e-bike power

Electric is the word when it comes to urban transportation. From C-trains to hybrid cars, there are more ways than ever to get around downtown, emission free. Now motor-assisted bicycles and electric scooters are about to become all the rage. With a new regulation in Alberta, electric bikes may be a more “powerful” option. Users will no longer need a licence, insurance or registration in order to ride one.

Topping at 32km/h, e-bikes may not be right for highway driving, but perfect for running errands in your neighbourhood. In some –not all – cases, they may be suited for your daily commute. Because of the new regulations, many retailers believe you will see more commuters on e-bikes.

While traditional bicycles remain popular, some routes require just a little more juice, like biking uphill or long distances. Despite having more power than a traditional bike, if recharged via renewable provider like Bullfrog Power, it’s still emissions-free.

Electric scooters are gaining in popularity as well. Consumers often report feeling safer on a scooter than a bike, whether motorized or not. This is partly because other vehicles treat it like a vehicle, and partly because it has some car-like features; rear-view mirrors, turn signals and horns.

While generally intended for use within a few kilometres of a city’s downtown area, they are gaining popularity with riders further from the core. There is no question that both e-bikes and electric scooters are strong additions to the plethora of urban electric vehicles.

Vroom!

Funding for green diesel research

You’ve seen the commercials, and heard the popular wisdom – hybrid cars are hip now, and a cornerstone of the future.  Soon, all cars will be hybrids – right?

If that’s the case, why is Ming Zheng focusing on diesel engines? With some help – namely, a $1.4 million grant – from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the University of Windsor researcher wants to find a way to increase the fuel efficiency of diesel – while decreasing its emissions.

Zheng believes biofuels and biodiesels derived from plant and animal sources are the way of the future. He wants to free us from relying on fossil fuels altogether.  Hybrids still require some gasoline; biodiesel engines would not.  Zheng figures diesel-based hybrids may even trump them all.

Currently, however, the university is using this $1.4 million grant primarily to focus on ways to make conventional diesel burn cleaner. It’s already a more energy-efficient option; diesel’s big advantage is fuel efficiency.

However, as demand increases, so does price.  This was demonstrated in April 2008, when in some places diesel prices topped that of gasoline.  This impacted shipping costs worldwide, and drove up the prices consumers paid for imported goods.

That may have been more than just an anomaly.  But reports show that demand for diesel has been experiencing much more growth than comparable demand than gasoline.  It’s a global phenomenon, but particularly in Europe, where diesel-running cars are incredibly popular.

Perhaps Zheng, telling us to jump on the diesel bandwagon, has the right idea.

Diesel – still a dirty word in Canada?

Hybrids and electric cars may seem to be the darlings of the future of transportation, but German automakers don’t want you to forget about diesel.

Cleaner burning than ordinary gasoline, diesel is cheaper and has 20 to 40 per cent better fuel economy. Yet, demand is still small. However, in 2008 Volkswagon’s Jetta TDI diesel model won Green Car of the Year in the US.

Despite the award, diesel automakers are keeping a low profile, even on their brand new models. Why? Because they know in Canada, that a lot of minds have already been made up. Canadians don’t think of – or treat – diesel as “green.”

Meanwhile in Europe, diesels account for almost half of the new car sales. Here in Canada, the projection is for hybrid cars to make up about the same by 2016. Diesel, on the other hand, is projected to be only about 10 per cent by that time.

This may be due to the fact that some provincial governments (like Ontario and British Columbia) offer incentives and rebates on hybrid or electric purchases. No such rebate exists for diesel-burning cars – despite their superior fuel economy and cleaner burn.

Diesel buyers could certainly use the break; the components in a diesel car can add $9,000 to the purchase price. The costliness of diesel cars has made them especially unattractive to North American buyers, even in the best economic situations. This, combined with the perceived unattractiveness of the fuel itself makes the situation nearly hopeless in this market. But Audi has released a new slogan in an effort to change this image. Diesel. It’s no longer a dirty word.

Checkered flag going green

Are auto sports eco-friendly?

At first glance, you’d think auto racing wouldn’t qualify.  Consider: they burn a lot of fuel to zoom around and around in circles doing nothing but going fast and entertaining thousands of fans.  Whether you enjoy it or not, that’s hardly model environmentally-friendly entertainment.

Fair enough, but now consider this.  This year’s Honda Indy Toronto burned nary a liter of good old fashioned gasoline.  Each of the cars participating in the race ran on 100 per cent ethanol.

