violence-inducing intoxicant,” as he calls it. His book teaches us an old lesson anew: that the true wealth of nations is not discovered in the ground, but created by the ingenuity and sweat of citizens. It’s the same lesson the Spanish learned centuries ago when they discovered gold, the oil of their time, in the New World. They piled up bullion but squandered it on imperial fantasies and failed to build enduring prosperity, while destroying the civilizations from which they seized it.
Destruction, or at least a lack of progress, has been the fate of most of the nations unlucky enough to sit on top of large pools of “black gold” today. They have grown corrupted by it, their leaders relieved of the need to show accountability as long as they can buy off well-connected foreigners and pay for the security and protection they need from their own angry, disenfranchised citizens. In starkly titled chapters — “Fear,” “Greed,” “Empire,” “Alienation” and so on — Maass shows how each oil state has found its own way to failure. “Just as every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, every dysfunctional oil country is dysfunctional in its own way,” he writes."
REPORT: Tesla Model S was designed with battery swaps in mind — Autoblog Green
REPORT: Tesla Model S was designed with battery swaps in mind — Autoblog Green: "Recently-resigned Tesla Motors engineering chief Michael Donoughe revealed an interesting tidbit of information on his way out the door. Speaking to Green Car Advisor, Donoughe said that the Model S has been designed to accommodate fast (sub-five minutes) battery swaps. While a quick battery exchange has implications for how the car would be received and used in the real world, Donoughe said that it also helps at the factory when the car is assembled. 'As long as you're designing for manufacturing and assembly you can also design for manufacturing, assembly and swap. That's basically what we're looking to do,' he told GCA.
Tesla's design 'is not at all wedded to Better Place,' Donoughe said, referring to the biggest proponent of battery swap technology. The two companies' technologies could work together, he said, but don't have to. Considering that Tesla is planning on selling the Model S, due in late 2011, with different battery options (a base model with 160-mile range pack; and then more expensive packs with 230-mile and 300-mile ranges), figuring out how to swap these different batteries in random locations seems like a logistics problems of tremendous proportions."
Tesla's design 'is not at all wedded to Better Place,' Donoughe said, referring to the biggest proponent of battery swap technology. The two companies' technologies could work together, he said, but don't have to. Considering that Tesla is planning on selling the Model S, due in late 2011, with different battery options (a base model with 160-mile range pack; and then more expensive packs with 230-mile and 300-mile ranges), figuring out how to swap these different batteries in random locations seems like a logistics problems of tremendous proportions."
YouTube - Toyota-Highway to the Future
YouTube - Toyota-Highway to the Future: "Toyota Mobile Museum at the California Green Conference shows off their future technology through their interactive touring showcase. Presented by www.LivingECHO.com"
2008.03.26 Plug In America Press Conference & Rally at CARB
2008.03.26 Plug In America Press Conference & Rally at CARB: "On Wednesday, March 26, 2008 PlugInAmerica.org, RAN.org, Tesla Motors, R. James Woolsey (former CIA Director), PlugInBayArea.org, Sierra Club California, and Electric Vehicle enthusiasts held a Press Conference and Rally in front of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) which has its offices in Sacramento at the California EPA building (1001 I Street, Sacramento, CA). The purpose was to inspire Governor Arnold Schwarznegger and CARB Chair Mary Nichols to support Electric Vehicles and not reduce the number of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) in California's historic ZEV mandate which dates back to 1990. We all want zero emission electric cars on the road and we want them YESTERDAY!
Remember that by 2003 the CARB ZEV mandate had promised that 10% of all vehicles sold in California were to be Zero Emission Vehicles. This would have resulted in 2 million plus Zero Emission Vehicles added to California's vehicle fleet every year. At the March 22, 2003 ZEV Mandate hearing CARB buckled under pressure from auto manufacturers along with a conflict of interest by then current CARB chair Alan C. Lloyd (who was also presiding over the newly formed California Fuel Cell Partnership) to postpone the requirement for ZEVs to 2014. The 2003 ammendment resulted in the killing of the Electric Car with the delivery promise of Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles by 2014. The number of ZEVs required by 2014 was slashed to just 25,000. Going into the Thursday, March 27, 2008 CARB ZEV hearing CARB was planning to amend the ZEV mandate further by slashing the number of ZEVs required by 2014 to a paltry 2,500. The purpose of the rally was to voice Plug In America's and EV enthusiasts opinion that the number of ZEVs should not be reduced. If anything, the United States requires tens of millions of ZEVs on the road by 2014 if we have any hope of improving our national security, lessening our dependence on oil, and reducing our global warming impact. California has been spending millions of dollars on their Hydrogen Highway. Where is there any mention of an 'Electric Highway' and Battery EVs given that the infrastructure is already deployed (every business, home, street light is connected to the electrical grid)?
On the following day Thursday, March 27, 2008 CARB held an all day public hearing to amend the ZEV mandate. You can read a synopsis of what transpired at the hearing by viewing Plug In America's CARB clean car mandate summary here. Also click here (link to be available soon) to view and hear public testimony delivered to the California Air Resources Board."
Remember that by 2003 the CARB ZEV mandate had promised that 10% of all vehicles sold in California were to be Zero Emission Vehicles. This would have resulted in 2 million plus Zero Emission Vehicles added to California's vehicle fleet every year. At the March 22, 2003 ZEV Mandate hearing CARB buckled under pressure from auto manufacturers along with a conflict of interest by then current CARB chair Alan C. Lloyd (who was also presiding over the newly formed California Fuel Cell Partnership) to postpone the requirement for ZEVs to 2014. The 2003 ammendment resulted in the killing of the Electric Car with the delivery promise of Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles by 2014. The number of ZEVs required by 2014 was slashed to just 25,000. Going into the Thursday, March 27, 2008 CARB ZEV hearing CARB was planning to amend the ZEV mandate further by slashing the number of ZEVs required by 2014 to a paltry 2,500. The purpose of the rally was to voice Plug In America's and EV enthusiasts opinion that the number of ZEVs should not be reduced. If anything, the United States requires tens of millions of ZEVs on the road by 2014 if we have any hope of improving our national security, lessening our dependence on oil, and reducing our global warming impact. California has been spending millions of dollars on their Hydrogen Highway. Where is there any mention of an 'Electric Highway' and Battery EVs given that the infrastructure is already deployed (every business, home, street light is connected to the electrical grid)?
On the following day Thursday, March 27, 2008 CARB held an all day public hearing to amend the ZEV mandate. You can read a synopsis of what transpired at the hearing by viewing Plug In America's CARB clean car mandate summary here. Also click here (link to be available soon) to view and hear public testimony delivered to the California Air Resources Board."
Reva eyes NY for electric vehicle factory | Cleantech Group
Reva eyes NY for electric vehicle factory | Cleantech Group: "Indian carmaker leaks word of negotiations with an economic development agency for a plant to build the recently unveiled three-door hatchback.
Bangalore, India-based Reva Electric Car is narrowing down the locations for a U.S. factory to build its newest electric vehicle, the REVA NXR.
And Syracuse is emerging as one of the front runners thanks to state and federal financial incentives, as well as an unnamed manufacturing partner, according to a report today in The Post-Standard newspaper.
Reva's manufacturing partner plans to build the plant in Onondaga County, employing 100 initially, the report said. The deal has not been finalized, but either Reva or the partner applied for $40 million in federal loan guarantees and other incentives, the newspaper reported.
The paper said it was unclear whether there was involvement from the non-profit economic development agency Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York.
'We are not ready to comment on the deal as it isn't finalized,' an agency spokeswoman told the Cleantech Group today.
Earlier this week, Reva unveiled two highway-ready electric vehicles at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. The REVA NXR, a four-seat, three-door hatchback family car, is scheduled to go into production in 2010, while the REVA NXG, a sporty two-seater designed by Dilip Chhabria of DC Design, is set for 2011 (see Two new electric cars for India this month?).
The vehicles would follow in the footsteps of Reva's original electric car, the REVA, with a cost of Rs 300,000 to Rs 389,000 ($6,100 to $8,000) in India after government subsidies, and an operational cost of Rs 40 ($0.82) for 100 kilometers (see Reva-ing it up in Delhi!)."
Bangalore, India-based Reva Electric Car is narrowing down the locations for a U.S. factory to build its newest electric vehicle, the REVA NXR.
And Syracuse is emerging as one of the front runners thanks to state and federal financial incentives, as well as an unnamed manufacturing partner, according to a report today in The Post-Standard newspaper.
