Amp to Develop Wirelessly Charged Delivery Trucks

Amp Electric Vehicles has decided to start converting the propulsion systems of delivery trucks to electric, and this time, they will be equipped to charge wirelessly.

The company used to convert SUVs to electric propulsion systems, but it moved on from that and has now reached an agreement with Momentum Dynamics to convert delivery trucks, using one of the latest charging technologies: resonant induction charging.

 

Momentum Dynamics is to develop the wireless vehicle chargers to make the paratransit medium-duty delivery trucks for the Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority (BARTA) in Reading, PA. A pilot program should commence by March 2013.

“We are pleased to work with Momentum on the electrification and wireless charging project for BARTA. Both our companies recognize the importance of collaborating to integrate wireless charging technology to be used in a real-world application for BARTAs’ transit vehicles,” said Marty Rucidlo, President of AMP.

Resonant induction charging uses electromagnetic coils to transmit energy wirelessly to electric vehicles without the risk of electric shock, even when outside in the rain.

No metal-to-metal contact between the vehicle and charger is required, unlike traditional chargers. To be fair to traditional chargers, they work quite well in car garages, and they are the most efficient chargers, as well as the cheapest.

Another potentially exciting, and more practically beneficial use of this technology is to extend electric vehicle range at stop lights. This makes even short-range, lower cost electric vehicles with small battery packs more viable.

The time that people spend sitting at stop lights could be put to good use partially charging the vehicle at every stop.

People may even look forward to stop lights!

Source: Autoblog Green

Amp to Develop Wirelessly Charged Delivery Trucks was originally published on: CleanTechnica

 

After announcing a big EV battery research project on December 1, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) let us know about a Q&A opportunity with one of its scientists regarding batteries. After collecting a number of questions, Berkeley Lab battery scientist Venkat Srinivasan answered several of these questions. Here’s the video:

Dr. Srinivasan may still answer questions you have about batteries if you post them in the comments of the video above. If you’ve got some, head on over there and type away!

A Scientist Answers Your Battery Questions was originally published on: CleanTechnica

 

According to the recent announcement, leading solar inverter manufacturer SMA is all set to acquire a majority stake in Chinese inverter company Jiangsu Zeversolar New Energy Co., Ltd.

SMA will get 72.5% stake in the Jiangsu Zeversolar New Energy Co., Ltd. which will provide opportunity to SMA to get access into the fast-growing solar energy market of China and to consolidate its leadership in the photovoltaic market. The agreement is yet to receive Chinese regulatory authority.

Zeversolar’s enterprise value based on SMA’s stake of 72.5% is ¥319 million (approximately €40 million or $51 million) from which net liabilities are deducted in order to determine the final purchase price.

 

“Over the next few years, China will become the largest photovoltaic market worldwide,” said SMA’s Pierre-Pascal Urbon. “We are taking advantage of this historic chance to successfully anchor SMA in a young growth market and to further establish our position as global market leader.”

This acquisition will enable SMA to open up procurement channels in China more quickly and efficiently than planned. The company plans to start operations from 1 January 2013 through its already established infrastructure and subsequently ramp up capacity.

Zeversolar provides a wide range of solar inverter products for household roof systems, commercial roof systems, large-scale ground PV power plant systems, etc. It has a production capacity of 2 GW based in Yangzhong in the Jiangsu province, and the company has research and development facilities in Suzhou and Shanghai. The company employs more than 450 employees globally, achieved sales of approx. ¥250 million in 2011, and sold 215 MW of inverter capacity in 2011. The company also has subsidiaries in Europe and Australia.

SMA is a global leader in the development, production, and sales of PV inverters, with a strong presence in 19 countries on four continents. It employs more than 5500 people worldwide.

The views presented in the above article are author’s personal views only

Leading Inverter Company SMA Buys Majority Stake In Chinese Firm Zeversolar was originally published on: CleanTechnica

 

JinkoSolar, one of the worlds’ top solar panel makers, along with state-run business Jinchuan Group are going to create a 200 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar farm in the Gansu province of China.

Located in the city of Jinchang, the new PV farm, which will be one of the largest independently run plants in Asia, will help support three other thermal power plants in the area.

The 2 RMB billion project will be on-line by June, 2013.

“Jinchang receives large amounts of sunlight and has ample land resources, which make it very suitable for PV power plant development,” said JinkoSolar Chairman Xiande Li.

“We are very pleased to cooperate with Jinchuan Group, a reputed SOE with international competitiveness. We are confident that our cooperation will aid in the development of a green future for the region and a sustainable return on our investment,” he said.

Source: PR Newswire

 

JinkoSolar, Jinchuan Group Co-Backing, Developing 200MW Gansu PV Plant was originally published on: CleanTechnica

 

Anti-wind and anti-solar folks (yes, there are a few out there — mostly tied to the fossil fuel industry) love to bring up renewable energy subsidies. However, there are so many reasons why they really shouldn’t be eager to do so. For example, fossil fuel and nuclear subsidies dwarf renewable energy subsidies.

 

Additionally, many indirect subsidies never even get counted in most subsidy analyses — such as the tremendous extent to which we subsidize oil through our military and the tremendous health externalities not included in the price of fossil fuels (neither of which are included in the price of fossil fuels).

But there’s another point which gets even less attention. Here’s a reader comment that I thought was worth a repost:

Yes, we have supported oil, wind and solar with subsidies. Look how that’s played out.

Wind, 30 years ago, produced electricity at $0.38/kWh. Now it’s producing at $0.04/kWh to $0.06/kWh and on its way down to $0.03/kWh in the near future. (Already, we’ve seen a 9.5x drop.)

Solar panels, 30-40 years ago, cost as much as $100/watt. Solar panels are now being manufactured for prices approaching $0.50/watt.  (That’s almost a 200x price drop.)

Oil, in 1946, was $18.89 a barrel (2012/current dollars) and in 2012 it’s running about $100 a barrel. (More than a 5x increase.)

Support for oil might have kept prices from rising further, but it has not made oil cheaper.

Support for wind and solar have made them much cheaper. Our investments are returning massive dividends.

Wind has gone down to 1/6th its early price, solar to 1/100th, and oil has risen by more than 5x. Exactly how has that oil subsidy worked out for us?

Image Credits: Climate Progress

A Thought On Subsidies (Reader Comment) was originally published on: CleanTechnica