Press Announcement (11/1/11)

REC Solar, a subsidiary of Mainstream Energy Corporation, has teamed with GE Energy Industrial Solutions, a leading supplier of power generation and energy delivery technologies, to distribute the GE WattStation™ electric vehicle (EV) charger. The partnership signals the movement toward the inevitable collision of two rapidly growing sustainability movements – solar and electric vehicles – for a cleaner, more secure world.

Solar-powered charging stations expand the economic benefits of EV ownership, while enhancing the environmental and energy saving benefits. Looking ahead to a future transportation system freed from dependence on fossil fuels, REC Solar and GE are taking steps to create an end-to-end solar EV charging system that will enable our cars to literally run on sunshine. The intersection of solar and EV industries means greater reduction of greenhouse gases and independence from fossil fuels – while at the same time delivering economic benefits to drivers. The cost of driving a solar-charged EV may be 66 percent less than a gas-powered car, according to a recent study by GTM Research.

GE’s WattStation is an easy-to-use Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charger designed to help accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles by significantly decreasing time needed for charging – delivering a full charge in just four to eight hours compared with standard overnight charging that can take as much as 12 to 14 hours. Its smart grid-enabled technology could also help utility companies manage the impact of EVs on the local and regional grids. As a distributor of the GE WattStation, REC Solar will make it easier for its thousands of commercial, government and residential customers to incorporate EV charging capabilities. The WattStation is the ideal complement to the growing trend towards solar carports, but its simple installation makes it suitable for any type of solar installation.

“We are excited to be a distributor for the GE WattStation, known for its charging speed and beauty, to address growing demand from our large residential and commercial customer base for the integration of EV charging stations into the solar installation process,” said Lee Johnson, CEO of REC Solar. “With expectations of one million EVs entering America’s roadways by 2016, the need to establish a sustainable EV infrastructure is here today. By incorporating solar, our electrical grids won’t be overwhelmed by the influx of EV chargers. And of course, the more solar energy is used with electric vehicles, the cleaner the environment becomes.”

Related electric car and Solar Articles and Reports

Top 10 Electric Car Makers

Solar City Installs Charging Network

Solar Power and Transportation

Solar Powered Electric Car Charging from GE and REC Solar is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (10/10/11)

San Francisco Bay Area may be the nation’s first region with 10,000 electric cars. It could happen in 2012 for the region with 7 million people and 5.3 million vehicles. Electric utility PG&E reports that they are now charging 1,800 Nissan LEAFs and 250 Chevrolet Volt residential owners. Add to these numbers a growing number of electric car fleets that include Google, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the U.S. Navy; 4,000 freeway-speed electric vehicles in the SF Bay Area are forecast by the end of this year.

I’ve personally been to meetings where 50 of the attendees arrived in their Nissan LEAFs, Chevrolet Volts, Prius Plug-in Hybrids, and Tesla Roadsters. Also on the road in the Bay Area are test vehicles including Ford Focus Electric, Honda Fit Electric, Tesla Model S, Mitsubishi i, electric trucks and electric motor cycles. CityCar Share is ordering 15 battery-electric cars and 15 plug-in hybrids, giving these cars wide exposure to its thousands of members.

The Bay Area is the home of cities where one in five drive a Prius, Silicon Valley innovators aspire to be the next Steve Jobs, and Tesla opens a new plant with aspirations to make the U.S. the world leader in electric vehicles.

Over 1,000 electric car chargers now appear to be installed in the San Francisco Bay Area. More new EV owners are trickle-charging their cars as they wait for backlogged wall chargers to be installed by backlogged electricians dealing with backlogged utilities and city inspectors. During the next two years over 5,000 chargers, formally labeled electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), will be installed in the Bay Area.  Although homes are the primary point of charging, electric car drivers like me are extending their range by using over 100 public charge points in the Bay Area installed by Coulomb Technologies and others. Major employers are installing chargers for their employees, fleets, and visitors. Google has 70 charge stations for its over 100 employees who drive Teslas, LEAFs, Volts, and other electric cars.

Damian Breen, Director at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, reports that over 1,000 public charging stations are being installed in the Bay Area. Most are Level 2; some are dual stations with one Level 2 and one Level 1 outlet. Also planned are 6 DC Fast Chargers to be installed in the next 12 months; 50 are scheduled to be operating by the end of 2013. These DC Fast Chargers, similar to the CHAdeMO chargers successfully used in Japan, can add 60 miles of range for a typical electric car in about 20 minutes.

In 2012, Nissan, GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda and others are offering ten different electric car models for less than $40,000. Leases start at $350. During the next two years, automakers are building new plants and expanding existing plants to keep-up with customer orders for electric cars.

Ten Thousand Electric Cars Reaching Freeways in San Francisco Bay Area is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (10/3/11)

The movie Sideways added to the fame of the central coast of California with rolling hills covered with live oak, dramatic cliffs descending to the Pacific Ocean, and grapes harvested for premium wines.

