Globally, more people own bikes than own cars, trucks and SUVs combined. Over one billion people own bikes. Fifty-seven million United States citizens ride a bicycle, at least, on occasion. For most of us the pace is gentle as we enjoy exercise and fresh air. For some of us, the bicycle is a practical part of our commuting and reaching other destinations.
DOE awards $620 million for projects around the country to demonstrate advanced Smart Grid technologies and integrated systems that will help build a smarter, more efficient, more resilient electrical grid. Electric cars will be smart charged and lithium batteries reused in grid demonstrations. These 32 projects include large-scale energy storage which will enable wind and solar power to be delivered when needed. Projects include most states and over 50 utilities serving over 100 million Americans.
The electric car will help make the smart grid relevant to consumers. Right now most cars use inefficient engines fueled with gasoline or diesel. In the coming decades, many cars will use electricity. With a smart grid, renewable energy will do much of the charging. New electric cars from Nissan, Toyota, GM, Ford and others will use a charging standard J1772. The new charging units at home and work will include a smart meter chip. When a driver plugs-in, charging will follow preferences pre-established by the car owner. Many will prefer to save money and charge at night when rates are cheaper.
Toyota is the only car maker to have sold over one million hybrid cars in the United States. Hybrid sales are pushing 10 percent in Japan and even higher in some U.S. cities. Toyota will start volume manufacturing of the Plug-in Prius in 2012. Toyota will also start selling the less expensive 2-door FT-EV, a pure battery electric car. In the U.S. in 2012 Toyota will face intense EV competition with Nissan, Ford, and dozens of innovative younger companies such as Tesla.
This year, Newsweek ranked PG&E the greenest utility in the country due to its strong commitment to customer energy efficiency programs and renewable energy (RE) programs. 219,000 and 845,000 electric cars will be charged by this one utility by 2020, as renewable energy starts to replace gasoline as the preferred fill-up. Although smart charging provides for two-way communication, electricity will only be delivered one-way from the grid to the vehicle.
Hybrids are in demand now that oil prices have doubled since March. Some 2010 hybrids have double the MPG of others. The third generation 2010 Toyota Prius tops the list with the best fuel economy and lowest carbon footprint in the United States. Honda, Ford, Nissan, Lexus, and Chevrolet also made the Top 10 list.
My test drive of the new Ford electric car for 2011 demonstrated that Ford is building a BEV that millions will want. The Ford Focus EV prototype provided a quiet and smooth drive for a prototype. A common platform is planned for compact vehicles ranging from engine drives, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery-electric. By 2020, these vehicles could represent up to 25 percent of Ford’s production – that’s up to 2 million cars annually with electric drive systems and advanced battery packs.
President Barack Obama called for a clean energy future in his speech today at MIT. America has long been the innovation global leader thanks to great universities and research institutions. He called on the students and researchers to help harness more energy from “the wind, the waves, and the sun.” Obama called for the passage of the Senate Climate Bill (Boxer-Kerry) which would accelerate clean transportation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and start grid innovation and jobs.
Duke Energy and FPL Group committed to buy 10,000 plug-in vehicles in the coming decade, as they upgrade their fleets. The energy storage in these vehicles could eliminate the need for peaking plants and enable the expanded use of renewable energy. Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers shared a few minutes with me before he spoke at the Society for Environmental Journalist conference. At first his commitments to clean fleets, energy efficiency, and renewable energy seem surprising, given that he is CEO of the nation’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The emissions are largely the result of being the nation’s third biggest consumer of coal.
I interviewed my former chemistry professor, Dr. Rowland, to understand the difficult process of scientific discovery, industry opposition, global treaties, and winning the Nobel Prize. His work lead to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed into agreement by 24 major countries of the world, including the United States. The process gives hope for an agreement in Copenhagen this December.