nissan shows new green technology vehicle models

Electric Auto Association

CURRENTEVENTSSepbember 2008 Promoting the use of electric vehicles since 1967 Vol. 40 No. 9

continued on page 18

NISSAN SHOWS TEST MODELS, ELECTRIC & HYBRIDYOKOSUKA, Japan - Nissan recently showed a spiffy electric car packed with a battery developed by the Japanese automaker to deliver more power than the type common in today’s hybrids.

The electric vehicle, set for sale in 2010, carried a 300 kilogram (660 pounds) l i th ium-ion battery and still zipped around a Nissan Motor Co. test course, accelerating more quickly than comparable gas-engine cars.

It was extremely quiet, absent of engine noise — a trademark of electric vehicles. Details such as cruising range are yet to be determined, Nissan officials said.

Having fallen behind Japanese rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in

Nissan showed its EV-01 electric car, foreground, at its test course in Yokosuka near Tokyo. Photo: Shizuo KambayaShi / aP

hybrids, Nissan has made the electric vehicle the pillar of its green strategy.

Automakers around the world are trying to develop ecological products amid growing

concerns about soaring gas prices and global warming. Electric vehicles are zero-emission.

Last month, Tokyo-based Nissan, with French partner Renault SA, announced a partnership with the Portuguese government to sell electric vehicles there in 2011. Separately, Nissan has announced deals with Project Better Place, based in Palo Alto, California, to mass market electric vehicles in Israel and Denmark in 2011.

Nissan’s electric vehicle, is being promised to go on sale in Japan and the U.S. in 2010 and globally by 2012.

GM-Volt Wait List Generation 2.0

33,000+ Members as of

August 12th, 2008Details at

http://gm-volt.com

Volt Update• VOLTPhotosRELEASED: Bob Boniface, Director of Design for Chevrolet Volt,

wrote a blog entry on the Volt’s new exterior design including the first photos of the production vehicle. Interested? http://blog.gmnext.com/?p=229.

• CHATwithBobBoniface: Bob will also be doing a chat on Tuesday from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. –All are welcome! Just go to www.gmnext.com/LiveChat.aspx and register on the site with your e-mail address.

• ElectricVehicleVideo: The new video in GMnext’s Alternative Fuel Solution Series on electric vehicles has been released. The video featuring, Frank Weber, answers questions like, “where do you plug in an electric vehicle?” and “how much does it cost to recharge the battery power in an electric vehicle?” Watch it at: http://www.gmnext.com/Details/Videos.aspx?id=5ea6d2e9-60ee-4e3f-8ddd-803f98f0f884

2 Current EVents / September 2008

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2008

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©2008 Current EVents is a publication of the Electric Auto Association. All rights reserved. While Current EVents and the Electric Auto Association strive for clarity and accuracy, we assume no responsibility for usage of this information. Permission to copy for other than commercial use is given, provided that full credit is given to originator of material copied. This permission does not extend to reprinted articles. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Current EVents is printed on recycled paper (30% post consumer waste), using soy-based inks. The press chemicals are non-toxic.

Articles

1 NISSAN SHOWS TEST MODELS, ELECTRIC & HYBRID — Growing concerns about soaring gas prices and global warming create urgency for tests.

1 VOLT UpdaTE — GM boasts waiting list.

3 MIT TECH REVIEW NaMES TESLa CTO INNOVaTOR OF THE YEaR — JB Straubel, chief technology officer for electric-car startup Tesla Motors, gets the top award.

4 LaWMakERS BaCk BOOST FOR aLTERNaTIVE RESEaRCH — Bipartisan group hopes to fund $20B effort to help automakers develop new technology.

5 WHY WE NEVER NEEd TO BUILd aNOTHER pOLLUTING pOWER pLaNT — Using current energy more efficiently could be the answer.

6 NISSaN TEaMS WITH TENN. ON ELECTRIC CaRS — The deal with Tennessee is similar to a partnership that Renault concluded earlier with Portugal.

8 GROWING paINS HINdER E-BIkE GROWTH — Power-assisted bicycles (“e-bikes”) skyrocketing popularity accents problems with local government regulations.

9 OUR EV VIdEO CLIpS aRE NOW aVaILaBLE! — Delivering our message regarding the benefits of electric vehicles.

9 MakING SURE CONNECTICUT SEES MORE ‘GREEN’ TaxIS — Metro Taxi now features a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid electric vehicle.

10 FLEET OF ELECTRIC WaTER TaxIS FOR ERIE CaNaL HaRBOR? — Water taxi service envisioned that would travel from Grand Island to the harbor and help revitalize the waterfront.

12 STEVE ROSENBaUM THINkS HE kILLEd THE EV — Can we really expect significant innovation now — and fast enough - to make a real change in both the economy and the ecology around the automobile industry?

13 MEET THE ELECTRaFLYER — ElectraFlyerC makes its debut at AirVenture.

14 RTEV: FROM GOLF CaRTS TO ELECTRIC CaRS — RTEV [which stands for Ruff & Tuff Electric Vehicles], will be one of the first companies to come to market with a full-speed electric car

16 CaRB RULES MaY pULL pLUG ON pLUG-IN CONVERSIONS — California Air Resource Board (CARB) could create an obstacle for small companies selling plug-in hybrid conversion kits.

17 pLUG-IN HYBRId ELECRIC VEHICLE (pHEV) TOURS aMERICa — Close encounters with the people who are out there.

19 IN COLORadO: SWISS dRIVER CIRCLING GLOBE ON ONLY SOLaR, BaTTERY pOWER — Solar Taxi’ latest adventures.

22 EV CLUB OF THE SOUTH pRESIdENT MakES IT TO CNN — CNN picks up on the growing popularity of conversions.

Columns

2 EAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2008

24 EAA CHAPTER LISTINGS — Need to tell someone where to go for info?

26 EAA MEMBERSHIP FORM

27 EV CONFERENCE AND EAA CHAPTER EVENTS CALENDAR

IN THIS ISSUE

September 2008 / Current EVents 3

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Confusion?

By: Jennifer Kho

The MIT Technology Review revealed that it has selected JB Straubel, chief technology officer for Tesla Motors, as its Innovator of the Year.

The publication chose Straubel for his engineering work on the company’s all-electric Roadster, citing his leadership of the development of the “groundbreaking car’s” battery, motor and digital-control systems.

“People have looked at electric cars for a long time as a way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and other toxic emissions from cars, and generally speaking, they just haven’t sold well and they have been viewed as underpowered, short-range vehicles,” Erika Jonietz, senior editor for the MIT Technology Review, said Monday. “With the engineering JB has led at Tesla, the company has really changed the way people view electric cars.”

The company has pioneered systems that use commonly available lithium-ion batteries and found a way to make them safe in a high-risk environment where cars crash and batteries explode, all while delivering higher torque, she said.

“The popular i ty in the press and initial sales of this incredibly expensive ca r ha s pushed a lot of people to r e e x a m i n e t h e viability of electric c a r s , i n c l u d i n g major automakers,” Jonietz said. “We think i t has the potential to have a really big impact on transportation and on the environment.”

The award is part of the Technology Review’s annual TR35 l is t of 35 “ o u t s t a n d i n g ” innovators under the age of 35, who were picked from a field of more than 300 submissions, according to the announcement.

It’s the second year in a row that the publication has picked its top winner from the greentech arena.

Last year’s top innovator was David Berry, a principal at venture-capital firm Flagship Ventures, who won for his work developing microbes that make renewable petroleum. His work was the basis for the microbes LS9 is developing (see his TR35 profile here).

Straubel is one of six greentech-related innovators included on the TR35 list this

year. The publication also picked six clean-technology innovators last year.

Jonietz said the Technology Review didn’t make a particular effort to pick clean-energy winners.

“We set out to pick the young innovators who we think are going to have the greatest impact on the way we live and work in the future,” she said. “Increasingly, people who work on these problems are having that sort of impact. It’s really just a reflection of our goal with the package.”

MIT Tech Review Names Tesla CTO Innovator of the Year

JB Straubel, chief technology officer for electric-car startup Tesla Motors, gets the top award in the Tech Review’s

annual TR35 list.


ALTERNATIVE RESEARCH FUNDING

Lawmakers Back Boost For Alternative Research

David Shepardson Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of 10 U.S. senators has proposed an $84 billion energy package that would boost oil drilling and allocate $20 billion to help automakers develop the next generation of advanced-technology automobiles.

The group, led by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D, said it also would work to convert the nation’s automobiles to non-oil fuel sources by funding a $20 billion “Apollo Project” type effort to “support the goal of transitioning 85 percent of America’s new motor vehicles to non-petroleum-based fuels within 20 years.”

“Our country faces a critical challenge because of skyrocketing energy costs,” Conrad said. “This is not a Democratic issue, or a Republican issue. ...The time for delay is over. We need to act now.”

The latest proposal to aid automakers is the most significant concrete sign that after more than a year of debate, Congress may finally be ready to spend a significant amount of money to help automakers retool and make advanced vehicles a reality — especially in light of the Big Three’s mounting financial woes.

But any financial help would most likely have to wait until a new president is elected.

Bipartisan group hopes to fund $20B effort to help automakers develop new technology.

Members of a bipartisan coalition of senators discuss their energy plan Friday on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Photo: SuSan WalSh, aSSociated PreSS

Congress is nearly out of time to do much more before they adjourn to go home and campaign.

Among the program’s key components:

• $7.5 billion for research and development to overcome major technological barriers to developing alternative fuel vehicles, such as those what could operate on advanced batteries.

• $7.5 billion to help U.S. automakers and parts makers “re-tool and re-equip to become

the world leader in making alternative fuel vehicles.”

• Offer revised hybrid tax credits of up to $7,500 per vehicle to encourage Americans to purchase advanced alternative fuel vehicles (those that run primarily on non-petroleum fuels); there would be no cap on the number of vehicles eligible by manufacturer. And up to $2,500 in tax credits to consumers who retrofit existing vehicles with advanced alternative fuel engines.

• Extending and expanding the $2,500 tax credit for hybrid electric vehicles; some popular hybrids, including the Toyota Prius, no longer qualify for federal tax credits.

• $500 mi l l i on fo r r e sea rch and development of new materials and other innovations to improve vehicle fuel efficiency and $2.5 billion to research the next-generation biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, and the necessary infrastructure.

