Electric vehicles (EVs) fascinate me---not really because of the science behind them, but because of the politics. After decades of back-burner living, EVs died the first time in the mid 1990s. Now, they’re back from the grave, and, like the zombie hordes so prevalent in pop culture these days, EVs are poised for a massive takeover just all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere and for no single explanation that makes complete sense to me.
Honestly, I’m still not sure how we got here, nor, really, where we’re going.
It wasn’t so long ago that we declared the body---the first body. Director Chris Paine’s documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” just came out a scant four years ago. (Now, it appears, he’s working on a sequel tentatively titled “Revenge of the Electric Car.”)
What happened? No, really. What? This can’t have all been a leftwing, eco-conspiracy to change the way Americans (and some of the rest of the gas-guzzling world) think. Leftwing eco-conspiracies, like all conspiracies through history, simply don’t work. Granted, there may be more concern these days about carbon footprints and climate change among some subsets of Americans, but I just finished reading an article about a reversal in climate change beliefs. (The number of average joes who think climate change is hokum has spiked; the number of scientists who think climate change exists remains a steady “almost all.”)
Given the swing back on eco issues, that can’t be the sole force behind the EV explosion. So, where is this constant push for EVs coming from? Let’s try these options.
1.) That pesky foreign oil litany. We want off it. We don’t like it. It makes us economically and politically nervous. So, pulling massive amounts of American transportation from the great and scary foreign oil (FO) contingent is appealing across a wide range of politics. And, that’s been a great boon for EVs. It’s not just the eco warriors who love electric; it’s also the anti-FO crowd.
2.) Our attempt to shore up Detroit. Yep, for all the irony that exists in the dead car documentary, which focuses quite a bit on the director’s view that General Motors was pushing hard to kill it’s own EV1 (though, to be fair, a number of other car manufacturers had electric vehicles that also kicked the metal bucket), this may have a lot to do with reinventing the automotive wheel and how it can help the American job base.
3.) The assumption of cheap. Electric vehicles are advertised as cheaper (and, if you don’t have to use gasoline, you are certainly saving that cost). But, a true comparison of fuel costs per car vs. fuel costs through the power plant remains to be seen. However, cheap sells. Americans love cheap. (I know I do.) And, the idea of saving money will get many people to pay up front.
And the popularity of EVs continues unabated. Today, Southern California Edison (SCE) joined the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) in launching www.GoElectricDrive.com, a website to inform consumers about all the crazy details of buying and owning an electric car. (I found the video on how to charge your car especially informative, personally.)
At www.GoElectricDrive.com, you can calculate savings (see #3 above), find incentives (also #3 above) and learn about environmental benefits (see previously discussed eco-conspiracy). No real references to my #1 and #2 hypotheses though.
“Southern California’s expected to be one of the first and potentially one of the largest markets for plug-in electric vehicles in the country,” said Pedro Pizarro, executive vice president, power operations for SCE with this website launch. “SCE is committed to assisting customers as they select a plug-in electric vehicle. It’s important to understand the process of getting ready, from selecting a rate and charging options to understanding what individual households need to do to get plug-in ready.”
But, how many customers will be jumping on the EV bandwagon? Is this website prudent planning or just publicity?
In the end, to quote Sebastian Junger for the billionth time, all this EV hulabaloo may have been a simple meeting of the minds, a melding of right times and right beliefs---a perfect storm. But, whatever the political and economic meteorology that began pushing EVs on this massive overthrow path, it’s going to be even more interesting to watch what happens. And, we’ll probably be able to judge it by the title of Paine’s third EV docudrama---be it of a “return of” or a “death of” variety.
Now I’m going to go play a bit more on www.GoElectricDrive.com.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Prowl power products in San Diego
If you work in this industry, you’ll probably well aware of DistribuTECH, one of the largest annual power grid and automation conferences in America, but did you know that DistribuTECH has a fun and precious littler brother in the Utility Products Conference and Exposition (UPCE)?
DistribuTECH may help you with your industry homework, but UPCE is waiting to show you the fun side of power products. It’s more hands on, less official. And, best of all, you probably can touch all the exhibits, even if that voice in the back of your head that sounds just like your mom tells you not to.
UPCE will be conveniently located in the same spot as DistribuTECH in February 2011---beautiful, sunny and warm San Diego. In fact, UPCE will be in the same building, the San Diego Convention Center, located waterside and adjacent to the fun and funky Gaslamp Quarter.
