Archive for alt fuel
The ‘Nissan Leaf’ is creating a charge in the electric car market
Posted by: | CommentsI’m always keen to learn the latest developments in electric vehicles and as we’ve spotlighted in the past the auto industry seems to be setting their initial sights on lower range urban commuter designated vehicles. Until the technology is both further refined and more cost effective, the opportunity for a car with the range for a days long distance driving (300 miles / 500 km) may still be 5-10 years down the road. While such designs are apparently plausible at present the cost of the fuel cells and related technology would make purchase prices too high to launch on a competitive market. Hence hybrid vehicles look set to fill the transitional phase of a gas/fuel cell alternative.
The better news is that lower range urban cars can be cost effective and mass produced in the very near future and the Nissan Leaf looks set to be one of the forerunners in this market. Nissan have debuted the car via their website and are now taking advance orders for delivery in 2011 and 2012. While the cost seems a little high you really need to look at the longer term environmental and fuel cost savings. The car is set to retail at around $33,000 but alternate fuel tax rebates will bring the costs down to nearer $26,000. That would still be $7,000-8,000 above what you might expect to pay for a similar vehicle with the same specs, manufacturer and ‘rating’. At that point a little math is worthwhile, the average driver in the US is estimated to drive 12,000 miles per year. Over the course of 4 years (a typical vehicle loan) those 48,000 miles might require 1846 gallons of gas based on 26mpg. Fuel prices in the US have ranged betweeen $2.40 and $4.50 per gallon the last three years but we’ll take an aggregate cost of $3.40 – fuel savings alone over the four years would be in the vicinity $6,000 which essentially covers the additional cost for the vehicle initially. Of course there are the environmental benefits which in my mind are impossible to associate a cost with but removing traditional vehicles from the roads over the coming years is of paramount importance.
The Nissan Leaf, full roll out by 2012
As for the Nissan Leaf, its a functional urban/suburban car with a limited range. If your daily commute is 8 miles each way it still leaves you plenty of room for evening events, shopping and local trips. The vehicle is driven by an electric motor which is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack which will raise 107 horsepower. The car has a listed range of 100 miles per full recharge. Nissan make it clear that the range will change plus/minus up to 35% based on many variables. The traffic you encounter, the loaded weight of the vehicle , weather and the way you drive will each impact the range of the Leaf. The dashboard is packed with information providing readouts that will assist the driver in getting maximum range and performance from the current charge of the vehicle. While that sounds like a lot of extra work I’m sure after a week or two of driving it would all become second nature. The car offers eco-mode which will improve the range of the car but limit some of the performance (standard performance is 0-60mph in 6 seconds).
Nissan advise that a potential buyer should know that frequent adverse weather conditions such as extreme heat or cold and wind will impact the car’s range to a notable extent, naturally this is a consideration that also should be made. Estimated costs for a full home recharging are around $2.50-$3.00 per session which seems reasonable. We may still be 5-10 years away from public recharging stations being available on a widespread basis although states such as California are looking to speed up that process significantly. At present over 15,000 pre-orders have been made for the Nissan Leaf and I’d bank that many more to follow.
Tags: alt fuel, alternate fuel vehicles, cost of electric cars, eco friendly alternatives, electric cars, electric commuter car, nissan leaf, nissan new electric car, planet foward, range of electric car, renewable energy, running costs electric car, urban electric carsGreen Gazette (Issue 13) Green Racing, Concrete Mushrooms and an eco ghost
Posted by: | CommentsGood evening everyone and welcome back to the greenest bulletins around. The green gazette is our twice per week posting to highlight some of the more intriguing, inspiring or incredible pieces of eco news. Inventions, ideas and issues will be tackled as we seek the online newswire for stories or blogs that are worth a quick read. So let’s get started…
A lot of people get excited about auto racing, really excited (too excited?). I’m not one of them but as with all things sports related – to each his own. Seeing vehicles race round a track (you end where you begin…hmmm) at insane speeds draws huge crowds and even bigger revenues to 
the sport. By definition it’s an extreme waste of fuel, nothing is delivered anywhere, nobody is commuting and each vehicle has but the single occupant. So how can auto racing green up? Natural gas vehicles is an intriguing answer and Volkswagen are leading the way. A recent entry into a 24 hour race VW won the ‘alt-fuel’ class in the contest. These aren’t a poor relation to traditional racing either, the vehicle offers 220hp and 202 foot pounds of torque. Bio-CNG is made from renewable resources such as grass or refined biological waste. VW claims the fuel is CO2-neutral, generating only the amount of carbon dioxide already absorbed by the source feedstock. The energy produced from a ton of organic residues equates to 60 liters (about 15 gallons) of fuel oil, or 200 kilowatt-hours of electrical power. Using this production process the yield from one hectare (2.4 acres) of cultivated land allows a vehicle to cover a distance of 67,600 kilometers (about 42,000 miles). Amazing stats from an amazing vehicle and you still get to see a car go round and round and round. If you have to race then why not do so with the 80% reduction in CO2 emissions that this vehicle delivers?
Nothing is greener than gardening you’d tend to assume and of course if you can grow your own fruit or vegetables what better way to cut down on food transportation? Besides which, nothing tastes like a strawberry, onion or an orange from your own back garden. As a result I wanted to add a link to these seven great tips for eco-friendly garden. Worth a look and really easy to implement!
As I’ve warned you before, here comes a weird story. Albania hardly ever makes the news, the small nation on the Adriatic is perhaps most famous for being the most Southwestern extremity of the former Soviet Eastern Bloc. Despite bordering Greece and being less than 100 miles off 
the coast of Southern Italy Albania was governed from the USSR from 1946-1992. The landscape (due to a combination of history, location and paranoia) is littered with concrete pillboxes or bunkers. Small concrete domes throughout the land that could be used strategically in case of invasion, and when I say scattered that’s not accurate there are over 700,000 dotting the land. The goal is to transform them into eco-friendly hostels, they are already built and the environment is not damaged further (many are in beautiful scenic locations). You can learn more about the designers and their vision and even download a huge pdf of the proposal by visiting their website. Taking something as stark as this and trying to create something positive is rather bold and creative. If you have time I’ve also included a preview video of the documentary being made about the concept. Time for me to visit Albania, I went to the former Yugoslavia to the North and it looks equally beautiful.
Finally tonight a little ghost from England especially for Halloween. Kaspa is a glow in the dark EcoGlo-Ghost that will glow for an extended period of time after switching the internal light bulb off. It’s a sweet little design and the extended glow (perfect for a ghost friendly kid) is due to the product containing phosphor. The product is winning awards for innovation and design and I must confess I’d have loved one when I was a lad. Read and view more about Kaspa here and there’s also a video of the ‘glowing’ – erm….ghost.
Happy Halloween!!
Tags: Albania, alt fuel, auto racing, bio-cng, bunkers, CO2, co2 emissions, concrete bunkers, eco ghost, eco glow, eco hostels, emissions, fuel consumption, glow in the dark, green gardening, green gardening tips, halloween, kaspa, natural gas cars, natural gas racing car, phosphor, planet forward, Soviet eastern bloc, USSR, Volkswagen
