smart grid
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A report from Germany serves as a reminder that smart charging and grid loading are as important in electric-vehicle adoption as fast charging.
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Colorado to launch smart-charging pilot program as it prepares for EVs
As it prepares to launch an electric-car mandate in coming years, Colorado is working to learn how electric cars can help it move to a more renewable energy grid. The non-profit Platte River Power Authority announced last month that it is teaming up with eMotorWerks, which sells home smart...
Eric C. Evarts -
Scotland power boss: Peak charging could cause grid problems
Vastly greater numbers of electric cars on United Kingdom roads could pose problems for the power supplies used to recharge them—if, that is, they all plug in during the day. Frank Mitchell, head of SP Energy Networks a unit of ScottishPower, said a rush to electric cars in the U.K. could...
Aaron Cole -
California Takes The Lead In Using Batteries For Grid Storage
We all know producing electricity is an energy-intensive process, but the complications don't stop at how utilities generate that power. Demand for electricity ebbs and flows, and often doesn't correlate with generating capacity. One way of dealing with these fluctuations in supply and demand is to...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Planning Grid Storage As Part Of Supercharger Expansion
Buy a Tesla Model S, and you won't need to worry about brownouts. And you could even keep driving through the Zombie Apocalypse. Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk revealed that little tidbit at a press conference today, where plans were detailed for an expanded network of the company's Supercharger...
Bengt Halvorson -
When Do Electric Cars Really Charge? All At The Same Time
If you’re not an electric car driver, the chances are that how and when electric cars recharge is one of the lesser mysteries of the universe. After all, if every electric car in town charged at the same time, wouldn’t it bring down the electrical grid? The answer, at least for now, is...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Imagine a future where plug-in cars not only know when the cheapest time to charge is, but also work in concert with utility companies to recharge when it is greenest or when grid power demand is the lowest. For years, automakers, charging station manufacturers, utility companies and even the U.S. military have been working to make that a reality, but as yet smart grid technology isn’t a reality for the average U.S. electric car driver. The reason, according to General Motors, is simple: utility companies just aren’t ready yet. Concept already proven Earlier this year, GM...
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Bigger Batteries Key To Better Quick Charging For Electric Cars
To help make electric cars more palatable for long-distance driving, the 2012 Nissan Leaf SL and 2012 Mitsubishi i can be rapid-charged from empty to 80 percent full in around 30 minutes using specially-designed Chademo rapid charge stations. For those using them, rapid charge stations provide a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Nissan Launches Leaf To Home Electric Car Power System
After the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011, Japanese automakers Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi have all been working on technology designed to let electric cars provide emergency backup power. So far, we’ve seen a range of applications for backup electric car...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
OnStar To Help 2012 Chevy Volts Charge When It’s Greenest
One of the biggest criticisms of electric cars is that they only move the pollution from the tailpipe of a car to the smoke stack of a power station. But a new application developed by General Motors' OnStar devision aims to help Chevrolet Volt owners charge their plug-in hybrid when it will have...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Electric Car Charging Station Gets Smart, Networks With Home
Imagine a future where your electric car could talk to your home and chose the best time to charge itself based on use predictions, electricity costs and home energy demands. Except it is no-longer the future. Announced today as part of a joint venture between ECOtality, Inc., and Cisco Systems...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
GM Exec: Chill, Volt Electric Cars Won’t Bring Down The Grid
NOTE: Your faithful editor, John Voelcker, moderated this panel at VentureBeat's GreenBeat 2010 conference. As electric cars move towards the smart grid, there’s been a lot of worry about the cars overstraining the grid. But at least for now, GM and PG&E are united on the answer: Not a...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
We've seen Onstar from General Motors. We've heard about iPhone apps that allow you to keep tabs on how your 2011 Nissan Leaf or Smart Electric Drive are charging too, and some energy companies are wanting to develop services that keep you updated on the status of your EV. Smart-Grid technology is on the rise and EVs are right at the forefront. Now Toyota is plugging in to the idea with a system known as Toyota Smart Center. Smart Center goes one better than the usual systems though. Currently, systems such as the iPhone apps you might use for a Leaf or Smart keep you updated on your electric...
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GM Electric Meriva Van Tests Vehicle-to-Grid Charging in Germany
Last summer, Karl Stracke, the vice president of global vehicle engineering of General Motors, said the company planned to test three battery-electric vehicles in different global regions. This morning, the company's Opel unit announced that it would test a fleet of Opel Meriva small minivans...
John Voelcker -
Can EV Charging Crash The Grid? Toronto Hydro Chief Says Yes
Picture the scene: You arrive home after a long day at work. The lights are on, the dinner is waiting for you in the oven and the kids are watching TV. Before leaving the garage, you plug in your 2011 Nissan Leaf and switch the charger on. And the whole neighborhood goes dark. Your EV was the straw...
Antony Ingram -
Pee Power: Could Urine Help Charge EVs?
Could a compound in urine be used to generate electricity, even for vehicles? It's a possibility. According to a report, two postdocs at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, are generating electricity with a new type of fuel-cell prototype—one that uses urea, or carbamide, a...
Bengt Halvorson -
No, Electric Vehicles Won't Bring Down the U.S. Power Grid
Last week's heat wave prompted another eruption of that perennial question: Won't electric cars that recharge from grid power overload the nation's electricity system? Or put more bluntly: Will electric vehicles bring down the U.S. power grid? The answer, equally bluntly, is: No. They won't. (And...
John Voelcker -
GE, Nissan Join Forces To Ready the Grid For Electric Cars
This story, written by Camille Ricketts, was originally posted on VentureBeat's GreenBeat, an editorial partner of AllCarsElectric. Nissan continues to beat the electric car drum. Last week, it started taking reservations for its all-electric Leaf, and beat its own expectations with more than 6,600...
John Voelcker -
Over the next 12 months, carmakers will introduce several new plug-in electric vehicles. One question that's frequently asked of GreenCarReports: Does recharging electric cars pose a threat to the electricity grid? The 2010 Fisker Karma and the 2011 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrids, among other electric-drive vehicles, are scheduled to roll out next year. Without a range-extending engine, the 2012 Nissan Leaf electric car will be even more reliant on the grid. So it's a reasonable question. The answer, in short, is: No. The current power grids in the U.S. are more than capable of handling...
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France Punishes Peasants (And Entrepreneurs) For Saving Energy
As the saying goes, if the French didn't exit, we'd have to invent them: A nation that reveres Jerry Lewis, builds cars with single-spoke steering wheels or names like Kangoo BeBop ZE, and threatens to blow up factories if strike demands aren't met (and then changes its mind). The latest evidence...
John Voelcker -
Malta and IBM Announce Smart Grid Plans
One small island nation off the coast of Italy is about to become the test case for countrywide smart-grid technology. Malta and IBM have agreed on a plan to digitize the country's electrical grid and water system. In a place with over 1700 vehicles per square mile, climate change is a very...
Robert Scardino