The Sustainable, Rechargable Electric Car: Japan Takes Up the Challenge
We all love the idea of electric vehicles (EVs) rolling quietly down the road, emitting nothing. But our passion cools when we ask: where does that electricity come from and why can’t it come from renewable sources?
Japan, the island nation that likes to think ahead about energy and water conservation, is researching the infrastructure needed to achieve wide use of EVs. Mitsubishi and the Tokyo Institute of Technology are collaborating on developing charging stations powered by solar and wind. Mitsubishi will be using its incredibly appealing i-MiEV car in the infrastructure research project, which will tackle questions such as:
- How to recharge during non-peak times, such as at night, so there is less impact on the environment
- How to store off-peak energy so that it can be used to recharge EVs later
- How to store energy from wind so that it is available when needed, and how to communicate that availability at a charging station.
- How EVs will be used by actual drivers and how they might recharge them in solar-powered homes.
Field testing will include a concept home with solar PV panels and a charging post, from which the EV will be driven back and forth to the campus. A solar thermal dish using a Stirling engine will be used to generate power. Remote wind towers will be linked into the system as well.
Field testing started July 1 and will continue through March 31, 2010, under the auspices of the Advanced Energy Management (AEM) project promoted by the Integrated Research Institute of the Tokyo Institute of Technology. (Note to American car-makers: the Japanese are about to clean your clock again.)
Image Credit: TechOn , which also has good background on the story.
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Wow! Someone is actually willing to do the work find out what is practical and what is not instead of over hyping EV cars!!
I can’t wait to buy a household stirling engine.
Over hyping electric cars is difficult to do given the multitude of advantages they have over internal combustion engine (ICE) powered cars. Electric cars have the ability to store energy generated by wind and solar. They have the ability to use energy that is otherwise wasted off peak. They have reasonable or equal range to ICE-powered cars. They pollute less than ICE-powered cars even when the energy source is primarily coal, they are quieter and require less maintenance. They are cheaper to “refuel”. They don’t require that we practice questionable foreign policy. The list goes on for ever.
The question that Mitsubishi is answering is not one of whether or not electric cars are the solution. Companies like Mitsubishi perform these tests so that they can get the specifics straight. Exactly HOW MUCH energy can an EV redeliver to the grid. HOW cheap is the “refueling”. HOW MUCH less pollution does an EV emit when it is recharged from a primarily coal-fired infrastructure, etc. Again, the advantages of an EV are well understood. The magnitude of the advantages and how best to exploit them is really what is in question.