• Tax incentives for the installation of alternative fueling stations, pipelines and other infrastructure. One major hurdle for wider use of E85 ethanol has been a lack of gas pumps that sell it and the fact that it must be shipped by truck or rail, rather than through pipelines.

The group of senators pushing the energy compromise includes: Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., John Thune R-S.D., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Mary Landrieu D-La., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Bob Corker, R-Tenn., Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Ben Nelson, D-Neb.

Sen. Barack Obama, the likely Democratic presidential candidate, praised the effort, while the White House was noncommittal.

“We will take a look at it and see if there are aspects of it that we could embrace. I’m sure there are some things that are in line with what the President would like to see,” spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Michigan Democrats on Friday said they sent a letter to congressional leaders, urging more help for the embattled domestic auto industry.

Their plea came on the same day General Motors Corp. reported a staggering $15.5 billion second-quarter loss.

Michigan congressional staff members were in talks last week to convince the entire delegation to sign the letter.

Michigan’s House Republicans, however, have balked at signing because of the inclusion of a call for more health care funding, something they said has nothing to do with the auto industry.

The Michigan Democrats want a series of provisions to aid both Detroit’s Big Three automakers and the state’s growing unemployed population.

The letter notes that the Wolverine State has the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 8.5 percent.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.


WHY WE NEVER NEED TO BUILD ANOTHERpOLLUTING pOWER pLANT

ENERGY CONSERVATION

Coal? Natural gas? Nuke? We can wipe them all off the drawing board by using current energy more efficiently. Are you listening, Washington ?

By Joseph RommJul. 28, 2008 | salon.com

Suppose I paid you for every pound of pollution you generated and punished you for every pound you reduced. You would probably spend most of your time trying to figure out how to generate more pollution. And suppose that if you generated enough pollution, I had to pay you to build a new plant, no matter what the cost, and no matter how much cheaper it might be to not pollute in the first place.

Well, that’s pretty much how we have run the U.S. electric grid for nearly a century. The more electricity a utility sells, the more money it makes. If it’s able to boost electricity demand enough, the utility is allowed to build a new power plant with a guaranteed profit. The only way a typical utility can lose money is if demand drops. So the last thing most utilities want to do is seriously push strategies that save energy, strategies that do not pollute in the first place.

America is the Saudi Arabia of energy waste. A 2007 report from the international consulting firm McKinsey and Co. found that improving energy efficiency in buildings, appliances and factories could offset almost all of the projected demand for electricity in 2030 and largely negate the need for new coal-fired power plants. McKinsey estimates that one-third of the U.S. greenhouse gas reductions by 2030 could come from electricity efficiency and be achieved at negative marginal costs. In short, the cost of the efficient equipment would quickly pay for itself in energy savings.

While a few states have energy-efficiency strategies, none matches what California has done. In the past three decades, electricity consumption per capita grew 60 percent in the rest of the nation, while it stayed flat in high-tech, fast-growing California. If all Americans had the same per capita

electricity demand as Californians currently do, we would cut electricity consumption 40 percent. If the entire nation had California’s much cleaner electric grid, we would cut total U.S. global-warming pollution by more than a quarter without raising American electric bills. And if all of America adopted the same energy-efficiency policies that California is now putting in place, the country would never have to build another polluting power plant.

How did California do it? In part, a smart California Energy Commission has promoted strong building standards and the aggressive deployment of energy-efficient technologies and strategies — and has done so with support of both Democratic and Republican leadership over three decades.

Many of the strategies are obvious: better insulation, energy-efficient lighting, heating and cooling. But some of the strategies were unexpected. The state found that the average residential air duct leaked 20 to 30 percent of the heated and cooled air it carried. It then required leakage rates below 6 percent, and every seventh new house is inspected. The state found that in outdoor lighting for parking lots and streets, about 15 percent of the light was directed up, illuminating nothing but the sky. The state required new outdoor lighting to cut that to below 6 percent. Flat roofs on commercial buildings must be white, which reflects the sunlight and keeps the buildings cooler, reducing air-conditioning energy demands. The state subsidized high-efficiency LED traffic lights for cities that lacked the money, ultimately converting the entire state.

Significantly, California adopted regulations so that utility company profits are not tied to how much electricity they sell. This is called “decoupling.” It also allowed utilities to take a share of any energy savings they help consumers and businesses achieve. The bottom line is that California utilities

can make money when their customers save money. That puts energy-efficiency investments on the same competitive playing field as generation from new power plants.

The cost of efficiency programs has averaged 2 to 3 cents per avoided kilowatt hour, which is about one-fifth the cost of electricity generated from new nuclear, coal and natural gas-fired plants. And, of course, energy efficiency does not require new power lines and does not generate greenhouse-gas emissions or long-lived radioactive waste. While California is far more efficient than the rest of the country, the state still thinks that with an even more aggressive effort, it can achieve as much additional electricity savings by 2020 as it has in the past three decades.

Serious energy efficiency is not a one-shot resource, where you pick the low-hanging fruit and you’re done. In fact, the fruit grows back. The efficiency resource never gets exhausted because technology keeps improving and knowledge spreads to more people.

The best corporate example is Dow Chemical’s Louisiana division, consisting of more than 20 plants. In 1982, the division’s energy manager, Ken Nelson, began a yearly contest to identify and fund energy-saving projects. Some of the projects were simple, like more efficient compressors and motors, or better insulation for steam lines. Some involved more sophisticated thermodynamic “pinch” analysis, which allows engineers to figure out where to place heat exchangers to capture heat emitted in one part of a chemical process and transfer it to a different part of the process where heat is needed. His success was nothing short of astonishing.

The first year of the contest had 27 winners requiring a total capital investment of $1.7 million with an average annual return on



PARTNERS LINING UP

Nissan Teams With Tenn. On Electric Cars


Christine Tierney / The Detroit News

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — First Israel, then Denmark, Portugal and now Tennessee. In one locale after another, Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. are lining up partners to provide outlets and power for the electric vehicles that the two automakers hope to sell in substantial numbers in the next few years.

Nissan announced Tuesday that it was teaming with the state of Tennessee to encourage demand for ultra-clean electric cars and other zero-emission vehicles in the fifth such agreement concluded this year by the auto-making alliance.

“We’re moving to zero-emission because we think the environment has changed dramatically in the last few years,” Carlos Ghosn, CEO of both Renault and Nissan, said at the formal opening of Nissan’s North American headquarters here.

Ghosn said electric car sales would be modest initially, but would grow. “We think there’s a very big market for electric cars in the United States.”

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said the state would study ways to support the introduction of electric cars, such as helping to provide charging stations, in the central Tennessee region around Nashville. With gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon and concerns mounting about climate change, interest in cleaner vehicles is growing rapidly. All major automakers are developing environmentally friendly models even though it is not clear which technologies will become dominant, or when.

Compared with its Japanese rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., Nissan has lagged in marketing hybrids and other clean vehicles powered by alternative technologies. But Ghosn announced last October that the alliance partners would focus their efforts on producing zero-

Ghosn speaking at the 2008 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos

Photo: WiKiPedia

With Renault, firm links with locales for future outlets, power.

emission, battery-powered electric cars. In May, he said his objective was to make Renault-Nissan a world leader in zero-emission vehicles, a category that also includes fuel-cell cars.

The deal with Tennessee is similar to a partnership that Renault concluded earlier with Portugal. The Portuguese government agreed to study ways to set up a nationwide network of charging stations by 2011, when the French automaker will begin selling electric vehicles there. Nissan also has an accord with Kanagawa prefecture where its new Japanese headquarters will be based. Nissan and Renault previously announced deals with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Project Better Place to mass-market Renault-brand electric vehicles in Israel and in Denmark in 2011.

Nissan and Renault will each produce their own electric cars, but share the drivetrain technology. Tokyo-based Nissan expects to start selling electric cars in 2010, initially in

Japan and in California, which is requiring major manufacturers that sell cars in the state to also offer zero-emission vehicles that year. Nissan expects its electric-vehicle sales to number in the hundreds in 2010, rising to the thousands in 2011 and tens of thousands in 2012.

Several automakers are now working with battery specialists to develop smaller, yet more powerful batteries that can suffice as the sole source of power.

“The advantage, compared with a hybrid, is that you’re not using a fossil fuel. You’re reducing dependence on oil. Another advantage is that you’re using one powertrain instead of two,” said Mike Omotoso, senior manager of global powertrain forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates. “The disadvantage is that they’re still working on the driving range of the vehicles. Most electric vehicles I’ve heard about have a driving range of 200 miles or less,” compared with 300 to 600 miles for gas- and diesel-powered vehicles, he said.

In an EV, you can have speed and range but that’ll cost mightily.

You can have range and little cost, but you won’t get speediness.

You can have little cost and high speed, but your range will be very

short.

pick any two.

Thanks to David Roden


BATTERIES

Sanyo to Mass-produce Li-ion Batteries for plug-in Hybrids in 2011

By Kouji Kariatsumari, Nikkei Electronics

Sanyo Electric Co Ltd announced May 28, 2008, that it started the development of Li-ion rechargeable batteries for use in plug-in hybrids and is planning to begin mass-production in 2011.

Sanyo unveiled it at the press conference where the company announced it will provide Li-ion rechargeable battery systems for use in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to the Volkswagen (VW) Group.

The automobile Li-ion rechargeable batteries that will be mass-produced by Sanyo are reportedly based on so-called three-component (ternary) system, which uses a mixture of Ni, Mn and Co for the positive electrode.

To improve the ternary system, the company added its proprietary additives, etc to the materials of the system. As a result, the latest battery is superior in safety, durability and low-temperature characteristics, compared with the batteries using the existing ternary system.

In regard to the high-temperature characteristics, the battery ensures a power retention ratio of 80% after 400 days in a 60°C environment when measured under the condition where the state of charge (SOC) is 100%.

As a result of cycle life characteristics measurement conducted by charging/discharging at a rate of 2C in the range of 3.0-4.1V in a 60°C environment, it was found that the battery ensures a power retention ratio of 80% or higher after 10,000 cycles. Based on the results, Sanyo explained that its new battery can endure the use over 10-15 years in a hybrid vehicle.

Although Sanyo did not unveil the details of the rechargeable battery unit and cell for HEVs, the current capacity of the cell is expected to be about 5Ah. According to

Automotive Li-ion rechargeable batteries on display: These display models do not include the system that will be supplied to the VW Group, the company said.



