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Utility-Scale Photovoltaic Solar Set for 60% Growth in North America in 2012

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:11:54 +0000

Yesterday, I focused a bit small-scale or medium-scale solar (in the US & UK) here on CleanTechnica. On the flip side, news today from Solarbuzz is that utility-scale photovoltaic solar is growing fast in North America and looking for 2012 to be its top year yet.

Q4 2011 Saw Record Installations “Sharp reductions in market prices combined with the impact of regional and national policies pushed the North American photovoltaic market to a new quarterly peak with 0.93 GW installed in Q4’11, according to the latest North American PV Markets Quarterly report issued by NPD Solarbuzz, “the solar market research and analysis company notes. “The solar incentive policy mix in both the United States and Canadian markets drove up demand in large-scale ground-mount systems, which was 59% of this total. Regionally, the New Jersey, California, Arizona, and Ontario accounted for two-thirds of Q4’11 demand.” The Federal Cash Grant expiration in the U.S. drove a big end-of-year installation push. In total, the cash grant program stimulated approximately 1 GW worth of solar photovoltaic installations in the country. Additionally, the California Solar Initiative (CSI) received an infusion of $200 million last quarter to keep its tremendous support for solar going. Meanwhile, however, another top solar market in the U.S. (New Jersey) faces some uncertainty: “… continuation of New Jersey’s strong Q4’11 growth is under threat due to over-supply of Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC). Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania failed to enact legislation to fix the SREC over-supply by revising their RPS solar obligations.” Utility and Non-Residential Growth to be Large The U.S. is moving on a 25-GW non-residential and utility project pipeline, which will make 2012 a record-breaking year. After some delay for large-scale solar projects following the start of Canada’s relatively new feed-in tariff (FIT) program, it looks like these projects are nearing installation and many more will go up in 2012. Residential Growth Likely to be Modest With solar prices continuing to drop and the spread of popular solar leasing options, residential is projected to grow. But the fact that 5 states have already met their renewable power supply (RPS) targets will make that growth a bit more modest. Uncertainties Of course, as always, there are plenty of uncertainties in the market that make projections nothing more than that. “The key uncertainties on the rate of US demand growth in 2012 relate to the impact of the end of the Federal Cash Grant and approval timetables for large utility scale projects together with the market impact of states that have met their RPS,” said Junko Movellan, NPD Solarbuzz Senior Analyst. “In 2011, the pace of market price reductions was accelerated by the growth in Chinese module supply. The uncertainty caused by the Chinese anti-dumping case started to reshape supply and pricing in Q4’11; the ruling will shape the 2H’12 supply mix.” Source: Solarbuzz Related posts:

Honeywell Files Patent Lawsuit Against Nest for Smart Thermostat

Jaymi Heimbuch — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:02:00 +0000

Everyone is excited about the new Nest thermostat, which learns your habits to save energy -- well, everyone except Honeywell.

