Don’t Hate Electric Vehicles Hate Pollution

Posted on November 9, 2011 by quest

Ok if you’re a hater and you hate everything green. Here’s your opportunity to get your hate on. In fact check out the EV haters guide so you can do it right:The EV-Hater’s Guide to Hating Electric Cars.The ultimate driving machine people, BMW have released some information on their new concept electric vehicles which could make you forget that these cars are green and all.

All-electric – the BMW i3 Concept.The electric motor of the BMW i3 Concept is designed primarily for operation in an urban environment. Typically an electric motor develops, maximum torque from standstill, in contrast to an internal combustion engine where torque increases with engine rpm.This makes the BMW i3 Concept highly agile and provides impressive acceleration. The BMW i3 Concept accomplishes 0-37 mph in under four seconds and 0-62 mph in under eight seconds.

BMW i8 Concept – emotional, dynamic and efficient.Its innovative plug-in hybrid concept combines the modified electric drive system from the BMW i3 Concept. Acceleration of 0 to 62 mph in under five seconds combined with fuel consumption in the European cycle of under three liters per 100 kilometers (approx. 94 mpg imp) are figures currently beyond the capability of any vehicle powered by a combustion engine of comparable performance. Thanks to the eDrive technology with its large lithium-ion battery, which can be charged from a domestic power supply, the BMW i8 Concept can travel to approx. 20 miles on electric power alone. Added to which, the 2+2-seater offers enough space for four people, giving it a high level of everyday practicality. You can look forward to seeing the BMW i3 in 2013 and the BMW i3 in 2014.

Frenchman Rides Solar Electric Bike from France to Japan

U.S. and Chinese Solar Companies Square Off

The Challenging World Solar Challenge Race

Posted on November 6, 2011 by quest

The results of the 2011 Veolia World Solar Challenge, a prestigious international racing event that attracts the world’s best technical universities and colleges has been announced. Race officials reported,” As was stated at the awards ceremony, the near perfect weather experienced in the past three or four events lulled many experienced Solar Challengers into a false sense of security. This time there were those who were able to take on a few hours unexpected static charge while waiting for bushfire ravished roads to reopen. Others struggled under the thousands of square kilometres of smoke haze which drifted across the continent, often thick enough to blot out the sun altogether.” As reported here three US teams UC Berkeley, Stanford and the University of Michigan were strong contenders going into the World Solar Challenge. The competition aims to help discover new automotive technologies that rely on the power of the sun by engaging student teams to develop electric vehicles for a week-long, 1,877 mile vehicle endurance test across the Australian Outback from Darwin to Adelaide. In first place was Tokai University – Japan. Second place was Nuon Solar Team – The Netherlands. In third place was the University of Michigan – United States.

Teams not able to maintain a reasonable minimum speed are invited to maximise their experience in the event by running their solarcar for a few hours each day before moving their car forward in their truck or on their trailer. The rules surrounding this exercise allow a great deal of flexibility in their application to enable the particular circumstances and the conditions to be taken into consideration. The finalisation of the results was delayed mostly by the contention of one team who, so desperate to show their sponsors a clean finish, demanded recognition of a place the number of irregularities involved denied them.

A small number of teams questioned the number of solar kilometres attributed to them so the decision was taken to audit all the log books where these are recorded in the team log by the Observer (which the team manager should sign at the end of each day) and transmitted to Mission Control for incorporation into the overall results. Interesting errors such as trailered Km being substituted for Solar Km, and solar credits being given to Control Points instead of actual distance covered were discovered and the complications of this event outlined earlier led to some interesting arithmetic from some Observers! Some gained from the exercise, others not. The figures have now been checked and cross checked with the result that we are now able to verify the Official Record and present the final results.

Eco Fashion…Where does it come from?

Thousands Gather Outside White House Against Pipeline

Hawaii Teacher Rolls In An Electric Vehicle

Posted on November 1, 2011 by quest

Chad Miller, a language arts teacher at Kailua High School, received the prestigious designation as the 2012 Hawaii State Teacher of the Year during ceremonies hosted by the Hawaii State Department of Education. With Hawaii focusing on the development of the state’s abundant wind, wave, sun, geo-thermal, ocean-thermal and bio-mass energy resources, this year, an electric car (use for a year) was awarded to the 2012 State Teacher of the Year during ceremonies held at historic Washington Place, across from the State Capitol.

Miller will represent the state of Hawaii at the 2012 National Teacher of the Year program next year. The use of the Mitsubishi iMiEV was provided by Cutter Mitsubishi and was presented by Mitsubishi Motors North America president and CEO Yoichi Yokozawa, who said, “I believe the state of Hawaii is a great location for electric vehicles. The state can be an example to the world for zero emission cars. Hawaii can show others how to make it work.” Two electric vehicle charging stations –one for the teacher’s residence and one for the teacher’s school parking space– were provided compliments of AeroVironment, a Monrovia, California-based supplier of EV charging stations.

Pat Ah You, general manager of Cutter Mitsubishi, reminded Miller that Honolulu allows free parking for electric vehicles at all City and County public parking facilities and parking meter stalls on streets and roadways throughout the island of Oahu.”The electric car presentation to the teacher is significant this year in that it demonstrates Hawaii’s new car dealers’ commitment to education, the new renewable energy transition, and to the next generation of young people who are customers in the future,” said Ah You.