For electric car drivers, the central coast has another reason for fame. Rabobank, a financial leader in 48 countries and headquartered in the Netherlands, has installed a network of electric car chargers that use the solar power installed on bank branch roofs. The charging network is a perfect match for early adopters of electric cars who prefer to charge with renewable energy.

The solar installations were done by Solar City, a leading solar power provider. Last week I was talking with Pete Rive, a Founder and COO of Solar City. Rabobank has 12 locations with 225kW of solar power that have Level 2 90A/240V chargers, which are publicly accessible from Highway 101. For many electric car drivers, this brings them closer to the dream of driving from Northern to Southern California, charging along the way. Pete Rive can make the drive now since he owns a Tesla Roadster with a 240-mile range between charges.

Solar City and Google

Google is one of the world’s leading employers to provide solar charging for its employees. Google GFleet Details

This year, SolarCity® and Google created a $280 million fund to finance residential solar projects. The fund is SolarCity’s largest project financing fund and the largest residential solar fund created in the U.S. SolarCity has now created 15 project funds with seven different partners to finance $1.28 billion in solar projects.

The SolarCity/Google fund will extend solar lease (SolarLease®) and power purchase agreement (SolarPPA™) options to customers who desire to have solar panels installed on their homes, but do not wish to make the larger upfront investment to purchase the systems. SolarCity serves Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas, and has more than 15,000 solar projects completed or underway. More than 12,000 of those customers have chosen SolarCity’s financing options, while 3,000 have purchased their systems.

Venture Capital Bets Big on Solar and on Electric Vehicles

I met Pete Rive at the GoingGreen Silicon Valley Conference.  Always On hosts conferences like these in various parts of the nation through the year to bring together leading technology firms and venture capitalists.

The Internet had made billionaires of a few people in the room. The Internet started as ARPANET, a government funded venture. Emerging companies such as Netscape turned to venture capitalists for help in recruiting top management, executing the right strategy, and needed funding. For every Google, venture capitalists have watched multiple investments fail.

As some members of Congress now try making the failure of Solyndra a reason to stop supporting cleantech, the hundreds of people at this conference move ahead, albeit with more difficult funding obstacles. Entrepreneurs see enormous opportunities in solar, vehicle electrification, energy efficiency, smart grid, grid storage, biotechnology, and many other areas. Investments will continue to be made. Most will fail. Some will change the world.

A successful venture capitalist that I met at Going Green was Steve Jurvetson, Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson. His firm’s successes include China’s leading search engine Baidu, and Internet stars that are now part of Microsoft including Hotmail and Skype. Steve Jurvetson drives a Tesla and is on their Board of Directors. He states that all vehicles in the future will be electric, yet he has joined ExxonMobil in investing in Synthetic Genomics, a leader in biofuel from algae. I asked Steve to explain the seeming contradiction.

Synthetic Genomics (SGI), lead by Craig Venter, is developing disruptive technology in biofuel, bio-energy, petrochemical substitutes, and vaccines. Steve Jurvetson, as a Board member of Synthetic Genomics, is excited about transforming more products now plastic from petroleum. By contrast, ExxonMobil with $300 million invested in SGI is interested in algae biofuel feedstock made at breakthrough cost that can be blended at the refinery.

Yes, electric motors are at least four times the efficiency of diesel and gasoline engines, so electric cars have a huge future. Trucks and planes will need fuel for decades and we’re running out of low cost conventional oil. Both EVs and biofuels can successful.

As SGI pursues its multi-year efforts to progress from laboratory to large-scale commercialization, it is giving birth to multiple companies including one to take on some of the world’s most deadly diseases. Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) and the not-for-profit research organization, the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) today announced the formation of a new company, Synthetic Genomics Vaccines Inc. (SGVI). The privately held company will focus on developing next generation vaccines using JCVI’s genomic sequencing and synthetic genomic research expertise, coupled with the intellectual property and expertise of SGI, to significantly advance and enhance vaccine development. SGVI is also announcing a three-year collaboration agreement with Novartis to apply synthetic genomics tools and technologies to accelerate the production of the influenza seed strains required for vaccine manufacturing.

Lithium Batteries – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Many at the conference see a big potential for electric vehicles charged with solar power and other renewables. For them it’s not just potential, its how they now travel.

What will happen to all these lithium batteries when they reach the end of their warranties, which are typically 100,000 miles or 8 years? At that point, a battery that once gave a LEAF driver like me 60 miles of freeway range may only delivery 50 miles. These batteries can be repurposed in solar power projects, storing electricity to be delivered during peak hours when the sun is no longer high in the sky.

Peter Rive, SolarCity COO, has projects for these repurposed batteries right now. He could see buying lithium batteries for $200 per kilowatt for wall-mounted storage.

We have an abundance of sunlight. We also have an abundance of brilliant scientists and engineers, innovative entrepreneurs, and investors who love to bet big on making the world better. Thanks to them, we will increasingly ride on sunlight.