And, UPCE expands outside the typical power products area to include exhibits on: safety products, tools, repair, testing, fiber optics and cable, vehicles, monitoring, installation, cabinets, computers and other toys and spoils any lineman or utility worker would crave. Additionally, I hear we’re giving away an Artic Cat Prowler on the exhibit floor.
Off the floor, there is, like DistribuTECH, a conference side of things, though UPCE is more hands-on and less engineering “big picture”-oriented. You can hear about utility pole solutions, grounding practices and workforce automation, as well as getting that pesky transformer certification you always wanted.
So, come see UPCE in San Diego this February 1-3. We’ll take you on a personalized, hands-on tour of all the work tools that will make you drool. And, you can check us out online at www.utilityproductsexpo.com.
DistribuTECH may help you with your industry homework, but UPCE is waiting to show you the fun side of power products. It’s more hands on, less official. And, best of all, you probably can touch all the exhibits, even if that voice in the back of your head that sounds just like your mom tells you not to.
UPCE will be conveniently located in the same spot as DistribuTECH in February 2011---beautiful, sunny and warm San Diego. In fact, UPCE will be in the same building, the San Diego Convention Center, located waterside and adjacent to the fun and funky Gaslamp Quarter.
And, UPCE expands outside the typical power products area to include exhibits on: safety products, tools, repair, testing, fiber optics and cable, vehicles, monitoring, installation, cabinets, computers and other toys and spoils any lineman or utility worker would crave. Additionally, I hear we’re giving away an Artic Cat Prowler on the exhibit floor.
Off the floor, there is, like DistribuTECH, a conference side of things, though UPCE is more hands-on and less engineering “big picture”-oriented. You can hear about utility pole solutions, grounding practices and workforce automation, as well as getting that pesky transformer certification you always wanted.
So, come see UPCE in San Diego this February 1-3. We’ll take you on a personalized, hands-on tour of all the work tools that will make you drool. And, you can check us out online at www.utilityproductsexpo.com.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Update on the power race: Europe leaves us in the dust
A little less than 400 years ago, the pilgrims hopped on the Mayflower and left England in the nautical rearview mirror for a number of reasons, not the least of which was a lack of progressive thought (especially in the areas of religious freedom). Now, it seems that England, and Europe as a whole, have lapped us in some areas of progressive thought, including energy.
Yesterday, European Union Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger stunned a lot of the EU community by not getting more conservative or free-market in his planning (as the U.S. did in last week’s elections). Instead, despite media speculation that he would follow the flow of fellow German and home country Chancellor Angela Merkel, he set out a huge five-point, trillion-euro agenda to make energy in Europe (gas and power included) one big happy family by the much-chatted-about 2020 deadline.
So, while the U.S. will be gridlocked on energy policy with a Democratic Senate and a Republican House and little-to-no elbow room in sight, the EU plans to sweeten the financial incentives for energy efficiency; create an EU-wide market with upgraded, interconnected infrastructures; direct energy policy from the top down (rather than by country); expand technology in multiple areas (including the “smart city” concepts) and push for consumer options on price comparisons, supplier changes and billing.
Along with those smaller goals are the overarching plans of the 2020 strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, increase the share of renewable energy to 20 percent and make a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency all by the year 2020.
By the year 2020 here in the U.S. we might have come to some final “yea” or “nay” decision on cap and trade. Maybe. But, I’m not going to hold my breath.
A lot of this indecision in the U.S., I realize, is due to a strong states-rights mentality that makes it hard to get all 50 states on board for anything, really. But, there are 27 member states of the European Union. And, while called “member states,” those are separate countries, with separate cultures, governments and, heck, even languages. Yet, they seem to work better for a common energy cause than we do under the umbrella of a single federal government.
Granted, the European goals may not be reached by 2020. That’s only a decade off. But, it’s vexing that they can get their people to at least agree on the concepts, the need and the planning---to at least “think” the energy forward. Getting even a pow-wow to plan for energy here in the U.S. seems improbable; getting a plan together for sold changes in the next decade appears nearly impossible at this point.
I hope that the U.S. can catch up to Europe in terms of power policy. It’s 1620 no more, and, at the official 400-year Mayflower landing mark (2020), Europe may have made advances we can’t possibly touch with energy efficiency, infrastructure, investment and, yes, the smart grid.
Yesterday, European Union Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger stunned a lot of the EU community by not getting more conservative or free-market in his planning (as the U.S. did in last week’s elections). Instead, despite media speculation that he would follow the flow of fellow German and home country Chancellor Angela Merkel, he set out a huge five-point, trillion-euro agenda to make energy in Europe (gas and power included) one big happy family by the much-chatted-about 2020 deadline.
