EV News: World Conference Takes Aim At Big Oil

Globally, fossil fuels receive 6xs more subsidies than renewable energy. Many of these companies make "excessive" profits and pay almost no taxes thanks to "subsidies," "research & development" and a k-zillion other corporate welfare tax breaks. The "market value" at the gas pump is also driven up by oil industry speculators. 

More than 1 million people who think this is absurd have added their signatures to a petition at  http://350.org/rio to tell world leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro to end fossil fuel subsidies immediately!

Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies topped the Rio +20 UN   World's Top 10 List to be discussed at Dialogue Days at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) at the Riocentro Convention Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 16 to 19, 2012. An online public poll ahead of the conference was used to prioritize the dialogue schedule. 

"If we want to avoid the devastating effects of climate change, we need to reduce and limit the use of fossil fuels," was a new and very strong dialogue expressed at the conference. Many participants advocate stronger wording and a clear commitment to press the nations of the world to end subsidies

Nearly $1 trillion is given by governments every year to coal, oil and gas companies. Three years ago, the G20 committed to phase-out these handouts to "dirty fuel" industries, but they haven't taken any action since.

TURN THIS TRILLION GREEN: In preparation for an #EndFossilFuelSubsidies "Twitter Storm" set for all day June 18, volunteers with Avaaz and 350.org unfurled a massive banner on the Copacabana beach, calling on world leaders at the Rio+20 Summit to end the nearly $1 trillion dollars being handed out in fossil fuel subsidies each year.

During the four days of dialogue, non-government and non-UN agency representatives from civil society, including the private sector, scientific community, NGOs and other major groups have been discussing the most promising solutions related to sustainable long-term planning. They are engaged in an open and action-oriented debate on key topics related to sustainable development. Three recommendations emanating from each of the Dialogues will be conveyed directly to the Heads of State and Government present at the Summit.  

Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum: The Business Case for the Green Economy

The Forum on June 17th was a gathering of thoughtful leaders from business, financial institutions and governments to offer insight and vision on the opportunities and challenges of financing the transition to a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

"It's very important that we learn to do much more with fewer natural resources," said George Kell, executive director of the United Nations Global Compact. 

The UN Dialogues initiative was launched through a digital platform (https://www.riodialogues.org/) in order to provide the wider public a democratic space for discussion. The on-line debates on each of the ten themes of the Dialogues, facilitated by researchers from renowned academic institutions around the world, resulted in ten concrete recommendations that can be viewed and voted for in a public website (http://vote.riodialogues.org).

The Rio+20 forums were broadcast live and can be viewed at UN Webcast. 

It's All About the Battery

If electric cars are going to make a real impact, they have to meet a few criteria. The most important have to do with the batteries that make them go because that is where the technology is most vulnerabe. What should these batteries be able to do?

The batteries should be light enough for the average person to pick up without too much difficulty, and they should not take up too much space.

An electric car should be able to go 1,000 miles between charges or with the use of multiple batteries as long as they don’t take up too much space.

The battery should be able to charge quickly, perhaps, while you are eating lunch especially if you can only carry one battery at a time. It goes without saying, but here it is, anyway, there have to be plenty of places available to charge them not only at home but on the road as well.

Florida encourages electric vehicle travel tourism with more than 500 charging stations, including charging stations at Simon Shopping malls so you can enjoy shopping and dinner and hit the road with a fresh charge -- at no cost in many cases.

Is there anything to get charged up about as far as battery technology is concerned? Companies in China have developed batteries that will not need to be replaced for 10 years. And in the United States, under the direction of the federal Department of Energy, their Electrical Energy Storage in Transportation (BEEST) program is helping to fund companies that are working to advance battery development. So what is on the horizon?

If you have not heard of Envia Systems, you will, soon. They are working on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that could cut the price of batteries in half.

The answer might be a new approach developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Under the guidance of Professors W. Craig Carter and Yet-Ming Chiang, a semi-solid flow cell is being developed. Using a special liquid in which solid particles are suspended, this mixture is propelled through the system.

The Battery500 Project, teams IBM, the Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They are looking at a lithium air battery that creates a charge when heavy-metal oxides are traded with carbon and exposed to oxygen.

While it is important for car companies to continue to refine the design of electric vehicles, nothing much is going to happen until the batteries get where they need to go. However, it is only a matter of time until electric cars can deliver on their promise because the batteries that drive them are finally getting the attention they deserve. If you are waiting until the prices drop and the cars improve, you may not have that much longer to wait. 

