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October 2008
The Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association (LVEVA) will meet on the third Saturday of each month during 2008. Meetings will be held at the Clark County Library on 1401 E. Flamingo Road from 10:15 AM to 12:15 PM. Members will be displaying their own electric cars and answering questions before and after the meeting.
Calendar
October 18 Monthly Meeting
October 18 Poker Run EV Road Rally
November 15 Monthly Meeting
December 6 Boulder City Christmas Parade
December 20 Monthly Meeting
2009
January Monthly Meeting
February Monthly Meeting
March Monthly Meeting
LVEVA Board of Directors:
Richard Furniss, President
Lloyd Reece, Vice President
Bill Kuehl, Secretary/Treasurer
Al Sawyer, Jan Himber , Al D’Inzillo, Stan Hanel
Newsletter Editors and Contributors:
Richard Furniss, Lloyd Reece, Bill Kuehl, Al Sawyer, P.E.,
Jan Himber, Brent Singleton, Kent Singleton, Stan Hanel
WATTS HAPPENING
is published monthly by the
Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association,
a chapter of the Electric Auto Association
Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association web site
http://www.lveva.org
Electric Auto Association web site
http://www.eaaev.org
Electric Auto Association
Membership Renewals
323 Los Altos Drive
Aptos, CA 95003-5248
Current EVents contact:
At http://www.eaaev.org/eaaboard.html
Ron Freund
Chairman, CE Publication
Address Correspondence to:
LVEVA
2816 W. El Campo Grande Avenue
No. Las Vegas, NV 89031
Call for Information:
Richard Furniss (702) 453-6196
Jan Himber for Al Sawyer (702) 642-4000
Bill Kuehl (702) 636-0304 Stan Hanel (702) 405-0506Contents:
-- National Clean Energy Summit at UNLV! “Nevada Can Rock The World” (Part Two)
-- Bill Kuehl’s “Saga of An EV Wannabe” (Part 4)
-- LVEVA, Free Energy Store and Grassroots EV convert Volkswagen Vanagon to Electric
-- LVEVA Poker Run Road Rally
-- LVEVA DVD Reference Library
-- EV Repairs and Service
-- EV Conversion and Fabrication Support
-- EVs and EV Parts for Sale
National Clean Energy Summit at UNLV! “Nevada Can Rock The World”! (Part Two)
The University of Nevada – Las Vegas served as host to the first National Clean Energy Summit from August 18 – 19, 2008 at the Cox Pavilion. The event was a strong success, bringing together about 750 attendees from a wide array of political leaders, economists, industry CEOs, entrepreneurs, technologists and scientists to focus on America’s recent problems caused by our country’s dependence on offshore crude oil to fuel our national economy. Organized by U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the Center for American Progress, and UNLV President David Ashley, a high profile list of keynote speakers lit up Cox Pavilion with clarity of vision.
UNLV is one of 500 national universities now focused on energy research as it transitions from a teaching college to a research institution with growing science and engineering graduate programs over the next ten years.
Former Public Utilities Commissioner Rose McKinney James, who has led southern Nevada’s renewable energy generation efforts in the past as a state Public Utilities Commissioner, introduced the many panels and speakers who brought thoughtful discussion to the event during the day.
Former president Bill Clinton and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg provided opening and closing keynote speeches to the summit that bracketed multiple thought-provoking plans and ideas that hope to make the United States independent of foreign oil imports for its energy future.
Local TV station KLAS-TV provided live feeds of the conference to the general public throughout both days. Utah governor Jon Huntsman, Colorado governor Bill Ritter, and Arizona governor Janet Napolitano all presented talks about conservation and their efforts to develop clean energy for their states’ utility grid, transportation fleets and government buildings that could also be used as educational examples for their state residents.
Many speakers stressed some of the main obstacles currently standing in the path towards renewable energy independence. These include:
1. Improving the national electricity grid so that it can transmit electrical power more efficiently across states as well as improve carrying capacity. The national grid should be extended to transport electricity from remote rural areas, where the country can establish solar and wind power farms, to the higher density urban areas. An overhaul of this system is required along the same scale as the initiatives that created our country’s national highway system and the worldwide Internet.
2. Extending tax credits for alternative energy businesses and technology adopters beyond 3-year limits to 6 or 8 years. This would give investors and entrepreneurial companies a stronger framework to develop longer term five-year plans that are more traditional in moving capital throughout the business community in order to grow new companies and industries.
3. Emphasizing conservation at the same time as adopting renewable energy sources.
4. Decoupling the mission of the electric utility companies in each state from the need to just sell more power to create revenue. Restructure each utility company so that they can earn an equivalent or greater rate of return on dollars invested in conservation and energy efficiency programs compared to dollars invested in new energy development programs. Within the new energy development programs, refocus on incentives for utilities to develop renewable energy sources.
On Tuesday, August 19th, former Nevada Public Utility Commissioner Rose McKinney James introduced the gathering of attendees with UNLV President Dr. David Ashley leading a parade of speakers that included four panels of experts focusing on different areas targeting clean energy solutions. Dr. Ashley noted that UNLV is becoming a research institution focused on clean energy solutions that include research into net zero energy homes, solar power technology exploration, climate adaptive technology, passive cooling alternatives, fuel cell technology exploration and urban sustainability initiatives. He announced that UNLV has joined the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment program that has gathered over 500 universities committed to changing the climate. The university is developing a carbon footprint inventory of the UNLV campus to study ways to improve its overall performance. In the next few months, the campus will be opening two new buildings that meet the LEED “Certified” rating of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Dr. Ashley introduced Jon Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a co-sponsor and organizer of the National Clean Energy Summit. Podesta was President Bill Clinton’s former Chief of Staff. In 2005, he founded the International Climate Change Task Force. He has authored two books on this issue – “Capturing The Energy Opportunity” and “The Power of Progress: How America’s Progressives Can Save Our Economy, Our Climate and Our Country”. His emphasis in all these forums is about the benefits of embracing clean energy and conservation both to the climate and to the U.S. economy.
