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Recently, Michael Morris, chairman, president and CEO of American Electric Power Co., the nation’s largest energy supplier, said the nation’s grid in its present form could withstand an immediate turnover of at least 20% of the nation’s present vehicle fleet to plug-in technology. This is great news for the electric vehicle market and does much to assuage nay-sayers who believe the grid can’t handle electric vehicles en masse. Morris continued, “The fact is [power stations] were made to run, not made to be up and down, up and down. The more they run around the clock, the better they are.” Therefore, according to Morris, our national electrical infrastructure would benefit from more demand in off-peak hours, when PHEV owners would most likely charge their vehicles.

And to those who discredit electric vehicles for putting too much strain on the grid, Morris said: “That’s something we’re much more prepared for than people understand.”

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NICE Car Company, established in 2005 in the U.K., claims to sell the “best range of electric vehicles for London” including: electric cars, trucks, vans and minibuses as well as a range of bikes and scooters.

On July 22, at the British International Motor Show, NICE will debut Ze-O, an all-electric van that was designed in Europe and will be manufactured in China. NICE claims this is “the first all-electric car available within a family budget,” with a top speed of 55mph. While many Americans would scoff at such a “top-speed,” NICE claims 55mph is more than sufficient to make your way through the cramped streets of London. Regardless of the speed, this van provides zero CO2 and zero emissions; it is quiet and affordable and for Londoners, well, that’s just…nice.

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We’ve seen plenty of rollable solar panel accessories for every gadget under the sun, but this is the first one I’ve seen specifically designed for an Apple laptop. Called the Apple Juicz (cute), this flexible solar panel extends the life of Apple’s line of notebooks. The marketing literature uses the MacBook Air as an example, but fails to mention compatibility with the other models until you looks a little closer at the specs.

Anyways, the top-of-the-line 55-watt Apple Juicz will completely charge the Air in about five hours. Not bad, but a bit pricey at $1K. Moving down the options, you can pick up a 27-watt (8-hour charge) for $600, or an 18-watt version (14-hour charge) for $500. From the website,

“While the stock MacBook Air recharges in four hours using the AC wall adapter, the External Battery Charger recharges in only three hours. We supply a modified MacBook Air MagSafe charger that uses military-spec parts for a more robust and powerful charge. Don’t worry, it still works with stock MacBook Air.
There’s even a LED charging status indicator so you always know what’s going on.”

So, there ya have it — the latest addition to the family of foldable solar accessories. Anyone who owns one of these care to comment on their function or practicality?

Xerocoat, Inc. is a “pioneering start-up company that designs and manufactures high performing anti-reflective coatings for solar energy systems.” According to the company, their anti-reflective coating increases the solar energy reaching the solar cells by as much as 3% at noon and by as much as 6% during early morning and evening hours. With so many people eager to utilize solar energy, but dismayed by the cost, this could be the beginning to the solar solution.

“At XeroCoat, we’re strongly committed to making solar energy more affordable for all today,” states Tom Hood, chief executive officer and president of XeroCoat. “The XeroCoat antireflective coating offers a very simple and cost-effective way to get the most power out of the sun.” For proponents of solar energy, this is exactly what they’ve been waiting for; for solar energy critics, who have long touted that we need a cheaper and better way to utilize the sun’s rays, I say: it looks like it’s sunny outside, so throw on a coat.

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In a recent Newsweek article, “Learning From the Oil Shock,” Robert J. Samuelson discusses Jeffrey Rubin’s (of CIBC World Markets) view on the future of oil consumption. Rubin suggests that gasoline will rise to $7 per gallon and oil to $225 per barrel by 2012. Rubin goes on to muse that there may be one benefit to this striking rise in price: Because rising ocean-freight costs will make importing goods more expensive, some outsourced production will have to return to the United States, benefiting U.S. manufacturers. Conversely, Rubin also suggests that the home-building and auto industries will be the hardest hit. As the article states, “Higher gasoline prices push people to mass transit, bicycles and their feet.” Hmmm…those can’t be our only options, can they?