Motive Previews The Bison Composite Pickup Design

MeaganMcKeage — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:05:05 +0000

Calgary, AB – February 1, 2012 – Motive Industries Reveals its New Composite Pick up Design Titled the Bison. The pickup truck is a key vehicle in many markets worldwide. In particular Alberta Canada (much like Texas and other ranchland, oil industry occupied regions) has an abundance of personally owned and commercial pickup trucks on its roads. In 2011 in Canada, light truck sales were up 4.7% and full size pickups were up 3.2%. Pickups like the Ford F-Series continue to far outsell popular vehicles like the Honda Civic and Mazda 3. In 2011 the F-Series sold 96,325 units compared to the Honda Civic at 55,090 units (Source DesRoisiers). The Motive pickup, internally named the Bison, is a showcase of what a global market, highly efficient pickup can look like. The packaging of a pickup lends itself well to hybrid powertrains, batteries and fuel storage. This concept is a shell designed to showcase Motive’s ability to develop an inspiring pickup design to work with the next and best industry powertrains, renewable fuels, emerging materials and technologies. Starting with a ground up design the engineering involved to package the batteries and powertrain aren’t compromised by any pre-developed chassis. Not only is the general public buying pickups, but the utility and practicality for use in commercial, and municipality applications is ideal and a necessity. With the impending rise in gas prices and the increasing sustainable mindset of the consumer it’s inevitable that OEM’s will be releasing more efficient pickups in the form of BEV’s, hybrids and efficient turbo gas / diesels. Pike Research believes the global market for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electrics vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) will grow at 92% in 2012, with total sales surpassing 19,000. The Bison is targeting the compact to mid-sized light truck class like the Ford Ranger, Chevy Colorado, Toyota Tacoma and even the Honda Ridgeline. The redesigned 2013 Ford Ranger will be sold globally, but won’t be sold on our shores. For a brief time there is a gap left from the lack of a Ranger model in North America. The Bison fills this niche well in North America and abroad going slightly upscale with similar exterior dimensions to the outgoing Ranger, but much more cargo space and packaging for advanced powertrains and fuel systems. More recently consumers have been purchasing vehicles that are closer suited to their needs. The small / compact vehicle market has been booming as people realize they don’t need oversized vehicles that can hardly maneuver through crowded suburban city streets. It boasts a bed size of 75″ long, 52″ wide and 21.5″ tall, closer cargo dimensions to the much larger Ford F-Series trucks. The overall design character is sporty and assertive communicated by its wide front end graphic elements and aggressive wheel arches.The geometrical and angular form language along with wedge profiles throughout evolves the typical square pickup form into something much more modern and provocative. The Bison is targeting the 25-35 year old consumer, or the progressive company requiring utility fleet vehicles who want to make a statement. The stance is important to convey stability and power. The Bison’s 2-tone 19″ wheels shod in aggressive tread are pushed out to the corners of the truck providing a long wheelbase. Inserts in the wheels can be body color, or a tech looking opaque Lexan for an EV edition. Charcoal colored polymer bumpers are durable and designed to deal with the tough fleet / commercial use in the field. Side step panels are incorporated into the rockers. The panel break up along the bumpers and rocker panels help to visually lighten the truck along with the rising cutout feature in the rocker. This rise in the rocker is a common design feature coming from Motives design ethos influenced by the waistlines of athletic animals like a horse or grey hound. It helps to visually lighten the body, but accentuate the ‘chest’ or engine bay area of the vehicle. The ride height is set at 9.5″, but can be adjusted to suit the desired suspension setup. Short overhangs create ideal ramp angles for an AWD/4X4 truck. From the side the eye may catch something unique to the profile of the Bison. It has a cab-forward design not seen on pickups today. This is possible in part by less space required in the engine bay to house a V6 or even V8 ICE. The smaller engine bay still provides plenty of room for a powerful small turbo diesel, CNG or pure electric motors. The cab sides end with a trapezoid brushed aluminum panel, the back edge angles rearward helping to lengthen and unify the entire form of the truck. Blacked out panels at the base of the a-pillar and rear cant rail create the affect of a floating roof contributing to the lightening of the design. More aluminum brightwork is found in a beveled form above the rockers serving as a break in the body side emphasizing the sporty attributes and combined with the aluminum treatment in the front and rear they highlight the premium feel of the overall design. Pickups along with the Bison, are an excellent genre to spec out a variety of trim levels for catering to the practical utility business or the lucrative 35 year old. In an interview by the Edmonton Journal, featured on Driving.ca, Bill Osborne (Ford Canada President) stated “…trucks represent the biggest unrecognized luxury segment in the marketplace with some owners investing $75,000 in their new hauler.” From the rear, more of the geometrical and angular treatment can be found. Along the bumper 2 square reflectors bookend the design playing up the width. Just below the bumper are 2 wide exhaust ports. For the EV example shown these are simply closed with aluminum trim pieces which still work as a nice rear end detail. The Interior packaging has been laid out to suit the industry standard 95th percentile target occupant dimensions, optimal vision angles, ease of ingress/egress, and is a clean slate for any OEM’s desire to implement their desired design, technology, comfort features, etc… There is up to 10″ of under-floor platform space for packaging the drive train, batteries or other fuel source. The Bison is a clean sheet design. There’s many groups making a great effort and with good success doing EV conversions on existing vehicles. They have the benefit of proven platform designs that in some cases are backed by the major OEM’s that they are sourcing their vehicles from. It can be a great strategy, but many compromises can also occur from this direction. While doing a ground up design is a major undertaking, we suggest using a low volume tooling approach initially, like composite materials and then scaling up to meet demand. There are many benefits to a composite bodied pickup. The first being it’s lightweight. Utilizing carbon fibre can see a weight reduction over steel of 50% where as utilizing fiberglass can see a weight reduction of approximately 30%. A second major benefit with the composite bodied vehicles is the ability to have a profitable low to medium production run model of anywhere between 500 to 25,000 vehicles. The 100,000 + production run model is in many ways becoming difficult to manage as OEM’s are struggling to meet the demands of the constantly developing technology and erratic market trends. “…by 2020, the fragmentation of customer needs across the world means that automakers will have to pay more attention to regional demand.” (Deloitte) One of the largest differences in these models is in the tooling investment required for stamped steel VS composite. In many cases the costs for composite tooling can be a fraction of the cost of similar stamped steel tooling. This allows an OEM to manufacture a vehicle at a much lower production run and still make a profit. Being located in the heart of Alberta, Motive felt it was important to present the Bison pickup concept as an answer to the inefficient heavy mid-sized pickups we see on the roads today. The Bison is a great example of what a modern premium truck can be and an excellent blueprint for an OEM to consider and put their personal touch on. About Motive Motive is an elite transportation design firm specializing in advanced design and advanced material manufacturing application. Over the past 15 years the Motive team has worked on more than 120 vehicle programs including 10 full electric vehicle programs. The company’s unique blend of design capabilities and industry experience has allowed Motive to create processes which accelerate project cycles, reduce cost and decrease time to market. Motive works with existing car companies and manufacturing partners worldwide to architect advanced vehicles from concept through production. www.motiveind.com Angelica Velasco Media Contact Motive Industries Inc. (403) 236-3133 angelica@motiveind.com

