If a tree falls in Boulder, will it hit a hybrid electric vehicle? It’s not that likely, in the big picture of things. But on the other hand, it’s about five times more likely in Boulder than in your average U.S. town. That’s because 4.8 percent of all vehicles registered in Boulder are hybrids, according Continue reading →
hybrid vehicles
Toyota announces that it has sold 3 million hybrid vehicles. The car company has 18 hybrid models, which use a mix of conventional fuel and electric power to increase fuel efficiency. It first launched its hallmark electric car, the Prius, in 1997. The company is on track to sell 1 million hybrid vehicles each year. Continue reading →
The HomePlug® Powerline Alliance, the driving force for global powerline network technology, today announced the approval and publication of the HomePlug Green PHY (HomePlug GP) specification for Smart Grid applications. HomePlug GP is a low power, highly reliable, cost-optimized powerline networking specification targeting Smart Grid connectivity for home energy management to devices such as HVAC, Continue reading →
President Barack Obama has called for one million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to hit the road by 2015. If the demand for plug-ins skyrockets, a flood of new electric cars could strain America’s power networks to the limit. Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory are working to develop a “smart grid” that will not only adapt Continue reading →
The City of San Antonio released a report on October 2 that outlines its plans for developing sustainable energy. The utility CPS Energy partnered with the Texas city on the project. The report stated that San Antonio would work with CPS Energy to develop new distributed energy sources. Greater investments will be made in renewable Continue reading →
A growing number of automakers are readying plug-in vehicles for mass market rollouts within the next 3-5 years. Racing against the clock, some of the first major deployments of smart charging technology — software, networks and devices that can manage vehicle recharging to minimize strain on the grid and maximize use of clean power sources Continue reading →
Ford Motor Company has announced an intelligent vehicle-to-grid communications and control system for its plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The system is meant to exchange data with the electric grid in the “smart grid” future. The data exchange is meant to help recharge the onboard battery pack without strain on the electric grid, and potentially to Continue reading →
When it rains, it often pours. That’s certainly the case now, as the U.S. Department of Energy, the states of Illinois and Colorado, and an Austrian utility all announced in recent days that they will invest many millions of dollars to create recharging networks for electric vehicles. That’s wonderful news, because it brings electric-vehicle makers Continue reading →
The U.S. electric utility industry faces the greatest challenge in its history. The demand for electric services to meet the needs of our growing population and to power our increasingly digital and connected economy continues to rise. At the same time, high demand for commodities such as steel and cement is causing cost increases for Continue reading →
If plug-in hybrid vehicles proliferate as expected, utilities will be able to handle the added power demand without building new plants or straining transmission power grids as long as owners plug in overnight, the New York grid manager said in a report issued on Monday. “If New York motorists start plugging in significant numbers of Continue reading →
Global warming and unsustainable energy dependence are the foremost environmental issues of our time; they are also the signature economic issues of our day, providing enormous risks to future economic growth and unparalleled opportunities to create jobs and launch a different model of economic development. America’s energy future must create millions of new jobs; reduce Continue reading →