He cited an American Solar Energy Society study that showed the progress of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency industries in the U.S. during 2006. 8.5 million new jobs were created during that time that generated almost $1 trillion of revenue for the economy. The growth potential for these two industries going forward can average 30% to 40% per year. However, the country needs the political will to make the change from a carbon fuel economy to one that focuses its energies on cleaner, renewable sources.
Jon Podesta then introduced U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) who, in 2007, helped pass the first Congressional bill in 30 years that set new fuel efficiency standards. Senator Reid noted that he has been involved with federal energy policy for 36 years, beginning after the time of the first OPEC oil embargo in 1973 that limited worldwide production supply in order to increase the price of crude oil. Because the U.S. had become dependent on foreign oil after fighting a costly war in Vietnam, the resulting shortages caused long gas lines at service stations across the country and a real fear that there would not be enough foreign imported oil available to the U.S. from the OPEC cartel to provide fuel for the country’s economy throughout the winter of 1973 to 1974. As Lieutenant Governor of Nevada at the time, Reid was dispatched by state Governor Mike O’Callaghan to meet with the first U.S. Secretary of Energy, Bill Simon, while he served under the Gerald Ford administration. Ford’s predecessor, former President Richard Nixon, had already started the country on a path to become energy independent by 1980 and the country made remarkable progress through energy conservation and development of alternative energy options under both the Ford and Carter administrations to reach this goal. The country was able to diminish enough U.S. demand for foreign oil and find new sources of home grown energy that the OPEC cartel increased its world export supply once again. However, as the availability of crude oil increased, its price declined. The U.S. economy grew stronger over an expansionary period of 20 years and the country once again increased its dependence on foreign oil to fuel its economic growth.
In response to former President Bill Clinton’s keynote address the previous night, Senator Reid echoed his assertions that the state of Nevada could become the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy with its abundant solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal energy resources. The state currently has 57 operating renewable energy projects that generate 400 Megawatts of electricity to heat and cool 200,000 homes across the state. Future planned expansion of renewable energy projects can make Nevada a net renewable energy exporter within just seven years once these new projects come online.
Historically, Nevada continues to pioneer new renewable energy technologies within the state
since building the first geothermal power plant in the United States in 1984. There are now 14 operating geothermal plants in Nevada providing power to 150,000 homes with another 7 plants under construction. Nevada Solar One in nearby Boulder City is the largest solar thermal power plant in the state, providing 64 Megawatts of power to residents in that area and was completed in July 2007. Nellis Air Force Base also partnered with the state of Nevada to create the largest photovoltaic solar power plant in the U.S. last year, providing 14 Megawatts of electricity that supplies 25% of the electricity needed for operation of the base and will save U.S. taxpayers $1 million per year in grid energy costs. The Nevada Public Utilities Commission also has passed resolutions to allow for the rental of portable solar power systems to residential houses and small businesses that can help individuals avoid the large up-front costs of solar panel installations. Nevada is also underway to launch a biofuel generation plant through the Tahoe/Reno Industrial Center that will convert 90,000 tons of household garbage to 10 million gallons of ethanol fuel each year. This home grown fuel supply can replace 10% of the gasoline used by all Reno residents each year.
Other states are also showing the economic benefits of encouraging new green technologies and industry development. Colorado has become a leader in implementing wind power plants. Utah has six geothermal plants online generating 250 Megawatts of power. The state of Iowa helped convert an old Maytag refrigerator factory into a modern wind turbine factory. Pennsylvania has created 3,000 new jobs related to renewable energy and sparked a $1 billion investment into the private sector economy to replace its declining steel mill industry. Each new megawatt of geothermal power that comes online creates 10 new jobs. Each new megawatt of solar and wind power that comes online creates at least 6 new jobs. To realize these same benefits on a national level, the federal government must lead the way. Billions of dollars of private sector investment are available to this industry with the help of longer term tax credits by the federal government for renewable energy. The development of a nationwide “smart energy grid” that rewards net energy producers and increases carrying capacity across the country is needed to provide the necessary infrastructure and investment incentives. If our country can substitute renewable energy production for 20% of its electrical power plants by 2020, hundreds of thousands of new jobs can be created nationally as well as saving billions of dollars for American consumers through lower monthly power bills. Senator Reid felt that, when the National Clean Energy Summit meets again in 2009, the country will finally be aligned to take full advantage of these energy opportunities.
Senator Harry Reid then introduced entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens, who followed with his outline of his Pickens Plan for energy independence. Using a white board, he highlighted the dilemma that the United States now faces with energy consumption:
U.S. domestic crude oil production is about 5 million barrels per day. The country also produces 2 million barrels of natural gas that can substitute for oil-based gasoline if converted to a liquefied form. The world production of crude oil is currently about 85 million barrels per day, of which the U.S. economy consumes 21 million barrels per day. The U.S. spends $700 billion each year to purchase and import these 21 million barrels of oil every day. With 4% of the world’s population, our country consumes 25% of the world’s oil per day with only 3% of the world’s oil reserves. This can be a dangerous dependency and a risk to national security if this worldwide supply is diminished or disrupted in any way. The recent conflict between Russia and Georgia shut down a pipeline in the Georgia territory that moved almost 1 million barrels of oil per day out of the 85 million barrels of worldwide daily production.
Rising temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic Ocean have increased the frequency and ferocity of hurricanes in recent years, affecting key production facilities for America’s crude oil and gasoline refineries. On September 1, 2008, hurricane Gustav shut down offshore oil rig production for about a week as 2 million residents of New Orleans, Louisiana fled their homes in the wake of this Category 3 storm that threatened to recreate the same flooding damage as hurricane Katrina in 2005. About a dozen gasoline refineries were also closed in Louisiana. Just twelve days later, on September 13, 2008, hurricane Ike roared over Galveston Island, Texas and scored a direct hit on Houston area oil refineries, shutting down 15 oil refineries that produce 20% of the nation’s gasoline. As a result, gasoline prices at some of the pumping stations in neighboring states temporarily jumped to over $5.00 per gallon as station owners tried to cope with higher spot wholesale prices and lack of supply. Domestic crude oil and natural gas production was also shut down for over two weeks beginning with the arrival of hurricane Gustav and throughout the continuing threat of hurricane Ike. The lack of production translated to a loss of about 1.3 million barrels of crude oil per day or 25% of U.S. domestic oil production. Ten oil production platforms were destroyed during hurricane Ike and several undersea oil and natural gas production pipelines were also damaged by the turbulence. 309,000 barrels of crude oil were released from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves to refineries in Illinois and Louisiana to try to stabilize the supply shortages as a stopgap measure. During the devastating 2005 hurricane season, hurricane Katrina destroyed 44 oil production platforms. Hurricane Rita followed shortly after and destroyed another 64 oil production platforms within the period of just one month.