“Turbine Cowboys” Give Wind Power Its Own Reality Show

Tina Casey — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:01:04 +0000

“Turbine Cowboys” is a new reality series premiering on The Weather Channel this spring, and anyone with an interest in clean energy should check it out. Despite the highly mechanized nature of wind turbine construction and the use of robotic devices for maintenance, the human element is still very much at work. Turbine Cowboys is an important reminder that while renewable energy is cleaner and safer in terms of emissions and overall public health impacts, that does not necessarily translate into a low-risk work environment.

Wind and Workers

The Turbine Cowboys crew has been filming as far south as Baja California and up north to Alaska, which is a hint about the direction it’s going in. Along with the hazards you’d expect from working around electricity and huge pieces of equipment, and occupying a workspace far above the ground, the workers have to deal with rain and snow, extreme heat and cold, and of course, wind. The show will also cover the “boot camp” training received by turbine workers. As far as green jobs go, it’s hard to imagine one that’s tougher.

In the Words of a Wind Power Worker

The hazards of wind power work are aptly summed up in a posting on the Turbine Cowboys production company Facebook page (typos corrected): “To say they are not dangerous is ignorant. The amount of safety classes, first aid and rescue training, OSHA certs, ect. is never ending. I work on turbines every day and find new risks every day. I”m constantly reminded of how a simple slip at any point in my day can harm/kill myself or a co-worker.”

Another Turbine Cowboy

“Turbine Cowboy” is a play on the old John Travolta movie Urban Cowboy, so it stands to reason that the same title has come up in the past. Sure enough, somewhere in a record shop bin out there is a 45″ single, “Turbine Cowboy,” written and recorded in 1981 by a graduate of GE’s Field Engineering Program (FEP). The program dates back to 1966 and was initiated to train workers in conventional power generation and industrial equipment work. FEP graduates have some great stories of their own and you can read all about it at their website, turbinecowboy.com (the site is not affiliated with GE, by the way).

