The Hybrid, Fuel, and Vehicle Report
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ISSN 1946-1011 The Hybrid Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Report February 28, 2017 The fine print: This report is a summary of articles appearing in popular, business, and technical media referring to the impact of fuel costs and fuel efficiency on vehicle technology, development, and markets. At the end of the report is a list of all articles summarized, with hyperlinks to internet sources where available. Some articles may require free registration or paid subscriptions to access. The Hybrid Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Report (ISSN: 1946-1011) is compiled, written, and edited by Thomas L. R. Smith, Ph. D. (hereinafter referred to as “The Editor”), Economic Analysis Branch of the Budget and Financial Analysis Division, Washington State Department of Transportation. Contact The Hybrid Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Report’s editor at [email protected] or (360) 705-7941. Contributions of news items, original articles, cookies, and positive comments about The Report are welcome. TABLE OF CONTENTS HYBRIDS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 ELECTRIC VEHICLES ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 ALTERNATIVE FUELS ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 COMING TO A LOCATION NEAR YOU ........................................................................................................................... 2 OTHER TECHNOLOGY .................................................................................................................................................... 3 SUBSCRIBING TO The Hybrid Report. ........................................................................................................................... 4 ARTICLES REFERENCED ............................................................................................................................................... 4 HYBRIDS The city of Kaohsiung in Taiwan launched a hybrid passenger ferry, Visedo (Tomi, February 2, 2017) reported. Ship and Ocean Industries retrofitted the passenger ferry with a Visedo diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system. The system allows the vessel to sail in full electric mode for half its voyage. Visedo claims the system should save 25,000 liters (6,604 gallons) of fuel each year. The Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, which supervises a free trade zone in Dubai, received two Volkswagen Golf GTE plug-in hybrids, Construction Week (Bhatia, February 27, 2017) considers. The cars went through a hot weather test, surviving the summer in Dubai. The Golfs will be used by the engineering section of the Authority. ELECTRIC VEHICLES Blue Bird, a Fort Valley, GA, company that makes school buses, received a $4.4 million grant from the U. S. Department of Energy to make electric school buses, the company (January 27, 2017) announced in a press release. The grant requires the bus company to develop buses that will allow the bus to return electricity to the grid. Blue Bird built its first electric bus in 1994. Daimler’s Smart car brand may make a smart move when it discontinues gasoline cars and only sell electric cars in North America, Tech Crunch (Etherington, February 14, 2017) crunched. The decision is mostly because the gas versions of the Smart Fortwo just is not selling in the U. S. in a market that favors SUVs and trucks. Of course, Smart’s electrics haven’t sold particularly well, either, but Smart wants to stay in the North American market and expects electric sales to perform better in the future. The National Police of Ukraine will acquire 635 plug-in hybrid Mitsubishi Outlanders, Mitsubishi (January 27, 2017) announced in a press release. The vehicles will be delivered by July. The deal is part of the Kyoto Accord’s Green Investment scheme. 1 © 2017 Washington State Department of Transportation The Hybrid Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Report ISSN 1946-1011 February 28, 2017 2 Range anxiety is often given as the number one reason people don’t by electric cars. In London, a survey by the Institute of Motor Industry finds that the insurance premium on electric car keeps 65% of drivers away from electric cars, Contract Hire and Leasing (Thomason, February 21, 2017) contends. Insurance companies in England charge 50% more on electrics and hybrids than regular cars. The higher premium is due to the higher price of electric cars and because there is a shortage of mechanics trained to work on electric cars. In Norway, electric cars are 37% of new car sales, the Daily Kos (Einenkel, February 21, 2017) deals. Last year, the market share was 29%. Electric cars