Focusing on the production of stationary electric power production, T. Boone Pickens did not think that Al Gore’s recent challenge to America to achieve total power plant electricity generation using renewable energy sources across the country within ten years was enough to cut down on the need for imported crude oil. He felt a more reasonable plan was to reduce foreign oil dependency by more than 30% within the same ten years. Although he supported former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani as a presidential candidate during the Republican primary this year, Pickens emphasized that he is now promoting his plan to both presidential candidates and is staying politically neutral during this election. He hoped that the next president of the United States would address the U.S. energy problem during the first 100 days of his administration, a time when a newly elected president receives the broadest support from both political parties. The Pickens Plan does encourage the adoption of wind and solar power generation plants to replace the natural gas and coal-fired power plants currently in operation for generating electricity for the national grid. His company, BP Capital Management, has invested in a project to install a wind farm in western Texas that will generate 4,000 Megawatts of electricity per day. Pickens also cited the example of the town of Sweetwater in central Texas that successfully installed a wind power farm to generate 2,000 Megawatts of electricity every day. Before the installation of the wind farm, the small town’s rural population had declined from 12,000 residents to below 10,000 because of a lack of industry and jobs in the area. The introduction of this environmentally-friendly energy plant that uses the abundant wind resources in the area has now created enough jobs to employ 25% of the working population in the town. The town’s total population has now recovered to over 12,000 residents and is continuing to grow.
After replacing stationary power plants with renewable energy sources, the second part of the Pickens Plan would shift natural gas away from the electric power generation industry to the transportation industry to replace oil-based gasoline. He also cited the recent five-year old discovery of a process to crack carbon shale to produce natural gas as a new fuel source. Untapped reserves of carbon shale are located within U.S. borders in Texas, Montana, Colorado, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Louisiana and Arkansas. Natural gas prices have tripled since the 1990s, making the cost of drilling for this shale more competitive with traditional natural gas deposits that are normally found in the same location as crude oil sites. Natural gas processing costs now are about $7.50 per million British Thermal Units (BTU). Because the cost of this process now exceeds $6 per BTU, the associated costs of processing carbon shale into natural gas have become profitable.
According to T. Boone Pickens, the adoption of liquid natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) to power vehicles for transportation would be the most effective option for our nation’s trucking and bus fleets using the current diesel fuel industry infrastructure already in place. He felt that LNG fuels could be a bridge to future battery and hydrogen technologies in the trucking industry that are not yet achievable in the short term when trying to adopt these technologies for heavy vehicles. LNG-fueled vehicles could be adopted by trucking fleets within their normal vehicle retirement cycles if an LNG refueling infrastructure is available. He cited the Swift Company’s trucking fleet with 20,000 vehicles as an example. The company’s complete fleet of trucks is rotated into retirement every 2 ½ years as it purchases about 23 new Kenworth rigs each month to replace its older vehicles. Phasing in LNG-powered trucks would be relatively simpler than trying to retrofit existing rigs. LNG is currently about half the price of diesel fuel. There are currently about 500 LNG fueling stations across the country. Pickens’ BP Capital Management has invested in two companies that own about 90 of these 500 fueling stations.
Pickens emphasized that most of this development effort could be funded with private capital aided by longer term tax credits for companies taking the risk to develop these new technologies. The tax credits would forego about $15 billion in revenue per year to the federal government but would create new industries and jobs while also reducing the $700 billion burden that the U.S. economy spends on foreign oil payments to about $450 billion or less. Mr. Pickens has invested $58 million of his own money to promote this plan through a sophisticated media campaign that includes extensive TV advertising but also has an active presence on the Internet through Facebook and other Web 2.0 online social networking communities. More information is available at: http://www.pickensplan.com
Nevada state senator Randolph Townsend (R- Washoe County) moderated the first panel of speakers that included Arizona governor Janet Napolitano, MGM Mirage President and COO Jim Murren, Jon Creyts of McKinsey and Company, Sierra Pacific Resources CEO Michael Yackira, and Solar Industries Association (SIA) President Rhone Resch. State senator Townsend has been a longtime advocate for renewable energy and energy efficiency policies in Nevada, particularly the development of the state’s potential geothermal resources. He has 14 years experience in the state legislature and is currently the Chairman of the Nevada Commerce and Labor Committee. Townsend felt that America’s dependence on foreign oil imports could be solved by marrying America’s entrepreneurial spirit to private investment capital and technology.
Governor Janet Napolitano has been leading Arizona and the southwest region of the U.S. into a renewable energy future. Time magazine voted Napolitano one of the five most effective governors in the country during 2007. Like other governors in the region, she is also supporting energy efficiency and new energy generation within government buildings and transportation fleets. However, she is also coupling these new technologies to job training that even includes the state’s prison correction system. Through an innovative program, she has instituted solar power installation job training programs in the state’s prison systems to help inmates find good jobs when they leave the system as well as to convert existing prison facilities to run on solar power while they are incarcerated. Governor Napolitano also emphasized the growth of the Western Climate Initiative that has brought together governors from all the western states to look at regional solutions for global warming by employing alternative fuels as well as study the resulting effects on their local economies. This cooperating block of partner western states includes California, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Montana. Observer States include Nevada, Idaho, and Colorado. Canadian Partners include British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario. Mexico states along the U.S. border have Observer status, as well. Taken as a whole, this group comprises the third largest economic region in the world.
Locally, Jim Murren and the MGM Mirage organization employ 65,000 workers in the Las Vegas region. As a financial analyst for this large corporation that owns the most resort properties on the Las Vegas Strip, Jim sees clean energy technology, landscaping and architecture as a competitive advantage that has allowed his company to continue growing their projects successfully. His company has partnered with the Rocky Mountain Institute to strategically plan architectural developments that exceed the building code requirements for clean energy installations.
