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September 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
September 20 Monthly Meeting
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
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) 405-0506
Contents:
-- National Clean Energy Summit at UNLV! “Nevada Can Rock The World”! (Part One)
-- BLM Approves Transmission Line Unifying Nevada State Electrical Grid
-- Jim Cullen Restores and Redesigns Bradley GT II Electric Kit Car
-- Expansion of Solar Power Facilities Planned in Nevada and California
-- Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Tour Visits Las Vegas
-- Bill Kuehl’s “Saga of An EV Wannabe” (Part 3)
-- LVEVA Poker Run Road Rally Scheduled After October 18th Monthly Meeting
-- 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 One)
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 planned in this area 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 former member of the state Public Utilities Commission, introduced the many panels and speakers who brought thoughtful discussion to the event during both days.
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 from foreign oil imports for our country’s 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 citizens.
Many speakers stressed some of the main obstacles currently standing in the path towards renewable energy independence. Proposed solutions to these obstacles included:
1. Improve 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. Extend 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. Emphasize conservation at the same time as adopting new renewable energy sources.
4. Decouple the mission of the electric utility companies in each state from the need to just sell more power to also generate revenue by educating and installing more efficient energy consumption programs. 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. Also, within the new energy development programs, refocus on incentives for utilities to develop renewable energy resources.
Former President Bill Clinton’s keynote speech focused around his experiences and lessons learned from the Kyoto Treaty that he and Vice-President Al Gore negotiated at the end of his term in the late 1990s. This international treaty tried to limit the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by the U.S and other countries around the world. The goal of the agreement signed by officials of 170 nations was to reduce worldwide global CO2 emissions down below 80% from current levels by 2050, despite projected worldwide population growth from 6.2 billion people to 9 billion people by that time.
However, after signing the Kyoto treaty, the U.S. Congress disapproved of the U.S. negotiations and our country never participated in its efforts. Ten years later, some of the Kyoto treaty guidelines are becoming more widely acknowledged by U.S. citizens due to the current crises involving climate change, energy shortages, resulting economic problems and national security.
If just considering worldwide electric power production from stationary power plants and disregarding gasoline-burning automobiles with their resulting CO2 emissions, a breakout for the different sources of technologies used in creating electric power worldwide would appear as follows:
Total worldwide power production by all stationary electric generation plants: 5,500 Gigawatts
Worldwide Wind Power production: 100 Gigawatts
Worldwide Solar Power production: 10 Gigawatts
Worldwide Nuclear, Hydroelectric, and Geothermal Power production: 800 Gigawatts
Fossil Fuel-based Power production (Coal, Oil and Natural Gas) 4,500 Gigawatts
In the next 20 years, as populations continue to increase and underdeveloped nations continue to grow, projected worldwide stationary power generation is projected to double to 11,000 Gigawatts by 2028. China, in particular, is attempting to quickly upgrade the standard of living of its 1.3 billion people in the next 20 years and recently has been building almost one new coal-fired power plant almost every week. Despite state-mandated population control, its country still contains 1/6th of the world’s total population. India’s population comprises another 1/6th of the world total.
Part of the reason for failure of the Kyoto agreement in the U.S. was a perception that its adoption would damage the U.S. economy and create unnecessary burdens when other large developing countries like China and India were not included in the greenhouse gas limitation mandates outlined in the Kyoto agreement. One United Nations study showed that if just the U.S., China, India and Russia could achieve these goals of greenhouse gas reductions by 2050, total worldwide emission reductions would achieve 25% of the desired 80% level.
However, the study also concluded that this effort would cost a drop in worldwide gross domestic product production (GDP) by 1% to 3% over this time period, creating a financial burden on all countries’ populations. However, despite the lack of participation by the largest fossil fuel consuming countries in carrying forward the Kyoto treaty guidelines, smaller countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Japan, and Denmark have sought to comply with the Kyoto accords. Surprisingly, these countries have realized notable economic gains while creating new global industries as part of their innovation and conservation efforts. New Eastern European nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Union will also easily meet the Kyoto guidelines as they upgrade their growing economies away from the use of inefficient coal-fired electrical power plants of the past to more modern facilities over time.
Another reason Clinton cited for the failure of the Kyoto agreement, despite its signatures from well-intentioned officials from 170 nations, was a lack of infrastructure and education to show the world how to achieve greenhouse gas emissions economically and efficiently. Organization, financing and educational outreach programs are necessary at all levels to help achieve a worldwide transition to cleaner power plant emissions.
President Bill Clinton challenged the revenue-losing assumptions of the UN study and felt that, if the adoption of green energy policies became an economic burden, the Kyoto accords could not succeed. However, he felt that renewable energy power plants and their related technologies hold the promise of providing much better economic benefits than existing fossil fuel-based plants. As an example, he cited a study in California comparing a 100 Megawatt solar thermal plant installation to a modern coal-fired power plant installation. The study concluded that the solar thermal plant installation would create 10 times the economic benefit to the citizens of the state of California than that of a coal-fired power plant installation, generating 4,000 person years of employment and $628 million in related economic benefits.
Maintenance and parts replacement of the solar thermal plant to the electric utility customer would only be 2 cents to 3 cents per kilowatt hour over the life of the solar installation. Also, retrofitting the plant with newer, more efficient technologies as they come online can increase energy production and yield over time, further decreasing overall cost to customers. Benefits to public health and air quality were also intangible economic gains from the adoption of clean renewable energy for electrical power generation.
Based on his experiences with these macroeconomic energy issues during his presidency, Clinton outlined a new plan for U.S. energy independence that would encompass parallel efforts by federal, state and local governments working in conjunction with non-government sectors throughout the country. As a final idea, Clinton emphasized that, if the state of Nevada attempted to adopt an energy economy where all power within the state was generated by renewable resources, it "would rock the world":
At the Federal level:
1. Congress must pass legislation that puts a price on carbon fuel consumption and emissions, such as a “cap and trade” system, to limit carbon fuel consumption and impose fees for higher emissions exceeding safe pollution levels.
2. Tax credits benefitting energy conservation and energy production industries must be extended beyond three-year limits to six or eight years to encourage more investment in these new industries.
