The AP via MLive, May 23, 2010: Volt of hope: Can electric car recharge General Motors, Michigan and US auto industry?
The Detroit News May 21, 2010: Michigan rejects permit for proposed coal plantThus the obvious question: what exactly will power the next generation of electric cars? Sure people will point out that the cars can be charged at night, but if the cars are being used during the day, won't that also put an additional load on the system? For instance, let's say you have a full charge in your car in the morning. You commute to work. Or run errands. In either case, aren't you then going to charge that car either when you get to work or when you get home? It won't be as big a load at first because of the small volume of cars out there that are plug-in hybrids, but if this is the direction that autos are taking, shouldn't the infrastructure to support them be planned now since it takes years for new plants to come online?
The plant denial included CO2 emissions from coal power that contributes to a problem that doesn't exist (man-made global warming). In addition, the Public Service Commission didn't see a need for the plant. They instead want wind and solar, and say the coal plant is too expensive. If they really want to see expensive, invest in solar in Michigan:
These people don't base their decisions on science. They base them on feelings.
Plug in? The technology that is currently being studied is the piezoelectric road. Google, or Bing it. You will find that the electric cars that are being proposed will be able to be charged while driving or parked! http://www.gizmag.com/piezoelectric-road-harvests-traffic-energy-to-generate-electricity/10568/
ReplyDeleteAlso, they are currently
http://www.gizmag.com/drawing-power-from-the-road/12874/
It’s starting to look like roads will become much more than simple thoroughfares made of concrete and asphalt in the not too distant future. As we’ve seen, work is already underway to embed them with solar panels and piezoelectric generators to generate electricity. Now engineering company Ingenieurgesellschaft Auto und Verkehr (IAV) is looking to embed them with electrical conductors that would “refuel” the electric cars of the future while they are driving or parked.
The technology is similar to that being developed by researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) for the Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), and can already be seen in automobile production plants and large warehouse facilities where robotic floor conveyor vehicles are supplied with power and automatically steered using the same method. As with those systems, inductive loops buried in the roadway would generate a magnetic field to supply the cars with energy without the need for cables and connectors.
This contactless transfer of energy is enabled by taking advantage of the Maxwell electromagnetic laws, whereby an electric current flowing through a conductor generates a magnetic field. In the case of an alternating current, this induces a voltage in a second conductor, even though the two conductors are not in contact with one another. Using precisely controlled frequencies of the applied alternating current, high-efficiency energy transmission from the sending to the receiving electrical circuits is ensured.
Yup, just more misplaced priorities from our Democratic "friends" in government!
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