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Electric vehicle infrastructure news has been booming in the last few weeks and months. Last week, Choice Hotels announced they would be rolling out EV charging at most of their properties following similar announcements by Marriott and Hilton back in September, in December Pilot / Flying J and General Motors Partnership opened their first 17 High-Speed Charging Locations, and IONNA, a charging network founded by seven auto manufacturers, commenced operations earlier this month. In a recent press release about store remodels, Walmart announced they would be building a charging network of their own, beginning with 650 stores slated for remodeling in 2024 and another 150 new stores due to be built this year. Walmart's goal is to introduce coast-to-coast charging at thousands of locations across the US over the next five years. As of April 2023, Walmart has 1,300 fast charging stations at 280 Walmart and Sam's Club locations nationwide. While the hardware vendor has not been announced, Walmart will own and manage its charging infrastructure, with customers paying for charging sessions through the Walmart app. In July 2022, Walmart announced that it was purchasing 4,500 Canoo Electric Delivery Vans for its stores.- 2 comments
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Electric vehicle infrastructure news has been booming in the last few weeks and months. Last week, Choice Hotels announced they would be rolling out EV charging at most of their properties following similar announcements by Marriott and Hilton back in September, in December Pilot / Flying J and General Motors Partnership opened their first 17 High-Speed Charging Locations, and IONNA, a charging network founded by seven auto manufacturers, commenced operations earlier this month. In a recent press release about store remodels, Walmart announced they would be building a charging network of their own, beginning with 650 stores slated for remodeling in 2024 and another 150 new stores due to be built this year. Walmart's goal is to introduce coast-to-coast charging at thousands of locations across the US over the next five years. As of April 2023, Walmart has 1,300 fast charging stations at 280 Walmart and Sam's Club locations nationwide. While the hardware vendor has not been announced, Walmart will own and manage its charging infrastructure, with customers paying for charging sessions through the Walmart app. In July 2022, Walmart announced that it was purchasing 4,500 Canoo Electric Delivery Vans for its stores. View full article -
Back on July 26th, 2023, we reported that seven automakers came together to form a charging network to rival that of Tesla. Today, they announced that on February 1st, 2023, CEO Seth Cutler started IONNA operations in Torrance, California with the announcement of having received approval from regulatory authorities, and is commencing operations. This joint venture of these foremost automakers will bring a open charging network that is accessible to all electric vehicles with both NACS and CCS connectors. The aim is to provide a seamless, vehicle integrated, best-in-class charging experience. IONNA's charging stations will offer canopies to park under while charging wherever possible with additional customer amenities, such as restrooms, food service, with retail nearby or in the same complex, in digitally integrated and appealing locations. These locations will offer unprecedented comfort with network functions and services that facilitate seamless integration with participating automakers in-vehicle and in-app experiences, encompassing reservations, intelligent route planning and navigation, payment applications, transparent energy management, and additional features to come. Aligning with the sustainability strategies of the seven automakers, IONNA has a target of 30,000 high-powered fast charging stations strategically positioned throughout North America, backed where possible by renewable energy and storage. The first high-speed fast charging stations will open in the United States in 2024 followed by stations in Canada shortly thereafter. IONNA LLC aims to become a leading force in providing convenient, accessible, and reliable North American Fast-charging infrastructure to significantly enhance the appeal of zero-emission driving for millions of customers. -
Back on July 26th, 2023, we reported that seven automakers came together to form a charging network to rival that of Tesla. Today, they announced that on February 1st, 2023, CEO Seth Cutler started IONNA operations in Torrance, California with the announcement of having received approval from regulatory authorities, and is commencing operations. This joint venture of these foremost automakers will bring a open charging network that is accessible to all electric vehicles with both NACS and CCS connectors. The aim is to provide a seamless, vehicle integrated, best-in-class charging experience. IONNA's charging stations will offer canopies to park under while charging wherever possible with additional customer amenities, such as restrooms, food service, with retail nearby or in the same complex, in digitally integrated and appealing locations. These locations will offer unprecedented comfort with network functions and services that facilitate seamless integration with participating automakers in-vehicle and in-app experiences, encompassing reservations, intelligent route planning and navigation, payment applications, transparent energy management, and additional features to come. Aligning with the sustainability strategies of the seven automakers, IONNA has a target of 30,000 high-powered fast charging stations strategically positioned throughout North America, backed where possible by renewable energy and storage. The first high-speed fast charging stations will open in the United States in 2024 followed by stations in Canada shortly thereafter. IONNA LLC aims to become a leading force in providing convenient, accessible, and reliable North American Fast-charging infrastructure to significantly enhance the appeal of zero-emission driving for millions of customers. View full article
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BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis announced a new venture today to build out an EV charging network to rival Tesla's. The aim is to install at least 30,000 high-speed charging points in urban and highway locations across then country. The first chargers will go online in the U.S. in the summer of 2024, with chargers in Canada following shortly after. Of the manufacturers in this venture, General Motors and Mercedes-Benz recently announced agreements with Tesla for access to their SuperCharger network. While Ford, General Motors, Rivian, Mercedes-Benz, have all committed to Tesla's NACS charging connector. The network will use the 350-kw / 800-volt and offer both Tesla's NACS and CCS connectors. What wasn't announced was support for the V4 version of the NACS standard, which supports 800-Volt peak charging, but 800-Volt charging is a key feature of GM's Ultium technology, so we expect it will be offered. The as yet unnamed network will be powered by renewable energy and will be open to all makes and models that use either the NACS or CCS