electric cars

A recent story in the New York Times says it takes 26 years to break even if you buy a Chevy Volt rather than a Chevy Cruze. But a closer look at the math reveals that figure is questionable.[read more]

The Obama administration is proposing significant changes in US corporate taxes, as reported in today's Wall St. Journal. If enacted, the corporate tax rate would fall from 35% of income to 28%, although the elimination of numerous tax incentives would subject many companies, including most in the energy sector, to higher taxes overall....[read more]

The electricity value chain is undergoing extraordinary changes as it modernizes into the Smart Grid.   At a recent series of Smart Grid workshops hosted by the California Public Utilities Commission, one utility speaker noted that the majority of transformations will occur at the consumption side of the electricity value chain...[read more]

With the high gas prices we are facing today, the popularity of the fuel-efficient car is seeing its inevitable increase. Two of the fiercer competitors of this type of car are the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf, both released within days of each other in December 2010. Although the Volt was more substantially advertised and thus...[read more]

A lot has changed in the two years since I made my first visit to the Washington Auto Show. Back then, gas prices averaged $2.68 per gallon and the Nissan LEAF looked like a “car of the future” compared to the other vehicles on the showroom floor. Now, prices at the pump are 25 percent higher, averaging $3.50 per gallon in 2011, and fuel...[read more]

In this week’s episode of R-Squared Energy TV, I answer questions on the future of electric cars, and the global population, which many feel is the root of so many problems. Some of the topics discussed are: When electric cars might be expected to make significant inroads in the auto market Why some people will continue to be tentative...[read more]

Last week I attended the media preview of the Washington Auto Show. With its dual focus on cars and energy policy, this is always a high point of the winter for me, even if this year's display lacked a draw of the magnitude of the pre-production Chevrolet Volt I drove at the 2010 show. Instead, I was pleased to find that the emphasis on...[read more]

About halfway between St. Louis and Chicago, nestled in the fertile corn and soybean fields of Illinois, a quiet electric car revolution is sprouting up in the town of Normal, a town that in some ways is anything but. That’s because this vibrant, forward-looking community of 50,000—along with its adjacent sister city...[read more]

Making It interview with Dr. Mustafa Hatipoğlu, managing director of the International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (ICHET), a UNIDO project supported by the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.[read more]

People know that Evergreen Brick Works celebrates both the natural and cultural heritage of Toronto. But what role does it play in shaping the future of sustainable transportation in this city and beyond? Evergreen Brick Works is more than a vibrant space for community festivals and appreciating nature in the city. It is also a living lab and a hub for green innovation, where like-minded people and businesses can explore, advance and apply urban sustainability solutions.[read more]

I put flowers on my car to tell it apart from others that park neaby. When I bought my used Smart Fortwo last year, I had in mind not only fuel efficiency but also ease of parking, a valuable feature for a car in San Francisco. And that has in fact proven to be a major bonus that I wouldn’t easily give up. I don’t drive enough to be...[read more]

The tax-free joyride electric and hybrid-electric vehicle owners have been enjoying while cruising the highways and byways of America may soon be a thing of the past.[read more]

Electric car infrastructure has been appearing in London over the last 12 months, with charging stations now in several inner-city locations and in the car park of at least one major shopping mall.[read more]

But with most of the Federal funding either expiring or running out, the incoming Congress will have important decisions to make about the near-term progress of EVs.[read more]

Are you ready? I can't say that I am, but last week I had the opportunity to learn more at the workshop Electric Vehicles: Innovations, Incentives, and Infrastructure, where panelists from various companies and government organizations presented the latest information.I doubt anyone at this workshop needed convincing that...[read more]