By John Addison (7/24/10)

Solar energy growth continues its strong growth. For the 30 years from 1979 to 2009, solar energy has grown 33 % CAGR (compound average growth rate). For this decade, over 40 percent is forecast. Although 2009 was hurt by a sever recession and difficulty in financing large projects, most additional power brought online in the United States, Europe, and much of Asia was renewables. 32 GW of solar power is installed globally; 7.2 GW was installed last year.

Yes, it is discouraging that U.S. electricity generation is dominated by coal and natural gas, and 97 percent of our transportation is from petroleum. The U.S. continues to spend over a trillion dollars of tax payer money each year subsidizing fossil fuels, covering health bills from pollution, and fighting wars to secure our oil supply. We suffer from our policies that support flattening mountains for coal, dangerously drilling our oceans for oil, and expanding highways instead of public transportation. Yet help is on the way as renewable energy continues to cleanly power more homes, workplaces, and rail transit. Public Transportation Renewable Energy Report

I joined 2,500 conference attendees at Intersolar North America, a premier exhibition for solar professionals. The co-located Intersolar North America and SEMICON West events, which took place this week in San Francisco, presented over 700 solar exhibitors to more than 20,000 trade visitors.

The exhibition took place at the Moscone Center, LEED certified conference center with 675 kW of solar on the roof (yes, I climbed on the roof and saw the acres of Sanyo and Shell solar panels). Equally impressive is the 80% improvement in energy efficient lighting at the conference center.

The Future is Europe buying U.S. innovation manufactured in Asia

Germany leads the world in buying most of each year’s solar production. German businesses and homeowners make money installing solar and then selling excess kilowatts with guaranteed feed-in tariffs (FIT). Although Germany is now reducing FIT rates, the cost of installing solar is dropping even faster. Germany will continue to lead in adding solar. With help from Italy and other countries, Europe will buy over 80% of solar PV in 2010. Only 6% of solar will be installed in the U.S., even though we have enough sunlight to power the entire nation.

An excellent summary of the solar market is Renewable Energy World’s Solar PV Market Analysis by Paula Mints, Navigant Consulting.

U.S. innovation has been a key driver for solar. First Solar’s CdTe thin film has brought manufacturing cost below $1.00 per watt. SunPower has achieved record 24% commercial efficiency. Key inventions of PV and semiconductors are from the U.S. Innovation continues everywhere from universities to venture backed start-ups. Optimistic presenters predicted that their technology would reach 50 cents per watt to make. Balance of system and installation costs could double or triple that number. A major issue for start-ups is difficulty in getting projects financed. Risk aversive lenders often prefer established companies who can back 20-year warranties, to start-ups with the perceived risk of staying in business 20 months. Installed PV is expected to drop from around $3 per watt today to $2 per watt in 2014.

Despite all the innovation taking place in the U.S., it is less expensive to manufacture in Asia. Navigant estimated that 77% of solar PV is made in Asia; only 5% in the U.S. Asia’s lead is likely to grow, with companies with integrated supply chains like Suntech and Sharp playing major roles.

PV growth is likely to be over 40% annually this decade. Solar is now 100X less than in the 1970s. The learning curve continues with costs falling 20% each time volume doubles. Industry leaders are squeezing out costs in everything from panels to paperwork, from inverters to mounting. Now, 95% of PV is grid connected, by 2014 it will be 97 to 99%.

By 2015, several researchers expect thin-film solar to reach about 30% of the market, but they expect silicon to continue to dominate. c-SI costs more per watt to make, but it is less expensive to install. Importantly, more efficient SI takes less space on roofs and in open areas. GTM also offers free summaries of a number of excellent solar research reports about silicon and thin-film PV. http://www.gtmresearch.com/list

Solar Growth Accelerates in Middle Markets

Several conference presenters examined the solar market in 4 categories:

• Residential < 100kW
• C&I (commercial, industrial) 100 kW to 2MW
• Utility DG (distributed e.g. commercial rooftops) 500 kW to 20 MW
• Utility CG (central) > 20MW

Several forecast that the highest U.S. growth in the middle categories of 100 kW to 20 MW. These segments appeal to electric utilities that face RPS requirements in 30 states. Commercial distributed solar is often well matched with the location of electricity demand, minimizing transmission and distribution investment. Transit operators including LA Metro, New Jersey Transit, and MARTA are among the dozens of agencies heavily investing in solar in the 100kW to MW category. Public Transportation Renewable Energy Report

Smaller residential solar in the U.S. has been seriously injured by the wonderful companies in the middle of the recent mortgage crisis, namely Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who have stopped city PACE programs around the country that made residential solar affordable. If you want to laugh or cry about how the U.S. is giving the solar industry to Asia, take a look at PACE NOW.

Utilities will also continue to invest in large scale solar PV and concentrating solar power. In much of the U.S. large solar cannot compete with large-scale wind. There is 20 times as much wind power installed in the U.S. Utility-scale projects also face years of delays due to NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) opposition to the renewable projects and the high-voltage lines needed to transmit power to major residential and industrial centers.

Intersolar Exhibitions and Conferences will take place in several locations over the next 12 months and return to San Francisco next July. In 2011, we are likely to see that solar grew strongly from rooftops to utility scale projects.

Truly impressive is solar energy’s decades of growth that exceeds 30 percent annually. Efficiency continues to improve and cost continues to fall. Energy is more secure as generation moves closer to consumption in homes, commercial centers, and transportation.

