We’ve become used to the mainstream press insisting that EVs aren’t selling, and that cheap gas will be the final nail in the electric coffin (most recently in a widely-cited report from Edmunds that found that car buyers are rushing to trade in their “hybrid and electric cars” for gas-guzzling SUVs). Bloomberg, however, has long… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Clean Cars"
March plug-in sales: Tesla grabs lead, Fiat surprises, Kia and Cadillac disappoint
There are several interesting developments to report on the EV sales front this month – an overall increase, a lead change, and a sales surge in the most unexpected of quarters. Total plug-in sales for the month were 10,341, a healthy recovery from February’s slump, and a 7% increase over the March 2014 numbers. Interestingly,… Read more »
Obama: Federal fleet must be 50 percent plug-ins by 2025
If the federal government wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions, one of the most obvious ways to do so would be to clean up its own vehicle fleet. The feds currently operate some 655,000 vehicles, and only a minuscule fraction of these are truly low-emission. President Obama signed an executive order Thursday directing the federal… Read more »
Ionic liquid electrolytes may open the door for higher-voltage batteries
The curious case of ionic liquids: Boulder Ionics/CoorsTek Specialty Chemicals Iolyte electrolytes When you think of liquids under the brand name Coors, you think of the Silver Bullet, the Banquet Beer. You certainly don’t think of high technology, unless you’re really easily impressed by cold-activated cans. However, not everyone knows that there’s another huge conglomerate under… Read more »
New book predicts the demise of the oil economy by 2030
Once in a while a book comes along that makes you see a familiar issue in a whole new light (call it a “paradigm shift” if you must). Such a book is Tony Seba’s Clean Disruption. Not only is it a well-researched and well-thought-out work, but it makes a gripping read, and is the most… Read more »
Kansas City Power & Light to install 1,000 charging stations
Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) has announced plans to install and operate more than 1,000 EV charging stations in the Kansas City region, which the company says will be the largest charging station installation by an electric utility in the US. KCP&L’s Clean Charge Network will be part of the ChargePoint network, and will… Read more »
EVs, renewables & energy storage: The unstoppable trio of energy’s future
The ripples of disruption: Q&A with Mike Calise The concept of disruption is often discussed in the fields of semiconductors, the internet, data, computers and software. But what about the energy industry? The world has been largely generating and consuming energy the same way for over a century. Charged talked to Mike Calise, Head of Electric… Read more »
Your EV may not be so green – but then again, it may.
Here we go again. A mainstream news source distills (some would say “distorts”) a complex scientific study into a sensational headline, and the online echo chamber spins the story into a narrative that’s almost the opposite of what the study actually found. The study, Life Cycle Air Quality Impacts of Conventional and Alternative Light-Duty Transportation… Read more »
Volvo’s new plug-in hybrid SUV
The XC90 T8 is the first Volvo designed from the ground up for plug-in compatibility, according to the company. Built on the Scalable Product Architecture platform, the 7-seat SUV features a 4-cylinder Drive-E gas engine with supercharger and turbocharger, an 8-speed automatic gearbox. The high-voltage (270–400 V) lithium-ion battery has a 9.2 kWh capacity, capable of… Read more »
Washington state debates extending sales tax break for EVs
Washington Governor Jay Inslee wants to extend a sales tax break for EVs, explore giving them access to carpool lanes, and create incentives for builders to include high-speed charging in new projects. He outlined his ideas at a clean-energy conference in early November, and is expected to release specific proposals with his budget in December…. Read more »