Elite Custom Electric Vehicles offers this sporty custom converted electric Audi A8 sedan that travels 90% of the time as an all-electric vehicle for city commutes and around-town. For longer commutes and vacation travel, a click of the switch launches an on-board recharge range-extending power generator.





Evelyn Bradford is a freelance contributor to KeyInsuranceQuotes.com. She owns an electric car, enjoys the lack of fumes and can’t wait to see the technology improve.

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

Elite Custom Electric Audi A8 For Sale

This fine sporty electric Audi A8 sedan is priced at $59 to $79,000 and eligible for up to $12,500 in federal and state tax credits. It's all-electric for daily driving. But it also has an on-board recharging system and range-extending generator powered by a V-Twin engine that can be switched on for longer commutes. 

Think of the money you will save on gasoline and oil changes. Electric cars operate on batteries with a 10-year life and require almost no maintenance.  

This custom Audi A8 electric conversion hybrid travels cross-country. A motorcycle V-Twin engine is used to power the onboard generator to recharge the electric cells while you travel. You can cruise at 40 - 70mph on electric batteries alone ninety percent of the time, without using one drop of gasoline.

But when you are leaving town and plan to travel more than 200 miles before re-charging, that's when the Audi's large power generator kicks in that also utilizes the car's factory gas tank to extend the car's range to 500 miles or more between gas stops.
Read More...

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

2013 Update on Sigma GTE Electric Car: 145mph 4.5 sec.

This custom electric Mustang GTE was originally designed, built and tested as a concept car prototype for a group of investors interested in manufacturing electric-converted custom designed vehicles for an international, mostly European market. It does 0-60 in 4.5 sec and cruises at 145mph and is now being offered by Elite Custom Electric Vehicles, an Orlando, Florida based company.

Major components like the front and rear differentials were sourced from Ford, and the GTE's entire cockpit was yanked from an older Mustang. Twin DC electric motors offer up about 100 horsepower each and provide all-wheel drive that blows away competition, racing against gas-engine cars.

The Sigma GTE was designed and built in South Carolina for Marcelo Lopes and a group of investors in Brazil. It was raced at 145 mph against gas-engine cars at Charolette Speedway and it held it's own without any problems.

The Sigma GTE is unique in many ways. It has both front and rear independent suspension drive systems and an electric motor that is capable of 200 hp and 300 lbs of torque each.

Unlike the Mustang that is a two-seater, the Sigma GTE was originally designed as a high-speed sporty sedan that could comfortably carry four adults. The electric supercar, with 144 volt lithium batteries will safely cruise at over 100 mph and recharge it's hybrid generator while sitting in traffic. It was hoped that mass production would bring the price of the Sigma GTE to below $35,000. 

But for now, the electric GTE has become more popular as a competition race car, a niche market we are happy to see growing worldwide.

The Sigma GTE and other custom conversion, competition race cars are offered by Exclusive Electric Customs - ask for more info. 

South Carolina is our testing ground because it is a decidedly automotive state: Home to BMW, Michelin, Timken, Cummins, and all the suppliers associated with them. The state also hosts the Clemson iCar International Center for Automotive Research Center. 

Proterra, an electric bus manufacturer located to Greenville, SC in 2010 and Proterra CEO David Bennett was named among Greenville's 50 Most Influential People of 2011 for his part in creating an estimated 1,200 to 2,000 new jobs in the area.

However, our sales division will always be based in the Sunshine State, Florida that hosts many of the big international custom bike and car shows. 

Plug In Carolina reached out to the SC Energy Office to secure $480,000 in federal funding to deploy quick recharge stations in seven cities across South Carolina that will connect tourists and other travelers to growing E-V recharge infrastructures in Georgia and Florida.  "Of course, every house and business has an electric outlet, so all states have an electric infrastructure," said Kase. "The Sigma GTE and all of the vehicles I build also have an on-board recharger and a universal plug that fits into any 110 or 220, or any E-V recharge station."

Florida is encouraging electric vehicle tourism with plans for 500 recharge stations in public places and Simon malls.

On top of saving thousands of dollars in fuel, both California and Georgia offer $5,000 state income tax credits in addition to the $7,500 federal credit to further encourage the purchase of electric vehicles. Follow this link for state and regional rebates and incentives.

This custom electric Mustang GTE can be custom built to order, within a price range of $33,500 to $68,000 depending on options. 