Solar Energy’s 33 Percent Annual Growth will Accelerate is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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Transportation’s Role in Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

U.S. DOT April 2010 Report to Congress

A wealth of potential solutions, from electric cars, to better transit, to reduced VMT, are detailed in the recent Department of Transportation’s report to Congress. Not only is the report rich with promising climate action, solutions are detailed to address U.S. energy security, with 97 percent of our transportation coming from one source – petroleum.

STRATEGIES TO REDUCE TRANSPORTATION GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

The DOT report offers a wealth of data and tactics supporting these four strategies:

1. Low-carbon fuels
2. Fuel economy
3. Transportation system efficiency
4. Reduce carbon-intensive travel

The report also details cross-cutting policies that facilitate the above strategies:

• Align transportation planning and investments to GHG reduction objectives
• Price carbon

Low-Carbon Fuels

The alternative fuels evaluated in this report include ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, synthetic fuels, hydrogen, and electricity. Considering scalability, the potential to follow a favorable cost reduction curve, and lifecycle emissions, electricity, hydrogen, and advanced biofuels have the most promise. Report summary:

If significant advances were to occur in battery technology and the use of low-carbon energy sources for electricity generation, battery-electric vehicle could reduce transportation GHG emissions by 80 percent or more per vehicle in the long term (25 years or more). Aggressive deployment could reduce total transportation emissions by 26-to-30 percent in 2050 if a 56 percent light-duty vehicle (LDV) market penetration could be achieved.

The estimates for plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles depend on reductions in the GHG emissions intensity of U.S. electricity production. The estimates were calculated using GHG emission intensity modeled by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The input is 379 to 606 g/kWhr in 2030, and 240 to 421 g/kWhr in 2050. This compares to a 618 g/kWh national average today and would require increased use of low carbon electricity production technologies such as wind, solar, nuclear, and hydro-electric power. However, even under a very high GHG intensity scenario relying on coal generation using older technology (1,014 g/kWhr), at a low battery efficiency of 0.4 kWhr/mile,

PHEVs operating in a charge depleting mode would still result in 12 percent lower GHG emissions than corresponding conventional gasoline vehicle operation, on a per mile basis. However, under these extreme circumstances, PHEV operation will not provide benefits relative to an HEV baseline.

In the long-term, if technical successes in fuel cell development and low-carbon hydrogen production, distribution, and onboard storage can be achieved, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles could reduce per vehicle GHG emissions by 80 percent or more. Aggressive deployment could reduce total transportation emissions by 18-to-22 percent in 2050.

Fuel Economy

Fuel use per light duty vehicle averages 578 gallons per year. In addition, average new vehicle fuel economy improved from 2005 to 2007 as the market share of passenger cars increased compared to light-duty trucks

Vehicle and fuel efficiency strategies include developing and bringing to market advanced engine and transmission designs, lighter-weight materials, improved vehicle aerodynamics, and reduced rolling resistance. Many of these technological improvements (such as hybrid-electric powertrains, truck aerodynamic improvements, and more efficient gasoline engines) are well developed and could be further incorporated into new vehicles in the near future. In the long-term, propulsion systems relying on more efficient power conversion and low- or zero-carbon fuels.

Fuel economy benefits are limited by the turnover time of the fleet. Passenger cars and light trucks last about 16 years on average before retirement, compared to 20 years or more for trucks, up to 40 years for locomotives and marine vessels, and about 30 years for aircraft.

• Increased fuel economy in light-duty vehicles could reduce GHG emissions significantly. On a per vehicle basis, compared to a conventional vehicle, GHG reductions are 8-to-30 percent for advanced gasoline vehicles; about 16 percent for diesel vehicles; 26-to-54 percent for hybrid electrics; and 46-to-75 percent for plug-in hybrid electrics.

• Retrofits can be used to expedite improvements. Heavy-duty trucks retrofitted to use aerodynamic fairings, trailer side skirts, low-rolling resistance tires, aluminum wheels, and planar boat tails can reduce per truck GHG emissions by 10-to-15 percent. For new trucks, combined powertrain and resistance reduction technologies are estimated to reduce per vehicle emissions by 10 to 30 percent in 2030.

Reduce Carbon-Intensive Travel

These strategies would reduce on-road vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) by reducing the need for travel, increasing vehicle occupancies, and shifting travel to more energy-efficient options. The collective impact of these strategies on total U.S. transportation GHG emissions could range from 5-to-17 percent in 2030, or 6-to-21 percent in 2050.

• Transportation pricing strategies, such as a fee per vehicle-mile of travel (VMT) of about 5 cents per mile, an increase in the motor fuel tax of about $1.00 per gallon, or pay-as-you-drive insurance—if applied widely—could reduce transportation GHG emissions by 3 percent or more within 5-to- 10 years. Lower fee or tax levels would result in proportionately lower GHG reductions.

• Significant expansion of urban transit services, in conjunction with land use changes and pedestrian and bicycle improvements, could generate moderate reductions of 2 to 5 percent of transportation GHG by 2030. The benefits would grow over time as urban patterns evolve, increasing to 3-to-10 percent in 2050. These strategies can also increase mobility, lower household transportation costs, strengthen local economies, and provide health benefits.

Recent trends indicate that light duty vehicle emissions are leveling off as VMT growth slows and fuel economy improves. Growth in passenger vehicle VMT slowed from an annual rate of 2.6 percent from 1990 to 2004 to an average annual rate of 0.6 percent from 2004 to 2007. In 2008, VMT on all streets and roads in the United States decreased for the first time since 1980, likely due to a combination of high fuel prices and a weakening economy. Light-duty vehicles average 1.6 persons per vehicle.