Solar Power Charging Electric Cars is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (9/21/11)

Central Parking System and its subsidiary USA Parking have announced the rollout of electric car charging. Central Parking, with 2,200 locations and over one million parking spaces, clients include some of the nation’s largest owners and operators of mixed-use projects, office buildings, hotels, stadiums and arenas as well as airports, hospitals and municipalities.

Car Charging Group (OTCBB:CCGI) will install, own and operate the charge points. The chargers are made by Coulomb Technologies. Central Parking charge points will be part of the ChargePoint® Network so that drivers can locate the charge points through Google, chargepoint.net, smart phones, and EV navigation systems.

As a Nissan Leaf owner, I often use Coulomb chargers at various locations. For example, Saturday my wife and I wanted to meet friends 40 miles away for dinner. Using chargepoint.net I located a convenient charging location, then used Yelp to find a good restaurant nearby. At the charger, I held my RFID ChargePoint card near the location, authorized the charging unit unlocked, I connected the charger to my LEAF and went off to dinner. ChargePoint even sent me a text when the LEAF was fully charged.

A couple of weeks ago, I was on a Networked Smart Grid panel with Richard Lowenthal, Founder and CTO of Coulomb Technologies. I complimented him on never having a problem with his chargers and with the internet map being accurate. He told me that Coulomb now has over 5,000 charge points installed in over 20 countries. He regularly uses the ChargePoint network to save gas. Richard had driven his Chevrolet Volt from his home in Cupertino to the San Francisco Airport where he charged with one of 14 Coulomb charge points. Then he went to downtown San Francisco and again charged. When he returned home after 110 miles of driving, he displayed that 102 miles were in electric only-mode.

United States will Soon Have 10,000 Electric Car Chargers

“There are close to 17,000 parking garages in the U.S., and they will play one of the most vital roles in the development of a national EV charging infrastructure,” said Brian Golomb, Director of Sales of Car Charging. “By partnering with two of the most important companies in this sector – companies that understand the benefits of electric vehicles – we will move much quicker in the rollout of this nationwide infrastructure.”

Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, is also having Car Charging Group install Coulomb Chargers at a number of locations. Car Charging Group provides EV charging stations at no charge to property owners/managers while retaining ownership, thus allowing their partners to offer their customers, tenants and employees charging services without incurring any outlay of capital. In addition, Car Charging Group’s partners realize a percentage of the charging revenue generated by the charging services paid for by the EV owners.

As part of the agreement, Central Parking has the right to purchase five percent of the Common Stock of Car Charging Group. “We are very excited about this partnership, because it will greatly expand the reach of our nationwide EV charging network,” said Michael Farkas, CEO of Car Charging Group.

This rollout will take us to over 10,000 car chargers installed in the United States. In comparison, there are over 100,000 gasoline stations, most with multiple pumps. “Electric vehicles are no longer a mirage – they are becoming an ever increasing presence on our roads and we are proud to be working with such an innovator in the EV sector,” said James Marcum, CEO of Central Parking Systems.

Through the end of 2012, Nissan is building 100,000 electric cars and GM is building 80,000. According to a new report from Pike Research, cumulative sales of plug-in electric vehicles will reach 5.2 million units by 2017. Car Charging Group uses the forecast of 40 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2030.

Electric Car Chargers for Central Parking System with 2,200 Locations is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (updated 1/17/12; original 9/7/11)

Thousands of electric cars are now communicating with owner’s smart phones, charging stations, and service networks. These EVs are plugging into smart grids that use network communications to charge off-peak, monitor and improve reliablity.

When I use my Blink EVSE to charge my Nissan Leaf, the charger sends a packet of info to the charging network every 15 minutes using Sprint. The charger is communications-ready supporting CDMA, Wi-Fi, and powerline communications (PLC). With the Nissan LEAF app on my Droid I can remotely monitor charging, or pre-heat or pre-cool the car while still plugged-in, saving battery range. My Droid uses Verizon.

While driving, the LEAF’s navigation system uses GPS. If I want to listen to Pandora, my smartphone communicates with the LEAF via Bluetooth. When I park at a ChargePoint for public charging, the Coulomb ChargePoint uses RF to talk with my member smartcard. When charging, the ChargePoint uses various wireless carriers in different countries with protocols such as GPRS and CDMA. The charger even sends me a text when charging is completed or if someone disconnects my car.

Smart Grid Uses Wireless and Mesh Networks

A DOE study identified how we can charge 170 million electric cars in the U.S. before needing to add generation such as renewables, natural gas, nuclear, or coal. Charging needs to be done off-peak. With smart charging communications that is easy to do. I have preset charging my LEAF off peak. When I connect the charger, no electrons flow until the nighttime hour is reached. State utility regulators need to allow utilities A low rate for off-peak charging and higher for on-peak charging and electricity use. No benefits occur until utilities upgrade their old one-way grid communications to two-way smart grid.

As utilities install smart meters, such time of use (TOU) pricing and demand response become realities. Beyond what is visible to their customers, electric utilities are becoming more reliable and efficient with smart grid technology that communicates: advanced meters, smart transformers, sensors, distribution automation, and intelligent energy management.