connectors. Sorry, Nissan Leaf and Kia Soul EV owners, you're out of luck. This move reflects a frustration by manufacturers regarding the reliability and build-out speed when relying on third-party charging networks. Electrify America, one of the largest non-Tesla fast-charging networks, has a reputation for broken and error-prone charging stations. With EV adoption being a Chicken and Egg problem, this move by the manufacturers is an attempt to squeeze the egg out of the chicken. To put a project of this size into perspective, the Tesla SuperCharger network offers 20,400 fast-charging ports at 1,900 locations while Electrify America offers 3,600 fast-charging ports at 800 locations, but EA's network is mostly at the slower charge rate of 150kw rather than 350kw. General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, which are both building out their own charging networks, will continue to do so separately from this plan. Related Articles: Mercedes-Benz Announces Their New EV Charging Network Tesla Supercharger Network of North America Now a Benz Charging Option Rivian Latest to Join the NACS Camp NACS the North American New Charging Standard? Ford EVs Gain Access to Tesla SuperChargers, Ford to Adopt Tesla NACS Charge Port View full article
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BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis announced a new venture today to build out an EV charging network to rival Tesla's. The aim is to install at least 30,000 high-speed charging points in urban and highway locations across then country. The first chargers will go online in the U.S. in the summer of 2024, with chargers in Canada following shortly after. Of the manufacturers in this venture, General Motors and Mercedes-Benz recently announced agreements with Tesla for access to their SuperCharger network. While Ford, General Motors, Rivian, Mercedes-Benz, have all committed to Tesla's NACS charging connector. The network will use the 350-kw / 800-volt and offer both Tesla's NACS and CCS connectors. What wasn't announced was support for the V4 version of the NACS standard, which supports 800-Volt peak charging, but 800-Volt charging is a key feature of GM's Ultium technology, so we expect it will be offered. The as yet unnamed network will be powered by renewable energy and will be open to all makes and models that use either the NACS or CCS connectors. Sorry, Nissan Leaf and Kia Soul EV owners, you're out of luck. This move reflects a frustration by manufacturers regarding the reliability and build-out speed when relying on third-party charging networks. Electrify America, one of the largest non-Tesla fast-charging networks, has a reputation for broken and error-prone charging stations. With EV adoption being a Chicken and Egg problem, this move by the manufacturers is an attempt to squeeze the egg out of the chicken. To put a project of this size into perspective, the Tesla SuperCharger network offers 20,400 fast-charging ports at 1,900 locations while Electrify America offers 3,600 fast-charging ports at 800 locations, but EA's network is mostly at the slower charge rate of 150kw rather than 350kw. General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, which are both building out their own charging networks, will continue to do so separately from this plan. Related Articles: Mercedes-Benz Announces Their New EV Charging Network Tesla Supercharger Network of North America Now a Benz Charging Option Rivian Latest to Join the NACS Camp NACS the North American New Charging Standard? Ford EVs Gain Access to Tesla SuperChargers, Ford to Adopt Tesla NACS Charge Port -
Google has released an update for the Google Maps Navigation app when searching for Electric Vehicle charging locations. Now when a user searches for a charging location, the app will show how many ports are currently in use out of the total in real time. This way, the driver no longer needs to physically check the location to see if charging is available without a wait. It will also give information like charge port type, charge speed, and ratings from other drivers. The feature works with ChargeMaster, EVgo, SemaConnect, and Chargepoint." At the moment, Tesla Supercharging is not yet compatible with the feature. Searching is available on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Android Auto. Availability in Android Auto means that drivers of cars equipped with Android Auto now have real time charging information available directly on their car's infotainment system. The feature is available now on the latest version of the apps. -
Google has released an update for the Google Maps Navigation app when searching for Electric Vehicle charging locations. Now when a user searches for a charging location, the app will show how many ports are currently in use out of the total in real time. This way, the driver no longer needs to physically check the location to see if charging is available without a wait. It will also give information like charge port type, charge speed, and ratings from other drivers. The feature works with ChargeMaster, EVgo, SemaConnect, and Chargepoint." At the moment, Tesla Supercharging is not yet compatible with the feature. Searching is available on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Android Auto. Availability in Android Auto means that drivers of cars equipped with Android Auto now have real time charging information available directly on their car's infotainment system. The feature is available now on the latest version of the apps. View full article
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Porsche announced this morning that buyers of the forthcoming Taycan will have free charging with Electrify America included for the first three years they own the vehicle. The plan includes 30 minutes of free DC fast charging at any of 484 locations across 42 states. Every Electrify America station will have at least two 350 kW chargers with additional chargers at the 150 kW level. Electrify America has been building a national network of charging stations in metro areas and along major national highways. The average highway distance between chargers will be about 70 miles with no more than 120 miles between charging stations. 17 metro areas will have stations with 5 to 10 chargers each. The Taycan features one of the fastest charging rates using 800 volt technology to add more than 60 miles of range in just 4 minutes through its Combined Charging System (CCS) plug. In addition to the Electrify America network, all of Porsche's 191 dealerships will have DC fast charging stations installed. Of these, around 120 of these will feature the Porsche Turbo Charging, a proprietary 320kW system that also uses the CCS plug. To supplement the national charging network, Porsche will be releasing a Porsche designed at-home charging system with details to follow soon.- 3 comments