E-BIKES

Growing Pains Hinder E-Bike GrowthSummary of the May Event in Loudon, NH

Jessica Mcdiarmid, THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO - While politicians and entrepreneurs complain that some governments have been too slow to act on allowing the use of emission-free, power-assisted bicycles, others say it’s just a case of growing pains.

The use of power-assisted bicycles, widely referred to as “e-bikes,” has risen exponentially since Transport Canada amended its regulations in 2001 to allow Canadians to have battery-powered motors on their bicycles.

John Stonier, spokesman for the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association, said the popularity of the bicycles in British Columbia — one of the first provinces to allow their use — is skyrocketing, with an estimated 10,000 or more riders.

“And that’s increasing very quickly,” said Stonier, adding that current fuel prices, coupled with growing concerns over emissions and climate change, create a “perfect storm” to encourage e-biking.

While some provinces, such as B.C. and Quebec, were quick to allow the bikes on the roads, others have been slower to follow suit.

One of the laggers is Ontario, where e-bikes are currently legal for use — provided they meet a set of standards — during a pilot project ending in the fall of 2009.

A Toronto-based entrepreneur complained Friday that government rules are thwarting widespread use of e-bikes, and consequently, cutting into sales as well as people’s options to use cleaner, more environmentally friendly forms of travel.

Larry Dawidowitz said people are wary of purchasing the bikes he has for sale, which range in cost from about $1,500 to $2,200,

because they’re worried the provincial government could ban the use of them after the pilot project expires.

He said further problems have arisen because while riders don’t need insurance or licence plates, the bikes have confused police who mistake them for scooters, which are considered motorized vehicles.

Every time an e-bike rider has been charged for failing to have insurance or licence plates, the charges have been thrown out, he said.

“The ministry really has to realize that the scooter style is working, the open frame is not,” Dawidowitz said.

He was joined at the Ontario legislature Friday by NDP consumer critic Andrea Horwath, who called on the government to allow electric cars and bikes on roads — except highways — immediately.

She said the pilot program should immediately be made a permanent commitment to give retailers and consumers certainty.

“What’s preventing these from proliferating ... is that the marketing is hesitant because at the end of the day, who knows how the pilot project will end up?” Horwath said.

Brian Hazard, a retailer in Comox, B.C., said there were problems with police mistaking the e-bikes for motorized vehicles when they

were first introduced.

But he said police eventually caught on, and he now hears few complaints from riders, who have been helped by manufacturers putting on plates identifying the vehicles as a power-assisted bicycle.

Juergen Weichert, president of the Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa, said he supports the pilot program in Ontario and is confident it will progress to full approval for the bicycles.

The problem, said Weichert, lies in communication. Neither police nor the public have been properly informed about the bikes and don’t always recognize them, he said.

“These are police who at 300 paces can tell the difference between a Camaro and a Mustang,” Weichert said. “Why can’t they tell the difference between a scooter and an electric bike? It’s just one of interest and communication.

“That is why you’ve got people getting tickets.”

Under Transport Canada’s regulations, e-bikes must not go faster than 32 kilometres per hour or have a motor that exceeds a total output of 500 watts, and must be equipped with handlebars and pedals. They are legal in eight Canadian provinces.

Photo: courteSy of Veloteq


EAA VIDEO

MAkING SURE CONNECTICUT SEES MORE ‘GREEN’ TAxIS

By Andy Shapiro, Special to the Register

WEST HAVEN - Don’t be surprised if the next cab that rolls up to get you after dialing all those sevens looks a bit different.

Metro Taxi now features a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid electric vehicle, which will be displayed at the 2008 Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo.

The event is being held Sept. 14 at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.

The company’s introduction of a hybrid mirrors similar efforts in New York City, where more than 1,000 of the vehicles are on the streets.

More are likely to come following a mandate that all New York taxis must get at least 30 miles per gallon by 2012.

Metro Taxi Founder and President William Scalzi held a raffle to select a driver for the special car, and the winner was Richard Miller.

Miller, 50, said some customers specifically request the hybrid, which switches to electric when the car is idling and resumes gas use

after accelerating to 20 mph or 25 mph.

“People call me direct on my cell phone,” Miller said. “I’ve recently driven a couple to Brooklyn (N.Y.) several times and they ask for me (and the hybrid) specifically.”

Metro Taxi has adopted other “green” business practices in addition to the hybrid. The company has been recycling motor oil since 2001 and using it to heat its service department.

Scalzi said recycling the oil and other fluids from his cabs ensures the hazardous waste is reused or disposed of safely.

“Recycling the oil is good for the environment, as well as our pocketbook,” said Scalzi, who estimates a savings of $20,000 annually from re-using fluids.

Scalzi said he eventually would like to put more hybrids into service, but the next big energy-saving option is natural gas.

“That’s where we have to go, for the environment and to fight fuel costs,” said Scalzi. “The government has to get involved and make natural gas fueling stations. If they make the infrastructure, we’ll adapt our vehicles.”

According to Scalzi, rising gasoline prices have greatly affected Metro Taxi’s drivers and the company.

“It affects their ability to make money and, consequently, we’ve made concessions to the drivers,” Scalzi said. “We’ve begun purchasing gas and selling it to the drivers at wholesale rates, so they can get it considerably cheaper from us.”

Miller said he is fortunate to have won the raffle to drive the company’s lone hybrid, and passengers enjoy riding in it.

“People get in the car, and they ask all types of questions about it,” Miller said.

And does the unique cab provide a boost when it comes time to tip? “People are very generous.”

©New Haven Register 2008

In order to more effectively deliver our message regarding the benefits of electric vehicles to the public, the EAA has produced a couple of video clips and has plans to produce a few more. These were made at no cost to the EAA members thanks to a recent grant received from PG&E, a utility company headquartered in San Francisco .

Here are the links to these short videos so you can watch them on your computer and send them to others who may be interested.

Our EV Video Clips are Now Available!Sometimes the video playback is not smooth on the initial viewing but is usually better on subsequent viewings with the “replay” button.

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xul-H4HsMw 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7EyDZ-iH2Y

(You can select the “watch in high quality”

mode by clicking on the link just below the “number of views” counter).

Another video was made last year by a reporter called the “Hippie Gourmet”. He visited the Annual Electric Car Rally and Show sponsored by the Silicon Valley Chapter and captured the highlights. 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEOepSoeIKE




Fleet of Electric Water Taxis for Erie Canal Harbor?

ELECTRIC BOATS

By Jessica Vosgerchian NEWS STAFF REPORTER

It is based on designs from 1901, but the White Electra might just be the future of boating on the Buffalo waterfront.

The 28-foot electric boat is the prototype for a fleet of electric water taxis envisioned for the waterfront, said John Montague, executive director of the Buffalo State Maritime Center.

Montague said the boat’s design — in both looks and power — hearkens back to Buffalo’s first foray with electric boats — at the 1901 Pan- American Exposition.

The boats were all but forgotten, in favor of the gasoline engine.

“Buffalo is kind of the mother of electric power,” he said.

Constructed by Maritime Center volunteers, the battery-run boat will depend exclusively on solar and wind energy once a powering station is built near Erie Canal Harbor, Montague said.

Montague said free rides on the White Electra may be offered once a docking location is secured at the harbor.

Until then, he said, the boat will be used to take out local politicians and potential investors in an attempt to convince them that a fleet of electric water taxis would be an asset for the waterfront.

“Our intent is to make it available for people who have special interest in it,” Montague said. “We’re really trying to open up the discussion on the whole issue.”

Frank White, the boat’s architect and the namesake for the White Electra, took the boat out for its maiden voyage Wednesday at Erie Canal Harbor.

John Montague, right, executive director of the Buffalo State Maritime Center, and Tony Diina of the Buffalo Rotary Club prepare to embark on the

White Electra, a new electric boat. Photo: John hicKey/buffalo neWS

The boat’s first passengers were members of the Maritime Center, the Rotary Club of Buffalo and the Buffalo Yacht Club, which had all helped to fund the more than $30,000 project.

Onboard, the boating enthusiasts marveled at the 12-passenger boat’s electric engine, a noiseless device about the size of a toaster.

“It’s like sailing, right?” Rotary Club member John Wynne said. “You don’t hear anything.”

White said the boat has a top speed of 10 mph and can travel 50 miles before its batteries need to be recharged.

But after solar panels are added to the roof, White Electra will be able to stay out longer, Montague said. “Boats sit out in the sun for hours and hours and hours versus the time they’re being used.”

Wynne said he envisions a water taxi service that would travel from Grand Island to the harbor and help revitalize the waterfront.

“Our waterfront can become vibrant again,“ he said. “I just hope that one day we see a bunch of nice restaurants up and down the water.”

Another positive aspect of water taxis, Montague said, is that they would allow people without access to private boats an inexpensive way to get on the water.

[email protected]


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EV HISTORY REVISITED

STEVE ROSENBAUM THINKS HE KILLED THE EVBy Steve Rosenbaum http://www.huffingtonpost.com

So, who really killed the electric car? Sadly, I think I did. Here’s why:

Rick Wagoner was interviewed the other day and said — “The future of GM and the American Automotive Industry is in electric cars”. The ABC News report mentioned something about a failed prior attempt called the EV1.

Well, as much as Rick may being honest about his hopes of saving GM — the 100 year old automaker has had more than a few years of a head start to pay attention.

Let’s jump back.

The year was 1979. And I was looking to buy my first car, a senior in high school.

And here’s my subscription to Electric Vehicle News (EVN).

First, did you know there was a magazine called EVN almost 30 years ago?

Second, long before Al Gore made the conversation about the climate crisis a dinner table conversation — why was a high school kid able to figure out that replacing gas with electric was a good idea?

And what happened in the intervening 30 years to stall, obscure, and some would say torpedo the innovation that should have allowed the the EV industry to flourish.

Here’s a clip you should see: http://whokilledtheelectriccar.magnify.net/video/Who-Killed-the-Electric-Car-P-3

While the film hints at some dark conspiracy — and there’s certainly some reason to believe that a company with a huge infrastructure and that has a sunk cost in the combustion engine doesn’t benefit from a shift to radically new technology — the question remains: Who killed the electric car? And, can we really expect significant innovation now — and fast enough - to make a real change in both the economy and the ecology around the automobile industry?

Think for a moment about what the world would be like if EV News was a must read for every automotive executive back in 1979, rather than high school students and hobbyists. What would battery technology look like today if GM had put their huge R&D efforts behind electric storage and delivery? But that didn’t happen. Looking to quash innovation and stall new technology, GM bought themselves 30 years of healthy gas burning profits. And here we are today.

