Green cars are going to be bigger than renewable energy, we heard yesterday. HSBC reckons 8.65m electric vehicles and 9.23m plug-in and hybrid electric vehicles will be sold globally in 2020, up from around 5,000 and 657,000 respectively last year.

But what are these cars actually like (more…)

The new generation of electric cars that are set to hit the market promise to help end the world’s dependence on fossil fuels and clean the air. However, they are not without flaws. One particular flaw in their charging system may even make them less environmentally friendly than the most fuel efficient conventional cars. (more…)

Not so long ago, consumers seemed to like energy efficiency just a little bit more than going to the dentist. Clearly that has changed, as evidenced by the recent run on appliance and home retrofit subsidies in several states.

Greens are no longer alone in swooning over front loader washing machines and (more…)

Who will play the lead character in Who Revived the Electric Car?, the sequel that is bound to be made to the famous documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car? Many are vying for the role: car manufacturers, battery producers, scientists and now the Obama (more…)

Fisker Automotive, the Irvine, California based start-up auto company is certainly creating waves these days, even though it has been reported that full production of the Karma will not occur until February 2011, later than expected. Fisker recently announced that they have secured an additional $189 million in capital. In addition, the company secured a $529 million loan in April from the Department of Energy to support its first vehicle, the Karma, an extended range plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and the development of a more family oriented model codenamed Project NINA.

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Ford is driving closer to its goal of producing an all-electric car with the announcement of an electric van for North America for 2010. The Ford Transit Connect BEV will incorporate a drivetrain from Azure Dynamics and lithium ion batteries from Johnson Controls-Saft.

The van will get 80 miles before needing to be charged and will be sold into fleets, according to Ford Manager of corporate news Jennifer Moore. She said Ford will produce the van in low volumes and has not announced any customers so far.

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Converting hybrid vehicles — particularly the Prius and Ford Escape — into plug-in hybrids has become a profitable niche industry for a few specialty companies. But the net impact of this new mini-industry has been much greater by influencing consumer and industry opinions.

Promoting the technical feasibility of PHEVs has been a significant factor in the auto manufacturers’ decision to develop the dozens of plug-in and all-electric vehicles now scheduled for delivery in the next five years.

But the earliest and strongest voice promoting PHEVs isn’t happy with that limited success. Felix Kramer, the founder of CalCars.org, says that getting to a million electrified vehicles by 2015 won’t do nearly enough to address climate change and energy independence, and now he’s setting his sights on electrifying internal combustion engine vehicles. He’s clearly on to something.
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While San Francisco and Portland are each publicly claiming they’ll have the best electric vehicle networks in place in their cities, San Jose may be have made the most progress.

The city of San Jose has installed 7 charging stations so far, including spots at City Hall and a public parking garage. At the charging locations vehicle owners don’t pay for the power; instead they are charged based on the time in the parking spot. To simplify payment, EV owners get a keychain fob that’s connected to their credit card.

Nanci Klein, the manager of corporate outreach for the city, says vehicle chargers are being added to light poles in “key neighborhoods.” The city will take advantage of its control of the right of way on light poles (which will be upgraded as they are repaired) and in parking garage to create a network that will incentivize residents to purchase plug-in and battery-electric vehicles. San Jose’s redevelopment agency, as well as the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, have contributed funding to the project.

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