So, while the U.S. will be gridlocked on energy policy with a Democratic Senate and a Republican House and little-to-no elbow room in sight, the EU plans to sweeten the financial incentives for energy efficiency; create an EU-wide market with upgraded, interconnected infrastructures; direct energy policy from the top down (rather than by country); expand technology in multiple areas (including the “smart city” concepts) and push for consumer options on price comparisons, supplier changes and billing.
Along with those smaller goals are the overarching plans of the 2020 strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, increase the share of renewable energy to 20 percent and make a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency all by the year 2020.
By the year 2020 here in the U.S. we might have come to some final “yea” or “nay” decision on cap and trade. Maybe. But, I’m not going to hold my breath.
A lot of this indecision in the U.S., I realize, is due to a strong states-rights mentality that makes it hard to get all 50 states on board for anything, really. But, there are 27 member states of the European Union. And, while called “member states,” those are separate countries, with separate cultures, governments and, heck, even languages. Yet, they seem to work better for a common energy cause than we do under the umbrella of a single federal government.
Granted, the European goals may not be reached by 2020. That’s only a decade off. But, it’s vexing that they can get their people to at least agree on the concepts, the need and the planning---to at least “think” the energy forward. Getting even a pow-wow to plan for energy here in the U.S. seems improbable; getting a plan together for sold changes in the next decade appears nearly impossible at this point.
I hope that the U.S. can catch up to Europe in terms of power policy. It’s 1620 no more, and, at the official 400-year Mayflower landing mark (2020), Europe may have made advances we can’t possibly touch with energy efficiency, infrastructure, investment and, yes, the smart grid.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Midterm elections, treehuggers and regression-to-mean changes in energy policy
The word around industrial and political blog-land is that it was not a happy election week for energy treehuggers. There’s a great regression-to-mean at work, a return to the traditional senses of energy and policy. With a large change from a global warming-sure blue sea to a global warming-unsure red current, the tide in the political world has shifted away from carbon-lessening, renewable-positive energy to a more traditional fossil fuel approach, with a few exceptions here and there.
Not an exception: cap and trade. It’s dead, for awhile at least. Perhaps we should say it’s comatose instead. We can’t completely call it. But, it’s not bound to awaken like an electric sleeping beauty in the next two years. Just recently, Congress was having one heck of a time attempting to pass a climate change bill in an overwhelming Democratic government. Now that Congress is split between a Democratic Senate and a Republican House, it’s certainly not getting any easier. As the Washington Independent was reporting on Nov. 3, “at least 12 freshman Democrats who voted for the cap-and-trade bill lost their re-election bids.” And, according to Politico, the total number of Dems who voted for the Waxman-Markey House climate bill who lost seats in this election cycle tops 30---“swept away on Tuesday’s anti-incumbent wave” was their exact wording. So, pretty much that’s a mean, green snoozer who will be snoring for awhile, much to the dismay of environmentalists (and to the relief of many climate skeptics, though I admit to you that I am not one of those; I may be from Oklahoma, but I am no Tom Coburn).
Overall, except for the bright spot of a “no” to Prop. 23 in Cali (a ballot measure to suspend AB 32, the state's climate change law) there wasn’t a lot for motivated treehuggers with a fear of global warming to cling to after Tuesday in the area of energy policy. However, nearly 30 states already have renewable energy portfolio standards. So, there’s that for those treehuggers, I guess. Unless there’s a lot of work to reverse RFPs, those will remain. Still, don’t expect that number to grow until election year 2012, and perhaps not even then if our return-to-mean is entrenched.
If environmental issues do remain on the political plate, look for less of a push with wind and solar power and more “middle ground” environmental energies like nuclear power or even carbon capture to resurge. (The one power plus both sides seem to agree on, sometimes, is hydro. So, that may be neutral territory to start from.)
Incentives for renewable projects and green buildings are expected to dwindle, though programs that push both a healthy environment and a healthy consumer wallet (like winterizing and efficiency) may survive.
Electric vehicles, which also bring in that wallet factor in terms of jobs and potential return for still-hurting car companies are thought to be the real bright spot with this election. It is believed that EVs will remain a positive power push, even for a Republican House.
In the end, though, the burning question may be: What happens to the smart grid? Obama has made it his big player energy push with attention, action, and, most importantly, cash. A number of SGIG projects are in production, so to speak. And, it’s quite likely that, at least for a few months to a year or so, the smart grid momentum will keep rolling; with the funding in hand, some of those projects just have to rely on the gravity of completion. But, with no more stimulus cash floating in on that red tide, can the smart grid still come together?
It waits to be seen if our disappointed treehuggers will also be shedding a few tears for the smart grid in the future.
