Clean Fleet Report: EV, PHEV, Hydrogen, Alt-Fuel Vehicles

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Elastic Demand from Stretched Consumers

By John Addison (7/18/08). Faced with record gas prices, American fuel use is at a five-year low. Americans drove 30 billion fewer miles since November than during the same period a year earlier. Americans joined their employers’ flexwork and commute programs. Families and friends linked trips together and rarely drove solo. Clean Fleet Report

Germany to Get 20 Percent of Natural Gas from Biogas

By Jane Burgermeister (7/17/08). The biggest biogas plant in the world to feed gas directly into the national gas grid is set to go into operation in eastern Germany at the beginning of 2009. Germany's four big energy providers have recognized the value of biogas and we think there will be a bright future for large-scale biogas plants that feed gas into the national grid." stated Andrea Horbelt, German Biogas Association. Experts say it is the start of a boom in biogas as the country's energy providers increasingly look to home-produced biogas to reduce their dependence on natural gas imported from Russia. Renewable Energy World Article

Tesla's Wild Ride

By Michael V. Copeland (7/11/08). Building the world's first electric supercar was never going to be easy - even without the hubris, infighting, and mismanagement that nearly sent Tesla spinning off the road. Fortune Article

Cap-and-Trade Gold in the Golden State

By John Addison (7/2/08). Obama and McCain have both stated that climate change requires decisive action. Both support cap-and-trade, putting a limit (cap) on greenhouse gases and enabling the market to work by allowing the trading of permits. How would this work in the United States? We will all learn from California’s progress with its enacted law – AB32 Climate Solutions Article

Hydrogen Goes Public in Southern California

By John Addison (6/26/08). Shell opened a new public hydrogen fueling station, conveniently located near two of the world’s busiest freeways - the 405 and the 10. The electrolyzer will make enough hydrogen for about seven cars per day with 40kg of storage. The station’s added capacity will be welcome by California’s fleet users of over 100 hydrogen vehicles who need refills on some of their trips. These fleet users include the nearby City of Los Angeles, City of Santa Monica, and UCLA. The new Shell hydrogen station is also near the rich and famous who are starting to drive hydrogen vehicles including actress Jamie Lee Curtis and filmmaker husband Christopher Guest. Clean Fleet Report

3 out of 4 Americans expect $5/gallon Gasoline by Labor Day

(6/26/08) Americans are increasingly angry and anxious about high gas prices and favor far-reaching action on energy and climate issues. About three out of four Americans (76 percent) and a similar percentage of likely voters (74 percent) expect gasoline prices to reach $5 a gallon by Labor Day, according to a major new national opinion survey of 1,005 adults conducted for the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (CSI) think tank and its Citizens Lead for Energy Action Now (CLEAN) project by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC). Article

Biodiesel Use to Grow with New ASTM Standards

(6/20/08) The ASTM approved three key sets of biodiesel specifications that should bolster demand for biodiesel: changes to the existing B100 biodiesel blend stock specification (ASTM D6751); finished specifications to include up to 5% biodiesel (B5) in the conventional petrodiesel specification (ASTM D975); a new specification for blends of between 6 percent biodiesel (B6) to 20 percent biodiesel (B20). National Biodiesel Board

Turbo Diesels Take on Hybrids

By John Addison (6/17/08). Test drives left me wondering, which would be the bigger seller, the new European turbodiesels or the Japanese Hybrids. For Detroit, May was the cruelest month, as they were outsold by Asia for the first time. Fuel economy is in; gas guzzling is being punished. Toyota and Honda continued to gain market share. In the months ahead, Detroit will also lose share to the new fuel efficient diesels from Europe where diesel vehicles outsell gasoline alternatives. Clean Fleet Report

