News
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf were in the news recently not because they are helping to push forward a movement of electric vehicles, but for a more practical reason; they both just won Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety.
The 2011 Chevy Volt even won the Motor Trend Car of the Year award. The 2011 models of these plug-in vehicles stand at the top of the class of new vehicles for more than one reason: safety, dependability, and, very importantly, offering choice of what we use to power the vehicles that run our country.
Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the electric vehicle was just starting to gain a toe-hold in the consumer market thanks, in large part, to California's Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate.
GM, Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota began making all-electric vehicle models that were offered for lease to interested consumers and the response was astounding. However, after legal battles with automakers, the policy was withdrawn and these mechanically sound vehicles were quickly pulled from the roads by automakers and sent to the car crushers, despite the people who were leasing the cars offering cash to buy the cars they were coming to really love.
In 2005, as a direct result of the DontCrush.com campaign, Ford and Toyota decided to stop crushing the electric cars and sell them off. High Noon Solar owns one of the original 2000 Ford EV pickups… come by and look at it if you're in the neighborhood.
Now, as gas prices fluctuate wildly in an ever-upward climb, as oil companies defend their huge subsidies and tax breaks in record profit years, and as consumers decide that control for their price of transportation should be held in their own hands, the all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are finally making a resurgence more than 10 years later. But this time they're here to stay.
There are numerous questions the educated consumer should generate when considering plug-in vehicles as a new transportation system in the U.S. Though not all of the questions can be answered in so short of an article, most answers can be explored in detail at pluginamerica.org by going to the FAQ page.
Perhaps near the top of the list of consumer questions is: How far can I go on a charge? This varies from car to car. The Chevy Volt goes 35 miles on pure electric, then 375 miles on the gas engine. The all-electric Nissan Leaf will go 100 miles on a charge, which will likely be matched by the all-electric Ford Focus to be released late 2011. The plug-in Prius, release date set in spring of 2012, has a smaller electric range of about 13 miles, then 475 additional miles on the gas engine. In essence, unless you travel out of town most days, the electric motor will probably be all you need.
Another important question is: Is electric actually better than gas if it is just coming from a coal-fired power plant? There are many reports on this issue. First is whether the infrastructure can handle plug-in vehicles. A study for the Department of Energy found that “off-peak” electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel 70% percent of the U.S. light-duty vehicle (LDV) fleet, if they were plug-in hybrid electrics.
Second is whether it is actually cleaner power. Even with over 50% of the nation's power being generated at coal plants, electric and plug-in vehicles still reduce emissions of pollutants compared to other vehicle types. Plus, there is the opportunity to produce that power from a renewable source.
If you were to add a solar system onto your home solely with the intention of charging a Nissan Leaf, your solar system would pay for itself in about 4 years, after which time your cost to drive would be $0. The math breaks down like this: To charge a Nissan Leaf from empty to full takes 24 KW hours (you get a little more than 4 miles per kilowatt hour of electricity). At 11+ cents per KWh from the utility grid, this costs $2.65 for 100 miles worth of charge or $265 for 10,000 miles annually. Compare this to a gas engine at 25mpg; 10,000 miles on this at $3.75 a gallon in gas is about $1,500… a savings of $1,235 a year! Even higher when gas costs go up.
A solar system needed to produce those 10,000 miles would need to generate about 2,400 KW hours annually or a 1.75KW solar grid tie. After rebates and incentives, this size of this system comes in under $5,000. The savings by going electric and charging with a renewable energy source would pay you back in about four years. After that, you can drive anywhere you want for no cash out of pocket and no emissions out of the tailpipe.
The 2011 Chevy Volt even won the Motor Trend Car of the Year award. The 2011 models of these plug-in vehicles stand at the top of the class of new vehicles for more than one reason: safety, dependability, and, very importantly, offering choice of what we use to power the vehicles that run our country.
Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the electric vehicle was just starting to gain a toe-hold in the consumer market thanks, in large part, to California's Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate.
GM, Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota began making all-electric vehicle models that were offered for lease to interested consumers and the response was astounding. However, after legal battles with automakers, the policy was withdrawn and these mechanically sound vehicles were quickly pulled from the roads by automakers and sent to the car crushers, despite the people who were leasing the cars offering cash to buy the cars they were coming to really love.
In 2005, as a direct result of the DontCrush.com campaign, Ford and Toyota decided to stop crushing the electric cars and sell them off. High Noon Solar owns one of the original 2000 Ford EV pickups… come by and look at it if you're in the neighborhood.
Now, as gas prices fluctuate wildly in an ever-upward climb, as oil companies defend their huge subsidies and tax breaks in record profit years, and as consumers decide that control for their price of transportation should be held in their own hands, the all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are finally making a resurgence more than 10 years later. But this time they're here to stay.
There are numerous questions the educated consumer should generate when considering plug-in vehicles as a new transportation system in the U.S. Though not all of the questions can be answered in so short of an article, most answers can be explored in detail at pluginamerica.org by going to the FAQ page.
Perhaps near the top of the list of consumer questions is: How far can I go on a charge? This varies from car to car. The Chevy Volt goes 35 miles on pure electric, then 375 miles on the gas engine. The all-electric Nissan Leaf will go 100 miles on a charge, which will likely be matched by the all-electric Ford Focus to be released late 2011. The plug-in Prius, release date set in spring of 2012, has a smaller electric range of about 13 miles, then 475 additional miles on the gas engine. In essence, unless you travel out of town most days, the electric motor will probably be all you need.
Another important question is: Is electric actually better than gas if it is just coming from a coal-fired power plant? There are many reports on this issue. First is whether the infrastructure can handle plug-in vehicles. A study for the Department of Energy found that “off-peak” electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel 70% percent of the U.S. light-duty vehicle (LDV) fleet, if they were plug-in hybrid electrics.
Second is whether it is actually cleaner power. Even with over 50% of the nation's power being generated at coal plants, electric and plug-in vehicles still reduce emissions of pollutants compared to other vehicle types. Plus, there is the opportunity to produce that power from a renewable source.
If you were to add a solar system onto your home solely with the intention of charging a Nissan Leaf, your solar system would pay for itself in about 4 years, after which time your cost to drive would be $0. The math breaks down like this: To charge a Nissan Leaf from empty to full takes 24 KW hours (you get a little more than 4 miles per kilowatt hour of electricity). At 11+ cents per KWh from the utility grid, this costs $2.65 for 100 miles worth of charge or $265 for 10,000 miles annually. Compare this to a gas engine at 25mpg; 10,000 miles on this at $3.75 a gallon in gas is about $1,500… a savings of $1,235 a year! Even higher when gas costs go up.
A solar system needed to produce those 10,000 miles would need to generate about 2,400 KW hours annually or a 1.75KW solar grid tie. After rebates and incentives, this size of this system comes in under $5,000. The savings by going electric and charging with a renewable energy source would pay you back in about four years. After that, you can drive anywhere you want for no cash out of pocket and no emissions out of the tailpipe.