So, I don’t own an electric car. I own an SUV. And six months ago, my family and I decided it was time to get rid of it. So we went searching for a hybrid. My first stop on the shopping trip was GM. I wanted to drive the Ford Escape. But, in New York City, and in one of the largest company-owned showrooms in the nation, I was told that they didn’t have any, didn’t expect any, and that I could maybe drive a one-year-old white (used) hybrid with ‘low miles.’ My family and I got as far as sitting in it. It had

a plastic interior. It was cheap and ugly. We were told the vehicles they had were built to be converted into taxi cabs. We passed.

We tried Honda. We drove a Prius. We liked Toyota a bunch, but they had a super-long waiting list and frankly the gas mileage wasn’t any better than I remember my Dad getting with our red Volkswagen hatchback back in 1974.

In the end — it was a tipping point for my family and me. We’re getting rid of our car. For good. We’ll bike. We’ll ride the subway. We’ll rent when we need to take long trips. But we’re removing ourselves from the automotive owners club. It’s hard, frankly. It will limit some things we can do. It will fundamentally change the way we live. And we’re ready for that.

So when Rick Wagoner stands and confidently predicts that the Volt will save GM — I think it’s time to sell your GM stock. GM had a 30 years head start to see the future, and evolve the company to meet it. They waited too long, and now it’s too late. Some feisty entrepreneurs may build a great new electric car.

So why do I think I killed the electric car? Because, back in 1979 I got it. I knew what I needed to do. I was 17 years old, and there was no talk of Global Warming. It just made sense, cars were going to hurt the planet. And I wanted to buy one that didn’t burn fossil fuel. I ignored my EVN subscription and my gut. Years later I could have invested in a company that was building them (or investigating battery technology). I could have bought stock. I could have made a film. I could have gone ‘car free’ when I moved to

Here’s the Reva, the MiEV, and the Zapp


ELECTRIC AIRPLANES


a city with great public transportation more than 10 years ago. I didn’t do any of those things. Sure, big companies are going to hold their ground and stifle innovation - we know that.

But entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists we can turn the tide. We can embrace bold new ideas. We can buy new products and rally early adopters. Sure the Tesla Roadster is neat, but come on — guys — that’s not what’s going to change the world. When I see Jason Calcanis blogging about his Telsa, well frankly, that’s really not going to help the environment a bit. Now, if Jason were excited about a SMART car, or the Tata — then thought leaders will be really leading.

So, today — I took the first step. I got rid of my gas guzzling SUV. Sold. Gone forever. And I’m not replacing it. So I may have killed the electric car, but I’m not going to buy one of GM’s Volt either. I would have, but now I’m passed the tipping point, and I’m not going back.

Instead, I bought a bike.

***Here’s a page from EVN, 1977. Take a look at what they were thinking back then.

MEET THE ELECTRAFLYER

The CAFE Foundation’s 2nd Annual Electric Aircraft Symposium saw presentations that justify the rapidly increasing interest in Green personal air travel. Sponsored by Foundation Capital, the April 26, 2008 meeting assembled an outstanding faculty to discuss the many aspects of electric-powered flight. It included an remarkable announcement by the Experimental Aircraft Association that

it has filed a request for the FAA to allow electric propulsion in low cost aircraft.

The event was well-attended by members of the science and technology media. Updates on the Aviation’s Green Prize will be posted soon on the CAFE website. In all, the 2008 EAS made the dream of a 100 MPG PAV look a lot closer than most thought.

The 2008 CAFE FoundationElectric Aircraft Symposium, San Francisco, California April 26, 2008

By Susan Wilson Tech.Blorge, August 10, 2008

With all of the new battery technologies and new electric cars, it was only a matter of time before electric planes would be taking to the skies. Once such electric plane, the ElectraFlyerC gave onlookers at the AirVenture in OshKosh, WI quite a show.

According to Wired, the plane received its airworthiness certificate in April. The plane which is small, has a 5.6 kWh lithium battery with a lifecycle of 1,000 recharges. It provides juice for a motor driving a 45-inch superlight PowerFin propeller made of a foam core surrounded by an outer shell of carbon fiber and glass fabric.

Once in the air, the ElectraFlyerC can fly for one and a half to two hours at 90 mph. Stall speed is 45 mph. The plane can be recharged in six hours from a 110v outlet, easily found in any home. Using a 220v outlet allows recharging in just 6 hours.

One of the marvels of the plane is its silence. Unlike most small planes that require some form of ear protection, the ElectraFlyerC

is quiet. Neighbors won’t be irritated by the noise of your plane nor will local livestock.

Besides cutting down on the noise pollution, the electric plane produces very little soot or pollution. Overhauling the plane is easy and running the thing only costs about 60 cents a charge.

Compared to most small airplanes taken up for a joy ride, this plane is remarkably friendly for the environment on all levels from noise pollution, to air pollution. Flying a plane that is quieter than many lawnmowers could only decrease the resentment of any airport neighbors.

Having a flying time of only one and a half to two hours makes this a plane for weekend hobbyists and not commuters. It would be interesting however, to add laminated solar cells to the wings and body since they wouldn’t add much weight and see if that improved the flying time.

This would be a fun plane to fly. More than a glider but not as complex as your basic fuel guzzling small plane.

ElectraFlyerC makes its debut at AirVenture


WHAT’S HAPPENING OUT THERE

That’s the vision of Mike McQuary, whose experience managing Web service Mindspring is helping him run a small startup in South Carolina

BusinessWeek.comBy Diana Holden

As the Internet revolution gained steam in the mid-1990s, Mike McQuary walked away from a comfortable career as an operations manager for Mobil’s chemical division to join a small Atlanta dial-up service called Mindspring. That career gamble paid off in 1999 when the Internet service provider announced a merger with California-based EarthLink (ELNK) — leaving McQuary, by then Mindspring’s president, “enough money to do anything,” as he says, “but not enough money to do nothing.”

But what to do next? After seeing the merger through, McQuary, who is now 48, left EarthLink, started a small record label, and dabbled as an angel investor. But he didn’t really find his next calling until he stumbled on Who Killed the Electric Car?, the 2006 documentary that chronicled the short life of General Motors’ (GM) EV1 electric car. As he watched the film, McQuary was struck by the zeal that the customers who leased the EV1 had for the project. “That passion — the only other time I’d seen that was in the early days of the Internet,” he recalls.

Soon after, McQuary bought a stake in a small South Carolina company that made golf carts, and he has spent the past two years remaking it into a platform for his next big venture: the launch in early 2009 of a low-speed — but street-legal — electric car. By 2010, McQuary hopes that the company, RTEV [which stands for Ruff & Tuff Electric Vehicles], will be one of the first companies to come to market with a full-speed electric car. “We can make great cars that customers can actually get excited about,” McQuary says.

RTEV: From Golf Carts to Electric Cars

Competing Against the Giants

Still, the odds of success for McQuary’s latest venture are about the same as for, well, an Internet startup. Right now, battery technology is not advanced enough to power a full-size sedan for a long distance, and with McQuary admittedly relying on “off the shelf” technology, he won’t have a competitive edge when more powerful batteries do become available. Then there’s the cost: Because of the currently hefty cost of electric batteries, the 35-mph, two-seat model McQuary will launch in 2009 will run something less than $30,000 — more than double the current price of a gas-powered compact, such as the Toyota (TM) Yaris or Hyundai Accent.

Even then, McQuary will have to convince consumers that RTEV’s cars are as reliable as electric cars being developed by such giants as General Motors (GM), Nissan (NSANY), and Chrysler, as well as such well-funded and higher-profile startups as Tesla Motors, whose sleek roadster zooms from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. “The history of the auto industry is filled with companies like this,” says James Hall, a principal at 2953 Analytics, a Detroit auto-industry consulting firm. Hall says consumers shy away from smaller automakers because “[they] may have a nice early vehicle, but you may find they’re not around after a while.” What’s more, building cars is “psychotically capital intensive,” Hall says. “I wish him luck.”

McQuary is confident that his company can compete, even with less capital. “You’ve got to make sure you’re spending wisely and being smart,” he says. From his experience at Mobil, he says big companies have some inherent disadvantages in a fast-moving market. RTEV will be able to do things more quickly, he judges, than a large company.

“Golf Carts on Steroids”

McQuary got into the business through a friend who had recently talked with a South Carolina entrepreneur looking for financiers to back a startup to design and sell golf carts made in China. After a bit of research, McQuary concluded that making carts was a losing proposition: The golf-cart market was flat and dominated by two entrenched players. But he was intrigued by the possibility of using the technology for other electric vehicles. In 2006, McQuary approached the entrepreneur, Bo Huff, and proposed retooling the business to sell a broad line of electric vehicles — including cars. “We started throwing numbers around,” Huff says, and the outfit soon had a new direction, with McQuary as chief executive.

The Winnsboro [S.C.] company sells a line of what McQuary calls “golf carts on steroids.” These can be used as utility vehicles by outdoors-based businesses. One fast-selling model is a four-wheel-drive cart called the Hunter that has become popular with sportsmen: It’s painted in camouflage colors and allows hunters to travel up to 50 miles on a single charge. By yearend, RTEV hopes to roll out a line of “Wheego” scooters that can hit 40 mph. The low-speed street car is slated for next year.

Electric vehicles are starting to gain traction with consumers. A rival, Global Electric Motorcars, a subsidiary of Chrysler, sells six models with a top speed of 25 mph for urban settings. RTEV hopes to sell 2,500 of its electric vehicles this year and 4,000 in 2009, as it is struggling to turn out enough vehicles to meet demand. “We’re way oversold,” says Preston Wrenn, RTEV’s vice-president for engineering and product development. Revenues are small but growing: Last year RTEV, with 22 employees, booked $8 million in sales, and McQuary believes the company will hit $12 million this year and is capable of growing 50% each of the next



few years. He isn’t sure if RTEV will break even this year. “If we grow as fast as I want to grow, we may lose a couple of million dollars,” because of costs to boost production, he says. “Certainly, next year we will be cash-flow positive.”