Much gasoline available today has small amounts of ethanol mixed in. Regular cars built in the past 30 years can all run on a blend with 10 per cent ethanol, and not too long ago, an Ottawa gas station made just such a concoction available to the public. It was considered a big deal.

So cars running on 100 per cent ethanol are a very big deal.  Especially racing cars, because going faster (and they go really fast) burns more fuel.  That’s complicated math, but it means the carbon emissions from these cars is nil. This race is pollutant-free.

The Indy Racing League (IRL) is certainly making an effort.  Since 2007, they have been racing with 100 per cent ethanol fuel and have replaced old lead wheel weights with ones made of a less corrosive, more environmentally-friendly material. They installed trackside recycling containers, and donate leftover food to local food banks.

The IRL has been doing its level best to have people equate “auto racing” with “eco-friendly.”  That, at least, deserves an honorary checker flag.

Solving the infrastructure problem

The future is electric. Or at least many believe it is minus the one glaring problem facing electric vehicles: infrastructure.

More and more companies are building electric cars. Nissan has released a preview of their as-yet unnamed model, one based on their Versa in appearance. But on the inside, it’s all about the battery, baby.

Nissan also has electric models of their Cube. While neither model is available to consumers just yet, product planner Mark Perry says “This is not a test or demonstration…we’re ready for mass production.” They plan on having the car available in 2012. Hopefully, in that three-year gap, the infrastructure needed will be built. It would be a shame to have electric cars driving around with nowhere to plug them in, or for no one to buy them because there is no infrastructure.

Luckily, some universities are looking for solutions.

In Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology brought in a UK company to install 150 Elektrobay charging stations in September. All Elektromotive’s charging bays are allocated to the 150 EV car fleet for staff and students to use around the campus. A feasibility test, so to speak, on a small scale.

Closer to home, electrical engineers at the University of Calgary are looking at plug-in hybrids to determine the feasibility of storing electricity directly from the power grid. They hope to develop a smart-charging system that would specifically make use of energy generated from wind power.

Nissan wants to help too; and why wouldn’t they? The Renault-Nissan Alliance is signing deals left and right to set up charging networks all over the world. Because they’re smart enough to know convenience is key to keeping customers happy.

Who killed the natural gas car?

Some ‘80s trends just didn’t last. Big hair, shoulder pads, Tears for Fears…natural gas cars?

Clean-burning fuel was a big fad decades ago, albeit because of a major spike in gasoline prices. About 220 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling stations were built, in order to serve the 20,000 CNG cars on Canadian roads.

Transit vehicles and taxis were first to hop on board the CNG bandwagon, but any car could (and still can) be converted into a bi-fuel CNG car. Bi-fuel cars can run on either conventional gasoline or compressed gas at the flip of a switch.

Despite the initial mad scramble for compressed gas technology, there are now only about half as many CNG cars in use now as there were in the 80s. The technology is about as forgotten as a bad synth-pop hit. Right?

Would it surprise you to find out that the world’s largest CNG fueling station is in Lima, Peru? CNG cars are still popular all over the world, from South America to Europe. So why didn’t they take off in North America?

Some claim it lacked proper government backing, especially now that the government has thrown its weight (and regulation, and funding) behind electric hybrids and ethanol fuels. Others say it was deregulation, and some say there just wasn’t enough public interest.

Canadian Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance president Alicia Milner says it was a combination of these factors. She adds that given its cleanliness, the low price of natural gas (about 40% lower than gasoline) and Canada’s abundant supply, this is a great time to re-explore CNG technology.

After all, haven’t you noticed the ‘80s are totally back in style?  Gag me with a spoon!

The end of summer fuel prices

The end of summer brings the wistful melancholy in all of us. You hardly hear a conversation that doesn’t include wishes that the long sunny days of trips to the beach, backyard barbecues and outdoor fun should last forever.

The end of summer also means the end of expensive summer fuel prices. Every summer, gas prices go up. That’s a given.

After all, more people use more gas in the summer. People travel more, or at least take day trips out of the city. It’s just basic supply and demand; the higher the demand, the more you can be charged for it.

Simple, right? There’s actually more to it than that. Most people don’t realize the actual product is different. “Summer blend” gasoline is different from the stuff sold in winter. Summer gasoline burns a little cleaner, but costs more to produce.

Why would gas be any different? Pollution. The combination of heat and increased vehicle use makes it a bigger problem in the summer. 1995’s Clean Air Act Amendments saw the formation of the “Reformulated Gasoline Program.” The purpose was to reduce pollution between June and September. 

