Find out about what’s new at GreenlightAC. Information on
our partners, customers, and GreenlightAC in the news. >>read more<<
Greater use of electric vehicles and PHEVs is one important way to kick the gasoline habit. Find out about other ways to lower our transportation-related carbon footprint. >>read more<<
12.2.09 inc.com
The Connected Car
The introduction of the Chevy Volt and other electric vehicles will require a vast ecosystem of entrepreneurial businesses. The cars [also] promise innovative engineering and a resurgence of the American auto industry.
Jon Lauckner, GM's vice president of global product planning, [says] that his team set out to trump gas-powered cars as a matter of straightforward economics, especially as economic recovery pushes the price of gas back over $3 a gallon. "At that level," Lauckner says, "the cost of running a Volt in full electric mode will be about one-sixth that of a gas-driven car of the same size, 2 or 3 cents a mile rather than 12 to 15 cents a mile. We figured that, for most people, this means a savings of about $1,500 a year."
>>read more<<
11.1.09 allcarselectric.com
Nissan and Renault Equipped to Produce Up to 500,000 EV Batteries Annually
Nissan's CEO Carlos Ghosn announced late last week that his company along with partner Renault are equipped and ready to produce up to 500,000 batteries for EVs annually.
One car, the Nissan Leaf, goes on sale next year with a scheduled global release in 2012. The global release will be on a mass production scale and Nissan has secured production of batteries to meet demand.
>>read more<<
11.5.09 latimes.com
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announces electric vehicle infrastructure plan
By this time next year, electric vehicles could be popping up all around Los Angeles, and the "quintessential city of sprawl" plans to be ready, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Tuesday.
Along with a network of partners, the city plans to update 400 existing charging stations around the region while adding 100, Villaraigosa said. Electric vehicle owners also probably would receive tax rebates to construct home chargers and would have access to high-occupancy-vehicle lanes and preferential or free parking.
>>read more<<
1.13.10 thebigmoney.com
Electric Cars Need Infrastructure
For electric cars to achieve widespread adoption in the years ahead, two things have to happen: a charging infrastructure needs to get built; and people need to buy electric cars. Of these, the hype surrounding the Detroit Auto Show, a veritable electric-car-apalooza, seeks to overcome problems associated with the second while making noises about the first. Who’s making the noise? None other than the Ford Motor Company’s (F) very own...William C. Ford, Jr.: [2]
>>read more<<
1.6.10 mlive.com
It's electric!: Electric cars go on sale this year
Electric cars have long been more of an idea than a reality. They've been hailed as the future of driving yet they're hard to find on car dealership lots. This year, that will change.
Several big automakers plan to start introducing a range of electric vehicles in late 2010, giving the broader public its first chance to buy the vehicles that rely more on the electrical outlet than the gas pump. In the next several years, most major car companies plan to release vehicles that use electricity to get around.
>>read more<<
10.21.09 nytimes.com
Plug-In Cars Are Almost Here, but Charging Stations Lag
DETROIT — Even though several automakers plan to begin selling electric vehicles next year, their sales may be limited by the lack of a national infrastructure to support them, speakers at a conference here on plug-in cars said on Wednesday.
Utilities that serve most of the nation’s electricity customers said they were aware of the issue, and would take several steps, including working to help develop plans for charging stations, and would use battery-powered vehicles themselves.
>>read more<<
2.14.10 nytimes.com
Cities Prepare for Life With the Electric Car
SAN FRANCISCO — If electric cars have any future in the United States, this may be the city where they arrive first.
The San Francisco building code will soon be revised to require that new structures be wired for car chargers. Across the street from City Hall, some drivers are already plugging converted hybrids into a row of charging stations.
>>read more<<
1.13.10 nytimes.com
Chinese Maker Hopes to Offer Electric Car for U.S. by Year-End
DETROIT — After a disastrous year for the auto industry, carmakers are working hard to exude optimism and confidence at this year’s auto show.
On that score alone, the winner may be the Chinese company BYD Auto, which created a stir on Tuesday by announcing that it plans to start selling an electric car in California by the end of this year. That would make BYD the first company to sell Chinese-made vehicles in the United States.
>>read more<<
1.11.10 nytimes.com A Future That Doesn’t Guzzle
DETROIT — About 98 percent of the vehicles sold in the United States last year were powered by conventional gasoline engines, and hybrids occupied just a tiny niche.
