Articles by
Steve Hanley
It’s Official: US Government Says Electric Vehicles Cost 40% Less To Maintain
By
Steve Hanley
While we understand intuitively that electric vehicles should be less expensive to maintain, now there’s proof. The US government operates the largest vehicle fleet in the world, so it stands to reason it should know a thing or two about how much it costs to keep them all running.
UC-Berkeley Report Claims Electric Cars Will Save Americans $2.7 Trillion, Create 2 Million Jobs
By
Steve Hanley
In summary, the EV revolution will net the US economy 2 million new jobs and allow the nation to reap direct and indirect savings of $4 trillion in the next 30 years.
GE Renewable Energy Partners With Veolia NA For Wind Turbine Blade Recycling
By
Steve Hanley
GE Renewable Energy has found a new use for old turbine blades — chop them up and use them to make cement. In a press release, the company says it has signed a multi-year agreement with Veolia North America to recycle blades removed from its US-based onshore turbines during upgrades and repowering efforts. Veolia will use kiln reprocessing technology to turn the blades into raw material for cement. Similar recycling techniques have been proven effective at a commercial scale in Europe.
Ford To Convert Cologne Factory For MEB Based EV Production
By
Steve Hanley
Unlike General Motors, which withdrew from the European market when it sold its Opel division to PSA Group, Ford continues to do business on the Continent and is looking to the future. Last July, Ford and Volkswagen concluded an agreement that allows Ford to utilize VW’s MEB electric car chassis as the basis of its own electric cars. That chassis is already being used to build the ID.3 and ID.4 cars in Zwickau and will be the starting point for the ID. Buzz that will go into production in Hannover in 2022.
Foxconn Unveils EV Platform; FCA To Build EVs In Canada
By
Steve Hanley
He indicated the company has spoken to a number of car makers about using its EV platform but declined to name the companies involved. There may be a hint in other electric car news from last week. Last January, FCA named Foxconn as a joint-venture partner to build EVs in China.
Update: Battery Fires May (Not) Slow The EV Revolution
By
Steve Hanley
Not being about Tesla, these latest fires from non-Tesla EVs have caused less of a media frenzy. Still, those who of us who wish for a faster transition to all electric transportation understand that people who are on the fence about driving an electric car don’t need any excuse to delay their decision to buy one.
It’s Official — Consumer Reports Confirms EV Owners Spend Half As Much On Maintenance
By
Steve Hanley
Data is king, and when it comes to information on the frequency of repairs on automobiles, Consumer Reports has more data than anyone. For its latest report, it did a deep dive into the data from its 2019 and 2020 reliability surveys of electric and gasoline powered vehicles. After crunching all the numbers, Consumer Reports says “drivers of electric vehicles are saving an average of 50% on maintenance and repair over the life of a vehicle compared to owners of gas-powered vehicles.”
Shocking News! Plug-In Hybrids Are No Damn Good If You Don’t Plug Them In!
By
Steve Hanley
Greenpeace and Transport & Environment have conducted a study of how owners of plug-in hybrid cars use them in real world driving and come to a startling conclusion — plug-in hybrids are no damn good at lowering emissions if drivers don’t plug them in.
Lithium Can Be Extracted From Groundwater At Geothermal Installations
By
Steve Hanley
Scientists at the KIT Energy Center at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology say there is enough lithium dissolved in the groundwater extracted by German geothermal heating and electricity installations to meet the needs of most if not all of the battery manufacturers in the country. “As far as we know, there can be up to 200 milligrams per liter,” says geoscientist Dr. Jens Grimmer of the Institute of Applied Geosciences at KIT. “If we consistently use this potential, we could cover a considerable part of the demand in Germany.”
Vigor Chooses ABB Battery Electric Power For New Ferries In Washington
By
Steve Hanley
The ferry operator has begun converting three of its Jumbo Mark II ferries to electricity. Those three vessels alone consume 5 million gallons of fuel a year. Each of them will have two of its four diesel generators and locomotive engines replaced with battery systems supplied by Siemens.
Looking At The EV Revolution Through The Eyes Of A GM Executive
By
Steve Hanley
Mark Reuss is a dyed-in-the-wool car guy. He lives, eats, and breathes horsepower, torque, and cubic inches. That’s how he rose to be president of General Motors. Those of us ensconced in the gleaming 47-story tower made of iridium infused nanotubes that serves as world headquarters for the far flung CleanTechnica empire see the world as a place where electric vehicles will soon dominate the new car market.
Ford Survey Finds Most People Have No Idea What An Electric Car Is Or What It Can Do
By
Steve Hanley
Part of the reason can be attributed to the actions of Ford and its Detroit based siblings who have been dragging their feet for years. When confronted with the prospect of manufacturing EVs, they offered up wimpy compliance cars and deliberately sowed confusion in an effort to protect their thriving internal combustion engine model.