The company is in the middle of the ambitious City Center project that will cost $9.2 billion and include the construction of 45,000 new rooms on the Las Vegas Strip. It is the largest privately owned project to be given a “Silver” rating by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The LEED open technical standards were first created by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1998 and have been approved over time by the 10,000 member organizations within the council. The standards cover six interrelated categories that are crucial to the development and construction of new commercial buildings:
1. Sustainability of the site
2. Water efficiency
3. Energy consumption and atmospheric effects
4. Materials and resources
5. Indoor environmental quality
6. Innovation and design process
LEED standards version 2.2 provides the latest guidelines for new construction and major renovations of commercial buildings. The USGBC awards LEED building project ratings by using a point system. Perfect compliance is obtained by meeting all available 69 green building points of reference. However, lesser degrees of compliance are also recognized and awarded as follows:
Certified: 26 to 32 points
Silver: 33 to 38 points
Gold: 39 to 51 points
Platinum: 52 to 69 points
Commercial builders must apply to the U.S. Green Building Council to have their project reviewed and rated. LEED Accredited Professional (AP) standards inspectors must take an accreditation exam administered by the USGBC in conjunction with annual continuing education and testing in order be certified to award commercial building LEED ratings.
While up-front costs for designing and building a LEED project may be more expensive than conventional building code projects, the long term payback in terms of efficiency and occupant comfort yields many dividends. Some of the energy conserving features of the MGM Mirage properties include low flow toilets and sinks, funded recycling systems, variable frequency motor drives that save 50 million kilowatt-hours of electricity demand per year from its machinery, recaptured waste heat from rooms and showers, and the company’s own co-generation power plant.
Jon Creyts, a principal of McKinsey & Company, an energy consulting company was the next speaker on the panel. He was the lead author for a McKinsey study, “Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?” In the study, Creyts outlined a strategy for establishing the cost of greenhouse gas emissions to the U.S. economy by instituting measurement metrics for carbon emissions. On a macroeconomic scale, one metric would be the amount of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) divided by the Carbon Emission measured each year that could be expressed in dollars per Gigaton ($/Gton). The goal of the United States should be to limit the country’s carbon emissions to a total of 20 Gigatons by 2050 but continue to grow the economy by at least a 3% rate of GDP per year. This carbon-constrained economy would create both opportunities and challenges. The projected population of the U.S. is expected to add 70 million more citizens over the next 20 years, topping 400 million residents by 2028. He estimated that about $1.4 trillion in up-front capital from both the private and public sectors would be needed to set up the standards and infrastructure to make this carbon emissions pricing system work. On a microeconomic scale, he attempted to show how the nation could save money through improved energy efficiencies in residential and commercial lighting, appliances, alternative car fuels including cellulosic biofuels from plants, etc. These savings could be used to pay for the future development of newer clean energy technologies.
Michael Yackira is the CEO of Sierra Pacific Resources, a holding company that owned the two largest electric utility providers to northern and southern Nevada - Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power. One month after the National Clean Energy Summit on September 22, 2008, he announced that the two utilities have now been combined to create one statewide utility called NV Energy. During the Clean Energy Summit, he was encouraged by the desire of state political leaders, business owners and residents to push Nevada to take the lead in alternative energy installation. Like other speakers, he first emphasized the need for energy efficiency and conservation within the state by its citizens and commercial businesses, especially the use of compact fluorescent bulbs and other low power lighting solutions.
He highlighted many of the renewable energy projects that the company has undertaken in recent years, in cooperation with private industry and through actual investment and acquisition, including geothermal, solar, wind, hydro-electric and waste heat recovery. Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power (now combined as NV Energy) are also involved in the South West Intertie Project (SWIP) that will build a transmission line linking the northern Nevada utility to the southern one in order to share resources throughout the state and allow the export of electricity generated in Nevada to other neighboring western states.
Nevada Power helped enable the completion of Nevada Solar One, a 64-Megawatt solar thermal generating plant that was installed here in southern Nevada last year. Sierra Pacific Resources originally contracted with Duke Energy. Duke Energy spun off a solar power company called Solargenix to design, manufacture, implement and maintain the systems and components for this project as well as potential solar thermal projects in other states. Unfortunately, Solargenix ran into financial troubles. The company was purchased by Acciona in Spain when it sought additional funding. Acciona then completed the project last year and now maintains the site using solar collector mirror assemblies built in Israel and Germany. Nevada Power is now the primary customer for the electricity generated by this private company.
In geothermal installations, the utility has also partnered with Ormat Technologies to create geothermal power stations that generate electricity at: http://www.ormat.com
Ormat is a Reno, Nevada success story. The company was first started 1965 by a husband and wife, who were selling solar panel installations. They then found a niche market tapping hot water from aquifers located 100s of feet below ground near Steamboat, Nevada to create electricity. Steamboat is located south of Reno, near the junction of U.S. Highway 395 and Mt. Rose Highway and the 1,500 acre complex now generates 100 Megawatts of electricity daily. New geothermal plants are being planned for the Fernley-Fallon-Winnemucca region. Over four decades later, the company now has 1,000 employees worldwide, with 160 located in Nevada. The company went public in 2004 and is now the third largest geothermal production company in the world. Manufacturing plants for Ormat’s geothermal components and product lines are located in Israel. Its geothermal systems are used in 71 countries around the world. Nevada Power and Ormat are also planning a pioneering 30-Megawatt waste heat recovery system that can also be used to generate electricity.
A 200 Megawatt Wind Farm project near Jackpot, Nevada has also received approval. Northern Nevada is already generating more electricity than its customers need. With the completion of the SWIP utility transmission lines under NV Energy, state power lines and administration can be consolidated to usher in an era where the state of Nevada can become a net exporter of electricity generated primarily through renewable resources.