When I charge and use electricity at home, my PG&E utility smart meter uses RF mesh technology to route the data along with sensor data so that they can manage the grid, collect billing information, and allow me to view home use through an internet browser.

As wireless carriers lower their rates to compete with mesh networks, other utilities take different approaches. Texas utility TNMP is including a CDMA modem in all of the 241,000 smart meters that it is installing.

Transformers and distributed automation are smarter so that sudden changes in load can be better managed and an outage in one location does not take down the neighborhood. SDG&E is charging thousands of electric vehicles with a smart grid. http://www.cleanfleetreport.com/electric-vehicles/charging-electric-vehicles/sdge-charges-electric-cars/

SDG&E is installing smart transformers and distributed automation that more quickly isolates and handles problems. These devices communicate with centralized GIS and IT applications that keep everything running. Cisco 1000 Series Connected Gird Routers are integral to the field area network.

Duke Energy’s David Masters writes, “Duke Energy defines the digital grid as an end-to-end energy Internet powered by two-way digital technology. It is comprised of an Internet Protocol (IP) based, open standards communication network that allows for automation and the exchange of near real-time information as well as enabling the adoption of new technologies as they become available. Duke Energy’s digital grid will have more efficient and reliable transmission and distribution systems; it will leverage energy efficiency programs to reduce wasted energy; it will integrate more distributed energy resources into our grid and decrease carbon emissions.” Duke Energy is co-locating 3G and 4G cellular communication nodes with transformers. These WAN nodes communicate with RF and PLC to smart meters, charging stations, demand response appliances, street light systems, grid sensors and capacitor banks.

EPB, Chattanooga, Tennessee, not only delivers electricity to the home, it delivers broadband fiber optics for fast internet access and streaming video. While most utilities are slowly deploying smart grid, starting with smart meters, EPB installs a broadband router in the home with far more capability than a meter.

Our use of energy will get smarter as utilities fully-deploy smart grids and regulators encourage them share more information. For example, automakers are already demonstrating smart apps so that owners could program preferred charging to occur when high-levels of renewable energy is delivered to the grid, such as wind blowing at night. Smart apps and RE price incentives would encourage the growth of clean and safe energy.

Instead of firing-up dirty peaker plants on hot afternoons when air conditioning is blasting, a smart grid could draw power from utility fleets that are glad to sell power at premium rates. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) has been successfully tested. V2G is part of our future.

The Networked Electric Vehicle

On October 20, utility and automotive executives will attend GTM and Greentech Media’s The Networked EV Conference  to review the details of the convergence of electric vehicles and smart grids. GTM has published a new research report – The Smart Utility Enterprise 2011-2015: IT Systems Architecture, Cyber Security and Market Forecast

The ongoing deployment of smart grid infrastructure (i.e., smart meters and distribution automation) in the U.S. is prompting utility strategists to re-evaluate their organizations’ back-end enterprise architectures in order to enable next-gen utility business and operational services, such as dynamic pricing, grid optimization, self-healing grids and renewables integration. Utilities are just now beginning to understand the implications of outfitting their dated enterprise architectures with current information (IT) and operations (OT) technologies required to offer next-gen smart grid applications.

It will take years for most utilities to deploy smart grids. The cost will be in the billions. The savings will be in the trillions as drivers use less foreign oil and as level demand and energy efficiency replace the need for new coal and nuclear power plants.

Growth is strong for electric vehicles, renewable energy, and smart grid. The growth of one benefits the other. With smart communications, we are enjoying efficient transportation, energy independence, and clean air.

Electric Vehicle and Smart Grid Networks is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (8/9/11)

Jackson Browne told me that he has only used 8 gallons of gasoline during the 2,000 miles that he has driven his Chevrolet Volt. Jackson is famous as a singer, songwriter, and inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Over 17 million albums have been sold in the U.S. alone.  Jackson is a founder of MUSE – Musicians United for Safe Energy. Prior to this Sunday’s inspiring concert, he talked to members of the press, including me, about his commitment to clean energy.

When it comes to oil, coal, and nuclear, Jackson knows that we are “Running on Empty.” For over 25 years, he has lived off-grid using solar power and wind energy. Now he rides on sunlight, charging his Chevy Volt electric car with renewable energy. Only on a few long trips, has he needed a little gasoline.

Saturday, I attended a meet-up of 24 owners of Chevrolet Volts. As I chatted with many owners, it was clear that they loved their Volts.

Tom and Laurie share driving their Volt. The one driving the most miles for the day takes the fuel-sipping Volt. Normally, Tom takes the Volt for his 60-mile round-trip commute to work. He has averaged 44 miles of the trip in electric mode. The electric-mode range is impressive for his freeway driving, but rush hours lead to slower speeds and better electric range.

When I pressed the happy owners for any negative experiences (I’m trying for journalistic balance in these stories), the only lament was their long wait to get their Volt and their now long wait to get their ordered SPX level-2 charger installed. They have discovered, with few exceptions, level-1 charging using a standard 110v outlet is just fine.