But at the opening Monday of the big Detroit auto show, the internal-combustion engine seemed almost passé.
The world’s automakers unveiled a number of hybrid gas-electric and battery-powered models, several of which might not be available for years to come.
`
>>read more<<
12.8.09 green.autoblog.com
Mitsubishi, Japan Delivery System develop electric vehicle charging system for apartment buildings
It's well known by now that, aside from the cost, the biggest hurdle to the adoption of EVs may be a lack of charging infrastructure available to people most likely to use these vehicles. Those would be urban dwellers, many of whom live in apartment buildings. If apartment residents are lucky enough to have access to a parking garage, odds there is no plug nearby.
>>read more<<
3.4.10
msnbc.msn.com
Electric vehicle range: What, me worry?
To all those cities worrying about how they are going to get wired for electric vehicles: Fret not. "Range anxiety" may not be as acute as you think.
Studies of drivers who already have electric cars are finding that they prefer the convenience of charging at home, and despite their vehicles’ limited range, most are able to avoid public charging.
General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet division says the Washington area will be one of three initial launch markets for its new Chevy Volt electric car, joining dealers in California and Michigan to be the first to get them.
Pepco is also buying 10 Volts for its fleet and has installed charging stations at several of its fleet garages. Pepco expects to take delivery of the cars later this year.
>>read more<<
10.16.09 GreenlightAC and Vornado/Charles E. Smith Announce Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in the District
About This Video
Clean Skies News attends a forum today discussing exactly how China is cutting its CO2 output. Lynn Price, a Staff Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley Lab talks about a new study on the success of the Chinese energy reduction effort. And, today the Department of Energy names Germany winners of this year's Solar Decathlon. Clean Skies News looks at the innovations that went into the building of their winning design. Plus, Washington, DC unveils the first in a network of electric car charging stations.
By late next year, the District will see some of its first charging stations to power electric cars.
GreenlightAC, a D.C. inventor of what it dubs the ChargeBar, said it has sold the company’s first three electric car charging units to be installed late next summer in a parking garage at 2101 L St. NW, a property of Vornado/Charles E. Smith and home of the U.S. Green Building Council.
The company said the charger’s debut is well-timed with the plans of some automakers that intend to produce electric vehicle models by the end of 2010 for Washington-area dealers.
>>read more<<
10.16.09 For Immediate Release: GreenlightAC and DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty Announce Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Installation at Vornado/Charles E. Smith Building
DC-based company bringing electric vehicle charging to the District through installation of its flagship product, the ChargeBar™
Washington, DC: Today, GreenlightAC, a DC-based electric vehicle charging station company, and District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty are announcing the installation of GreenlightAC’s electric vehicle charging stations in the District.
Max Brown, CEO and co-founder of GreenlightAC, said, “We are tremendously excited and honored to be bringing electric vehicle charging to DC.” He continued, “In the next 10 years, there will be nearly 20 million electric vehicles on the road nationwide — we want to make sure that drivers of these vehicles will always have a place to charge up safely and reliably, starting right here in the District.”
David King, COO and co-founder of GreenlightAC, said, “The work we are doing here with Vornado/Charles E. Smith — installing electric vehicle recharging equipment in a premier downtown Washington office building — is an important step in making this city and this region plug-in ready. We expect that the public and private sectors in the District of Columbia will lead the way in national transportation electrification efforts, and GreenlightAC is excited to be a part of those efforts.”
“My administration has a longstanding commitment to make the District a plug-in ready community, and we are proud to support GreenlightAC in their efforts to put the infrastructure in place to support these vehicles,” Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said. “Large numbers of electric vehicles will be here in the next year — now we will have a place for them to plug-in.”
Vornado/Charles E. Smith will install a group of ChargeBar™ units at its parking garage at 2101 L Street, NW in Washington, DC. Mitchell N. Schear, President of Vornado/Charles E. Smith said, “We are continually implementing innovative green initiatives that make our buildings and our communities more sustainable. We are pleased to announce the first installation of GreenlightAC’s ChargeBar™ in our 2101 L Street building — providing a convenient place for our tenants and other users to plug in.”
