Clean Energy Digest

I’ve mentioned Google’s RechargeIT initiative before but found something interesting about it recently that is worth sharing. Google has installed a chip in each of their test vehicles to track the performance of the cars. According to the RechargeIT site, ” All of these cars are outfitted with data recording devices that track technical [...]

The Aptera electric vehicle is the most futuristic of all the plug-in hybrids that I’ve seen. Popular Mechanics took a very detailed look at this vehicle recently as shown in the photo below. The manufacturers are promising 300 miles per gallon. This is an extremely innovative vehicle. In addition to plugging in, this vehicle also [...]

It’s comforting to know that Silicon Valley is putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to clean energy. Cleantech is becoming all the rage these days. That’s a very good thing in my opinion.
Unfortunately, when anything becomes all the rage it also becomes susceptible to hype and bubbles. I don’t think we [...]

There was a lot of buzz around clean vehicles at the latest auto show in Detroit. In addition to the many electric hybrid vehicles we are now seeing in the market there is also a class of hydrogen based hybrid vehicles as well. Hydrogen hybrids are primarily powered by hydrogen with a gas engine as [...]

Of all the areas where I’ve seen progress on clean energy over the past three months, automobiles are definitely a stand out performer. Perhaps autos are the most logical entry point to a new clean energy economy. We see cars everyday. Almost all of us drive cars on a daily places. And cars are the [...]

The Ford HySeries Edge is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with a twist. The car is powered by an electric motor that is charged by either an on board hydrogen fuel cell or by plugging the vehicle in to an electric outlet.
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The Chevy Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that the company plans to have in production some time in 2010.

This video from Google shows what they are doing with plug-in hybrid technology as part of their recently announced RechargeIT initiative.
 
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Plug-in hybrid vehicles show great promise as a way to reduce demand on fossil fuels while also providing stability to the electric grid.
The Technology
Similar to that of a standard hybrid electric vehicle (like the Toyota Prius) but with the added ability to plug the vehicle in to an outlet so the internal batteries can be [...]