The Western Solar Energy Zone

Tesla Founder Named Innovator of the Year by WSJ

Posted on October 31, 2011 by quest

Elon Musk, CEO and Co-founder of Tesla and CEO and CTO of SpaceX, was just recognized for Innovator of the Year in Technology by WSJ. Magazine. WSJ. Magazine’s first annual Innovator of the Year Awards honors the most creative, disruptive, and influential individuals in the world today. Musk was recognized for revolutionizing three of the biggest industries in the world — automobiles, energy and space exploration — simultaneously. Artist Tom Sachs, whose recent work is based on the imagery of space, presented the award to Musk.

In conjunction with the November issue of WSJ., the winners were honored on Thursday, October 27, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The November issue of WSJ. will hit newsstands on Saturday, October 29, as part of WSJ Weekend.
“It is an honor to be recognized by WSJ. Magazine, and to join these other visionaries here tonight,” said Elon Musk. “It is urgently important to apply innovation the areas that will most affect our future. I am committed to finding renewable energy solutions, accelerating the adoption of sustainable transportation, and revolutionizing space travel.”
The Innovator of the Year Awards were chosen by editors of WSJ. Magazine, with input from a select group of experts in each field.

Elon Musk Owes Customers 6,500 Cars

Elon Musk is also the primary investor and chairman of the board of photovoltaics company SolarCity, where Lyndon Rive his cousin is the CEO and co-founder. Just recently through his Musk Foundation, has donated $250,000 to build a solar power system in Soma City, in the Fukushima prefecture of Japan. Musk visited an area of Soma City that was devastated by a tsunami earlier this year, for a ceremony at the site where the project will be built. SolarCity is donating time and resources to manage the project, which will provide renewable electricity to a city facility located on reclaimed industrial land not suitable for agriculture.

SolarWorld Walks The Sustainability Talk

Organic Solar Cells Sparking Consumer Electronics

Posted on October 30, 2011 by quest

Molecular Solar Ltd, a spinout company from the University of Warwick, has achieved a significant breakthrough in the performance of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. They have achieved and demonstrated a record voltage for organic photovoltaic cells that means these highly flexible, low cost solar cells can now be devolved for commercial uses in a wide range of consumer electronics. The Company’s most recent advance in the development of its organic photovoltaic (OPV) cell technology is the realisation of cells with open-circuit voltages in excess of 4 volts for the first time. Molecular Solar’s research team believe this is a record for an OPV device. Dr Ross Hatton, Research Director of the company commented:
“This is an important advance. We are now very close to having highly flexible organic photovoltaic cells that will be capable of delivering electrical energy at a voltage suitable for recharging lithium ion batteries that are widely used in portable consumer electronics. Remarkably, this high voltage is achieved using a cell with only 4 junctions (sub-cells)’’.University of Warwick researcher Professor Tim Jones, who is Chief Technology Officer of Molecular Solar, added:

“The first generation of organic photovoltaics will be exceptionally well matched to consumer electronics applications. The advantage of Molecular Solar’s high voltage cells is that a single cell can be used with no requirement to connect multiple cells in series for these applications, saving manufacturing cost. ’’Andrew Oldfield, Head of Cleantech at Mercia Fund Management said, “We were attracted to Molecular Solar’s unique approach to realizing truly flexible, environmentally sustainable photovoltaics that are well matched to the burgeoning portable consumer electronics market.”

Bob Beaumont, Popularized Electric Cars

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Electric Vehicles A History of Moving Americans Reborn

Posted on October 29, 2011 by quest

The popularity of mass-produced electric or hybrid cars is recent, but the idea behind using electricity as a power source for cars is more than 100 years old. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will explore the history of the electric car from the early 20th century to the present in a new display as part of the “America on the Move” exhibition opening Oct. 27 through January 2012. “Electrifying Cars” showcases two cars—a 1904 Columbia electric runabout, the best-selling car in the United States at the turn of the century and a 1913 Ford Model T touring car, a gasoline car equipped with an early type of electric starter and electric headlights. The cars, along with a battery charger for General Motors’ EV1 and images of additional electric models, car owners and power sources, follow the historical, cultural and physical development of the electric car.

A look at electric vehicles in history

“Electricity has always been a popular feature of cars,” said Roger White, associate curator of Road Transportation. “By the 1920s manufacturers used batteries not to propel cars but to apply the conveniences of electric cars to gasoline-powered cars.” He added that in recent years a market has developed for all-electric cars and hybrid cars with gasoline and electric propulsion because they reduce energy costs and air pollution. “These cars can draw energy from a variety of sources including fossil fuels, regenerative braking and renewable sources such as solar panels and wind power,” he said.

In the early 20th century, Americans could choose electric, steam or gasoline cars. Wealthy city residents, particularly women, bought electric cars because they were easier to operate. By the 1920s, gasoline-powered cars were the vehicle of choice because they could be driven much farther than electric cars between fill-ups, and gasoline pumps, unlike electric power stations, could be readily located anywhere. Since the 1960s, smog, greenhouse gases, global warming and strained oil supplies have prompted researchers, government and the public to take a new look at electric hybrid and all-electric cars. In the 1990s GM and other manufacturers worked to put electric cars on the market. GM’s EV1, Honda’s EV+, Ford’s Ranger EV and Toyota’s RAV4 EV were leased. But by 2003, the manufacturers determined that the electric car was not commercially viable and ended the leases. By 2010, the market led to the reintroduction of electric cars, and for the first time in almost 100 years consumers could purchase all-electric or new types of hybrid cars.

IBM Backs Sustainable Eco Smart Cities

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