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Eight automakers demonstrated a fast-charging technology for electric vehicles (EV) that can recharge compatible systems in as few as 15-20 minutes. Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche, and Volkswagen have agreed to support a harmonized single-port fast charging approach—called DC Fast Charging with a Combined Charging System—for use on EVs in the United States and Europe.

The automakers gave charging demonstrations during the EVS26 Electric Vehicle Symposium, held in Los Angeles, May 6-9. The combined charging system integrates one-phase AC-charging, fast three-phase AC-charging, DC-charging at home, and ultra-fast DC-charging at public stations into one vehicle inlet. This will allow customers to charge at most existing charging stations regardless of power source, and it may speed more affordable adoption of a standardized infrastructure.

The International Society of Automotive Engineers has chosen the Combined Charging System as the fast-charging methodology for a standard that incrementally extends the existing Type 1-based AC charging. The standard is to be officially published this summer. And ACEA, the European association of vehicle manufacturers, has selected the system as its AC/DC charging interface for all new vehicle types in Europe beginning in 2017. Commercially available combined charging units are projected to be available later this year. All committed manufacturers have vehicles in development that will use the Combined Charging System. The first vehicles to use this system will reach the market in 2013.

Additional Information from General Motors

The charging system design was based on collaborative reviews and analysis of existing charging strategies, the ergonomics of the connector and preferences of U.S. and European customers. The system was developed for all international vehicle markets and creates a uniform standard with identical electrical systems, charge controllers, package dimensions and safety mechanisms.

The system maximizes capability for integration with future smart grid developments through common broadband communication methods regardless of the global location of the charging system. The combined charging approach will reduce development and infrastructure complexity, improve charging reliability, reduce the total cost-of-ownership for end customers and provide low maintenance costs.

Commercially available combined charging units are projected to be available later this year. All committed OEMs have vehicles in development which will use the Combined Charging System. The first vehicles to use this system will reach the market in 2013.

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM’s brands include Chevrolet and Cadillac, as well as Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http:www.gm.com.

With gas prices soaring to historic highs, Austin Energy is providing unlimited “electric fuel” from 100% GreenChoice® renewable energy at more than 100 plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging stations for less than $5 per month.

Drivers in and outside of Austin can save on fuel costs by going electric and by purchasing a pre-paid Plug-in EVerywhere™ network card for $25, which allows unlimited public station charging for six months.

“Our Plug-In Everywhere™ network takes the anxiety over ‘refueling’ out of deciding to switch to electric transportation,” said Karl R. Rábago, Austin Energy Vice President for Distributed Energy Services, “and that is just one of the many ways we are making it easy and economical for electric vehicle users to live and work in the Austin area.”

Austin Energy recently announced the installation of its 100th public-access charging station in the Plug-in EVerywhere™ Network for PEVs. The 100 charging stations are located throughout Austin including at Austin Community College campuses, City of Austin public facilities such as libraries and recreation centers, and retail and commercial businesses such as restaurants and hospitals. These installations are part of a larger, federally funded ChargePoint® America program designed to increase the number of charging stations throughout the nation.

Also when you plug-in at home, you will typically pay about a $1 per gallon equivalent of “electric fuel.” Although PEVs can use a regular 120V (Level 1) outlet anywhere, Austin Energy customers are eligible to receive a home charging equipment and installation rebate up to $1,500 for a faster, 240V (Level 2) charging station.

Austin Energy also is leading the Texas River Cities PEV Initiative, a U.S. Department of Energy grant-funded regional alliance tasked with preparing a PEV readiness plan for participating Central Texas communities including Austin and San Antonio. This will be a comprehensive, regional plan to address the needs of PEV drivers at home, work, and on the go.

Drivers that go electric also help reduce local emissions. The Plug-in EVerywhere™ Network is the first charging station network in the country to be powered completely by electricity from 100% clean, renewable energy through GreenChoice®, Austin Energy’s renewable energy subscription option offered to its electric customers.

Almost 20 years ago, Environmental Power & Water Generation and E3Wise presented a radical idea. In order to make renewable energy profitable to compete with fossil fuels two things would need to be accomplished. First storage of excess energy would have to be possible using both batteries and hydrogen, and Second marketable bi-products would have to be generated in the same way many products are generated from fossil fuels like oil. We began integrating these two ideas into our designs but the message was slow to be recognized. Recently we have been having some success but our ultimate goal was to get this idea into the mainstream of the renewable energy and water community. In March at a weeklong series of peer review meetings at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory we presented two talks on how this would make renewable able to compete with fossil fuels. Today I got this story emailed from one of our colleagues at the NREL. Validation never felt so good.

Hydrogen station to fuel cars, but sale of byproducts is key.
John Seelmeyer, 4/16/2012

A hydrogen-fueling station planned in Carson City drew plenty of media attention last week, but developer H2 Technologies Group Inc. of Sparks thinks the station can be profitable even if it never delivers a bit of hydrogen for vehicle fuel.

How?

The electrolyzer technology at the station will separate water into its component elements, hydrogen and oxygen. While hydrogen-fueled vehicles are all the rage as a method of reducing tailpipe emissions, H2 Technologies is contracting with a supplier of industrial gases to sell oxygen — the waste product — at wholesale for medical and industrial uses.

“That secondary market makes the station profitable from day one,” says Gary Lord, a principal in H2 Technologies. “We create copious amounts of oxygen.” The Nevada State Office of Energy, which has a big interest in development of renewable fuels, has approved a $1.1 million low-interest loan to get the H2 Technologies project.

Lord says the state loan provides important credibility to the project as its backers now begin to assemble private investors to bring the station to reality.