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Porsche announced this morning that buyers of the forthcoming Taycan will have free charging with Electrify America included for the first three years they own the vehicle. The plan includes 30 minutes of free DC fast charging at any of 484 locations across 42 states. Every Electrify America station will have at least two 350 kW chargers with additional chargers at the 150 kW level. Electrify America has been building a national network of charging stations in metro areas and along major national highways. The average highway distance between chargers will be about 70 miles with no more than 120 miles between charging stations. 17 metro areas will have stations with 5 to 10 chargers each. The Taycan features one of the fastest charging rates using 800 volt technology to add more than 60 miles of range in just 4 minutes through its Combined Charging System (CCS) plug. In addition to the Electrify America network, all of Porsche's 191 dealerships will have DC fast charging stations installed. Of these, around 120 of these will feature the Porsche Turbo Charging, a proprietary 320kW system that also uses the CCS plug. To supplement the national charging network, Porsche will be releasing a Porsche designed at-home charging system with details to follow soon. View full article
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G. David Felt - Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.cheersandgears.com Right-of-Way, to give Power to the People in Seattle! Seattle in moving forward to address climate change is using their easement rights all over the city to expand their charging program. Seattle reserves the first 8 feet around your property as an easement that they can come on and pretty much do anything they want. With Seattle DOT EVCROW program, seattle is hoping to push beyond the few thousand charging stations around the city and make it 10's of thousands of charging stations by allowing public and private EV charging infrastructure providers to install EV charging stations on non-residential streets / properties throughout the city to expand the ability for charging of EV / Plug-in Hybrids. The goal is to have 30% plus of all registered auto's to be EV's by 2030. This Electric Vehicle Charging in the public right of way pilot program (EVCROW) is about speeding up the process and addressing the complexity to implement EV chargers everywhere. This program will run till July18th 2018 allowing folks to more easily install EV chargers and the City can see how they can streamline and simplify the installation and use of EV chargers. It looks like people could end up with public chargers on their property that faces the streets so others can charge up. While I am a huge EV fan, not sure I like the city taking over and using my private property as a charge station. What do you think? Seattle DOT Story
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Previous Page Next Page All-electric zero-emission that can finally replace all petro powered buses in North America was unveiled at the Annual APTA (American Public Transit Association) meeting in Los Angeles. Proterra which is known to have launched the first fleet of alternative fuel buses has pushed American engineering with over $130 million in private equity funding to produce a true replacement for all diesel / alternative fuel buses. The Catalyst E2 bus series hit the new milestone at the Michelin's Laurens proving grounds. A 600+ mile passenger free track run translates into 350 miles of continuous real world driving according to Proterra's CEO Ryan Popple. Proterra states that bus fleets said they could fully replace fossil fuel buses if they had buses that could cover routes for a single day up to 350 miles fully loaded with people. Proterra achieved this challenge by using carbon fiber and increasing energy density in the buses battery pack. Proterra battery packs come in choices of 440 KWh to 660 KWh size. The base model bus with a 440 KWh battery pack is what was used to set their new world record for electric distance in a bus. These battery packs are 6x more than the recently announced Tesla S/X P100D. These batteries can handle sustained quick charging plus they can also use the industry standard J1772 CCS plug-in chargers. The first 34 buses are scheduled to be delivered to Foothill Transit Authority in Los Angeles County this fall. Reno, Nevada and 11 other cities including Seattle, Washington will follow in 2017 with taking delivery of these pure long distance electric buses. Proterra expects to deliver over 300 buses in 2017. Safety first was more than just a slogan at Proterra, with this guiding principle, the Catalyst bus was engineered from the beginning as the battery packs are located outside the passenger compartment. The are liquid temperature controlled and incorporated with both active and passive safety features. They are also ruggedized with reinforced enclosures and a safety barrier between the batteries and the passenger compartment. The buses are also build with Mobileye crash avoidance technology and using plenty of impact absorbing carbon fiber materials. Proterra's main competitor is Chinese based BYD with production facilities in California who also aims to deliver EV buses. However, BYD buses will only have a range of 160 to 200 miles compared to Proterra's. California has help fund both Proterra and BYD development, with the requirement that the engineering and production of the buses be done in California. The recent Volkswagen emissions scandal is cited as a reason cities are no longer wanting diesel buses. They also point out that the public is asking for much cleaner transit solutions. Proterra states that customers want a environmentally friendly bus, that does not smell, has much reduced noise pollution, and makes for a more comfortable trip. Their $740,000 buses depending on configuration was a hit at APTA with many transit authorities asking for more information especially on the east coast which has lagged behind moving to cleaner alternative energy buses and runs some of the oldest bus fleets in the country. An example of how quiet these buses are, the Proterra Catalyst is only 57 dB lower than normal conversation at 60 dB much less a diesel bus 72 dB, Formula 1 Racecar 115 dB, and a Jet plane taking off at 140 dB. Per Proterra own web site, efficiency is the goal and with that you have proof in the cost to run an EV bus as follows: Proterra Catalyst - 21.4 MPGe @ average of 19 cents per mile CNG - 3.27 MPG at 74 cents per mile Diesel - 3.86 MPG at 84 cents per mile Hybrid - 4.58 MPG at 63 cents per mile. Quoting Mass Transit Mag who was at the APTA meeting: Compelled by a total cost of ownership significantly lower than fossil fuel-based alternatives, transit agencies across the U.S. agree that diesel’s dominance is waning, giving way to the economic and environmental benefits of battery-electric mass transportation: J. Barry Barker, executive director, Transit Authority of River City: “TARC now has largest deployment of Proterra battery-electric buses east of the Mississippi. Providing both environmental benefits and cost savings, these buses are a symbol of Louisville’s sustainability efforts. We are proud of these positive impacts and to call Proterra a partner, as they pass this key milestone in their journey as the foremost transport innovator in the world.” Doran Barnes, executive director at Foothill Transit: “We just surpassed one million miles of revenue service with our battery-electric Proterra fleet, and we’re looking forward to many more miles to come. Since our first EV bus procurement with Proterra in 2010, we knew that zero-emission buses were the future of mass transit. Now, with the new Catalyst E2, this vision is a reality. We’re excited by the possibilities of an all-electric future.” Jonathan Church, administrator at Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA): “More and more, we’re witnessing our neighbor agencies consider all-electric buses, as they see how well our Proterra buses have weathered some of the ugliest Northeast snow storms. