The yellow wheel trim coupled with an all-black body transforms Lance Armstrong’s Nissan Leaf into an eye-catching, sporty-looking vehicle. Via Autoblog Green:
Lance’s Leaf is dazzling black with wheels striped in gold. The color combo works, transforming the Leaf from a bubbly-shaped blue electric vehicle that screams out, “hey, I’m a zero-emissions car” to, dare we say, a sporty compact primed to take on the gas-powered competition. Okay, maybe the transformation isn’t that dramatic, but aside from the “100% electric” labeling and the “zero emission” graphic, Lance’s Leaf looks like any other modern vehicle that you might stumble across on our roads.
Starting with the base (SV) trim, buyers can expect an abundance of standard features. The SV comes with all of the expected features of a modern car plus an advanced navigation system with Internet / smart phone connectivity which allows the vehicle to be remotely pre-heated and pre-cooled. The advanced navigation system also allows the owner to control car charging features. In addition, the SV comes equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, push button start, satellite radio, stability control, six airbags and a buyer-reassuring three-year roadside assistance plan.
Stepping up to the SL trim, at a price premium of only $940 (MSRP), Nissan adds a few more touches including fog lights, automatic headlights, a rear-view monitor and a solar panel spoiler. The spoiler will not charge the vehicle’s main batteries, but it can be used to trickle charge an accessory battery.
Nissan overpromised on the realistic range by consistently quoting a number tied to the most optimistic benchmark, the LA4 cycle. Drivers who stick to stop-and-go traffic on city streets in temperate climates may indeed consistently see 100 miles of range, but most drivers will see significantly less in a mix of city and highway driving. Driving in California, the country’s top market for electric vehicles, involves a lot of time on highways where the 65 mph speed limit is rarely observed. The LA4 cycle Nissan quotes mostly stay below 30 mph with one two-minute “sprint” at 55 mph every 22-minute cycle.
Undoubtedly, the actual driving range of your Leaf will vary according to a number of conditions, so adequate recharging infrastructure will be crucial to offset range anxiety. More on range anxiety via GM-Volt.com:
In 2007 Aerovironment installed a fast charging station in Tokyo to support a group of 93 mile range EVs that made up a test fleet operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Co.
They found that drivers very rarely ventured far from the charging station, and when the EVs were returned to the base all were generally at greater than 50% state of charge (SOC).
When a second further charging station was added, drivers were noted to immediately expand their driving radius. Furthermore when EVs were returned to the base all were at <50% state of charge.
The drivers actually rarely used the distant charger, they just felt more comfortable having it around.
This alteration in behavior objectively demonstrates the reality of range anxiety.
“They mostly didn’t use the second charger,” said Kristen Helsel director-EV solutions at Aerovironment. “They mostly used the first charger. The availability of the second charger made them comfortable to drive (farther).”
This study indicates that a highly developed charging infrastructure will be needed for EVs to achieve widespread penetration. Aerovironment believes consumers will need more than a million public charging stations to support 1 million EVs, Obama’s goal for the US by 2015.
Including the $7,500 federal tax credit for which the Nissan LEAF will be fully eligible, the consumer’s after-tax net value of the vehicle will be $25,280. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price *(MSRP) for the 2011 all-electric, zero-emission Nissan LEAF is $32,780, which includes three years of roadside assistance. Additionally, there is an array of state and local incentives that may further defray the costs and increase the benefits of owning and charging a Nissan LEAF – such as a $5,000 statewide tax rebate in California; a $5,000 tax credit in Georgia; a $1,500 tax credit in Oregon; and carpool-lane access in some states, including California.
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The vehicle at the standard SV trim level is well-equipped with a variety of standard features, including an advanced navigation system and Internet/smart phone connectivity to the vehicle, including pre-heat/pre-cool and charging control. Nissan LEAF is equipped with energy-efficient LED headlights and makes extensive use of recycled and recyclable materials, such as seat fabric, instrument panel materials, and front- and rear-bumper fascias. Other standard amenities include Bluetooth connectivity; Intelligent-key with push button start; Sirius/XM satellite radio capabilities and roadside assistance. Safety features include vehicle dynamic control (stability control), traction control and six airbags. The SL trim level, available for an additional $940 (MSRP), adds features including rearview monitor, solar panel spoiler, fog lights, and automatic headlights.
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In tandem with the purchase process, Nissan will offer personal charging docks, which operate on a 220-volt supply, as well as their installation. Nissan is providing these home-charging stations, which will be built and installed by AeroVironment, as part of a one-stop-shop process that includes a home assessment.