Land use changes — such as density, diversity of land uses, neighborhood design, street connectivity, destination accessibility, distance to activity centers, and proximity to transit — reduce trip lengths and support travel by transit, walking, and bicycling.

Transportation and land use are interdependent. Decisions on the locations and densities of housing, retail, offices, and commercial properties impact travel patterns to these destinations. Similarly, the geographic placement of roads, public transportation, airports, and rail lines influences where homes and businesses are built. Areas of lower density tend to have higher levels of automobile use per capita.

Over the past several decades, housing densities have decreased and the amount of developed land in the country has grown faster than population. Land use strategies yields a reduction of U.S. transportation GHG emissions of 1 to 4 percent in 2030 and 3 to 8 percent in 2050.93 The Moving Cooler study assumptions, which fall in the middle of the range, rely on 43 to 90 percent of new urban development occurring in areas of roughly greater than five residential units per acre, which accommodates single family and multifamily homes.

TCRP Report 128: Effects of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) on Housing, Parking, and Travel, surveyed 17 housing projects that combined compact land use with transit access and found that these projects averaged 44 percent fewer vehicle trips per weekday than that estimated by the Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE) manual for a typical housing development.

Commuter/worksite trip reduction programs have modest potential for GHG reductions—0.2 to 0.6 percent of all transportation sector emissions in 2030. The most effective actions from a policy perspective are trip reduction requirements combined with supporting activities such as regional rideshare and vanpool programs and financial incentives for the use of alternative modes.

Investing in transit sufficiently enough to nearly double the average annual ridership growth rate from the current 2.4 percent to 4.6 percent and expanded urban transit could reduce GHG emissions from 0.2 to 0.9 percent of transportation GHG by 2030, or 0.4 to 1.5 percent in 2050.

Buses have the lowest emissions per PMT because of their high occupancy rateaveraging 21 people per bus. Transit buses have a lower occupancy rate of 10 people per bus averaged across the U.S. However, transit buses only account for 15 percent of all bus passenger-miles traveled. Intercity passenger rail averages about 20 passengers per car, while rail transit averages 23, and commuter rail averages 31.

Price Carbon

Mechanisms to price carbon emissions include:

• Federal motor fuels tax

• Cap and trade system, in which GHG emissions allowances are traded in the market to cap overall emissions

• Carbon tax

Transportation GHG emissions are 29 percent of total U.S. emissions

The report provides detailed data on sources of transportation greenhouse and air quality emissions. For GHG, the new GREET 1.8b model is used to measure emissions from source to wheels. Emissions from on-road vehicles accounted for 79 percent of transportation GHG emissions.

• Emissions from light-duty vehicles, which include passenger cars and light duty trucks (e.g., sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and minivans) accounted for 59 percent of emissions

• Emissions from freight trucks accounted for 19 percent

• Emissions from commercial aircraft (domestic and international) for 12 percent

• Emissions from all other modes accounted for 10 percent of total emissions

The United States is starting to reduce its total consumption of oil, become a bit more energy secure, and to implement promising strategies. By eliminating some of the biggest subsidies to oil and widening of highways, with some positive policy shifts, and with a modest carbon price, we could achieve significant reduction of oil use and reduce damaging emissions. Individuals, fleets, and regions have a wealth of options to use low-carbon fuels such as renewable energy, improve fuel economy including implementing electric cars, improve system efficiency, and reduce VMT.

DOT 600 Page Report PDF

Climate Action Scenario 26-Page for SF Bay Area

DOT Reports Climate Action from Electric Cars to Public Transportation is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By John Addison (4/15/10)

Ride sharing has long been a popular way to commute to work; people save money, have some company, and travel faster in high-occupancy lanes. At colleges, universities, and major events, people are using social networks to hook-up and ride together. More recently, sharing cars by the hour has allowed hundreds of thousands to free themselves from the $8,000 per year cost of owning a car.

In the last year, due to trends such as ride share and car share growth, Americans reduced their ownership of 3.5 million cars.  Now car sharing and ride sharing are offered together.

Zipcar, the world’s largest car sharing provider announced a partnership with Zimride, the world’s leading social online ride sharing community. The partnership will integrate car sharing and ride sharing services and make it possible for Zipcar 275,000 members to seek, offer and share Zipcar rides with friends and others in or outside of their social network. It also will enable Zimride 300,000 ride sharers to use Zipcar as their vehicle, removing the need to own a car. The joint service is offered to colleges and universities; Stanford University has starting using the program.

“Zipcar is the perfect partner, given that they are operating car sharing programs on over 120 colleges and universities across the country,” said John Zimmer, co-founder and COO of Zimride. “Both companies aim to decrease emissions, reduce vehicle miles traveled and save people money. Sharing a Zipcar and ride sharing with your friends magnifies the benefit all the way around – it’s a 1+1=5 kind of impact.”

Zipcar leverages Web and wireless to make reserving and using a car by the hour easy. I am a member, with Zipcars only two blocks away. Zipcar is the world’s leading car-sharing service with 6,000 vehicles in urban areas and college campuses throughout 26 North American states and provinces as well as in London, England. As a leader in urban transportation, Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models including a few plug-in hybrids.

“The market for our services on campuses across the country is huge. According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are nearly 13 million faculty, staff and students on more than 2,500 campuses, many of whom don’t have convenient access to transportation,” said Scott Griffith, CEO of Zipcar. “We chose to partner with Zimride because their innovative and scalable platform is a great foundation for building a national network of rides. Zipcar fills the car ownership gap for the Zimride model, since people most likely to ride share are those that are least likely to own a car.”