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Proterra as their technology continues to expand within North America.” We have previously covered early versions of Proterra EV buses. These early buses achieved 23 miles per charge and have become popular with inner city routes are being outclassed by this new generation of EV Bus. Proterra states their EV buses to date have logged over 2.5 million miles of trouble free use on city streets, reducing fuel use by 540,000 gallons of diesel and reducing emissions by 10 million pounds of carbon not released into the planet atmosphere. Ryan Popple, CEO of Proterra says, "The question is no longer who will be an early adopter of this technology, but rather who will be the last to commit to a future of clean efficient and sustainable mobility." Proterra believes they have broken down the final barrier to widespread market adoption of EV buses. Proterra, leaving Diesel in the past! Source: Proterra Press Release Press Release on Page 2 PROTERRA CATALYST® E2 SERIES SETS NEW INDUSTRY PRECEDENT WITH A NOMINAL RANGE OF UP TO 350 MILES September 12th, 2016 Highest-performing bus on the road can serve toughest bus routes on a single charge Los Angeles, Calif. – APTA 2016 – September 12, 2016 – Today at the American Public Transit Association (APTA) Annual Meeting, Proterra, the leading innovator in heavy-duty electric transportation, unveiled the newest addition to its fleet of zero-emission vehicles: the Catalyst E2 series, named for its unprecedented Efficient Energy (E2) storage capacity of 440 – 660 kWh. Last month, an E2 series vehicle achieved a new milestone at Michelin’s Laurens Proving Grounds where it logged more than 600 miles on a single charge under test conditions. Its nominal range of 194 – 350 miles means the Catalyst E2 series is capable of serving the full daily mileage needs of nearly every U.S. mass transit route on a single charge and offers the transit industry the first direct replacement for fossil-fueled transit vehicles. The high-mileage Catalyst E2 series joins the existing Catalyst FC and XR series vehicles, designed for circulator and intermediate-mileage routes, respectively. The Future of Transit Arrives: Proterra Customers Across the U.S. Praise Electrified Transport Compelled by a total cost of ownership significantly lower than fossil fuel-based alternatives, transit agencies across the U.S. agree that diesel’s dominance is waning, giving way to the economic and environmental benefits of battery-electric mass transportation: Barry Barker, Executive Director, Transit Authority of River City: “TARC now has largest deployment of Proterra battery-electric buses east of the Mississippi. Providing both environmental benefits and cost savings, these buses are a symbol of Louisville’s sustainability efforts. We are proud of these positive impacts and to call Proterra a partner, as they pass this key milestone in their journey as the foremost transport innovator in the world.” Doran Barnes, Executive Director at Foothill Transit: “We just surpassed one million miles of revenue service with our battery-electric Proterra fleet, and we’re looking forward to many more miles to come. Since our first EV bus procurement with Proterra in 2010, we knew that zero-emission buses were the future of mass transit. Now, with the new Catalyst E2, this vision is a reality. We’re excited by the possibilities of an all-electric future.” Jonathan Church, Administrator at Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA): “More and more, we’re witnessing our neighbor agencies consider all-electric buses, as they see how well our Proterra buses have weathered some of the ugliest Northeast snow storms. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Proterra as their technology continues to expand within North America.” 2.6 Million Miles and Counting With annual sales already 220% higher than 2015, Proterra is experiencing a breakthrough year in the mass transit sector and expects the debut of the Catalyst E2 series to only further magnify this success. Doubling production in 2017 to serve unprecedented customer demand, Proterra will have both of its manufacturing lines in full operation in Greenville, S.C. and the City of Industry, Calif. To date, Proterra buses across the United States have completed over 2.5 million miles of revenue service, displacing 540,000 gallons of diesel, and eliminating over 10 million pounds of carbon emissions. “Proterra’s primary goal has always been to create a purpose-built, high-performance electric vehicle that can serve every single transit route in the United States. Today, with the unveiling of the Catalyst E2 Series, that goal has been achieved,” said Ryan Popple, CEO of Proterra. “The question is no longer who will be an early adopter of this technology, but rather who will be the last to commit to a future of clean, efficient, and sustainable mobility. With the Catalyst E2 offering a no-compromise replacement for all fossil fuel buses, battery-electric vehicles have now broken down the final barrier to widespread market adoption.” About Proterra: Proterra is a leader in the design and manufacture of zero-emission vehicles that enable bus fleet operators to eliminate the dependency on fossil fuels and to significantly reduce operating costs while delivering clean, quiet transportation to the community. Proterra has sold more than 312 vehicles to 35 different municipal, university, and commercial transit agencies throughout North America. Proterra’s configurable EV platform, battery and charging options make its buses well suited for a wide range of transit and campus routes. With unmatched durability and energy efficiency based on rigorous U.S. certification testing, Proterra products are proudly designed, engineered and manufactured in America, with offices in Silicon Valley, South Carolina, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit: http://www.proterra.com and follow us on Twitter @Proterra_Inc. Proterra Media Contact: [email protected] Previous Page Next Page -
Came across this write up about if and when the end of petro auto's will take place. SuperCharged EVs. Overall advanced in fuel cells and advanced battery technology is not enough to offset the growth in auto sales in emerging markets powered by Petro. Yet it does clearly state that one cannot ignore this market niche. The estimate is that 800 million auto's will be added to the world wide fleet over the next 20 years. The additional charts and info is very informative on how EVs, PHEVs, etc. can affect the overall marketplace. Interesting is the charts that also show US oil productions, rigs and exploration. Some very interesting info. While I agree that for some they will not see the change over to a pure EV, PHEV or Hybrid driven auto market, I think many of us will see it still over the next 50 years along with self driving auto's.