Reva's manufacturing partner plans to build the plant in Onondaga County, employing 100 initially, the report said. The deal has not been finalized, but either Reva or the partner applied for $40 million in federal loan guarantees and other incentives, the newspaper reported.
The paper said it was unclear whether there was involvement from the non-profit economic development agency Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York.
'We are not ready to comment on the deal as it isn't finalized,' an agency spokeswoman told the Cleantech Group today.
Earlier this week, Reva unveiled two highway-ready electric vehicles at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. The REVA NXR, a four-seat, three-door hatchback family car, is scheduled to go into production in 2010, while the REVA NXG, a sporty two-seater designed by Dilip Chhabria of DC Design, is set for 2011 (see Two new electric cars for India this month?).
The vehicles would follow in the footsteps of Reva's original electric car, the REVA, with a cost of Rs 300,000 to Rs 389,000 ($6,100 to $8,000) in India after government subsidies, and an operational cost of Rs 40 ($0.82) for 100 kilometers (see Reva-ing it up in Delhi!)."
REVA Combats Electric Vehicle Range Anxiety (Video) : TreeHugger
REVA Combats Electric Vehicle Range Anxiety (Video) : TreeHugger: "From REVA's multi-million dollar expansion to its state-of-the-art Indian electric car factory, REVA India is definitely stepping up its game when it comes to serious electric vehicle manufacture. But when I wrote about the launch of REVA's NXR and NXG cars at Frankfurt, the technical illiterate in me questioned their new 'Revive' program - a system that promises a limited remote recharge via text message to get you home if your charge runs short. Now the company is revealing more - and it looks pretty neat.
As I had assumed - the system is not exactly 'remote recharging' - but rather a system that allows REVA to approve access to a 'secret' reserve in your battery bank. I had wondered why the consumer can't be given that access directly - and whether this remote recharge was just a gimmick - but I should have known better. (Although I am glad to see that Autoblog Green were equally mystified!)
An anonymous commenter pointed out that the system was most likely based on allowing 'access to go below the recommended discharge level. OK to do, but not too often, hence REVA keeps a policing eye on it.' And it looks like our commenter was right - REVA have now release a video revealing a little more about how their system provides peace of mind for the occasional rundown of the charge, while not affecting your battery's overall lifespan - at least according to the YouTube blurb that accompanies this video. No more details on the system yet at REVA's website - but we'll keep an eye out."
As I had assumed - the system is not exactly 'remote recharging' - but rather a system that allows REVA to approve access to a 'secret' reserve in your battery bank. I had wondered why the consumer can't be given that access directly - and whether this remote recharge was just a gimmick - but I should have known better. (Although I am glad to see that Autoblog Green were equally mystified!)
An anonymous commenter pointed out that the system was most likely based on allowing 'access to go below the recommended discharge level. OK to do, but not too often, hence REVA keeps a policing eye on it.' And it looks like our commenter was right - REVA have now release a video revealing a little more about how their system provides peace of mind for the occasional rundown of the charge, while not affecting your battery's overall lifespan - at least according to the YouTube blurb that accompanies this video. No more details on the system yet at REVA's website - but we'll keep an eye out."
Ontario Launches Comprehensive System of Feed-in Tariffs - Renewable Energy World
Ontario Launches Comprehensive System of Feed-in Tariffs - Renewable Energy World: "First System of Advanced Renewable Tariffs in North America
by Paul Gipe, Contributing Writer
Toronto, Canada [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]
Ontario today launched the province's long-awaited program of feed-in tariffs in response to its ground-breaking Green Energy Act.
In early 2009, CanSIA suggested that solar PV alone could make up 10 percent of Ontario's electricity supply by 2025.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure George Smitherman, and Minister of the Environment John Gerretsen made the announcement against the iconic backdrop of Toronto's cooperatively-owned wind turbine.
This was the last in a series of announcements on implementation of the Green Energy Act this week by Energy Minister Smitherman.
The announcements began with Minister Smitherman opening the Canadian Wind Energy Association's annual conference in Toronto. At the conference's plenary session on Monday, September 21, Smitherman revealed a $2.3 billion (CAD) plan to build new transmission and distribution lines in the province to rapidly develop Ontario's renewable energy potential."
by Paul Gipe, Contributing Writer
Toronto, Canada [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]
Ontario today launched the province's long-awaited program of feed-in tariffs in response to its ground-breaking Green Energy Act.
In early 2009, CanSIA suggested that solar PV alone could make up 10 percent of Ontario's electricity supply by 2025.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure George Smitherman, and Minister of the Environment John Gerretsen made the announcement against the iconic backdrop of Toronto's cooperatively-owned wind turbine.
This was the last in a series of announcements on implementation of the Green Energy Act this week by Energy Minister Smitherman.
The announcements began with Minister Smitherman opening the Canadian Wind Energy Association's annual conference in Toronto. At the conference's plenary session on Monday, September 21, Smitherman revealed a $2.3 billion (CAD) plan to build new transmission and distribution lines in the province to rapidly develop Ontario's renewable energy potential."
Eco Gadgets: PUYL Bicycle Pump Doubles As A Self-powered Light - Ecofriend
Eco Gadgets: PUYL Bicycle Pump Doubles As A Self-powered Light - Ecofriend: "Bicycle light gets powered by electromagnetic induction.
Designed by industrial designer Kai Malte Roever, the PUYL is a bicycle pump that doubles as a permanent illuminating bicycle light that doesn’t need a battery to operate. The patent-pending device consists of a normal bicycle pump, which in this case charges a built-in battery using electromagnetic induction."
Designed by industrial designer Kai Malte Roever, the PUYL is a bicycle pump that doubles as a permanent illuminating bicycle light that doesn’t need a battery to operate. The patent-pending device consists of a normal bicycle pump, which in this case charges a built-in battery using electromagnetic induction."
Hydrogen's prospects for autos refreshed | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Hydrogen's prospects for autos refreshed | detnews.com | The Detroit News: "GM touts progress in fuel cells; fed research funds may be restored
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington -- The long-delayed hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, overshadowed by the clamor over electric cars, may be getting a new lease on life.
General Motors Co. announced Thursday that its next generation hydrogen fuel cell system will be half the size and 220 pounds lighter than before, and use half the precious metals.
The announcement comes as Congress moves to restore most of the $100 million in fuel cell research money the Obama administration wanted to cut. That represented about half of the total.
Obama's administration, which had sought to shift more emphasis to plug-in electric vehicles, has dropped its opposition to reinstating the research money.
GM's executive director of fuel cell activities, Charles Freese, said Thursday fuel cell vehicles could be 'commercialized' by 2015, and cost 'competitive' by 2022.
'It hits this tipping point in a roughly 2022 timetable,' he said.
Still, that's substantially behind GM's initial timetable. In 2002, GM said it was 'possible' that hundreds of thousands of fuel cell vehicles could be on the road by 2010. In 2006, GM revised that estimate to 1,000 by 2010. Now, GM says it won't make that 1,000-vehicle goal, in large part because of the lack of a network of refueling stations and a high cost.
No automaker has committed to bringing a fuel cell vehicle to the mass market before 2015."
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington -- The long-delayed hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, overshadowed by the clamor over electric cars, may be getting a new lease on life.
General Motors Co. announced Thursday that its next generation hydrogen fuel cell system will be half the size and 220 pounds lighter than before, and use half the precious metals.
The announcement comes as Congress moves to restore most of the $100 million in fuel cell research money the Obama administration wanted to cut. That represented about half of the total.
Obama's administration, which had sought to shift more emphasis to plug-in electric vehicles, has dropped its opposition to reinstating the research money.
GM's executive director of fuel cell activities, Charles Freese, said Thursday fuel cell vehicles could be 'commercialized' by 2015, and cost 'competitive' by 2022.
'It hits this tipping point in a roughly 2022 timetable,' he said.
Still, that's substantially behind GM's initial timetable. In 2002, GM said it was 'possible' that hundreds of thousands of fuel cell vehicles could be on the road by 2010. In 2006, GM revised that estimate to 1,000 by 2010. Now, GM says it won't make that 1,000-vehicle goal, in large part because of the lack of a network of refueling stations and a high cost.
No automaker has committed to bringing a fuel cell vehicle to the mass market before 2015."
