NIPSCO works to spark interest in electric vehicles

October 20, 2011 By

NIPSCO works to spark interest in electric vehicles

Electric vehicles are as few and far between in NorthwestIndiana as the charging stations that power them. 

But environmental advocates and the Northern Indiana PublicService Co. are prepping for time when greener vehicles will be onregion roadways.

NIPSCO filed an application with the state’s utility regulatorin April to provide incentives for early adopters who installresidential charging stations, offer free off-peak home chargingfor three years, and install public charging stations around itsservice territory.

The utility is trying to get a handle on the potential growth ofelectric vehicles within Northwest Indiana that has alreadyhappened in areas in California, Illinois and new York.

“We want to craft and design a program that not only createsstimulus for economic development but a program that’s ultimatelygoing to improve the local environment,” said NIPSCO spokesman NickMeyer.

Under the initial plan, which is subject to change pendingIndiana Utility Regulatory Commission approval, vouchers up to$1,650 would be available for the first 250 residential customersto buy and install 240-volt charging stations at theirresidences. For a period of three years, any customer who installsa separate meter at their home for vehicle charging could powertheir cars for free between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Without the voucher,NIPSCO said the cost of installing a meter could be about $550.

The Merrillville-based utility wants a third party to complete astudy by early 2012 to identify habits of electric vehicle driversand the best locations for charging stations, Meyer said. Afterthat, the utility would locate 10 public charging stations that arepowered by renewable energy sources around the region. The utilityis still determining whether the public stations would be free orhave a nominal charge per use.

The second phase of the program could include NIPSCO providingmatching grants to entice public or private entities to installvehicle charging stations or attract green technology businesses tothe area. With the utility anticipating spending about $3 millionover the two program phases, Meyer said NIPSCO is looking toprovide an economic stimulus for the area.

John Gartner, research director of Boulder, Colo.-based PikeResearch, said NIPSCO’s proposal is “progressive” and unique fromwhat other utilities around the country are doing. He said some ofthe larger utilities are working on identifying best practices increating programs to serve as a blueprint for smaller companies orthose that haven’t yet developed programs.

The investments being made are a component of NIPSCO’s pledge toimprove its environmental profile as a result of a Januarysettlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over CleanAir Act violations.

Environmental groups and NIPSCO don’t always agree on issues,but Steve Francis, Indiana chapter chairman of the Sierra Club,praised the utility’s leadership in promoting the vehicleinfrastructure program.

“The more that we have utilities actually involved in providingthese kinds of innovations from a customer or business perspective,the more we will be known for innovative thinking and technology,”Francis said. “And that’s what’s going to be key driving the jobspicture in the industry going forward.”

Michigan City Sierra Club organizer Virginia Shannon said theelectric vehicle program, in addition to NIPSCO’s net metering andfeed-in tariff programs, are steps toward securing a viable cleanenergy future.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission is hosting its nextpublic meeting on NIPSCO’s petition Nov. 30 in Indianapolis.

Filed Under: Alternative Fuel Vehicles Tagged With: , , ,

Why more local councils should use electric cars

October 18, 2011 By

Why more local councils should use electric cars

Many councils like the environmental benefits of electric vehicles (EVs), but most have been reluctant to add them to their fleet because of higher upfront, leasing and depreciation costs.

Dumfries and Galloway council had similar reservations. But Transport Scotland offered the funding and Automotive Leasing, the public sector division of fleet management provider LeasePlan, developed a leasing package for the council to procure four fully electric Nissan Leaf cars and an electric sweeper.

This fleet of green vehicles has made Dumfries and Galloway the first Scottish council to lease electric cars. it will also reduce carbon emissions by over 127 tonnes each year. NHS Dumfries & Galloway are lease partners and the financing model used by the council could make procurement of electric vehicles affordable across the public sector.

The Scottish government’s target to cut CO2 emissions by 42% by 2020 has motivated councils to look at low carbon vehicles, but higher leasing costs have always been a concern. the typical annual lease cost of a Nissan Note is £1,593, whereas the electric equivalent Nissan Leaf costs £3,437 (based on a five year lease). the funding package made it possible for the council to lease electric vehicles at the same cost as traditional petrol or diesel vehicles. the leasing company, rather than the council, assumed the financial risk typically associated with EVs.

