Autobloggreen: BMW’s ActiveE gets all greener with Green Mountain solar partnership

Photo Credit: autobloggreen

BMW released a 2011 ActiveE electric vehicle that now has capability of being 100% renewable energy because of a partnership between BMW and Green Mountain Energy. This agreement entails all drivers of the ActiveE the opportunity to purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Green Mountain.

Electronics News: Mini electric cars take to field at Olympics

Photo Credit: Electronic News

The BMW’s Mini MINI has taken center field at the 2012 Olympics! See this cute little electric vehicle roaming around the field at the London Olympic Stadiums to ferry javelins, discuses, hammers, and shots back to the throwing area.

Electric Vehicle News: Austin Texas: proving ground for electric cars

Photo Credit: ACC

Austin Energy, servicing most of Austin, has given the residents of the city the opportunity to let electric cars “become that alternative in the future.” They have set up 113 charging stations throughout the city allowing for more convenience to the drivers.

Vanity Fair: Is the Tesla Model S the Most Important Car of the 21st Century?

Photo Credit: Vanity Fair

The new Telsa Model S makes huge strides in the retail vehicle industry and the electric vehicle industry. This car is now much more competitive with other Suburban type vehicles while also almost tripling the driving range of any other electric vehicle.

Name: Kevin Singel and Laura Hoeppner

Occupation: Kevin- Business Manager at Accenture and Laura- Community & Government Liaison for the City of Centennial

Location of panels: Centennial, CO

Photo Credit: Kevin Singel

What made you go solar?

We had a strong desire to reduce our carbon footprint and to spur on the solar industry. We have been early adopters of a lot of eco-related things…over 20 years ago we were buying recycled paper toilet paper by the pallet load (and splitting it with people from our church) and we bought the very first Prius sold in metro Denver (in August 2000) so getting solar panels was a natural for us.

We looked into PV some years ago and just couldn’t afford to buy a system outright for almost $20,000. When the leasing arrangements came to Colorado a couple of years ago, we were quick to pursue that option and excited to see that it is much more affordable. Also our home is situated just perfectly for a rooftop solar system. We are south facing with no real shade on the roof during the day – this helps to maximize the productivity of the panels of course, which made the whole system more affordable.

How is your life different after you went solar?

Our electric bills are much lower! Last month we paid $7 which is the minimum fee to have a meter where we live. Our system is 5.25KW DC which converts to about 4.25KW AC …it serves almost all of our needs if you look at it over the full year. The system produces much more than we need during the long sunny days of spring and summer (unless it gets really hot and we turn on the A/C of course) and less than we need in winter. The local electric company allows us to roll over any extra production to cover the low production months so it all works out really well. We call the electric utility ‘our big battery in the sky’ since they essentially store our excess production and then give it back to us for free when we need it.

Also, people we who visit our home are curious about it and we are proud to show it off. We enjoy showing people how simple and effortless it is. Several of our friends and neighbors have since installed their own systems.

What’s the best part about being solar?

Knowing that we are reducing peak electrical demand, dramatically reducing our carbon footprint and saving money at the same time. Our total electric cost per year has dropped from over $2000 to under $400…and it is only that much because getting panels inspired us to convert our 2005 Prius over to a plug-in hybrid so we are now sucking up 4KWH daily to recharge the car. We do run our home air conditioning in the hottest weeks of the year here in metro Denver but since we have solar panels we never get anywhere near the peak demand pricing the utility put in place to reflect the higher cost of providing for summer A/C usage. We have neighbors who paid $400 in one month last summer – when we showed them our electric bill (just $80) they immediately signed up to get a system of their own!

What tips do you have for others who want to go solar?

• Get a referral from someone who already has a system so you get the referred customer discount.
• Get multiple bids including solar leasing arrangements – prices vary more than you would expect, the leasing arrangements were a really good deal for us including the 20 year warranty
• If your panels will be visible from the street (like ours) be sure to ask about non-bright finishes on all visible metal to minimize the visual impact of your system
• Know that your city or HOA has the right to set standards but they also have to be ‘reasonable’ with their rules due to federal/state laws supporting solar system installation
• Also make investments in efficiency – a new refrigerator may use quite a bit less electricity than your current one due to new insulation technology for example, finish your conversion to CFLs and LED lights of course too! We added motion detectors to our basement and garage lights too since the family had a bad habit of leaving those lights on. All those little changes add up!
• Be patient. From first contact to system go-live can take months and months due to all the steps involved.
• Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. If someone tries to put up a barrier to stop you, ask what it would take to get rid of that barrier…you can do this!

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ASES will hold its annual National Solar Tour this fall where you can show your home, host a tour or go on a tour. If you’d like to donate to support ASES in its mission to promote solar, please click here. If you’d like to learn more about putting solar on your home or to find a local solar professional, click on the Find a Solar Installer Near You on the right side of ASES.org.

Chevy Volt parked outside the Denver Convention Center at the WREF 2012

Driving on Sunshine is a reality for more and more folks across the country.