3. The federal government needs to work with utilities in each state to modernize the national electricity grid. These efforts would improve efficiency and carrying capacity, especially in remote rural areas where solar and wind farms might be established. The cost would be about $1 trillion over the next 20 years but would provide benefits to the overall economy in terms of job creation and quality of life improvements on the same level as the national highway system in the 1950s. Taxpayers should be willing to split the costs with the utilities for development of this new national grid. If U.S. annual Gross Domestic Product is currently $13 trillion per year, this would be an investment of less than 10% stretched over 20 years that would pay huge dividends for everyone.
Clinton emphasized that the costs of staying with the status quo of an economy based on non-renewable fossil fuels would be more expensive in the long run than the costs of transitioning to a renewable energy economy now.
4. The federal government can work with utilities in every state to encourage them to adopt “decoupling” where the utilities view their mission as not just as providing energy to the public but also encouraging efficient energy distribution and use by consumers to save money and actually build fewer power plants. Examples of energy efficient products that utilities can market to consumers include smart meters installed in homes that can disconnect unused appliances from the home grid at night to prevent losses from plugged in power supplies that still drain energy from the AC outlet even if the device is not switched on. Conservation and building retrofits can also promote more efficient energy usage across regions. Clinton cited California as a state that has led in becoming 35% more energy efficient per capita by instituting these policies. Nevada has also effectively allowed its utilities to earn a greater rate of return on dollars invested in conservation programs than they do on dollars invested in new power plants.
5. Federal legislation should accelerate the pace of replacing incandescent bulbs with more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs and LED lighting. There should also be legislation that will promote higher efficiency standards for household appliances to reduce electricity consumption in every home.
6. Fund research projects that store carbon emissions in ways not harmful to the environment. One solution has been to inject it into old, capped oil wells that have been capped in a vacuum to actually help force out more oil from these existing sites.
7. Accelerate the migration of biodiesel production, moving away from corn-based ethanol to cellulosic ethanol that converts waste agricultural products into energy. Create a more efficient sugar cane-based ethanol industry in the Dominican Republic and other U.S. territories that will also produce jobs for those regions. Sugar cane can yield 4 times the ethanol that corn crops can produce.
8. Accelerate the conversion of waste landfills to create heat energy and methane that can be recycled and stored.
9. Accelerate the adoption of plug-In hybrid electric vehicles that use flexible fuels such as biodiesel for range extension. These vehicles are a transition technology to pure electrics and hydrogen-based vehicles. Encourage the development of high speed rail systems to link remote areas between states. These can augment shipping and passenger transportation, speeding up the flow of goods from state to state.
10. Demonstrate to the rest of the world that “green living” is not just something that can only be adopted by first-world economies but can also create opportunities, jobs and a higher standard of living for second- and third-world country economies, as well. Not only is a green energy economy proving itself as a source of new revenue and job creation for Japan, Germany, Denmark, Spain, and Portugal, it is also lifting up economies in Africa, Asia, and other impoverished nations.
President Clinton went on to outline areas where state and local government can encourage the creation of a nationwide green energy economy through regional efforts:
1. Implement new building codes for green architecture.
2. Encourage retrofitting of older, inefficient buildings
3. Train architects, engineers, contractors and laborers on new building techniques for energy efficiency.
4. Shut down local landfills and convert them into waste heat or methane gas for energy generation stations.
Clinton also emphasized that the non-government sector of the economy had much to contribute to this effort, including business, labor, faith-based groups and charitable foundations:
1. Organize purchasing markets with discount prices for energy saving devices
2. Create an energy audit industry for homes that can work with businesses to educate and encourage profitable adoption of green energy solutions.
3. Coordinate with banking and financial markets to encourage green energy investments, funding and loans.
4. Encourage the building of renewable energy generation projects in the 3 to 5 Gigawatt range, modeled after the development of industrial parks and other research development initiatives.
1 Megawatt of daily power generation can meet the needs of 750 residential homes. 1 Gigawatt of daily power generation can meet the needs of 750,000 residential homes. 5 Gigawatts of daily power generation would meet the needs of over 3 million residential homes in a region.
Clinton emphasized that his foundation is encouraging the idea of creating regions where renewable energy comprises 100% of the power consumed by the individuals living there. His foundation has looked at promising locations around the world. For example, any Caribbean nation has lots of sun and wind, an economy that already consumes a very small amount of non-renewable energy resources, and a yet-undeveloped transportation system.
In Africa, small countries like Liberia and Rwanda are well-governed and could make this kind of change on a national level. The same could be said for small Asian nations like East Timor and Papua New Guinea.
In the U.S., Puerto Rico imports 100% of its energy resources and is a prime candidate for a renewable energy economy. Native American Indian reservations that don’t have access to gaming revenue might also benefit from adopting these energy solutions as would the Mississippi Delta and Appalachia.
However, of all the 50 states, the one state that has the best combination of resources to adopt a 100% renewable energy economy is Nevada.
According to President Clinton, Nevada attendees at the National Clean Energy Summit should put together “a proposal to have the national government and investors all over America, say, ‘Help make us the first completely self-sufficient clean energy state in the United States’. I promise you if you do, it would rock the world”.
Editors’ Note: Day Two of the National Clean Energy Summit will be highlighted in the October 2008 LVEVA Newsletter.
BLM Approves Transmission Line Unifying Nevada State Electrical Grid
During early August 2008, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved one of three environmental assessment proposals for the South West Intertie Project (SWIP) that proposes to construct a power transmission line on federal lands to unify the electrical power grids of northern and southern Nevada for the first time in the state’s history. Great Basin Transmission, an affiliate of LS Power, applied for the “right of way” to build a 500-kilovolt AC transmission line on federally-owned lands that will run from the northern part of the state to the southern part and allow energy flow in both directions. The next approval must come from the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for this project to go forward. The proposed transmission line link will span 234 miles from Sierra Pacific Power’s Thirtymile Substation northwest of Ely to Nevada Power’s Harry Allen Substation northeast of Las Vegas. If approved, the cost of the transmission line project will be about $350 million to $470 million that would be paid back over time by the commercial customers of the electricity that would include private organizations as well as state utilities. Construction would start in 2009 and be completed in 2010.
