Thomas W. Lewis

7/31/2010

DC fast charging is the Holy Grail for eliminating range anxiety in pure battery electric vehicles.  It has the promise of permitting you to charge 80 miles of range on the Leaf in less than 30 minutes.  So, to the extent that these beasts are accessible out on the road, you will be able to drive farther, and recover when you forget to plug-in.  Also, they open the EV market to folks who cannot charge at home or work, including the millions of urban dwellers for whom an EV could be ideal.  No matter how big the battery, there are cases where access to a DC fast charger will be valuable.

Well, it turns out there are two incompatible standards emerging for DC fast chargers.  There were some sessions in the Plug-in 2010 conference in San Jose this week that added clarity to these two alternatives. Read more »

A DC fast charger connector usable with electric vehicles that will be available the end of this year. Used with permission from EVnut.com.

7/6/2010

Do you want to know more about developments in the plug-in vehicle market?  If yes, then save out the evening of Tuesday, July 27th to attend Public Night of the Plug-in 2010 conference in San Jose.

This event debuted in San Jose two years ago, and took place in Long Beach last year.  So, there is certainly potential for it to not return to the bay area until 2012.

There is no need to worry about advance registration because the $10 entrance fee to Public Night is payable at the door.

Read more »

5/12/2010

Starting May 15th you will be able to reserve an all-electric Nissan Leaf at this link.  You will need to pay a $100 refundable deposit to get on the list.

The Leaf is targeted to be a commute car, so it can be viable if you have access to another vehicle in your family for long distance traveling.  There are plenty of naysayers who have plenty of reasons why the Leaf is not for them, and why they think it will not be successful.  But the Leaf is the first car since the RAV4EV to be a viable mass market all-battery electric.  The recent oil spill in the gulf helps highlight why this car is so compelling, and if you insist on transportation without oil, then the Leaf is definitely your best choice right now.

Charging

While the charger is build-in to the car, a home “charging” dock will be needed and will cost around $2,200 including installation.  A Federal tax credit may offset 50% of the cost (up to $2000) through Dec. 2010.  Here is a video about the 220/240V, 40A dock: link.    Charging from empty to full with this dock will take 8-hours.

Nissan is helping establish a charging network at malls, service stations, etc., presumably using 220/240V, 40A units.   The navigation system will show these locations as they come online.  You can also plug the car into a regular 110/120V 20 amp dedicated outlet for slower “trickle charging”.  Finally, the car can handle 400/480V quick-charging (30 minute to 80%) stations that will eventually be available in many markets.

Range

The 100-mile range is based on the LA4 drive cycle – an EPA testing and rating system.  Range will vary with your driving style, and conditions.  Nissan expects the battery to have a lifespan of 5-10 years, and battery age will lead to a corresponding decrease in range.  So, if your work is 50 miles from your home, then you will need to negotiate with your workplace to plug-in during the day.  The navigation system will tell you if your planned destination is within estimated range.

“Details”

• MSRP is $32,780
• $7,500 in Federal tax credits.
• $5,000 in California rebate.
• California registered Leafs can apply to drive in HOV lanes regardless of vehicle occupancy.

August 4, 2009

Nissan just announced their first mass market EV, called the Leaf.  It is a 4-door and is said to take you 100 miles between complete charges.   Probably you will need to to buy or lease the battery separately, but Nissan appears to be focused on keeping the total cost more reasonable than the other announced EVs of similar quality level, such as the Mitsubishi i MiEV.  Some of the reports indicate that the car itself may only be available via a lease.  It is planned for introduction to selected areas of the US market late 2010.

Overall, it looks a bit better than the Versa upon which it is based.

Also, Nissan is planning some nice features like a web-based control of car functions, and text alerts for state of charge.  The navigation system will show graphically how far you can reach on your charge, and where the charging stations are.

Power is 107 HP, torque is 208 ft-lbs, and top speed is 87  MPH.  Battery capacity is 24 kWh.

According to Autobloggreen, “More impressive is the battery pack’s 50 kW DC fast-charge capability, which is capable of accepting an 80% charge in less than 30 minutes, or an extra 50 km (31 miles) worth of range in about 10 minutes.”  These fast chargers will be special 3-phase units that will not be priced for individual car owners.  Using 200V in-home charging will require about 8 hours, and since we use 240V here in the USA for electric dryers, the rate will be 8 hours or less.

Here are some links:

Nissan

Autobloggreen

Reuters

WSJ

YouTube

USA TODAY

April 9, 2009

In the case you are interested to know detail about what initiatives the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus package (recovery bill) may fund in California related to the Smart Grid, there is public information available on this topic.  The reason this is important for cleantech/greentech is that the ARRA appropriated $4.5 billion for the Smart Grid country wide which will reduce energy consumption and enable the transition to renewables.  The reason it is important to Californians is that we need to compete with other states to get our piece of the pie, not only to shift our energy paradigm, but also for jobs.

Relevant information may be found here.  There are links to presentations by the three Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) given at a workshop on March 27.  I attended the workshop and am glad to see that the information has now been posted.  The IOUs provide information about the projects that they want funded, often listing the dollar amount, the expected jobs created, and even the vendors involved.  Projects are in the following categories: Smart Grid testing, Smart Grid demonstrations, synchrophasors, grid energy storage, auto-derivative battery storage, security, microgrid, smart-thermostats, PHEV truck fleet, demand response, and EV studies.

April 7, 2009

Here is a link to a daily Podcast about electric vehicles that I recommend. The focus is on objective of mainstream, commercially available EVs and extended range EVs (E-REVs.) There is also some discussion about Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) and conversions. But primarily it is all about new EVs & E-REVs that are highway capable.