Turbine Cowboys: A Celebration of American Labor

As a side note, The Weather Channel Companies is owned by a consortium consisting of NBC Universal, The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital. Yes, that Bain Capital. Bain is perceived as an outfit that has made huge profits by eliminating jobs for U.S. workers, so it’s a little ironic that the company is connected (albeit remotely) to a show celebrating the skill, courage and resourcefulness of American labor, but whatevs. Turbine Cowboys is just one part of TWC’s upcoming “Braving the Elements” series on American workers that so far includes high-rise ironworkers and utility emergency repair crews. TWC expects to add more titles throughout the year. Image: Wind turbines. License Some rights reserved by 24oranges.nl. Follow Tina Casey on Twitter: @TinaMCasey. Related posts:

Coming Soon: A Wireless EV Highway Charging System?

Silvio Marcacci — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:51:15 +0000

Stanford University researchers this week announced they have designed a road-based, high-efficiency wireless charging system for electric vehicles. In theory, the system could help create a network of all-electric highways that charge electric cars and trucks while they drive, reduce the need for point-specific charging infrastructure, and eliminate range anxiety. The power transfer system is based on a technology called magnetic resonance coupling. This technology creates a magnetic field between the road and vehicle to transfer electric currents to the vehicle’s battery. Copper coils, placed under the road surface at regular intervals, are tuned to resonate at the same frequency. When an electric current is introduced, it creates a magnetic field between the coils that can then transfer energy to a receiving coil in passing electric vehicles. Can it work? While the theory may sound far-fetched, it was demonstrated in 2007 by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who used it to light a 60-watt bulb. Energy was transferred between two coils six feet apart even when humans and other objects were in the way. That team of researchers created a spinoff company to use their technology to develop a stationary charging system that can wirelessly transfer electricity from transmitters to devices, including parked electric vehicles. Inspired by the stationary charging breakthrough, the Stanford team were challenged to increase the amount of transmitted electricity to the level required to power a vehicle. They used mathematical simulations to prove that by bending the copper coils at a 90-degree angle and attaching them to a metal plate, up to 10 kilowatts of electricity can be transferred at a 97 percent efficiency rate. Potential roadblocks The charging system may theoretically work, but much more research and experimentation will be required to demonstrate the technology. Several challenges remain, such as ensuring the remaining 3 percent of electricity is lost as heat and not absorbed by humans as radiation, determining the optimal layout of road transmitters, and identifying how pavement and vehicle metal could reduce efficiency. Even though the system could be years away from reality, the researchers think it could change the global ground transportation system. “You could potentially drive for an unlimited amount of time without having to recharge,” said Richard Sassoon, managing director of the Stanford Global Climate and Energy Project. “You could actually have more energy stored in your batter at the end of your trip than you started with.” Source and image via Stanford University Related posts:

Battery Patent Apps Could Support Coda Automotive’s New Energy Storage Biz

Eric Lane — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:30:25 +0000

Greentech Media recently reported that Southern California electric vehicle startup Coda Automotive (Coda) launched a battery business called Coda Energy, which will enter the grid-scale energy storage market. Coda’s patent portfolio offers a window into the battery technology that might be part of the new business. Coda owns at least half a dozen U.S. patent applications relating to energy storage technologies, including U.S. Patent Application Publications Nos. 2011/0256431 (’631 Application), 2011/0256432 (’632 Application), 2011/0281145 (’145 Application), 2011/0304202 (’202 Application), 2011/0304298 (’298 Application, and 2012/0015242 (’242 Application). A search in Cleantech PatentEdge™ yields an additional international application, Publication No. WO 2011/060074 (’074 Application), entitled “Battery thermal management systems and methods,” which is the international, or PCT, filing of the ’145 Application. The ’431 and ’432 Applications were filed based upon the same provisional patent application and are entitled, respectively, ”Battery temperature control” and “Battery humidity control.” The ’431 Application is directed to systems for controlling temperature in a battery pack including temperature control gas transported through a distribution and heat transfer system. The ’432 Application is directed to systems for inhibiting condensation in a battery pack which include a humidity sensor and control system. Also pertaining to temperature control are the ’145 Application and its international counterpart, the ’074 Application. Entitled “Battery thermal management systems and methods,” the ’145 Application is directed to systems for thermal management of a battery pack in which the battery pack (102) has a thermally conductive interstitial member (108) disposed between the battery cells (104a-d). The interstitial member (108) is coupled to a plate (110) along a bottom surface of the battery cells and fills at least a portion of the insterstitial space (106). A first plate (110a) may be located along the bottom of the battery pack (102), a second plate (110b) located along a first side of the pack, and a third plate (110c) located along a second side of the pack. A cooling fluid (112) flows along the bottom surface of the battery cells (104a-d). The cooling fluid (112) draws heat generated by the battery pack and may flow in different directions to disperse the heat. The ’298 Application is entitled “Battery charging using multiple charges” and relates to distributing charging load among multiple chargers. Less relevant is the ’202 Application, which is electric vehicle technology for disconnecting a battery during a crash. The most recent application, filed in June of last year and just published January 19th, is the ’242 Application, entitled “Battery with improved terminals.” The ’242 Application is directed to a battery cell (10) comprising a casing (12), a cell core (14) housed within the casing, and a sealing lid (16). A pair of terminals (18, 20) are supported on the lid. Fasteners (33) are spaced apart and offset relative to the terminals (18, 20). According to the ’242 Application, this arrangement provides a relatively large surface portion for connection to the terminals. Eric Lane is a patent attorney at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps in San Diego and the author of Green Patent Blog. Mr. Lane can be reached at elane@luce.com.