Sierra Pacific Resources, the holding company for both Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power is also considering building its own transmission line along a parallel route to link its two utility companies together. The company has its own proposal going through the approval process.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SWNA) will be unifying ground water access statewide by building an extensive pipeline system. The SWNA will also be spending $3.5 billion to develop a 230-kilovolt transmission line network to operate its pumping stations between Ely and Las Vegas. The pumping stations would require lower voltage than the LS Power transmission lines and have many more interconnections to the backbone transmission line. This infrastructure would make it inefficient to tap into the LS Power transmission line, resulting in many power losses at each of the “step-down” voltage interconnection points.
The South West Intertie Project (SWIP) is historic and essential to developing an electrical grid backbone that will allow all residents in Nevada to share in the state’s growing renewable energy resources. For example, customers of the Nevada Power Company utility based in southern Las Vegas will be able to draw electricity produced from the rich geothermal sources found in the northern part of the state while customers of the Sierra Pacific Power Company utility based in northern Reno will be able to draw from solar power and wind power farms created in the southern part of the state. If the state of Nevada increases its production of electrical power to become a net power exporter, the South West Intertie Project will also help Nevada sell electricity to other states in the region.
A unified electrical grid could also help create state infrastructure for a potential electric vehicle industry and a related recharging station industry. The growth of these new industries can also contribute new green power jobs to the state economy of Nevada while also improving the quality of life for all its citizens.
Only two roadblocks yet remain for construction of the LS Power 500-kilovolt AC transmission line to begin:
1. LS Power still needs to obtain BLM approval for its construction, operation and maintenance plan, especially the southern part of the South West Intertie Project.
2. LS Power is also seeking to build a controversial White Pine Energy Station coal-fired power plant project that has received opposition from state environmental groups as well as U.S. Senator Harry Reid. The company initially bundled the transmission line project as part of the coal-fired power plant proposal to the state of Nevada. Depending on the political will of the state, the company may be persuaded to “unbundle” the transmission line proposal from the coal-fired power plant proposal if it looks like it might lose both potential contracts.
If the SWIP transmission line project is not built by LS Power, other builders will also compete for this project under commissions from Sierra Pacific Resources and the Southern Nevada Water Authority. If all three entities go forward, the state will actually enjoy three parallel electrical transmission links. Building these transmission line links is vital for the state’s economy. It can move electricity throughout the state in the same way that a statewide highway system moves goods and services to its citizens. The sooner it can happen, the faster Nevadans can benefit.
Jim Cullen Restores Bradley GT II Electric Kit Car
Dr. Jim Cullen has been active in building electric kit cars for many years, helping found the original Las Vegas Electric Auto Association (LVEAA) chapter with co-founder Gail Lucas that met at the Desert Research Institute during the 1990s. Former members of the LVEAA, including Bill Kuehl, Al Sawyer, Jan Himber and Al D’Inzillo later spun off the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association (LVEVA) from the LVEAA as a Special Interest Group (SIG) to focus their efforts towards more practical “hands on” techniques for building EV conversions.
Dr. Cullen earned his Ph.D. in geology, is a state-certified Professional Engineer (P.E.), a former NASA astronaut candidate as well as a researcher and UNLV lecturer. He continues to pursue a passion for bicycle road racing. Jim has strong views on the finite state of world crude oil reserves as well as an opposition to today’s current political emphasis on “more drilling”. Jim recently purchased a Bradley GT II Electric kit car from Gail Lucas that was also previously owned by environmental activist and actor Ed Begley, Jr. The Bradley GT II Electric kit car was introduced to hobbyists during 1980 by the Bradley Automotive Company, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At the time, this sporty electric two-seater had a 40-mile range and could reach speeds exceeding 70 mph with its electric motor powered by a pack of lead acid batteries. According to Jim’s research, about 10 of the vehicles were built at the Bradley Automotive Company factory with another 50 cars available as components that included plans for kit car builders. Bradley Automotive Company originally sold its kits equipped with Volkswagen gasoline engines in the GT, Scorpion and GT II models, before creating this limited run of GT II Electric vehicles. After this pioneering attempt, the company changed its name to the Electric Vehicle Corporation to take advantage of its “first-mover” position. Unfortunately the Electric Vehicle Corporation later sought bankruptcy protection in 1981 due to financial problems and kit quality safety issues. Support for the original EV design was continued by Mike Brown at Electro Automotive after the company went out of business. The Bradley GTE is based on a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle chassis with a sporty fiberglass body mounted on top of it. The gull-wing doors swing upwards when opening (a pre-Delorean design). An online Bradley GT Car Club, that includes a discussion forum and support group for owners of Bradley GT, Scorpion and GT II vehicles, can be found at: http://www.bradleygt.com
Jim Cullen has kept a blog of his restoration efforts to date from March 2008 to September 2008, even improving on the original Bradley GT II design. He continues to update the 1980 technology so that it will use lighter, more efficient electronic components and materials. He also redesigned the load distribution of the battery, motor and electrical components on the Volkswagen Beetle chassis to make the vehicle more roadworthy and efficient. He hopes to complete the Bradley conversion project and have it on the road by the summer of 2009. His fascinating “how-to” EV project blog begins at this web page: http://electricar.us/blog1/page/5/
For more pictures of another restored Bradley GT II Electric kit car in San Diego, California, visit Brad Waddell’s web site at: http://www.getmsm.com/ev/BradleyGT/default.htm
While continuing work on the Bradley GT II Electric restoration, Jim has also started building a BugE electric three-wheel motorcycle kit. He is keeping a separate blog of these experiences at: www.calfandcub.com/blog
Mark Murphy of Blue Sky Design in Creswell, Oregon, created the original BugE kit motorcycle design that is available with Lighting and Control package for about $4,500 at: http://www.blueskydsn.com/
We look forward to the continued development of both of Dr. Jim Cullen’s EV projects as well as the educational narration of his building experiences during the months to come!
Applications for Renewable Energy Generating Projects Increase in Nevada
Applications to the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agency for proposals to build solar power plants on federal land in Nevada have nearly tripled within the last two months, from 23 proposed projects to 65. The Bureau of Land Management controls 67% of the land in Nevada but has yet to approve a single solar plant on Nevada federal land. Overwhelmed by the volume of applications and a land grab “feeding frenzy”, the federal agency at first declared a two-year moratorium on development until it could establish guidelines for the approval process of the technology of each installation, environmental impact studies and a power transmission/grid connection infrastructure. Under a firestorm of protest from businesses and utilities, who have lined up to launch a new green power industry, the agency relinquished its moratorium and has once again continued accepting new proposals. Regional efforts are underway by a coalition of six southwestern states to help create uniform guidelines. Government officials blame their slow progress in part on a lack of staff and funding to process the rapidly rising number of proposals.