The final challenge lay in making them operationally viable in Dumfries and Galloway – a predominately rural area. the Leaf’s 100 mile range was significantly greater than previous all-electric models and was sufficient for the majority of council journeys. we installed three £4,000 charging posts at the council and NHS headquarters through the ‘plugged in places’ match-funding scheme. A further funding round this year should see increase in the number of vehicles and, crucially, development of fast-charging points in one or more remote locations to increase their range.

As well as the immediate benefit in terms of fuel reduction costs, the visibility of the vehicles is certainly a benefit to the council. the hope is that their presence on the streets of Dumfries will inspire residents and local businesses to consider the benefits they bring. also, the employees who drive the vehicles like them. they share their driving experiences and have become EV advocates.

The public sector has an important role to play in demonstrating the viability of electric vehicles – both financially and operationally. Dumfries and Galloway’s was an important test case for EV procurement. five Scottish councils have already followed suit. If we are serious about reducing our carbon impact, this model must also be taken seriously by other authorities around the UK.

Harry Thomson is head of integrated transport and commissioning for Dumfries & Galloway Council

This article is published by Guardian Professional. Join the Guardian Public Leaders Network free to receive regular emails on the issues at the top of the professional agenda.

Filed Under: Green Living Tagged With: , , ,

Electric cars to boom: expert

July 7, 2011 By

1310076613 85 Electric cars to boom: expert

AAP

Sales of electric vehicles will accelerate next year, as drawbacks such as price and efficiency are overcome, a vehicle emissions expert says.

Rocco Zito, from UniSA’s Barbara Hardy Institute, said electric cars were currently expensive, at about $65,000 each, and few models were available.

But he said by 2012 the range of vehicles on the market would grow.

"next year is going to be a big one for electric vehicles because companies like Nissan are going to make their electric model available at a competitive price," Dr Zito said in the latest UniSA magazine.

"Manufacturers are saying that fully electric and plug-in vehicles will make up 20 per cent of their production by 2020.

"The biggest factor so far is price, so as soon as you start to get some price parity between electric vehicles and conventional vehicles, electric cars will really start to become a larger portion of the fleet.

"It’s also about peoples’ mindset – if petrol was $5 a litre then all of a sudden these very economical electric cars would quite obviously become more efficient in terms of total cost of ownership."

Dr Zito said UniSA research found that running a fully electric car was anywhere from half to one third of the cost of running a similar petrol-fuelled vehicle.

He said they had also "busted the myth" that electric vehicles were not suited to driving in Australia because of their limited range.

He said while electric cars could only travel between about 100 and 150 kilometres on a single charge, this was more than adequate for most people.

In Adelaide 97 per cent of all trips were found to be less than 100kms while in Sydney this dropped, but only to 91 per cent.

"so, while electric vehicles can’t replace all journeys, they really can be used for a significant amount of the travel that’s happening in our major cities."

But Dr Zito also warned that electric cars were not necessarily more environmentally friendly with their green credentials dependent on how their power was generated.

Cars recharged with electricity generated by from non-renewable energy were responsible for about the same emissions as conventional petrol models of a similar size.

"just because it doesn’t come out of the tail pipe doesn’t mean it’s not coming from somewhere else," he said.

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How soon will cars with hydrogen fuel cells be available?

September 28, 2008 By


My first thought is after all the oil is gone… Or maybe when it’s too late to make an impact on global warming? Take the electric car for example. The auto industry and oil companies didn’t have a monopoly on electric cars, so they had to go away. Even though the infrastructure required for hydrogen will be many times more expensive to build then electric, and it will take many years more until we can see hydrogen fuel cell vehicles operating on our roads. I’m afraid by the time these vehicles are widely available, it will be too little, too late. We could be making a difference everyday with electric vehicles today. Unlike hydrogen fuel cell cars, it’s a technology of today, not tomorrow. And you could charge an electric car at home…How easy! Unfortunately, the auto industry and the oil companies wouldn’t make money that way.

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