Rhone Resch, President of the Solar Industry Association, highlighted the acceptance by the American public for solar power system installations but also the differences between U.S. solar power installations and the current efforts by other countries. During 2007, U.S. companies installed about 15,000 residential and commercial systems, including solar thermal and photovoltaic projects. During the same year, Germany, a much smaller country than the U.S., installed 120,000 systems. China installed 350,000 systems within its borders and is also the world leader in solar component manufacturing and production. Spain and Japan have pushed their economies in the direction of solar and renewable energy generation with good success over the last five years.
Resch is very bullish on the solar power industry and its potential to replace coal-fired power plants. He emphasized that public disdain for coal-fired plants is “Not In My Back Yard” or NIMBY while public acceptance for solar power plants is “Build In My Back Yard” or BIMBY. He sees potential growth for solar power installations to approach 50% each year in the U.S. over the next several years with a good return on investment (ROI) for people willing to commit to these projects at this time. Just 1/6 of 1% of all energy is generated by solar power in the U.S. However, more transmission line installation and added carrying capacity within the national grid is needed to carry the product of these solar installations to consumers within each state. The federal government and state utilities can help link these projects together. Legislation changes are needed that can reward the generation of power by individual solar installation systems instead of continued reliance on a public utility monopoly within each state that must be accompanied by regulation. This new legislation could go a long way to creating incentives for entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens to adopt models of solar power and efficient energy use within commercial properties, solar farms and residential homes.
Throughout the rest of the day, strong panels of clean energy advocates continued to bring ideas and suggestions to the summit. Notable speakers included Dan Reicher, former Undersecretary of Energy and now the Director for Climate Change and Energy Initiatives at Google.org, a non-profit foundation formed by Google founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page. He focused on the potential to enhance geothermal systems by recycling water back into the volcanic rock that provides heat to power the electricity-generating turbines of the system. This would create more of a closed loop system that would be even more efficient in harnessing geothermal power. It could also help Nevada’s geothermal industry grow from producing 2% of the state’s electricity (about 146,000 Megawatts) to 20% (about 1,460,000 Megawatts).
Robert Rubin, former Secretary of the Treasury and currently Chairman of the Executive Committee on the Board of CitiGroup, focused on clean energy investment possibilities and how the investment banking community could support these efforts.
Jim Thoma, senior vice-president and manager of energy at Bank of America, has helped arrange $2.5 million in low-interest loans for the Las Vegas Valley Water District to use in building parking shades at the Springs Preserve that are equipped with solar power panels. The debt is able to bear a low interest rate because the Bank of America gets tax credits for making the loans. Lenders and investors are becoming more interested in this area for its return on investment as well as tax credits. The largest area of investment growth in the venture capital industry has been the renewable energy sector.
Nevada State Senator Dina Titus, currently running for the House of Representatives in the upcoming election, emphasized some of the state government efforts that Nevada is deploying to enable the state to grow a clean energy infrastructure. The state currently spends $6 to 8 billion per year on energy that could be kept in the state if Nevada develops its own solar, wind and geothermal resources. As a political science professor at UNLV, she emphasized the need for public education. This effort should include defining the associated technical jargon, benefits and engineering tradeoffs associated with adapting new green technologies within local residential communities and commercial buildings. She is proposing the institution of a “Center for Sustainability” on the UNLV campus that will help grow an industry that can perform home energy audits for residents of Nevada. The campus is currently uniting professors and students with research projects under an Urban Sustainability Initiative.
Steven Chu, Director of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, emphasized the need for more government investment in basic research that would drive the development of alternative fuel technologies. This research could continue to enhance the efficiency of solar power systems and biofuel projects. As an example, he showcased a proposal for synthetic yeast that could replace diesel and jet fuel with new types of biomass.
General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt emphasized the need for government to partner with this new emerging renewable energy industry in the same way that it subsidizes the automotive, transportation, oil and nuclear energy industries. Renewable energy sources should comprise 20% of total U.S. energy resources by 2020.
Steve Colwell, Director of the Sea Change Foundation, seeks to focus on practical ways that business, university research centers and government can all work together to develop industry and infrastructure for a clean energy future.
California U.S. Congresswoman Hilda Solis emphasized the ties between public health and clean energy, advocating for the improved quality of life that would be achieved by adopting clean energy sources.
Danny Thompson, Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the Nevada state AFL-CIO union, emphasized the benefit to Nevada workers through the creation of well-paying jobs by establishing clean energy industries throughout the state. There are currently 119,000 people employed by the solar and wind power industries at this time. Beyond the prospect of job creation, Nevada could also become a net exporter of power to California and other states. An associated state “mill tax” for production and distribution of this extra energy could bring much needed revenue to the Nevada state government and its citizens to expand social programs. His comments were echoed by Sommer Hollingsworth, Executive Director of of the Nevada Development Authority, and UNLV professor Keith Schwer. Hollingsworth said that he is in talks with at least three renewable energy developers who want to build solar projects in Nevada, including BrightSource Energy, Solar Millennium and El Dorado Energy. Their combined projects would generate 465 Megawatts of electrical power to supply 350,000 homes across the state or generate excess energy for export.
John Wellinghoff is a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the state of Nevada’s first public utilities consumer advocate. He proposed a three-step plan to phase in clean energy solutions. The first step would be for federal, state and local government to encourage its citizens to adopt energy efficient technologies in their businesses, office buildings, homes, and vehicles as well as distributed power generation technologies, such as small-scale solar panels. Second, governments should encourage the growth of renewable energy sources as well as advanced transmission lines in the form of a backbone grid that could reach remote areas. Third, the government should lead the way in promoting the electrification of auto and truck transportation, including plug-in hybrids and electric battery-powered vehicles. Vehicles and utility systems should be automated to charge car batteries during non-peak power consumption times to stabilize the electrical grid. The federal government could lead the way by requiring this technology in its own transportation fleets nationwide as well as by helping automakers retool their factories. Financial mechanisms, such as federal loan guarantees or tax credits, would help enable this effort.
John Tull of the Nevada Wilderness Project emphasized protection of the state’s wildlife and endangered species’ habitats. He felt that during the early stages of renewable energy planning, America and Nevada have a unique opportunity to develop a renewable energy industry and associated transmission lines in a way that is environmentally “smart from the start”.