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G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.CheersandGears.com Seattle's Aggressive EV Plan by 2017 / 2025 Living in Washington state where the state has chosen or forced based on your take of the political people in Olympia, the state's capital to move the population from petrol to EV auto's and drop all support for alternative fuels this comes as no surprise to me. Seattle mayor announced yesterday a huge push to triple the number of fast fill charging spots by 2017, only 1 year away as well as cut in half the amount of green house gas produced in Seattle by 2025. How you might ask is he doing this? The city starts with the private residence where they will offer loans / payment plans to encourage people to install their own charger of choice into their garage. Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is offering $500 towards this install, the state is offering up to half the cost and Seattle now will finance the rest. All new private construction must now have included an EV charging station. All new commercial residential buildings (Apartments/Condo's) must have X amount of spots for charging based on the size of the building. All new commercial building period will now be required to reduce transit emissions through building tune-ups every 5 years and other operational improvements this includes having so many charging stations available for use by the work force in the parking garages. Seattle is going to triple by this time next year in 2017 street access charging stations. The city is putting in place plans to support workers living in the city with affordable green housing. Seattle has also committed to an an VOLT fleet of city auto's replacing all gas powered cars. They are also looking to find alternative auto's for their trucks and pushing forward with a complete electric city bus fleet. Video and news coverage is found here: KING5
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Found this interesting story on a New Taxi that Singapore has created to help reduce green house gas and clean up their cities. Taxi can go 200km or 125 miles on a single charge and recharges 100% in 15 min. Full story here http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/transport/story/made-singapore-electric-taxi-charges-fast-goes-the-distance-20150512
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G. David Felt Alternative Fuels & Propulsion writer www.CheersandGears.com Tesla Model S Has YOU COVERED! REALLY? Tesla sent out the following email this week about how they have you covered with electric charging stations all over North America. Yet while the Email touts their Range assurance and Trip Planner to have a successful pure EV road trip, I was asking myself is this really true? Tesla Email The Tesla has you Covered web page tends to state the following numbers. 90% of owners are within 175 miles of a supercharger station. 96% of owners within 175 miles of a supercharger or destination charger. Tesla states that while most cars do not improve over time, their auto's actually do by getting faster, smarter and better due to Tesla's over the air software updates. While I will take no issue with the updates adding features, improving the over all performance of their electric system, or even their new applications that all Tesla Owners received on the pushed update being Range Assurance which works in the back ground while you drive communicating with the Supercharger and destination chargers and keep you aware of which ones are available as well as which ones are in heavy use or inactive so that you do not drive out of range and have no charge. Tesla says this is how they take care of their customers through innovation and intelligence. Tesla states the following: Over the next 12 months, all of Europe and North America (excluding northern Alaska) will be covered, as well as China (apart from low population areas far inland), the Japan main islands and southern Australia. They believe it is their responsibility to guide you to the closest available charging station relative to your trip route which is where their new Trip Planner comes in telling you the best route to take to make sure you have charging capability even if it is not the most direct or fastest route. Tesla does go onto state that Supercharger stations take 20 to 30 min to full charge which goes well when you have driven 3 to 4 hrs and want to use the restroom, get a bite to eat or take a break and stretch your legs. Destination chargers take 4 to 12 hrs depending on type. Yet I found when reviewing their live map that many of the so called charging stations are either private slow chargers for customers only or expected future chargers by states or fed programs. This brings up how far do we let a company push their marketing agenda to sells auto's over reality of what is really available? Should Tesla also state which ones are a charge for fee versus just stating a charging system is available? Seems some resorts and businesses will let you charge for free while others you have to pay. Another question I have is people willing to go to small places they would usually not stop at only due to not having a charging system in a major city? Example of this is that Spokane Washington and Coeur d'Alene Idaho have charging systems in place at resorts for guests only and yet if you want a charge you have to stop in Ritzville to charge first before you make your Spokane destination if you are not staying at the lone single resort that has a charging system. A stop that is 61 miles before Spokane clearly reducing your EV Range or 93 miles before reaching Coeur d'Alene Idaho giving you about 50% battery left and very much minimizing the ability to sight see. What are your thoughts? Is Tesla right in marketing a charging map with various degrees of accuracy?
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G. David Felt Alternative Fuels & Propulsion writer www.CheersandGears.com Electric Conversions, Worth it? The electric movement is on and anyone that loves the auto industry and stays abreast of what is going on tends to keep an ear to the ground about all forms or power trains. Many here know that I am all about CNG, a much greener cheaper form of energy and one I believe is the next logical step away from normal gas. But this is not about CNG, but conversions to electric. Cities all across America are pushing for delivery trucks to change to CNG or Electric. Public transportation to go CNG or Electric and any and all ways to reduce air pollution from the streets of your beloved city. The movement to do away with air pollution in the city had me looking out my own office window and observing the City work trucks that are cleaning the drains. These trucks are 1 ton heavy duty trucks and full size Suburban like SUV's. I myself have a work in progress of converting my Suburban over to CNG. Like the city work trucks that had trailers being pulled, I also pull trailers. If I or the city was to go electric could it be done for my suburban or these city work trucks? We know we have many small compact electric auto's. We also know that unlike a fuel driven engine that has to build up the Torque and HP, Electric motors are 100% torque from the beginning for the most part. What would it take to power America's love affair with full size HD trucks and SUV's? Can the current batteries handle this? In this regards I started to research and what I found was surprising, exciting and for those with the coin, very doable. The whole research made me realize that in the future, we will see a change to electric auto's. Many driven with