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Posts from the ‘Transportation’ Category

Feb 21

KBB: Volt, Insight Offer Lowest Cost Of Ownership Over 5 Years

There are a lot of EV and hybrid-haters out there who throw out some softball arguments against such vehicles, along with legitimate gripes. But some of those gripes don’t necessarily ring true anymore. Kelly Blue Book, the go-to guide for used car values, has put together a best-of list for the five-year estimated ownership costs of every class of vehicles, including electrics and hybrids. Some of the winners may surprise you.The total cost of ownership compares eight different factors in the true cost of owning cars over a five-year period, with the two highest costs associated with owning a vehicle including depreciation, which accounts for 44% of ownership costs, and fuel, which accounts for a staggering 26% of ownership costs. In the subcompact segment, the Nissan Versa got KBB’s nod. For sports cars, it was the Mazda MX-5 Miata by a wide margin.

via KBB: Volt, Insight Offer Lowest Cost Of Ownership Over 5 Years.

Feb 21

Can Tesla Survive?

The year 2012 will be an important one for Tesla Motors. Amid growing competition from established automakers, Tesla plans to sell a new Model S luxury sedan in July, and to supply Toyota with batteries, motors, and control systems for a new electric RAV4 SUV. Yesterday it announced a similar deal with Daimler for a new electric Mercedes-Benz. The success of these efforts could determine whether the company survives long-term—and what it might look like if it does.

Even if Tesla can’t succeed as an independent automaker, it could still be acquired by a bigger company, or live on as a supplier to major automakers.

Tesla is best known for its electric sports car, the Roadster. But from its early days, the company has hoped to move beyond the Roadster to lower-priced electric vehicles sold in much higher volumes. Earlier this week, Tesla revealed a luxury electric SUV, the Model X, which it plans to sell starting in 2013.

via Can Tesla Survive? – Technology Review.

Feb 19

More evidence of consumer electric vehicle angst

Summary: Whether it is range anxiety or safety fears, 87 percent of U.S. adults have some sort of nagging concern about EV technology.

Apparently close to 90 percent of us have some sort of anxiety or concern about electric vehicles, which is probably a big factor in slower than expected electric vehicle sales over the past 12 months.

The data is part of the Consumer Reports 2012 Car Brand Perception Survey, which covers much broader issues than just the electric vehicle movement. Data was collected from 1,702 adults who lived in households with at least one home; the survey period was early December 2011.

via More evidence of consumer electric vehicle angst | ZDNet.

Feb 16

Coal Powered Electric Cars – Fact and Fiction

“The electric car doesn’t do any good because it’s just powered by coal” gets repeated by the oil industry, by news pundits who ignore fact checking, and even by some environmentalists.

In the past three years of writing about electric cars, I have yet to meet an electric car driver or fleet manager who only uses coal power. If you own an electric car and only use coal power, please leave a comment at the end of the article that mentions what you drive and the state in which you live. In the United States, 36 states have utility scale wind power, so the comment will not be from one of them.

In 2011, over half of the 18,000 electric cars were delivered to states that have zero coal-power plants. In 2012, 60,000 to 100,000 electric cars will be primarily be delivered in zero-coal states. My Nissan Leaf is powered by my utility PG&E with a typical California energy mix of 47% natural gas, 20% nuclear, 16% large hydro, and 15% other renewables. Yes, during peak summer afternoon demand, PG&E does import 2% coal power from other states, but I charge my electric car off-peak after 10 p.m. Many electric car drivers participate in utility programs that offer lower prices for charging off-peak.

via Coal Powered Electric Cars – Fact and Fiction | Clean Fleet Report.

Feb 14

Advice To President Obama: Yes We Can, But Will We?

The post below shares Nate Hagen’s timeless address to President Obama about the importance of energy in our society, written in January 2009. It goes into how energy ties into our economic system, the importance of energy quality, and discusses policy options to deal with decreasing availability of high quality energy supply.

The post/letter below is very important to me, as it brings together much of what I have worked on the past few years. We are at a major crossroads in the history of our nation and our world – the juncture where financial capital no longer can function as an effective marker for real capital. The crisis we face is the product of our own success – therefore it is highly unlikely to be fixed with the same policies and thinking that steered us to the present precipice. There are dozens if not hundreds of salient aspects of our supply and demand situation, each with its own cheerleaders, opponents and unaware. Unless one casts a wide boundary net, myopic focus on any particular issue runs the risk of creating more long term harm than good. In this letter, I attempt to highlight our situation’s most critical components, not claiming other issues are unimportant, but that the following principles likely trump/supercede the others:

via The Oil Drum | Advice To President Obama: Yes We Can, But Will We?.