Volt Drivers Felix Kramer and Patrick Wang

Felix Kramer and his wife Rochelle, in January, became the first couple to own and drive both a Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt. A founder of CalCars,  Felix has been a leading advocate for plug-in hybrids for 10 years. We all owe him a thank you for the accelerated development of electric cars. Being environmentally concerned, they have a “LEAF-first policy” to minimize use of gasoline.

On nine trips to Lake Tahoe, over 200 miles from their home, they drove the Volt. The extended range of the Volt provides for easy non-stop driving. With the LEAF, overnight stops would be needed for recharging. When driving his Volt on snow, the handling has been adequate, but that there is a big market for the first automaker to offer a plug-in vehicle with all-wheel drive for better traction. Felix also recommends that automakers provide better range management with clear display of the miles of each trip without need to reset the odometer and with clear state-of-charge display.

Richard Lowenthal loves driving his Volt. Richard is founder and CTO of Coulomb Technologies and the ChargePoint network. Coulomb now has over 5,000 charge points installed in over 20 countries. I have used their chargers at a number of locations with 100-percent ease and success. Recently, Richard drove his Volt from his home in Cupertino to the San Francisco Airport where he charged with one of 14 Coulomb charge points. Then he went to downtown San Francisco and again charged. When he returned home after 110 miles of driving, he displayed that 102 miles were in electric only-mode.

New General Motors Voltec Charger

The Volt owner meet-up took place at the General Motors Advanced Technology Office in Palo Alto. Volt and LEAF drivers were charging their vehicles with GM’s new Voltec Level 2 Charger which can be bought through Chevrolet dealers and online for only $499. GM has achieved the low price by eliminating redundant smart charging electronics in the EVSE and letting the vehicle manage charging. Volts have on-board smart charging which can be managed through the vehicle display, the internet, or with smart phones using the GM Volt OnStar Mobile App.

General Motors Shad Balch explained to me that GM has increased its scheduled production of the Volt as it scrambles to catch-up with customer demand. GM will make 16,000 Volts in 2011, almost double its original plans. This includes 2,000 for dealers to provide demonstrations and test-drives. In 2012, General Motors will make 65,000 electric cars including 45,000 Chevrolet Volts for the U.S. market and 15,000 Opel Amperas for Europe.

The new General Motors is an engine of innovation. GM is working on 32 electric car derivatives all based on Voltec, the Chevrolet Volt’s electric drive system and GM’s architecture and roadmap for a number of exciting vehicles future vehicles with electric drive systems. Voltec can accommodate an electric drive system that uses a small engine coupled with an electric generator, such as today’s Chevrolet Volt in America, and the similar Opel Ampera for Europe and Japan.

You don’t need to be a music legend to drive an electric car. The Chevrolet Volt can be leased for $350 per month. Some owners are saving a fortune at the gas station, spending less than $60 per month for the electricity and gasoline needed to run their Volts.

Early Owners Love Their Chevrolet Volts is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

(7/12/11) By John Addison

It takes a lot of electricity to run Dow Jones, one of the world’s largest publishers and information providers. Dow Jones is now generating 3.6 MW of its own electricity with Solaire Generation Solar Parking Canopies. Solar parking structures allow organizations to reduce their utility bills, get more control of their own electricity generation, convert asphalt heat islands into attractive demonstrations of sustainability, and protect employees, customers and their cars.

I met with Solaire Generation CEO Laurence Mackler here at the Intersolar conference and exhibition being visited by over 22,000. Mackler explained that he founded the business because it made economic sense for his customers. They run the numbers and approve projects. Solaire is completely focused on parking structures with a patented dual-incline roof, the main surface south sloping for greatest efficiency. All Solaire parking structures use PV panels, not thin-film, to capture enough sun in the constrained space of the structures.

Increasingly, customers are also including solar electric car charging. Johnson and Johnson included 5 Coulomb Technology charge points in their 1.1 MW Solar Parking Canopy which uses SunPower panels. General Electric has a new Solaire parking structure that includes a number of the new GE charging stations.

The Arizona VA Hospital is installing 2.9 MW of solar panels from Kyocera and REC Group covering several parking lots. To research this article, I meet with Dr. Angiolo Laviziano, the CEO of REC Solar who is managing all aspects of this solar project.

The installation will add to a 302 kW single-axis tracker mounted system that REC Solar. Following the angle of the sun through the day, single axis systems are often 30 percent more efficient than fixed panels. Dr. Laviziano states that REC has 4.1 MW of added solar parking under contract from other VA Hospitals.

Like many organizations, the VA Hospital considered locating the solar panels on its roofs. This approach would have been more expensive; a uniform surface was not available due to rooftop located air conditioning and other equipment. Solar parking had the added benefit of giving employees and patients shading parking, instead of exposure to the blistering Arizona summer sun. Highly visible, the solar parking provides a positive public image which is often lost when solar is installed on roofs of high buildings.