generators and many without. So what did I find that excited me you ask? First off, you have to understand that there are two camps of thought. The DC motor camp and the AC motor camp. DC motors have come a long way to compete but due to concerns by some about having to replace bushings and brushes, you will find that the Auto industry has gone with multi-phase AC motors. Does this mean that the DC motors are not worth the time and money? No just that it is a different train of thought. With this bit of information I found the following on DC motors from a company in Florida. http://grassrootsev.com/motorsdc.htm Prices I did find to be pretty reasonable. In fact for the Pike's Peak race, EV West built a BMW racer with the following engine system shown below, a dual motor drive train. Dual Motor Electric Drivetrain 1000 lb/ft of torque and 600+ horsepower Accessory kit video for AC, Power Steering and Brakes. The heaters on any auto are replaced with an electric heater box in place of your traditional heater box with blower. Here is a Video which is part of a series of converting VW auto to electric using the DC motors from the Grassrootsev.com web site. What I have found to date is that for small cars and if you are not in a steep hilly area you are probably more than fine with a DC motor. Yet for the original thought of this writeup, what would it take for HD trucks or full size SUV's, I found an answer with AC motor's. AC motors are better for use due to how they handle the torque and deal with the added work put on an auto when it comes to hills or mountain roads. EV West had a motor that is perfect for the full size HD trucks and SUV's as well as the performance enthusiast. AMR 250-90D Liquid cooled AC Motor. 560 lb/ft of torque and 420hp, weight 180lbs, 360 Volts, Max RPM 10,000, Regenerative motor. Batteries come in a large assortment but EV West focuses on Lithium Iron for maximum performance and long life. The batteries start small at only 40 Ah and go up to 260 Ah. They can be daisy chained to allow for long distance driving if needed. Top of the line battery is the Voltronix 260 Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate battery. So after researching this, I talked with Michael Bream from EV West. As he stated, large HD trucks and full size SUV's pose a bit of a challenge due to the size and the fact that they need much larger battery packs to move these heavy auto's. Pulling a trailer, being in water is not a problem for the setups. I asked him to quote me a conversion kit that would equal what I have in my Suburban. So the end result was the AMR 250-90D motor, Accessory kit for AC, Power Steering and brakes along with the electric Heater box and a series of 260 Ah batteries. The batteries would be under the suburban in holding trays on either side of the drive line. I could add another tray in place of the gas tank between the rear differential and bumper. Estimate is if I did go with all space used for batteries, I could get 300 mile range. For making the suburban a daily driver, I settled on a 100 mile range with the conversion costing about $40,000. So a quick recap of what I get for $40,000. AMR 250-90D motor Accessory kit and heater box Electronic controller system to connect dash to motor and the rest of the auto electronics. 260 Ah Lithium Iron battery pack. Misc other parts to go with installation. So does an Electric Conversion make sense? Many I feel would say no to my Suburban conversion and yet with current Suburbans running 50-60K or more. If you love your old auto and want a certain custom version, this might be your way to a 21st century old but new again ride. So in asking this question in the sense of compact auto's or other smaller cars, EV West says the typical person spends for a small 2 or 4 person auto 5 to 15K dollars to convert to total electric. That might make sense for many more. So ask yourself, does it make sense for you? Only you can decide.
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G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com Wednesday, November 07, 2012 Tax Payer supplied Charging stations. Are we getting our money’s worth? Recently, a newly expanded Park and Ride by my house went live with charging outlets for 20 cars having been installed at the Mountlake Terrace park-and-ride lot at 236th Street SW and I-5. A dedication "plug-in" ceremony was held Saturday a few weeks ago even though completion of the place happened back in May. Each of the 10 stations is equipped with two outlets. One is a 120-volt, "level 1" outlet that charges a car from empty to full in 16 to 30 hours, depending on the type of vehicle. The other is a 240-volt, level 2 charger than can juice up a car in eight to 15 hours per the community transit press release. This is the most charging stations installed in any one location so far in Snohomish or King Counties. The new stations in Mountlake Terrace are the first to be installed at a park-and-ride lot in the county, according to websites that show station locations. Mountlake Terrace applied for and received a $55,000 federal grant for the stations. The city paid for installation, which she estimated at a few thousand dollars. The ChargePoint brand stations are made by Coulomb Technologies of Campbell, Calif. The project was done with the blessing of Community Transit, which leases the site from the state for the park-and-ride lot. Commuters with electric vehicles can now park, plug in and let their cars charge up all day while they're gone. The service costs 85 cents per hour with a maximum of $4 per session. The charging stations take credit cards. The charger shuts off automatically when the car's battery is full. The state also is planning to install a network of stations this year along I-5 from Oregon to Canada and along U.S. 2, called the "Electric Highway." Most of these will include level 3, DC "fast chargers" that can power a car from empty to full in 30 minutes. Washington state has choosen fast chargers for the freeway systems from AeroVironment, Inc. This allows most EV’s to charge in less than 30 minutes but for older cars or to top off a battery, you will have the level 2 chargers from AeroVironment also. Plans are for users to be able to use personal credit cards or sign up for the AeroVirontment Network . The AV network is a fob based system to use for charging. During the install period, AeroVironment is allowing free charging till the complete highway system is in place. You have both the Community Transit blog and the City MountLake Terrace (PDF) talking up this event. This big question to be asked is was this really needed or necessary? In this picture you can see that 10 of the white signs are actually visible and these are to be used by plug in cars, but they seem to sit empty all the time. To the left where you see a couple cars parked the signs and the charging stations are actually covered in black plastic bags so the parking can be used by the general public as there is never enough parking for traditional gas powered cars. So we have 20 spots built for Electric only auto’s and 10 of them are actually covered up allowing traditional auto’s to park there with the other 10 being vacant and not being used at all. One can see this in the picture below also that the signs are covered in black plastic. In submitting a request to Mountlake Terrace, I got no response and in calling to the office no one was willing to talk about the electrical parking spots and the lack of use by these spots on top of the actual cost. The generalized comments have been it only cost a couple thousand to install the units, but one has to challenge that