First Fast-Charging Station for E-Cars Goes Live as Part of ‘Electric Highway’

[one...two...tree 2,762]

2011 has turned out to be a groundbreaking year for electric vehicles—literally. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) earlier this week chose a shopping center in Bellingham as the first location to break ground on the state's segment of the West Coast Electric Highway, part of a 444-kilometer stretch of road along Interstate 5 between Washington's borders with Oregon and Canada. Bellingham will host the Electric Highway's first direct-current (DC) electric vehicle fast-charging station, designed by AeroVironment Inc. to provide a 30-minute recharge for all-electric vehicles. (AeroVironment has deployed fast-charging stations in other locations nationwide, including Hawaii, as have competitors such as ECOtality Inc.) The Bellingham charging station will also include a pedestal with a 220-volt alternate-current (AC) outlet that can recharge one plug-in vehicle at a time at an intermediate rate of about two to eight hours, depending on the size of the battery. (Currently, some U.S. homes have 220-volt AC outlets installed to power air conditioners and clothes dryers. Most outlets supply 120-volt AC, which can charge e-cars at the slowest "trickle" rate.)

AeroVironment's Electric Highway work with the WSDOT is part of the larger West Coast Green Highway, a three-state initiative to promote the use of cleaner fuels along nearly 2,173 kilometers of I-5 from British Columbia to Baja, California in Mexico. The U.S. Department of Energy is also adding fast-charging stations along I-5 through its EV Project, a nationwide initiative managed by ECOtality.

In terms of the Electric Highway, the WSDOT awarded AeroVironment a $1 million contract in July to outfit I-5 and U.S. Highway 2 with a network of at least nine fast-charging stations by November 30. The completion date slipped to next year as AeroVironment works out lease agreements for the charging locations.

AeroVironment plans to install six stations every 64 to 97 kilometers along I-5 in shopping malls, fueling stations and restaurants with easy access to the highway. Three more stations will be built along U.S. Highway 2 to the north and potentially two more along Interstate 90, near Seattle.

2012 will be a pivotal year for electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and plug-in electric hybrids such as the Chevy Volt. General Motors had high hopes for the Volt in its first full year on the market, but the company expects to miss its sales target of 10,000 cars in 2011, coming up short by more than 3,800, according to Bloomberg. Sales were stronger toward the end of the year. The company is expanding its annual production to 60,000 vehicles starting next month, even as the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigates lithium-ion battery-pack fires following tests designed to measure the vehicle's ability to protect occupants from injury in a side collision. Neither Nissan nor Tesla Motors—both of which sell all-electric vehicles powered entirely by lithium-ion batteries—have reported any fires in either the LEAF or Roadster, respectively.

Another important issue that remains unresolved heading into the new year—standards for electric-vehicle fast charging. In the U.S. the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE) has approved the J1772 standard that governs slow- to moderate-speed electric car charging, and most electric car manufacturers have committed to using J1772 moving forward. Fast-charging standards, however, remain fragmented. Japanese carmakers Nissan and Mitsubishi have chosen a fast-charging standard known as CHAdeMO and developed by a consortium of Japanese companies even as the SAE sets to work on its own standard, which won't be ready for the road for at least another year.

CHAdeMO may have some shortcomings (it uses an older communication standard not expected to work well with coming smart grid technologies), but it's the only game in town right now and is catching on worldwide. As a result AeroVironment's stations along West Coast Electric Highway are CHAdeMO compliant.

http://blogs.scienti...ectric-highway/

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

More demand for coal!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

More demand for coal!

Less demand for oil! You know, the stuff we've gone to war over? If you had enough foresight, you'd recognize that down the road, electricity will come less from coal and more from renewables like wind and solar.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Less demand for oil! You know, the stuff we've gone to war over? If you had enough foresight, you'd recognize that down the road, electricity will come less from coal and more from renewables like wind and solar.

For now they are coal powered cars, well, if they actually sell any. And they do not get recalled for bursting into toxic flames.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

For now they are coal powered cars, well, if they actually sell any. And they do not get recalled for bursting into toxic flames.

Washington state energy breakdown:

Coal 8%

Natural Gas 10%

Nuclear 9%

Renewables 72%

Other Sources 0%

You were saying?

http://www.americaspower.org/where-does-your-electricity-come

........

Oh, and you'll love to hear this bit of news...

OLYMPIA, Washington, May 4, 2011 (ENS) - Washington Governor Chris Gregoire Friday signed legislation to phase out coal-fired energy production at the TransAlta power plant in Centralia, the only coal-fired power plant in the state. The move will end coal-fired power in Washington state in the next 14 years. More than 70 percent of the electricity consumed in Washington is generated by hydroelectric dams, with natural gas and nuclear power making up most of the remainder. Electricity generated from non-hydro renewable sources such as biomass, wind, waste, and landfill gas accounted for a little less than two percent.

Senate Bill 5769 enacts into law an agreement reached after two years of negotiations among the Sierra Club, Governor Gregoire and the Canadian company TransAlta to close the state's only two coal boilers, the first in 2020 and the second in 2025.

"The Centralia power plant has long been a critical part of the regional economy," Gregoire said at the bill signing ceremony at the power plant, attended by TransAlta employees and executives, legislators, and members of the environmental and labor communities.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2011/2011-05-04-091.html

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

For now they are coal powered cars, well, if they actually sell any. And they do not get recalled for bursting into toxic flames.

Washington state energy breakdown:

Coal 8%

Natural Gas 10%

Nuclear 9%

Renewables 72%

Other Sources 0%

You were saying?