Solar Could Provide 10 Percent of U.S. Electricity Generation by 2025

(6/17/08) For the first time solar power is beginning to reach cost parity with conventional energy sources. As solar prices decline and the capital and fuel costs for coal, natural gas, and nuclear plants rise, the U.S. will reach a crossover point by around 2015. -Installed solar PV prices are projected to decline from an average $5.50-$7.00 peak watt (15-32 cents kWh) today to $3.02-$3.82 peak watt (8-18 cents kWh) in 2015 to $1.43-$1.82 peak watt (4-8 cents kWh) by 2025."One of the big takeaways from this report is that, in many ways, the future of solar is in the hands of utilities," said Ron Pernick, Clean Edge cofounder and managing director and USA Study coauthor. "Reaching 10 percent of our electricity from solar sources by 2025 will require the active participation of utilities along with the support and participation of regulators and solar technology companies." Clean Edge Report

CALSTART Blue Sky Award™ Winners

Eaton Corporation wins the prestigious Blue Sky Award™ for pioneering heavy duty hybrid drive technology for trucks. Business Region Goteborg wins Innovation Award for groundbreaking biomethane activities. Merit Awards go to Southern Counties Express for LNG work, Union Pacific Railroad for clean locomotive technology, and ZipCar for car sharing program. Awards

Electric Vehicles for 2010

By John Addison (6/4/08). With oil prices rocketing past $130 per barrel, a growing number of vehicle makers are planning to offer electric vehicles by 2010. Zero gasoline will be used. A growing number of fleet EVs, however, are early trails of a new generation of freeway-speed EVs that will be available to the mass consumer market in 2010. Read about the latest from Toyota, GM, Honda, Nissan, Renault, Mitsubishi and others. Clean Fleet Report

Honda to Lease 200 FCX Clarity Hydrogen Cars

(5/14/08) 200 will be selected from 50,000 who have expressed interest in leasing the fuel cell car for $600 per month. The FCX Clarity is propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in the fuel cell, its only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile, such as the Civic. Significant advances over Honda's previous generation FCX include: an advanced new four-passenger sedan design, a greater than 30 percent increase in driving range to 270 mile, a 20 percent increase in fuel economy to 68miles/kg-H22, and a 40 percent smaller and 50 percent lighter new lithium-ion battery pack. Announcement and Process to be Selected

150 Electric Delivery Trucks for TNT

(5/13/08) Smith Electric Vehicles, will deliver another 100 electric delivery trucks to TNT, following successful trials and a previous order of 50. TNT is a European market leader in global express, logistics and international mail services and has a fleet of 45,000 vehicles across Europe. Smith Electric Vehicles and TNT

Biofuel Innovators with Alternatives to Oil

By John Addison (5/14/08). Oil soars to $125 per barrel and economies around the world sputter or fall into recession. Enough is enough. Many biofuels can be blended with gasoline and diesel refined from oil, then pumped into our existing vehicles. The new biofuels have the potential to encourage sustainable reforesting and soil enrichment. Biofuel 2.0 provides a path to fuel from wood and waste, not food and haste. Clean Fleet Report

60% Fuel Savings in New Delivery Truck

(5/14/08) A unique government-corporate partnership, CALSTART's Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF), selected Hybra-Drive Systems LLC to build three large Class 6 trucks for road testing that incorporate the firm's approach to the promising hydraulic hybrid technology. Under the new agreement, which is being funded by the Department of Energy, Hybra-Drive will build and deliver three hydraulic hybrid trucks over the next 9-to-12 months. UPS, FedEx Ground and Purolator then will conduct a 6 to 9 month evaluation of the vehicle. Hybra-Drive hopes the evaluations will demonstrate up to a 60 percent cut in fuel use. CALSTART Article

UPS Places Largest Hybrid Order in History

(5/13/08) UPS will purchase 500 additional alternative fuel vehicles for its corporate fleet, growing the number by 30 percent and continuing to grow what is already the transportation sector's largest privately held alternative fuel vehicle fleet. The company will purchase 200 additional hybrid gas-electric and 300 compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery trucks for use in its U.S. fleet. UPS Press Release

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