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

Simon Malls in Chicago Suburbs Join E-V Network

 
The Nationwide Network of Electric Vehicle Recharge Stations is Growing - Across the United States, thousands of electric vehicle recharge stations are going up in public places as well as shopping mall parking lots as more and more consumers make the switch from gasoline to hybrid and electric. More than one million electric vehicles will be on the road by 2015, with estimates as high as 27 to 31 million by 2020, according to automakers.

"An electric vehicle is just right for 90 percent of all drivers, who rarely travel more than 150 miles per day from their homes," said S. Monte Kase, head designer, builder and racer of EV Concepts.

Simon Property Group, the largest retail real estate property company in the United States has installed a dozen recharge stations at malls in Florida to California. The newest recharge stations are going up at nine Simon malls in the Chicago suburbs. 

The stations are self-service and easy to operate, according to Simon Property Group spokesman Les Morris. Charging will be free for an introductory time period, and then a nominal fee will be assessed, he said. The company’s goal is to quell “range anxiety” that electric car owners may feel about traveling to the outlet mall to shop.

A typical charging station costs between $5,000 and $15,000. U.S. Department of Energy grant money is subsidizing the Simon Mall installations, as well as thousands of recharge stations being installed by municipalities across the nation.

Los Angeles-based company 350Green, which builds and operates the stations, has more than 1,100 stations under contract. “It’s coming — the demand is there,” said David Goodridge, vice president of sales for 350Green. “Our role is to act as a corridor for the technology.”

The Electric Drive Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative

“I don’t want to have to import a hybrid car. I want to build a hybrid car here.” – President Obama said Aug. 5th 2009, when he announced the $2.4 billion Electric Drive Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that includes 48 grants administered by the US Department of Energy (DOE).

The biggest individual grant, at $299 million, went to Johnson Controls, a Holland, Mich., firm that has struck a deal with Ford to provide batteries for future vehicles. The second biggest grant, at $249 million, went to startup A123 Systems, a Romulus, Mich., company with links to Chrysler.
It’s significant for A123Systems since the program’s goal of getting technology into large-scale production within 2-3 years and the requirement for awardees to share costs tends to tilt the scales away from younger ventures. A123 has requested as much as $438 million but the $249 million grant could help bring the GE Energy Financial Services’ backed company closer to its long-planned IPO.
The Big Three automakers will also receive the grants. GM is receiving 3 grants totaling $241.4 million, Ford will get 2 grants totaling $92.7 million and Chrysler will get 1 grant of $70 million.

You can view a list at WSJ here or the full original DOE list here.

Related:

350Green & Car Charging Group E-V Stations at Simon Malls

Sources:

Feds Give $2.4B to 48 Auto Battery and Electric Drive Projects

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

E-V Recharge Stations at Florida & California Malls

Customers Can Charge EVs While Shopping and Dining - Simon Property Group, Inc is betting the future will be "electric" by installing electric vehicle charging stations at the biggest malls across the country. The first charging station went up in March 2011 at Simon's Florida Mall in Orlando, followed by another at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California.

That's good news for Tesla Motors in California and Elite-EVS by EV Concepts of Orlando based in Central Florida and South Carolina.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Simon's (NYSE:SPG) is an S&P 500 company and the largest real estate company in the United States. The Company currently owns or has an interest in 392 properties comprising 263 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and Asia.

Long considered a leader among developers in integrating energy conservation strategies into mall operations, the recharging stations at Simon malls are the first recharge stations to be installed in retail shopping center parking lots. One 'Level 2' charger, which has the capability to "top off" or partially charge a customer's electric vehicle in a 60 to 120 minute time frame, is now operational near the food court entrance at Florida Mall.

A dual unit, with two 'Level 2' chargers, was installed in the parking deck between Macy's and Bloomingdale's at Stanford Shopping Center.

These EV charging stations will be self-service and easy to operate. Shoppers will be able to just "pull up and plug in" and leave their vehicles at the charging station while they are enjoying time at the mall. Charging will be free during an introductory time period and then a nominal fee will be assessed.

Production numbers from EV automakers project approximately a million EVs on U.S. roads by 2015, and possibly 27 million (or 10 percent of all vehicles in the U.S.) by 2020.

"We believe that a well-developed EV charging infrastructure is going to be key to the success of EVs," said George Caraghiaur, Simon Property Group's senior vice president of energy and procurement. "Meeting the needs of the first-to-market drivers of electric vehicles in the communities we serve is yet another example of our commitment to sustainability."

