It’s not as simple as it first appears to know how much money it’ll take to feed a new plug-in. Traditional utility tiered rate pricing can penalize adding a plug-in vehicle to your electricity bill. New TOU pricing and smart metering is needed. Which is really more energy efficient, a plug-in or a car that just runs on gasoline?
It is a buyer’s market for those developing large wind, solar, bioenergy, biofuel, and other renewable energy projects. In 2009, land is less expensive, equipment cost less, deliveries are faster, and warranties longer. It is a buyer’s market if you have cash, yet it continues to be a difficult time to secure debt financing. Demand for renewable energy is at a record high as U.S. utilities in about 30 states struggle to meet RPS (renewable Portfolio Standards). These utilities want to sign PPA (Power Purchase Agreements) for 5 to 20 years of wind power, solar, and bioenerg.
Ener1 took the lead among a group of investors that plans to inject $47 million of equity funding into Think Global, the Norwegian electric vehicle producer. Ener1 Chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer stated, “Ener1 and Think have collaborated for years on systems development, and today possess a unique ability to bring together category-leading technologies in a fully integrated platform, to suit a wide variety of vehicle applications.”
Ford is now taking orders for electric vehicles. By 2011, the Ford Motor Company will start taking orders for the new Ford Focus EV. Beyond 2011, Ford will offer the popular Focus in a variety of affordable options including hybrid-electric (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and battery electric-vehicle (EV).
The smart electric vehicle is symbiotic with the smart grid. The new freeway-speed electric vehicles will also be smart electric vehicles (SEV). They will be smart about using energy inside the vehicle so that it can go 100 miles between charges. The SEV will be smart about navigation options that consider your preferences. The smart gird will be used to encourage cost-effective off-peak charging.
President Obama announced 48 new advanced battery and electric drive projects that will receive $2.4 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects, selected through a highly competitive process by the Department of Energy, will accelerate the development of U.S. manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components as well as the deployment of electric drive vehicles, helping to establish American leadership in creating the next generation of advanced vehicles.
Nissan will be the first to have thousands of affordable freeway speed electric vehicles on the highways. The new 2010 Nissan LEAF is a comfortable compact hatchback EV. The Nissan LEAF will build on Nissan’s hybrid-electric success with the Altima Hybrid, which is in currently in the #6 position for U.S. cars with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions.
Renewable energy for the first third of 2009 (i.e., January 1 – April 30) was six percent higher compared to the same time period in 2008. Moreover, in April 2009 alone, renewable energy sources accounted for 11.1 percent of domestic energy production and exceeded the amount contributed by nuclear power.
The transportation industry is beginning the biggest transformation since Henry Ford started making cars affordable for the mass market. Engines powered by petroleum fuels are being replaced with electric motors powered by renewable energy. A growing amount of goods movement is by rail and moving people by high-speed rail. A portfolio of companies that participate in these long-term trends comprise the portfolio of Invesco PowerShares Global Transportation.
Ford has returned to profitability, benefiting from increased market share which is the likely result of improved mileage. Ford earned almost $2.4 billion for the quarter, but it was the result of a large one-time gain associated with the debt reduction actions completed in April. In contrast with GM and Chrysler, Ford is the only U.S.-headquartered manufacturer with vehicles qualifying for the Clean Fleet Report Cars with the Lowest Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Both the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Ford Escape Hybrid are in the top 10 list.