CONGRATS TO OUR SUMMER E-BIKE HIRE WINNER: CLARE WEBB*
*This competition is now closed but you can still enter for the chance to win future competitions!
Articles stating that electric cars are not any cleaner than fossil fuel powered cars appear frequently on the internet. Most recently there have been articles stating that mining Lithium is worse for the planet than extracting oil. This article refutes that claim and makes it clear that electric cars are the better choice. Yes, they are more expensive right now but in the very near future this won’t be the case. And when comparing prices we should also factor in the cost of maintaining all those thousands of moving parts in an internal combustion engine powered car. The world will be a cleaner place in a decade when electric vehicles have replaced ICE age vehicles.
VW is set to reveal at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month the launch of an all-electric microbus van, with a range of up to 310 miles, Autocar reports.
The van, called Camper, will be announced during the January 5 keynote address by Herbert Diess, head of passenger cars for Volkswagen.
Will this Camper achieve the iconic status of their existing Camper Van, who knows but its a great step forward for everyone who sees the future of transport as ELECTRIC
For the full story follow the link to :
http://adventure-journal.com/2015/12/vw-to-introduce-all-electric-long-range-camper-van/
Letters: Only transparency in fuel consumption will reduce emissions – Telegraph
If car manufacturers were forced to fit a prominent, permanent display showing current fuel consumption, the majority of drivers would quickly realise how much excessive acceleration and speed increases consumption and pollution.
Brian Collins
Bodicote, Oxfordshire
In its preoccupation with carbon dioxide, which supposedly eventually causes climate change, Britain has lost the plot on pollution, which causes thousands of deaths a year in this country and is widely reckoned to account for the rise in childhood diseases such as asthma and eczema.
The Volkswagen affair reminds us that the pollutants largely come from diesel engines. These carcinogens include benzene, nitrogen oxides and particulates.
Carbon dioxide is harmless to human health – it is a constituent of the air we breathe. Yet my big diesel car is taxed far lower than my wife’s petrol one because tax here is only assessed on carbon dioxide.
Worldwide increase in demand for EV’s.
The Nissan Leaf is the world leader in number of cars on the road and increase in sales but all makes are up. Although total numbers are small, less than million worldwide, EV’s arre coming on market in a world dominated by ICE’s for a hundred years. The infrastructure for EV’s is just beginning and the technology is in it’s infancy. What is evident is that there is a market demand for EV’s and that demand is growing as consumers become familiar with EV’s, the number of models grows and the infrastructure comes on line.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/28/ev-demand-growing-global-market-hits-740000-units/
Battery costs are falling more rapidly than predicted.
In 2007 lithium-ion batteries were priced at US$1000 per kWh. By 2014 the price ha fallen to US$300 per kWh. This has been due to increased demand and technological improvements in both the batteries and the manufacturing process. At this pace the US$150 price should be reached within the next few years as Tesla and Nissan bring their mass battery production facilities on line and further improvements are made to the batteries themselves. EV’s will be price competitive with ICE vehicles when the US$150 range is reached. At that same time consumers will be over the range phobia that has held up sales, the EV’s offered will have increased range and probably recharge more quickly. Those that own or rent a living space that makes charging at home possible will find it hard to resist a vehicle that is much cheaper to operate than an ICE vehicle.
http://www.rtcc.org/2015/03/23/falling-battery-prices-boost-outlook-for-electric-vehicles/
Environmental benefits of EV’s will lead to faster adoption.
Mass adoption of EV’s would lead to less environmental devastation caused by fossil fuel extraction and transport, less smog in densely populated areas and cooler cities as well as other benefits. Certainly there is an environmental impact to manufacturing EV’s but the vehicles themselves have far fewer parts than ICE vehicles and therefore manufacturing impact should be less and the battery manufacturing process can be made nearly pollution free if we wish it to be. A recent study at Michigan State University found that EV’s produce only 20% of the heat that ICE vehicles produce. This translates to cooler cities and lower air conditioning costs.
http://www.rtcc.org/2015/03/23/falling-battery-prices-boost-outlook-for-electric-vehicles/
Will other technology jump ahead of EV’s?