REC Solar CEO Angiolo Laviziano is now expanding business for his 600-employee firm. REC plans to partner with several makers of electric charging equipment. Customers are expressing a growing interest in including electric car charge points in their electric parking structures. The least expensive time to install charging stations is when the power electronics, panels, and other equipment in being installed for the solar power, parking lighting, and other electric demands.

An informal REC survey of early adopters of electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt, showed that these drivers also use solar power. Another 50 percent are interested in solar power. Angiolo is a perfect example of an early adopter of both. Years ago, he converted his Subaru to be an electric car using added lead-acid batteries in the trunk. He charges his car with his REC Solar system, a highly efficient two-axis system. He is the only owner I’ve met of an all-wheel drive electric car and certainly the only one who charges with a two-axis solar system.

Thousands of Parking Spaces Now Solar Shaded Globally

California State University Bakersfield (CSUB), Dr. Horace Mitchell and Sun Edison LLC, a leading worldwide solar energy services provider and a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE:WFR), co-hosted a “Flip the Switch” ceremony to commemorate the activation of the 1.2 megawatt (MW) solar parking canopy located on the CSUB campus.

The oil industry is one of the world’s biggest users of electricity. Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company has covered 4,500 parking spaces with 10 MW of thin-film CIGS solar from Solar Frontier, a company in which they are a major investor. Nikolai Dobrott, a Managing Director with Apricum estimates that the nation of Saudi Arabia may need as much as 30GW of added electricity in this decade, currently using natural gas, oil, and diesel for virtually all power generation; solar is an attractive form of diversification.

Solar developer Belectric is managing the solar project at Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran. Over 120,000 CIS (Copper Indium Selenide) photovoltaic modules cover 4,500 parking spaces at the North Park offices parking lot, sheltering vehicles from the desert sun.

Automakers Massively Deploying Solar Parking Structures with Electric Car Charge Points

Envision has made its business focus to offer pre-configured and custom solar parking structures. Many offerings are designed to be attractive, converting asphalt urban heat islands into beautiful urban forests. The structures were originally designed by Envision founder and architect Robert Nobel.

In 2010, General Motors selected Envision to install its CleanCharge™ solar powered electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations integrated into EnvisionTrak™ tracking Solar Trees® at prominent GM locations.

Renault is not only working with Better Place to put 100,000 Renault Fluence electric cars on the streets of Israel and Denmark, it is also implementing a world record 55 MW of solar parking structures at various manufacturing facilities.

Whether an organization is providing for patients, students, or employees, solar parking structures are creating clean energy, shaded electric car charging, and attractive urban forests.

Largest Solar Parking Structures Provide MW Electricity is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (7/5/11)

Google, Inc. has deployed more than 70 Coulomb Technologies charging stations at its worldwide headquarters in Mountain View, CA. Over 100 employees who own electric cars use the charging stations. The stations (EVSE) are also used by the company’s growing car sharing program for Googlers (GFleet), which includes Chevrolet Volts, Nissan LEAFs and Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrids.

Many employees bought their own electric cars after using LEAFs and Volts in the GFleet. Employees who use transit get GFleet priority.

With plans for 250 more charging stations on its campus, and a goal to make 5 percent of its campus parking EV-ready, Google’s installation is the largest workplace charging installation for electric vehicles in the country. Much of the charging is done with renewable energy, including Google’s solar covered parking. No coal power is used in charging vehicles. Google has invested over one billion dollars in renewable energy, accelerating development of 1.7 GW of RE.

“By investing in new, green transportation technologies, Google is making a significant contribution to reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions,” said Rolf Schreiber technical program manager, Electric Transportation, at Google. “Our EVs and charging stations are part of our broader green transportation system that includes biodiesel shuttles that Googlers use to commute to work instead of driving their own cars. But we’re only one company among many, so we hope our green transportation initiatives serve as a model for other companies to incorporate sustainability programs into their own workplaces.”

Google manages its charging stations via the ChargePoint Network, the world’s largest network of charging stations and EV charging applications. The following workplace charging features are available through Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network:

· Controlled access: Via an online portal and smartcards, customers can control who accesses their charging stations (employees or guests), to control costs, eliminate electricity theft, and optimize station use.

· Measuring performance of green initiatives: Online station management provides tracking and reporting of energy usage, greenhouse gas and gasoline savings data. Reports are displayed by graphs that can be filtered by day, week, month, station attributes and energy usage/GHG range. Customers can also export their station data and combine the data with other system for further corporate sustainability analysis.

· Network Operations: The ChargePoint Network provides 24/7 station network monitoring to ensure network services are always available, Over the Air (OTA) station software upgrades to accommodate future advancements without onsite service, and the ability to tie into energy, building and other business management systems.

· Driver Services: Customers have access to the ChargePoint Network’s 24/7 driver telephone assistance, e-mail or text message driver notification alerts for charging session interruption or charging completed, and individual driver portals to customize notifications, track their energy usage and greenhouse gas savings, view charging history, and have access to the largest network of public charging stations in the world at www.mychargepoint.net

· Cost-saving utility programs and incentives: Charging stations contain utility-grade meters and the ability to communicate with other smart grid systems, enabling demand response, time-of-use pricing, and other smart grid programs provided by local utilities.

