Monthly Archives: September 2015

Stop Building New Carbon Infrastructure

Energy and Climate Change, Opinion

A Hard Deadline: We Must Stop Building New Carbon Infrastructure by 2018

In only three years there will be enough fossil fuel-burning stuff—cars, homes, factories, power plants, etc.—built to blow through our carbon budget for a 2 degrees Celsius temperature rise. Never mind staying below a safer, saner 1.5°C of global warming. The relentless laws of physics have given us a hard, non-negotiable deadline, making G7 statements about a fossil fuel-phase out by 2100 or a weak deal at the UN climate talks in Paris irrelevant.

“By 2018, no new cars, homes, schools, factories, or electrical power plants should be built anywhere in the world, ever again unless they’re either replacements for old ones or are carbon neutral? Are you sure I worked that out right?”

I asked Steve Davis of the University of California, co-author of a new climate study.

“We didn’t go that far in our study. But yes, your numbers are broadly correct. That’s what this study means,”

Davis told me over the phone last fall.

Read more: This Changes Everything

Tesla/Solar City Energy Storage Solution System Is In The “Pilot Program” Stage Today

Residential Energy Storage on the rise

Energy and Climate Change, Energy Storage, Opinion, Solar Power

Energy storage is heralded as the critical technology that will make widespread adoption of renewable energy possible. Storage bottles sunlight, addressing a key drawback to solar energy — that it can’t provide electricity when the sun isn’t shining. Energy storage also cures additional utility ailments from grid resiliency to power smoothing.

Due to a rise in incentives and a drop in storage costs, the market for this storage is heating up in the U.S. The market is expected to grow 250 percent just this year.

California is leading the energy storage market thanks to Assembly Bill 2514, which requires state utilities to procure 1.3 GW of storage by 2020. Now California’s three largest investor-owned utilities, Southern California Edison (SCE), Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and San Diego Gas & Electric, are installing cost-effective storage solutions. SCE, for example, invested in a wind farm in the Mojave Desert equipped with giant lithium-ion batteries. The East Coast is following California’s example. New York recently budgeted $25 million to promote storage development.

While the utility-scale market gets most of the attention, a quietly growing storage market segment with a lot of potential is residential solar. After all, residential solar is a fast growing solar market segment — increasing 49 percent in 2014. Unsurprisingly it offers immense opportunity for storage.

Read more: Renewable Energy World

The Interceptor Drama is Electrifying

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment

BBC One’s new primetime drama The Interceptor is the first large-scale production to pioneer the use of electric cars.

As well as the production gaining a three star rating by industry sustainability certification scheme albert+, the use of electric cars saved on carbon dioxide emissions, fuel costs and congestion charges.

On-screen, viewers follow an undercover team on the hunt for Britain’s most ruthless criminals, but off-screen the production has become the first large-scale TV drama to use only electric cars behind the scenes.

By using electric vehicles as unit and production cars during the making of the show, eight tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions were saved – enough to drive 50,000 miles or twice around the globe – as well as saving the BBC over £10,000 in fuel and congestion charges.

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Nick Leslie, BBC Sustainable Production Project Manager, says:

“The cast and production thought it was important to use electric cars to help lower the overall CO2 emissions for the show. Initially there were some reservations about the electric cars from the unit drivers, as there is pressure for making sure unit cars run smoothly and on time.

“However, once they started driving the cars, all the unit drivers said that they were happy with the performance of the vehicles. In fact a competition developed between the drivers to see who could make the energy in their batteries last longest.

“Some of the drivers said that using these cars had opened their minds to fuel efficiency when driving, as the vehicles had a dashboard display showing how their driving impacted upon the battery charge. One of the drivers even said they were planning on buying an electric car when it was time to change their personal vehicle.”

Source: Green Car Guide

How Formula E can overtake F1 and help save the world

Electric Cars, Formula E, Opinion

Find out why this electric racing series has a shot at becoming huge — and how its technology could change the cars we drive for the better.