Toyota is pushing hard for hydrogen fuel cell powered EV’s but to date they haven’t solved all the technical problems needed to make the fuel cells practical and cheap and the infrastructure is a long way behind the battery infrastructure. But in the end there will be room for both formats. The biggest breakthrough that put a stop to individually owned EV’s is the driverless vehicle movement. If we all have multipurpose hand held device and a driverless vehicle can be summoned with the push of a button to drive us to our destination it would seem far cheaper to have the vehicles owned by a transportation company and just call a car as needed. Of course these vehicles are likely to be either battery or hydrogen EV’s.
Cleaner transportation is inevitable.
vince comments:
"At an election hustings last night the failure to grasp the need to focus and do something now about climate change was so obvious from the key parties.
Sure they all make noises but it needs real guts to pioneer and challenge the status quo that is the political classes today.
Right now you have a chance to insist even demand that if any candidate wants your vote then they must champion carbon reduction at far higher levels than the current Dorset target.
Other countries will be mainly renewable before we even achieve modest targets and why ? Old thinking, attachment to fossil fuels, dependance on Nuclear and all totally un-necessary.
Listen to your conscious and vote independently of old baggage or misplaced loyalty.
Vote for the future of generations to come and the Planet.
"
April 16, 2015 a 3:29 pm
The four main electrical power distribution networks have just announced a two year project to test the viability of using the batteries of electric vehicle fleets (when parked up and connected to the grid for a long trickle charge) to balance the grid.
http://www.
The two stage project will first test the impact on battery life and then produce a prototype vehicle equipped with validated processes and hardware.
It’s easy (certainly for me) to imagine a future when the majority of vehicles are electric and your electrical supply company buys electricity from you from your car battery when the software within the car tells the grid it has power to spare. Your car would always be connected for charging and exporting (grid balancing) when parked up at home and the grid would only draw back power during times of peak demand when your battery was fully charged. I haven’t done the maths but it could be that the massive storage capacity available will far exceed that needed to balance the grid to cope with intermittent renewables such as wind and PV.
On Saturday the 7th of June the Tesla S Electric Car was launched in London by Elon Musk, CEO of the Tesla Group.
For the event a Solar Canopy was installed – Malcolm Newberry of Charge Point Services who organised the Canopy`s construction told us: “it`s a very European structure, designed in Denmark, Solar Panels from Germany, built in Bedford, shown in London. Paid for by an American Company for a specific event.” The structure has been taken down until planning for a permanent structure is given.
The design for the Canopy was done by Bluetop of Denmark , and looked like this:
We have some photo`s of the event showing how the Canopy looked on the day – Ole Gregersen of Bluetop.dk who was at the event and sent us the photo`s passed on to us that: “On the way out I was told by the super-charge-guy from US, that the marketing-people had responded that Elon really liked the canopy…”
The Tesla S comes with a big price tag – but for the money it packs a lot of performance & 300 miles range on a single charge. And it certainly draws the crowds!
Just a quick update from me, but a very cool one!
I’m sure a lot of people have watched the thrilling Rush last year, and Senna previously. Well, a small part of that excitement is coming to our neighbours in Hampshire this very Spring, in Beaulieu. I strongly advise you to reserve the weekend of the 5th & 6th April 2014 in your diaries and go and see the MotoExpo, which features a wide range of eco-friendly, or at least more eco-friendly, fast machines.
Featured particularly are demonstrations and rides in electrical cars, a 400m circuit race and the latest in electrical and hybrid bikes and cars.
Please see the links below for details and news:
www.beaulieu.co.uk/beaulieu-events/sustainable-motor-expo
https://twitter.com/Eco_Motorsport
Posted by Guest Energizer Sean McArdell
Nissan has clocked up a massive 3000th sale of the all-electric Nissan LEAF in the UK!
