REPORT: BYD only sells 100 plug-in F3DM hybrids in eight months — Autoblog Green: "The BYD F3DM plug-in hybrid went on sale in China last December. In the first eight months that the car has been on sale, only 100 have been sold, according to a new report from Gasgoo. This is well below the company's original stated goal of selling 10,000 in the first year, although they do have another four months to turn things around. Gasgoo says BYD changed its sales estimate to 3,000 to 4,000 units in the first 12 months earlier this year. In June, the F3DM went on sale in Hong Kong.
While the plug-in F3DM hasn't sold as well as expected, BYD is still planning on offering the all-electric e6 in China later this year. Overall, BYD sold 176,795 vehicles in the first half of 2009, an increase of 176 percent compared to the first six months of 2008."
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Energy Producing Home »» MetaEfficient Reviews
The Energy Producing Home »» MetaEfficient Reviews: "Who says that a home with cutting-edge energy efficiency has to look like an ultra-modern pod? This recently completed Wisconsin home packs so much energy tech that it makes money by selling electricity back to the grid, and it still keeps a low neighborhood profile.
Neumann Developments, the creators of the home, state the following as the goal of the project:
“Constructing an economically viable mainstream home that will produce more energy than it consumes – allowing for a dramatic reduction in greenhouse emissions and dependency on foreign oil.”"
Neumann Developments, the creators of the home, state the following as the goal of the project:
“Constructing an economically viable mainstream home that will produce more energy than it consumes – allowing for a dramatic reduction in greenhouse emissions and dependency on foreign oil.”"
Peak water
Peak water: "You won't be startled to learn that Saudi Arabia has now depleted its aquifer and over the next eight years will stop growing wheat. If you've been following the news, you'll know that India and China have been doing the same thing: pumping their fresh groundwater sources dry in order to grow crops. At this rate it's hard to see how those nations won't revert to the famines they suffered before the Green Revolution of the late 20th century. Lester Brown has a great blog on this issue in today's Climate Progress.
At the same time, the New York Times reports that when coal-fired power plants scrub toxic pollutants from their smokestacks, those toxins wind up in the water, for downstream communities to drink. In our July/August issue of SOLAR TODAY, Robert Ukeiley noted the capacity of thermal pollution to kill river-dwelling wildlife.
We may be able to live without coal. We certainly can't live without fresh water."
At the same time, the New York Times reports that when coal-fired power plants scrub toxic pollutants from their smokestacks, those toxins wind up in the water, for downstream communities to drink. In our July/August issue of SOLAR TODAY, Robert Ukeiley noted the capacity of thermal pollution to kill river-dwelling wildlife.
We may be able to live without coal. We certainly can't live without fresh water."
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Technology Review: Betting on a Metal-Air Battery Breakthrough
Technology Review: Betting on a Metal-Air Battery Breakthrough: "A spinoff from Arizona State University says it can develop a metal-air battery that dramatically outperforms the best lithium-ion batteries on the market, and now it has the funding it needs to prove it.
Liquid salt: This image shows ionic liquids (the blue globules) in a beaker of mineral oil.
Credit: John Wilkes
The U.S. Department of Energy last week awarded a $5.13-million research grant to Scottsdale, AZ-based Fluidic Energy toward development of a metal-air battery that relies on ionic liquids, instead of an aqueous solution, as its electrolyte.
The company aims to build a Metal-Air Ionic Liquid battery that has up to 11 times the energy density of the top lithium-ion technologies for less than one-third the cost. Cody Friesen, a professor of materials science at Arizona State and founder of Fluidic Energy, says the use of ionic liquids overcomes many of the problems that have held back metal-air batteries in the past. 'I'm not claiming we have it yet, but if we do succeed, it really does change the way we think about storage,' says Friesen, who was named one of Technology Review's top innovators under 35 in 2009."
Liquid salt: This image shows ionic liquids (the blue globules) in a beaker of mineral oil.
Credit: John Wilkes
The U.S. Department of Energy last week awarded a $5.13-million research grant to Scottsdale, AZ-based Fluidic Energy toward development of a metal-air battery that relies on ionic liquids, instead of an aqueous solution, as its electrolyte.
The company aims to build a Metal-Air Ionic Liquid battery that has up to 11 times the energy density of the top lithium-ion technologies for less than one-third the cost. Cody Friesen, a professor of materials science at Arizona State and founder of Fluidic Energy, says the use of ionic liquids overcomes many of the problems that have held back metal-air batteries in the past. 'I'm not claiming we have it yet, but if we do succeed, it really does change the way we think about storage,' says Friesen, who was named one of Technology Review's top innovators under 35 in 2009."
