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Friday April 3, 2009
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There has been plenty of interest in all-electric vehicles, but comparatively little attention paid to the infrastructure required to charge them. (Charging them every night in the garage is one thing, but what about long trips or heavy errand days?) Now Romag, a specialty photovoltaic cell manufacturer, has unveiled the PowerPark, a parking station with built-in solar cells
that can charge an electric vehicle on the go.
The company installed the first unit at its UK-based headquarters, and plans to install an unspecified number of them around the UK as well, according to Wired. "Interest has been received from supermarket chains, schools, airports,
train stations, hospitals [and] commercial office buildings in the
U.K., Middle East and Far East," Kevin Webster, the company's technical
director, said in the article. "The U.S.
would be an excellent market for the canopy."
Romag claims that each parking space could generate about kilowatt hours of electricity annually, according to the report. Interestingly, the spaces are each linked to the
electric grid so energy "can be generated for use in the associated
buildings when cars are not being charged," Webster said in the article. "No
electricity is wasted."
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April 3, 2009 10:16 PM
What most people forget is that it takes more energy to generate the elctricity to power electric cars than it does to use other hydrocarbon fuel directly in the cars.
And we, in the US, don't have extra electrical capacity and won't until the Green Gestapo releases their stranglehold on nuclear energy, and oil exploration.
Like generating ethanol from corn, this too is an environmental and energy hoax.
April 4, 2009 1:46 AM
And Ross, what you're forgetting is that there are many many different ways to generate the electricity to power these EV cars.
Wind, solar, biofuels, geothermal, the list goes on. Ethanol from corn a hoax? Have you seen what you're filling up your tank with? Your calling anyone but fossil fuel junkies out as the "Green Gestapo" is not only a Godwin's Law flub-up but belies your allegiances. The US has plenty of extra electrical capacity, and will have more when the "green gestapo" actually does the rest of us a favor and begins implementation of smart grid power networking. Google's among some of the companies that have already signed up. I suppose that makes them Nazis?
You can't "drill baby drill" your way out of a global energy problem. You have to actually think about it and come up with new solutions, not old ones. The only innovative thing you mentioned at all was nuclear, which is a distinct possibility.
April 5, 2009 1:36 PM
I believe if we simple incorperated severeal generators 2 capture the air as we spead down the road it could be assitive in regenerating electricity
Good Day & Good Luck with this.
April 7, 2009 8:52 PM
According to the article, these things produce a kilowatt hr of electricity annually. That means it will power a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours in one year. I assume that's why it's connected to the 'power grid', to compensate for the lack of solar power generation.
April 9, 2009 12:20 AM
Ross,
I think your calculation about the energy cost compares the full life cycle of electricity to energy in a gallon of fuel. You're forgetting he energy required to drill, refine, transport, and pump that fossil fuel. Let's not even mention the externalities not included in our pump prices in the U.S. like wars, pollution, the occasional oil spill and political instability.
I'm not naive enough to think that electric cars don't have any environmental costs, but as these solar stations demonstrate, there are many ways to generate electricity to offset the load on our grid.
April 9, 2009 4:34 AM
come on! i think the article is missing one of the most important bit of information, "generate about how many kilowatt hours"? can't be 1, can it?!