H2 Technologies executives say they hope to begin construction within 90 days. The station is likely to be completed within six months after construction starts and is operational within a year.
The facility would be at the Carson Valley Oil bulk plant owned by Ramos Oil Co. Inc. near Arrowhead Drive and Goni Road, just north of the Carson City Airport.

Aesthetic Engineering and Aspen Engineering, both of Reno, are designing the fueling station.
H2 Technologies is using a part of the money it’s raising from the state and private investors to help resolve the classic chicken-and-egg problem that faces the hydrogen-fueled transportation industry.
Without hydrogen-powered vehicles, developers have no reason to build fueling stations. But without fueling stations, vehicle buyers have no reason to purchase hydrogen vehicles.

H2 Technologies is buying a small fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles — currently, four converted Toyota Prius models and two Ford Focus conversions — that it will lend to motorists in hopes they’ll become enthralled with hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Then there’s the matter of figuring a price for hydrogen sales at the pump.
The cost structure is simple, Lord says. The capital cost of a small station with its electolyzers and compressors, the purchase of about 100 gallons of water a day and the big expense of electricity to drive the separation of water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The price could be reduced substantially if power is available from a renewable source such as a solar or geothermal installation, he says. One hundred gallons of water through the station’s electolyzers, Lord says, would be enough to fuel about 80 cars a day.

Assuming the Carson City fueling station is successful, H2 Technologies has its eye on the California market where clean-air mandates by the state government are bringing substantial attention to hydrogen as an alternate fuel.

Robert Nellis, a program manager with the Nevada State Office of Energy, said state officials are interested both in the renewable-energy production of hydrogen fueling stations as well as the possibility that they will create jobs

From E3 Wise

Our friends tell us that the designers have contacted the NREL to access information from the Wind to Hydrogen and Solar to Hydrogen programs to identify the most cost effective way to use Solar or Wind to power the facility. I have to tell you, personally it feels good.

From the Technology Desk of E3 Wise
By Lois Moore
One of the issues with solar that designers like myself have had to deal with is the efficiency loss from the disadvantage of voltage drop affecting entire solar array, as it does in centralized inverter systems. This can be caused by many factors and because the panels are wired in series can affect the entire system. Meaning one bad connection in a panel or shading to any panel affects the output of the entire array.
Now however there is a new solution available they are called Micro-inverters. Because each Solar panel is equipped with its own micro-inverter, the disadvantage of voltage drop affecting entire solar array, as it does in centralized inverter systems, is eliminated. Each solar panel can work independently to produce its maximum power in all conditions. The disadvantage of possible higher initial cost is offset by increased power production from the same modules over time and the ability to monitor output at a single module level. Meaning that now these issues can be eliminated making the efficiency and therefore system payoff much more precise.
Auo’s Unison line now has two solar panel lines that produce a 220 alternating current panel thanks to these micro inverters which convert 240 watts DC (direct current) to 220 volts AC (alternating current) at each panel, so you ask what are the advantages.
First it is a plug and play application; the solar modules come pre wired with easy to use plugs that allow seamless integration. The integrated micro inverter converts module DC to grid compliant AC at each module. This increases system performance by up to 25%, reduces shading losses, and makes PV safer to install and own. Here is Auo’s listing of Features for this product
• Harvest 5 to 25% more energy than traditional systems
• Module level monitoring
• Designed for 25 Year Reliability
• Modular flexibility suits any budget or rooftop
• Simplified PV system reduces installation costs
• No high voltage DC means safe installation and ownership
• Module complies with advanced loading tests to meet 5400 Pa loading requirements
• Light Trapping Capability: Superior performance under weak light conditions such as dawn, dusk, and cloudy days.
• Enhances current transmission and module reliability
• 3 Busbar Design: Enhances current transmission and module reliability
Recently I got hands on look at these panels at a solar tradeshow and I must say I was impressed by the ease of installation and the effectiveness of the monitoring. Likewise the ability to power higher voltage appliances like electric stoves, refrigerators, and air conditioning without special inverters or electrical configurations makes this a real competitor to the home and business solar markets.
I also like the fact of the twenty five year warranty for both the panels and micro-inverters as an integrated package, meaning if there is an issue, you are not fighting between two companies as to who is responsible. If there is a problem the panel and inverter are both replaced as a unit.
In the past I have seen that solar systems can be susceptible to voltage drop issues and this can severely affect performance and cost payoff. This looks like a way to eliminate the chance of both.

From the Technology Desk of E3 Wise.
Written by Ned Haluzan for renewable info.com

Minnesota already has some of the nation's largest wind farms, for instance the Buffalo Ridge Wind Farm (225 MW), the Fenton Wind Farm (205.5 MW), the Nobles Wind Farm (201 MW) and the Bent Tree Wind Farm (201 MW).

The latest in line is 200-megawatt Prairie Rose Wind Farm project in Rock County that will begin with the construction in May.

The Prairie Rose Wind Farm will consist of 119 1.68mw GE wind turbines and the total costs of this project are estimated to be at $350 million.

Lease payments to project landowners in the Prairie Rose Wind Farm will amount to approximately $1.1 million annually or $22 million over the 20-year contract. This project, once the construction work begins, will account for 200-300 new jobs.

Wind power is the most important renewable energy source in Minnesota. Wind power now accounts for more than 10% of total electricity in Minnesota and the state is aware that without the strong wind power sector it won't be able to reach its renewable energy goal of 25 percent of state's electricity coming from renewable energy sources by 2025.

Increasing wind power capacity does not only mean more clean energy and diversified energy portfolio. It also means new clean energy jobs. According to American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) wind energy sector in Minnesota provides around 3,000 jobs annually