Given the parking constraints, socially-oriented populations, and high demand for ad-hoc transportation at universities, Zimride and Zipcar have created a customized version of their application specifically designed to allow students, faculty and staff direct access to the system.

The integrated service will allow Zipcar members to share a ride by automatically posting the date, time and destination of the Zipcar trip to the Zimride campus community. Once posted, Zimride’s route matching algorithm finds and notifies users looking for a ride. Additionally, Zimride members may find a local Zipcar to share at anytime. This is done seamlessly through a customized campus Zimride website or Facebook application.

Zipcar’s low hourly rates already include gas, insurance, parking, maintenance and 24/7 service: sharing that ride with others can lower the cost even more. This practice will also further reduce carbon emissions. Zipcar members already reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 40 percent compared to owning a car. Now, with ride sharing in a Zipcar, VMT’s are reduced even further.

Car Sharing + Ride Sharing = Saves Thousands per Person is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By John Addison (3/7/10)

Before I got behind the wheel of the Transit Connect Electric, I asked myself, “Who is going to buy a battery-electric van of this size?” Fleet managers of utilities, universities, and city delivery all came to mind. Electric utilities have plenty of off-peak electricity for charging vehicles. For a utility with 5,000 vehicles in its fleet, hundreds could be replaced with the Transit Connect Electric.

Many universities have hundreds of light electric vehicles for maintenance and on-campus delivery. The Transit Connect Electric would greatly increase the range and cargo for these applications. Many city delivery applications do not require much range and space, but value fitting in a tight parking spot.

The Transit Connect Electric looks identical to its gasoline cousin that was awarded 2010 North American Truck of the Year. The Transit Connect Electric has over 6 feet of cargo length that can be accessed through two sliding side doors, and two swinging rear doors. By keeping the cargo space to this size, the Ford has an 80-mile range on a charge of its 28kWh of lithium-ion batteries. The cargo space is perfect for many delivery, maintenance, and contractor needs, but not for all. Many fleet applications need the 290 cubic feet available in the Ford E Series vans or the 547 cubic feet of the Mercedes Sprinter.

As I get behind the wheel, I notice that the Transit Connect Electric is still ¾ fully charged, even though Ford has been giving journalists test drives for a couple of hours. The dash is simple in comparison to the Fusion Hybrid. No fancy telematics, GPS, or back-up camera. The rear view mirror won’t help me because of the high cabinets in this particular vehicle’s cargo space. I use the side mirrors to back-up. The vehicle is easy to maneuver out of the tight parking space.

As I turn and accelerate on the busy city street, the vehicle is silent. I cannot even hear the electric motor. Zero to 60 in 11 seconds is nothing to brag about, but the acceleration was adequate on the level street. Initial acceleration felt slow, when I accelerated on a 6 percent grade from a stopped position.

I asked Ford if I could get off their two-mile loop and go up a 20 percent grade. They declined because too many journalists were waiting for their turn to make a test drive. I was assured that the Transit Connect Electric is speced for a 25 percent grade.

After of few more blocks, I looped back to our starting point. With electric power steering, the vehicle was easy to drive. The electric drive system was always quiet and smooth. When I parked the Ford the charge was still ¾ full.

Ford has not yet establishing the pricing for the Transit Connect Electric, but with 28kWh of expensive lithium batteries, it will cost more than the $21,500 gasoline version of the Transit Connect and more than the natural gas version. The 2011 Transit Connect Electric uses a Force Drive electric powertrain manufactured and integrated by Azure Dynamics who has built electric delivery truck drive systems for the U.S. Post Office, Purolator Courier, and Fed Ex. In addition to the Transit Connect Electric, Ford will sell the Focus Electric in 2011 and Plug-in Hybrid 2012.

Transit Connect Electric is well-suited for fleets that travel predictable, short-range routes with frequent stop-and-go driving in cities and have a central location for daily recharging. The electric vehicle will have a top speed of 75 mph and a targeted range of up to 80 miles on a full electric charge. At 240V, the 28kWh Johnson Controls-Saft (JCS) lithium-ion battery back can be recharged in 6 to 8 hours. The battery pack is liquid cooled. An onboard charger with J1772 communications converts the AC power from the electric grid to DC power to charge the battery pack. JCS has supplied Ford for many years. JCS will supply the 8 to 13 kWh lithium battery cells for the 2012 Ford Plug-in Hybrid, but Ford will make the actual pack.

With an 80-mile charge range, the Transit Connect Electric will be used in fleet applications of less than 20,000 miles per year. The lithium batteries have been tested at many electric utilities. The Johnson Controls li-ion battery modules on bench testing at utility giant SCE accumulated the equivalent of 180,000 road miles before losing more than 5 percent of the original charge capacity. This Ford van with its JCS batteries is designed for years of use.

By partnering with Azure and JCS, Ford will be one of the first to delivery commercial freeway-speed electric vehicles in the United States. The Transit Connect Electric is part of a growing family of Ford hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles.

Ford Transit Connect Electric Test Drive is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By John Addison (2/15/10)

Most of the 220,000 U.S. Postal Service vehicles only travel 20 to 25 miles per day making them a good match with the range of an electric vehicle. Hundreds of stops make hybrids and electrics ideal for capturing braking energy and regenerating the batteries.

