Clean Fleet Articles

Renewable Energy and Virtual Power Plants

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Conventional wisdom is that only coal, natural gas, and nuclear are appropriate for 24/7 baseload electric power. The potential for wind and solar is seen as limited because of the variability from one solar facility or one wind farm. Often removed from the discussion are energy efficiency and shaping demand for electricity away from peak hours. Virtual power plants (VPPs) utilize software systems to enable utilities to efficiently manage an increasing diversity of electricity generation, energy storage, and demand reduction assets.

Honda Fit EV – New Electric Car Priced at $36,625

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Honda Fit EV will be popular with current drivers of hot compact hatchbacks such as the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, Chevy Cruze, and Mini-Cooper. In the next few months the Fit EV will hit the streets with real world at Stanford University, City of Torrance, and Google’s fleet and car share programs. Honda also announced that a new plug-in hybrid will go on sale in late 2012.

Chevrolet Volt Electric Car of Year

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The Chevrolet Volt was awarded the Motor Trends Car of the Year and Automobile Magazine Car of the Year. The Volt won because average daily trips can be in pure battery-electric mode, yet all trips can be handled by this plug-in hybrid. Today, Chevrolet handed the keys to early customers here at the LA Auto Show. At least 300 will be delivered by the end of 2010.

GE Buys 12,000 Chevrolet Volts

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GE will purchase 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015 for its own fleet and through its Capital Fleet Services business – the largest-ever single electric vehicle commitment. GE will convert most of its 30,000 global fleet and will partner with fleet customers to deploy a total of 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015. GE will initially purchase 12,000 GM vehicles, beginning with the Chevrolet Volt in 2011, and will add other vehicles as manufacturers expand their electric vehicle portfolios.

Nissan LEAF with Baby Car Seats and Strollers

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Keo, at age 3 months, started his Nissan LEAF test ride with a yawn, gurgled his approval during the ride, then wisely left the car buying decision to his parents. Grace and Susan Stanat brought their son along for the test drive. They arrived with Keo, baby seat, stroller, and high-hopes for getting an electric car. Although three adults can squeeze into the back seat of the LEAF, two babies are another matter.

Cleantech Growth for Energy Efficiency, Smart Grid, Distributed Solar

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Venture capitalists, cleantech executives, and technology experts are optimistic about continued growth for cleantech. With the recession and a clear message from voters, projects requiring billions from taxpayers and/or large customer capital expenditure (capex) are out. Energy efficiency with large and fast ROI is growing rapidly. Distributed solar is outpacing large power plants including utility-scale solar. Smart grids with billions of nodes are the backbone for our future.

Lithium Drives Revolution in Electric Cars and Mobile Electronics

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Demand for lithium is forecasted to double in this decade thanks to a wide range of applications for this metal that is half the weight of water: materials, glass, pharmaceuticals, mobile electronics, power tools, hybrid cars, and electric cars. Lithium ETF is dominated with large mining firms such as Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, FMC Corporation, and Rockwood Holdings. The fund’s largest lithium battery company holdings include Saft, Ener1, ABT, GS Yuasa, and A123.

Texas Oil Attacks California Cleantech with Prop 23

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Over 95 percent of California transportation is fueled by petroleum. By comparison, only two nations use more oil – China and the United States. California uses more oil than India, Japan, or Germany. Reducing the use of petroleum would cost oil companies billions. Texas oil companies are spending million to encourage Californians to vote “yes” for Proposition 23 this November. Proposition 23’s opponents include 66 asset managers, venture capitalists and other investors collectively managing over $410 billion who issued a joint statement today opposing Proposition 23, the statewide ballot initiative to stop implementation of the state’s landmark clean energy law, AB 32.

Johnson Controls Plans Expansion for Lithium Car Batteries

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AT&T, Xcel Energy, Johnson Controls, So Cal Edison, and New York Power Authority have ordered Ford Transit Connect Electric. These pure battery-electric vans have an electric charge range of 80 miles and are a great fit for many fleet, small business, and delivery applications. In the United States, fleets control some 14 million vehicles. Some fleets placed initial orders for 10 or 20 Transit Connect Electrics; bigger orders could follow in 2011. JCI has ordered 20 Transit Connect Electrics to be part of its global fleet of 19,000 vehicles.

Cleantech Innovation Boosts Jobs – California Industries in New Report

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Energy efficiency, renewable energy, and information technology are all helping the U.S. overcome a severe recession and keep more people from losing their jobs. From our San Francisco roof deck, I am encouraged to see energy efficient homes, solar roofs, and electric buses gliding by. I am also discouraged to see massive ships from Asia sail into the harbor ladened with hundreds of rail cars full of Asian goods, then leave for distant customers with much lighter loads. But the trend may be reversed by innovation discussed in the new Clean Tech Job Trends 2010.

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