You Can Feel the Electricity in the Air...
A car that gets 230 miles to the gallon? You can feel the electricity in the air...
It's coming soon to a dealer near you. The first commercial-scale electric car will be the Chevy Volt, but others will quickly follow. All made possible by the lithium ion battery. The same kind of battery, only bigger, that runs your laptop will now power your car. First, it's 230 miles to the gallon; next, it's a car that runs 230 miles on a single charge. The goal: no gasoline -- ever. With last week's announcements, the door has opened to the possibility of freedom from foreign oil.
And jobs in America making it all possible.
When President Obama announced $2.5 billion in grants to ensure that the electric car battery research and development occurs in this country, we made a national commitment to being energy independent.
Two-hundred and thirty miles.
From our vantage point in Michigan, we've been looking at the world through green-tinted glasses for quite awhile now. We have been pushing, planning, shaping and reshaping our economy to lead in green. Michigan received $1.3 billion in federal advanced-battery grants, going to nine companies and three universities. That was more than half of all the federal grants. (To those companies who got the other half of those grants, I invite you to come to Michigan, too.)
That Michigan got such a large share of the battery grants was not by happenstance. We competed for it; we fought for it; and we won. The groundwork began nearly three years ago when we developed a plan to become the advanced-battery capital of the world and created innovative tax credits to make Michigan irresistible to battery manufacturers. We have been focused, determined, and fired up about creating an entire industry cluster around this critical technology.
Developing new technologies is expensive. That's why a partnership between the public and private sectors was necessary, why state tax credits and DOE grants were crucial. It brings down the initial cost of the technology and makes it feasible to develop. It's a seeding process. Now we're going to see battery plants sprout up throughout Michigan.
Advanced batteries are obviously key to vehicle electrification, but they also are needed to store energy generated by wind and solar power. And oh, by the way, we're also making great strides in those two sources of green energy as well.
That may be surprising to everyone who thinks of Michigan as a rust-belt state equivalent to Mickey Rourke's wrestler -- down-and-out, past its prime, its gaze still locked on the rear-view mirror, trying to catch a glimpse of a long-faded 20th century.
Think again. We're off the mat. We intend to lead the charge to a green industrial revolution in this nation. And there's no turning back.
Follow Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm on Twitter: www.twitter.com/govgranholm
Jonathan A. Schein: Green LEAF, Shocking VOLT -- GM Doesn't Get It, Again
The Nissan LEAF is bringing the next generation of low- and zero-emission vehicles to market. The Chevy VOLT still runs on gasoline, and goes less than half the distance of a fully charged LEAF.
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HMMMM 40 grand for a car?? Lets see...do i want to have a home, or drive a new car??
Guess i could always park the care and sleep in it...naw..i'll just be selfish and keep my Camery
for another year.
You should see the prices a new SUV gets down in AZ. It is much more than 40K.
I agree this is good news, BUT...
This is the car GM should have been making 10 years ago. I've got 140,000 miles on my Prius and it still drives like a new car. Can I trust the Volt to be that reliable? Because at $40,000, I want to be still driving it when I finish paying it off. And it's too ugly and too big - it may not BE a dinosaur, but it sure looks like one. Still, it's a start. But with only the 140,000 miles on my Prius, I guess I have time to wait and see.
What incrediblly good news! Just think, now we'll be able to continue to buy cars as fashion accessories that take us everywhere in comfort at our whim! No more need to economize travel or take mass transit. I sure hope our urban planners are planning on skyscraper sized car parking lots cuz the good news is we're gonna have lots more cars to park...yeah! Oh, and just think, even the heaviest, most bloated and inefficient SUV will still be a 100 miles per gallon or some preposterous level of efficiency so we won't have to feel bad about the polar bears when we drive..that IS AWESOME!
I do know that it also means our level of energy productio will have to stay right up there...hey, maybe that CO2 will do some good incase climate takes the plunge many climate change voices are warning us about...y'know a couple of degrees cooler might just bring us back to the good old days of famine and shortened growing seasons, but at least we'll all loose weight and we'll be driving our marvelous cars. Thanks for the good news.
APTERA will be the best first EV to market this Fall.
Aptera is a TRUE EV that gets over 200 miles per charge.
I'm holding my money for that fantastic vehicle.
OK, if GM and other Big manufacturers will produce EV's, Great...Fantastic!
But if it's some type of Hybrid, like the Prius that uses a gas engine with some extra batteries......Forget It!!!
People are tired of gas engines. I'm tired of buying gas and supporting polluting Oil Companies.
There is a Huge market for EV's.
There are millions of people that drive less than 30 miles per day. I'm one of them.
I'm excited about the next few months. I will buy a car that I can plug-in to the outlet in my garage. THE APTERA. Sure, I'll keep my SUV for long range trips to out of town.
Just the fact that I will be buying much less gas is exciting. I look forward to driving past all the gas stations and reducing my intake of foreign oil. I'm tired of financially supporting Terrorists from the middle east and other oil producing countries.
I agree with your last sentence completely.
