Monday, January 28, 2008

PHEV Energy Bill


We've had the people in our shop go over the new energy bill with an eye for Plug Ins and electric transportation in general. Here is the outline of what the bill intends to do:

SECTION 131 TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION

SEC 131 Transportation Electrification
DOE to establish competitive grants for electric vehicles and PHEVs to encourage early widespread use and advance production of electric (And PHEV) vehicles in USA. $90 million per year authorized (2008-2012). One third of funds reserved for local governments.

DOE to provide grants for electric transportation projects such as truck stop electrification, airport ground support equipment, electric rail, etc. $95 million per year authorized (2008-2012)

Electric Drive Transportation technology high school and college level education program established by DOE including a “Dr. Andrew Frank PHEV Competition” and financial assistance to support engineering degree programs.

SEC 132 Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program
Grants to auto makers, suppliers, component manufacturers to encourage PHEVs, EVs, and advanced diesels. Priority given to recently closed facilities or facilities in danger of closing

SEC 133 Inclusion of Electric Drive in Energy Policy Act of 1992
Adds PHEVs, hybrids, and Neighborhood Electric Vehicles to list of those vehicles receiving credit under Epact fleet requirements.

SEC 134 Loan Guarantees for Fuel Efficient vehicles including electric and PHEVs

SEC 135 Advanced Battery Loan Guarantee Program
Guarantees of loans for construction of battery manufacturing facilities including electrical systems and software.

SEC 135 Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Incentive Program
Direct loans ($25 billion authorized) to entities producing advanced vehicles that have Bin 5 Tier II Emissions standards and at least 125% of fuel economy of similar vehicles

SEC 136 Federal Vehicle Fleet Requirements
EPA to provide list of low GHG emitting vehicles.Federal agencies must use low GHG emitting vehicles

SEC 142 Federal Fleet Conservation Requirements
Federal agencies to reduce petroleum use by 20% by 2015

SEC 206 Study of Credits for use of Renewable Electricity in Electric Vehicles
EPA to study feasibility of providing credits under renewable fuel standard for electric vehicles using renewable power.

Sec 641 Energy Storage for Transportation and Electric Power

Vehicle Demonstrations
Directs DOE to carry out a program of electric drive vehicle energy storage technology demonstrations though a consortia. Consortia may include investor owned utilities (IOUS) and municipal utilities, state and local governments, mass transit authorities, manufacturers, and institutions of higher education.

This shall demonstrate storage performance, energy management systems, integration with vehicular platforms, and integration of advanced vehicle technology with electric distribution systems. Authorizes $30 million per year 2009-2018

Secondary Application and Disposal of Electric Drive Batteries
Directs DOE to carry out research, development, and demonstration of secondary application of vehicle batteries, and Research, development and demonstration of recycling, and disposal of batteries. Authorizes $5 million per year 2009-2018

Stationary Energy Storage Demonstrations
Directs DOE to carry out program of advanced energy storage demonstrations of integration with “self-healing grid , integration with renewable energy sources, optimization of transmission and distribution, peak load management, feasibility of microgrids or islanding.

Directs DOE to include wide range of stakeholders including MOUs, manufacturers, state energy offices, and institutions of higher education.Authorizes $30 million per year 2009-2018

Advisory Council
Establishes Energy Storage Advisory Council consisting primarily of energy storage industry representatives to be appointed by DOE based on recommendations of National Academy of Sciences.

Energy Storage Research Centers
Directs DOE to establish at least 4 Energy Storage Research Centers to translate basic research into applied technologies for vehicles, stationary applications, and electric transmission and distribution.
Clearly, this bill will accelerate the development of Plug Ins and energy storage in general.

There has been a lot of news too! Here are the ones that caught our eye:

Quantum's Fisker Joint Venture to Launch the New Fisker ...





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posted by AE at 1:13 PM 1 comments

Friday, January 11, 2008

China Plucky Plug In


Even as the President of Honda says he doesn't think that Plug-ins make sense, a new car company in China announces their plans to build one and Hyundai says it is considering developing a plug-in hybrid car .

China's Plucky Plug-In Hybrid
BYD's car hits the stage at the Detroit auto show—but will it really be ready to roll this summer? by David Welch

In recent years, China's upstart carmakers have flocked to major auto expos with low-priced offerings aimed at global markets. This year's Detroit auto show, which opens on Jan. 13, will be little different. But this time around, one company, BYD Auto, won't just show the usual compacts and subcompacts. BYD plans to exhibit a plug-in hybrid, the F6DM (for "dual mode"), that it says will hit the market in China this summer.

Although the car won't reach the U.S. for years, if ever, it would be the first plug-in to be commercially available—allowing BYD to steal a march on General Motors (GM), which is expecting to launch the Chevrolet Volt in 2010. (more)

Meanwhile, David Sandalow, former assistant secretary of state and member of the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton, says the next president can succeed where others have failed. The trifecta of mounting concern about petroleum's impact on national security, the environment and the economy provides an unprecedented opportunity to radically reshape national energy policy, says Sandalow, who is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. announces in his new book called Freedom from Oil:

How the Next President Can End Our Oil Addiction
By Chuck Squatriglia

WN: You place tremendous emphasis on converting our transportation fleet to electric plug-in hybrids. Why?

Sandalow: I believe electric plug-in hybrids are the most important part of the solution, but they're only one part of the solution. Oil provides 96 percent of the energy for our vehicles but only 3 percent of the energy for electric power generation. If we could connect our cars and trucks to this infrastructure, the potential for reducing oil dependence dramatically, and in a short period of time, would be incredible.

WN: What about the argument that cars fueled by electricity from a coal-fired power plant ultimately are as polluting as cars using fossil fuels?

Sandalow: If you plug a first-generation (PHEV) into a coal-fired plant, you would still be producing fewer heat-trapping gases than you would driving the average car powered by oil. But the real win is to plug these cars into renewable energy sources like wind and solar. (more)

Speaking of Washington, after 20 years of largely leaving fuel-economy standards alone, the U.S. in December enacted an energy bill that requires auto makers to boost the average efficiency of their new-vehicle fleets to 35 miles a gallon from 27.5 by 2020.

This all bodes well for plug ins.







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posted by AE at 3:14 PM 0 comments