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British Columbia’s New Energy Plan

Warren Brazier — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:12:06 +0000

Today, the BC Government announced another in a series of many energy plans and strategies. The 2012 Natural Gas Strategy actually puts energy front and centre for economic development in the Province. The policy is big on ideas, but short on details. According to the Government, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is to be the key driver for the provincial economy for decades to come. The global demand for liquefied natural gas is strong and BC's estimated natural gas reserves are substantial. Local First Nations have expressed support for LNG facilities and the pipelines that will bring the natural gas from the North. Nominating LNG as a pillar of the BC economy makes good sense. How the new energy plan is implemented is of course, critical. For the BC renewable energy industry, growing the demand for electricity in the Province is a good thing. The important decision is how much of the new LNG development will be powered by renewable energy and how much will be from natural gas. The Gas Strategy seems to state that the first two LNG facilities in Kitimat, BC will be required to be fueled by renewable energy. The problem right now is the Province is short on renewable energy generation and even shorter on transmission. Much needs to happen on both fronts before the Government's LNG objectives can be met. Not to be forgotten are the Province's climate change goals. Extracting and exporting more natural gas will put increased pressure on the Province's greenhouse gas emission objectives. British Columbia is at a cross-road with respect to climate change policy and economic growth. The Province is blessed with an abundance of natural gas and buyers in Asia are willing to pay for it. At the same time, to its credit, the Province has laws which restrict GHG emissions. A clear and obvious hedge against GHG emissions is renewable energy. The challenge for the Province is to balance economic growth with a GHG intensive industry with its climate change laws. Renewable energy will play an important role in the development of the Provincial economy. New electricity infrastructure, both generation and transmission, is critical to meet the opportunity presented to the Province. Both mining for minerals and turning natural gas into liquefied form (LNG) for export, require massive amounts of energy. Meeting this new demand with renewable electricity with natural gas as a possible backup is smart fiscal and environmental policy. GHG emissions are lower when electricity from renewable resources is used rather than natural gas to power the Province. In the coming days or months, we expect to see further details on the following issues:

The Province's definition of "clean". Does this mean renewables only?
The BC Hydro grid. Is there sufficient electricity on the existing transmission grid for Apache Phase 1, Apache Phase 2 and Douglas Channel LNG facilities?
Carbon capture and storage. Really? Where?
Infrastructure Royalty Program Credits. Will this be available for electricity infrastructure (ie, new or upgraded transmission lines) ?
Self-sufficiency changes. Drought insurance is gone. What now? Increase in imports?

Provided development of the natural gas fields and the mines in the North are in compliance with world class environmental practices, in cooperation and participation with First Nations and local communities, British Columbia is well positioned to be a major player in the new world economy. Some new thinking on old ideas is needed. But let's get it done while the opportunity is there. Be sure to follow me or the Megawatt Blog on Twitter.