Nissan claims the Leaf is a zero-emissions vehicle, but what’s zero emissions? From The Energy Collective:
The biggest battle in the EPA’ s new rule was over how to treat electric cars. While the industry likes to use the term ‘zero emissions vehicle’, a plug-in car requires electricity from the grid. Several estimates I’ve seen put the amount of energy used in the range of 3 miles per kWH. If you’re connected to the hydroelectric-powered clean grid up in Washington, your plug-in would be six times less carbon intensive than a gas powered vehicle. But if you operate that same car in coal-dependent North Dakota, then your ‘zero emissions vehicle’ would actually be 20% more emissions intensive than if it used gasoline. Of course you can offset this electricity use by supporting wind farms in North Dakota, but the vehicle itself is far from ‘zero emissions’.
Q: What kind of battery will be in the Nissan LEAF?
A: Nissan LEAF uses a unique laminated Lithium-Ion battery with a capacity of 24kWh.
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Q: What is the acceleration and top speed of this car?
A: The LEAF handles and accelerates like a V6 car and has a top speed of up to 90mph.
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Q: How far can you drive on a single charge?
A: The LEAF will have a range of 100 miles per charge under average, everyday driving conditions.
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Q: About what would the 100 mile range reduce to if carrying 4 people at 200 pounds each?
A: Load and driving style have an impact, as they do in any car. Range is based on LA4 test cycle ratings.
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Q: What do I do if I want to go farther than 100 miles in one trip?
A: The Nissan LEAF’s nav system will be able to show you charging locations along your route where service is available.
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Q: Is battery swapping technology being considered?
A: All technologies are being considered to best fit our customers’ needs. That said, at launch, the Nissan LEAF will not be equipped with a battery swapping system.
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Q: How does driving in cold weather affect the performance and battery life?
A: Your driving habits and patterns and accessory use (including heat and a/c) all play a role in driving range.
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Q: What is the estimated time for full charging with 110v, 220v and fast charge stations?
A: Starting from a depleted battery, 16-18 hours at 110V, 8 hours at 220V (depending on amperage), 26 minutes to 80% at a quick-charge station.
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Q: When plugging the car in, will it be possible that the car is “smart” enough to pull electricity during non peak hours?
A: You can program the car to charge whenever you like. Most people will charge overnight at off-peak times like their cell phone.
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Q: Has anyone considered solar panels on the vehicle for recharging the battery?
A: The Nissan LEAF will have an available small solar panel on the rear spoiler to help charge the 12V accessory battery.
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Q: Will it be equipped with a 4-wheel disc break or drum?
A: Braking will be regenerative to help maintain battery charge and optimize driving range. It will be 4-wheel disc.
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Q: Can the Nissan LEAF tow a small boat or garden trailer?
A: At this point, we don’t recommend towing. Longer-term, we hope to provide options for specific needs like yours.
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Q: How much torque does the Nissan LEAF have?
A: The exact specs of the Nissan LEAF are still under development. It does, however, have 100% torque available at 0 RPM!
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Q: Is it true that the Nissan LEAF has no fluids like coolant, transmission, steering, brake…?
A: Most fluids associated with engines are eliminated, (motor oil, transmission fluid, etc). It will have brake fluid and washer fluid, though.
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Q: Will the car’s body be made of recyclable material?
A: The Nissan LEAF is partially made from recycled material and is designed to be almost fully recyclable at the end of its life. We hope that appropriate third-party recycling facilities will soon be common.
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Q: It’s great to cut down on vehicle emissions, but shouldn’t I worry about the power plant used to generate the electricity too?
A: Even in its dirtiest form, the electrical grid is much cleaner than burning gas. And the grid will get cleaner over time, unlike gas.
Next, we can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow. From the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has always been built to compete. There’s no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains, or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products.
Images: Some of Japan’s fastest trains—the 500 Series and the 700 Series bullet trains
In the video below, you’ll notice that the United States has fallen behind in providing high-speed rail infrastructure and services when compared to the rest of the world. This is due to several factors. First, when compared to Europe—which has higher population densities—the population of the United States is distributed over a much larger area (although an argument can be made for high-speed rail for this reason). However, the United States is growing—particularly in the northeast, some areas of the west, and some parts of the south—and the cost of petroleum-based fuels are increasing and will continue to increase, so the need for upgraded mass transit is inescapable.
Furthermore, given air pollution and corresponding health care costs, global warming, and the cost of maintaining massive amounts of paved roads, the automobile is an costly and inefficient method of transportation. Nonetheless, the automobile has historically been prioritized over rail services (see the Great American streetcar scandal).
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Photo source for attribution here and here. The authors or licensors of these images do not endorse my work or me and their images are protected under an attribution license.