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Top 500 Green Companies - Newsweek.com
Top 500 Green Companies - Newsweek.com: "
THE WORST 20 of the S&P 500
481. Dominion Resources → Utilities 56.27 3.30 41.90 34.97
482. CMS Energy → Utilities 52.79 5.60 23.41 23.68
483. Scana → Utilities 51.57 4.70 22.67 34.64
484. Vulcan Materials → General Industrials 51.29 6.40 15.25 22.78
485. Monsanto → Food and Beverage 49.55 3.10 26.91 24.11
486. Archer Daniels Midland → Food and Beverage 47.94 4.10 20.06 22.33
487. AES → Utilities 47.89 2.70 23.19 34.04
488. PPL → Utilities 46.23 2.60 23.88 33.74
489. Progress Energy → Utilities 46.23 2.00 37.10 31.19
490. Duke Energy → Utilities 44.91 1.60 48.32 58.59
491. FirstEnergy → Utilities 43.15 2.40 16.89 32.46
492. Southern → Utilities 36.54 1.40 43.06 23.76
493. Bunge → Food and Beverage 33.96 2.20 3.95 21.11
494. American Electric Power → Utilities 33.17 1.00 29.48 47.68
495. Ameren → Utilities 31.63 1.20 28.05 31.34
496. Consol Energy → Basic Materials 28.65 1.80 4.59 44.71
497. ConAgra Foods → Food and Beverage 27.49 0.40 51.79 28.89
498. Allegheny Energy → Utilities 25.04 0.60 42.11 24.23
499. NRG Energy → Utilities 22.75 0.80 15.49 29.72
500. Peabody Energy → Basic Materials 1.00 0.20 16.12 42.26"
THE WORST 20 of the S&P 500
481. Dominion Resources → Utilities 56.27 3.30 41.90 34.97
482. CMS Energy → Utilities 52.79 5.60 23.41 23.68
483. Scana → Utilities 51.57 4.70 22.67 34.64
484. Vulcan Materials → General Industrials 51.29 6.40 15.25 22.78
485. Monsanto → Food and Beverage 49.55 3.10 26.91 24.11
486. Archer Daniels Midland → Food and Beverage 47.94 4.10 20.06 22.33
487. AES → Utilities 47.89 2.70 23.19 34.04
488. PPL → Utilities 46.23 2.60 23.88 33.74
489. Progress Energy → Utilities 46.23 2.00 37.10 31.19
490. Duke Energy → Utilities 44.91 1.60 48.32 58.59
491. FirstEnergy → Utilities 43.15 2.40 16.89 32.46
492. Southern → Utilities 36.54 1.40 43.06 23.76
493. Bunge → Food and Beverage 33.96 2.20 3.95 21.11
494. American Electric Power → Utilities 33.17 1.00 29.48 47.68
495. Ameren → Utilities 31.63 1.20 28.05 31.34
496. Consol Energy → Basic Materials 28.65 1.80 4.59 44.71
497. ConAgra Foods → Food and Beverage 27.49 0.40 51.79 28.89
498. Allegheny Energy → Utilities 25.04 0.60 42.11 24.23
499. NRG Energy → Utilities 22.75 0.80 15.49 29.72
500. Peabody Energy → Basic Materials 1.00 0.20 16.12 42.26"
2009 Green Rankings - Newsweek.com
2009 Green Rankings - Newsweek.com: "# 4.
Intel
'Largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the US, equivalent to 46% of company's US..."
Intel
'Largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the US, equivalent to 46% of company's US..."
How to Protect Your Big Idea | New Energy and Fuel
How to Protect Your Big Idea | New Energy and Fuel: "A new paper from North Carolina State University’s Dr. Stephen Schanz offers a “how-to” guide on intellectual property protection, laying out the options for budding entrepreneurs as they consider how to move forward. The question at any stage of building out one’s idea is how should a person protect those ideas? Schanz is offering a “how-to” guide on intellectual property protection, laying out the options for budding entrepreneurs as they consider how to move forward. All of your commercial ideas, whether in energy and fuel or not, deserve your consideration as intellectual property."
Monday, September 21, 2009
Op-Ed Columnist - Real Men Tax Gas - NYTimes.com
Op-Ed Columnist - Real Men Tax Gas - NYTimes.com: "According to the energy economist Phil Verleger, a $1 tax on gasoline and diesel fuel would raise about $140 billion a year. If I had that money, I’d devote 45 cents of each dollar to pay down the deficit and satisfy the debt hawks, 45 cents to pay for new health care and 10 cents to cushion the burden of such a tax on the poor and on those who need to drive long distances.
Such a tax would make our economy healthier by reducing the deficit, by stimulating the renewable energy industry, by strengthening the dollar through shrinking oil imports and by helping to shift the burden of health care away from business to government so our companies can compete better globally. Such a tax would make our population healthier by expanding health care and reducing emissions. Such a tax would make our national-security healthier by shrinking our dependence on oil from countries that have drawn a bull’s-eye on our backs and by increasing our leverage over petro-dictators, like those in Iran, Russia and Venezuela, through shrinking their oil incomes.
In sum, we would be physically healthier, economically healthier and strategically healthier. And yet, amazingly, even talking about such a tax is “off the table” in Washington."
Such a tax would make our economy healthier by reducing the deficit, by stimulating the renewable energy industry, by strengthening the dollar through shrinking oil imports and by helping to shift the burden of health care away from business to government so our companies can compete better globally. Such a tax would make our population healthier by expanding health care and reducing emissions. Such a tax would make our national-security healthier by shrinking our dependence on oil from countries that have drawn a bull’s-eye on our backs and by increasing our leverage over petro-dictators, like those in Iran, Russia and Venezuela, through shrinking their oil incomes.
In sum, we would be physically healthier, economically healthier and strategically healthier. And yet, amazingly, even talking about such a tax is “off the table” in Washington."
Op-Ed Columnist - Real Men Tax Gas - NYTimes.com
Op-Ed Columnist - Real Men Tax Gas - NYTimes.com: "Little Denmark, sweet, never-hurt-a-fly Denmark, was hit hard by the 1973 Arab oil embargo. In 1973, Denmark got all its oil from the Middle East. Today? Zero. Why? Because Denmark got tough. It imposed on itself a carbon tax, a roughly $5-a-gallon gasoline tax, made massive investments in energy efficiency and in systems to generate energy from waste, along with a discovery of North Sea oil (about 40 percent of its needs).
And us? When it comes to raising gasoline taxes or carbon taxes — at a perfect time like this when prices are already low — our politicians tell us it is simply “off the table.” So I repeat, who is the real tough guy here?"
And us? When it comes to raising gasoline taxes or carbon taxes — at a perfect time like this when prices are already low — our politicians tell us it is simply “off the table.” So I repeat, who is the real tough guy here?"
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Nissan to Lease LEAF EV Battery for Under $150 per Month | GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site
Nissan to Lease LEAF EV Battery for Under $150 per Month | GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site: "No. The electric car only makes sense if everyone can benefit. It must be for the customer at the same price as his gasoline equivalent in particular thanks to government aid. The battery will be leased for just under 100 euros ($150USD) per month. The cost of electricity consumption and the leasing of the battery will be lower than the cost of gasoline.” (translated from french)"
Has electric killed the hydrogen car? | Bibi van der Zee | Environment | guardian.co.uk
Has electric killed the hydrogen car? | Bibi van der Zee | Environment | guardian.co.uk: "It might not be dead, but it's definitely on the sickbed. At the Frankfurt motor show this week, hydrogen cars were notable for their absence and electric vehicles (EVs) conspicuous by their presence. Similarly, at the Low Carbon Vehicle show in the UK last week, it was EVs all the way – I didn't see a hydrogen car in sight.
So what's going on? Have manufacturers looking for a green option decided that hydrogen is just too long-haul and that electricity is a better bet? Nissan seem to have taken that route, with senior vice-president Andy Palmer telling me last week that although their hydrogen vehicles are still under development, 'the economics don't work today to make it any more than niche at the moment'."
So what's going on? Have manufacturers looking for a green option decided that hydrogen is just too long-haul and that electricity is a better bet? Nissan seem to have taken that route, with senior vice-president Andy Palmer telling me last week that although their hydrogen vehicles are still under development, 'the economics don't work today to make it any more than niche at the moment'."
"Study: U.S. Subsidies for Fossil Fuels Are More Than Twice Those for Renewables" Green Car Advisor
"Study: U.S. Subsidies for Fossil Fuels Are More Than Twice Those for Renewables" Green Car Advisor: "The vast majority of U.S. federal subsidies for fossil fuels and renewable energy from 2002-2008 supported fossil energy sources that emit high levels of greenhouse gases when used as fuel, according to research released today by the Environmental Law Institute in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars."
