Call me crazy, but I think zeppelins have gotten a bad rap. Sure, the Hindenburg went up in flames rather spectacularly, and airplanes made slow-moving dirigibles all but obsolete after WWII. But I still love me some giant floating gas bags.
So this announcement that a team of French engineering and tech students have come up with solar-powered blimp that uses flexible solar cells gets me all giddy. Called Project Sol’R, the team hopes to cross the English Channel using their blimp, simply to prove that it can be done. Read the rest of this entry »
The Auriga Leader, a Japanese owned NYK cargo ship capable of carrying 6,400 cars and using over 300 solar panels as part of its power supply was docked in Long Beach yesterday, and just departed. It is the first commerical cargo ship employing solar power technology to reduce diesel emissions. The solar panels can supply up to 15% of the vessel’s electrical power when docked. The ship will probably return to Long Beach in about 30 days, and could be available for visitation. Call the Port of Long Beach to find out specific details about the possibility of seeing the solar panels. The ship is in the service of Toyota, carrying its’ vehicles from Japan.
At 665 feet long, and about 100 feet deep and wide it has a carrying capacity of 60,000 gross tons. 1.6 million dollars was the cost of the solar technology - to install and make it operational. The Auriga is the first in a generation of new cargo ships which will use solar power to reduce their diesel consumption. Emissions from cargo ships are a globally massive source of air pollutants…” just 15 of the world’s biggest ships may now emit as much pollution as all the world’s 760m cars” according to a recent publication. Shipping pollution has been found by research to contribute to human deaths.
The Long Beach port is one of the busiest in the nation, and is a very large air polluter due to the activities of large ships and approximately 100,000 diesel trucks. The Long Beach and Los Angeles ports may be the number one polluter in the state of California. A special report was produced on the problem by California Connected.
Solar technology used by the Auriga Leader is a small attempt to start reducing emissions from cargo ships. Lessons learned from the Auriga can be utilized for solar technologies on other vessels, which will need to start going green if there is to be any reduction in air pollution and carbon emissions. NYK engineers are considering similar solar power installations for their 800 other ships.
The Port of Long Beach has been making efforts to reduce air pollution and was commended recently with an EPA Green Flag for trying to slow cargo vessels as they motor towards the docks, in order to reduce their emissions.
I have too much time on my hands, so I took a gander at the 2009 BP Statistical Review of World Energy to kill time as well as wait to see if I won the bid for an Iraqi oil field. I didn’t.
BP and China National Petroleum beat me and they now have the right to develop Rumaila - the largest Iraqi oil field. The two organizations beat out a bid from Exxon Mobil Corporation and the Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani estimates that the selling of oil rights will garner them more than $1.7 trillion over the next 20 years.
This win shouldn’t be surprising considering 2008 was the first year that developing countries, led by China, consumed more energy than developed countries. It was also noted in BP’s report that industrialized countries reduced their energy consumption by 1.3 percent led by a 2.8 percent decline in energy consumption from the U.S. –the steepest single-year decline since 1982. However the potential benefits of energy reduction were offset by countries who increased their energy consumption. China accounted for nearly three-quarters of the 1.4 percent global consumption increase.
“Our city is progressive and aggressive in implementing sustainable solutions to environmental and economic challenges.”
–David Robinson, director of Facilities and Fleet, City of Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro, Oregon, the 5th largest city in the state and known as “Silicon Forest” is joining the growing electric community with the announcement that it will be the first in the state to install public ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations for both plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles. The city will install 16 charging stations downtown, one as part of its “green” intermodal transit facility due to be constructed this year.
It’s not surprising that this announcement comes from the environmentally progressive Northwest. Robinson noted that the community has a, “large forward-thinking population ready to embrace electric vehicle technology,” and that the City is committed to providing the facilities that its community needs. Read the rest of this entry »
This week, Coulomb Technologies announced that Walnut Creek, California has become the third Bay Area city (along with San Jose and San Francisco) to deploy Coulomb’s ChargePoint™ Networked Charging Stations for electric vehicles.
Coulomb’s charging stations were officially welcomed in a ribbon cutting ceremony in downtown Walnut Creek. We were joined by the city managers of Walnut Creek and Orinda as well as Walnut Creek city officials. As many California readers know, Walnut Creek is considered one of the top destinations in the Bay Area, known for its outdoor festivals, performing arts scene and superb shopping and dining. EV owners across the Bay Area now have a premier destination where they can recharge while enjoying downtown Walnut Creek.