Fitzgerald Auto Malls is contributing a plug-in Toyota Prius that Mayor Fenty will plug into GreenlightAC's ChargeBar™. A Fitzgerald executive said, “We are happy to be part of this event and applaud the efforts of GreenlightAC, Mayor Fenty, and Vornado/Charles E. Smith in making this region plug-in ready. The more electric vehicle recharging stations there are like the ChargeBar™, the more comfortable people will be in buying electric cars, which is good for our business but also good for the environment.”
GreenlightAC will be installing its flagship product, the ChargeBar™, where people live, work, and play, beginning in 2010 in the DC Metro region and across the country thereafter. The ChargeBar™ will be one of the easiest, most reliable, most cost-effective and safest electric vehicle (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) consumer charging products on the market.
In a move to overcome “range anxiety” among potential buyers of electric cars, Sonoma County and its nine cities are seeking grant funds for a network of up to 200 vehicle recharging stations.
The city-county coalition needs at least $1.5 million to install the stations — essentially specialized power outlets — intended to supply 1,000 electric vehicles to be purchased by the agencies and their employees.
WARREN, Mich. -- General Motors Corp. made it clear that there is nothing small or temporary about its ambition to dominate the emerging electric car industry when it opened its "Global Battery Systems Lab" here last month. It is the largest battery laboratory in North America, and Fritz Henderson, GM's CEO, said the Chevrolet Volt and the cars that come after it are the "lifeblood of our future."
Less than three years: that’s the wait time left for a plug-in hybrid from Toyota at commercial scale, according to reports this weekend from Japan’s Nikkei (h/t Reuters). The news that Toyota plans to start churning out at least 20,000 to 30,000 plug-in hybrids in 2012 comes just one month after the company first detailed plans to lease plug-in hybrids based on the latest Prius model with lithium-ion batteries.
Ford has hit the accelerator pedal with a vengeance these last few months with a new hybrid vehicle, HEV and two pure electric vehicle, EV,one not out yet. The introduction of the well received Ford Fusion hybrid seems to be a success, and talks of an all electric Ford Focus and the upcoming electric Transit van coming soon.
Global Electric Vehicle and Battery Technology Leader CT&T United to Establish Multiple Facilities in Southeast and West Coast Regions to Manufacture Affordable Line of EVs by 2010
SEOUL, South Korea, July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- CT&T Company, Ltd., a global leader in Electric Vehicle (EV) technology, announced plans today for e-Zone and c-Zone electric vehicle production in the United States with plans to employ 2,600, including production workers and managers, over the next five years.
The SAE standard J1772 charging connector for plug-in vehicles passed another threshold on its way to finalization this week. Underwriters Laboratories has completed its certification testing on the connector developed by Yazaki. The UL testing has verified the safety and durability characteristics of the 5-pin connector. Virtually all of the automakers from the U.S., Japan and Europe are planning to use the standard plug on upcoming electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, including in the Chevy Volt.
WITH JUST ABOUT every volume-selling carmaker - and more than a few supercar and luxury manufacturers - getting set to offer all-electric vehicles in the near future, a universal infrastructure is vital.
So important is the electric car’s future in the new car market that, according to US consulting firm Pike Research, the number of recharge points for electric vehicles around the globe will surpass 5 million by the year 2015.
Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motors, and San Carlos-based Tesla Motors Inc, will all receive government financing to speed production of fuel-efficient cars.
Ford, which will get financing of $5.9 billion to retool factories in five states, will be among the first recipients of the loans within the Energy Department’s $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, which promotes fuel-efficient vehicles, according to a department statement.
Ford Motor Company unveiled an aggressive plan on Tuesday for delivering a suite of new plug-in hybrid electric cars to the market. Some of the electric vehicles include a pure battery Transit Connect commercial van and a series of next-generation hybrid cars. The announcement came after Ford was approved for the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Following successful trials in the UK, the iconic, zero-emission, smart fortwo electric drive is ready for small series production. Reaction from customers taking part in the UK trial, including the Metropolitan Police, universities, local councils, architects and energy companies, has proved so encouraging that smart's parent company, Daimler AG, can confirm that the smart electric drive will go into small series production, with cars coming to the UK in early 2010.
WASHINGTON — Cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells, once hailed by President George W. Bush as a pollution-free solution for reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, will not be practical over the next 10 to 20 years, the energy secretary said Thursday, and the government will cut off funds for the vehicles’ development.