The Battery Problem

But for McQuary and RTEV, the big payoff will come if they can design and develop a street-legal electric vehicle that can give consumers relief from $4-a-gallon gasoline. The company has several prototypes for a low-speed street vehicle that can go up to 35 mph and be used by urbanites making short trips around town. One model is a two-seat hatchback called the Noble, which was converted from a gas-powered car sold in China. McQuary admits that a big challenge has been that most of the electric batteries available aren’t powerful enough to provide the creature comforts most drivers are accustomed to. “Air conditioning is a big draw of electricity and power, so our test cars don’t have them. In the very first cars, we probably won’t have a very sophisticated heating and cooling system. Eventually we will, as technology evolves,” he says.

Wrenn says battery technology is “changing

by the minute right now.” He sees potential in lithium ion batteries, which RTEV is testing. Small versions of the batteries are used in laptop computers, but they aren’t capable of powering cars over long distances. “It requires a lot of complicated technology to maintain the thermal stability of those batteries,” Wrenn says. And while the battery makers claim they’re nearing

a breakthrough, Hall, the auto industry consultant, notes that battery companies have been making big promises for years. “There are liars, there are damned liars, and there are battery engineers,” he says.

Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.



CARB Rules May Pull Plug on Plug-in Conversions

Published on Hybrid Cars (http://www.hybridcars.com)Published August 11, 2008

In recent years, the State of California has become the unofficial capital of plug-in hybrid technology. But proposed certification standards from the California Air Resource Board (CARB) could create an obstacle for small companies selling plug-in hybrid conversion kits. The kits—which allow owners of today’s hybrids to boost their fuel economy to as much as 100 mpg or higher—could have unintended negative consequences, according to CARB. Tests of some plug-in hybrid conversions at the Argonne National L a b o r a t o r y r e v e a l e d increased levels of air pollution. Apparently, changing a hybrid’s battery control system can also alter the vehicle’s electronic emissions system.

CARB officials want to see additional testing and to require consumer warranties for the kits—regardless of the cost. The agency currently requires that all aftermarket parts affecting a vehicle’s emissions meet high standards, but no certification process has been established for plug-in hybrid conversion kits.

Consumer demand for plug-in hybrids is rapidly climbing. Major auto companies like GM, Ford, Daimler, and Toyota say their plug-ins are coming, but not for at least a couple of years. Plug-in conversions of today’s hybrids could fill the gap.

The proposed regulations (PDF) [1]would require conversion companies to follow a test regimen similar in scale to those followed by automakers for new vehicles. They would also force manufacturers of plug-in conversion equipment to provide warranties of seven to 10 years.

The work of plug-in cheerleaders and kit manufacturers has been a key factor in inspiring—or prodding, depending on your view—major car companies to pursue plug-in hybrids. But rules designed for the big car companies to bring a vehicle to a mass market may end up preventing these small conversion companies [2] from putting the first wave of plug-in hybrids on the road.

Plug-in Hybrid Over-Regulation

“Let’s take this step by step and not shut down the small innovators,” said Ron Gremban, technical lead at CalCars [3], the most prominent plug-in hybrid advocacy group. “Conversions, when sold in significant quantities, will need to prove in some way that they do not increase criteria emissions. But in order to avoid a high cost of entry that would prevent small, innovative, shoestring-budget operations from starting out, there is high value in tolerating small quantities of conversions with lower-level oversight.” He argues that for small volumes—fewer than 1,000 units per year—the stringent criteria proposed by CARB should not be required.

“Why throw the baby out with the bathwater?” said Daniel Sherwood, president of 3Prong Power Inc. [4], a plug-in hybrid conversion startup based in Berkeley , California . In an interview with HybridCars.com, Sherwood said, “A few hundred cars, even if not

optimally designed to contain evaporative emissions, won’t have a measurable effect on air quality. Let’s not make California the only state in the nation where you can’t buy a plug-in car because of over-regulation.”

Two other points of contention with the CARB proposal are the standardization of a Yazaki charging coupler (PDF) [5] and a maximum four-hour charging time. Plug-in advocates

say the specification of one manufacturer is too narrow and does not allow for future developments, while the four-hour charging rule actually runs counter to the typical overnight charging plan for most plug-ins. In other words, it could keep plug-in hybrids from utilizing the simplest source of electricity—a standard wall outlet.

W h i l e t h e p r o p o s e d environmental and consumer protections may make sense in the long run, many plug-in advocates worry that the tough rules could kill an embryonic industry. Their push back was strong enough that CARB delayed consideration of the new rules from October to December of this year. In the meantime, anyone considering converting a Prius may have a limited window of opportunity to get the work done in California .

Source URL: http://www.hybridcars.com/incentives-laws/carb-rules-may-pull-plug-plug-conversions-08112.html

Links:[1] http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/zevprog/hevtest/071608aftermarketpartsdraftrev.pdf[2] http://www.hybridcars.com/plug-in-hybrids/availability-plug-in-hybrids.html[3] http://www.calcars.org/[4] http://www.3prongpower.com/[5] http://www.yazaki-na.com/uploads/HV_2P 2p_DC_Power_Connector.pdf


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Plug-in Hybrid Elecric Vehicle (PHEV) Tours America

The Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) that is traveling All Around America [3A], www.phev3a.com, has scoured parts of the South and has visited the Northeast and is now (mid-August 2008) in Canada, educating the public about the benefits of plug-in hybrids and all electric vehicles. Owner and driver Jerry Asher, backed up by his support team at home and on the road, has visited 16 state capitols and about a dozen EAA chapters or about-to-be chapters.

At each major city, the PHEV3A team has endeavored to garner press coverage, reaching the wider audience that only the media can touch. In a summer with record high gas prices, the PHEV3A message is often seen as newsworthy. Radio, TV and print media have all covered this historic drive.

Jerry has offered drives and rides in his plug-in hybrid, called the Spirit of DC. There is

nothing like experiencing a drive in a PHEV or EV to make a believer out of a skeptic.

The trip has seen people with solar panels that want to give the Spirit a charge, met people who invite Jerry to dinner or pay for a tank of gas or give a contribution to this non-profit, tax-deductible adventure.

However, the trip has not been without problems. The CANview computer read-out has been on the blink a time or two, but as luck would have it, some computer whiz would happen along to fix it. Many people have been encountered who have never heard of PHEV, but want to learn.

Jerry is eager to meet as many EV enthusiasts

as he can, and invites you all to call him on his cell phone 202-486-5450, or email him at [email protected] to invite him to stop by for an EV event of your choosing (press conference, dinner, party) in your state.

Only 34 more states and about 40 EAA chapters to go. Stay tuned.


Solar Taxi Arrives… We are keeping you posted on the Solar Taxi’s journey across the globe. Chapter participation in greeting him is urged as he crosses the USS beginning in July. Below is a partial list of the appearances. Keep in mind that because of unforseen circumstances, the schedule is tentative. We will publish more updates in subsequent issues. More into at: www.solartaxi.com/

Location Approx. First date distance in location (miles) Washington D.C. September 1, 2008 0Baltimore September 3, 2008 110Philadelphia September 4, 2008 122New York September 6, 2008 122Hartford September 14, 2008 122

CONTINUING DISCUSSION

But Nissan faces competition from other automakers, including General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. of the U.S., which have developed electric vehicles.

Also Wednesday, Japanese rival Mitsubishi Motors Corp., working with Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa Corp., said it was building a plant in Japan to mass-produce lithium-ion batteries for its electric vehicle, planned for rental next year and sale the following year.

Nissan also offered test-drives of its hybrid. Hybrids deliver better mileage than comparable gas-engine vehicles by switching between an engine and an electric motor.

Nissan now purchases its hybrid system from Toyota for the Altima hybrid sold in the U.S. but is promising vehicles with its own system by 2010.

Nissan’s hybrid system still has some bugs to work out. Shown on an Infiniti luxury model, it seemed to lurch a little when the gas engine kicked in as speed picked up.

Nissan engineer Mikio Nozaki said the system delivers the mileage of a compact car, although he refused to give numbers.

The hybrid comes with Nissan’s lithium-ion battery, although they are much smaller than the version in the electric car.

Nissan Tests, cont. from page 1

Nissan Motors staff shows their hybrid car’s engine at their laboratory in Yokosuka, near Tokyo, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008. Nissan offered test-drives of its hybrid. Hybrids deliver better mileage than comparable gas-engine vehicles by

switching between an engine and an electric motor. Photo: Shizuo KambayaShi / aP

“Fill rate” is directly affected by power factor of the mains charger. If an EV has usable 35 miles range with

a charger that takes 7 hours to fill the pack up — its charger “fill rate” can be stated as 5 miles per hour.

Similarly, if a 110 mile range pack takes 5 hours to fill, it’s charger delivers 22 miles per hour fill rate.



…in Colorado!Boston September 15, 2008 122Boston September 16, 2008 0Lake Champlain September 18, 2008 214Montreal September 19, 2008 104Montreal September 20, 2008 0Ottawa September 22, 2008 122Montreal September 23, 2008 122 total miles: 6086

In Colorado: Swiss driver circling globe on only solar, battery power

Excerpts from Rocky Mountain NewsLouis Palmer's SolarTaxi has been at it for more than a year now, and recently arrived in Denver.

In Glenwood Springs, Palmer, 36, explained to a newspaper reporter, "My goal is to go around the world and show that there are solutions to stop global warming and that there are solutions available to be independent from fossil fuels."

For many in Colorado it was the first glance at the trailer Palmer pulls behind his SolarTaxi. The trailer is equipped with high-efficiency solar panels made by his main sponsor, Q-cells. Those panels generate about half the electricity needed to run the car. The rest of the energy comes from solar panels on top of the car. Whenever he can, he refuels at Swiss embassies.

"Everyone has given me a positive reaction," Palmer said during his Glenwood Springs stop. "People are waiting for me in almost every city. They want to be a part of the adventure and to help me."

His car was built with help form the Swiss government and Swiss universities. After three years of design and construction, he left on his globe-trotting adventure on July 3, 2007, from the site of the European Sustainable Energy Forum in his home town of Lucerne.

Palmer was in 18 countries between Europe and India. His longest delay was three weeks spent at the Saudi Arabia border waiting for government permission to enter the oil-rich country. Mechanical problems have forced him to take just two days off so far.

From India, he took a ship to Indonesia, reaching Bali in early December. In Bali, his solar taxi was a hit at the Climate Change Conference. He gave rides to World Future Council president Bianca Jagger and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

A Greenpeace ship which was bound for New Zealand ferried him to his next stop. After Australia, another ship ride to the Pacific coast.

He's been working his way from California the past couple weeks.