Better results have been achieved by the BLM in the geothermal industry where it recently auctioned $28 million in geothermal leases on federal land in Nevada. Half the proceeds from the leases will go to the state treasury, one-quarter of the proceeds will go to local government funding, and one-quarter of the leases will go to the Bureau of Land Management and the federal government.
By contrast, only about 5% of the proceeds of federal land leases for solar energy plant installations on federal land go to the states that host these projects because the solar power generation industry is regulated under different federal laws. However, other states have gone forward with these applications and are still receiving multimillion dollar rebates from solar power leases.
Private development efforts also continue to move forward under Nevada state regulations for solar and wind power projects on privately held land.
Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of California utility, Sempra Energy (SRE), will build its first 10-megawatt photovoltaic electric power generation plant on 80 acres of land next to its 480-megawatt combined cycle natural gas plant located near Boulder City, Nevada. The company will own and operate this solar power plant that will employ thin-film photovoltaic solar panel technologies developed by First Solar (FSLR), a company with headquarters in Tempe, Arizona. If all goes well, the company plans to expand the plant capacity up to 40 or 50 megawatts during 2009.
Sempra Energy chose First Solar thin-film panels over other solar technologies because they are less costly and faster to bring online than solar thermal or silicon-based photovoltaic technologies. Sempra Energy committed to this project during July 2008 and hopes to complete the installation of the 10-megawatt facility by the end of 2008. As revenue is generated from this pilot project, it will fund expansion in 2009 up to 50 megawatts before covering all 80 acres of land at the site. In contrast, solar thermal installations must be completely built as one project from beginning to end because of the interaction of the solar collector assemblies, the plumbing of water through the system, and the turbine generator connections from the solar collector plumbing to the power transmission lines. All construction costs must be invested at the front end of the project. Most solar thermal power plant projects of significant scale have required about three years of planning and construction before generating any power.
With photovoltaic power, solar collector module areas can be added incrementally over time as sales from generated electrical energy to utilities provides the revenue needed for continued project expansion. Sempra Energy plans to add as much as 300 to 400 megawatts of solar power generation to the land around its Mesquite gas-fired power plant outside Phoenix, Arizona sometime around 2010 or 2011.
In addition to solar, Sempra Energy is building its first wind farm in Mexico that could ultimately generate as much as 1,000 megawatts of electricity. The first phase of the project will create 150 to 175 megawatts of power and will be completed in 2011. Other potential renewable energy technologies that Sempra Energy is considering include biogas and wave power generation.
First Solar’s thin-film technology is based on cadmium telluride chemistry. The company has also contracted with another utility, Southern California Edison, to build a 7.5 megawatt solar plant in Blythe, California that has the potential to scale up to 21 megawatts. In addition, Southern California Edison has contracted with First Solar to install a 2-megawatt system that will be a pilot initiative in the first steps to creating an urban 250-megawatt solar rooftop project across southern California.
Nevada’s Public Utilities Commission has authorized both Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power to continue to offering rebates for residential and commercial solar power installations. The total capital available for the rebate fund is limited, however, and applicants must go through an approval process through their local utility to receive the rebate.
The PUC has also just announced a new rebate program for small-scale residental and commercial wind turbine systems that began on September 4, 2008. The total capital available for this rebate program is up to $23.3 million, depending on the number of applicants. The wind turbine program rebates $2.50 per watt based on the turbine’s electricity production up to a maximum of $25,000 for 10,000 watts. Wind turbine systems exceeding 10,000 watts are eligible for a rebate of $1.50 per watt. The goal of the rebate program is to encourage installation of these systems into homes, businesses, farms, schools, and public buildings. Clark County in southern Nevada allows landowners in all zones, both residential and commercial, to install wind power generating systems throughout the county. These zoning laws are further subject to approval from local city government and local home owner associations if they violate community noise restrictions or have the potential to devalue community property values. The wind in southern Nevada does not blow as consistently as more rural areas of the state, but some low-power wind turbine generation systems can create electrical energy with average daily breezes of about 10 to 15 mph.
Mariah Power in Reno, Nevada is a local manufacturer of wind turbines that is hoping to be part of a new wind power industry in the state at: http://www.mariahpower.com
Initial up-front costs for these small residential systems range from about $5,000 for a 12,000 watt system that requires an average daily wind speed of 12 mph. A more advanced $8,000 system can provide power with an average daily wind speed of 8 mph. Owners can recover their cost in generated electricity within ten years without a rebate if the turbine is supplied by wind from a consistent source. The company does try to work with its customers to determine their generation potential based on year-round weather conditions within their zip code area. Wind turbines are often used to complement solar power systems, generating more power during the night and during the winter months than solar power which is more efficient during the day and throughout the summer months.
In Las Vegas, The Free Energy Store also distributes solar and wind turbine systems by a variety of manufacturers for residential, school and commercial customers at: http://www.freeenergystore.com
The Nevada PUC has also relaxed regulations on rentals of portable solar power systems and wind generation systems for residential and small business applications. A distribution industry for portable power rentals should start to form that would also help spur more widespread adoption of these technologies without the need for large up-front costs by the user. These initial costs would be borne by the distributor and amortized over time in return for lease revenue.
2009 can be a tremendous boom year for renewable energy resource and industry development within Nevada and the southwest region of the United States.
Hydrogen Vehicle Road Tour Visits Las Vegas
In 2003, the Bush administration announced a Hydrogen Fuel Initiative that encouraged automotive designers to create practical and cost-efficient hydrogen fuel vehicles for the general public by 2020. At that time, this move was criticized by the battery-powered EV community as diverting scarce research funds away from near-term battery and hybrid vehicle technology to a much more ambiguous research goal that pushed back implementation of a commercial zero emissions vehicle onto a future timeline horizon that could be another seventeen years away. In addition, there did not exist any real infrastructure for manufacturing and distributing hydrogen fuel across the country. Fortunately for this area of research, combined efforts by automotive companies, university engineering programs, scientists and professional automotive designers have embraced this goal and worked ambitiously to try to bring hydrogen-powered vehicles and hydrogen fuel sources closer to reality.