Washington D.C. - On May 14, 2009, GreenlightAC, one of the pioneers in the creation of EV charging stations, launched its own infrastructure last month with the release of the Chargebar(TM). The company claims that this innovative charger is easy, safe, and, importantly, cost-effective.
The Chargebar will make charging your EV or Plug-in Hybrid easy because it charges both 120v and 240v vehicles, is simple to use and does not require membership, proprietary technologies, or specialized knowledge. It is the EV/PHEV charger for everyone. David King, a co-founder of GreenlightAC said, ”Our goal was to make it as easy and convenient to use our charging unit as it is to use a gas pump. And with our GreenlightAC ChargeBarTM we believe that we have succeeded in meeting that goal.”
Ohio state trooper cruisers are getting small solar panels to assist in the powering of their onboard equipment. 1,150 Ford Crown Victoria cruisers will get 5 watt solar panels to improve battery peformance and reduce fuel consumption.
The solar panels will help power the radio and other electronics when the cars’ engines are turned off. Currently electronics drain batteries when the cars are not running. The official press release states the solar panels will decrease the chance of an officer being unable to respond to an incident due to her or his car having a dead battery. The panels will be installed in the rear deck area, and their brackets have been made from recycled license plates. Each panel costs $37 and could last five years.
“Our grading system will be controversial but is well-defended,” said Dugan. “We defy anyone to show that the current practice of using taxpayer subsidies to produce motor fuels from coal is decent public policy, or even that automakers can produce an affordable, durable car that runs on cleanly produced hydrogen.” Judy Dugan, research director for Consumer Watchdog
When talking about the technologies that will lead us into a new transportation paradigm, I feel like I’m driving down a winding road full of potholes and missing the shoulders. What technology is best? Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs)? Flex-Fuel Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles? Plug-In Electric Vehicles (PEVs) or maybe cars that run on compressed natural gas or hydrogen fuel cells? I’m not a waging person so I won’t place my bets but I am willing to “collect the money” from those who want to gamble on the winner. Read the rest of this entry »
Richard Gryzch has built what he claims is the world’s first fully sun-powered electric motorbike.
A project that has taken him more than two years. In fact, to finance building the bike Cryzch sold his other motorbikes and even a house.
He calls the bike a Solar Flyer. A name inspired by those Radio Flyer wagons.
“Everyone told me I was crazy for doing it,” he said. “But I’m riding it and it works. And it could change everything. No gas, just hit the throttle and go,” he boasted.
It took 10 years, but Richard Jenkins — a British engineer from Hampshire — has broken the land speed record for a wind-powered vehicle.
The Ecotricity Greenbird, on the dry plains of Ivanpah Lake just south of Las Vegas, hit a record breaking 126.1 mph. A speed which is 10 mph faster than the previous record which was set by American Bob Schumacher in 1999, driving his Iron Duck vehicle. Read the rest of this entry »
The giant wing on the hood can swing and sail upright so the vehicle becomes like a windsurfing board, or it can become detached for some cool kite wind action. Then there’s an electric motor in each of the three tires, to keep things rolling.
Normally a secretive company, Aptera chose this venue to be the first public debut of their new, pre-production “2e” electric car and gave attendees who signed up test rides (the list filled up quickly). At the same time, they released detailed feature sheets, discussed performance specs, toured the onboard software, and on and on down the list.
Before it brings its much ballyhooed Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid to American streets, General Motors Corp. is laying out a “roadmap” for getting metro areas ready for the arrival of plug-in vehicles.
At the Washington Auto Show, the troubled automaker said it will collaborate with San Francisco and Washington D.C. to ensure that the proper policies and infrastructure are in place for the time when plug-ins such as the Volt start hitting the streets.
GM says it will work with everyone from governments to utilities to permitting and codes officials to prep for the launch. Among the challenges that need to be tackled, GM says, are consumer incentives, charging infrastructure and the codes and permits to allow charging stations to be installed, commercial and government fleet purchases, and utility rates that encourage plug-in use.
Gas 2.0 digs into the viscous world of biofuels and the fast-paced transit arena, exploring the technologies and substances that are the future of transportation.
