GM is hosting a plug-in ready panel discussion in downtown LA. I will be there for the discussion.
It is led by Chevrolet vice president Brent Dewar and includes representatives from utility companies, local governments and other stakeholders.
Live webcast is below, and you can submit questions too:
Nov 30th, 2009 (9:22 pm)Just plug it in every night.
Nov 30th, 2009 (9:29 pm)I just saw the press release from Delta Electronics (http://www.deltaww.com/press/press_detail.asp?tpid=1&nid=438). It appears this may be the world’s 2nd series hybrid power system.
I’m rooting for the Volt, but this should allow many more automotive makers to manufacture EREV vehicles and save us from foreign oil.
Nov 30th, 2009 (9:36 pm)Anybody know what the 55 MPH max limit is on, in the picture? Some kind of spare tire substitution or reinflation device?
+3
Nov 30th, 2009 (9:54 pm)(As I watch the chat): This is turning out to be the SoCal show. Michael Peevy has just observed that California has 12% of the population, but half of all venture capital in the country is spent there. Then he goes on (and on) about how CA has to “be the leader.”
IMHO, what the country really needs is for innovation and venture capital spending to break free of the California-only mold, and out to the nation at large; particularly for a technology which seeks an at-large following.
+1
Nov 30th, 2009 (10:45 pm)Yayy!! They read my question! (too bad it wasn’t directly about the Volt). And it got a real answer!
I thought with all those electric utility bigwigs on a stage, I ought to plug (pun intended) my favorite “grid storage” idea; especially since that awful V2G scheme got some air.
Actually, it was sort of about the Volt, because if the Electric Utilities invest in their own grid-capacity storage, EVs won’t be burdened with the many (frankly, half-baked) plans for using the cars’ batteries in one form or another.
Maybe Lyle will forgive me …
Nov 30th, 2009 (10:50 pm)Well, guys… GM did a pretty good job. But I did not like the pandering to Calif. And the Calif. centrists patting themselves on the back and taking bows. Mostly, though, I am just jealous that they are first in line.
+5
Nov 30th, 2009 (11:03 pm)The Volt doesn’t need any new infrastructure. Our current grid will support tens of millions of plug-ins, as long as most people charge at night.
That’s a huge advantage of the Volt over the Leaf, so you would think that GM would leverage that. But instead, GM seems to be hosting one panel discussion after another on plug-in readiness.
Hey GM – that gun is loaded – why do you keep shooting yourself in the foot?
Talking about utilities and local governments gearing up for plug-ins:
That’s exactly the wrong message for the Volt.
GM should simply stress that, unlike EVs, the Volt doesn’t require any new infrastructure for mass adoption. And GM should say that over and over, until people finally get it.
Nov 30th, 2009 (11:08 pm)2 cubed!
Ok, I got nothin’ on this one….
-1
Nov 30th, 2009 (11:09 pm)Expected chances of finding a first-batch Volt within 400 miles of St. Louis: 5% below nil.
Hopes of finding an Volt for sale in 2010 : still moderate, though expectations are low.
This would be the perfect vehicle for me. The day my hopes are fulfilled or dashed is too near to bear. Come on, GM… good ‘ol Detroit… don’t leave us behind!
Some substance : GM would do well to toss single-vehicle buys to loads of dealerships all over. This little wonder is showroom worthy, and not just because of its scarcity. Will it be played right? Give Nintendo a call before the show!
NPNS! =D~~~
Nov 30th, 2009 (11:10 pm)I’m intrigued by the possiblity for additional incentives (tax credits). $7500 federal credit plus an additional amount from the state may bring affordability nearer.
But where would this come from given the $20 billion state deficit also mentioned? Perhaps we’ll learn more tomorrow…
+1
Nov 30th, 2009 (11:34 pm)Is it just me?
I just came back from a business trip and noticed something I’ve been doing lately. When I’m in hotels, going out for dinner or just doing errands around town I find myself noticing exposed power sockets and thinking “I could plug in there”. So I ask, is it just me?
Dec 1st, 2009 (12:32 am)Ha ha, I love it. I’ve never done that, but I can see that for Volt owners, finding electricity would be like a drug. You just can’t get enough. Especially for people who are driving a lot, running errands, it will be so much fun. You’ll just feel so good seeing that battery full.
Dec 1st, 2009 (1:45 am)it was a good question, Jackson. I thought they responded OK. Kudoos to you.
Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.
P.S. where did everyone go?
Dec 1st, 2009 (5:28 am)Maybe it’s just for public image’s sake.
Perhaps they’ve calculated that talk is cheap, and they only look good reaching out and participating, civic responsibility and all that bloody rot…
Maybe they see it like that scene from The Miracle on 34th Street:
Macy’s send people to Gumps and ends up getting more customers than ever from the good will.
I agree though. The Volts chief strength has a substantial societal benefit : There is no rush, no rush at all, to spend a lot ramping up infrastructure.
Dec 1st, 2009 (5:29 am)A plug-in ready panel?
Grid capacity won’t be an issue until we see 3 manufacturers producing 100,000 EV per year. We now have perhaps 20,000 EV spaced out over the entire USA. If GM and Nissan produce full bore we won’t see a significant load on the grid until 2015 or later. And by then wind farms and fields of solar cells will be more than enough to compensate.