One of the exhibitors at the Clean Energy Summit was K2 Energy, a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery distributor headquartered in Henderson, Nevada that produces its battery cells in Taiwan. President and CEO Johnnie Stoker exhibited an electric Shelby Cobra conversion that was powered by an array of the company’s rechargeable battery cells.
UNLV showcased its progress on an Urban Sustainability Initiative where professors and students hope to focus on projects for the continued development of energy-efficient homes and commercial buildings.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented the final keynote speech of the day by recalling the New York City blackout of 2005 that plunged the city into darkness and hobbled its economy for 48 hours. Originally feared to be a possible terrorist attack, the blackout was actually caused by a tree that fell on vulnerable transmission lines in far away Ohio. The timing of this accident affected the national grid to such an extent that it overloaded the system in the New York City area causing substation shutdowns in Manhattan and other densely populated areas. Like other speakers, he called for the federal government to improve the nation’s electricity infrastructure, modernize existing energy plants and substations, help with energy conservation block grants to urban areas, encourage property tax credits and legislation to support residential and commercial solar installations on buildings. This would help large cities like New York and Los Angeles grow a rooftop solar industry where building owners could sell any excess power they generated back to the national grid.
He cited his city’s attempts to become more energy efficient through conservation and the adoption of better technologies as well as the generation of more clean electric power through the use of alternative technologies and nuclear energy. Because of the density of New York City’s skyscrapers and buildings, he showed that his city government faced different problems than other cities. In New York City, 80% of its greenhouse gas emissions are from buildings and only 20% are from gasoline vehicles. This proportion of emissions is actually the opposite balance of what most other smaller cities face, where 80% of the emissions are from gasoline vehicles and only 20% from buildings. Commercial building efficiency standards such as LEED ratings and other metrics can help New York City gauge the improvements needed for its energy consumption. By striving for energy efficiencies within city agencies as well as city buses, fleet vehicles and fire department equipment, the mayor hopes to reduce overall power consumption by 30% in 2017. This would save 220 Megawatts each day during times of peak power consumption.
Other renewable energy technologies that the mayor’s staff is exploring for the New York City include tidal power generation in the Hudson and East Rivers, home geothermal “heat wells”, and offshore wind farms.
“The choice is ours, the time is now. Lets do this for us, our kids and America.”
The U.S. has a long way to go to once again achieve energy independence, but can really change our country’s fortunes by innovating and adopting these new technologies. Every U.S. citizen can participate in this renaissance.
The Saga of an EV Wannabe (Part 4)
By Bill Kuehl, LVEVA Secretary/Treasurer
Editor’s Note (Synopsis): This month continues the fourth of a nine-part series of practical EV conversion and driving tips written by LVEVA Secretary/Treasurer Bill Kuehl, who is also a co-founder and former president of the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association. The series recounts some of his thirty years of experiences as part of a small group of pioneers who believed they could convert gasoline vehicles into roadworthy electric battery-powered vehicles. This series of articles was originally published in the LVEVA “Watts Happening” monthly newsletters during 2003. With the recent rise of gasoline prices during the last few months, Bill’s story of his lifelong commitment to enabling EV conversions continues to hold many insights and helpful hints for the “do-it-yourself” EV builder. Bill Kuehl has converted over 200 gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles during the last forty years. He also holds records for ¼-mile electric vehicle drag racing and electric vehicle endurance racing.
During the first three installments of this series, Bill talked about the OPEC oil crisis that restricted the foreign supply of oil and petroleum during October 1973 as being the motivation for his interest in building electric vehicles. The cost of gasoline jumped from 33 cents per gallon to over $1.50 per gallon during a period of just a few months. Bill’s first attempts to make a full-size electric car for commuting to his work site that would cover a round trip of 16 miles resulted in a successful conversion of a 1974 Ford Pinto on a shoestring budget. This successful commuting solution worked for 3 ½ years until Bill’s work site was relocated, forcing him to redesign a vehicle that would have a round trip range of 32 miles. The second part of the series profiled a 1973 Honda Civic conversion that allowed him a range of over 60 miles on a single battery charge as well as allowing him to set an endurance record at a road rally sponsored by the Electric Auto Association that achieved 100.8 miles on a single charge of his lead-acid battery pack.
During the third part of the series, Bill talked about his acquisition of an Electric Pickup Truck, an electric Datsun 310 conversion, spare motors and controllers that were built by Lectra Motors in Las Vegas. He continued to participate in annual EAA rallies in Sunnyvale, California where he met like-minded EV enthusiasts from California who bought many of his spare parts and the electric Datsun 310. Bill also detailed his successful EV conversion of a 1985 Pontiac Fiero.
Bill Kuehl’s saga of EV conversion, experimentation and discovery continues…
On February 27, 1994, I took my 1985 electric Pontiac Fiero out to the Las Vegas race track along with two other electric vehicles belonging to Jan Himber ( a 1981 Lectra Motors 2 + 2) and Al Sawyer (1980 Lektricar pickup truck). All three of us participated in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Auto Cross Race.
We arrived early at the track to get our feet wet racing (our tires squealed)! Upon arrival at the track, we had to get our cars registered. The rental cost to the SCCA for the track that day was $1200. Each member of the SCCA was charged a $10 entry fee and non-members were charged a $15 entry fee. SCCA liability insurance coverage for the event was $1,000,000 and this insurance coverage had cost the club $1,000 annually.
The three of us all paid the non-member fee of $15. Our cars had to be technically inspected and prepared for the auto cross race. All loose items in the passenger compartment and trunk, including wheel covers and trim rings, had to be removed. Al’s technical inspection revealed a 12-volt battery that was not tied down. We solved it by tying a fiber strap over the battery to secure it to the car body. The electric cars were put in a class by themselves and assigned a “red dot” designation.
Each driver was required to wear a helmet when we drove the course. The SCCA furnished a helmet for each of us. We were required to walk through the course to give us an idea of what the driving would be like. We attended a mandatory drivers’ meeting prior to the race where the SCCA chairperson explained the procedures used by the organization for their races.