Not an exception: cap and trade. It’s dead, for awhile at least. Perhaps we should say it’s comatose instead. We can’t completely call it. But, it’s not bound to awaken like an electric sleeping beauty in the next two years. Just recently, Congress was having one heck of a time attempting to pass a climate change bill in an overwhelming Democratic government. Now that Congress is split between a Democratic Senate and a Republican House, it’s certainly not getting any easier. As the Washington Independent was reporting on Nov. 3, “at least 12 freshman Democrats who voted for the cap-and-trade bill lost their re-election bids.” And, according to Politico, the total number of Dems who voted for the Waxman-Markey House climate bill who lost seats in this election cycle tops 30---“swept away on Tuesday’s anti-incumbent wave” was their exact wording. So, pretty much that’s a mean, green snoozer who will be snoring for awhile, much to the dismay of environmentalists (and to the relief of many climate skeptics, though I admit to you that I am not one of those; I may be from Oklahoma, but I am no Tom Coburn).
Overall, except for the bright spot of a “no” to Prop. 23 in Cali (a ballot measure to suspend AB 32, the state's climate change law) there wasn’t a lot for motivated treehuggers with a fear of global warming to cling to after Tuesday in the area of energy policy. However, nearly 30 states already have renewable energy portfolio standards. So, there’s that for those treehuggers, I guess. Unless there’s a lot of work to reverse RFPs, those will remain. Still, don’t expect that number to grow until election year 2012, and perhaps not even then if our return-to-mean is entrenched.
If environmental issues do remain on the political plate, look for less of a push with wind and solar power and more “middle ground” environmental energies like nuclear power or even carbon capture to resurge. (The one power plus both sides seem to agree on, sometimes, is hydro. So, that may be neutral territory to start from.)
Incentives for renewable projects and green buildings are expected to dwindle, though programs that push both a healthy environment and a healthy consumer wallet (like winterizing and efficiency) may survive.
Electric vehicles, which also bring in that wallet factor in terms of jobs and potential return for still-hurting car companies are thought to be the real bright spot with this election. It is believed that EVs will remain a positive power push, even for a Republican House.
In the end, though, the burning question may be: What happens to the smart grid? Obama has made it his big player energy push with attention, action, and, most importantly, cash. A number of SGIG projects are in production, so to speak. And, it’s quite likely that, at least for a few months to a year or so, the smart grid momentum will keep rolling; with the funding in hand, some of those projects just have to rely on the gravity of completion. But, with no more stimulus cash floating in on that red tide, can the smart grid still come together?
It waits to be seen if our disappointed treehuggers will also be shedding a few tears for the smart grid in the future.
Monday, November 1, 2010
A zombie apocalypse power primer
Last night was Halloween, one of my favorite holidays of the year. So, I did one of my favorite things: I watched classic moaning, groaning undead flicks, including the new “zombie western” on AMC. Zombies are my favorite of all horror creatures: They are frightening monsters but with a visual reminder of the humanity that once existed. I love the groupthink hunger horde that zombies represent---zombies are, essentially, the primal id selves we all fear we might become some day in the absence of our dull civilizing network of bank ATMs, cable TV and On the Border restaurants.
But, as someone in the power business, I’m often fascinated at what the remaining non-zombie survivors have to work with once the power grid goes out. Sometimes it’s accurate (the AMC show worked hard for that, even adding odd exposition to explain why the water was hot and ran here at the police station but not there at the house), but a lot of times there are major gaps in the power reality of a zombie movie, leading me to believe that most Americans don’t understand just how pervasive power is in their lives.
Personally, in case of a zombie apocalypse, I’d be more worried about lack of power than the power of a deadly undead bite.
Power isn’t just the reason your TV flickers and the lights go on. Power pushes through things you’ve never thought of, really----like pumps that allow you to have running water and gas to flow from a station’s underground reservoir.
One of my favorite newer zombie flicks is “Zombieland,” but, I admit that I was a bit of a heckler on my first viewing in the theater when our hero fills up at a gas station 3 weeks after the great epidemic. Without power, there’s no pumping of gas. Period. If we all lived in 1920 when the pumps still relied on customer (or, more likely, attendant) manpower, our hero might have had a shot, but manual gas pumps are a relic of the past. We’ve made them electronic, like the rest of the world.
So, when the zombies attack, remember: Fill up first. Because, when they get enough people to join the scary zombie cult and no one is left to man power stations, you’ve only got the gas in your car to work with. (But, take heart, the survivors in EV cars will be dead before you are.)