REPORT: Generation Y will "redefine" automotive market, trends green and big — Autoblog Green
REPORT: Generation Y will "redefine" automotive market, trends green and big — Autoblog Green: "study from AutoPacific, which finds that Generation Y will 'redefine' the automotive market. It seems our generation is 'willing to embrace new brands, new technology and alternative powertrains.' That means electric cars, hybrids and clean diesels. We're also likely to want lots of electronic gadgetry in our cars and we expect that all that computing power will improve fuel mileage and environmental friendliness. Oh, and we don't necessarily want small cars.
So, to recap, we want large cars with good fuel economy, lots of technology and without too big a price increase... No problem, right? Click past the break for the official press release."
So, to recap, we want large cars with good fuel economy, lots of technology and without too big a price increase... No problem, right? Click past the break for the official press release."
EV WORLD CURRENTS: Golf Cars Do NOT Qualify for Tax Credit, NEVs Do!
EV WORLD CURRENTS: Golf Cars Do NOT Qualify for Tax Credit, NEVs Do!: "I hate to disappoint John Stossel, but golf carts do not qualify for IRS tax credits as he bemoans in his Fox News blog. Just because some enterprising salesman in Florida named Tony Colangelo appears to be skating on thin ice with the IRS by advertising free golf cars, doesn't mean the Obama Administration has suddenly sanctioned yet another taxpayer giveaway.
A reader wrote me today admonishing me to let everyone know about the tax credit on golf carts/cars, something I had totally missed; so thanks for the heads up. Apparently few in the media understand the difference between a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle and a golf cart, so allow me to illuminate my colleagues."
A reader wrote me today admonishing me to let everyone know about the tax credit on golf carts/cars, something I had totally missed; so thanks for the heads up. Apparently few in the media understand the difference between a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle and a golf cart, so allow me to illuminate my colleagues."
Local man wins patent for generator-powered car | DailyComet.com | The Thibodaux Daily Comet | Thibodaux, LA
Local man wins patent for generator-powered car | DailyComet.com | The Thibodaux Daily Comet | Thibodaux, LA: "HOUMA — The idea that will put Joseph Boudreaux on record with the U.S. patent office came to him in the middle of a traffic jam.
Boudreaux and his wife, Jeanne, were stuck in New Orleans in a wreck involving a streetcar in 2000.
'I told her, ‘That's electric,' ' Boudreaux, now 76, said of the streetcar. 'Why can't a car be made electric?'
Once they got home, Boudreaux, a retired technician for BellSouth, slept on it.
Boudreaux got to thinking about an electric car that could be powered by a generator, like the generator he had just purchased to use during storms and power outages.
With the help of a lawyer, the opinions of generator companies, and support from his sons and daughter, they produced drawings and submitted them for a patent in 2006.
The engine could travel 100 to 150 miles on a gallon of gas, Boudreaux said.
Then they waited.
Last week, almost four years later, they finally heard back from the government office: He had won the patent.
Boudreaux doesn't plan to produce the patent himself — a prototype could cost $200,000. He says he might sell it to put toward his grandkids' retirement.
Still, the official recognition of his invention meant a lot, his son, Mark, said, particularly since the inventor's biggest cheerleader, his wife, had passed away in July 2007.
'My mom really encouraged him,' Mark Boudreaux said. 'When it came in, it was a heartfelt moment.'"
Boudreaux and his wife, Jeanne, were stuck in New Orleans in a wreck involving a streetcar in 2000.
'I told her, ‘That's electric,' ' Boudreaux, now 76, said of the streetcar. 'Why can't a car be made electric?'
Once they got home, Boudreaux, a retired technician for BellSouth, slept on it.
Boudreaux got to thinking about an electric car that could be powered by a generator, like the generator he had just purchased to use during storms and power outages.
With the help of a lawyer, the opinions of generator companies, and support from his sons and daughter, they produced drawings and submitted them for a patent in 2006.
The engine could travel 100 to 150 miles on a gallon of gas, Boudreaux said.
Then they waited.
Last week, almost four years later, they finally heard back from the government office: He had won the patent.
Boudreaux doesn't plan to produce the patent himself — a prototype could cost $200,000. He says he might sell it to put toward his grandkids' retirement.
Still, the official recognition of his invention meant a lot, his son, Mark, said, particularly since the inventor's biggest cheerleader, his wife, had passed away in July 2007.
'My mom really encouraged him,' Mark Boudreaux said. 'When it came in, it was a heartfelt moment.'"
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