It seems that Ford has been aggressively researching the utility and marketability of electric vehicles such as hybrids, battery electric, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. This is certainly a prudent shift (though Ford’s prudence is arguably late) given the rising cost of fuel and the versatility of electric vehicles (e.g., hybrids can be used as a backup power source or generator, solar cells can be integrated into these vehicles, and they can be recharged from private renewable energy systems or via renewable energy purchased from the grid). Furthermore, the potential of using electric vehicles as energy storage devices for renewable energy is another factor that makes an aggressive switch from the inefficient, polluting, and wasteful internal combustion engine to vehicles powered by an electric motor alone smart corporate policy. From Ford:
“Electric vehicles are an important element of our strategy for improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions,” said Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman. “This vehicle-to-grid communication technology is an important step in the journey toward the widespread commercialization of electric vehicles.”
All 21 of Ford’s fleet of plug-in hybrid Escapes eventually will be equipped with the vehicle-to-grid communications technology. The first of the specially equipped plug-in hybrids has been delivered to American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio. Ford’s other utility partners’ vehicles will also be equipped with the communications technology.
When plugged in, the battery systems of these specially equipped plug-in hybrids can communicate directly with the electrical grid via smart meters provided by utility companies through wireless networking. The owner uses the vehicle’s touch screen navigation interface and Ford Work Solutions in-dash computer to choose when the vehicle should recharge, for how long and at what utility rate.
For example, a vehicle owner could choose to accept a charge only during off-peak hours between midnight and 6 a.m. when electricity rates are cheaper, or when the grid is using only renewable energy such as wind or solar power.
“We are designing what plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles will be capable of in the future,” said Greg Frenette, manager of Ford’s Battery Electric Vehicle Applications. “Direct communication between vehicles and the grid can only be accomplished through collaboration between automakers and utility companies, which Ford and its partners are demonstrating with this technology.”
Over the past two years, Ford and its energy industry partners have logged more than 75,000 miles on the plug-in hybrid test fleet. The plug-in hybrid research focuses on four primary areas: battery technology, vehicle systems, customer usage and grid infrastructure.
“Broad commercialization of electric transportation is not something a car company can achieve on its own,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford director, Sustainable Mobility Technologies. “Developing and producing the vehicles is just one part of the electric transportation equation. We are well on our way to delivering the vehicles, but for widespread adoption the infrastructure to support the technology needs to be in place and we need to ensure that the national electric grid can support increased electric demand.”
Real-world usage and laboratory research is helping to accelerate the advancement of electrified vehicles. Ford and its research partners are now focusing on ways to make the recharging process easy and efficient for consumers. In addition to low-cost recharging at home through the use of a smart meter, Ford researchers say recharging away from home – whether at work, in a shopping mall parking lot or at a curbside station – needs to be as simple as plugging in and swiping a credit card.
The plug-in hybrid advantage
Plug-in hybrid vehicles offer several benefits, including:
Reduced dependency on petroleum and increased energy independence
Reduced environmental impact through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
Increased use of electricity from renewable energy sources (e.g. wind and solar) for vehicle recharging
Potential consumer cost savings on energy/fuel costs
I would argue that most conservationists and environmentalists understand that we live in a world with limited resources (so unlimited growth is impossible); otherwise, they probably wouldn’t be conservationists or environmentalists in the first place. Since we live in a world with limited resources, small changes in behavior—in the aggregate—in addition to policies that bring about big changes are important in alleviating our propensity to increase entropy—or the unavailability of energy to produce work, thus goods and services. Consequently, extracting energy from renewable resources, consuming or using less goods and energy, thus generating less waste, are important in conserving energy within a closed system (e.g., Earth). However, this concept isn’t commonly or aggressively distributed by the media, politicians, or in our school systems.
For example, I find the complacency of relying on fossil fuels and the subsequent impacts of relying on fossil fuels extremely worrying. During the 2008 presidential elections a hot topic was offshore drilling. An alarming number of Americans believed (and many still do) that offshore drilling was an appropriate remedy to our energy woes. However, what happens when we exhaust offshore energy supplies? Therefore, shortsighted policies do nothing but exacerbate the problem. Consequently, save the offshore supplies for when we really need them, because to me, a smarter policy is modernizing the grid, utilizing as much renewable energy as possible, and getting gas-guzzlers off the road. Investing in appropriate technologies is important too. Furthermore, although the markets can foster change, the markets often bring change too late. Therefore, the federal government has a responsibility to drive policy. That policy should reflect the maximum sustainability that’s possible to achieve with current technology and resources. Considering the various competing interests, such a policy would be difficult to hammer out but certainly not impossible.
I believe utilizing more nuclear power has its problems as well—the biggest being nuclear waste. Drought is also the Achilles’ heel of nuclear power, so like coal-fired power plants, nuclear power relies heavily on water resources. Furthermore, I believe nuclear power is a lazy remedy to our energy woes. Nuclear power should be a tool to solve our energy crisis, but it shouldn’t be pursued aggressively.