considering the unionized nature of Electrical work done in Washington State. It is interesting that depending on the model you have a cost of $490 to $39,900 per model depending on what model is chosen and then the installation cost. Yet some systems have no cost listed as the company wants to only do custom quotes. A fairly complete list of charging systems with some prices can be seen here. A recent story on the installation of charging stations on Stevens pass, Highway 2 in Washington State here says that they have chosen a vendor for the 8 to 10 DC fast chargers that came within the $1 million budget. Also stated in the next paragraph is that this is part of a $250 million electric highway. The Seattle PI had the following story on their web site that states the Seattle area is getting 2500 charging stations as part of the $230 million dollar Electric Highway. Altogether, 15,000 charging stations will be installed in 4 states (Washington, California, Arizona and Tennessee and the District of Columbia) This equals out to a cost of $15,333 per charging station for the electric highway and is in addition to the charging stations installed by Cities at park and ride lots. Tonia Buell, from the Washington department of transportation in an email response has stated that Washington already has 12 DC fast charging locations on the state’s electric highway program in addition to the public schools and private business who are installing hundreds of Level 2 (medium speed) chargers through the EV project. In asking if the state is funding any of these charging stations, the response was no this is primarily funded through the US Department of Energy, Electric Auto supply companies, private businesses and citizens contributing to the EV investment. The Washington DOT has posted on their web site about 8 to 10 fast chargers from a DOE $1.5 million grant and they talk about the EV Highway but do not mention the rest of the costs. Depending on which story and quote you go with, we either have $15,333 dollar charging stations or $16,666 charging stations. The cost of the charging stations plus which level you can use for your EV auto, Level 1, 2 or 3 gives you a 10 to 30 minute fast charge time or up to 8 hrs or longer. So you travel 80 miles if you truly can get this on a Nissan Leaf and then wait up to 30 min to charge and then travel another 80 miles. This alone means to travel the 174 miles from Seattle Washington to Portland Oregon you will need 3 stops for charging, 1 ½ hrs. plus your almost 3hrs of travel time. So you have a 4 -5hr trip from Seattle to Portland versus a 2 ½ hrs. trip in a petrol or CNG auto. Washington state DOT is using the story published by Motor Trend as a positive support and proof that you should ease your range anxiety. Yet even in this story, the amount of time spent charging along the so called EV Highway still also shows how much extra time it will take to travel a modest 250 miles. Even with the Flyer that is being provided to anyone who asks about the EV highway, it seems to beg more questions than answers. In regards to maintenance, the electric charging companies have a vested interest in these systems paying back and are responsible for maintenance to the units so as to not have a cost to anyone but those using them according the WSDOT. Yet what happens to a person when one of these systems is offline due to a need of maintenance and with no real answer being supplied on what is the life expectancy? Hours spent on a 120V charge will not cut it on a road trip. So in going back to our original question, Are we getting our money’s worth? Is the tax payer money really being well spent by investing in this technology at this time and what about the required Maintenance? Looking at the global picture we will eventually get to a need for this kind of charging, but society as a whole is nowhere near ready for using luxury golf cart type autos on the main roads for long road trips. The amount of vacant sitting parking spots dedicated to such a small amount of auto’s seems to show excessive waste in tax payers’ money when other needs should come first. It would seem that jumping on this technology which has been pushed by a very wealthy, well connected group of individuals is spending hard working tax payer’s money for a solution that is not needed at this time. Most people can charge their cars at home, drive to the park-N-ride lot and get back home without having to pay to charge up. So the question still begs to be asked; Is the tax payer getting their money's worth for the Electric highway? -
G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com Wednesday, November 07, 2012 Tax Payer supplied Charging stations. Are we getting our money’s worth? Recently, a newly expanded Park and Ride by my house went live with charging outlets for 20 cars having been installed at the Mountlake Terrace park-and-ride lot at 236th Street SW and I-5. A dedication "plug-in" ceremony was held Saturday a few weeks ago even though completion of the place happened back in May. Each of the 10 stations is equipped with two outlets. One is a 120-volt, "level 1" outlet that charges a car from empty to full in 16 to 30 hours, depending on the type of vehicle. The other is a 240-volt, level 2 charger than can juice up a car in eight to 15 hours per the community transit press release. This is the most charging stations installed in any one location so far in Snohomish or King Counties. The new stations in Mountlake Terrace are the first to be installed at a park-and-ride lot in the county, according to websites that show station locations. Mountlake Terrace applied for and received a $55,000 federal grant for the stations. The city paid for installation, which she estimated at a few thousand dollars. The ChargePoint brand stations are made by Coulomb Technologies of Campbell, Calif. The project was done with the blessing of Community Transit, which leases the site from the state for the park-and-ride lot. Commuters with electric vehicles can now park, plug in and let their cars charge up all day while they're gone. The service costs 85 cents per hour with a maximum of $4 per session. The charging stations take credit cards. The charger shuts off automatically when the car's battery is full. The state also is planning to install a network of stations this year along I-5 from Oregon to Canada and along U.S. 2, called the "Electric Highway." Most of these will include level 3, DC "fast chargers" that can power a car from empty to full in 30 minutes. Washington state has choosen fast chargers for the freeway systems from AeroVironment, Inc. This allows most EV’s to charge in less than 30 minutes but for older cars or to top off a battery, you will have the level 2 chargers from AeroVironment also. Plans are for users to be able to use personal credit cards or sign up for the AeroVirontment Network . The AV network is a fob based system to use for charging. During the install period, AeroVironment is allowing free charging till the complete highway system is in place. You have both the Community Transit blog and the City MountLake Terrace (PDF) talking up this event. This big question to be asked is was this really needed or necessary? In this picture you can see that 10 of the white signs are actually visible and these are to be used by plug in cars, but they seem to sit empty all the time. To the left where you see a couple cars parked the signs and the charging stations are actually covered in black plastic bags so the parking can be used by the general public as there is never enough parking for traditional gas powered cars. So we have 20 spots built for Electric only