Last year I asked a Nissan representative if they had any EV’s in house. The answer was a sober, “No”. Six months later Nissan shows off the Leaf. And then boasts that 50,000 or more will be on the street in less than 12 months.
Then 3 months later Nissan decides to be absent from the L.A. Auto Show. With California being an easy market for 20,000 Leaf this just doesn’t look right.
And now a plug-in ready panel?
Does anyone else smell oil?
=D~
Dec 1st, 2009 (5:33 am)3:43 am EST, Tuesday December 1, 2009
SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices rose to near $78 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as Iran’s detention of five British sailors threatened to raise tensions between a major crude exporter and Western powers.
Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 44 cents to $77.72 at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract climbed $1.23 to settle at $77.28 on Monday.
=D~
Dec 1st, 2009 (6:57 am)Thanks Dave, saved me from typing the same rant this morning! Every 8 feet in my house is another two volt charging stations. I’ve got about a 50:1 ratio of charging stations to cars at my home and I’d imagine my entire community follows suit so how about selling some volts in PA?
Dec 1st, 2009 (7:01 am)If you read about the problems right now with finding what standards are going to be used for the smart grid (just go to EEtimes and read all about it – it’s the usual mess of multiple standards), then it’s clear that we should wait before putting in massive amounts of charging infrastructure.
How about we figure out the standards first, test them out and then go crazy?
Besides, I think the Better Place model will impress many decision makers in the next two years. I say we just burn though all of the billions Obama has given multiple companies to test out all of the different ideas at reasonable scale and then decide.
For all those that say we don’t need any standards or we don’t need two-way communication… What the heck are you thinking? Yeah, we need it. Not in the beginning but when we get to huge numbers of EVs, we are going to have to figure out how to distribute massive amounts of power (imagine all plugging in at 8:30 am after the rush hour drive).
I wish people would think more than a few months or years into the future. Infrastructure is very hard to change, especially if it’s not planned for upgrades. Let’s be smart (pun intended) about this and let the EEs do their job.
Dec 1st, 2009 (7:20 am)I upgraded my living space this year. Went with a smaller water heater and coil light bulbs in all rooms. This is a savings of $15 per month on my electric bill. Or 15 days of EV charging.
When I buy my EV I will opportunity charge at least 10 days per month. This results in a very small grid-stress footprint.
=D~
Dec 1st, 2009 (7:33 am)I had the electrician around to do some work last week, so, as of Friday my garage is officially Volt ready.
So, how long I gotta wait.??????
I know, deep breath, and exhale!
LJGTVWOTR
Has Plug? Have Sale
Dec 1st, 2009 (7:37 am)Man you’re good. I do climate modeling etc and have a small server farm going here. I use three kW/h 24/7 so the Volt won’t make much of a dent in my usage lol.
Dec 1st, 2009 (7:43 am)Thanks NZD. There is also a small grid stress reduction at the gasoline filling station level. Will seldom need the electricity normally needed to pump gasoline into the vehicle.
=D~
Dec 1st, 2009 (7:55 am)Yes the primary advantage of the volt is you can get by with just an overnight charge. But being able to charge at the workplace is still ticket to making the volt viable for millions more drivers (like me). Charging at home gives you up to 40 miles AER per day. Charging at home and at work can give you millions of drivers up to 80 mile AER per day. For me in fact on days I could charge overnight, charge at work, then even charge again if I stop at my Mom’s or other places after work.
While yes I agree the Volt is great because you can get by with an overnight charge, and you don’t have to count on charging while on the road, the payback on the car doesn’t become significant until you can start charging during the day while out and about for those of us that want to drive a lot of miles.
Dec 1st, 2009 (8:03 am)There are many years to think about the Grid, but it is good to discuss it. There certainly needs to be 2 aspects to this. One is there needs to be 3 tiers of rates, day, night, peak. This requires utilities to start changing out meters over the next 20 years, but this should be done even without electric cars. Folks would be happy to dry their clothes and run the dishwasher overnight to save money.
But in addition to this, eventually the utilities will need volunteers (not everyone has to do this, folks can still charge whenever they want to) allow the electric company to decide when to charge their car.
If everybody plugged in their cars, turned on their dryers and dish washers at 10pm, then that wouldn’t help level the load. Remember if we can help the utlitiies level their load during the day, they won’t need as much backup power plants and electric rates overal would go DOWN. Electric cars in 15 years (when hopefully virtually all new cars are electric) can be used not to store electricity but to level the load by letting the utilities decide when to charge.
The customer just needs a way to communicate when they plug in if they need immediate charge or if they can wait x hours for a full charge, then the utility can figure out who needs to be charged and when (of course these would be folks using at least 220w charging).
Dec 1st, 2009 (3:18 pm)They don’t say it because they don’t believe it.
A lot of folks would like to charg up reliably at work. There are a lot of apartments, condominiums, coops, town houses, row houses, flats walk-ups high rises and homes with on street parking where electrical outles are beyond the control of residents. Getting hassle free charging to more people would increase the market.
And GM certainly doesn’t mind helping to motivate companies like Nissan that have a make or break issue with charging to spend treasure and brainpower to make it happen.
Dec 7th, 2009 (5:45 am)More solar = less load.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/947063.html
=D~