Overhearing conversations about electric cars

At the Plug-in Electric Vehicle Infrastructure USA conference in San Diego last week, panelists spoke about the latest in electric car charging station integration across the country. Attendees included utility execs, charging technology suppliers, Mercedes-Benz, T-Mobile, consultants, and analysts. Small attendance but very detailed and technical chats between insiders. Here are a few things I heard in video interviews and what others nearby were talking about...

1. Research and development folks are testing out very fast charging technology (5 minutes?) that combine supercapacitors with batteries.

2. The nuclear meltdown in Japan is raising hackles about nuclear power in Washington DC and other places, but it's not appearing to deflate electric car support at this time. Dirty coal is a bigger issue to handle for public support of electric vehicles.

3. Batteries are the real issue for electric cars -- how long will they last in the Nissan Leaf, what will be the cost and impact of replacement, and what happens to the battery systems when they're removed?

4. Telematics and connectivity will play a big role in the future of the EV infrastructure for fleet and retail owners.

BP Covering Up Oil Spill, Nuclear Power Safety, Affordable 40s, OUCH Volvo

BP Covering Up Oil Spill: BP is not admitting how much oil got spilled last year in the Gulf following the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The company refuses to admit a figure on the amount of oil leaded or CO2 emitted in the spill, which has been named the largest oil spill in US history. BP said that it left these numbers out because of "a lack of definitive figures." Not even a good guestimate? 

Nuclear Power Safety: Nuclear experts will flesh out details of the crisis unfolding in Japan and its implications for nuclear safety in the United States for key Senate and House energy committees this week. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Executive Director of Operations Bill Borchardt will start the process speaking to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee about the status of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors on Japan's northeastern coast. The trick will be for nuclear experts to calm nerves and assert that the US nuclear energy structure is much safer.

Affordable 40s: The trick these days is buying a fuel efficient car to offset gas price spikes. Car shoppers have a lot of options now looking for 40 MPGers from just above $15,000 to slightly less than $20,000 for a 2011 Ford, Chevy, Hyundai, or Smart. This doesn't even include hybrids or plug-ins. The Hyundai Elantra will probably be the highest volume selling member of the 40-mpg club.

OUCH Volvo: Volvo's anticipated electric crossover, the C30 Electric, has been impressive to hear about. In the historic Volvo tradition, it's done well in crash testing and should prove to be safe and reliable. The problem is a lease price, $2,100 a month -- OUCH!!! That is expected to plunge when the next Volvo battery car debuts.

Europe's Nuclear Power Supporters for EVs Have Mess to Clean Up

It turns out that coal-fired power plants being the primary source of power for electricity generators plants isn't the only environmental concerns for plug-in electric cars. As a story in Automotive News mentions, the disaster in Japan's nuclear power grid has been sending shock waves around the world, especially in Europe. Nuclear power is a primary source for electric plants in Europe -- for example, electric plants in France are dominated by nuclear power. Nuclear power was a big part of the success formula for powering electric cars in Europe'a future.

Plans to have a million EVs on European roads by 2020 heavily relied on nuclear-generated electricity. Nuclear power is necessary for making EVs carbon neutral, proponents have said in Europe, and coal or natural gas as sources for power plants can't provide that neutrality, they say.

Panic Attack Over Nuclear Disaster in America

For those paranoid about nuclear plant radiation ruining their lives, join the club...

Greenwire posted this: "It's long been a vexing issue in the scientific community, spurred in large part by public panic over nuclear power, waste and radiation: Why the terror? Compared to notorious killers like driving, smoking or drinking, nuclear risks -- though objectively carrying little danger in their modern deployments -- stir the deepest fears in Americans, a terror that is surfacing again as engineers strive to contain the crisis at Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi power station."

My thoughts on the subject:

1. Some of this comes from baby boomers who were given "duck and cover" instructions by teachers years ago, when H-bomb tests were taking place and paranoia about Russian atomic bomb attacks was being felt. There were also a bunch of popular horror movies about the byproducts of this new technology -- giant ants and roaches destroying towns, families fleeing to live up in the mountains, etc.

2. Problems at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant stirred up fear and protest in the late 1970s -- see the Jane Fonda movie, "The China Syndrome," to get a good look at it. There were also a lot of No Nukes concerts led by Jackson Browne that were stirring up activists. 

3. The Russian debacle at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, where the government attempted to control the situation and the fact that a lot of people died immediately or from cancer soon after.

4. Nuclear power makes up 20% of our energy sources for electric power plants in America. It might be cleaner than coal, but it's still producing a lot of our energy, sometimes close to where we live.

5. Other countries (like France) use a lot of nuclear power for electricity -- this is widespread throughout the world.

6. As electric vehicles and renewable energy have become important issues in US and international politics, the source of power is a hot issue. Look for a lot of debate and commentary.

Nuclear Power in Your Plug-in Electric Vehicle

As more comes out on the Japanese disaster impacting its nuclear power plants, the actual safety and reliability of nuclear energy in this country is being explored and debated. The Dept. of Energy says that 103 nuclear units supply about 20% of the electricity produced in the US – second only to coal as a fuel source. Proponents of plug-in electric vehicles advocate renewable energy as the growing source of electric power plant energy, replacing dirty coal and potentially dangerous nuclear; natural gas would be much more acceptable to them, along with solar, wind, and other renewables. Some would say nuclear power is a renewable, and is much safer in the US. You can expect to hear a lot more about it.

The Japan Syndrome Shakes Up Nuclear Power Fears

The death toll has been growing in post-earthquake-and-Tsunami Japan. Right along with the devastating natural disaster, fear over nuclear power plants have stirred panic. More than a half-million people in Japan have been displaced by growing radiation fears and the massive swath of destruction. Japanese officials ordered people near the Fukushima nuclear power plant complex to stay indoors after a hydrogen blast Monday in the containment building of one of its six reactors, similar to one that occurred Saturday in a separate reactor, according to LA Times. Cabinet secretary Yukio Edano, speaking in a live TV broadcast, said it was believed that the reactor remained intact and "we think that the possibility of a massive radiation emission is low." But the apparently intensifying nuclear crisis sent a wave of fear and anxiety through the quake-battered country, as powerful aftershocks from Friday's temblor continued to rattle cities and towns. 

There is a connection between hydrogen and nuclear power. When you attend the hydrogen conference, the Idaho National Laboratory plays a part in the industry alliance and there is connection between the technologies. Nuclear power is much safer than it used to be -- but it really wasn't long ago that the movie "The China Syndrome" (starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and Michael Douglas) and No Nukes concerts with Jackson Browne and other activists brought a lot of attention to the dangers of nuclear power. The Chernobyl disaster in Russia in 1986 also heightened the fear over the safety and sanity of nuclear power. A good chunk of electricity in the US is created through nuclear-powered plants, and this is common around the world. It is a cleaner technology than fossil fuels, but the safety factors are always there. Think Hindenburg disaster for hydrogen and Chernobyl for nuclear -- and now the crisis in Japan -- and you're reminded of the panic these technologies can cause.