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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

I just got back from a family vacation in Spain, during which I spent a fair amount of time looking for relevant things to tell readers when I returned. I didn’t have to wait long for my first inspiration. My attempt to sleep on the way over was interrupted by dawn breaking. Initially annoyed with myself for stupidly forgetting to lower the shade, I looked out the window and beheld this wonderful sight, a 20 MW solar concentrator near Seville. Another reminder of the progress that is being made in so many places around the world.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I want to call readers’ attention to some of the other blogs on the subject that seem particularly complete and insightful. Here’s one: Green Energy Blog.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Jan-Gerhard Hemming, a reader from Sweden, writes to suggest an industrial carbon cycle paralleling photosynthesis, recycling CO2 from flue gases – eventually from the air itself – converting it chemically or electrochemically to methanol and benign byproducts.

I’m always fascinated by ideas for processing CO2 at the source point of the emissions. But personally, I believe that there are “macro” solutions that can and will obsolete fossil fuels, if we can amass the political will to get there. Some of these are discussed in the reports, e.g., solar thermal and hydrokinetics. I hate to sounds pessimistic, but to me, it sounds more-less impossible to deploy millions of flue adapters, etc.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

David Holden writes:

I am no adherent of Shai Agassi’s dubious scheme, but it does show the willingness of power companies to support EV. development.

As long as think has come up, here are my thoughts on Better Place.

1) I know the world is clamoring for electric vehicles, and that’s a good thing. But rushing headlong at Better Place seems very strange to me. At a minimum, it’s monopolistic. The state governments, e.g., California, are handing this guy a monopolistic position that is sure to be abused. By contrast, the cell phone companies (who are still making money hand over fist) must compete with one another. I suppose you have to give Agassi credit that he is able to talk his way into this position, but I find it outrageous.

2) Having said this, I really don’t think it’s the right solution for the United States anyway. I know I can be accused of optimism, but I see the entire “chicken-and-egg” or “Catch 22” of EV production, battery supply, battery energy density, battery cost, charging infrastructure, and consumer acceptance/demand unravelling roughly in sync with one another over the coming decades. Will there be “fits and starts?” Of course.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

A reader writes in:

A lot of acceptable solutions for electric passenger cars (light duty vehicles) were already proposed and I agree that are very viable. Unfortunately for heavy vehicles (interurban buses and trucks) are not so many.

I see this changing quickly, driven in part by government mandates. There are 70,000 diesel container movers operating in the Los Angeles/Long Beach harbor, and the state of California is getting extremely tough on diesel emissions. In response, companies that offer heavy-duty EVs like Balqon are springing up. My consulting company, EV World Associates, happens to have dealings with them. I love their design; 140 kWh battery packs line the sides.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

PhotobucketMartin van Wunnik of Belgium writes:

….And as for all those guys & gals of the coal, oil, nuclear and auto industries who have been delaying it all for years/decades, I wonder if they can look proudly into the eyes of their innocent kids…

First, thanks for writing, and let me say that I love Belgium. I used to consult to Philips in Eindhoven; I’d fly into Brussels and drive out that incredible road past the fields and beautiful little towns.

This also reminds me to note that we sent “Brass Tack #1” to people in 22 different countries. My sincere thanks to everyone internationally for their interest.

To your point, as I have written elsewhere, I agree with you 100%. There are thousands of people who will have to explain to Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates that their life’s work consisted to befouling a planet and damaging the health and safety of 6.8 billion innocent people. I’m certainly glad I’m not one of them.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Wrapping up with Alex C:

Battery cell temperature control over charge cycles and vehicle life is far from trivial with a duty cycle much more severe than any consumer electronics device.

That’s for sure. One our clients at EV World Associates, an EV consulting company of which I am a part, is Lithium Balance of Denmark. I urge anyone interested in the subject of cutting-edge battery management systems to go to their website and learn exactly how complicated this subject is. For proper performance, longevity, and safety, Li-ion batteries need to be managed in real-time at the cell level, and that’s quite a feat.

Again, Alex, thanks for your very thoughtful response.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

PhotobucketMore from Alex C:

Consumer research indicates only 5% of American’s are true “greenies.” Remember that most Americans do NOT believe in the global warming scare and that it is a large political war….they don’t care…they will buy EVs if it adds value to their life. Only for a few percent of buyers will that value be related to the “environment.”

Personally, I’m not sure about this. Looking at my own piece (Brass Tack #1) carefully, I see that I equivocate on this myself – even in one short essay. Certainly in bad economic times, people are less likely to take actions for the common good if their personal interests suffer in the process. And you’re right that the oil companies have, incredible as it may seem, succeeded in casting public doubt on the concept of global warming. However, I have to think that my “mink coat” analogy will stand up to some degree. And wait until you see the compelling ads that come out for the Nissan Leaf, the Mitsubishi i-miEV, and the others when they are available in the US. I have to think they’ll make Hummer drivers look pretty shameful; if I were writing those ads, I’d have a field day on this subject.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Alex C. goes on:

In early 1900’s many cars were EVs and then they lost out to gasoline engines due to better cost and performance. 1970’s a large EV wave came in with the fuel crisis that caused gasoline prices to increase greatly…again gasoline won out as fuel prices dropped. Now again we get another EV wave due to high gas prices. Now why will EV win a niche in developed countries? The key enabler is lithium-ion technology that can get the power (he means “energy”) density up for a range that is usable for some consumers and the pack cost will result in economics that work when scale is large enough (500k per year per battery plant).

Yes. And depending on whom you ask, this is really happening quickly. I interviewed an extremely senior engineer and businessman the other day who reminded me that Moore’s Law very much applies to both the cost and energy density of Li-ion batteries. I’d like to think this is true — and it appears that it may, given the last couple of years.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Alex C continues:

The writers of this article obviously have no experience in what it takes to design, develop, manufacture, and market a new vehicle – especially with new technology. One error and the OEM has one vehicle on the road that caused harm to a human and its business is over.

You’re 100% correct that the OEMs need to have a carefully implemented strategy that calls for limited real-world use for the first generation, to identify and rectify issues that were invisible up to that point. And safety, of course, is only one category of such issues. Though this does not explain why we have no EVs on the road more than a century after the invention of the automobile (punctuated by the treachery of the late 1990s), it does explain why we cannot expect millions on EVs a couple of years after the decision and commitment to go forward in that direction.

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