In 2002, 1.1 kilograms of hydrogen (about 1 gallon) cost $200. Due to new production techniques and infrastructure, the cost of hydrogen has dramatically declined to about $8.60 for the same amount. This is still over twice the cost of gasoline at current prices but these developments now make hydrogen a more viable fuel source with a storage and distribution infrastructure that is continuing to evolve.
During August 2008, a 13-day Hydrogen Vehicle Tour was arranged by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) that visited 31 cities in 18 states. Nine auto manufacturers participated, in conjunction with sponsorship from the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the National Hydrogen Association, and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The road tour traveled from Portland, Maine, to Los Angeles while showcasing the current ‘state of the art” and commercial viability of environmentally friendly fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) and hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles. Technological breakthroughs by competing companies are starting to make this kind of automotive transportation possible sooner than expected: http://www.hydrogenroadtour.com
The local Las Vegas Valley Water District was one of the event organizers, having previously funded projects with the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Howard Hughes School of Engineering, to explore the use of hydrogen fuel in vehicles over the last decade. Sponsored projects researched two types of vehicles. The first used hydrogen as a replacement for gasoline in internal combustion engines. A second project employed hydrogen gas in a fuel cell system to create enough electricity to drive a Taylor Dunn truck. LVEVA President Richard Furniss has been actively involved in developing both of these research projects as a employee of the Las Vegas Valley Water District’s transportation fleet maintenance department that led the research initiative on behalf of the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). Richard drove the fuel cell Taylor Dunn electric truck experimental platform when it was exhibited during the recent Summerlin Patriotic Parade on July 4th:
Hydrogen fuel cell systems have also been used as series hybrid range extenders for battery-powered electric vehicles that continually recharge the battery pack of the electric vehicle to keep it near full capacity during operation. Hydrogen gas is stored in a tank on the electric vehicle that is then fed to the fuel cell in combination with oxygen to create electricity through a catalyst. The resulting secondary emission of this chemical reaction is water vapor (H20) at the output of the fuel cell. Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle systems hold the promise to become true zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) that do not produce any carbon dioxide.
There are many sources of hydrogen throughout the world. Though not present in a stand alone form, this fuel source can be extracted from water through a process called electrolysis. During electrolysis, electricity is injected directly into water and “cracks” the hydrogen gas (H2) from out of the H20 water molecules, separating the H2 gas into a pressurized storage tank. The Las Vegas Valley Water District has done pioneering research to establish a hydrogen fueling station that uses solar power to perform electrolysis on water. The H2 gas can then be stored in a tank that can provide fuel to a nearby convenient pumping station.
Other companies like Honda Motors are exploring the use of home hydrogen generating stations that extract hydrogen from readily available household natural gas, normally used for cooking and heating within many homes.
There are also many industrial processes that vent hydrogen as waste steam that can be captured and stored as a gas in a pressurized holding tank.
One major obstacle to the commercialization of hydrogen-powered vehicles is a lack of a nationwide hydrogen gas pumping station infrastructure throughout the country. Of the 71 hydrogen stations located in North America, most are located on the East and West coasts without much adoption by other states in the Midwest or Southern regions of the country. Two mobile hydrogen fueling companies, Linde North America as well as Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., were commissioned by the event sponsors to supply hydrogen fuel through mobile fueling stations to the nine vehicles along the way. At Las Vegas, the automotive companies were able to use the two permanent hydrogen fueling stations available in town through the Las Vegas Valley Water District and the City of Las Vegas transportation fleet.
GM, Toyota, Nissan and other automakers have announced limited production of battery-powered vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles by 2010, anticipating consumer demand and production that they hope to ramp up to full scale production two years later. Some of these companies like Honda Motors and Nissan also hope to follow up with the early introduction of commercial fuel-cell vehicles by 2015.
A list of the nine automotive companies and their vehicles that were represented during the 2008 hydrogen vehicle tour are listed on the event web site: http://hydrogenroadtour08.dot.gov/whosinvolved.aspx
1. Nissan X-Trail FCV:
http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/TECHNOLOGY/INTRODUCTION/XTRAILFCV/index.html
2. Toyota Highlander FCHV: http://www.toyota.com/index.html
3. Daimler F-Cell vehicle: http://www.daimler.com
4. BMW Hydrogen Series 700 passenger sedan uses liquid hydrogen as a substitute for gasoline in a V-12 internal combustion engine: http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Uniquely/FutureTechnologies/Default.aspx
The V-12 engine, along with a steel liquid hydrogen tank, increased the weight of the vehicle by 350 pounds compared to standard BMW vehicles of the same class. Also, overall range of the vehicle on one tank of liquid hydrogen was limited to only 200 miles.
5. General Motors’ Chevrolet Equinox FCV is a follow up fuel cell electric vehicle platform to the Chevrolet hybrid electric Volt: http://www.chevrolet.com/fuelcell/
“Chevy has launched a test fleet of hydrogen-powered Equinox Fuel Cell SUVs. This fleet hit the streets of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Southern California. "Project Driveway" is the first large-scale market test of fuel cell vehicles with real drivers in the real world. Why? Because hydrogen fuel cells use zero gasoline and produce zero emissions other than water vapor. They're a sustainable technology for a better environment. And they ultimately reduce our dependence on petroleum. Equinox Fuel Cell is an electric vehicle powered by the GM fourth-generation fuel cell system, our most advanced fuel cell propulsion system to date. The electric motor traction system will provide the vehicle with instantaneous torque, smooth acceleration, and quiet performance.
The Equinox Fuel Cell will go nearly 150 miles per fill-up and reach a top speed of 100 mph. Green Car Journal has given the Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell its Green Car Vision Award®. The Equinox Fuel Cell won the award over several nominees, including the Honda FCX Clarity and Toyota Prius Plug-In.”
6. Honda FCX Clarity and its V-flow fuel cell electric vehicle system: http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/
This vehicle was profiled in the June 2008 LVEVA newsletter along with Honda’s pioneering efforts to develop home hydrogen fueling stations that use household natural gas to create and store hydrogen. Pilot runs of the Honda FCX platform have already been well tested in the U.S. market by individual family owners as well as by utility fleets in New York and Los Angeles. It is the only hydrogen-powered vehicle now available to the general public. However, consumers can only rent this vehicle within the region of Los Angeles, California at a lease cost of $600 per month.