Simon is working with two companies during this initial rollout. Car Charging, Inc. (OTCBB: CCGI), installed the unit at Florida Mall and 350Green will install the charging units at Stanford Shopping Center. Both companies are dedicated to expanding the EV charging station infrastructure nationally.
Michael D. Farkas, CEO of Car Charging Group, Inc., said "Our collaboration with Simon Property Group is a prime example of our national growth strategy. By partnering with premier national property management companies for installations, we are able to rapidly deploy a nationwide roll out of a robust network of convenient charging stations. We are happy to have brought this amenity to customers at Florida Mall and look forward to bringing it to additional Simon Property Group locations across the nation."

"We are thrilled to be working with Simon on this project to place the first in what will be a larger network of our charging stations in the Bay Area," said Mariana Gerzanych, 350Green's founder and CEO. "The goal is to make EV charging convenient and accessible to anyone who owns an EV - regardless of whether or not they have a charging station at their home or office."

About Car Charging Group, Inc.
Car Charging Group, Inc. is an owner and provider of EV charging stations with the mission to build-out a nationwide infrastructure, enabling EV and PHEV owners to charge their Electric Cars anytime, anywhere. As part of its strategy, the Company owns, provides, installs and maintains electric car charging stations and works with its landowner partners to identify appropriate locations for its charging stations. The Company provides convenient, safe and affordable charging stations away from home in customer-friendly public locations, including municipalities, shopping malls, parking garages, multi-family residential and commercial properties. Car Charging Group, Inc. is based in Miami, Florida. The Company's website can be viewed at www.CarCharging.com.

About 350Green
350Green is a project developer that designs, builds and operates scalable networks of plug-in electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the US. The company distributes its stations by partnering with retail hosts at select, high-traffic shopping centers and other places near where EV drivers live and work, to create an expansive and convenient network of EV charging locations. Current projects totaling several hundred chargers are underway in Chicago, the state of Pennsylvania, and the San Francisco Bay area. More information on 350Green and its projects can be found at its website: http://www.350green.com

SOURCE: Simon Property Group, Inc.

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

Florida Encourages Electric Vehicle Tourism Travel

Here in Central Florida there are 53 recharging stations, including 2 in downtown Orlando and one installed by Simon Properties at Florida Mall.

The infrastructure in Florida is going to include 500 charging stations by next year, although there are currently only 150 electric vehicles registered statewide. Florida wants to encourage electric for tourism travel.

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

The Fight Against Electric Cars

Multinational corporations in the USA that receive huge fossil fuel subsidies from the federal government and pay almost no taxes, have been waging war for more than two decades against the development of electric cars.

We created our own problems as a nation when we went into business with Saudi Arabia -- helping them with the technology to pump crude oil, stabilize the market for a profit and distribute to the world in exchange for promises to invest heavily in the USA. 

As a result, Saudi Arabians have major holdings in big oil, cars and media companies that rake in fossil fuel subsidies, produce gas-guzzling vehicles and do everything possible to fight-off progress towards alternative energy sources.

In the documentary, "Who Killed The Electric Car" the case is made against the oil company Texaco - Chevron, and GM Motors that purchased the patent rights to the NiMH battery 20 years ago that would have put the USA out in front as the number one producer of electric cars. But instead of producing cars, they have been suing companies like Panasonic to prevent them from producing NiMH batteries.

In the meanwhile, China has become the world's largest car manufacturer -- thanks to global labor outsourcing of US car manufacturing and the development of lithium ion batteries that are now in popular use in inexpensive electric vehicles that are flooding the world market (except in the USA where they are restricted.)

China produces almost half of all Chevy cars sold in the world, and produces cars and "components" for all of the major US car companies. However, tight federal import regulations prohibit the import of most electric cars designed to exceed 35 mph (anything more than a golf cart in other words.) 

Panasonic has successfully managed to be able to produce NiMH batteries Japanese companies but will only offer them for sale in batches of 10,000, which makes it impossible for start-up companies to test the use of the batteries or acquire them for concept and custom electric vehicles.

Way to stand in the way of progress!!!

 "The oil companies said electric cars can't work, but the truth is, they don't want them to work," Elon Musk, CEO founder of Tesla Motors told a crowd eager to see his new Tesla Model S sedan, unveiled Oct. 1, 2011 in Fremont, California.

Electric battery-powered vehicles are capable of zero to 60 mph in under 6 seconds that blows away it's gas combustion-engine powered competitors. 

Elite-EVs concept designer, S. Monte Kase has been building and racing electric cars for more than 40 years in California and South Carolina. "I have been up against Mustang GTE racers on NASCAR tracks with one of my converted electric Mustangs and walked away from all of the gas powered cars every time," he said. "I have clocked top speeds of zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds with a top speed over 145 mph."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!