Electric cars are great for around town and commutes to work, but what about that longish trip to visit Grandma you ask. Well, T. Boone here's your chance. Develop little natural gas powered generators that can be pulled behind your electric car. Use them for the trip like you would a Uhaul then turn them in.
A new business is created, no need for oil imports, and voila, range problem solved
You are an outstanding example of a forward thinking and looking politician. I wish there weren't term limits on Michigan governors. We still need your enthusiasm and optimism in our state.
You must mean this as sarcasm, right?
Unemployment has risen every year in our once fine state. We have led the nation most years.
Our state government is out of control with spending.
Tax revenues are down by record amounts.
Businesses are leaving in droves due to high taxes, forced union membership, and regulation.
She has raised taxes at every opportunity and bowed down to every union.
For an example of how to govern please read the link below:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203550604574361014098225036.html
Since I am also a Michigander, I agree with some of your statements (in regards to high unemployment and tax revenues being down), but the auto industry has led to a domino effect in MI. High unemployment -- of course, when the biggest manufacturer in the US lays off a good % of their workers. These workers then can't afford their mortgages, so foreclosures, less tax revenue. Don't lay everything at Jenny's doorstep .. .if you recall, Engler left MI in a big hurry after burying us in a lot of debt. And he never looked back.
So it's time to take the factories we have, the workers we have and put them back to work manufacturing batteries, wind energy and anything green. MI has resources none of the other states do -- like all 5 of the Great Lakes, factories that can be retooled, and a lot of hard working people looking for jobs.
Plug in Hybrids will be great when combined with 3 cent per KWH rooftop solar and organic waste biochar fuels. See my profile for details and links.
No need to wait for the Volt, the Leaf, or any other promised X-years from now electric car. There are some real - and surprisingly affordable - freeway-capable electric cars from small builders you can actually buy today. Examples:
Converted Saturns, Toyotas, Hondas for $10000 to $12000
http://www.alanizcorporation.com/
More conversions, about $10000 to $20000:
http://grassrootsev.com/convert.htm
Converted Mazda 3, $21,000:
http://www.voitureselectriques.ca/en/produits/produits.htm
Used EVs for as little as $5000:
http://www.austinev.org/evtradinpost/
Convert your own car for as little as $2280:
http://www.e-volks.com/
And there's more. I actually bought my EV used from Ebay for just $2000.
Sorry, but until you can either charge a pure electric car in a minute or two at a normal gas station, or they add onboard generators to provide unlimited range, they're just not practical for most people. Most of us don't have the money to buy a car that can only go 100 miles or so at a time, and has to wind up back at our houses.
Plug in Hybrids are the way to go. 5 minutes is fast enough, and some of the Lithium batteries are there.
How about motorcycles? Are they practical? Can they replace cars?
I would never get on a motorcycle myself, but I would also never suggest there's no market for them, or that they shouldn't be sold.
EVs won't be for everybody. That's OK. Let's give people a choice.
Actually, that's not true. There is a market for EV's.
There are millions of people that drive less than 30 miles per day. I'm one of them.
I'm excited about the next few months. I will buy a car that I can plug-in to the outlet in my garage. I'll keep my SUV for long range trips to out of town.
Just the fact that I will be buying much less gas is exciting. I look forward to driving past all the gas stations and reducing my intake of foreign oil. I'm tired of financially supporting Terrorists from the middle east and other oil producing countries.
How often do you drive more than 100 miles at a time? I do it maybe 4-6 days per year. I'd be willing to get an EV for the other 360 or so days.
General Motors. They came out last week with a laughable hype-fest for their proposed electric car, the "Volt," scheduled to arrive in the showrooms around 2011 (about the same time that all the mortgage-backed-securities sitting in Wall Street's vaults melt into a monumental puddle of radioactive goo). We're told the Volt will get the equivalent of over 200 miles-per-gallon, at less than 25 cents a charge from the plug on your garage wall, blah blah. They estimate that it'll cost about $40,000. Do we detect a little problem right there? Like, the whole adult US population is going to rush out and buy new cars priced the same as today's Mercedes Benz? Good luck with that, GM, especially when money for car loans will be about as easy to get as a royal flush in online poker. And good luck with changing out the battery for ten grand a couple of years down the road, so to speak. And good luck also with your expectation that the roads and bridges will remain drivable in the years ahead, as every municipality, and county, and state slides into bankruptcy and the paving machines sit rusting in the DOT marshaling yards...."
http://kunstler.com/blog/2009/08/the-first-die-off.html
WTF? geez, chill...
Under your philosophy, why go out and mow the lawn? Why send your kids to school? Why do anything? The end is near...
Get over yourself. I grew up in the 60s and 70s when America and Russia were genuinely trying to figure out a way to end the human race. We survived that, I think a little bump in the banking world should be a walk in the park by comparison.
Kudos to Governor Granholm. Although she has her critics, she has done a great job. She inherited another Republican MESS when she took office. But she has spearheaded really creative ideas for Michigan to become the Land of Green. And p.s., they are making movies now too. In Michigan.