India’s Solar Power Revolution Could Have Global Effect

EnergyRefuge.com — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:45 +0000

India has a Solar Mission to install 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022. Solar electricity is already cheaper than electricity produced with diesel generators. These optimistic figures from India, the second most populated country in the world, has led the New Scientist magazine to write an in-depth article about it saying that India’s solar power revolution could have a ripple effect across the globe. Solar panel prices fell by nearly 50 percent in 2011 and now they cost just one-quarter of what they did in 2008. This is good news for a good slice of the Indian population, one quarter of which lacks access to electricity. But electricity connection is not reliable, hence the use of diesel generators as backup power, increasing India’s share of greenhouse gases. Solar electricity has fallen to 8.78 rupees per kilowatt hour (against 17 rupees for diesel-generated power) due to falling production costs. According to a Bloomberg News Energy Finance specialist, solar is now cheaper than diesel wherever it’s as sunny as Spain, which includes many parts of the world such as chunks of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Analysts say that by 2015 solar electricity will be as cheap as grid electricity in half of all countries. This is good news because according to another report in the New Scientist, solar power will be the only truly clean form of power for humanity’s energy-demanding future. Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.

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MIT Developing Paintable Solar Cells Made of Plants

Charis Michelsen — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:19:41 +0000

In a report published by Scientific Reports, researchers say they’re successfully working toward making low-cost solar cells from plants. While, technically, all plants are some sort of solar cell (photosynthesis takes sunlight, water, and CO2 and turns it into sugar, as you may remember from high school chemistry), the key here is the word “low cost.”

Photosynthesis On Your Roof

The project in question is focusing on a way to produce “biophotovoltaics” without all sorts of sophisticated lab equipment. And while esoteric and possibly arcane lab equipment is all sorts of cool, it’s also rather expensive and not always workable for mass-producing items. The new system is incredibly user-friendly and costs a lot less – mix green plants (like grass clippings) with custom-designed chemicals, and out comes a photovoltaic material made with the power of photosynthesis. MIT researcher Andreas Mershin, one of the paper’s co-authors, explained just how easy the process is:

“Take that bag (of chemicals), mix it with anything green and paint it on the roof.”

That’s it – mix and paint. Mershin wants to see this inexpensive method used in developing countries, for example, where electricity is scarce and the power grids are unreliable.

Practice Makes Progress

The other key phrase in the report is “making progress;” while the solar cells made with Mershin’s chemical bath are 10,000% more efficient than previous plant-based solar cells, they still only convert 0.1% of sunlight to energy. (Just to keep the numbers straight, CleanTechnica readers may recall seeing record-breaking solar cells with upwards of 20% conversion.) The solar cell in question is made by growing zinc oxide nanowires at room temperature on a variety of surfaces by isolating the photosystem-I molecules (the ones that actually perform photosynthesis in plants). The nanowires provide a large surface area to carry the flow of current. In a video released by MIT, Mershin spoke about the process:

“After many ears of research, we’ve managed to make the process of extracting this protein and stabilizing it and putting on a surface that is made in a way to allow for the photovoltaic effect to happen to be very easy.”

Still Working

Mershin’s attempt is far from the first to look at plants for inspiration, but previous attempts produced too little current with much too expensive equipment. This new process is a giant leap forward. The team isn’t done yet, though. The solar cells must become more durable and much more efficient before they’re ready to hit the market. Still, the idea of a mix-and-paint solar cell is pretty awesome. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below. Source: Cnet | Image: Scientific Reports Related posts:

Road-based Charging Network Could Charge EVs While They Drive

Yale Environment 360 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:00:39 +0000

U.S. researchers have designed a wireless charging system for electric vehicles they say could ultimately lead to all-electric highways capable of charging cars and trucks as they drive down the road. The system, developed by a team at Stanford University, uses magnetic fields to transmit large electric currents between metal coils embedded a few feet apart under the surface of the road. Based on magnetic resonance coupling technology, the process involves one coil that is connected to an electric current, which generates a magnetic field that causes the second coil to resonate, triggering an invisible transfer of electrical energy. The developers say there is a potential to eventually create a wireless network across highway systems, a step that would drastically increase the range of electric vehicles since they would theoretically never have to plug into a charging station. “You could actually have more energy stored in your battery at the end of your trip than you started with,” said Richard Sassoon, managing director of the Stanford Global Climate and Energy Project and co-author of the study published in the journal Applied Physics Letters. Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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