Hawaii Goes Electric Vehicles

Technocrat

Hawaii Goes Electric Vehicles

zogger

Wed Dec 03 13:37:00 -0800 2008

Mechanics.

manage

The state of Hawaii becomes the first full state in the US to sign on to the Better Place project electric vehicle plan. In conjunction with the state government and the largest electric utility, thousands of charging stations will be installed all over the state, and they will be fed with as much renewable energy as possible. The first electric vehicles will be ready within 18 months and mass market availability by 2012. Their petroleum import bill combined with the pollution makes them ideal for a switch to electric vehicles powered by in state sources of power.

Hawaiian Electric Companies and Better Place Hawai'i today signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on both the infrastructure and energy sources to power Better Place's unique network of public charging spots and battery swapping stations with renewable energy. The partnership capitalizes on Better Place's innovative business model and Hawai'i's abundant renewable energy resources to deliver the large-scale deployment of electrical vehicles throughout the state. ed.z.: Good for them! I am glad some people are seeing that there's no huge need until an electric vehicle can get 500 miles per tank 0 battery with a 30 second recharge, which is more or less the typical complaint on why "electric cars can't work". It won't get any better without at least some decent sized mass adoption and economies of scale, it will remain in the "coming soon" research and development and "studying" stages forever. If we waited until computers got to be as cheap and as powerful as they are today before we all bought into them..we wouldn't have them,. we'd barely be out of the 486 level of computing. The old expression is fish or cut bait, you cut bait forever, you will *never* catch any fish. Will all the first generation of electric cars and charging stations and batteries be the best? Nope, but they will sure be the "best" of the new generation of vehicles that have a variety of ways to fuel them, you as joe car and homeowner could actually own and payoff your entire transportation stack. And the generation after that will be better still.

Easy location

wowbagger

Wed Dec 03 14:23:14 -0800 2008
manage

Hawaii is a good place for an EV - minimal extremes of temperature, a guaranteed limit on the distances you need to drive, expensive to import fuel into, a relatively high standard of living and income levels.

Easy location

President4242

Wed Dec 03 14:27:45 -0800 2008
manage

Not to mention a ready supply of hot weather and deep cold water for thermal generators.

Easy location

ehrichweiss

Wed Dec 03 16:25:31 -0800 2008
manage

Warm, not "hot" weather. According to the weather data, it's never been over 94F in Hawai'i, but it's been over 110F here in Kentucky easily, and KY has some COLD winters where Hawai'i's is still closer to 60+F.

Shai is a hero

mcrbids

Fri Dec 05 00:20:59 -0800 2008
manage

In my opinion, Shai Agassi is a modern hero. He's built a company based on solving a number of problems at once:

1) power grids destabilized by alternative energy. (EG: Wind) Like it or not, we want power when WE want it, not when the wind happens to be blowing or when the sun happens to be shining.

2) How to power vehicles on "cheap" clean energy.

3) how to make electric vehicles work for average "normal" folks who sometimes drive 500 miles in a day's time.

4) How to keep the costs under control for a new "clean" vehicle.

Seriously, this is a new business model to solve an entirely new set of problems. Shai has taken these problems head on, and managed to build incredible buzz around this solutions.

I recognize greatness when I see it:Go Shai!