Though EV deployment across the country is still in the early adopter phase, many people in the industry are extremely bullish about the number of EVs we will see on the roads in the coming years.  By some estimates, the United States could see as a total market size of 10 million vehicles by 2020. If gas prices continue to rise as they have in the past year, this number could go even higher.

The Solar-Charged Vehicles panel on Tuesday at the World Renewable Energy Forum in Denver, CO featured three experts coming from diverse fields. Sudipta Chakraborty, a scientist from NREL, Christof Demont-Heinrich, a journalist and founder of SolarChargedDriving.com, and Cary Hayes, director of business development at REC Solar provided an overview of the many unique – and exciting – dimensions of the rooftop/home solar PV + electric vehicle synergy.

As EVs roll out across the country, car companies are creating partnerships with solar manufacturers and installers. Ford has teamed up with solar panel manufacturer SunPower Corporation to offer a special package that will include a 2.5kW rooftop solar panel to offset the energy used in charging up a Ford electric car. According to the two companies, the solar charging station will be good for around 1,000 miles per month of driving. This offer gives purchasers of an electric vehicle the chance to “drive green for life” for an additional $10,000.  BMW is also preparing for the 2013 launch of their fully-electric vehicle i3 by offering all of their 700 test drivers discounts and financing to install a solar PV system through Real Goods Solar.

Christop Demont-Heinrich sited an already 35% crossover between solar buyers and EV buyers, with this number expect to grow as solar becomes more affordable. Demonts’s site SolarChargedDriving.com has a survey of what is the most enticing reason to solar-charge a car? The responses point to the value of driving on home-produced solar energy for EV owners of the future:

Fueling independence (131)  42.7%
True zero emissions driving (72)  23.5%
It makes economic sense (68)  22.1%
Reduce global warming (30)  9.8%
Other (6)  2%

Results collected on 5/15/2012

Will EV’s help to drive wide-spread adoption of solar technologies or will solar warm-up buyers to consider an EV? With bullish outlooks for both technologies in the coming years and more programs combining the purchase of a new EV with a PV systems set to be released, PV could follow EVs into new areas where current penetration of the technology is low.

Colorado Renewable Energy Society hosts Electric Avenue, May 16-17

Nissan Leaf

The Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES) today announced it will host a showcase of electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging and conversion technologies in downtown Denver, May 16-17, 2012, inspiring Governor Hickenlooper’s proclamation of statewide Electric Vehicle Day, May 17. Located at 14th St. and California St., CRES’ Electric Avenue is free and open to the public from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The event highlights CRES’ continuing outreach and collaboration with a range of organizations throughout the region to educate and promote clean cities, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Gov. Hickenlooper proclaimed May 17th as Electric Vehicle Day in Colorado in recognition of CRES’ Electric Avenue and the American Lung Association’s other Project FEVER (Fostering Electric Vehicle Expansion in the Rockies) events, which encourage education and adoption of EV’s across the state.

Electric Avenue will be adjacent to the World Renewable Energy Forum (WREF), which will be held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, May 13-17 2012. The forum is estimated to attract 4,000 participants from around the world, including those attending Showcase Colorado, a 16-session track organized by CRES . With WREF attendees and over 100,000 downtown workers and visitors who pass that location every day, Electric Avenue is expected to draw a significant number of visitors. This event gives sponsors the opportunity to showcase EVs and EV supply equipment to an international audience, many of whom are early adopters of renewable energy and efficiency technologies.

“This event provides a great opportunity for people to get their first hands-on experience with an EV,” said Lorrie McAllister, CRES executive director. At Electric Avenue, Coloradans and visitors from around the world will have the opportunity to learn about EVs and EV charging technologies. We encourage curious consumers to come and kick the tires and perhaps take a test drive.”

Electric Avenue is one of several EV-related events sponsored in part by the American Lung Association and administered by Denver Clean Cities Coalition. Over 80 Colorado organizations have come together under the banner of Project FEVER (Fostering Electric Vehicle Expansion in the Rockies). This broad, wide-ranging coalition includes educational institutions, municipalities, transit agencies, private industries, other state agencies, regional partners, subcontractors and utilities. The event is being sponsored by ECOtality, a leader in EV charging technology. Denver’s Channel 7 will also be onsite to film the event for their afternoon broadcast.

For information on how to participate in Electric Avenue, contact Brandon Williams, CRES Electric Avenue Chair,

b.williams@cres-energy.org or 720-938-6614.

photo courtesy of NREL

The workshop schedule has been posted! From Electric Hybrid Vehicles, Concentrating Solar Power to Zero Net Energy Design, the Workshop Schedule at the World Renewable Energy Forum is amazing. To see the schedule of all our fabulous workshops please click here.

Any workshop may be added to any single day or full conference registration for an additional charge of only $50.00 USD. If already registered, login and visit “Add Sessions”.

Early Conference registration for WREF 2012 ends April 13th,  so hurry up, the time is running  out.  Click Here To Register