Nissan hit the landmark figure in November 2013 when a total of 141 new British built LEAFs were registered in dealerships across the country. Nissan’s second generation LEAF which is built in Sunderland, UK has over 100 improvements over its predecessor and has secured over 1300 UK sales in just 3 months. The Nissan LEAF continues to grow in other countries to date more than 16,000 have been sold in Europe, while global sales have topped an amazing 87,000.
For more information the Nissan LEAF and to book a free test drive call me on 01963 34335.
Join the FJ Chalke team at A.P. Chant’s Centre of Renewable Energy, The Core, Bridport Dorset, on Saturday 26th January to learn all about the 100% electric Nissan LEAF.
Arrive at 10am ready for a Presentation at 10.30am.
After the presentation you will then have the opportunity to drive a Nissan LEAF (so don’t forget your driving licence) and you will also get the chance to explore A.P. Chants renewable energy centre The Core, and have a look at rainwater harvesting, solar panels, biomass boilers and lots more.
If you would like to join us please RSVP to me, Sharon Fay, at FJ Chalke 01963 34335 or email sharon.fay@fjchalke.co.uk (Places are limited so book early!).
We look back over a busy 2012 with the 100% electric Nissan Leaf here at our FJ Chalke Wincanton showroom, and we look forward to an even busier and exciting 2013 when the Nissan Leaf will start to roll off at the Nissan Sunderland Plant in the UK.
Keep an eye on my blog posts here at Dorset Energized and our website www.fjchalke.co.uk/eco for updates and information about this and everything Nissan Leaf at FJ Chalke!
It just leaves me to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!
vince adams comments:
"I did a trip to London today, stopped halfway to Richmond near Camberley,30 minute fast charge both way’s and just got home safely.
What’s Santa going to put in your stocking ? Could it be the new Leaf or even a test drive, I can highly recommend
"
December 20, 2012 a 5:48 pm
Have you ever thought about buying an electric car but thought it was going to be to expensive and gave it no more thought? Well here are a few points you may not have thought about with the bigger picture of owning a Nissan LEAF compared to a combustion engine car…
Costs like fuel that just keep rising but you can charge the Nissan LEAF from as little as £2.03 for a full charge. This is an annual cost of £186 based on 10000 miles per annum. With the average cost of a gallon of petrol now £6.32 what does you car do to the gallon? The Nissan LEAF is 339 mpg.
We all hate to pay road fund license, but with the Nissan LEAF this is NIL and the same with the congestion charge in London which is normally £8 a day but NIL if you have a Nissan LEAF.
All these savings add up plus with the £1600 deposit contribution with Nissan Finance you can save yourself even more on monthly payments.
So enjoy the luxury, comfort and smooth ride of the Nissan LEAF – it may not be as expensive as you think!
Give me a call (Sharon Fay) at FJ Chalke Ltd 01963 34335 or email sharon.fay@fjchalke.co.uk for FREE advice to get on the road to greener energy.
loading tweet...
ENJOY EXCLUSIVE OFFERS,
NEWS + ENERGY SAVING TIPS:
Copyright © 2018 - 2019 Lets Get Energized. All rights reserved.
HOME |
ABOUT |
RENEWABLE ENERGY |
ENERGY OFFERS |
ENERGY BLOG |
CONTACT
Cookies |
Terms and Privacy |
Website designed by Anna Celeste Watson - Ethical Web Design |
Website Development by DR Solutions.
CONGRATS TO OUR SUMMER E-BIKE HIRE WINNER: CLARE WEBB*
*This competition is now closed but you can still enter for the chance to win future competitions!
Vince Adams comments:
"I heard a little snippet from the VW fallout that rather excited me. There is a rumour that they have a peoples photo-type electric car similar in concept to the launch of the beetle many years ago.
The price and performance would make this available to millions more motorists and revolutionise the car industry overnight.
VW you have sinned but this is your moment in time to put that behind you and do something amazing for us all.
“Beetle Electric the new people’s car”, could it be true ? "
October 9, 2015 a 9:01 am
Keith Wheaton-Green comments:
"A very interesting take on the situation. I agree, petrol cars are so old fashioned. "
October 8, 2015 a 11:53 am