Saturday, May 08, 2010
Electric Vehicles
By Henry Curtis
henry.lifeoftheland@gmail.com
Ten 100-watt light bulbs that are lit for one hour uses one kilowatt-hour of energy. That same amount of energy—1 kilowatt-hour—will move an electric car about four miles down the road.
How fast can electric vehicles go?
What is the cost per mile to drive an electric vehicle?
Hong long can electric vehicles travel without recharging?
Are the batteries expensive?
How are batteries disposed of?
Are electric cars better for the environment?
Which electric cars are the best?
All car companies are professing a desire to build electric vehicles. Several companies have come to Hawaii and made presentations about their plans to import cars or to build local facilities.
Chicken or the Egg
Which should come first: (a) finding uses for renewable energy; or (b) switching from fossil fuel renewable energy?
While the Governor is touting companies who allege they will bring electric vehicles to Hawai`i, the utility is dragging its feet, opposing individuals from installing rooftop solar in Mau`i and Hawai`i Counties.
Better Place
Better Place has been shopping around the world for the best places to begin building a network of battery changing stations. In 2008 they announced that they would partner with Hawaii (Governor’s Press Release dated December 2, 2008). Since then Better Place has decided to start in Israel and expand into Denmark, Canada, California, Australia and Japan.
In Israel, car owners will be able to switch from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric-powered vehicles where 70% of the electricity is produced from burning coal.
Ali Abunimah (The Electronic Intifada, May 6, 2010) notes: “Better Place Israel (BPI) ...is establishing a system of charging stations for electric vehicles throughout Israel and for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. The company has been a poster child for efforts to greenwash Israel -- presenting it as a haven for environmental technologies -- yet it has close ties to Israel's military and political establishments and its principal officers express an explicitly anti-Muslim and anti-Arab agenda.
BPI's chief executive officer is former general Moshe Kaplinsky ...[the] deputy chief of staff of Israel's army during its 2006 war on Lebanon when Amnesty International and other human rights groups charged that Israel committed numerous war crimes including widespread use of cluster bombs in residential areas.”
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11238.shtml
During that 2006 war the Israeli Air Force intentionally bombed the Jiyeh Power Station in Lebanon causing an Exxon Valdez amount of heavy fuel oil to flow into the Mediterranean Sea resulting in an oil slick 110 miles by 6 miles in size.
CT&T
The latest company to come to Hawaii is the South Korean firm CT&T.
According to the Pacific Business News (Friday, May 7, 2010) CT&T “plans to build a $200 million all-electric car assembly plant at an as-yet-undisclosed location in Hawaii.”
The Governor’s website states the facility will consist of “a showroom, an electric vehicle theme park and a resort complex” and will produce 10,000 two-person E-Zone vehicles per year.
The E-Zone will have a list price of $12,000-$20,000, which can be cut in half with federal and state subsidies.
CT&T’s built a website aimed at US sales (www.ctntunited.com/) but it says little. Their Korean website (www.ctnt.co.kr/eng/) states that the vehicle weighs only 1146 pounds (without the battery) and can go on a road with up to a 22 degree slope. The car is banned on highways. The trunk size is not specified. The car is ideal for 1-2 people touring on non-hilly urban city streets, such as Waikiki.
The E-Zone prototype vehicle is brand new, and its specifications are in a state of flux. The vehicle resembles a golf cart, it may be powered by a lead-acid or lithium polymer battery, has optional air bags, has a maximum range of 45-75 miles, and has a maximum speed of 25-45 mph.
In South Korea, car owners who own a CT&T vehicle will be able to switch from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric-powered vehicles where 63% of the electricity is produced from burning fossil fuel, 36% comes from nuclear power plants, and less than 1% from hydroelectric power facilities.
Competitors
Plug-In Vehicle Tracker: What’s Coming, When http://www.pluginamerica.org/vehicles/
"Virtually every major auto manufacturer in the world, along with numerous smaller outfits, is developing a plug-in electric vehicle and Plug In America is tracking their progress."
