Posted by Max Dunn
Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:02:36 GMT | 1 comment
In previous analysis, I relied on the Better Place estimates that initially there should be 4 public charging stations per electric vehicle (EV) and that this number could drop to 2 to 1 as the EV population grew.
However, new numbers from Pike Research suggest that we only need 1.15 to 1.3 charging stations per EV.
While these numbers are all guesses, it is important for anyone trying to determine how much revenue they could expect from installing EV charging stations since at 4:1 there will be a lot more unused charging time at each station than at 1.15:1.
(Source: Pike Research – Charge Spotting: Determining the Right Mix for Public EV Access)
Posted in Electric Vehicles
Posted by Max Dunn
Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:23:28 GMT | 1 comment
Electric vehicles (EVs) will soon be available in large numbers and will need to be charged daily. This is no problem for half of the US population that can charge at home, but the other half that park on the street or in apartment complexes will need public charging stations. Is it possible to make money from EV public charging stations?
There are several ways to do this. One is to add a percentage surcharge over the price of electricity used (although this maybe prohibited by some PUCs), another is to charge a fixed fee every time a charging station is used and a third is to charge a monthly fee.
Read more...
Posted in Electric Vehicles
Posted by Max Dunn
Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:47:42 GMT | 1 comment
There has been some concern that electric vehicles (EVs) will not hold their value as much as gas powered cars because of the high cost to replace the battery pack. However, a new report by CAP (a leading Europe-based vehicle valuation firm) forecasts that the Leaf will retain 40% of its value after 3 years and 30,000 miles. Their reasoning:
The Leaf should have a shallower depreciation curve than conventional cars; the electric motor has fewer moving parts than an internal combustion engine so when mechanical issues and wear and tear begin to affect other cars, the Leaf should still be running well.
For my Leaf, I ordered the SL option package and the fast charger but got a discount from North Bay Nissan. With tax and everything, my out-the-door cost will be about $37,000. However, with the $7,500 federal rebate and the $5,000 state rebate, my net cost will be $24,500. So if it retains 40% of its original price, the real depreciation after 3 years would be about $10,000. Not bad!
(Source: AutoBlog Green)
Posted in Electric Vehicles
Posted by Max Dunn
Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:32:28 GMT | 1 comment
A new report from Rice University confirms what I have been saying for a long time – electric vehicles (EVs) are the best way to reduce America’s oil dependency.
The report found that if only 30% of vehicles are electrified by 2050, oil usage would be reduced by 2.5 million barrels a day and carbon emissions cut by 7% – even if the electric generation mix remains the same as today. They also found that a carbon tax of $30 a ton would actually increase US dependence on foreign natural gas!
So even if our government is not able to get its act together and institute a comprehensive renewable energy policy, the widespread adoption of EVs will do the job anyways.
(Source: AllCarsElectric.com)
Posted in Electric Vehicles, Global Warming, Peak Oil
Posted by Max Dunn
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 21:03:52 GMT | no comments
For all of you energy geeks, especially ones involved with biofuel/energy projects NREL has released this fancy interactive map that shows biomass feedstocks and biopower by location. You can select biomass/biopower/feedstock layers and see it on an overlay map of the US. Pretty interesting to see the graphical depictions. (From Jeff Milum.)
BioEnergy Atlas
This is a really cool tool – thanks Jeff!
Posted in Sustainable Energy
Posted by Max Dunn
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:34:18 GMT | no comments
Pike Research released a new report “Plug-in Electric Vehicles” which estimates that by 2015, sales of electric vehicles (EVs) will total over 3 million worldwide with over 800,000 sold in the U.S. While I think these numbers are conservative, they are higher than Pike predicted just a year ago.
Posted in Electric Vehicles
Posted by Max Dunn
Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:41:50 GMT | 7 comments
Have you ever wondered where energy comes from and where it goes? Well, wonder no more – here is a great energy flow diagram from Lawrence Livermore Labs that presents this information in a straightforward way:
Comparing the tiny, thin lines from solar, geothermal and wind against the big, fat lines from fossil fuels shows us that we have a long ways to go to a sustainable energy infrastructure!
Posted in Sustainable Energy
Posted by Max Dunn
Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:04:32 GMT | 1 comment
Prices of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have come down drastically in the last few years. Many solar modules can now be purchased for less than $2 per watt. There has been some speculation that these low prices are due to a glut of solar capacity that is causing manufacturers to sell below their cost. However, a tidbit in a Pike Research blog entry revealed this:
First Solar’s 11.2% efficient modules cost $0.76/W to make according to company reports, and total manufacturing cost of c-Si modules produced by the most competitive companies has plunged to about $1.20.
So in actuality, the solar manufacturers can still make a healthy profit by selling their modules at $2 per watt. Let’s hope that prices comes down even further!
Posted in Sustainable Energy
Posted by Max Dunn
Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:08:57 GMT | no comments
Five teams from four continents started the ZERO Race on August 16th in an attempt to drive their electric vehicles (EVs) around the world in 80 days using only renewable energy – which means they will produce no emissions at all!
It is not a race about speed, but the start to creating a greener planet and a better place to live for future generations by making small, efficient vehicles popular. The team with the smartest, most efficient, most reliable, most usable and most popular concept will be the winner.
Posted in Electric Vehicles
Posted by Max Dunn
Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:33:36 GMT | 4 comments
I have been putting off this post about the cost of converting my Zapino electric scooter to lithium batteries because it was certainly more than I would have liked to spend. But anyone that is considering doing the same conversion should know about the cost, so I am going to bite the bullet and put out the numbers.
Whew, that wasn’t as bad as I thought!
I considered saving $300 by not buying the charger, but I am glad that I got it. Besides being 3 times faster than my current charger, it also works great with the battery balancers by providing pulsed charging at the end to equalize all the batteries.
Also, with care these batteries should provide about 60,000 miles of use, which works out to about $0.03 per mile. So even though the purchase price was high, the lifetime cost will be about 1/3 that of the cheaper lead-acid batteries all while providing higher performance.
Posted in Electric Vehicles