Instead most USPS vehicles run on gasoline, increasing our nation’s dependency on oil. The popular mid-sized delivery vans achieve about 10 mpg. The 40,000 that sometimes run on E85 ethanol do worse. The Postal Service generates over 5 million tons of CO2 per year, only 12 percent of that is from its 220,000 on-road vehicles.

A Winton electric automobile was first used by the Postal Service in 1899. It only took an hour-and-a-half to collect mail from 40 boxes, less than half the time it took the horse-powered wagon. Over the years, USPS has used a variety of hybrid and electric vehicles.

No one type of vehicle meets all delivery needs. Jets and long-haul trucks move mail across the nation and around the world. Many delivery routes demand larger delivery vans. Others are best served by smaller and lighter vehicles.

Mail is being delivered on a trial basis by three-wheel electric vehicles in Florida, California and Arizona. The T3 has a range of 40 miles, a maximum speed of 12 mph and a load capacity of 450 pounds. Powered by two rechargeable power modules, the T3 has zero gas emissions and costs 4 cents a mile to operate.

The Postal Service is testing a fourth generation fuel-cell Chevrolet Equinox. The crossover vehicle has an electric drive system, lithium batteries, and a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle to keep delivering electrons for extended range. When I visit my alma mater in Irvine, I see the Equinox used to deliver mail. The Irvine hydrogen station is used by the University, corporations, the USMC, and early personal drivers of the Honda FCX Clarity. A second fuel-cell vehicle is being tested in Washington, DC.

In New York City, the Postal Service has had 30 electric 2-ton vehicles on the street since 2001. They were recently joined in Long Island, NY, by two 2-ton hybrid electric vehicles.

The USPS uses medium-duty hybrid electric vans from Eaton Corporation (ETN) and Azure Dynamics (AZD.TO). They join the 10 existing Hybrid-Electric Ford Escape vehicles currently in the fleet.

USPS had ordered 185 Chrysler plug-in hybrid vans, but new Chrysler executives have cancelled the ENVI electric and plug-in vehicles. The electric vehicle manufacturing was cancelled even though that was part of Chrysler’s argument that it needed $20 billion of loans from the taxpayers.

Quantum (QTWW) announced on February 1 that it was selected by the US Postal Service (USPS) to produce an advanced electric postal delivery vehicle based on the widely used Long Life Vehicle (LLV) platform. Quantum is also making the hybrid-electric drive system for Fisker.

Quantum was competitively selected, along with 4 other companies, for participation in a 1 year demonstration and validation program to be conducted by the USPS for the use of electrification of the 178,000 LLV segment of the postal delivery fleet, the largest civilian fleet in the country.

The short range mail routes with numerous stops make postal delivery vehicles an ideal application for a battery electric vehicle with regenerative braking features. Under this program, Quantum will integrate its Quantum Quiet™ high efficiency battery electric drive system, into a Grumman LLV, and optimize for the 500 to 700 stops per day use of a postal delivery vehicle. UQM has received from Quantum an electric-motor and propulsion system order for the USPS electric drive system.

A bill is now being debated in Congress, HR 4399: American Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Act, that would enable the USPS to have 18,000 hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles as part of its fleet, plus at least 2,000 pure battery electric vehicles. The bill would reduce the need for dirty peaking power plants by accelerating the use of smart grid and vehicle-to-grid. The bill calls for 3,600 charging stations. The bill priorities buying of American made vehicles with American made advanced batteries. Recycling and reuse of the batteries is part of the proposed legislation. The bill calls for $2 billion of estimated spending, investment, and research.

The USPS has demonstrated zero-emission leadership for over 100 years. In sun and darkness, rain and snow, carriers walk billions of miles delivering mail and packages.

USPS may buy 20,000 Hybrid and Electric Vehicles is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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Ford Motor Company unveiled the all-electric version of the Ford Transit Connect – the 2010 North American Truck of the Year – at the Chicago Auto Show and confirmed the zero-emissions small van will be in fleet operators’ hands later this year.

The 2011 Transit Connect Electric will use a Force Drive electric powertrain manufactured and integrated by Azure Dynamics who has built electric delivery truck drive systems for the U.S. Post Office, Purolator Courier, and Fed Ex.

Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development, said, “Not only is this an ideal vehicle for eco-conscious fleet operators, it is an important part of Ford’s future.”

In addition to the Transit Connect Electric, Ford will sell the Focus Electric in 2011 and Plug-in Hybrid 2012.

Transit Connect Electric is well-suited for fleets that travel predictable, short-range routes with frequent stop-and-go driving in cities and have a central location for daily recharging. The electric vehicle will have a top speed of 75 mph and a targeted range of up to 80 miles on a full electric charge. At 240V, the 28kWh Johnson Controls-Saft (JCS) lithium-ion battery back can be recharged in 6 to 8 hours. The battery pack is liquid cooled. An onboard charger converts the AC power from the electric grid to DC power to charge the battery pack.

JCS has supplied Ford for many years. JCS will supply the 8 to 13 kWh lithium battery for the 2012 Ford Plug-in Hybrid which we forecast will be part of an all-new Ford Focus family.

A transportable cord that works with both types 120V and 240V outlets will be available for recharging at both kinds of locations. The onboard DC/DC converter allows the vehicle’s main battery pack to charge the onboard 12V battery, which powers the vehicle’s various accessories, such as headlights, power steering and coolant pumps.

Azure Dynamics’ proprietary Force Drive battery electric powertrain will be the driving force in the Transit Connect Electric. Force Drive components have previously been deployed in more than 40 vehicle integrations and have more than 25 million miles of on-the-road experience.