7. Hyundai Tucson FCV: http://www.hyundaiusa.com/index.aspx
8. Kia Motors Sportage FCV: http://www.kia.com/index.php
9. Volkswagen’s Touran and Tiguan Hymotion: http://www.volkswagen.com/vwcms_publish/vwcms/master_public/virtualmaster/en2/models/Touran.html
The Tiguan HyMotion platform featured a fuel cell system that was integrated into the engine compartment and was capable of providing 107 horsepower. With an assist from a Lithium Ion battery pack, the Tiguan HyMotion electric motor system can advance to 134 horsepower. The top speed of the Tiguan HyMotion is 93 mph and it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 14 seconds. A lithium ion battery with a charge capacity of 6.8 Ampere-hours (Ah) serves as an auxiliary energy storage device with a maximum power output of 22 kW. The battery is charged by recovered braking energy (recuperation) or by the fuel cell. This increased functionality and efficiency does not impair the interior space of the vehicle. The battery system is installed in the trunk beneath the dual cargo floor available on the production Tiguan. The 700 bar hydrogen tank was integrated in the area beneath the floor in the rear bench seat and cargo area. It can hold up to 3.2 kilograms of hydrogen (H2).
John Tillman, from the Volkswagen Group of America, Advanced Power Train Research Program, kept a daily blog of the tour and chronicled his visit to Las Vegas with the group on August 22, 2008: http://www.vwhydrogentour.com/travelblog/
“Greetings from the Vegas airport. If I was videoing this post, you’d hear the slot machines in the background, but not because I’m playing. Typing and gambling don’t mix.
We arrived late into Las Vegas last night and did some wandering around, but no vehicle caravan as we had hoped. Both last night and today the traffic was too intense on the strip and the risk was just too great to the cars. It’s not that they couldn’t cruise the strip, but as prototypes, they’re just a little too valuable to be exposed to that much traffic.
Today we visited one of Las Vegas’ two permanent fueling stations. The city of Las Vegas is one of the most progressive environmentally. They power as much of the city’s systems as possible with green energy. In fact, the city generates three megawatts of solar electricity every day, some of which produces pure, green hydrogen fuel.
We had a large contingent of city and county officials at the event, along with representatives from state and federal offices. This was the first time many of the OEMs had ever fueled at these stations and the group was pleased to have the cars visit. We had our usual crowd of about 200 enthusiastic attendees, and I got some great videos:
The first permanent hydrogen fueling station at Las Vegas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y56sI7V7hq0&eurl=http://www.vwhydrogentour.com/travelblog/
A second permanent hydrogen fueling station at Las Vegas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TueXuDuWGto&eurl=http://www.vwhydrogentour.com/travelblog/
After the ride and drive we actually had some issues that any car can face: a dead battery. Not the big hybrid batteries that our vehicles use, the small 12 volt that all cars have. Fortunately, we were prepared and we replaced it in about 20 minutes.
As I get ready to depart for Phoenix, I see a lot of tired faces on our merry band of drivers. It’s been a great trip but we are looking forward to the return to California and seeing our families.
Well, my flight’s getting ready to board. See you from Phoenix.”
It has been an unexpected surprise to find out about the progress that has been made towards practical hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology in just the last five years. The promise of this readily available and recyclable fuel may someday help relieve the worlds’ dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels.
The Saga of an EV Wannabe (Part 3)
By Bill Kuehl, LVEVA Secretary/Treasurer
Editor’s Note (Synopsis): This month continues the third of a nine-part series of practical EV conversion 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 two 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.
Bill Kuehl’s saga of EV conversion, experimentation and discovery continues…
After driving my converted 1973 Honda Civic EV back and forth to work for a couple of years, I heard about an auction that was being held at the Clark County Motor Vehicle Department that included some electric vehicles. I checked on the date of the event but found that the auction was already over. However, I was given the name of the buyer of all the electric vehicles and contacted him. He took me to a storage yard where he housed four electric cars and two electric pickup trucks. I was interested in getting a pickup and a car. The pickup was converted from a 1980 Datsun and the car was converted from a Datsun 310. I offered $1,000 for each. He counter-offered $2500 for both and I accepted.
After checking over the pickup and finding everything was intact, I pulled out all the old batteries that, by now, were not salvageable. The pickup used 18 six-volt golf cart batteries to make up a 108-volt DC motor drive system. I purchased 18 new batteries and installed them in the pickup. The truck ran fine after that there was no need to do any further work on it. I did have to get a charger made to charge the batteries. I built a full wave bridge rectifier to charge the battery pack from my 120-volt AC house power. I also had to get a separate 12-volt DC battery and 12-volt battery charger to run the 12-volt DC electrical system in the pickup.
Once I had the pickup running, I got it registered and insured and started driving it to work. After the batteries were broken in, I took it out for a run on a weekend and got 60 miles driving on a single charge. I had no problems driving to work and back home with it.
I checked out the Datsun 310 car by connecting some jumper cables from the pickup truck battery pack’s positive and negative terminals to the car battery pack’s positive and negative terminals. The motor ran and the transmission moved in gear. The batteries in the car were also depleted but everything else seemed to work. I found out that these electric vehicles were built here in Las Vegas by Lectra Motors, Inc. I also found a guy who had bought the original gasoline engines out of these cars. He later sold some of the same engines to people who had bought the electric cars and wanted to change them back to gas cars. He was interested in selling some electric motors and controllers as well as other wire harnesses and parts that were taken out of the electric vehicles. I bought six electric Prestolite motors and six Cableform controllers from him for $1200. He also threw in all the extra electric car parts that he still had. Now I was really interested in doing more electric vehicle conversions!
Since 1984, I had been going up to Sunnyvale, California, to the annual Electric Automotive Association (EAA) rally that was held in September of every year. I always was able to talk to several people there who were also doing electric conversion on their cars. In September of 1986, I towed the electric pickup truck to Sunnyvale, California to run in the rally. I also took two motors and two controllers along to try to sell. I sold one motor for $400 and one controller for $200 to one guy and another motor for $200 to a second buyer, both wanting to do their own electric vehicle conversions.
That year, the rally had two courses that we could run with our electric vehicles. One was a 4-mile course going around on city streets and the other was a 15-mile course from Sunnyvale to Milpitas and back. I had to carry a passenger along with me on each run in order to give free educational rides to the general public as were racing around each course during the rally.