auto’s and 10 of them are actually covered up allowing traditional auto’s to park there with the other 10 being vacant and not being used at all. One can see this in the picture below also that the signs are covered in black plastic. In submitting a request to Mountlake Terrace, I got no response and in calling to the office no one was willing to talk about the electrical parking spots and the lack of use by these spots on top of the actual cost. The generalized comments have been it only cost a couple thousand to install the units, but one has to challenge that considering the unionized nature of Electrical work done in Washington State. It is interesting that depending on the model you have a cost of $490 to $39,900 per model depending on what model is chosen and then the installation cost. Yet some systems have no cost listed as the company wants to only do custom quotes. A fairly complete list of charging systems with some prices can be seen here. A recent story on the installation of charging stations on Stevens pass, Highway 2 in Washington State here says that they have chosen a vendor for the 8 to 10 DC fast chargers that came within the $1 million budget. Also stated in the next paragraph is that this is part of a $250 million electric highway. The Seattle PI had the following story on their web site that states the Seattle area is getting 2500 charging stations as part of the $230 million dollar Electric Highway. Altogether, 15,000 charging stations will be installed in 4 states (Washington, California, Arizona and Tennessee and the District of Columbia) This equals out to a cost of $15,333 per charging station for the electric highway and is in addition to the charging stations installed by Cities at park and ride lots. Tonia Buell, from the Washington department of transportation in an email response has stated that Washington already has 12 DC fast charging locations on the state’s electric highway program in addition to the public schools and private business who are installing hundreds of Level 2 (medium speed) chargers through the EV project. In asking if the state is funding any of these charging stations, the response was no this is primarily funded through the US Department of Energy, Electric Auto supply companies, private businesses and citizens contributing to the EV investment. The Washington DOT has posted on their web site about 8 to 10 fast chargers from a DOE $1.5 million grant and they talk about the EV Highway but do not mention the rest of the costs. Depending on which story and quote you go with, we either have $15,333 dollar charging stations or $16,666 charging stations. The cost of the charging stations plus which level you can use for your EV auto, Level 1, 2 or 3 gives you a 10 to 30 minute fast charge time or up to 8 hrs or longer. So you travel 80 miles if you truly can get this on a Nissan Leaf and then wait up to 30 min to charge and then travel another 80 miles. This alone means to travel the 174 miles from Seattle Washington to Portland Oregon you will need 3 stops for charging, 1 ½ hrs. plus your almost 3hrs of travel time. So you have a 4 -5hr trip from Seattle to Portland versus a 2 ½ hrs. trip in a petrol or CNG auto. Washington state DOT is using the story published by Motor Trend as a positive support and proof that you should ease your range anxiety. Yet even in this story, the amount of time spent charging along the so called EV Highway still also shows how much extra time it will take to travel a modest 250 miles. Even with the Flyer that is being provided to anyone who asks about the EV highway, it seems to beg more questions than answers. In regards to maintenance, the electric charging companies have a vested interest in these systems paying back and are responsible for maintenance to the units so as to not have a cost to anyone but those using them according the WSDOT. Yet what happens to a person when one of these systems is offline due to a need of maintenance and with no real answer being supplied on what is the life expectancy? Hours spent on a 120V charge will not cut it on a road trip. So in going back to our original question, Are we getting our money’s worth? Is the tax payer money really being well spent by investing in this technology at this time and what about the required Maintenance? Looking at the global picture we will eventually get to a need for this kind of charging, but society as a whole is nowhere near ready for using luxury golf cart type autos on the main roads for long road trips. The amount of vacant sitting parking spots dedicated to such a small amount of auto’s seems to show excessive waste in tax payers’ money when other needs should come first. It would seem that jumping on this technology which has been pushed by a very wealthy, well connected group of individuals is spending hard working tax payer’s money for a solution that is not needed at this time. Most people can charge their cars at home, drive to the park-N-ride lot and get back home without having to pay to charge up. So the question still begs to be asked; Is the tax payer getting their money's worth for the Electric highway? View full article
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 23, 2012 General Motors has announced that it will be doing a software upgrade on 4,000 2013 Chevrolet Volts due to glitch which could cause the electric motor to shut down. Kevin Kelly, manager of Electric Vehicle and Hybrid Communications told GM-Volt.com that problem lies in the software when a Volt is in the delayed time and rate charge mode. "We are notifying 2013 model year Chevy Volt owners about a customer satisfaction issue. We have received a few reports from owners that their electric motor has temporarily stopped working, resulting from a software anomaly when their vehicle is in the delayed time and rate charge mode. We’re asking owners to bring their vehicles into their local Chevy dealer for a re-flash of the vehicle’s control system, which should take less than an hour. Until then, we’re recommending that customers switch to immediate or delayed time charging to avoid this inconvenience," said Kelly. When asked if this problem is in the 2011 or 2012 Chevrolet Volt, Kelly said this problem doesn't exist in those models since the data is only on the 2013 model. Source: GM-Volt.com William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article -
William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 23, 2012 General Motors has announced that it will be doing a software upgrade on 4,000 2013 Chevrolet Volts due to glitch which could cause the electric motor to shut down. Kevin Kelly, manager of Electric Vehicle and Hybrid Communications told GM-Volt.com that problem lies in the software when a Volt is in the delayed time and rate charge mode. "We are notifying 2013 model year Chevy Volt owners about a customer satisfaction issue. We have received a few reports from owners that their electric motor has temporarily stopped working, resulting from a software anomaly when their vehicle is in the delayed time and rate charge mode. We’re asking owners to bring their vehicles into their local Chevy dealer for a re-flash of the vehicle’s control system, which should take less than an hour. Until then, we’re recommending that customers switch to immediate or delayed time charging to avoid this inconvenience," said Kelly. When asked if this problem is in the 2011 or 2012 Chevrolet Volt, Kelly said this problem doesn't exist in those models since the data is only on the 2013 model. Source: GM-Volt.com William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.
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