Wow. That is the most upbeat report I have read regarding American Recovery and Green Energy. Thanks MS Granholm. Great job. I now look at Michigan differently....
Dear Governor Granholm; You do not yet understand an important point. I will attempt to show you what that one important point is. I do hope you will listen so that we do not keep hearing about your erotic passion with gasoline.
Oil is running out. It is a fact. We have no more great reserves of oil remaining. The countries that have oil all report that their glory days are long past, and that they will run out sometime in the next decade or two. Oil is important to things like Plastic. Plastic is used to make medical supplies that are rather critical to human well being.
Since you don't understand this fine point, perhaps you should investigate the potential for "electricity" as a power source for your state's fine products. The "sun" produces heat and light in the form of "photons" and these help power solar panels to make "free" electricity.
Good luck to you. I hope science isn't something you believe was created 6000 years ago, or "all theory". Your people deserve much better. Nissan seems to have taken the sail out of the volt too, did you notice? It is "electrical".
It will run out but not for several more decades. Why though is it not good now, until additional types of engines are developed and marketed, should we not have internal combustion engines that get better mileage. There will be consumers for 50 more years probably who will by cars running on gasoline. Better they emit less CO2 until we all switch to other types of engines.
Then we need to reinvent a new materials for medical products. Just like the gasoline will be replaced, we will have many opportunities to keep reinventing to keep up with change. The biggest factor and elephant in the room is the increasing population explosion and it's unrealistic demand on resources. Religion is a guilty party in helping foster wars not addressing the unstainable draw on the earth's resources due to over population. Since we all live on this beautiful planet called earth, everyone has a stake to foster a more green sustainable way of living. Jennifer Granholm is a brave voice for Michigan, Thank you Governor Granholm. Keep up the good work, don't give up on Michigan. It's really a beautiful state with the great lakes containing the greatest bodies of fresh water in the world. It supplies 20% of the world's fresh water. I'm staying in the upper peninsula of Michigan this summer and the fresh air and water is fantastic as well as the views. Still in love with Michigan!
We will have no choice but to invent alternatives to plastic. That's a fact, because it is also a fact the oil supplies are disappearing. There is no such thing as "Infinite" oil supplies.
The question is begin now? before the oil disappears , or wait until it disappears and be in a crisis situation.
I think there are many people who do not understand that it is a fact that we are running out of oil, and they are the same people who do not support an all out development of fossil fuel energy alternatives. They still think that all we have to do is Drill Baby Drill... and our only problem is....we aren't DRILLING.
It is these people who need to educated about the reality. Ironically, these people are also the ones who view their position as being the better "Patriotic" position.
This article is encouraging for me. It tells me there are enough people now, who ARE educated about the facts, to begin taking this issue seriously, and they are.
The more research and development, and improvements as time progresses, the less expensive these alternatives will be. Not unlike the Computer and electronics in general.
Happy Day!
We already have biodegradable plastics made from plants and not oil.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2008-12-25-biodegradable-plastic_N.htm
Hope this helps,
And it only costs $40,000. And where, pray tell, will all the electricity come from to run it if Americans adopt electric cars in large numbers. How about the sun? No, we don't get much of that in the Midwest. How about wind? Again, the answer is no. Can you spell - NUCLEAR?
There's plenty of electricity available, off-peak to fuel electric cars for a few decades at least. Luckily, most electric cars charge at night. I've seen studies that show we could convert 70 to 80% of cars to electric before any increase in capacity is needed.
Plus, here's a twist: we are all driving electric cars already. That's right, huge amounts of electricity are used to refine gasoline. When we all switch, it may not make all that much difference. Except that petroleum pollution will be gone.
it's a start and we could use mass transit in our big cities. Better more efficient trains and most of us would get out of our cars. I would love to travel on trains more than always having to fly to my destination. We need to invest in updating all kinds transportation and it would get Americans out of their cars more. If they were more efficient and safe trains I know I would rather go by train then always fly to my destination. If we can go to the moon 40 years ago why don't we have better choices to travel. Other industrialized countries have moved ahead with mass transit and we're still bragging about walking on the moon 40 years ago.
Ever heard of "Grids" ? I believe they exist to carry power from one place to another.
What part of the Midwest do you live in that doesn't get wind?
My state gets power from hydro, wind, nuclear and coal. We also have a very large solar plant being built right now.
You can't put in a gallon of gas and drive 230 miles, so it's a marketing claim that's pretty distorted, but what is really cool is that if you drive less than 40 miles a day, you don't need any gas at all.
As far as the 230 mile range, well the Tesla already has that, and their second, somewhat more affordable model will too.
When you include the cost of the subsidy and the cost of the car, and the environmental cost of creating and disposing of those batteries, it's far worse in every dimension for the consumer, except for air quality.
Well, it's better than subsidizing the cost of Hummers, isn't it?
lithium ion batteries are NON_TOXIC AND RECYCLABLE.
Batteries are recycled, not disposed of.
Plus, Li-Ions are not an environmental hazard.
Guess what IS an environmental hazard? Petroleum.
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