The company has been working over the last several years to deploy and experiment with new green transportation technologies.

· In 2007, Google launched RechargeIT, an initiative aimed at accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles.

· Google’s biodiesel campus shuttles use the latest clean diesel technology, reducing emissions 80 percent over engines from just a few years ago.

· Placing solar panels on buses to provide pre-cooling without having to run the engines.

· More than 3000 Googlers ride a shuttle bus to the company’s Mountain View headquarters every day.

· Google’s ChargePoint workplace charging system encourages more and more employees to commute using electric transportation.

Google’s transportation initiatives save 5,400 tons of CO2e emissions this year. Google is just getting started.

Google makes innovative use of electric vehicles and charging stations. For employees, Google took an early lead in converting Toyota Prii (yep that’s the official plural of Prius) to be plug-in hybrids. Then Google installed beautiful solar covered parking including charge stations so that electric cars can be charged with sunlight.

At its headquarters, Google is now showing us how to charge hands-free.  No plug. No cord. Using Evatran Plugless Power’s inductive charging system, one of Google’s maintenance short-range EVs parks in close proximity of the charger and charging begins. The Evatran unit is Level 2 (7.7 kW, 240V at 32A). The light EV was converted to use the inductive charging.

Google is also conducting other important pilots including testing the new Toyota Prius Plug-in, not a conversion, but the 2012 model from Toyota. Soon, Google will be testing the Honda Fit Electric  and other plug-in cars. Several Google founders drive Tesla Roadsters. Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are Stanford University grad student “drop-outs.” They don’t regret the decision to make changing the world a priority over getting their PhDs.

Google’s 70 Charge Stations for Employee Electric Cars and GFleet is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (6/9/11)

Get Yours for $21,665 After Federal Tax Credit

The new Mitsubishi i (official name with small “i”), bigger and with more zip for the U.S. market, can now be reserved at a low price that will challenge the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus Electric, and Honda Fit Electric. The world’s best selling freeway-speed electric car is coming to the U.S. this November.

My 15-mile test drive of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV showed me that this electric car has got what it takes. For example, the i-MiEV with its 46kW electric motor climbed 16% grade steep hill with the same ease as a Nissan LEAF. The U.S. Mitsubishi version will have 49 kW motor. By contrast, the Smart ED with its 16kW motor struggled up hills.

Using a conventional automatic shift, you can drive the Mitsubishi i in 3 modes: ECO for most driving with the best electric range, D for accelerating on freeways and climbing hills, and B to increase motor resistance for maximum regenerative brake power. This pure battery-electric has no gas tank. You can charge it at standard Level 2 J1772 public stations, adding 10 to 15 miles of range per hour of charge. Trickle charge from standard outlets is a slow 8 amp that may get upgraded to 12 A. Such charging will only add 2 to 3 miles per hour of charge. Life the LEAF, and unlike most plug-in cars, a DC Fast Charge option will add up to 70 miles of range in less than 30 minutes.

An optional Eaton Level 2 charger can be ordered for home installation. Mitsubishi will encourage these chargers to be ordered from Best Buy that will do a home inspection then schedule installation by a trained electrician. Since Level 2 charging is standard, you may want to get bids from other electricians for other chargers.

This June, I got to see and hear the latest from Mitsubishi at the EV Symposium presented by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Of the 200 people attending the symposium, 40 showed-up in electric vehicles that they owned. 20 of the electric cars were Nissan LEAFs. There were Chevrolet Volts, Tesla Roadsters, Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrids and a Mitsubishi i. Electric cars are here and their real – very real in the heart of Silicon Valley.

$6,000 Less than Nissan LEAF

Mitsubishi raised the price of their new electric car from $27,990 to $29,195 after Nissan raised the price of the 2012 LEAF by over $2,000. So far, electric car makers are not making money on these EV and they cannot supply fast enough to keep up with demand. The Mitsubishi i is able to start at  $6,000 below the 2012 Nissan LEAF. The Mitsubishi can price lower because it only uses a 16 kW lithium battery; the LEAF, 24 kW. The Mitsubishi range average is 85 miles; the LEAF, 100. Fleet managers will start getting U.S. delivery this November, individuals, in January 2012.

The 5-door hatchback feels like a roomy sub-compact inside. My 5 foot, 10 inch frame, fit easily in the driver’s seat and in the back seat of this 4-seater. The car is definitely designed for the urban environment. Parallel parking is a breeze, just nose in, turn off the car, and walk away. The back seat can fold down if you are loading up at big box stores, using this EV to make deliveries, or have extra work and school stuff.

The Mitsubishi i is a micro compact city-car with a tight turning radius. It can squeeze in neglected parking spaces, saving drives $20, $30, and even $50 per day. Compared to the Japanese i-MiEV, the U.S. version is 5-inches wider. It is 10-inches longer due to U.S. required bumpers.

