Lithium battery maker Ener1 inconveniently declared bankruptcy the day after President Obama’s State of the Union declared support for the domestic advanced battery industry. Any company can run into trouble if the market conditions shift, that’s what bankruptcy courts are for. Last week when lithium-ion battery maker Ener1 entered bankruptcy proceedings it was…
Here in the U.S. we effectively killed the Keystone XL project. Aren’t we proud of ourselves? We held anti-Keystone XL rallies in front of the White House and elsewhere, and got Obama to reject the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. That should mean the end of the tar sands crude oil…
Reports have been circulating since last year that GM is planning to move electric car development and/or manufacturing to China. In some circles, especially those who like to rephrase GM’s name as “Government Motors”, this thought is highly controversial. In truth GM sells more cars in China than it does…
California continues to lead the nation in developing standards for advanced clean, zero emissions, vehicles from cars up to big trucks. Today the California Air Resources Board (CARB) passed new regulations that could help shape the future of the automotive industry. Previous era’s of California’s clean air regulations have both made California’s air cleaner, and have…
A couple days ago GM and Google announced a joint project to explore using smart grid technologies to let Volt owners get the semblance of sourcing their electricity from renewable energy resources. The technology appears to the user via OnStar, and shows the percentage of available renewable energy on the…
A politically charged Congressional Hearing this morning questioned the NHTSA’s integrity following the Chevy Volt crash test fire last summer, with Administrator Strickland bearing the brunt of Rep. Jordan’s angry questioning. In a politically charged Congressional Hearing held today, the safety of the Chevy Volt, and the integrity of the…
The NHTSA released a detailed report of the Chevy Volt crash test and forensic investigation last week prior to this weeks House Oversight committee hearing. On Wednesday this week the House Oversight Committee will take up the question, “Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA Know and When Did They Know…
You may have noticed a hyped-up controversy attached to the Chevy Volt, the current round of which is the battery pack fire plus side issues like the amount of federal support behind the Volt. The controversy, irregardless of whether there’s a real danger, is causing some to suggest that GM…
We are at a chicken-and-egg moment where prospective electric car owners want to see electric charging stations, but prospective charging station owners want to see electric car owners using their stations. The parking situation for electric car owners seems to have inspired a case of “EV Envy” in the mind…
Some promote natural gas as a clean fuel for transportation that can solve both the climate change and energy security crises, but a paper released yesterday in Climate News casts doubt on that direction. Some have proposed Natural Gas to be used as a supposedly clean “bridge fuel” to address…
The firestorm over the Chevy Volt battery pack fire is moving next week to a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the hearing is to feature Dan Akerson, GM’s CEO. In May 2011 a Chevy Volt underwent extreme crash testing by the NHTSA, and three weeks later…
After ten years in an electric car like the Nissan Leaf, its battery pack might still have 70% of its original capacity, theoretically making it reusable in the smart grid. One of the questions related to electric vehicles is the disposition of the battery packs after a few years when…
Today President Obama’s administration rejected the Keystone XL pipeline project, and we can expect a chorus of jubilation from the environmental groups. My email has already received statements from 350.org and the NRDC applauding this decision. I’m happy it came out this way, that the pipeline was rejected, but the…
“The LTA is happy to announce that we have revised our electric vehicle classifications. We looked at various electric vehicle racing organizations and chose to adopt the classification system used by the National Electric Drag Racing Association, www.nedra.com due to their fifteen years of experience in electric drag racing and…
NRDC’s Luke Tonachel testifies in joint EPA and Dept of Transportation hearings that the proposed CAFE standards upgrade would produce huge economic and environmental benefits. Today in Detroit was the first of three public hearings on the Obama Administrations proposal to increase CAFE standards to 54.5 MPG equivalent fuel efficiency…