Before he leaves Colorado he is expected to visit the Rocky Mountain Institute, a renowned conservation think tank, in Aspen.Palmer hopes to be back in Switzerland by Christmas.

Although the trailer has made the whole operation a little bit unwieldy, Palmer is convinced that with some technological and engineering fixes, a solar car can be made to look elegant. "An electric car like this could be produced for $10,000," Palmer told the Post-Independent. "They could be in showrooms now. Solutions are available."

Louis Palmer, 36, of Lucerne, Switzerland, drives his solar and battery powered vehicle through the streets of Carbondale, CO. He

expects to complete his trip back to Switzerland in about four months. Photo: PhilliP yateS, PoSt indePendent


Powerplants, cont. from page 5

CONTINUING DISCUSSIONS

investment of 173 percent. Many at Dow felt that there couldn’t be others with such high returns. The skeptics were wrong. The 1983 contest had 32 winners requiring a total capital investment of $2.2 million and a 340 percent return — a savings of $7.5 million in the first year and every year after that. Even as fuel prices declined in the mid-1980s, the savings kept growing. The average return to the 1989 contest was the highest ever, an astounding 470 percent in 1989 — a payback of 11 weeks that saved the company $37 million a year.

You might think that after 10 years, and nearly 700 projects, the 2,000 Dow employees would be tapped out of ideas. Yet the contest in 1991, 1992 and 1993 each had in excess of 120 winners with an average return on investment of 300 percent. Total savings to Dow from just those projects exceeded $75 million a year.

When I worked at the Department of Energy in the mid-1990s, we hired Nelson, who had recently retired from Dow, to run a “return on investment” contest to reduce DOE’s pollution. As they were at Dow, many DOE employees were skeptical such opportunities existed. Yet the first two contest rounds identified and funded 18 projects that cost $4.6 million and provided the department $10 million in savings every year, while avoiding more than 100 tons of low-level radioactive pollution and other kinds of waste. The DOE’s regional operating officers ended up funding 260 projects costing $20 million that have been estimated to achieve annual savings of $90 million a year.

Economic models greatly overestimate the cost of carbon mitigation because economists simply don’t believe that the economy has lots of high-return energy-efficiency opportunities. In their theory, the economy is always operating near efficiency. Reality is very different than economic models.

In my five years at DOE, working with companies to develop and deploy efficient and renewable technologies, and then in nearly a decade of consulting with companies in the private sector, I never saw a building or factory that couldn’t cut electricity consumption or greenhouse-gas

emissions 25 percent to 50 percent with rapid payback (under four years). My 1999 book, “Cool Companies,” detailed some 100 case studies of companies that have done just that and made a great deal of money.

There are many reasons that most companies don’t match what the best companies do. Until recently, saving energy has been a low priority for most of them. Most utilities, as noted, have little or no incentive to help companies save energy. Funding for government programs to help companies adopt energy-saving strategies has been cut under the Bush administration.

Government has a very important role in enabling energy savings. The office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy has lots of (underfunded) programs that deliver savings every day. Consider, for instance, Chrysler’s St. Louis complex, which recently received a DOE Save Energy Now energy assessment. Using DOE software, Chrysler identified a variety of energy-saving measures and saved the company $627,000 a year in energy costs — for an upfront implementation cost of only $125,000.

The key point for policymakers now is that we have more than two decades of experience with successful state and federal energy-efficiency programs. We know what works. As California energy commissioner Art Rosenfeld — a former DOE colleague and the godfather of energy efficiency — put it in a recent conversation, “A lot of technology and strategies that are tried and true in California are waiting to be adopted by the rest of country.”

So how do we overcome barriers and tap our nearly limitless efficiency resource? Obviously, the first thing would be to get all the states to embrace smarter utility regulations, which is a core strategy of Barack Obama’s plan to reduce greenhouse gases. But how does the federal government get all the states to embrace efficiency?

We should establish a federal matching program to co-fund state-based efficiency programs, with a special incentive to encourage states without an efficiency program to start one. This was a key recommendation of the End-Use Efficiency

Working Group to the Energy Future Coalition, a bipartisan effort to develop consensus policies, in which I participated. The first year should offer $1 billion in federal matching funds, then $2 billion, $3 billion, $4 billion, and finally stabilizing at $5 billion. This will give every state time to change their regulations and establish a learning curve for energy efficiency.

This program would cost $15 billion in the first five years, but save several times that amount in lower energy bills and reduced pollution. Since the next president will put in place a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases, the revenues from auctioning the emissions permits can ultimately be used to pay for the program.

We should restore a federal focus on the energy-intensive industries, such as pulp and paper, steel, aluminum, petroleum refining and chemicals. They account for 80 percent of energy consumed by U.S. manufacturers and 90 percent of the hazardous waste. They represent the best chance for increasing efficiency while cutting pollution. Many are major emitters of greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide. A 1993 analysis for the DOE found that a 10 to 20 percent reduction in waste by American industry would generate a cumulative increase of $2 trillion in the gross domestic product from 1996 to 2010. By 2010, the improvements would be generating 2 million new jobs.

For these reasons, in the 1990s, the Energy Department began forming partnerships with energy-intensive industries to develop clean technologies. We worked with scientists and engineers to identify areas of joint research into technologies that would simultaneously save energy, reduce pollution and increase productivity. The Bush administration slashed funding for this program by 50 percent — and keeps trying to shut it down entirely.

Indeed, conservatives in general have cut the funding or shut down entirely almost all federal programs aimed at deploying energy-efficient technologies. Conservatives simply have a blind spot when it comes to energy efficiency and conservation, seeing them as inconsequential “Jimmy Carter programs.”


namely, that a great many utilities have a huge profit incentive to build even the most expensive power plants, since they can pass all costs on to consumers while retaining a guaranteed profit. But they have a strong disincentive from investing in much less costly efforts to reduce electricity demand, since that would eat into their profits.

The next president must challenge the public service commission in every state to allow utilities to receive the same return on energy efficiency as they are allowed to receive on generation. That single step could lead the country the furthest in solving our ever-worsening climate and energy problems.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/07/28/energy_efficiency/print.html

CONTINUING DISCUSSIONS


I recently testified at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on nuclear power and spoke about how alternative technologies, particularly energy efficiency, were a much better bet for the country. Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio) said this was “poppycock,” and then asked all the pro-nuclear witnesses to address the question, “If nuclear power is so uncompetitive, why are so many utilities building reactors?”

Voinovich apparently has forgotten about the massive subsidies he himself voted to give the nuclear industry in 2005. He seems to be unaware that states like Florida allow utilities to sharply raise electric rates years in advance of a nuclear plant delivering even a single electron to customers. If you could do that same forward-pricing with energy efficiency, we would never need to build another polluting plant.

Although he is a senior member of the Senate and a powerful voice on energy and climate issues, Voinovich doesn’t seem to know the first thing about the electricity business;

CARB pOSTpONES RULEMAkING

CARB Postpones Rulemaking on Certification of PHEV Conversions

The test procedure modifications for hybrid electric vehicles in the passenger car, light duty truck and medium duty vehicle classes, and aftermarket parts certification requirements for off vehicle charge capable conversion systems have been delayed. This rulemaking is now tentatively scheduled for a Public Hearing during the December 11-12, 2008, Board Meeting. In addition, EV charging requirements will not be included in this rulemaking, but will be considered in a future rulemaking not yet scheduled. [Ed: This is a major win for EV and PHEV converters.]

Additional information on these activities will be posted to this web site:http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/zevprog/hevtest/hevtest.


EV CLUB NEWS

By Curt Merrill, CNN

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Larry Horsley loves that he doesn’t buy much gas, even though he drives his ‘95 Chevy S-10 back and forth to work each day.

Horsley, a self-described do-it-yourselfer, simply plugs his truck into an electric wall outlet in his Douglasville, Georgia, garage and charges it overnight, instead of buying gasoline refined from mostly imported oil.

“If I can keep a dollar from going overseas, I’ll spend two dollars,” he said. The whole conversion, including the truck, cost him about $12,000, which parts dealers say is about standard.

Another Atlanta-area tinkerer, David Kennington, converted his Honda Civic del Sol from gasoline to electric for a different reason: “I’m a raging greenie,” he said.

Both Horsley and Kennington are fed up. They’re among a growing number of Americans who are refusing to wait for big-car manufacturers to deliver mainstream electric vehicles, called EVs. Not only have they rebelled against the status quo by ripping out their gas-guzzling engines and replacing them with zero-emission electric motors, they say just about anyone can

EV Club of the South president Makes it to CNNdo it.

Another electric DYI-er in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, Bob Batson, has formed a company called Electric Vehicles of America that sells vehicle parts for other anti-gasoline rebels looking to convert.

Batson said business h a s m o r e t h a n tripled in the past year. “Sales trends are definitely up as the price of gasoline

goes up,” he said.

60 mph on 20 batteries

Outside his metal roofing business, Horsley opened up the hood of his converted Chevy truck to show how he did it.

The en t i r e p roces s i s “bas i ca l ly straightforward,” he said, after four months driving it on electric.

“Anyone who has basic mechanical skills can build one of these,” Horsley said. “But it takes time,” he said, about three months. Most of that period was spent waiting for the parts to be shipped.

He’s got the motor of his maroon S-10 pickup set up to run on 20 six-volt batteries, the same kind used in golf carts. The motor connects to an existing manual t r a n s m i s s i o n t o propel the truck up to 60 mph.

Horsley removed the vehicle’s radiator to make room under the hood for a few of the batteries. The rest are concealed in the back, under the pickup’s bed.

Other components such as a fuel injector were replaced with their electric counterparts and some, like the exhaust system, were removed completely.

Horsley started the conversion amid cool temperatures in January, so he didn’t install air conditioning. But in August, sweltering in Georgia’s brutal 90-degree heat and humidity, Horsley calls that decision a mistake — one he won’t make next time.

He said his wife won’t let him convert her car, but he’s looking for another used truck to convert.

The truck can travel about 40 miles without damaging the lead-acid batteries before the vehicle needs recharging, Horsley said. But he said 40 miles is enough to get to and from work and run errands around town.

While limited range is the main disadvantage of electric vehicles, most people don’t need to drive very far on a regular basis, said Batson.

Larry Horsley’s pickup has a set of neatly arranged electronics where his engine once was.

Batteries dominate the space under the hood of David Kennington’s converted Honda.



