The Daily Five: Saturday, 9 August, 2008

By Chris Baskind • Published August 9th, 2008 • Further Reading ShareThis

The Week in CleanTech, Pt. 1: Obama comes out strong for electric cars; GM ponders natural gas; and Florida quashes a wasteful “green’ utility program.

Obama: 1 million plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2015: After losing some ground in last week’s polls to John McCain — particularly on energy issues — presidential contender Barack Obama on Monday unveiled his vision for a plug-in automotive fleet. Some highlights: get a million plug-ins on the road within the next seven years; big subsidies for automotive R&D; ans tax credits up to $7,000 for consumers who make the switch. (Autoblog Green)

GM VP of R&D Suggests Natural Gas Chevy Volt Range Extender: On the tail of unexpectedly large losses last quarter, General Motors’ Vice President of Research and Development is hinting that the company is highly interested in natural gas for automotive use. Larry Burns says that natural gas’ availability and relatively low cost makes it attractive for long-term development. Natural gas would likely find use running range extenders for GM’s upcoming electric car technologies. (GM Volt blog)

Portland Developing Plug-In Hybrid Recharging Stations: Fueling stations for hybrid and fully plug-in cars are about to leave the realm of the theoretical. Portland General Electric (PGE) is about to toss out a dozen recharging stations for public testing. They’ll be free to use for now, allowing PGE to see how well they work and are understood by consumers. The charging stations utilize fully renewable energy. (Green Tech Gazette)

Florida Green Energy Program Ends Over Spending Controversy: Florida’s Public Service Commission has moved to shut down a voluntary program sponsored by Florida Power & Light and Green Mountain Energy. The utilities assessed a $9.75 monthly surcharge to customers willing to help fund renewable energy development. But the PSC determined that only about 24 percent of the money — paid by nearly 38,000 customers — was actually going toward programs. The rest was being absorbed by administrative and marketing costs. (Environmental Leader)

Plug and Fly: The Battery-Powered Plane Makes Its Debut: Wired has a write-up on what might be the first consumer-level electric airplane. The ElectraFlyer C features a lightweight 5.6 kWh Lithium Ion battery which will push the converted glider to a nearly silent 70 mph cruising speed. A recharge from common household current only runs about six hours and costs a miserly 60 cernts. (Wired)

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Uncle B 2 months ago 1 point
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If the U.S. had chosen to be a moral people, and leaving Iraqi oil alone, and following Al Gore, decided to develop the South Western deserts, with the technology of the times - solar/thermal-molten sodium - electricity installations, for the same amount of money as that war cost, ($650 Billion), today, we would be tapping into the largest, renewable, sustainable, energy source the world has ever known. It would have paid every energy bill in the U.S.A. for maintenance fees only - FOREVER! It would be equivalent to an oil field that can NEVER run dry! Low cost electric power, and storeable hydrogen gasoline replacement from the electricity, for all!
After the millions of murders, and $650 billions of dollars, borrowed from our children’s futures and pissed away, with thousands of our own and others maimed and disfigured for life, millions of families utterly destroyed, ours and theirs, we are no closer to Iraqi oil production than the Iraqis are!
The next time you hear a blithering idiot spoiled brat, drunken, drug addicted, sociopath, rich Arabic saber dancing daddie’s boy oilman, stand at a microphone and threaten YOUR safety with someone ELSE’S weapons, remember what you lost America, remember, and weep! (also see http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=a-solar-gra...)

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