Iceland's President Pushes for EVs...And a 100 Percent Clean Energy Economy | BNET Auto Blog | BNET
Iceland's President Pushes for EVs...And a 100 Percent Clean Energy Economy | BNET Auto Blog | BNET: "There are 10 hydrogen cars in Iceland and a Shell filling station, but EVs, Grímsson said, seem to represent a faster way forward.
There are more than 200,000 cars on Iceland’s roads, and right now many of them are the large SUVs that handle the north’s bad roads (and are favored by the country’s tax system)."
There are more than 200,000 cars on Iceland’s roads, and right now many of them are the large SUVs that handle the north’s bad roads (and are favored by the country’s tax system)."
Iceland's President Pushes for EVs...And a 100 Percent Clean Energy Economy | BNET Auto Blog | BNET
Iceland's President Pushes for EVs...And a 100 Percent Clean Energy Economy | BNET Auto Blog | BNET: "As Grímsson poined out, Iceland, with its abundant geothermal and hydroelectric power, has among the lowest electric costs in the world. He cited a Reykjavik Energy study that estimates half the cars in the city (home to more than half of Iceland’s 310,000 population) could be powered by electric power as early as 2013.
“It would be great if we could switch to electric cars on a large scale,” Grímsson said. “The annual cost of operating a small electric car is the equivalent of two or three full tanks of gasoline.” And that’s especially true in Iceland, where electricity is cheap but gas very expensive.
Iceland isn’t just talking about switching to electric cars. It has been in talks with Mitsubishi (already a supplier of turbines for its geothermal industry) for two years, and an agreement will put the company’s i-MiEV EVs on the road here before they’re anywhere else in Europe."
“It would be great if we could switch to electric cars on a large scale,” Grímsson said. “The annual cost of operating a small electric car is the equivalent of two or three full tanks of gasoline.” And that’s especially true in Iceland, where electricity is cheap but gas very expensive.
Iceland isn’t just talking about switching to electric cars. It has been in talks with Mitsubishi (already a supplier of turbines for its geothermal industry) for two years, and an agreement will put the company’s i-MiEV EVs on the road here before they’re anywhere else in Europe."
Iceland's President Pushes for EVs...And a 100 Percent Clean Energy Economy | BNET Auto Blog | BNET
Iceland's President Pushes for EVs...And a 100 Percent Clean Energy Economy | BNET Auto Blog | BNET: "Iceland has become known for trying to create the world’s first hydrogen energy economy, but Grímsson pointed out that the fuel-cell revolution is experiencing a slowdown (symbolized by the Department of Energy’s attempt, ultimately unsuccessful, to kill $150 million in hydrogen funding earlier this year). There are 10 hydrogen cars in Iceland and a Shell filling station, but EVs, Grímsson said, seem to represent a faster way forward."
Lutz: Gas Must Rise to $5 or $6 per Gallon to Allow Generalization of Volt Technology | GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site
Lutz: Gas Must Rise to $5 or $6 per Gallon to Allow Generalization of Volt Technology | GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site: "“The Volt technology is very exciting, but costs will have to come down before it can become generalized,” he said. “And US fuel prices will have to rise to world levels, meaning $5 or $6 per gallon.”"
Thursday, September 17, 2009
OpConnect
OpConnect: "Optimization Technologies: Supporting a Smarter, Cleaner and Greener Future
OpConnect was conceived and developed by Optimization Technologies, which believes that its innovative technology optimizes our relationship with the natural environment while successfully addressing the business challenges faced by our diverse customers. Through OpConnect and other endeavors, Op Tech is committed to maximizing client ROI with high quality and innovative solutions — solutions that leave a positive social and environmental impact on our world.
Optimization Technologies was founded in 2001 and is a minority- and veteran-owned business, operating in the Portland, Oregon, metro area. Our expertise lies in software and hardware development, with a successful business history in the aerospace industry. Representative customers include Rockwell Collins, Honeywell, Sandia Aerospace, Aerosonic, and other Fortune 500 companies.
Our quality management system is independently audited to the stringent aerospace AS9100 standards. Several of our clients have made us their preferred supplier because of our excellent on-time delivery performance and product quality.
Our OpMessaging secure messaging software — core to the OpConnect EV System — is being used in commercial airplanes.
Learn more about Optimization Technologies:
* Visit our corporate website
* Read the July 10, 2009 article published in The Portland Business Journal, titled, “Charging ahead”
* OpConnect Electric Vehicle Charging System unveiled at International Event
* Optimization Technologies CEO honored by Department of Defense for support of National Guard and Reserve"
OpConnect was conceived and developed by Optimization Technologies, which believes that its innovative technology optimizes our relationship with the natural environment while successfully addressing the business challenges faced by our diverse customers. Through OpConnect and other endeavors, Op Tech is committed to maximizing client ROI with high quality and innovative solutions — solutions that leave a positive social and environmental impact on our world.
Optimization Technologies was founded in 2001 and is a minority- and veteran-owned business, operating in the Portland, Oregon, metro area. Our expertise lies in software and hardware development, with a successful business history in the aerospace industry. Representative customers include Rockwell Collins, Honeywell, Sandia Aerospace, Aerosonic, and other Fortune 500 companies.
Our quality management system is independently audited to the stringent aerospace AS9100 standards. Several of our clients have made us their preferred supplier because of our excellent on-time delivery performance and product quality.
Our OpMessaging secure messaging software — core to the OpConnect EV System — is being used in commercial airplanes.
Learn more about Optimization Technologies:
* Visit our corporate website
* Read the July 10, 2009 article published in The Portland Business Journal, titled, “Charging ahead”
* OpConnect Electric Vehicle Charging System unveiled at International Event
* Optimization Technologies CEO honored by Department of Defense for support of National Guard and Reserve"
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
D.C. Neighborhood Solar Cooperative begins installations
D.C. Neighborhood Solar Cooperative begins installations: "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA – After two years of networking and negotiating, D.C.'s Mt. Pleasant neighborhood is installing solar panels on 48 homes in a cooperative move that neighborhood leaders say could be replicated around the region. In a tour Sept. 19, the Mt. Pleasant Solar Cooperative is going to show off the results of efforts to convince the D.C. Council, D.C. Public Service Commission, D.C. utility Pepco and other businesses to enact policies and price targets that make it easier for a neighborhood to go solar all at once.
When the new solar installations are complete, the co-op said the sun will power about 4% of the neighborhood's 1,200 single-family homes. The panels, co-op leaders said, will cut those homes’ energy consumption by more than 25% each year.
Through testimony at D.C. Council hearings on energy bills, spreadsheets on long-term costs and pro bono legal work on the regulatory aspects from another lawyer neighbor, the co-op said their efforts were only possible by advocating for changes in D.C. law that helped raise the penalty for RPS non-compliance and raise the price of renewable energy credits that homeowners could then sell back to utilities. For more information, visit the Mt. Pleasant Solar Co-op’s website."
When the new solar installations are complete, the co-op said the sun will power about 4% of the neighborhood's 1,200 single-family homes. The panels, co-op leaders said, will cut those homes’ energy consumption by more than 25% each year.
Through testimony at D.C. Council hearings on energy bills, spreadsheets on long-term costs and pro bono legal work on the regulatory aspects from another lawyer neighbor, the co-op said their efforts were only possible by advocating for changes in D.C. law that helped raise the penalty for RPS non-compliance and raise the price of renewable energy credits that homeowners could then sell back to utilities. For more information, visit the Mt. Pleasant Solar Co-op’s website."
Monday, September 14, 2009
Eric Giler demos wireless electricity | Video on TED.com
Eric Giler demos wireless electricity | Video on TED.com: "Eric Giler wants to untangle our wired lives with cable-free electric power. Here, he covers what this sci-fi tech offers, and demos MIT's breakthrough version, WiTricity -- a near-to-market invention that may soon recharge your cell phone, car, pacemaker.
About Eric Giler
As the CEO of MIT-inspired WiTricity, Eric Giler has a plan to beam electric power through the air to wirelessly power your laptop or recharge your car. You may never plug in again. Full bio and more links"
About Eric Giler
As the CEO of MIT-inspired WiTricity, Eric Giler has a plan to beam electric power through the air to wirelessly power your laptop or recharge your car. You may never plug in again. Full bio and more links"
Sunday, September 13, 2009
World's First Smart Grid City Is Now Operational
World's First Smart Grid City Is Now Operational: "Xcel Energy's SmartGridCity project in Boulder CO is the first operational installation of a smart grid for electrical power in the world. This is a city-wide installation, rather than the kind of long-distance distribution system that many people think of when discussing a national smart grid, but both will be necessary components for an upgraded electrical infrastructure.
