WE MAY SOON(NOT REALLY) BE DRIVING ON SOLAR PANELS

In theory, the idea could work: replace all of the nation’s asphalt with solar panels, and we’d generate more than three times the electricity the US uses. Great idea and it would road and highway problems. Solar roads design would also filter storm water, replace above-ground power cables, prevent icy roads by melting snow, and light up to warn drivers if a deer wanders onto the road.

Unfortunately, the list of obstacles is long. The main problem is cost. There are roughly 29,000 square miles of road surface to cover. We need roughly 5.6 billion panels to cover that area. That’s a price tag of $56 trillion.

 The researchers have been unable to secure any large piece of the more than $2 billion a year spent on solar research and development around the world. Probably because there are too many more-practical, more-promising investments to be made to seriously consider this pipe dream.

This brings up a good point. Rooftop panels and solar arrays are already established as a viable power source, but adoption is still low. It’s hard to imagine a city ripping up asphalt and installing a largely unproven technology when it could achieve the same level of power generation by planting panels along the road.

Most of the technological challenges seem solvable. Those include things like how to keep the roads clean, how to increase the efficiency of the panels in the road, how to store the solar power, how to get electricity from more remote roads to the grid, and whether the glass is durable enough. Whether they’re solvable for a reasonable price tag is another question.

The first thing that one has to understand before beginning to look at numbers is this: an apples to apples comparison between asphalt or concrete roads and solar roads is not possible. 

An asphalt/concrete road is simply a hard surface to drive a vehicle on. A solar is a modern modular system with a multitude of uses and features.

 For an accurate cost comparison between current systems and the solar road system, you'd have to combine the costs of current roads (including snow removal, line repainting, pothole repair, etc.), power plants (and the coal or nuclear material to run them), and power and data delivery systems (power poles and relay stations) to be comparable with the solar road system, which provides all three.

This will be interesting to watch.

---

ELECTRIC VEHICLE UPDATE AS GAS REACHES $4 A GALLON

Rocky road for electric car market

The road has gotten bumpier for electric cars.

 As much as I like to report all of the advancing benefits of renewable energies, sometimes you need to report some bad news. Maybe the rising cost of filling up at the pump will renew interest in the EV's.

Coda Automotive, one of what had been a promising crop of electric car startups, filed for bankruptcy protection this month, and said it would reorganize around the electric storage market.

High-end electric car maker Fisker Automotive, which has had financial woes for months, announced meanwhile it was laying off 75 percent of its workforce, raising the prospect of defaulting on US government loans.

Electric cars are still coming to market from luxury maker Tesla, and from major automakers such as General Motors, Nissan and others, but the outlook has become murkier.

Analysts are divided on the outlook, but few believe President Barack Obama's goal of getting one million electric cars on the market by 2015 will be met.

Americans just don't see how an electric car can fit into their lifestyle. We continue to be risk-averse in investing in new technology in our cars. People are aware of the electric cars on the market but there is still a low number of consumers who say they would purchase an electric car. Battery-powered vehicles' share of US auto sales was just 0.08 percent in 2012, and predicts this will reach only 0.47 percent by 2015.

Consumers are held back by a lack of plug-in charging stations, concerns about the range of the vehicle before it needs recharging, and especially the high cost.

Gasoline-powered cars are improving enough to meet the needs of the consumer, without the price tag of electric cars. The lack of range and long recharging times are key factors.

Chevrolet cut production of its Volt last year amid soft demand, and is reported to be working on a less expensive version. Toyota and Honda also scaled back plans for all-electric vehicles for the US market.

There are a few bright spots, however.

Tesla Motors posted its first-ever quarterly profit, of $11 million in the first quarter as revenues rose 83 percent from the prior quarter.

Tesla is banking on its Model S, which sells for upwards of $60,000, by offering special financing and leasing deals with a guaranteed resale price. The car, which has an estimated range of more than 200 miles, was given a top rating by Consumer Reports.

Nissan has boosted sales of its all-electric Leaf to over 5,000 in the first quarter, overtaking the Chevrolet Volt, which has seen sales sputter.

PRICE REDUCTION FOR ELECTRIC CARS COMING?

US battery maker claims electric car breakthrough

     United States manufacturer said it has developed a new automotive battery which can perform in extreme temperatures, offering the potential to cut the cost of making electric cars.

The Nanophosphate EXT would reduce or eliminate the need for heating or cooling systems, which is expected to create sizeable new opportunities for automotive and other types of batteries.

Nanophosphate EXT is a game-changing breakthrough that overcomes one of the key limitations of lead acid, standard lithiumion and other advanced batteries.

The new battery technology can reduce or even eliminate the need for costly thermal management systems, which  will dramatically enhance the business case for deploying  lithiumion battery solutions for a significant number of applications.

Testing showed the battery can retain more than 90 percent of its initial capacity at 113 degree Fahrenheit. It also can deliver starting power at minus 22 degree below Fahrenheit.

This comes amid sputtering sales in the United States of electric cars, and doubts about whether the high purchase costs will be justified by lower operating costs.

The technology could help cut costs of "thermal conditioning."

Most electric cars have some system of pumping coolant to remove excess heat from their battery packs.

Pumping coolant through this system eats up energy and reduces on-road range.

This new technology would reduce the weight, complexity, and cost of future plug-in vehicles, bringing down their cost and moving them closer to mass-market competitiveness.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES - BUILDING MOMENTUM ?

Hard to believe that in 1996 there were just 3,280 electric vehicles in the USA. By 2007, that number had surged to over 55,000. President Obama has set a national goal for there to be one million all-electric vehicles on U.S. roads by the year 2015. That's great news for the environment, so let's all help make it a reality

Chevy Volt

Electric cars are booming!

The most important reasons to convert to a electric car is to save money and the environment.

Nissan Leaf

MORE ON EV CHARGING STATIONS

"Charge it" may soon have new meaning at shopping malls and retail centers across the country.

As sales of electric cars begin to pick up, retailers are installing electric vehicle charging stations in their parking lots so customers can plug in and juice up their vehicles while browsing inside.

Leading the way is drugstore chain Walgreen Co., which is installing chargers at about 800 stores nationwide.

Macy's Inc. is installing chargers at a handful of department stores. Kohl's Corp. is undertaking a pilot program to equip 33 stores with charging stations, and Best Buy said it will test them at 12 locations.

Retailers view the chargers as a good investment for the future, a way to one-up competitors and burnish a green reputation. Although adoption of electric cars has been tepid so far — only about 17,000 sold in the U.S. last year — many retail chains are hoping to win goodwill with eco-conscious customers by offering an amenity that very few actually need yet. We all know the price to fuel our vehicles with gasoline or diesel will only continue to go up.

California leads the nation with about 89,000 registered electric cars on the road last year.

One roadblock for electric car sales has been the need for drivers to regularly recharge the batteries and the limited number of public places to do so, and the amount of time needed to reach 80% charge.

There's even a term for it: "range anxiety," or the fear of getting stranded on the road with no outlet in sight. Only 5,084 public chargers are scattered around the country, and more than a quarter of them are in California, but the number of charging stations is growing in other locations.

Retailers are moving quickly to fill that void. And, for now, most are providing electricity for free.

Other companies to join in on the EV charging stations are the likes of furniture giant Ikea, the Mall of America in Minneapolis, and grocery chain Whole Foods.


So next time you are out and about, doing your part to help out the economy,  Keep your eyes open for any new charging stations that may appear in your favorite retailers.

ESS INSTALLED EV CHARGING STATIONS