The E-Zone is not listed !!
henry.lifeoftheland@gmail.com
Ten 100-watt light bulbs that are lit for one hour uses one kilowatt-hour of energy. That same amount of energy—1 kilowatt-hour—will move an electric car about four miles down the road.
How fast can electric vehicles go?
What is the cost per mile to drive an electric vehicle?
Hong long can electric vehicles travel without recharging?
Are the batteries expensive?
How are batteries disposed of?
Are electric cars better for the environment?
Which electric cars are the best?
All car companies are professing a desire to build electric vehicles. Several companies have come to Hawaii and made presentations about their plans to import cars or to build local facilities.
Chicken or the Egg
Which should come first: (a) finding uses for renewable energy; or (b) switching from fossil fuel renewable energy?
While the Governor is touting companies who allege they will bring electric vehicles to Hawai`i, the utility is dragging its feet, opposing individuals from installing rooftop solar in Mau`i and Hawai`i Counties.
Better Place
Better Place has been shopping around the world for the best places to begin building a network of battery changing stations. In 2008 they announced that they would partner with Hawaii (Governor’s Press Release dated December 2, 2008). Since then Better Place has decided to start in Israel and expand into Denmark, Canada, California, Australia and Japan.
In Israel, car owners will be able to switch from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric-powered vehicles where 70% of the electricity is produced from burning coal.
Ali Abunimah (The Electronic Intifada, May 6, 2010) notes: “Better Place Israel (BPI) ...is establishing a system of charging stations for electric vehicles throughout Israel and for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. The company has been a poster child for efforts to greenwash Israel -- presenting it as a haven for environmental technologies -- yet it has close ties to Israel's military and political establishments and its principal officers express an explicitly anti-Muslim and anti-Arab agenda.
BPI's chief executive officer is former general Moshe Kaplinsky ...[the] deputy chief of staff of Israel's army during its 2006 war on Lebanon when Amnesty International and other human rights groups charged that Israel committed numerous war crimes including widespread use of cluster bombs in residential areas.”
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11238.shtml
During that 2006 war the Israeli Air Force intentionally bombed the Jiyeh Power Station in Lebanon causing an Exxon Valdez amount of heavy fuel oil to flow into the Mediterranean Sea resulting in an oil slick 110 miles by 6 miles in size.
CT&T
The latest company to come to Hawaii is the South Korean firm CT&T.
According to the Pacific Business News (Friday, May 7, 2010) CT&T “plans to build a $200 million all-electric car assembly plant at an as-yet-undisclosed location in Hawaii.”
The Governor’s website states the facility will consist of “a showroom, an electric vehicle theme park and a resort complex” and will produce 10,000 two-person E-Zone vehicles per year.
The E-Zone will have a list price of $12,000-$20,000, which can be cut in half with federal and state subsidies.
CT&T’s built a website aimed at US sales (www.ctntunited.com/) but it says little. Their Korean website (www.ctnt.co.kr/eng/) states that the vehicle weighs only 1146 pounds (without the battery) and can go on a road with up to a 22 degree slope. The car is banned on highways. The trunk size is not specified. The car is ideal for 1-2 people touring on non-hilly urban city streets, such as Waikiki.
The E-Zone prototype vehicle is brand new, and its specifications are in a state of flux. The vehicle resembles a golf cart, it may be powered by a lead-acid or lithium polymer battery, has optional air bags, has a maximum range of 45-75 miles, and has a maximum speed of 25-45 mph.
In South Korea, car owners who own a CT&T vehicle will be able to switch from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric-powered vehicles where 63% of the electricity is produced from burning fossil fuel, 36% comes from nuclear power plants, and less than 1% from hydroelectric power facilities.
Competitors
Plug-In Vehicle Tracker: What’s Coming, When http://www.pluginamerica.org/vehicles/
"Virtually every major auto manufacturer in the world, along with numerous smaller outfits, is developing a plug-in electric vehicle and Plug In America is tracking their progress."
The E-Zone is not listed !!
Comments:
Your inputs are nice man. I like the facts that you have posted regarding electric vehicles. Really learned a lot.thanks.
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Your inputs are nice man. I like the facts that you have posted regarding electric vehicles. Really learned a lot.thanks.
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