Now, let’s talk water. Many water utility lift stations (or pump stations) will have back-up generators, and your hot water heater will have 40-50 gallons, sometimes, of water still in the system. This will give you some time to hunker down if the zombie hordes are roaming the streets. But, alas, those stations aren’t meant to operate long-term without power. So, eventually, when the generators run out of fuel, your sewer system stops working. And, when the clean reservoirs at your local water treatment plant go dry and no more can be lifted into the system, your water stops running (even gravity systems don’t work if there’s no water to pull from).
But, it’s true, you’ll have water longest. Remember that. Long after lights, TV, cable, Internet, your cell phone (once it runs out of power, you’re out of talk time permanently), you will have water. Just don’t forget to boil it first before drinking. (Here’s hoping you remember how to build a fire from your Girl Scout/Boy Scout days.)
Finally, yes, generators will be a godsend in the zombie apocalypse. But, remember, they are only temporary. You run out of fuel, and you run out of power. Without the massive oil industry to produce more (and without electronic pumps to lift it from the station’s underground holding tank, as mentioned earlier with “Zombieland”), there are only so many abandoned cars, tractors and motor homes you can scavenge for leftovers. Eventually, without fuel production, there will be no power.
In the end, watching a small band of survivors take on the zombie hordes and deal with the newfound inconveniences of a powerless world, I have to admit that my great affection for power grows two sizes with each viewing. Power is a marvelous thing, and I hope we can avoid the zombie apocalypse that would put a significant dent into my delightfully pampered lifestyle.
But, it might not hurt to buy a generator and stock up on fuel just in case. I want that pampered power lifestyle for as long as humanly possible.
But, as someone in the power business, I’m often fascinated at what the remaining non-zombie survivors have to work with once the power grid goes out. Sometimes it’s accurate (the AMC show worked hard for that, even adding odd exposition to explain why the water was hot and ran here at the police station but not there at the house), but a lot of times there are major gaps in the power reality of a zombie movie, leading me to believe that most Americans don’t understand just how pervasive power is in their lives.
Personally, in case of a zombie apocalypse, I’d be more worried about lack of power than the power of a deadly undead bite.
Power isn’t just the reason your TV flickers and the lights go on. Power pushes through things you’ve never thought of, really----like pumps that allow you to have running water and gas to flow from a station’s underground reservoir.
One of my favorite newer zombie flicks is “Zombieland,” but, I admit that I was a bit of a heckler on my first viewing in the theater when our hero fills up at a gas station 3 weeks after the great epidemic. Without power, there’s no pumping of gas. Period. If we all lived in 1920 when the pumps still relied on customer (or, more likely, attendant) manpower, our hero might have had a shot, but manual gas pumps are a relic of the past. We’ve made them electronic, like the rest of the world.
So, when the zombies attack, remember: Fill up first. Because, when they get enough people to join the scary zombie cult and no one is left to man power stations, you’ve only got the gas in your car to work with. (But, take heart, the survivors in EV cars will be dead before you are.)
Now, let’s talk water. Many water utility lift stations (or pump stations) will have back-up generators, and your hot water heater will have 40-50 gallons, sometimes, of water still in the system. This will give you some time to hunker down if the zombie hordes are roaming the streets. But, alas, those stations aren’t meant to operate long-term without power. So, eventually, when the generators run out of fuel, your sewer system stops working. And, when the clean reservoirs at your local water treatment plant go dry and no more can be lifted into the system, your water stops running (even gravity systems don’t work if there’s no water to pull from).
But, it’s true, you’ll have water longest. Remember that. Long after lights, TV, cable, Internet, your cell phone (once it runs out of power, you’re out of talk time permanently), you will have water. Just don’t forget to boil it first before drinking. (Here’s hoping you remember how to build a fire from your Girl Scout/Boy Scout days.)
Finally, yes, generators will be a godsend in the zombie apocalypse. But, remember, they are only temporary. You run out of fuel, and you run out of power. Without the massive oil industry to produce more (and without electronic pumps to lift it from the station’s underground holding tank, as mentioned earlier with “Zombieland”), there are only so many abandoned cars, tractors and motor homes you can scavenge for leftovers. Eventually, without fuel production, there will be no power.
In the end, watching a small band of survivors take on the zombie hordes and deal with the newfound inconveniences of a powerless world, I have to admit that my great affection for power grows two sizes with each viewing. Power is a marvelous thing, and I hope we can avoid the zombie apocalypse that would put a significant dent into my delightfully pampered lifestyle.
But, it might not hurt to buy a generator and stock up on fuel just in case. I want that pampered power lifestyle for as long as humanly possible.
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