The SmartGridCity project also included automating three of four distribution substations, four computer-monitored power feeders, and another 23 feeders that are watched for voltage irregularities. Approximately 200 miles of fiber optic cable, 4,600 residential and small business transformers and nearly 16,000 smart meters are now connected to the smart grid system."
The SmartGridCity project also included automating three of four distribution substations, four computer-monitored power feeders, and another 23 feeders that are watched for voltage irregularities. Approximately 200 miles of fiber optic cable, 4,600 residential and small business transformers and nearly 16,000 smart meters are now connected to the smart grid system."
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Good Green Cars · Panic! Hybrids Using Up Rare Earth Elements
Good Green Cars · Panic! Hybrids Using Up Rare Earth Elements: "It’s been all over the news lately, including Forbes.com, that hybrid vehicles are causing a shortage of rare metals. What? Is the era of greener driving over before it’s begun? Let’s take a look.
First, it’s not rare metals that are involved; it’s rare earth elements, which aren’t that rare. These elements, of which there are 15 on the periodic table, aren’t often found by themselves in nature. They’re usually in other elements, and it’s these other elements which are scarce. The rare earth elements are pretty common in trace amounts throughout the earth’s core, according to Popular Science.
Which rare earth elements are we talking about? Here’s a list:
* Neodymium: part of an alloy used in magnets in electric motors in hybrid cars and wind turbines
* Terbium and dysprosium: used to keep the neodymium magnetic at high temperatures
* Lanthanum: used in hybrid car batteries
Most of these metals currently come from China, though California and Canada are looking into mining for them as well. What’s a well-meaning green driver to do? Remember that everything comes from somewhere, and think before you ditch the old for the shiny and new."
First, it’s not rare metals that are involved; it’s rare earth elements, which aren’t that rare. These elements, of which there are 15 on the periodic table, aren’t often found by themselves in nature. They’re usually in other elements, and it’s these other elements which are scarce. The rare earth elements are pretty common in trace amounts throughout the earth’s core, according to Popular Science.
Which rare earth elements are we talking about? Here’s a list:
* Neodymium: part of an alloy used in magnets in electric motors in hybrid cars and wind turbines
* Terbium and dysprosium: used to keep the neodymium magnetic at high temperatures
* Lanthanum: used in hybrid car batteries
Most of these metals currently come from China, though California and Canada are looking into mining for them as well. What’s a well-meaning green driver to do? Remember that everything comes from somewhere, and think before you ditch the old for the shiny and new."
San Antonio gets FIT
San Antonio gets FIT: "Municipally-owned CPS Energy of San Antonio, Tex. has developed a a feed-in tariff (FIT) to encourage development of distributed solar power systems. The feed-in tariff system originated in Germany, where it sparked a solar boom, sending Germany to the forefront of the solar energy revolution.
The CPS Solartricity Producer Program provides that owner of a grid-tied PV system be paid 27 cents per kilowatt-hour for the electricity that system produces. CPS then sells the energy to other consumers.
According to a news release, CPS Energy plans to begin accepting Solartricity Producer applications in January 2010.
The program won't be useful to most residential customers. Only systems producing 25 to 500 kilowatts are eligible, while 10 kw is the normal ceiling for a rooftop installation. It will be profitable venture for a business with a large warehouse roof or some vacant land. With the 30% federal tax credit, an investment in a large thin-film array could pay for itself in about 30 months and then generate $8,000 to $20,000 net revenue annually.
CPS Energy will accept applications over a two-year period and will seek to add up to 5 megawatts (MW) of solar production in each of those two years. Preliminary plans call for Solartricity producers to sign 20-year agreements.
FIT and similar programs have been launched by individual utilities in California, Florida, Washington State and Vermont."
The CPS Solartricity Producer Program provides that owner of a grid-tied PV system be paid 27 cents per kilowatt-hour for the electricity that system produces. CPS then sells the energy to other consumers.
According to a news release, CPS Energy plans to begin accepting Solartricity Producer applications in January 2010.
The program won't be useful to most residential customers. Only systems producing 25 to 500 kilowatts are eligible, while 10 kw is the normal ceiling for a rooftop installation. It will be profitable venture for a business with a large warehouse roof or some vacant land. With the 30% federal tax credit, an investment in a large thin-film array could pay for itself in about 30 months and then generate $8,000 to $20,000 net revenue annually.
CPS Energy will accept applications over a two-year period and will seek to add up to 5 megawatts (MW) of solar production in each of those two years. Preliminary plans call for Solartricity producers to sign 20-year agreements.
FIT and similar programs have been launched by individual utilities in California, Florida, Washington State and Vermont."
Electricity From Trees? | Natural Oregon
Electricity From Trees? | Natural Oregon: "That tree in your yard is more than just a life sustaining, oxygen producing, carbon sequestering object of beauty. It’s also, of all things, a battery.
Researchers at the University of Washington have discovered they can stick electrodes into trees, create a circuit, and operate electrical devices.
Electrical engineers Babak Parviz and Brian Otis and undergraduate student Carlton Himes (right to left) demonstrate an electrical circuit that runs entirely off tree power. Courtesy University of Washington.
Electrical engineers Babak Parviz and Brian Otis and undergraduate student Carlton Himes (right to left) demonstrate an electrical circuit that runs entirely off tree power. Courtesy University of Washington.
But don’t expect electricity generating trees farms anytime in the near future. The amount of power the researchers can draw from a tree is awfully small. UW student Carlton Himes hooked some nails into the trees on campus and found they generate a small stream of only a few hundred millivolts.
“Normal electronics are not going to run on the types of voltages and currents that we get out of a tree,” according to UW electrical engineering professor Babak Parviz. But, he says, the system developed by the UW team could be used to operate things like low power, remote tree sensors that might be used to detect environmental conditions or forest fires.
This custom circuit is able to store up enough voltage from trees to be able to run a low-power sensor. Courtesy University of Washington.
This custom circuit is able to store up enough voltage from trees to be able to run a low-power sensor. Courtesy University of Washington.
Another possibility, the amount of electricity produced by a tree might tell us something about its state of health. Parvis says, “I’m interested in applying our results as a way of investigating what the tree is doing. When you go to the doctor, the first thing that they measure is your pulse. We don’t really have something similar for trees.”"
Researchers at the University of Washington have discovered they can stick electrodes into trees, create a circuit, and operate electrical devices.
Electrical engineers Babak Parviz and Brian Otis and undergraduate student Carlton Himes (right to left) demonstrate an electrical circuit that runs entirely off tree power. Courtesy University of Washington.
Electrical engineers Babak Parviz and Brian Otis and undergraduate student Carlton Himes (right to left) demonstrate an electrical circuit that runs entirely off tree power. Courtesy University of Washington.
But don’t expect electricity generating trees farms anytime in the near future. The amount of power the researchers can draw from a tree is awfully small. UW student Carlton Himes hooked some nails into the trees on campus and found they generate a small stream of only a few hundred millivolts.
“Normal electronics are not going to run on the types of voltages and currents that we get out of a tree,” according to UW electrical engineering professor Babak Parviz. But, he says, the system developed by the UW team could be used to operate things like low power, remote tree sensors that might be used to detect environmental conditions or forest fires.
This custom circuit is able to store up enough voltage from trees to be able to run a low-power sensor. Courtesy University of Washington.
This custom circuit is able to store up enough voltage from trees to be able to run a low-power sensor. Courtesy University of Washington.
Another possibility, the amount of electricity produced by a tree might tell us something about its state of health. Parvis says, “I’m interested in applying our results as a way of investigating what the tree is doing. When you go to the doctor, the first thing that they measure is your pulse. We don’t really have something similar for trees.”"
Friday, September 11, 2009
Green Car Congress: Pike Survey: 48% of US Consumers Interested in Purchasing a PHEV40
Green Car Congress: Pike Survey: 48% of US Consumers Interested in Purchasing a PHEV40: "According to a new survey from Pike Research, 48% of prospective US consumers would be “extremely” or “very” interested in purchasing a PHEV with a 40-mile range on a single charge (PHEV40), given electricity cost equivalent of $0.75 per gallon, home re-charging, additional charging stations being available around town, and assuming the price and other vehicle features were right.