VOLT UPDATED DESIGN

“What people don’t always realize is that the average person only drives 20 miles per day,” he said.

Cost versus savings

For his part, Kennington describes his sports-car red Honda as a “science experiment.” He first converted the two-seater into an electric vehicle four years ago and has been tinkering with it ever since. He’s swapped out components and tried multiple battery configurations.

With his current nine-battery setup Kennington gets about 20 miles per charge, so he only drives it on short trips a couple times a week from his Austell, Georgia, home.

“I did it for the learning experience,” he said.

Kennington said he’s waiting for better battery technologies, like nickel-metal-hydride and lithium-ion, to become more affordable. Those batteries can provide more power with less weight for increased range, but currently cost $10,000 to $20,000 per set, compared with about $2,000 for lead acid batteries, he said.

“I hope at some point that I will be able to drive it on a more regular basis and that it will be more useful,” he said. “Do I expect it to someday to be my only car? No.”

He said most people who own electric cars also have a gasoline or hybrid vehicle for longer trips.

Kennington is president of the EV Club of the South, a group of electric vehicle owners and enthusiasts. He said interest in EVs is directly tied to gas prices.

“When gas goes up, more people call me and more people come to the meetings,” he said.

GM May Reveal the production Chevy Volt on its Centennial Webcast,

September 16th

GM has been gearing up for a high-intensity Centennial celebration set to take place on September 16th.

The Detroit Press is reporting that “GM may even unveil the production version of the Volt as part of a centennial day webcast.”

This webcast is supposed to last 40 to 50 minutes, occur live from GM headquarters on the morning of the 16th, and be broadcast around the world on the website GMnext.com. The Volt is expected to be a significant centerpiece of the event, and although GM is keeping its message and any “big-splash announcements” under wrap, GM spokesperson Bill O’Neill who is the architect of the event promises a big impact.

Frank Weber, the Volt’s vehicle line executive notes that, “the Volt plays a huge role in GM’s future, so it will clearly play a large role in the centennial.” Oneill concedes “we have a unique opportunity on Sept. 16. It happens only once. Clearly it’s a huge opportunity for us to show where we’re going in the future.”

Grab your popcorn and take that morning off from work, it’s less than one month away.

Source (Detroit Free Press )


We have shortened the information on this list in order to save space. If you wish to learn more about a

specific organization, please check the website for meeting particulars.

We do attempt to keep this list up to date. If you have

changes or notice corrections, please email us at [email protected].

The Electric Auto Association is a 501 (c)(3)

nonprofit organization.

ELECTRIC AUTO ASSOCIATION CHAPTERS AND AFFILIATES

CaNadaEV COUNCIL OF OTTaWa Web Site: evco.caContact: Alan Poulsen 613-271-0940 [email protected]

VaNCOUVER EVa Web Site: www.veva.bc.caContact: Don Chandler [email protected]

International CHICO Eaa Web Site: geocities.com/chicoeaaContact: Chuck Alldrin, 530-899-1835 [email protected]

EaST (SF) BaY Eaa Web Site: www.ebeaa.orgContact: Ed Thorpe, 510-864-0662 [email protected]

GREaTER SaCRaMENTO EaaContact: Tim Hastrup, 916-791-1902 [email protected]

kONOCTI Eaa Web Site: www.konoctieaa.orgContact: Dr. Randy Sun, 707-263-3030, [email protected]

NORTH BaY Eaa Web Site: www.nbeaa.orgContact: Chris Jones, 707-577-2391 [email protected]

ELECTRIC VEHICLE aSSOCIaTION OF SaN dIEGO (EVaoSd) Web Site: www.evaosd.comContact: Joseph Gottlieb, 760-580-6011 [email protected]

SaN FRaNCISCO EVa Web Site: www.sfeva.orgContact: Dale Miller 415-491-0910 [email protected]

SF pENINSULa Eaa Web Site: geocities.com/sfpeaaContact: Bill Carroll, 650-589-2491 [email protected]

SaN JOSE Eaa Web site: geocities.com/sjeaaContact: Terry Wilson, 408-446-9357 [email protected]

SILICON VaLLEY Eaa Web site: www.eaasv.orgContact: Jerry Pohorsky, 408-464-0711 [email protected]

ELECTRIC VEHICLE aSSOCIaTION OF SOUTHERN CaLIFORNIa (EVaoSC)Contact: Leo Galcher, 949-492-8115 [email protected]

VENTURa COUNTY Eaa Web Site: geocities.com/vceaaContact: Bruce Tucker 805-495-1026 [email protected]

FLORIdaFLORIda Eaa Web Site: www.floridaeaa.orgContact: Shawn Waggoner 561-543-9223 [email protected]

GEORGIaEV CLUB OF THE SOUTHWeb Site: www.evclubsouth.orgContact: David Kennington, 770-944-3066 [email protected]

IdaHOpaNHaNdLE ELECTRIC VEHICLE aSSOCIaTION pEVa Contact: Gordy Ormesher, 208-660-8539 [email protected]

ILLINOISFOx VaLLEY Eaa Web Site: www.fveaa.org/Contact: Ted Lowe, 630-260-0424 [email protected]

MaSSaCHUSETTSNEW ENGLaNd Eaa Web Site: http://neeaa.org/Contact: Bob Rice, 203-530-4942 [email protected]

pIONEER VaLLEY Eaa Web Site: www.pveaa.orgContact: Karen Jones, [email protected]

MICHIGaNMICHIGaN Eaa Web Site: michiganEAA.orgContact: Larry Tuttle, 734-717-0916 [email protected]

-

MINNESOTaMINNESOTa Eaa Web Site: mn.eaaev.orgContact: Craig Mueller, 612-414-1736 [email protected]

MISSOURIGaTEWaY ELECTRIC VEHICLE (GEVa) Web Site: http://gatewayev.orgContact: George Moellenhoff 314-963-1358 [email protected]

MId aMERICa Eaa Web Site: maeaa.orgContact: Mike Chancey 816-822-8079 [email protected]

NEVadaaLTERNaTIVE TRaNSpORTaTION CLUB, Eaa Web Site: ElectricNevada.orgContact: Bob Tregilus, 775-826-4514 [email protected]

LaS VEGaS EVa Web Site: www.lveva.orgContact: William Kuehl, 702-636-0304 [email protected]

NEW YORkLONG ISLaNd Eaa Contact: Michael Anzalone, 631-471-3639 [email protected]

NORTH CaROLINaCOaSTaL CaROLINaS- WILMINGTON EVa Contact: Page Paterson, 910-686-9129 [email protected]

ELECTRIC CaRS OF ROaNOkE VaLLEY Contact: Harold Miller 252-534-1258 [email protected]

pIEdMONT CaROLINa EVa Web Site: www.opecthis.infoContact: Clifford Metcalf 704-624-0168 cell: 704-221-0858 [email protected]

TRIad EVa Web Site: www.localaction.biz/TEVAContact: Jack Martin 336-213-5225 [email protected] Clayton, 336.407-4322 [email protected]

TRIaNGLE Eaa Web Site: www.rtpnet.org/teaaContact: Peter Eckhoff 919-477-9697 [email protected]

OREGONOREGON EVa Web Site: www.oeva.org/Contact: Rick Barnes [email protected]

pENNSYLVaNIaEaSTERN EV CLUB Web Site: www.eevc.infoPresident: Oliver H. PerryContact: Peter G. Cleaveland, 610-828-7630 [email protected]

THREE RIVERS EVa Web Site: www.threeriverseva.orgContact: Jonathan Belak724-387-8210 [email protected]

TExaSaLaMO CITY Eaa Web Site: www.aceaa.orgContact: Alfonzo Ranjel, 210-389-2339 [email protected]

aUSTIN aaEaa Web Site: www.austinev.orgContact: Aaron Choate, 512-524-7159 [email protected]

HOUSTON Eaa Web Site: www.heaa.orgContact: Dale Brooks 713-218-6785 [email protected]

NORTH TExaS Eaa Web Site: www.nteaa.orgContact: John Brecher, 214-703-5975 [email protected]

United States

CaLIFORNIa CaRS INITIaTIVE Web Site: www.calcars.orgContact: Felix Kramer, 650-520-5555 [email protected]

pLUG IN aMERICaWeb Site: www.pluginamerica.orgContact: Linda Nicholes 714-974-5647 [email protected]

aLaSkaaLaSka EVa Web Site: alaskaEVA.orgContact: Mike Willmon, 907-868-5710 [email protected]

aRIZONaBORdERLaNd ELECTRIC VEHICLE aSSOCIaTION (BEVa) Contact: Donna Austin, 520-432-5151 [email protected]

FLaGSTaFF Eaa Web Site: flagstaffeaa.orgContact: Barkley Coggin, 928-637-4444 [email protected]

pHOENIx Eaa Web Site: www.phoenixeaa.com Contact: Jim Stack 480-659-5513 Sam DiMarco [email protected]

TUCSON EVa 2 Web Site: www.teva2.comContact: Rush Dougherty, 520-240-7493 [email protected]

CaLIFORNIaCENTRaL COaST EaaWeb Site: eaacc.orgContact: Will Beckett, 831-688-8669 [email protected]

GERMaNYEaa deutschlandWeb Site: eaa-deutschland.org/Contact: Rüdiger [email protected]

UTaHUTaH EV COaLITION Web Site: www.saltflats.comContact: Kent Singleton, 801-644-0903 [email protected]

WaSHINGTONSEaTTLE EVa Web Site: www.seattleeva.orgContact: Steven Lough, 206-524-1351 [email protected]

WaSHINGTON d.C.EVa OF WaSHINGTON dC Web Site: evadc.orgContact: David Goldstein, 301-869-4954 [email protected]

WISCONSINSOUTHERN WISCONSIN EV pROLIFERaTION (SWEVp)Web Site: emissionsfreecars.comContact: Mike Turner, 920-261-7057 [email protected]

Now that you’ve read this far – why not pass this issue to someone else

who might be interested in EV’s?? If you are done with this issue — please don’t throw it out! Why not place it at your local library where someone

else might find it. Thank you!


We are now seeking support from the many industry associations from all the various technologies. This event is one of the most important Energy events in that we do not focus on any one particular technology, rather we are seeking equal representation from all technologies that together make up alternative energy. We will be tailoring the tracks of the conference to cover all these technologies, and bringing aboard as speakers the key minds in academia, government, industry, and media.