With rising gasoline prices, the Transit Connect Electric will be a money maker for local businesses with a delivery range of less than 80 miles daily such as drug stores, auto parts dealers, and florists. Tax incentives, local clean air funds, and added business from green conscious customers will all be part of the equation. Some government fleet applications will also be a good match. Ford identifies the following savings in vehicle maintenance:

•The number of components typical in an internal combustion engine and transmission are dramatically reduced in an electric vehicle to just a few moving parts in the electric motor and transaxle, which results in much fewer parts to wear out or maintain

•Electric powertrains operate with solid state electronics, which have demonstrated low or no maintenance over the life of the product

•Electric vehicles have completely sealed cooling systems that do not require refilling, replacement or flushing

•Electric vehicles require no oil changes or tune-ups

•There are no belts to wear out or break and no spark plugs or injectors to clean or adjust

•There is no exhaust system to replace and no liquid fuel system to freeze or clog

•The use of regenerative braking reduces wear and tear on brake pads

Transit Connect Electric is a strong addition to Ford’s successful Transit Connect. Both have the following specs:

•135 cubic feet of cargo volume with 59.1 inches of floor-to-ceiling load height and 47.8 inches of load width between the wheel arches

•Load length of just over six feet of cargo floor space

•Split rear cargo doors that open at a standard 180 degrees, or an optionally available 255 degrees

•Lift-over height less than two feet when the vehicle is unloaded

•Power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering allows a 39-foot curb-to-curb turning circle for maneuverability in tight urban spaces

•Bulkheads, racks, bins and other upfits can be mixed, matched and configured to suit many specific commercial applications and needs

Although the 135 cubic feet of cargo is no match for the cargo space in 16,000 pound vans widely used by UPS and FedEx, the vehicle size is perfect for many city delivery applications. As detailed in our FedEx Clean Fleet Report,  the volume and weight of an average package is now less. People are shipping more iPods and less big stereos.

Ford Transit Connect 80-mile range Electric Delivery Truck is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By John Addison (2/3/10)

Ford cars were up 43 percent, crossovers were up 20 percent, sport utilities were up 8 percent, and trucks and vans were up 14 percent.

Plus, every consumer metric about the Ford brand – including favorable opinion, consideration, shopping and intention to buy – ended the year at record levels. Last year, favorable opinion improved 27 percent and intention to buy Ford increased 30 percent.

Among full-line manufacturers, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles recorded the largest gain in resale values from the 2009 to 2010 model year. The projected resale value of Ford vehicles increased by more than $1,300 per vehicle. Ford already holds a resale value advantage over its U.S.-based competitors, and it continues closing the gap on key imports with some Ford vehicles already having surpassed competing foreign vehicles.

“Resale value is a key indicator of brand health and an important contributor to the total value equation,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing Sales and Service. “Fleet managers monitor vehicle operating costs very carefully.” In January, Ford sales to fleet customers increased 154 percent over January 2009..

Ford posted gains in every fleet market – commercial, government and rental. On an annual basis, a majority of Ford’s fleet sales are to commercial and government customers where the Ford F-Series truck and Econoline van have long been top sellers. Today, products such as Fusion, Taurus and Escape are popular choices among fleet customers.

Ford Fusion, recently named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year, posted a January sales increase of 49 percent. The Fusion Hybrid recently was named North American Car of the Year. Clean Fleet Report’s Top 10 Hybrids  for 2010  include the Fusion Hybrid and the Escape Hybrid.

2009 was a major turn-around year for Ford with a full year net income of $2.7 billion, a $17.5 billion improvement from a year ago. For is increasing revenues as it increases market share. Ford reduced costs $5 billion in 2009. Margins will increase as Ford gets closer to global cars with common chassis and many common parts. The new Ford Focus is a good example.

In the future, Ford will increase customer choice with more models being made available with efficient engines, or as hybrids cars, plug-in hybrids, or battery electric cars.

Ford U.S. Market Share Passes Toyota is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By Katie Alvord

Abridged from Divorce Your Car: Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile
(New Society Publishers)

Let Someone Else Take You for a Ride

Buses, trains, car-sharing, carpools – whatever form it takes, shared transportation can give a big assist to car-free or car-lite living. Worldwide, transit plays a huge role in moving the human race. Even in car-dependent countries like the U.S., millions of people ride transit. All this travel has a range of advantages over using cars.

• Transit cuts congestion, pollution, and energy use. During World War II, when saving energy meant survival, governments encouraged use of transit and carpools as a way to conserve. “Fill those empty seats!” exhorted Uncle Sam posters. “Car sharing is a MUST!” Transit’s energy-saving potential is indeed high. In general, transit uses fewer British thermal units (BTUs) per passenger mile than do cars and light trucks. While a single-occupant car uses over 5,000 BTUs per passenger mile, a train car carrying 19 people uses about 2,300 and a bus carrying the same number only about 1,000.

Transit can also cut emissions. While some transit may be more polluting – diesel buses, for example, emit high levels of particulate matter – growing numbers of cleaner transit vehicles are far better. Buses powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), for instance, produce almost no particulate pollution. And putting more trains and buses in congested urban corridors cuts traffic and increases travel speeds for both transit riders and motorists. One full 40-foot bus will take 58 cars off the road; a six-car rail train can take 900 cars off the road.