are still only 5% of the total fleet, but as sales keep increasing, some believe that electric cars may take 50% of the market by the end of the year. This article was provided by Hybrid Report subscriber Jennifer Smith.1 BMW put out a recall on the i3 REx extended range electric cars sold in the United States, Auto World News (Olvido, February 24, 2017) writes. The extended range i3 has a gas motor that recharges the batteries. The vent line can rub against the battery’s positive cable, which could cause a leak, which could make the car go, “boom.” So far, there haven’t been any cases of these cars going boom, but out of an abundance of caution, BMW will recall the cars and fix the problem for free. ALTERNATIVE FUELS Royal Dutch Shell and Toyota are working together to bring seven hydrogen stations to California, Bloomberg (Trudell, Hagiwara, & Lippert, February 21, 2017) blasts. Toyota and Shell will spend $11.4 million on the stations, while the California Energy Commission may put $16.4 million into the pot. There are only 25 stations in California, but the state has a goal of 100 stations by 2024. Lower Saxony,2 in Germany, bought 14 fuel-cell powered trains from French company Alstom, Charged (Morris, February 26, 2017) charges. The trains will start operating in December of this year. The train can travel about 500 miles at 87 mph. COMING TO A LOCATION NEAR YOU: The latest news on new charging stations which may or may not be somewhere close to you. United States: Southern California Edison installed eight new charging stations at Lynwood City Hall, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune (Scauzillo, February 16, 2017) said. The chargers are the first installed in a low-income area as part of an Edison program to bring electric cars to low- and medium-income neighborhoods. Parking Structure 7 at Los Angeles International Airport, where the big jet engines roar,3 has 18 new level 2 charging structures, the Manhattan Beach Patch 1 Who is related to the Editor. 2 There is not an area or state in modern Germany called “Upper Saxony.” To the southeast of Lower Saxony, you will find Saxony-Anhalt, and southeast of that, Saxony. 3 Leanne Scott, “L. A. International Airport,” Sony Tree Publishing, ca. 1970. © 2017 Washington State Department of Transportation The Hybrid Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Report ISSN 1946-1011 February 28, 2017 3 (Staff, February 16, 2017) patched. With these new charging stations, LAX has 81 level 2 stations. Consumer Energy in Michigan will not be building an 810 charger network in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, Midwest Energy News (Balaskovitz, February 17, 2017) notes. The charging network was part of a proposal that included rate hikes for Consumer’s customers. Michigan Public Service Commission opposed the proposal. Among the complaints was that it would stifle private charger expansion. Consumer Energy withdrew the proposal. Havre de Grace in Maryland installed a charging station at David Craig Park, the Havre de Grace Patch (Janney, February 22, 2017) patched. It costs $2 per hour to charge. The Spokane-based utility Avista opened a fast charging station in Rosalia, Washington, The Spokesman-Review (Culver, February 27, 2017) reviewed. Rosalia is roughly midway between Spokane and Pullman on US 195. Avista plans to install two more fast chargers on the route between Spokane and Pullman by May. There is also a level 2 charger at the Rosalia location. Around the World: There are two new free charging stations in Malaysia, Free Malaysia Today (Bernama, February 14, 2017) says. The stations are at Boustead Petroleum Marketing (BHPetrol) gas stations in Petaling Jaya and Sungai Besi Harmony. BHPetrol will open additional charging stations this year. Byron Bay in Australia has a new fast charging station at the Byron Bay Library, The Northern Star (February 21, 2017) illuminates. Byron Bay in New South Wales, just south of Brisbane. London will gain thousands of new charging stations over the next few years, the Evening Standard (Nimmo, February 21, 2017) states. A company called POD Point is investing £9 million ($11,340,725.71) in charging stations. Tauranga, on New Zealand’s North Island, installed a solar powered charger on The Strand, Bay of Plenty Times (February 22, 2017) tells. The charger has a meter that shows how much electricity is coming from the sun and how much is coming from the grid. Peterborough, in the Canadian Province of Ontario, recently gained nine new charging stations, Ontario (Ministry of Transportation, February 24, 2017) said. Peterborough Utilities Group installed 2 fast chargers and 7 level 2 chargers at locations around the town. The chargers are part of Ontario’s Electric Vehicle