Today Tesla Motors released preliminary quarterly financial results figures through a shareholder letter (as is Tesla’s customary practice, a 10Q giving official figures will be published in a couple weeks). The good news is the manufacturing rate was 11,160 vehicles (10% better than guidance), averaging more than 1000 cars built per week,…
PlugShare just became extremely more useful. It was already the best smart phone app for locating electric car charging stations, not just in the U.S. because its data extends to Australia, Europe and other places. What’s new is Recargo has added a Trip Planner that’s pretty useful. What’s shown is trip…
Some electric car charging station installations require a power management system to ensure power consumption is constrained to the service panel capacity. The “service panel” being the grey box containing circuit breakers for each circuit, and the master circuit breaker for the panel. Service panel capacity is what constrains the total…
There are two climate change related efforts which put conflicting constraints on building electrical service and energy accounting. On the one hand we want “Net Zero Energy Buildings” where, between a combination of energy efficiency and local renewable energy (rooftop solar), the building generates all the electricity it consumes. On the other…
In May 2013 at Fortune’s Brainstorm Green Conference, then-GM-CEO Dan Akerson promised that the Next Generation Chevy Volt would be $10,000 cheaper, and profitable. Today, GM announced the Next Generation Chevy Volt MSRP, starting at $33,170 (excl $825 deliver charges), and while that’s a lot cheaper than the 2011 Volt’s…
A neat trick that could give us the power needed to charge any number of electric cars is simple – switch all streetlights from sodium vapor lamps to LED streetlights. LED streetlights are far more power efficient than other lamps, plus reduce light pollution giving us the possibility to see…
Another potential land development proposal in Santa Clara gives me a great example of the disjointed disconnected non-integrated planning process I discussed the other day. That is, as a long-time resident of Silicon Valley (over 25 years) I see that much of the sprawlitis-causing-traffic-congestion that’s now plaguing our area is sourced…
Tonight Tesla Motors announced what we’ve expected, but it’s a bigger deal than expected. Specifically, Tesla Motors is launching what’s essentially a new business unit, Tesla Energy, and positioning itself not as an automaker but as an “energy innovation company”. Tesla Energy’s product line is, initially, grid-tied energy storage units…
Brusa, a major supplier of electric car charging units to OEM automakers, has just licensed WiTricity’s patent portfolio. WiTricity makes technology for wireless charging of devices – like cell phones – to “cut the charging cord”. Supposedly the company founder had a Eureka Moment one night when his cell phone…
Santa Clara CA just approved a “road diet” on a section of Tasman Blvd that’s extremely over-built for current traffic needs (6 lanes of road, where 4 lanes would suffice). The plan would create a bicycle lane going each direction, but some on the City Council objected because of a huge…
Today, after several actions related to California’s water crisis, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an Executive Order enacting the strictest climate change targets of any North America territory. The new goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. California is on target to reach the existing goal…
Long-term trends are that electric vehicles will take over, and fossil fuel will be rendered obsolete. That’s according to a Bloomberg News report last week with good news for anyone rooting for the demise of the fossil fuel industry. It’s not government mandate, but technology improvements that will create this…
Back in early 2013 it seems that Tesla Motors was so close to bankruptcy that Elon Musk and Google’s Larry Page had discussed Google buying out Tesla. Even though Page agreed to the deal and even shook hands on it, the deal reportedly fell through because of Musks demands —…
Late last week a “wastewater injection well” blew up after water storage tanks were struck by lightning. The site is operated by NGL Water Solutions near the Greely-Weld County Airport outside Greely Colorado, and has storage tanks to hold fracking wastewater that’s to be injected underground. While these are tanks full…
Supposedly electric cars pose a risk to stability of the electricity grid. That somehow the electricity grid will be overwhelmed and blow up if every car is switched to electric power. Reuters is reporting today that Toyota’s Chef Engineer for their fuel-cell car, the Mirai, Yoshikazu Tanaka, said that electric cars…