Summer gasoline has different oxygenates than winter gas; namely, cleaner-burning fuel additives. In the spring, refineries must switch to summer-grade production. This coincides with the time refineries are cleaned, causing the gas prices to go up for another Economics 101 reason – scarcity.

When refineries shut down to clean up, they obviously stop producing gasoline. When the refineries start up again, they switch to producing summer-grade gas. 

At least there’s one benefit to the end of summer.

Eco-friendly Ottawa

Ottawa, being the capital, naturally aspires to being a leader among Canadian cities.

Good leadership means not just being a good role model, but also the first to try new ideas and pave the way for greener possibilities. With the addition of a bike-share program, and the country’s first ever Ethanol gas station, they’re doing just that.

The Public Bike System has two stations in downtown Ottawa, and two in Gatineau, sharing a total of 50 bikes for its trial launch period. In the future, they hope to have as many as 500 bikes available for users in the National Capital Region.

A $3 user fee applies.  Users swipe their credit cards, and are given a code to unlock a bike. The first half hour is free, but to encourage a quick turnaround, additional charges apply after 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, for one month, ethanol will be offered at a Shell station on Merivale road. It’s actually blend of 1/10 ethanol and 9/10 regular gas, and will not cost extra. This may seem like a small change, but for its developer, Iogen, it’s a milestone.

Since the ‘70s, Iogen has been working on a cellulostic biofuel. That means it uses plant material – husks and stalks rather then the edible corn itself – thereby not affecting food sources. Based in Ottawa, local farmers supply Iogen the material.

Is it working? Many government vehicles already use Iogen’s locally produced ethanol, in mixes as great as 85 per cent ethanol. That said, both the bikes and the ethanol are trial versions. They’ll determine public interest and ascertain feasibility.

However, with good consumer response, they may return in full force.

Mitsubishi electric car

Summer roads trips and spontaneous outings may get a whole lot cheaper. 

In April, Mitsubishi unveiled the i-MiEV, its new zero-emission electric car, which could be speeding onto Canadian streets in 2010. Well, Vancouver streets to start as Mitsubishi admits they have yet to cold-weather test the vehicle. The company estimates that the i-MiEV (Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle) emits just 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide of a similarly sized internal combustion car.

The i-MiEV contains a 330-volt, 16-kilowatt, 63-horsepower electric motor with 22 lithium-ion batteries. So how does it recharge? Easy! Just plug it in next to your hair dryer. It can be recharged overnight using an average 120-volt or 220-volt household plug, but will take anywhere from 7 to 14 hours depending on the voltage.

If you’re away from home, Mitsubishi plans to eventually have little kiosks known as quick-charge systems, which will be able to restore the battery power to up to 80 per cent in about 30 minutes. Can’t find a kiosk? The i-MiEV also has a “limp-home” mode that will give you a few more kilometres if you drain the system completely.

And if you’re thinking that you are going to have to compromise speed for sustainability, guess again. This little racer can reach speeds an estimated second and a half faster than its gas-fuelled counterpart. In actuality, the car’s top speed is a little over 130 km/h, so although it may not be the number 1 choice for the Autobon, it might become the number 1 choice for eco-conscious consumers.

Kinetic road plates

CHARGE! 

It’s every woman’s dream come true: saving the planet while you shop. 

And the best part is you won’t even need to open your wallet. In fact, you won’t even need to go into the store: renewable energy is now as close as the parking lot. 

Okay…so it’s not Tiffany’s, but Sainsbury’s, a British supermarket chain, is the first in Europe to install “kinetic road plates,” a clever invention which will power the store’s cash registers just by having vehicles drive over them.  

The plates look a lot like speed bumps (more like ‘green bumps’). The kinetic plates give under the weight of the vehicles, causing it to rock slightly and send a message to a generator to power up. 

Though all that rocking may make it seem like you are on a Disney ride instead of at the Supermarket, the inventors claim that the driver won’t even feel the difference. The generators then create energy which is captured, redirected back to the store and used to power the checkouts and the store’s other needs.

The kinetic road plates are just one of the planet-saving measures which the chain is employing: the store’s solar panels will heat up 100% of the hot water during summer months; rainwater will be used to flush all of their toilets and the lights will be on automatic dimmer switches so on bright, sunny days, less electricity will be used.

Sustainable shopping: making the planet, its women…and their husbands…happy.

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