Clean Fleet Articles

San Jose’s Personal Rapid Transit

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As London readies for record numbers for 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. By 2015, San Jose plans to have a more extensive PRT system that connects major hubs within two miles of the airport including connections to VTA bus rapid transit, Caltrain rail to Silicon Valley and San Francisco, major hotels, major employers, and the Kiss N Ride lot. By the end of the decade, connections will be added to BART and the new 800 mile California High-Speed Rail system.

More Greenbacks for Greentech

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More venture capital will be invested in innovative greentech firms. Continued investment is needed to bring us the next generation of batteries, solid state lighting, smart grid components, electric cars, lighter and stronger materials, and solar power. Forty IPOs of venture-backed firms were predicted for 2010 and 600 through M&A.

Toyota and GM Fight for Plug-in Market

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At the LA Auto Show, GM’s Bob Lutz highlighted big plans for the Chevy Volt. Toyota, owning 70 percent of the U.S. hybrid market, displayed the Prius Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV) along with a growing family of Toyota and Lexus hybrids. The Volt will have triple the electric range of the PHV. Toyota is the only car maker to have sold over one million hybrid cars in the United States. Health competition is a win for enthusiasts of plug-in vehicles.

Audi A3 TDI with Diesel Performance and Good Mileage

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The Audi A3 gets the best mileage of any diesel in the United States with 42 mpg highway, 30 city, and 34 mpg combined. It even outperforms the popular VW Jetta TDI. The Audi adds some premium touches over the VW with the same drive system, but uses new materials to reduce vehicle weight, making the Audi the new diesel mileage champion. Today at the LA Auto Show, the 2010 Audi A3 TDI was named Green Car Journal’s 2010 Green Car of the Year®. This 5-door Sportsback was fun to test drive, well appointed, and comfortable for 5 passengers, while saving at the fuel tank.

One Billion Bicycles

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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.

$620 Million for Smart Grid and Energy Storage Projects will spur Renewables

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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.

Electric Cars Facilitate Smart Grid 2.0

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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 Expands Hybrid Car Models

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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.

PG&E to Smart Charge 219,000 Electric Cars

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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.

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