Feb 10

Bombshell Study: High Methane Emissions Measured Over Gas Field “May Offset Climate Benefits of Natural Gas”

How much methane leaks during the entire lifecycle of unconventional gas has emerged as a key question in the fracking debate. Natural gas is mostly methane (CH4). And methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than (CO2), which is released when any hydrocarbon, like natural gas, is burned.

Even without a high-leakage rate for shale gas, we know that “Absent a Serious Price for Global Warming Pollution, Natural Gas Is A Bridge To Nowhere.”

But the leakage rate does matter. A major 2011 study by Tom Wigley of the Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) concluded:

The most important result, however, in accord with the above authors, is that, unless leakage rates for new methane can be kept below 2%, substituting gas for coal is not an effective means for reducing the magnitude of future climate change.

via Bombshell Study: High Methane Emissions Measured Over Gas Field “May Offset Climate Benefits of Natural Gas” | ThinkProgress.

Feb 7

Germany Invests in Hydrogen Technology for Renewable Storage, Vehicles

he tanks look like they could hold propane, gasoline or any other form of conventional energy.

But the storage tanks in Prenzlau, some 70 miles north of Berlin, hold energy produced from wind. A hybrid power plant sponsored by four large companies is being tested there to see if the plant’s wind-hydrogen-biogas technology will work.

The system takes wind energy and turns it into hydrogen, which allows it to be stored. First electricity is produced in three wind turbines, which is then used to produce C02-free hydrogen. This so-called “green” hydrogen can be stored and mixed with biogas in a combined heat and power plant, to be used as needed in times of higher demand.

The resulting fuel can then be used for electricity or to power cars.

via Germany Invests in Hydrogen Technology for Renewable Storage, Vehicles | Renewable Energy News Article.

Feb 6

Tough Times for U.S. EV Battery Makers

The U.S. government’s effort to create an electric-vehicle battery industry suffered a setback last week when one of the companies it funded as part of this effort saw its parent company file for bankruptcy protection. Battery maker Enerdel had been awarded a $118.5 million grant to build a lithium-ion battery factory in Indiana as part of a $2 billion grant program for electric-vehicle component and battery manufacturing; its parent company is Ener1.

Ener1 hopes to emerge from bankruptcy, and says Enerdel will continue operations during bankruptcy proceedings. Yet its difficulties point to the challenges of creating a new industry: at least for now, there are too many companies chasing too few contracts for making electric- and hybrid-vehicle batteries.

via Tough Times for U.S. EV Battery Makers – Technology Review.

Feb 4

A hydrogen fueling station powered by the wind

By building a wind turbine to power a hydrogen production and fueling station, a little hamlet in Long Island is positioning itself as the bellwether for carbon-neutral transportation.

The town of Hempstead, New York on Long Island erected a 121 foot tall turbine last December on the township’s Department of Conservation and Waterways land to take advantage of powerful Atlantic winds and power the hydrogen and natural gas fueling station it built in 2009. The turbine can generate up to 180 megawatts of power per year, and presents an estimated hydrogen fuel and energy cost savings of $40,000 per year.

For the moment the hydrogen-powered vehicle fleet consists of two Toyota FCHV fuel cell Highlanders and a hydrogen/gas powered bus. However, the township is working with other unnamed manufacturers of fuel cell vehicles to expand its fleet. Being the only wind-powered hydrogen production and fueling station in the New York metro area will make it an attractive testing ground for the nascent hydrogen car market, which is expected to grow in 2015 when manufacturers introduce production vehicles to consumers. Until then, any excess energy generated by the wind turbine that doesn’t get used creating hydrogen will be fed into the Long Island Power Authority grid, lowering all residents’ carbon footprint.

via A hydrogen fueling station powered by the wind | The Car Tech blog – CNET Reviews.

Jan 29

The Coming Vehicle Fuel Cell Revolution

Have you filled up your combustion-engine car with record-priced unleaded octane lately? We don’t use this kind of jargon in describing our automobiles because, until recently, our options were limited. The US is lagging behind other markets in adapting alternative energy, but change is coming. Investors may very well benefit from taking a position in fuel cell-related stocks now ahead of the 2015 roll-out of many major auto industry automobiles using this technology.

via The Coming Vehicle Fuel Cell Revolution – Seeking Alpha.

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