I first picked the 15-mile course and drove the pickup truck four times on this 15-mile route for a range of 60 miles as was as 5 times around the 4-mile course for an additional 20 miles, resulting in an overall total range of 80 miles on one battery charge. The next day on Sunday, the EAA hosted an awards brunch for the winners who drove the furthest on each course. Another person who had a converted Saab also drove the 15-mile course for 60 miles. He was awarded first prize because he drove the circuit 5 minutes faster than me. I did not know that it was being timed. The extra runs I made on the 4-mile course did not count.
On each of the runs, I talked with each new passenger about electric vehicles. One of my riders wanted to get a motor and controller to do a conversion. He was from Sacramento, California, and was just visiting San Jose that weekend. He got my phone number and address then contacted me two months later. He drove from Sacramento to North Las Vegas to pick up an electric motor and controller to do a conversion himself. This guy had a friend who also wanted to get a motor and controller to do his own conversion, as well. I had three motors and four controllers left. His friend came down from Sacramento a month later and bought two motors and two controllers. Now I just had one motor and two controllers left. Early the next year, I sold a motor and controller to a local guy here in North Las Vegas and then had only one controller left.
The following year, I went to the next EAA rally in Sunnyvale and met a guy who was interested in converting to electric. I told him I had an electric car that needed new batteries. He was interested in it, got my phone number, contacted me later, arrived in North Las Vegas with a trailer, bought the electric Datsun 310 from me and hauled it back to San Jose.
Each year that I went to the EAA rally in Sunnyvale, California, I talked to several people who wanted to convert to electric. I was able to give them information on parts and also help them by mail or by phone when they had questions about their conversion projects. Over the next four years, I would alternate between driving the Honda or the Datsun pickup truck. I finally just parked the Honda and drove the pickup all the time on my daily commute.
In 1991, I had seen a Pontiac Fiero going down the street. It was a “sporty-looking” car and I thought it would make an excellent conversion. I started looking around to purchase one. Most used car lots wanted too much money for a Fiero. I found an ad in the newspaper that had one for sale as the owner was moving to Hawaii and was selling everything in Las Vegas before moving. I checked it out. The car was in very good running condition. It was a 1985 Pontiac Fiero, white in color and had a transverse four-cylinder gas engine mounted in the rear. It was a two-passenger model with a 5-speed manual transmission. I bought it and drove it for a couple of weeks before starting the electric conversion.
As I drove the car, I recorded a table of the car’s speed in each gear in 5-mile increments (for example: first gear at 20mph, 25 mph, 30 mph; second gear at 20 mph, 25 mph, 30 mph, 40 mph, 50 mph, 55 mph, 60 mph; and third gear at 50 mph, 55 mph, 60 mph, 65 mph, etc.) I used the tachometer reading at each speed to determine the engine speed in revolutions per minute (rpm) at the different vehicle ground speeds (mph) in each gear:
Vehicle Gear Ground Speed (mph) Motor Speed (rpm)
1 20 3600
1 25 4500
1 30 5400
2 25 2500
2 30 3000
2 35 3500
2 40 4000
2 45 4500
2 50 5000
2 55 5500
2 60 6000
3 50 3200
3 55 3600
3 60 4000
3 65 4800
I would now be able to use these figures to know what the electric motor speed should be in relation to the vehicle ground speed. The electric motor that I would be using in the Fiero would be an Advanced DC Model 4001 8-inch diameter motor. This motor speed of this model is rated to 6500 rpm.
I started taking out the gas engine and related parts that were not necessary for the electric conversion. I found out that I could disconnect the wires, gas line, water hoses, MacPherson struts, and brake lines. After unscrewing four bolts from the sub-frame under the back of the vehicle, I could lift the body up, and the whole engine, transaxle, tires and sub-frame would be sitting there on the ground. I could then pull them out from under the body of the car.
This made it fairly easy to work on in order to get the gas engine taken out. I also removed the exhaust pipes and muffler. I only needed to remove the clutch and flywheel from the gas engine to adapt these parts to the electric motor. Before removing the flywheel, I measured the space between the engine block and the flywheel. This distance had to remain the same when the electric motor was assembled on the adapter plate and the flywheel was put back on to maintain the proper clearance for the throw-out bearing.
I ordered the 8-inch Advanced DC electric motor from KTA Services along with the adapter plate, space plate and motor coupling. While waiting for the electric motor, I removed the gas tank and gas lines. The gas tank was in the center of the body, located under the uni-body between the driver and passenger seats. In addition, I removed the radiator and water pipes running to the back of the vehicle as well as the plastic compartment where the spare tire was mounted. I also cut out the metal panel where the spare tire section and radiator were mounted. I cleaned out the back of the car body, removing any dirt or grease that had been deposited by the gas engine.
I measured this new space to determine placement for the 6-volt deep-cycle golf cart batteries I would need. I found I could install six batteries in the front of the vehicle, four batteries in the compartment above the electric motor, and six batteries in the back storage compartment. This total of sixteen 6-volt batteries would give me a source of 96 volts to run the electric motor.
There was a space over the transmission where I could mount the motor speed controller alongside the batteries. The regular 12-volt starter battery was left mounted in the right front side of the motor compartment to continue handling all the 12-volt systems of the car.
When I received the electric motor along with the adaptor plate and coupling, I assembled the parts together and installed the flywheel and clutch to the coupling. The electric motor assembly was then put back into the sub-frame and bolted to the transmission housing. Next, the complete drive assembly was put back under the car and bolted in place.
I had to make a motor mount to support the end of the electric motor. The original support for the gas engine could not be used. A length of square tubing had to be fit between the rear body frame and front sub-frame member, underneath the motor. A motor clamp went around the motor and the bottom support on the clamp was bolted to the square tubing.
Next, the battery supports were built and installed to hold the four 6-volt golf cart batteries that would be mounted over the electric motor. I cut out the rear luggage compartment between the frame, built battery supports and installed them to accommodate six 6-volt golf cart batteries in that location. I also build and installed battery supports for the six 6-volt batteries that would be mounted under the front hood of the car.