In this article, there is little mention of future solutions outside of augmenting oil supplies by domestic drilling and developing new biofuels. No mention at all of the burgeoning electric vehicle industry or plug-in hybrids or the many businesses poised on the brink of developing technologies that could begin to repair this problem. Rubin is correct that we got ourselves into this mess, but does he not believe that we can also take some responsibility and get ourselves out?

There’s good mileage — and then there’s astronomical mileage. The type where you scoff at hypermilers, laugh at ads trumpeting fuel ranges of 40-50MPG and smuggly calculate if next month, or the month after, will require a fill up.

Such is the case for VW’s “One Litre” concept that will be available in limited edition style for a 2010 run. The super-economical two-seater minimizes drag by utilizing cameras instead of mirrors, employing a tear-drop aerodynamic shape, and lightweight but strong carbonfibre. From the article,

“To offset the greater thirst of the bigger engine, the engineers are expected to fit VW’s complete mild hybrid kit which would permit intermittent zero-emissions, full-electric operation. But there are some gadgets, as you’d expect if you shelled out the best part of 30 grand for a VW. Basic safety kit will include ABS/ESP, a driver’s airbag, sequential motorbike-style transmission as well as LED head- and taillights.”

Yea, that’s right. In order to take this efficient beast out for a ride, it will cost you between $30,000-$40,000. No one said driving a car straight out of The Jetstons would be cheap. Check out the full details here.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced massive tax breaks for the electric vehicle industry yesterday — and in the process convinced Tesla Motors to site a new facility for a sub $60K vehicle in California. According to the plan (approved last Wednesday), the new law exempts automakers from paying sales and use tax on manufacturing equipment used to build EVs. This is expected to save companies in the industry millions of dollars. From the press release,

“These vehicles can play a big part in helping California successfully implement its groundbreaking laws to fight climate change,” said State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, who chairs CAEATFA. “By offering this financial incentive, our goal is to ensure zero-emission vehicles realize their full potential in our state. In the bargain, we believe the policy will bolster our emerging green economy, create good-paying jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I’m very pleased the policy helped convince Tesla to build its high-performance electric cars in California.”

Tesla’s new car is slated for production in 2010 — right around the time that Chevrolet is planning on releasing their $30K Volt. Once again, kudos to California for pushing this industry forward.

via autobloggreen

What I’m getting from all of the radical hydrogen-powered fuel cell concepts out there is that engine space isn’t as constrictive as with conventional tech. Take for instance this two-wheeled design called the “Ozone”. According to the design team, the huge wheels are controlled by two separate electric motor powered by fuel cells. One suspects that they would reside in the small chamber below the seats.

Anyways, there are additional details available over on Gearfuse. Chances are, we’ll never see this in the real world — but damn, it sure looks like it would be a lot of fun.

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Twenty-one year old British University student Phil Bridge recently created a fully waterproof cardboard bike that is also fully recyclable. Though Bridge’s intentions were not initially “green,” this could be the most eco-friendly mode of transportation in London.

Bridge believes one reason people choose not to bike in London is a fear of having their bikes vandalized or stolen. Thus, his bike design began as a means of creating a bike that was so economical, so cheap, even thieves wouldn’t want it.

The bike itself has an interesting construction. The cardboard frame, made from a heavy-wearing cardboard, is waterproofed during manufacturing. There are steel wheel rims, crankset and tires, which simply slot into the cardboard frame. All of this for a whopping total of $30. “The expensive bits are the metal components,” he said. “I could do the frame, the fork and the wheels for about $8 — the cardboard components — all finished and assembled.”

Bridge feels this bike design is perhaps best for children “because you have less stresses involved,” he said. “Families could afford to change the frame every year as the child grows.” Bridge does not have any intentions, as of yet, to market his cardboard bikes.

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The green organization Sierra Club has created a series of ads to compliment their “Lightbulbs to Leadership” campaign. The effort was created to inspire people to put pressure on Washington to get behind policies that create a more sustainable America. In one of the videos, politicians such as Senator James Inhofe, Senator John Senunu, and others are humorously singled our for their “business as usual” policies. Check out the video below for a glimpse — and visit the campaign’s official site for more.

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