• Transit saves land. Unlike freeways, which disperse development as sprawl, transit – especially rail – encourages compact development. This also saves money and energy and cuts pollution, since less sprawl requires less infrastructure. Where cities introduce rail, “an immediate process of urban consolidation begins,” write Australian transport experts Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy.

• Transit helps jobs and the economy. A study by Bates College economist David Aschauer showed that transit investments improve productivity possibly twice as much as road building. Aschauer’s conclusion: “Public transportation spending carries more potential to stimulate long-run economic growth than does highway spending.” Labor-intensive transit creates local jobs, and more of them. Spending a billion dollars on transit creates 7,000 more jobs than spending a billion on roads.

• Transit saves money.In 2007, transit users spent an average of about 21 cents per mile for travel, much less than the usual cost of a car; the American Automobile Association’s composite national average cost of driving in 2007 was 52.2 cents per mile, and this does not include parking or tolls. It’s possible to compare gasoline costs to transit fares and not see much difference, but that ignores the fixed costs of driving. With fixed costs included, transit comes out cheaper, and can even cost less than out-of-pocket driving expenses alone.

• Transit saves time, hassle – and lives. Leaving the driving to someone else might mean a longer trip overall, but you can spend the time doing something else: reading, writing a letter, catching up on work, having quality time with your kids. Sometimes, too, transit can be faster than driving by car. In 1993, Santa Barbara’s Metropolitan Transit District established an express bus route between Isla Vista (near the University of California) and Santa Barbara City College. The bus trip takes 30 minutes, reportedly less than driving. As word got out, the number of people taking this bus increased by 255% in two years.

Using transit frees you from responsibility for a car at either end of your journey. This means no time wasted hunting for parking, no concerns about feeding meters or getting parking tickets. Using transit can also mean traveling in a less tense, more serene atmosphere. Especially on trains, you can get up and move around as much as you want, a feature especially appreciated by children. And according to the National Safety Council, transit is one of the safest ways to travel. Where the average death rate per 100 million passenger miles is about 0.71 for autos, it drops to 0.05 for trains and 0.02 for buses.

• Transit restores community and equity.Transit can help restore community by bringing people out of metal-box isolation and into more contact with one another. Transit gives a wider range of people safe, independent mobility, helping integrate young, old, poor, disabled, and other non-drivers more fully into community life. And because of the way transit influences land use, it can help communities be more cohesive by nature of their compactness.

Overall, shared transportation is the most equitable way a society can provide mobility to people, regardless of income, age, and ability. It makes sense to advocate better transit service, not just for yourself but for the one-third of people – among them the old, young, and disabled – who don’t or can’t drive. The most important way you can advocate transit is to use it yourself. More people riding transit can help encourage more transit – and that means more opportunity to let someone else take you for a ride.

Six Good Reasons to Use Transit is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By John Addison (12/16/09)

Your heart sinks as you watch your missed plane fly away while you are trapped in gridlock. Parking lots are full. More parking lots attract more cars. Streets jam and more gridlock. Public transit, airport buses, shuttles, and taxis can all help.

The best ground transportation solution that I encountered was when I attended a meeting in Chicago. We landed at O’Hare International Airport, walked to our meeting at the Airport Hilton, and then flew back to our homes after the meeting. The next best solution was at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport where I took the escalator up from baggage claim, boarded the Marta rail system, and returned to my home in the suburbs. Actually, the best solution was the web conference and collaboration that eliminated the need to fly.

London Heathrow Podcar PRT

People are continuing to fly in record numbers so better ground transportation is a necessity. As London readies for record travelers during the 2012 Olympic Games, Heathrow airport is installing a personal rapid transit in the form of six seat cars that take you from terminal to parking garage on dedicated pathways. Heathrow’s podcars are like horizontal elevators – no driver needed; just push the button.

David Holdcroft, BAA’s (formerly British Airports Authority) PRT Manager states, “This innovative system forms part of BAA’s plan to transform Heathrow, improve the passenger experience and reduce the environmental impact of our operation through the development of cutting edge, green transport solutions.” The Heathrow system is scheduled to start running in spring 2010 and expand to 18 pod cars with 3 stops over a 2.4 mile path.

San Jose Personal Rapid Transit

By 2015, San Jose plans to have a more extensive PRT system (map) that connects major hubs within two miles of the airport including connections to VTA bus rapid transit, Caltrain rail that connects to the cities within Silicon Valley and terminates in downtown San Francisco, Santa Clara University, major hotels, major employers, and the Kiss N Ride lot. By the end of the decade, also important will be nearby connection to BART and the new 800 mile California High-Speed Rail system.

Yesterday, I shared an hour discussing transportation with San Jose’s Acting Director of Transportation, Hans Larsen. San Jose is the nation’s tenth largest city. With a million people, it has four times the space of nearby San Francisco. With less urban density, get high numbers of people to walk, bike, and use transit. Yet, San Jose plans major increases in all those areas as it plans for a population expansion of 400,000 people by 2040. PRT will be important to connecting people at the airport and major regional transportation systems. San Jose Transportation

Back for the International PRT Conference in Sweden, Mr. Larsen is impressed with the feedback from other PRT implementers and with a test ride of one system. Conference Videos

Mr. Larsen now has a budget of $4 million to assemble a team of PRT experts, start plans, and evaluate alternative systems.  Half the money will be for matching funds for the public and private partnerships necessary to get the first phase of San Jose Airport’s PRT system up and running. The $4 million funding allocation is from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), the transit agency, and countywide transportation planning agency for the San Jose Metro area (the 15-city area within Santa Clara County).