Within the exhibition floor will be the latest products, new technologies, companies, ideas, services, and the experts to help you with them. There will be a new technology showcase, awards, workshops, conference sessions, panel discussions, receptions, networking and more. There are many opportunities for the supporters of the event to get involved. This can be through a specific pavilion (such as a Solar Energy Pavilion, as example), speaking, promotion, discounts to

members, complimentary association booth space, banners, sponsorships. We are not seeking financial support, only real support through endorsement, technical assistance, and promotion.

The Alternative Energy Sources & Technologies Conference Exhibition (AEST) is a different event in that it is about the industry and the future of Energy. While many shows focus on a particular technology and its place in our lives, its latest developments, and how to promote it, AEST is helping the whole industry and needs your support.

We actually already have one electric vehicle manufacturer in the show, and would like a strong representation from this sector.

If you do have an interest, please just contact AEST back at [email protected]

alternative Energy Sources & Technologies Conference & Exhibition — Sept. 15-17, 2008, Boston

SPECIAL EVENTS OF INTEREST

Brent and Kent Singleton are the founders of the Utah EV Coalition, a chapter of the Electric Auto Association at: http://www.eaaev.org/eaachapters.html#UTAH The “father and son team” are also organizers of an Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) racing program in conjunction with the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association (USFRA) at: http://www.saltflats.com This year, the USFRA will hold its annual “World of Speed” racing event from September 17-20, 2008. All EV racers are invited to participate “on the salt” during these open competitions. Brent Singleton will be racing his Electric Jaws, Jr. dragster. Other EV racers from the National Electric Drag Racing Association have expressed interest in testing their vehicles at this international venue, as well: http://www.nedra.com Brent and Kent have also invited alternative fuel vehicle racers from the battery-powered

USFRA Alternative Fuel Vehicles Racing at Bonneville Salt Flats September 17-20, 2008

Electrathon America organization and from the solar-powered SunRayce organization. One goal that the Singletons have set for 2008 is to try to develop an oval track on the salt flats with related competitions that would bring back endurance racing events to Bonneville. These proposed events would test the relative efficiencies of all fuels. They are hoping to follow in the footsteps of the original racing pioneers who saw the potential of this natural lakebed to set both speed and distance records over its long flat surface. If anyone has unique ideas on how to test alternative fuels and relative efficiencies with more accurate benchmarks, please contact Brent or Kent. The USFRA AFV organizers hope to establish relative standards for measuring both technology and environmental efficiencies. Besides speed and mechanical efficiencies, the AFV group also hopes to record comparative hydrocarbon emissions from different AFV technologies. Record setting performances would be sanctioned

and recorded at the International Alternative Fuel Racing Association (IAFRA) at: http://www.iafra.com For more information about attending the USFRA World of Speed or racing an Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) during the competitions, contact Brent Singleton at: [email protected] Brent can also be contacted through the event sponsor, the Utah Clean Cities Coalition.at: http://www.utahcleancities.org/contact.htm

‘Coming next month: “MG Midgets compared:

lead versus Lithium” Stay tuned!’

“The average diesel vehicle will generate 19.8 percent less carbon dioxide than the same vehicle running on gasoline would.” A renewably powered EV generates none.”

DID YOU kNOW...


Electric Auto Association (EAA) Membership Application Form Fill out this form, attach a check, money order or use PayPal, in US funds only, payable to ‘Electric Auto Association’.

$39 USA $42 Canada $45 Other Country $25 Student/Senior, (USA/Canada only) birth year:_____________

$120 (supporting level-1) $240 (supporting level-2) $500 or more (high voltage)_________________________________

I support the ________________________________________________EAA Chapter, or please select a chapter closest to me.

($10each) Additional Chapters or Special interest group_________________________ You can fold this form as indicated and mail it with your payment enclosed. Use tape to seal the form before you mail it or send an e-version of this form, through PayPal using http://eaaev.org/eaamembership.html

New Member Renewal

Name: ______________________________________________________________________ email: ________________________ Mailing address(Apt #): ________________________________________________________ Home Phone: __________________ Mailing City, State & Zip: ______________________________________________________ Work Phone: ___________________ =============================================FOLD HERE========================================

*Do you own or lease an Electric Vehicle (plug-in)? Production Conversion Bicycle No/None or Hybrid please include miles driven_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All information in this application is for the exclusive use of the EAA and not sold or given to any other organization.

Please identify your primary areas of interest relating to the EAA (check as many as you wish)

Owner/Driver Hobby/Builder Professional/Business Competition (Rallies, Races, Records) Plug-in Hybrids

Environmental/Govt. Regs Social (Rallies, Shows, Events) New Technology & Research Solar & Wind Power

Promotion & Public Awareness of EVs Student or General Interest Electrathon/Bicycle/Scooter/Other

The Electric Auto Assocation www.eaaev.org

‘Providing free Electric Vehicle information to the public since 1967’ The Electric Auto Association is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) for the promotion of electric vehicles. Your donations are tax deductible and with your membership you will receive the informative EAA publication, “Current EVents”. All information and statistics in this application are for the exclusive use of the EAA and is not sold or given to any other organization or company. Your membership dues include a percentage goes to the EAA Chapter you support for public Electric Vehicle promotion EVents like rallies, shows and EV rides. ===========================================FOLD HERE ==========================================

Return address ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

[email protected]

1st Class Postage

Here

Electric Auto Association Membership Renewals 323 Los Altos Drive Aptos, CA 95003-5248


EV CONFERENCE AND EAA CHAPTER EVENTS CALENDAR

Note: EAA Chapters.Any major event information should be sent to [email protected] for inclusion in the newsletter, at least 2-3 months ahead of event date. If you have recurring annual events, please provide New Year schedule at the start of the year. We want to maintain focus on EAA-specific events.

EAA Chapter Event = PEV related Event = EV related Conference = Q

September 6, 2008 PSilicon Valley Electric Car Rally 2008Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto, CA10 am - 4 pm. Free admission, free rides!Learn more at: www.eaasv.org/rally.html

September6 LangleyCruise-InShownShine,allday Location: Langley, Langley town center Sponsor: Langley Good Times Cruise-In Society. More info: www.veva.bc.ca

September 7, 2008 PFree Electro Automotive EV Conversion Workshop with Mike Brown (author of “Convert It!”) HP Cupertino, CA 10-5pm (more details right column) This workshop is free, but you need to pre-register: electroauto.com/workshopEAA-08.shtml

September 13, 2008 PElectric Vehicles & Why Gasoline is so 20th CenturyAlternative Transportation Club, EAA co-chair, Bob Tregilus, will be giving a presentation about electric vehicles at the Sustainable Living and Renewable Energy Roundup in Gardnerville, NV. More info: electricnevada.org/

September15,2008 P EVShowing,St.Louis Green Drinks will be showing fuel efficient vehicles at 7260 Southwest Ave., Maplewood, MO.63143 6-9pm. Info: [email protected]

September 15-17, 2008 QAlternative Energy Sources & Technologies Conference & ExhibitionBoston conference is about the industry and future of Energy. [email protected]

September17-20,2008 P WorldofSpeed,USFRA Alternative Fuel Vehicles Racing at Bonneville Salt Flats. (See p. 25 for details). http://saltflats.com September 21, 2008 International Day of Peace Fair11am-4pm, East Wingfield Park, along the beautiful Truckee River in downtown Reno. The Alternative Transportation Club, EAA will have an electric vehicle booth at this event. More info: electricnevada.org/

September 26-28, 2008 Fredericksburg, Texas9th Annual Renewable Energy Roundup & Green Living Fair. http://theroundup.org/index.php or aceaa.org/pages/events.php

September27,2008 P EVShowing,Earthway’s Festival at 3617 Grandel Squire, St.Louis , MO. 63108, 10-6pm. Booth provided for sign-in and directions. Four EVs on display. Earthways will have workshops for $5:00; Porche EV conversion presentation with Q&A. Workshop on second floor of Cardinal Ritter High School , 701 No. Spring. Info: [email protected]

September27,2008 P TEVA,Guilford Co. Library greensboro will have a meeting about Sustainability, Renewable Energy and TransportationCheck the TEVA website for more infomation. www.localaction.biz/TEVA

October4,2008 P Alternative Transportation Club, Sherry Boschert, will be addressing the Reno Mensa chapter at the Silver Legacy. The ATC has been invited to display a few cars. More info: electricnevada.org/

October4,2008 P TEVA,TSDesigns, TEVA’s home will have a day long celebration. Dedication of the biodiesel plaza and 8.6 kWh PV array is planned. TEVA will have its monthly meeting. www.localaction.biz/TEVA

October 8, 2008 PKick Gas Festival EV World Championships, 12 pm to 9 pm Barona 1/8 Mile Drag Strip, San Diego, CAThe most ELECTRIFYING, high-speed “green” event on the planet!!!For more information please contact [email protected]

Friday Oct. 17 Florida Tech 50th AnniversaryThere will be a homecoming parade in Melbourne, in which we would like to have electric cars presented. Mr. Ken Droscher, V.P. of Development, is the contact for official updates, etc. More info: floridaeaa.org

October 17-18, 2008 QAltcar Expo & Conference/National Conference on PHEVs Austin, TXSponsored by Austin Energy. Details to follow.

Sanyo, cont. from page 7

the company, the battery unit is composed of about 80 cells. Thus, the unit voltage is expected to be approximately 300V, while the power capacity of the unit is estimated to be about 1.5kWh.

The battery cell for plug-in hybrids has a current capacity of 20Ah. After repeatedly charging/discharging the battery at a rate of 2C in an environment at 60°C with SOC set to 100-0%, the company discovered that the battery ensures a power retention ratio of 80% or higher and a capacity retention ratio of 70% or higher after 10,000 cycles.

Thus, the battery has a life of more than 20 years if it is recharged once a day, according to the company.

Newest Additions to the RAV4EV 100k mile club (with photos at ‘evnut.com under “RAV4EV” and “Owners”)

Barry and Su Thysell Vallejo, CA May 2008Mike Colburn San Diego, CA May 2008Mike kane Irvine, CA July 2008

The first person to hit that mark in this Toyota was Avi Hershkovitz in June 2006 who now has over 151k miles! Also included are William korthof, pomona April 2007, Charlie McCollister, Simi Valley, CA November 2007, and Mark and Cathy Whitehead, San Diego, CA January 2007.


ELECTRIC AUTO ASSOCIATION323 Los Altos Drive Aptos, CA 95003-5248 USA

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