There would be three classes of car runs that were identified by green, red, or blue dots that would be placed on the windshield of each car. We were in the Red class. The Green class would run their cars first around the course. The Red class rested. The Blue class worked the course as observers at each turn to watch for any pylons that were knocked over or hit by the race cars as they went past. Each pylon that was knocked over cost the driver a one-second penalty. As we watched the Green class cars running the first race, the times of the different cars to run each lap varied from 55 to 69 seconds.
When it was the Red class turn, I went onto the course first, then Jan second and Al third. While running my electric vehicle through the race course, I noticed a heavy current draw on the batteries as I had to accelerate out of every turn with full power in order to pick up as much speed as possible between turns. I also had to brake hard before entering each turn.
The timer for the course started halfway through the first turn, so I accelerated with full power to get a flying start around the turn. Keeping full power on around the first left curve, I went towards the second curve to the left and applied full brakes to slow down to make a left 90-degree turn (2nd turn) and a right 90-degree turn (3rd turn), then full power for a short distance and hard braking towards a 90-degree turn to the right (4th turn), followed by a 90-degree turn to the left (5th turn).
The next part of the course required full acceleration around the back side of the banked oval track, then hard braking to go around a left horseshoe turn (6th turn), followed by another sequence of full acceleration and hard braking to go around a right horseshoe turn (7th turn).
After turn 7, I accelerated to full speed down the middle of the straight-away race track that banked slightly to the left, then braked hard for a sharp right horseshoe turn (8th turn). I accelerated strongly out of turn 8, but then braked slowly to keep up speed while going around a wide horseshoe turn (9th turn). I accelerated out of turn 9, then braked hard going into a left curve (10th turn), and an immediate right curve (11th turn). After accelerating out of turn 11, I accelerated into turn 12 and pushed the accelerator to the floor towards the finish line to stop the timer as I passed by.
After passing the timer, I braked hard, then turned right off the course, stopped, and exited the track to the right. I returned to the end of the line to wait for my next run. I ran the race four times officially and two times for fun.
The course had 12 turns to it and was 1 mile in distance. As we went through the first turn, which was the start/finish line, an electronic timer gave us our time for each lap. All times were marked down on the scoreboard. My times (in seconds) were: first lap – 92.895; second lap – 95.535; third lap – 73.601; fourth lap – 73.229
Jan’s times were: first lap – 94.150; second lap – 87.738; third lap – 82.780; fourth lap – 81.546
Al’s times were: first lap – 92.132; second lap – 90.487; third lap – 85.546; fourth lap – 86.934
I ran for a fifth time and got a 72.135. During my sixth and last run, I entered the second turn too fast, locked up my brakes trying to slow down and skidded into the turn, going off the course and wiping out three pylons on that turn. My final time was 85.268.
For the third part of the race, we worked the track. Jan monitored turn 3 and I monitored turn 2. Our job was to watch the cars as they came by, reset pylons that were knocked over, and then call in the number of the car that hit the pylons as well as the total number of pylons knocked over by that vehicle on that turn.
I had driven my car to the race track, so I then drove it home for a round trip of 22 miles. This mileage did not include battery power consumed during the six 1-mile runs of the races. When I got home, I found that the batteries were well-discharged and in need of a good overnight recharge. The event was a lot of fun and good time was had by all!
Editor’s note: End of Part Four. “The Saga of an EV Wannabe (Part Five)” will continue in the November 2008 issue of the LVEVA “Watts Happening” newsletter, and will chronicle more of Bill Kuehl’s pioneering EV conversion projects and racing adventures. Happy Motoring!
LVEVA, Free Energy Store and Grassroots EV convert Volkswagen Vanagon to Electric
LVEVA members Bill Kuehl, Stan Hanel, Jon Hallquist and Russ Lord recently finished the conversion of a Volkswagen Vanagon to run on electric power. The electric VW Vanagon was on display during a recent LVEVA monthly meeting on September 20, 2008. Jon Hallquist is also a manager of Grassroots EV, a company that provides electric vehicle parts and consultation to the emerging EV conversion industry at: http://www.grassrootsev.com
His company provided the electric motor, a Curtis 1221B motor speed controller and other components used in the Volkswagen Vanagon conversion.
Russ Lord is also co-owner of The Free Energy Store, a company specializing in renewable energy generating technologies for residential, business and commercial use. The Free Energy Store is a distributor and installer of solar panels, solar heating projects, wind turbine power generators, EV conversion kits, and many other products at: http://www.freeenergystore.com
Russ is both a general contractor and an electrical engineer. His company provided the VW Vanagon, 21 rechargeable 6-volt golf cart batteries for the traction battery pack and the auxiliary battery, the battery charger and custom battery interconnect cables that were made in his shop.
He contracted out the machining of the motor adaptor plate and coupler, as well as the battery mounts under both sides of the vehicle. Russ hopes to use the electric VW Vanagon as a public relations platform that can advertise his company’s product lines while also providing educational information about emerging renewable energy industries to the general public. Russ plans to add solar panels to the roof of the Vanagon that can partially recharge his batteries with solar power. He also wants to add low power LED lighting to the outside of the vehicle that can create special effects at night.
The Free Energy Store also recently became a distributor for Coulomb Technologies and that company’s “Smartlet” Recharging Station product lines that are scheduled for production and delivery during the first quarter of 2009 at: http://www.coulombtech.com
LVEVA Poker Run Road Rally Scheduled
During the March 2008 LVEVA meeting, President Richard Furniss proposed the institution of the first annual “Poker Run” road rally race for EVs and hybrid EVs to be staged after the LVEVA monthly meeting on Saturday, October 18th at 12 noon.
At that time, EV and hybrid EV competitors will be given a map of the rally course. The EV and hybrid EV vehicles would depart from the meeting location at the Flamingo Public Library parking lot after first drawing a card from a dealer’s poker deck, then follow the designated route on the map while obeying all traffic rules and speed limits. Along the route, each driver must stop at three way-stations to pick up three more playing cards from a waiting dealer’s poker deck.
The LVEVA Poker Run will finish at the Carl’s Jr. restaurant on the corner of Desert Inn and South Maryland Parkway where the vehicle driver will draw his final card. Once all the competitors have completed the road rally, they will gather to show their five-card poker hands. The EV team with the highest poker hand will be declared the winner.
