ALTe working with PG&E to validate retrofitted range-extended electric powertrain for fleets

The ALTe system converts conventional light-duty trucks into a range-extended electric vehicle. Click to enlarge.

ALTe, the developer of a range-extended electric powertrain used to repower light commercial vehicles, is collaborating with Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) to help validate the ALTe powertrain for the fleet industry.

Under the agreement, ALTe will retrofit one of PG&E’s 2007 Ford F-150 trucks with a version of its plug-in series electric hybrid powertrain. PG&E will evaluate the performance of the initial ALTe powered truck and provide data and feedback to ALTe.

A major initiative in our operation today is to electrify our fleet, and by doing so use clean energy to power clean vehicles. This project supports our efforts in that area and will continue to show PG&E’s commitment to the environment and to the citizens of California. If successful, the technology could ultimately be applied to a large number of vehicles and applications within our fleet of trucks and vans.

—Dave Meisel, PG&E’s Director of Transportation Services

The ALTe powertrain will include a 20 kWh lithium ion battery pack, a four-cylinder engine, Remy electric motors and proprietary communication interface modules. The powertrain is projected to provide an initial 30 miles (48 km) of driving in an all-electric mode powered directly from the lithium-ion battery pack. The vehicle can then drive an estimated additional 270 miles in a charge sustained mode before the vehicle would need to be either refueled or plugged in.

The battery pack can be charged within an eight-hour timeframe from a 110-volt outlet or in about four hours from a 220-volt outlet. Fuel economy is projected to increase by up to 200% with no loss in cargo capacity, increased torque, and similar horsepower and towing capability compared with the original V8 engine.

The ALTe powertrain is being targeted to the light truck market (full size pickups and vans) with a focus on commercial, government and utility fleets. ALTe is projected to start installing its electric powertrain systems in summer 2012 with the company beginning to accept purchase orders at the end of the 2011.

DOE offers nearly $2B in conditional loan guarantee commitments for two concentrating solar power plants; first US utility-scale deployment of Abengoa

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has offered conditional commitments to provide loan guarantees worth nearly $2 billion to support two concentrating solar power (CSP) projects—the Mojave Solar Project (MSP) in San Bernardino County, California; and the Genesis Solar Project, located on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Riverside County, California.

DOE is offering a conditional commitment for a $1.2 billion loan guarantee to support the Mojave Solar Project and a conditional commitment for up to a $681.6 million loan guarantee to support the Genesis Solar Project. At 250 megawatts (MW) each, the projects’ combined capacity will double the US’ currently installed CSP capacity and displace a total of 40% of the output from a typical 500MW coal-fired plant.

The 250MW Mojave Solar Project will be the first US utility-scale deployment of Abengoa’s latest Solar Collector Assembly (SCA), representing a significant improvement over the prior generation of parabolic trough technology installed in the United States in the 1980s and 90s.

The SCA’s advanced features include a lighter, stronger frame designed to hold parabolic mirrors that are easier and less expensive to build and install. The Assembly was originally developed in connection with a DOE award provided by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The SCA heat collection element uses an advanced receiver tube to increase thermal efficiency by up to 30% compared to the first CSP plants. In addition, the advanced mirror technology will improve reflectivity and accuracy.

Together, these improvements can permit the collection of the same amount of solar energy from a smaller solar field. Unlike older CSP plants, MSP will operate without fossil fuel back-up systems for generation during low solar resource periods.

Power from MSP will be sold to Pacific Gas and Electric Company. An estimated 80% of total costs, including both capital equipment and labor, are expected to be sourced in the US as MSP will purchase all of the receiver tubes from a facility in New Mexico, the parabolic trough mirrors from a new facility in Arizona and other key equipment from different suppliers in several states across the country.

The 250MW Genesis Solar Project will feature proven and scalable parabolic trough solar thermal technology that has been used commercially for more than two decades. Power from the project will be sold to Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The lender-applicant, Credit Suisse AG submitted the application under the Financial Institution Partnership Program (FIPP).

The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office administers three separate programs: the Title XVII Section 1703 and Section 1705 loan guarantee programs, and the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. The loan guarantee programs support the deployment of commercial technologies along with innovative technologies that avoid, reduce, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions, while the ATVM supports the development of advanced vehicle technologies.

Under all three programs, DOE has issued loans, loan guarantees or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees totaling more than $32 billion to support 32 clean energy projects across the US.

Source: Green Car Congress

Pike Research Forecasts Future EV Sales - Looks Like a Slow Start

Pike projections of cumulative light duty plug-in electric vehicle sales, 10 largest MSAs by population, 2011-2017. Click to enlarge.

Pike Research has earlier forecasted the plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market at the national level in the US, globally, and within world regions and key countries. The company has now constructed a model for plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales at the US state level, metropolitan statistical area (MSA) level and for selected utility company territories.

Overall, Pike expects sales of PEVs to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43% between 2011 and 2017, reaching a nationwide total of 358,959 vehicles by 2017. Pike forecasts that, “unsurpisingly” California, New York and Florida will likely lead the way in PEV sales in the early years of the decade, with 366,099, 146,242 and 101,530 cumulative vehicle sales between 2011 and 2017, respectively. By 2017, PEVs will represent a 5.4%, 3.7% and 2.8% of the total new vehicle sales in these state (2.4% is the national average).

Within the top 10 largest MSAs in the US, New York City and Los Angeles are projected to lead with 116,718 and 96,175 PEVs by 2017. Pike concludes that the combination of a large population area, early rollout schedules from vehicle manufacturers, and positive attitudes toward PEVs for these MSAs will result in strong growth rates of 41% and 35% CAGR, respectively, between 2011 and 2017.

Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston, Atlanta and Washington DC are not expected to show strong sales of PEVs; all are forecast to have fewer than 28,000 PEVs in their markets by 2017. California dominates the top 10 MSAs when ranked by PEV sales, with all six of the top California MSAs in the top 10.

Pike Research forecasts that the top 5 (MSAs) for cumulative electric vehicle purchases between 2011 and 2017 will be:

• New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
• San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
• San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA
• Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI

Relative to population, the firm anticipates that PEV penetration rates will be the highest in several smaller MSAs including Raleigh-Cary, NC; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA; and Sacramento-Arden Arcade-Roseville, CA.

Pike Research expects that the electric utilities with the largest number of electric vehicles will be:

• Southern California Edison (California)
• Pacific Gas & Electric (California)
• Consolidated Edison (New York)
• Exelon (Illinois, Pennsylvania)

To generate the more detailed forecasts, Pike utilized a variety of data to evaluate the development of demand and sales: population and demographics; plug-in electric vehicle attitudes; and manufacturer vehicle rollout schedule.

Source: Green Car Congress