Of those interested in purchasing a PHEV40, almost half (49%) said they would be willing to pay 5 or 10% more for a PHEV compared to the price of a standard gasoline vehicle; 17% expressed a willingness to pay between 20 and 50% more; just over one-third (34%) said they would not pay a premium at all—a PHEV would have to be the same price as a gasoline vehicle, or they would not purchase one.
Pike2
Willingness to pay a premium for PHEV40s among those interested. Click to enlarge.
Among respondents willing to pay a premium price, the weighted average of that premium was 12% more than the cost of a standard vehicle."
Of those interested in purchasing a PHEV40, almost half (49%) said they would be willing to pay 5 or 10% more for a PHEV compared to the price of a standard gasoline vehicle; 17% expressed a willingness to pay between 20 and 50% more; just over one-third (34%) said they would not pay a premium at all—a PHEV would have to be the same price as a gasoline vehicle, or they would not purchase one.
Pike2
Willingness to pay a premium for PHEV40s among those interested. Click to enlarge.
Among respondents willing to pay a premium price, the weighted average of that premium was 12% more than the cost of a standard vehicle."
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Civilization - Addicted to Oil: Thomas L Friedman Reporting
Civilization - Addicted to Oil: Thomas L Friedman Reporting: "In the wake of rising oil prices and reserve instability worldwide, Discovery Civilization Channel presents Addicted to Oil: Thomas L Friedman Reporting, a gritty one-hour special exposing America's dangerous dependency on fossil fuels. Addicted to Oil reveals the political, economic and environmental consequences of America's oil use and the methods employed to acquire valuable fuels. With candid reporting and commentary from Pulitzer Prize Award-winning author and New York Times journalist Thomas L. Friedman, this documentary uncovers the serious ramifications of the world's growing energy crisis.
With the use of candid interviews with former CIA director James Woolsey, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner and other key officials, Friedman unravels the issues at the crux of this energy crisis. Find out how the arguments presented in Addicted to Oil reveal an intricate correlation between the necessity for fuel and the negative impacts feeding that addiction has on the world.
This riveting and timely one-hour special examines how the increased use of fossil fuels causes global warming. Using his signature reporting style, Friedman shares his knowledge regarding fuel consumption, global warming, alternative energy and energy conservation. Watch as the columnist analyzes 'petropolitics' across the world and explains how authoritarian regimes are able to control the oil market because of the international necessity for fuel. This thought-provoking special is full of compelling arguments on how the oil addiction has lead the United States to fund both sides of the war on terror: American tax dollars are subsidising the military, while the country's consumption of oil is funding nations supporting Islamic militants including al Qaeda."
With the use of candid interviews with former CIA director James Woolsey, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner and other key officials, Friedman unravels the issues at the crux of this energy crisis. Find out how the arguments presented in Addicted to Oil reveal an intricate correlation between the necessity for fuel and the negative impacts feeding that addiction has on the world.
This riveting and timely one-hour special examines how the increased use of fossil fuels causes global warming. Using his signature reporting style, Friedman shares his knowledge regarding fuel consumption, global warming, alternative energy and energy conservation. Watch as the columnist analyzes 'petropolitics' across the world and explains how authoritarian regimes are able to control the oil market because of the international necessity for fuel. This thought-provoking special is full of compelling arguments on how the oil addiction has lead the United States to fund both sides of the war on terror: American tax dollars are subsidising the military, while the country's consumption of oil is funding nations supporting Islamic militants including al Qaeda."
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Debate ends on central cause of earth's cooling and warming
Debate ends on central cause of earth's cooling and warming: "As the carbon dioxide management bill - aka cap and trade - looms in Congress, a new study emerges that ends the scientific debate on the central causes of ice ages and warming periods on Earth.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is fond of saying that the scientific debate on global warming is over - and while he may now be correct in the fact that a debate has come to an end, the central cause behind climate change does not support the carbon cap legislation that is being cobbled together by Mr. Gore and his Democratic allies in the U.S. Congress.
The earth cools and warms due to the wobble in its rotation and axis - factors in large-scale physics that human beings cannot control. These are factors, also, that human beings did not cause."
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is fond of saying that the scientific debate on global warming is over - and while he may now be correct in the fact that a debate has come to an end, the central cause behind climate change does not support the carbon cap legislation that is being cobbled together by Mr. Gore and his Democratic allies in the U.S. Congress.
The earth cools and warms due to the wobble in its rotation and axis - factors in large-scale physics that human beings cannot control. These are factors, also, that human beings did not cause."
It’s Over: Five Reasons Why the Electric Car Wins | Triple Pundit
It’s Over: Five Reasons Why the Electric Car Wins:
"It could take ten years or more to become apparent, but I’ll call it now: the electric car will replace the internal combustion engine."
"It could take ten years or more to become apparent, but I’ll call it now: the electric car will replace the internal combustion engine."
Darryl Siry's Blog: Nissan's first big mistake out of the blocks (Nissan LEAF)
Darryl Siry's Blog: Nissan's first big mistake out of the blocks (Nissan LEAF): "Like many, I waited with great anticipation for Nissan to unveil their electric car. Nissan has been the most outspoken of the majors in favor of electric vehicles and seem committed to the mass commercialization of EVs as a major thrust of their strategy. In addition to the car itself, Nissan has invested a lot of effort reaching out to utilities to prepare the ground for the infrastructure that will aid the adoption of electric vehicles.
So with all this careful preparation and with the very large bet they are placing on EVs, why did they make such a major and avoidable mistake in how they are communicating the true range of their vehicle, the LEAF? This is a mistake that is sure to haunt them when they actually bring the vehicle to market, and could have a negative impact on EV adoption in general.
The issue is one I have written about previously - the EPA range figures that are typically communicated by most EV manufacturers overstate the true range of the vehicle in daily use. That means that consumers who buy the car are bound to be disappointed when the range they experience is significantly less than what they have been told by the manufacturer.
In my analysis, I point out that the EPA combined (a mix of city and highway numbers) number that an EV will post when tested with a new battery is more like an upper limit of the range you will experience. Unfortunately, Nissan has upped the ante of exaggerating the realistic range of their vehicle by using the LA4 cycle as the single number they quote, which is the same as what we refer to as 'EPA City', or 'UDDS' driving cycle. As you can see below, this test cycle assumes an average driving speed of 19.59 mph and in the 22 minute driving cycle, it assumes you only break 40 mph once, for about 100 seconds, and never exceed about 58 mph."
So with all this careful preparation and with the very large bet they are placing on EVs, why did they make such a major and avoidable mistake in how they are communicating the true range of their vehicle, the LEAF? This is a mistake that is sure to haunt them when they actually bring the vehicle to market, and could have a negative impact on EV adoption in general.
The issue is one I have written about previously - the EPA range figures that are typically communicated by most EV manufacturers overstate the true range of the vehicle in daily use. That means that consumers who buy the car are bound to be disappointed when the range they experience is significantly less than what they have been told by the manufacturer.
In my analysis, I point out that the EPA combined (a mix of city and highway numbers) number that an EV will post when tested with a new battery is more like an upper limit of the range you will experience. Unfortunately, Nissan has upped the ante of exaggerating the realistic range of their vehicle by using the LA4 cycle as the single number they quote, which is the same as what we refer to as 'EPA City', or 'UDDS' driving cycle. As you can see below, this test cycle assumes an average driving speed of 19.59 mph and in the 22 minute driving cycle, it assumes you only break 40 mph once, for about 100 seconds, and never exceed about 58 mph."
workopolis.com - Vehicle Network Design Engineer - Toronto, ON, CANADA - ZENN MOTOR COMPANY
workopolis.com - Vehicle Network Design Engineer - Toronto, ON, CANADA - ZENN MOTOR COMPANY: "This position reports to the Vice President of Engineering. The primary responsibilities include design engineering of In Vehicle Networks for major phases of engineering activity and initiate actions necessary to maintain those programs.
Responsibilities
* Develop and implement architecture of the drive train in vehicle networks.
* Create specifications for in vehicle networks.
* Manage third party development of in vehicle networks and related hardware.
* Project management of assigned projects.
* Work with key suppliers and outside engineering firms in the ongoing product development process.
* Integration of components and systems
* Investigate technical problems and establish procedures and corrective actions to avoid recurrences.
Qualifications
* BSC in Electrical Engineering
* 4 to 10 years experience in vehicle networks specification design and application.
* Experience with specification and qualification of electronic components and applications
* Influential communication, organizational, project management, presentation, and customer service skills.
* The ability to lead change, and to work with minimal supervision in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
* Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills."
Responsibilities
* Develop and implement architecture of the drive train in vehicle networks.