Any EV or hybrid EV owners interested in participating in the EV Poker Run road rally should attend this month’s LVEVA meeting at the Flamingo Public Library on Saturday, October 18th at 10 AM to contact the event organizers.
LVEVA DVD Reference Library
The LVEVA maintains a growing library of DVD reference videos that are available to its members that can be borrowed for one month at a time. Bill Kuehl, LVEVA Secretary/Treasurer is also the LVEVA video librarian. He can be contacted to pick up and return these videos at each monthly chapter meeting. The current list of videos that are available for a one month rental are:
1. “Who Killed the Elecric Car” Documentary
2. Plug in Partners National Campaign (2006)
3. EAA Silicon Valley CalCars PHEV Technology Overview (2005)
4. Boulder City Christmas Parade Highlights (2006)
5. Convert Your Pickup to Electric (DIY Video by GrassrootsEV)
Note: This video can be copied to viewer’s hard disk to keep!
6. Tom Gage of AC Propulsion speaks at EAA Silicon Valley (2005)
7. Monster Garage EV conversion (Jesse James)
and John Wayland White Zombie Videos (2006)
8. Electric Avenue by George Gladic Fox Valley EAA Chapter 2006.
9. Bruce Katz of Polyplus Battery Company speaks at EAASV (2005)
10. Induction Motors by Warren Windvich EAA Silicon Valley (June 2005)
11. EAA/Silicon Valley Rally at Palo Alto High by Scott Leavitt (September 2005)
EV Repairs and Service
Western Petroleum Station
2051 E. Sahara (corner of Eastern Avenue and Sahara)
Las Vegas, NV 89104
Contact: Jim Johnson
Telephone: (702) 457-2675
Web site: http://storefront.dexonline.com/jims-texaco
EV Conversion and Fabrication Support
Rock Monster Motorsports
5225 S. Valley View Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89118
Web site: http://www.rockmonstermotorsports.com
Tel: (702) 255-2700
Fax: (702) 255-2710
Contact: John
EV Precision Machine Shop Custom Parts Fabrication
Accurate Machine and Tool
3855 W. Diablo, Suite #6
Las Vegas, NV 89118
Tel: (702) 739-0939
Contact: Eric Tschabold
Email: energyz@cox.net
EV Parts and Kits for Sale:
1. GrassrootsEV.com
Las Vegas Office
Address: 5225 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89118
“Electric Vehicles and Everything for Them”
Contact: Jon Hallquist
Tel: (702) 277-7544
Email: jon@grassrootsev.com
Web site: http://www.grassrootsev.com
2. OKA NEV ZEV Parts and Kits for Sale: www.okaauto.com
OKA NEV ZEV KIT cars in stock now for immediate delivery prices start at $5,000 FOB Las Vegas. We also have 4844 ALLTRAX Controllers(48V 400 A DC for Series motor) in stock (more than we need) $550 list, $375.00 NET.
Contact: Miro Kefurt
OKA AUTO USA : www.okaauto.com
Distributor: MIROX Corporation
5015 W. Sahara Ave. #125-130
Las Vegas, Nevada 89146
USA
Tel: (702) 683-8292
E-mail: okaauto@aol.com
3. The Free Energy Store
300 West Utah, Suite 101
Las Vegas, NV 89102
Tel: (702) 320-0770
Fax: (702) 320-0270
Web site: http://www.freeenergystore.com
Contact: Russ Lord
Email: russ@freeenergystore.com
For Sale: Chrome "Electric" Emblems for EV's
Mike Chancey - Posted 06/25/00
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Checked: 07/13/03
Chrome "Electric" car emblems, just like the OEM factory lettering. Okay, so you own a beautiful electric vehicle, but does the world know? Show them with these profession quality "ELECTRIC" emblems. Fabricated from weather resistant thermoplastic, these signs feature a bright chrome like finish on the letter faces with a subtle matte black background. They mount easily with the self adhesive HighTack backing. Simply peel off the protective cover, and press the sign into place. Each sign is approximately 1.25" in height and 7" in length. Only $6.00 each or four for $20.00, plus $1.75 shipping and handling per order. Discounts for larger orders available. Send check or money order to:
Mike Chancey, 1700 East 80th Street, Kansas City, MO 64131, or order online.
EVs For Sale:
1. Electrans 3-wheel Futurista ETV
Range of 55 miles
Top speed of 45 mph.
Department of Transportation (DOT) approval to license this vehicle through the DMV
List price is $13,995
Contact: ElecTrans
Address: 5450 South Cameron #101, Las Vegas, NV 89118
Tel: (702) 889-2146
Web site: www.futurista.biz
2. For Sale: Electric 1985 Pontiac “Fiero” --Record-Holding Race Car
This 1985 Pontiac “Fiero” Conversion currently holds four National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) Class Records.
1. Class MC/F (Modified Conversion 97-120 volts)
2. Class MC/E (Modified Conversion 121-144 volts)
3. Class MC/D (Modified Conversion 145-168 volts)
4. Class MC/C (Modified Conversion 169-192 volts)
The 1985 Pontiac Fiero has been converted with:
1. A new Netgain Warp-9 Electric DC Motor coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission.
2. A DCP T-REX 1000 Water-cooled Controller with an Input Voltage Range of 96 to 336 Volts
and Motor Current Rating at 1000 Amps.
3. The Battery System is at 192 Volts. The battery pack consists of sixteen 12-volt sealed ODYSSEY PC-680 batteries with the capability of increasing battery pack capacity and voltages to compete in the NEDRA MC/B Class (Modified Conversion 193-240 volts) or to a maximum capacity of 336-volts to compete in the MC/A Class (Modified Conversion 241 volts and higher).
4. Tires are B.F. Goodrich G-Force T/A Drag Radials P215/60 R14 that connect the Electric Motor torque to the road for “no slip” acceleration.
5. Battery Charger is a 120- to 240-volt Variable Transformer with a heavy-duty full bridge rectifier. Additional cables and connectors are installed for Dump Charging from a DC battery pack.
Asking Price: $10,000 or Best Offer.
Contact: William Kuehl
Address: 4504 W. Alexander Road, North Las Vegas, Nevada 89032
Telephone: 702-636-0304
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