Our current paradigm of development is undeniably unsustainable, and it’s unsustainable because we use energy unsustainably. This behavior results in less energy for future generations and high energy prices. Certainly, the economy of the United States can absorb high-energy prices but only to a particular amount and for a certain amount of time. Driving your family around in an inefficient vehicle such as an SUV might make you feel safe, but what type of world are you leaving your children?
For instance, when we burn coal it turns to ash, so the same amount of energy contained before the coal was burned can’t be extracted from the ash. The same applies when we extract crude oil and produce diesel, gasoline, kerosene, petroleum gas, or the many other products we create from crude oil. After these products are burned, the energy they contained before being used can’t be recaptured. Furthermore, burning these products produces pollution. Likewise, consuming food and drink provides fuel for our bodies, but the end product—or the waste—is essentially useless. Rusting iron and steel illustrates the entropic process as well.
The concept that unlimited growth is impossible, and we are limited by how much energy is available reflects the Second Law of Thermodynamics, especially the concept of entropy. More from Tushara Kodikara at Scoop.co.nz (emphasis added):
However, a litany of environmental problems, including destruction of the ozone layer, climate change, acid rain, deforestation, overpopulation, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, desertification, floods, famine, overfishing, hazardous wastes, expanding landfills, fresh water depletion and the depletion of nonrenewable resources, to name a few, are symptoms of the shortcomings of the current economic system.
The planet is approximately in a steady state. Neither the mass nor the surface is growing or shrinking and the flows of energy inwards and outwards are roughly equal. Energy and matter enter the economy as inputs, are turned into goods and services, and leave as wastes. This flow is known as throughput.
Steady state economics draws from the work of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen’s The Entropy Law and the Economic Process (1971). This explains how the second law of thermodynamics can be applied to the economy. In a closed system such as the planet, where the energy balance is around zero, the availability of useful energy decreases. Production of economic goods transforms matter-energy from a state of low entropy to a state of high entropy. Entropy is a measure of the disorder within a closed system.
The second law implies that matter can only be recycled a number of times and that energy can be recycled. However it takes more energy to do the recycling than the amount of energy being produced. The law also implies that creating order by means of producing goods will create greater disorder elsewhere in the environment. Therefore the entropy law puts a limit on how much we can produce. Therefore unlimited growth is impossible.
The planet’s interdependence has its limits too, and in turn limits growth. The environment provides vital services such as non-renewable resources which excessive economic growth exhausts. Forests, for example, can be considered as floating lakes. They hold topsoil in place, preventing erosion; help absorb rainwater, thereby preventing flooding; and they also remove carbon dioxide, produce oxygen and many other important ecological services. Deforestation removes all of these services.
However, in neoclassical economics, this forest can be turned into books on the topic of the ecological services of trees and people can go to the library and learn about the ecological services trees provide. This economic theory treats factors of production as substitutes; natural capital can be replaced by human capital or physical capital. If there is less of one (such as labour) it can be replaced by another (machinery) and you can still get the same output.
Before the industrial age, when the economy was small compared to the ecosystem, physical capital was the limiting factor. Fish in the sea were abundant. The number and capacity of fishing boats determined the catch size. Today however, Daly argues, the factors’ roles have changed—the economy has become very large relative to the ecosystem—making natural capital the limiting factor. The depleted fish stock in the sea will determine the number of fish that can be taken as opposed to the technologically advanced fishing fleet.
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Until recently, the world economy had been growing, and yet we still have extreme poverty. It should be obvious that what actually grows is the reinvested surplus, such as profits and the benefits of growth go to the owners of the surplus, who are not the poor.
Another argument of those who oppose the steady-state economy and think that the current system is the answer is that of technology being able to solve our problems. We shouldn’t worry about peak oil, as electric cars will become cheap and viable for everybody. However, there are a couple of issues here. There is a limited amount of platinum available in the world. This is an important component for the vehicle’s battery. There is not enough platinum to produce enough cars to replace the current petroleum-based vehicle fleet on the planet.
This blind faith that technology will solve all our problems is just that, blind faith. These solutions will be far more expensive than the preventive measures available. These solutions may in fact cause more problems rather than solving the current environment problems.
The most important point is that petroleum isn’t just used for fossil fuels. It is also an important chemical feedstock used in just about every produced good. It is literally the lubricant for the world’s economy. Under the current economic system, a substitute should be able to replace this vital feedstock. However, this substitute is not forthcoming.
Photo source for attribution here and here. The authors or licensors of these images do not endorse my work or me and their images are protected under an attribution license.
The yellow wheel trim coupled with an all-black body transforms Lance Armstrong’s Nissan Leaf into an eye-catching, sporty-looking vehicle. Via Autoblog Green:
Images: Some of Japan’s fastest trains—the 500 Series and the 700 Series bullet trains