* Create specifications for in vehicle networks.
* Manage third party development of in vehicle networks and related hardware.
* Project management of assigned projects.
* Work with key suppliers and outside engineering firms in the ongoing product development process.
* Integration of components and systems
* Investigate technical problems and establish procedures and corrective actions to avoid recurrences.
Qualifications
* BSC in Electrical Engineering
* 4 to 10 years experience in vehicle networks specification design and application.
* Experience with specification and qualification of electronic components and applications
* Influential communication, organizational, project management, presentation, and customer service skills.
* The ability to lead change, and to work with minimal supervision in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
* Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills."
GridPoint’s Next-Generation Smart Charging Software to Support Largest U.S. Electric Vehicle Deployment, Fueled by $100 Million in Stimulus | Press Releases @ Your Story
GridPoint’s Next-Generation Smart Charging Software to Support Largest U.S. Electric Vehicle Deployment, Fueled by $100 Million in Stimulus | Press Releases @ Your Story: "Demand Response Functionality: Smart Charging 3.0 supports external demand response notification via the OpenADR standard, allowing plug-in vehicles and charging stations to stop charging during critical peak events. System users are notified of ongoing demand response events through real-time messaging that appears on GridPoint’s smart charging and data logging portals. Consumer notification via Web portal or handheld device is also enabled."
Peugeot announces that its iMiEV will be called the iOn — Autoblog Green
Peugeot announces that its iMiEV will be called the iOn — Autoblog Green: "Peuegot has announced that the re-badged Mitsubishi iMiEV that will sell starting in 2010 will be called the iOn. The new iOn, which of course uses lithium ion batteries, follows a 1994 Peugeot electric vehicle concept of the same name. The new car will be available late next year and Peugeot has committed to offering the electric city car to both retail and fleet customers from day one. No pricing has been announced yet, although it will likely rely heavily on subsidies from European governments to make it affordable. The iMiEV that recently launched production in Japan is going for an eye-popping $47,000 before tax incentives (around $31,300 after incentives).
Peugeot will show the iOn next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Mitsubishi has claimed the iMiEV has a range of 100 miles per charge, but that is based on the notoriously optimistic Japanese 10/15 driving cycle. Peugeot has dropped the range estimate to just 80 miles based on the somewhat more conservative NEDC test, although even that number is probably farther than most most real world users will get."
Peugeot will show the iOn next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Mitsubishi has claimed the iMiEV has a range of 100 miles per charge, but that is based on the notoriously optimistic Japanese 10/15 driving cycle. Peugeot has dropped the range estimate to just 80 miles based on the somewhat more conservative NEDC test, although even that number is probably farther than most most real world users will get."
Monday, September 7, 2009
The electrification of motoring: The electric-fuel-trade acid test | The Economist
The electrification of motoring: The electric-fuel-trade acid test | The Economist: "IN 1995 Joseph Bower and Clayton Christensen, two researchers at the Harvard Business School, invented a new term: “disruptive technology”. This is an innovation that fulfils the requirements of some, but not most, consumers better than the incumbent does. That gives it a toehold, which allows room for improvement and, eventually, dominance. The risk for incumbent firms is that of the proverbial boiling frog. They may not know when to switch from old to new until it is too late.
The example Dr Bower and Dr Christensen used was a nerdy one: computer hard-drives. But unbeknown to them a more familiar one was in the making. The first digital cameras were coming on sale. These were more expensive than film cameras and had lower resolution. But they brought two advantages. A user could look at a picture immediately after he had taken it. And he could download it onto his computer and send it to his friends.
Click Here
Fourteen years on, you would struggle to buy a new camera that uses film. Some of the leading camera-makers, such as Panasonic, are firms that had little interest in photography when Dr Bower and Dr Christensen published. And an entire industry, the manufacturing and processing of film, is rapidly disappearing.
Substitute “car” for “camera” and you have a story that should concern thoughtful bosses in the motor and oil industries. Internal-combustion engines have dominated mechanised road transport for a century, but the past year or so has seen the arrival of a dribble of vehicles driven by electric motors. That these are the products of small, new firms, or of established non-carmaking companies, supports the Bower-Christensen thesis. But next year the big boys, encouraged by legislative pressure to produce low-emission vehicles, will leap out of the boiling water and join in. Their progress towards greenery will be an important theme of the Frankfurt motor show this month."
The example Dr Bower and Dr Christensen used was a nerdy one: computer hard-drives. But unbeknown to them a more familiar one was in the making. The first digital cameras were coming on sale. These were more expensive than film cameras and had lower resolution. But they brought two advantages. A user could look at a picture immediately after he had taken it. And he could download it onto his computer and send it to his friends.
Click Here
Fourteen years on, you would struggle to buy a new camera that uses film. Some of the leading camera-makers, such as Panasonic, are firms that had little interest in photography when Dr Bower and Dr Christensen published. And an entire industry, the manufacturing and processing of film, is rapidly disappearing.
Substitute “car” for “camera” and you have a story that should concern thoughtful bosses in the motor and oil industries. Internal-combustion engines have dominated mechanised road transport for a century, but the past year or so has seen the arrival of a dribble of vehicles driven by electric motors. That these are the products of small, new firms, or of established non-carmaking companies, supports the Bower-Christensen thesis. But next year the big boys, encouraged by legislative pressure to produce low-emission vehicles, will leap out of the boiling water and join in. Their progress towards greenery will be an important theme of the Frankfurt motor show this month."
Electric cars: Charge! | The Economist
Electric cars: Charge! | The Economist: "Carmakers are shifting towards electric vehicles. Policymakers must do their part, too
GREENS may not like it, but once people have enough to eat and somewhere tolerable to live, their thoughts turn to buying a car. The number of cars in the rich world will grow only slowly in the years ahead, but car ownership elsewhere is about to go into overdrive. Over the next 40 years the global fleet of passenger cars is expected to quadruple to nearly 3 billion. China, which will soon overtake America as the world’s biggest car market, could have as many cars on its roads in 2050 as are on the planet today; India’s fleet may have multiplied 50-fold. Forecasts of this kind led Carlos Ghosn, boss of the Renault-Nissan alliance, to declare 18 months ago that if the industry did not get on with producing cars with very low or zero emissions, the world would “explode”.
Cars already contribute around 10% of the man-made greenhouse gases that are responsible for climate change. In big cities, especially those in fast-developing countries in Asia and Latin America, gridlocked traffic is responsible for health-threatening levels of local air pollution. To its credit (and under increasing pressure from legislators), the car industry is heeding Mr Ghosn’s call. Biofuels have fallen out of favour because of concerns that those produced in rich countries are not particularly green; but huge efforts are being made to develop cleaner conventional engines and, at the same time, move beyond them to electric, battery-powered vehicles, which produce fewer emissions even when the generation of the electricity needed to charge them is taken into account."
GREENS may not like it, but once people have enough to eat and somewhere tolerable to live, their thoughts turn to buying a car. The number of cars in the rich world will grow only slowly in the years ahead, but car ownership elsewhere is about to go into overdrive. Over the next 40 years the global fleet of passenger cars is expected to quadruple to nearly 3 billion. China, which will soon overtake America as the world’s biggest car market, could have as many cars on its roads in 2050 as are on the planet today; India’s fleet may have multiplied 50-fold. Forecasts of this kind led Carlos Ghosn, boss of the Renault-Nissan alliance, to declare 18 months ago that if the industry did not get on with producing cars with very low or zero emissions, the world would “explode”.
Cars already contribute around 10% of the man-made greenhouse gases that are responsible for climate change. In big cities, especially those in fast-developing countries in Asia and Latin America, gridlocked traffic is responsible for health-threatening levels of local air pollution. To its credit (and under increasing pressure from legislators), the car industry is heeding Mr Ghosn’s call. Biofuels have fallen out of favour because of concerns that those produced in rich countries are not particularly green; but huge efforts are being made to develop cleaner conventional engines and, at the same time, move beyond them to electric, battery-powered vehicles, which produce fewer emissions even when the generation of the electricity needed to charge them is taken into account."
Plug-in electric car
Plug-in electric car: "Chery Automobile will start selling its first plug-in electric model, the S18, around June, reported Bloomberg on Thursday, citing one of Chery's official.
The company expects to sell about 30,000 S18s within three or four years, said Fang Yunzhou, vice president of Chery's new energy vehicle operations.
The car will cost as much as 130,000 yuan ($19,000).
It can be fully charged in four hours and travel up to 150 kilometers using just its batteries."