The Model ES can be reserved for $29,195. The Model SE can be reserved for $31,125. The SE includes some upgraded interior appointments, a deluxe audio system with 360 watts and 8 speakers. With the SE you can pay $2,790 for an optional package that includes DC Fast Charging port, HDD navigation system with a back-up camera, and steering wheel audio controls. If you are ready to commit a $299 deposit, you can reserve your Mitsubishi i online.

The Mitsubishi i with navigation and DC fast charging, however, has little price advantage over the Nissan LEAF with navigation and DC fast charging. The LEAF offers more range, 5-seats, more cargo and a larger car that many will find more reassuring when driving freeways. Others will prefer the city parking space advantage of the Mitsubishi I, the urban styling, and the fun drive.

The Mitsubishi i is about 600 pounds lighter than the LEAF. Some expressway drivers will feel saver in the larger car, but the Mitsubishi electric car received a 4-star rating in stringent crash testing performed by Euro NCAP, a multinational vehicle safety-testing consortium in Europe.

Special Fleet Package for November Delivery

Fleet managers recognize that no vehicle meets all of their needs. Larger fleets may deploy different electric vehicles for different needs. For example, an employee pool could include Nissan LEAFs and Chevrolet Volts for those needing extended range. Delivery routes could need 3-ton Smith electric trucks for big items and Mitsubishi I with the back seat folded for quick deliveries in cities with parking space challenges.

The Mitsubishi i should do well in campus environments, short deliveries, and urban driving. Major rental car and car sharing fleets are evaluating the Mitsubishi i. Municipalities like the City of Santa Monica already have the Mitsubishi I on order. A special Fleet Model ES that includes DC Fast Charging will be available for $28,690. Fleet deliveries start in November. The Mitsubishi I will be on the GSA schedule.

An electric car will save most people over a $1,000 per year by avoiding gas station fill-ups. The Mitsubishi electric car is expected to be so reliable that you can prepay $500 for 5 years of maintenance, a big savings over a gasoline car. Yes, you could pay less upfront for fun urban cars like Smart, Fit, Yaris, Fiesta, and Cruze, but the Mitsubishi i will save year after year. You will be impressed with the Mitsubishi i.

Mitsubishi i Specifications

Get details at Mitsubishi. Some features only optional or only for Model SE.

Technical specifications are based on the latest information available at the time of posting and are subject to change without notice. Features and options subject to change without notice.

Mitsubishi i Electric Car Can Be Reserved for $29,195 is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By Pike Research (6/7/11)

A total of 3.2 million plug-in electric vehicles will be sold worldwide by 2015, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 106% is forecasted by Pike Research. Annual EV sales will cross the 1 million mark for the first time during the same year.

Pike Research forecasts that in the United States, the top cities for EV adoption between 2011 and 2017 will be New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Chicago. The electric utilities with the largest number of EVs in their service territories will be Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, Consolidated Edison, Exelon, and FPL Group.

Pike Research’s Electric Vehicle Consumer Survey finds that 43% of U.S. consumers would be “extremely” or “very” interested in purchasing an electric vehicle. However, the firm’s price sensitivity analysis concludes that consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for EVs is significantly below manufacturers’ expected prices.

More than 4.7 million EV charge points will be installed globally by 2015. Among EV supply equipment (EVSE) vendors, the proprietary Pike Pulse analytical methodology finds that Coulomb Technologies is the market leader in terms of both strategy and execution, followed by ECOtality.

Cyber security for EV charging systems is a challenge that remains largely unmet by the industry. Pike Research finds that the prevailing philosophy of the EV industry has been “build first, secure later,” an approach that poses many risks for financial transactions, customer privacy, and the integrity and reliability of the grid infrastructure.

Similarly, a lack of technical standards could hinder utilities’ readiness for EVs, though the industry is beginning to make progress in this area. The firm forecasts that investment in electric vehicle IT systems will reach $1.5 billion worldwide by 2015.

Details are in the Pike Research Electric Vehicles Advisory Service,  a subscription-based information suite that provides independent and objective market intelligence and strategy insights for companies and other organizations engaged in the rapidly evolving electric vehicle (EV) industry ecosystem. As part of the service, Pike Research’s global team of industry analysts cover key trends and growth scenarios for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and their enabling technologies such as EV charging station infrastructure, EV information technology systems, and EV battery technologies.

“The electrification of vehicles represents one of the most profound changes to the automotive industry in the past 100 years, both for consumer and fleet markets,” says Pike Research president Clint Wheelock. “As EVs are adopted in larger numbers in the coming decade, this transformation will not only affect drivers themselves, but also utilities, municipalities, and corporations across multiple industries, to name just a few.”

As part of its Electric Vehicles service, Pike Research’s industry analysts offer timely and actionable market insights, covering specific technology and business sectors as well as overall market conditions and trends. Research reports include an in-depth examination of business models, technology issues, policy and regulatory factors, the competitive landscape, and market sizing, segmentation and forecasting.

3.2 Million Electric Vehicles and 4.7 Million Charge Points Forecast for 2015 is a post from: Clean Fleet Report