It might seem a bit of a stretch to say that a motor race can help save the world, but with Formula E, that’s not such an outlandish statement.

This new race series, held on the streets of cities around the world, uses cars that look almost identical to the vehicles seen in the globally popular Formula 1 series, but are powered entirely by electricity rather than petrol.

Aside from becoming a popular and profitable race series, Formula E has two main goals. The first is to act as a testing ground for new electric motor technologies which can filter down into mass-produced production cars. The second and arguably more important goal is to inspire the general public into seeing electric cars not simply as a novelty driven by an eccentric few, but as an exciting option for everyday people.

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Standing behind a small concrete barrier, only a foot away from the cars as they hurtled past on the third corner, I can confidently confirm that this event is every bit as exhilarating as classic motor races like the Le Mans 24 hours.

Read more: CNet

Why don’t we drive more electric vehicles?

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Sales

A report from the National Academy of Sciences looks at barriers and adoption.

One of the more challenging jobs the auto industry has right now is explaining to consumers that the future isn’t going to be like the past. We desperately need to reduce vehicle carbon emissions in order to avoid turning the planet into a hellscape, and that means turning to cars with some kind of energy storage other than hydrocarbons we’ve dug up from the ground and then distilled. That’s where people get confused and the message stalls, a problem laid out in a recent report from the National Academy of Sciences.

For many decades cars have been simple things with internal combustion engines. They burned gasoline or sometimes diesel and occasionally even liquified natural gas. Sometimes they had turbochargers or superchargers to ram more air into the combustion chamber, and very occasionally that combustion chamber was something odd like a Wankel rotary engine. Now, the need to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality means many more options when it comes to a vehicle’s powertrain.

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One surefire way to get that message across is to give people an EV experience, according to Pam Fletcher, the chief engineer for EVs at General Motors (GM):

“The people that have owned and lived with EVs can understand it, they’ve seen how the vehicles work for them, It’s part of the learning curve and more people will understand it over time,” she said. “It’s hard to explain to people the benefits if they haven’t had that experience.”

Read more: Ars Technica

£5000 deposit contribution on ZOE Dynamique Nav

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, ZOE
  • Renault’s Summer Season continues the heat with new ‘65’ registration plate
  • £5,060 manufacturer deposit contribution on all-electric ZOE Dynamique Nav
  • 0% APR and nil deposit offers on selected models

With the release of the new 65-registration today, motorists on the lookout for a new car can take advantage of the latest special offers available on selected models across the dynamic and exciting Renault range with the brand’s hot Summer Season. 

The French carmaker has a suite of deals designed to offer car buyers financial flexibility and to make owning a new Renault more affordable.

Those looking to experience the fuel savings and environmental benefits of electric vehicle ownership, will find the 100% electric Renault ZOE – named Best Electric Vehicle in the Auto Express Driver Power 2015 survey and Best Electric Car Less Than £20,000 2015 by What Car? – with an exceptional offer.

Until 30th September, Renault will make a £5,060 deposit contribution on top of the existing Government £5,000 Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG)1 on the ZOE Dynamique Nav.

This means a ZOE – which has an official NEDC range of 149 miles and can cover between 71 and 106 real-world miles – can be driven away for as little as £89 per month (plus monthly battery rental)2 and with a deposit of just £599.  Buyers can enjoy the added convenience of a free fully-installed domestic charging wall box from electric infrastructure market leaders, Chargemaster3.

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A selection of alternative finance options are also available across the wider Renault range.

Whichever option a customer chooses, they will benefit from the Renault 4+ warranty and Renault assistance scheme which provides the ultimate peace of mind for four years or 100,000 miles5.

1  Government Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) subject to availability and eligibility.

2  Monthly battery rental agreement applies. For full pricing and terms and conditions, visit www.renault.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles/zoe/battery-and-charging

3  Subject to eligibility. For full terms and conditions, visit www.chargemasterplc.com/index.php/terms_conditions

Read more: Renault Press