The company expects to sell about 30,000 S18s within three or four years, said Fang Yunzhou, vice president of Chery's new energy vehicle operations.
The car will cost as much as 130,000 yuan ($19,000).
It can be fully charged in four hours and travel up to 150 kilometers using just its batteries."
Plug-In Pickup To Be Built By Indiana Based EMC - AllCarsElectric.com
Plug-In Pickup To Be Built By Indiana Based EMC - AllCarsElectric.com: "Electric Motors Corporation has released this teaser photo of its new truck, the Flash, scheduled for a full unveiling in November. The vehicle, to be built with Manufacturing partner Gulfstream Coach at a facility in Indiana, will be constructed using frame and some mechanicals from a Ford F-150. According to Will Cashen, CEO of EMC, “It’s an electric truck with an onboard range-extender generator system. We’ve taken an F-150 and have done something similar to Tesla, where they used a Lotus sports car for the underpinnings of their electric car.'
Like the Chevy Volt the Flash will use an electric motor to drive the wheels, with a gasoline powered back-up generator set to replenish the battery when charge drops beneath a specified level.
According to Cashen “The unique thing about a truck is that [battery] packaging isn’t an issue like it is for cars.” The Flash will have three different battery options: The smallest, least-expensive configuration is expected to get the equivalent of 40 mpg. Adding a second layer of batteries is estimated to get up to 100 mpg and adding a third set, Cashen said, will return up to 250 mpg. The batteries are mounted in-between the truck’s frame rails.
The Flash is expected to tow up to 5,700 pounds and carry up to 1,940 pounds, much like the lighter-duty 4-cylinder version of the Ford F-150 (which was discontinued this year). However, it won’t be able to handle many off-road scenarios. Cashen said it’s primarily designed as an on-road truck.
EMC is projecting a sub $50,000.00 cost per unit, before the $7,500.00 federal tax credit.
A heavier, commercial truck called the thunderbolt, with greater power and battery capacity, is to follow the introduction (in small numbers) of the Flash in 2010."
Like the Chevy Volt the Flash will use an electric motor to drive the wheels, with a gasoline powered back-up generator set to replenish the battery when charge drops beneath a specified level.
According to Cashen “The unique thing about a truck is that [battery] packaging isn’t an issue like it is for cars.” The Flash will have three different battery options: The smallest, least-expensive configuration is expected to get the equivalent of 40 mpg. Adding a second layer of batteries is estimated to get up to 100 mpg and adding a third set, Cashen said, will return up to 250 mpg. The batteries are mounted in-between the truck’s frame rails.
The Flash is expected to tow up to 5,700 pounds and carry up to 1,940 pounds, much like the lighter-duty 4-cylinder version of the Ford F-150 (which was discontinued this year). However, it won’t be able to handle many off-road scenarios. Cashen said it’s primarily designed as an on-road truck.
EMC is projecting a sub $50,000.00 cost per unit, before the $7,500.00 federal tax credit.
A heavier, commercial truck called the thunderbolt, with greater power and battery capacity, is to follow the introduction (in small numbers) of the Flash in 2010."
Mitsubishi and Peugeot to Co-Develop Electric Vehicle : CarFront News
Mitsubishi and Peugeot to Co-Develop Electric Vehicle : CarFront News: "We guess this is really the twilight of beastly cars. Every automaker’s just interested in developing green cars. And the whole mentality is even prompting them to team up. Japanese automaker Mitsubishi and French group Peugeot Citroen just struck a deal to partner up to develop electric vehicles.
The deal includes a development of an i-MiEV based vehicle for the European market which will be marketed under both Peugeot and Citroen marquees. Production is slated to commence by October 2010 and the cars will hit the market soon after.
The production version of the i-MiEV has been showcased earlier this year. The electric motor dishes out an equivalent of 67 hp with a max torque of 133 lb-ft. The car supposedly has a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 80 mph."
The deal includes a development of an i-MiEV based vehicle for the European market which will be marketed under both Peugeot and Citroen marquees. Production is slated to commence by October 2010 and the cars will hit the market soon after.
The production version of the i-MiEV has been showcased earlier this year. The electric motor dishes out an equivalent of 67 hp with a max torque of 133 lb-ft. The car supposedly has a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 80 mph."
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Electric Transmission Texas (ETT) to Install Largest Utility-Scale Battery in the U.S. | Green Energy News
Electric Transmission Texas (ETT) to Install Largest Utility-Scale Battery in the U.S. | Green Energy News: "ETT has completed a contract with NGK-Locke, Inc. for a state-of-the-art, sodium-sulfur 4-megawatt NAS battery system, which will be installed in Presidio, Texas. ETT is a joint venture between American Electric Power and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (MidAmerican).
The NAS battery will be the first in Texas and the largest in the United States and represents part of a $67 million overall commitment by ETT to improve transmission reliability in Presidio and surrounding areas.
The battery, along with construction of the Gonzales substation, is currently scheduled to be completed by first quarter 2010 in time for summer peak usage. Cost of the battery and substation is estimated at approximately $23 million. A 60-mile, 69- kilovolt transmission line from Marfa to Presidio is targeted for completion by 2012 with an estimated cost of approximately $44 million."
The NAS battery will be the first in Texas and the largest in the United States and represents part of a $67 million overall commitment by ETT to improve transmission reliability in Presidio and surrounding areas.
The battery, along with construction of the Gonzales substation, is currently scheduled to be completed by first quarter 2010 in time for summer peak usage. Cost of the battery and substation is estimated at approximately $23 million. A 60-mile, 69- kilovolt transmission line from Marfa to Presidio is targeted for completion by 2012 with an estimated cost of approximately $44 million."
Friday, September 4, 2009
How a Tesla taught me to stay out in front
How a Tesla taught me to stay out in front: "Some armchair critics have commented about the Tesla, 'What's the big deal? The car uses predominantly off‐the‐shelf technology and components.' I have exactly the opposite reaction: anyone can talk about this technology, but commercializing it successfully is a landmark. Those who conceived and executed this triumph are due sincere and hearty congratulations. The Tesla Roadster is a watershed achievement for electric and renewably powered transportation.
Blow that out your butt, Dick Cheney."
Blow that out your butt, Dick Cheney."
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Excerpt: 'No Impact Man' by Colin Beavan - ABC News
Excerpt: 'No Impact Man' by Colin Beavan - ABC News: "Colin Beavan and his family lived for many months without toilet paper. He got around without a car and in nearly every aspect of his life, Beavan did all he could to leave as little an environmental footprint as he could.
Share
Colin Beaven discusses his new book and his environmentally-friendly lifestyle.
It was all part of what he called the 'No Impact' Project -- a yearlong experiment to shed 'conveniences' of modern living.
In the book 'No Impact Man,' Beavan chronicles the challenges, successes and thought-provoking questions that arose throughout the year.
Read a chapter from the book below"
Share
Colin Beaven discusses his new book and his environmentally-friendly lifestyle.
It was all part of what he called the 'No Impact' Project -- a yearlong experiment to shed 'conveniences' of modern living.
In the book 'No Impact Man,' Beavan chronicles the challenges, successes and thought-provoking questions that arose throughout the year.
Read a chapter from the book below"
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Battery maker ReVolt to make Portland home | Local News | kgw.com | News for Portland Oregon and SW Washington
Battery maker ReVolt to make Portland home | Local News | kgw.com | News for Portland Oregon and SW Washington: "PORTLAND, Ore. – A rechargeable battery company picked Portland for its new headquarters,
Portland Mayor Sam Adams announced Tuesday that ReVolt Technology, LLC, expected to create as many as 250 new jobs at their factory.
“ReVolt's entry to the Portland clean-tech landscape couldn't be coming at a more vital time,” Adams said. ”ReVolt not only brings jobs and investment to our region; their innovation adds to our electric vehicle industry development and supports our economic development strategy -- that sustainability and economic prosperity go hand in hand here in Portland.'
The company said they thought Portland was the best place for building energy storage units for electric vehicles and renewable energy generation."
Portland Mayor Sam Adams announced Tuesday that ReVolt Technology, LLC, expected to create as many as 250 new jobs at their factory.
“ReVolt's entry to the Portland clean-tech landscape couldn't be coming at a more vital time,” Adams said. ”ReVolt not only brings jobs and investment to our region; their innovation adds to our electric vehicle industry development and supports our economic development strategy -- that sustainability and economic prosperity go hand in hand here in Portland.'
The company said they thought Portland was the best place for building energy storage units for electric vehicles and renewable energy generation."
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