Developing those cells and coming up with a way to transport the hydrogen is a big challenge, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in releasing energy-related details of the administration’s budget for the year beginning Oct. 1. Dr. Chu said the government preferred to focus on projects that would bear fruit more quickly.
Couldn't help but notice in the March 30 report on General Motors by the federal automotive task force that you say: "While the Volt holds promise, it is currently projected to be much more expensive than its gasoline-fueled peers and will likely need substantial reductions in manufacturing cost in order to become commercially viable."
Well, duh. Your report shows more insight into the progress GM has made in recent years under the CEO whom the White House summarily dismissed than I expected, but this singular reference suggests that you have a blind spot. Understandable, since much of the public doesn't get it, either. >>read more<<
California became the first state in the nation Thursday to mandate carbon-based reductions in transportation fuels in an attempt to cut the state's overall greenhouse gas emissions.
The California Air Resources Board approved a phased-in reduction starting in 2011, with a goal of shrinking carbon impacts 10 percent by 2020. Fuel producers can comply in different ways, such as providing a cleaner fuel portfolio, blending low-carbon ethanol with gasoline or purchasing credits from other clean-energy producers. >>read more<<
Next week during the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) conference in Detroit, the SAE J1772™ Task Force will continue its work by committee to standardize the components that will soon become part of one of the most common driver interactions with a plug-in electric vehicle - plugging in and charging the battery. >>read more<<
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A battery-powered 268-horsepower two-seat sports car is in line to become Chrysler LLC's first electric car, provided the carmaker lives to see another day.
To survive, help is needed from Italy's Fiat but, as negotiations with the Italian automaker bog down and the two week deadline to hammer out a partnership approaches, the company's future - as well as its aspirations for an electric hot rod - are increasingly in doubt. >>read more<<
Johnson Controls-Saft (JCI) will renovate a factory in Holland, Michigan, which it will use to build batteries for hybrid cars from Ford (F), BMW, and Azure Dynamics.
The cost of the renovation is expected to be $220 million, but Michigan is giving Johnson-Saft $148.5 million in tax credits and incentives, so the real cost for the company should only be $71.4 million. The plant is expected to produce 500 new jobs in Michigan. Johnson Controls-Saft currently makes batteries in France. >>read more<<
Jaguar is poised to launch the world’s first electric-drive luxury saloon, a version of the next-gen XJ, after the European Union last week agreed a loan for new green technology.
The breakthrough Jag XJ four-door will use similar tech to the Vauxhall Ampera/Chevy Volt. Those cars run on electric power from batteries that are charged mainly by hooking up to the grid, but are also capable of being recharged on the move by a small-capacity engine. >>read more<<
The automaker wanted U.S.-based manufacturing and a flexible battery design. This week, Chrysler announced that it will use batteries from A123 Systems in its planned electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, the first of which will be available in small demonstration fleets by the end of the year. The automaker will use a modular battery system that the two companies developed together over the past three years. >>read more<<
Salt Lake City-based Green Star Products, Inc. (GSPI) plans to revive its electric vehicle production in the United States.
Green Star (formerly Battery Automated Technology International) produced electric vehicles from 1992 to 1998, but suspended production when the expected market for electric cars—particularly in California—failed to materialize. GSPI switched its focus to biodiesel, algae and cellulosic ethanol production, which remain the company’s core business. >>read more<<
TIANJIN, China — Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that.
The goal, which radiates from the very top of the Chinese government, suggests that Detroit’s Big Three, already struggling to stay alive, will face even stiffer foreign competition on the next field of automotive technology than they do today.
“China is well positioned to lead in this,” said David Tulauskas, director of China government policy at General Motors. >>read more<<
Weren’t we just talking about why there aren’t any cheap electric cars? Seemingly reading our minds, Tesla is coming up with a $30k sedan that the average Joe has the chance to own. While a $100k electric roadster is pretty cool, it’s not like the majority of us will ever get to enjoy it. Okay, so they’ve tried to connect with the little people to some extent with their $60k plug-in sedan. But still, that’s something that is way out of most of our budgets, despite the fullness of our EV-lovin’ hearts. So finally, a $30k EV that we ecogeeks have a good shot at owning. >>read more<<