I purchased 16 Trojan model T-105 batteries from a battery shop. I also purchased 50 feet of 2/0 welding cable and 36 cable lugs. I bought a General Electric TQD-200 circuit breaker, Albright Model SW-200B Main Contactor, and a 500 amp fuse from KTA Services. I also purchased a Westberg panel voltmeter (50-150 volt scale) for measuring propulsion battery voltage and a Westberg panel ammeter (0 to 500 amps scale) with matching shunt resistor to measure propulsion battery current.
I installed the batteries in a series setup, starting with the negative terminal post of the battery located just above the field winding terminal of the electric motor. I left the negative terminal post unhooked but then connected cables from the positive post of that battery to the negative post of the battery two just behind it. I then connected from the positive post of battery two to the six batteries in the rear of the vehicle, “daisy-chaining” the terminals by going from the positive terminal of one battery to the negative terminal of the next. I routed my battery/cable chain back towards the motor and connected the two batteries mounted in the compartment above the motor, ending up at the positive terminal of the tenth battery. I had to make a longer cable to extend from the positive terminal of the tenth battery to the negative terminal post of the eleventh battery located under the hood in the front of the vehicle. I continued connecting the remaining five batteries in the front of the vehicle in series, ending with the positive terminal post of the sixteenth battery unconnected.
I installed the circuit breaker under the hood alongside the front batteries and installed a cable from the positive post of the sixteenth battery to the circuit breaker. The Albright SW-200B Main Contactor was installed in the back of the vehicle, alongside the frame. I took the Russco motor speed controller and the pedal potentiometer out of my old Honda, installed the controller over the transmission in the back of the Fiero and hooked the “pot box” up to the accelerator cable.
A long cable was installed from the GE TQD-200 circuit breaker in the front of the vehicle to the main contactor in the back of the vehicle. A cable was installed from the Contactor to the first armature terminal (A1) on the electric motor and a second cable installed from the main contactor to the Russco controller’s battery positive (B+) connection terminal. Another cable was installed between the second armature terminal (A2) on the electric motor and to the second stator terminal (S2) on the electric motor. Another cable was installed from the first stator terminal (S1) on the electric motor to the Russco controller’s motor negative (M-) connection terminal. The next cable was installed from the Russco controller’s Battery Negative (B-) terminal to the 500-amp fuse. The fuse was connected to the shunt resistor and the last cable went from the shunt resistor to the negative post on the first 6-volt battery of the 96-volt series battery pack.
A 12-volt wire was hooked up from the ignition switch to the Albright SW-200B Main Contactor coil. As the ignition switch was turned on, the Main Contactor coil was energized and its contacts engaged. As the accelerator pedal was pushed down, the motor started turning. The transmission was shifted into first gear and, as I stepped on the accelerator pedal, the car started moving.
After driving the Fiero for a few months, I decided to upgrade to a 120-volt system by increasing the size of my battery pack. The Fiero was a lot heavier than the Honda, so the performance was poorer, especially during the winter months. I bought a Curtis 1221B motor speed controller rated at 400 amps that could be used on a 72-volt to 120-volt battery system. I bought four more 6-volt golf cart batteries and had to install two of them in the back of the Fiero and two of them in the front under the hood.
After getting this new arrangement completed, it seemed to be working out fine. Next summer, when the temperature outside got hot (110 degrees-plus in Las Vegas), I found out that the Curtis 1221B motor speed controller was also getting hot and, because of its internal thermistor sensor, the controller was being triggered to work in thermal cutback mode to protect its internal circuitry. This mode drastically diminishes the power that the controller is allowing to pass from the batteries to the electric motor, causing the Fiero to drive much slower. This mode will persist until the temperature inside the controller drops back down to a normal operating level as measured by the thermistor.
I would leave for work in the afternoon at 3 PM during the heat of the day. I would normally drive about five miles and then have to stop for a traffic light. At that point, the Curtis 1221B controller and the electric motor would not have any air flowing over the components to dissipate the heat buildup and the controller would go into thermal cutback mode. When I stepped on the accelerator pedal to move forward, it would cut the current draw down so much that the car could just slowly pick up speed. Only until the Fiero finally reached about 22 mph would there be sufficient air flow to cool both the motor speed controller and the motor back down enough to come out of thermal cutback and allow normal power to resume flowing to accelerate the car.
I knew that when I was driving the electric pickup truck with the Cableform controller, there was no internal thermal cutback protection mode. Since I still had one Cableform controller left, I decided to change out the Curtis controller and install the Cableform controller during the summer months. The car ran fine through the heat of the summer days without any further problems.
Editor’s note: End of Part Three. “The Saga of an EV Wannabe (Part Four)” will continue in the October 2008 issue of the LVEVA “Watts Happening” newsletter, and will chronicle more of Bill Kuehl’s EV conversion projects that included the construction of his Pontiac Fiero, his racing experiences with the Sports Car Club of America, the National Electric Drag Racing Association and fun at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Happy Trails!
LVEVA Poker Run Road Rally Scheduled After October 18th Monthly Meeting
During the March 2008 LVEVA meeting, President Richard Furniss proposed the institution of the first annual “Poker Run” road rally race for electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, to be staged after the LVEVA monthly meeting on Saturday, October 18th at 12 noon.
At that time, EV and hybrid EV competitors would be given a map of an 18-mile course that would wind through the city of Las Vegas and nearby Henderson. Each vehicle would have two team members that would include one driver and one navigator.
The EV and hybrid EV teams would depart from the meeting location at the Flamingo Public Library parking lot and follow the designated route on the map while obeying all traffic rules and speed limits. Along the route, each driving team must stop at five different stations to pick up a playing card from a waiting dealer’s poker deck. The first will be at the Flamingo Public Library, the starting site for the event. The final station will be located at the Carl’s Jr. restaurant on the corner of South Maryland Parkway and Desert Inn, where participating LVEVA members will gather for lunch and celebration of the results. The other three dealer station locations will be revealed at the same time as the route map at the beginning of the event. Once all the competitors have completed the road rally and arrived at the Carl’s Jr. Restaurant, 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 this Event should contact Richard Furniss, Bill Kuehl, Lloyd Reece or Stan Hanel to become entered onto the Poker Run roster.
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)
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 Parts and Kits for Sale:
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
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
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:
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: 3928 San Andreas, Las Vegas, NV 89121
Tel: (702) 927-8838 Fax: (702) 435-4568
Web site: www.futurista.biz
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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