Global PRT Projects

A 2010 personal rapid transit conference is being discussed. San Jose would like to host it. Presenters are likely to include early implementers of PRT such as London, Masdar, Suncheon, South Korea, and Sweden where four cities are competing to be the first selected.

Globally PRT is under consideration in a number of areas where high numbers of people can be moved within a few miles such as airports, university campuses, corporate campuses, industrial parks, and city centers.

Different cities require different solutions. Some are best elevated; others can be kept on the ground. Some will use dedicated roadways designed for self-guided vehicles. Others will use tracks under the pods, or elevated guideways above. Some will use battery electric vehicles; others will always be connected to the electric grid – back to that horizontal elevator comparison.

No doubt that some will dismiss PRT as a short-term waste of money rather than a long-term investment to accommodate San Jose’s 40 percent population growth. Nearby are some innovators that were initially dismissed for having solutions that were limited, buggy, or expensive compared to the incumbent. Their names include Intel, Google, Cisco, Adobe, and EBay.

Innovation is a key to better transportation. We need intermodal choices. The modes need to be connected.

Today, many feel that the car is their only choice. In the future, we will have many choices, especially if we make connections fast and convenient.

Our transportation future will be increasingly intermodal. Each day our web or smartphone app will suggest the best way to meet our preferences. One day it could suggest car pooling to work, the next using the plug-in minivan to take the kids to a game, the next a connection of transit to PRT to rail.

San Jose’s Personal Rapid Transit is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By John Addison (11/24/09)

The Department of Energy awarded today $620 million for projects around the country to demonstrate Smart Grid technologies and integrated systems that will help build a smarter, more efficient, and more resilient electrical grid. Electric cars will be smart charged and lithium batteries reused in some grid demonstrations. Secretary Chu today announced the 32 projects which include large-scale energy storage which will enable wind and solar power to be delivered when needed.

The projects also include smart meters, distribution and transmission system monitoring devices, and a range of other smart technologies that facilitate deploying integrated Smart Grid systems on a broader scale. Smart Grids will allow electric vehicles to be charged at lower rates when energy demand is down; charging will match car owner preferences, independent of when they are connected for smart charging.

The funding awards are divided into two topic areas.  In the first group, 16 awards totaling $435 million will support fully integrated, regional Smart Grid demonstrations in 21 states, representing over 50 utilities and electricity organizations with a combined customer base of almost 100 million consumers.  The projects include streamlined communication technologies that will allow different parts of the grid to “talk” to each other in real time; sensing and control devices that help grid operators monitor and control the flow of electricity to avoid disruptions and outages; and on-site and renewable energy sources that can be integrated onto the electrical grid. For example:

• Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project – Spanning five states and affecting more than 60,000 consumers, demonstrate and validate new smart grid technologies; provide two-way communication between distributed generation, storage, and demand assets and the existing grid infrastructure; and advance interoperability standards and cyber security approaches.
• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Smart Grid Regional Demonstration – deploy smart grid systems at partners’ university campus properties and technology transfer laboratories. The projects will also include gathering data on how consumers use energy in a variety of systems, testing on the next generation of cyber security technologies, and how to integrate a significant number of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles onto the grid.
• Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration – With Southern California Edison as the lead, this will demonstrate an integrated, scalable system that includes all of the interlocking pieces of an end-to-end Smart Grid – from the transmission and distribution systems to consumer applications like smart appliances and electric vehicles.

In the second group, an additional 16 awards for a total of $185 million will help fund utility-scale energy storage projects that will enhance the reliability and efficiency of the grid, while reducing the need for new electricity plants. Improved energy storage technologies will allow for expanded integration of renewable energy resources like wind and photovoltaic systems and will improve frequency regulation and peak energy management.  The selected projects include advanced battery systems (including flow batteries), flywheels, and compressed air energy systems. For example:

• Detroit Edison’s Advanced Implementation of A123s Community Energy Storage Systems for Grid Support – Demonstrate the use and benefits of Community Energy Storage (CES) systems for utilities and test the ability to integrate secondary-use electric vehicle batteries as part of the CES demonstration. Success of this demonstration could extend the lifecycle use of electric car batteries, and lead to lower lease and purchase costs of plug-in vehicles. This project will install 20 CES units, 25kW/2hr each, into a system that includes a 1 MW storage device integrated into a solar system.
• Energy East Advanced CAES Demonstration Plant – New York State Electric & Gas Corporation will lead in using an Existing Salt Storage Cavern with lower cost 150 MW Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) technology plant using an existing salt cavern. The project will be designed with an innovative smart grid control system to improve grid reliability and enable the integration of wind and other intermittent renewable energy sources.
• Wind Firming EnergyFarm™- Deploy a 25 MW – 75 MWh EnergyFarm for the Modesto Irrigation District in California’s Central Valley, replacing a planned $78M / 50 MW fossil fuel plant to compensate for the variable nature of wind energy providing the District with the ability to shift on-peak energy use to off-peak periods.

This funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be leveraged with $1 billion in funds from the private sector to support more than $1.6 billion in total Smart Grid projects nationally.

Secretary Chu said, “This funding will be used to show how Smart Grid technologies can be applied to whole systems to promote energy savings for consumers, increase energy efficiency, and foster the growth of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.”

Applicants say this investment will create thousands of new job opportunities that will include manufacturing workers, engineers, electricians, equipment installers, IT system designers, cyber security specialists, and business and power system analysts.

Description of all 32 Projects

$620 Million for Smart Grid and Energy Storage Projects will spur Renewables is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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