Watch out San Francisco, you’re not the only city striving to put electric cars on the road. Today, you’ll be joined by Elk Horn, Iowa, where Coulomb Technologies is installing EV charging stations.

The Danish Windmill in Elk Horn (Photo: DanishWindmill.com)

After a ribbon-cutting today, four ChargePoint stations will be available for public use in the small city between Des Moines and Omaha, thanks to support from Iron Eagle Technologies, the Danish Windmill, AmericInn Motels and the Elk Horn Service Station. Coulomb’s distributor Carbon Day Automotive also joined this group effort to bring clean renewable energy to Elk Horn.

The stations will be the first of many envisioned for the I-80 corridor through Iowa and Nebraska. They are the first installed in Iowa, and the first between Chicago and Denver, helping add to a network that aims to span the country – which helps answer the question “Why Iowa?”

Another way of looking at it, according to President and CEO of Iron Eagle Technologies (IET), Mike Howard, is to ask “Why Not Iowa?”

“Although it’s not well known, the first successful electric vehicle was actually invented in Iowa by William Morrison.  We’ve come a long way since then, and Iron Eagle Technologies is committed to putting the EV focus back in the heartland,” he said.

IET, a testing company that consults, evaluates and helps develop clean energy, including EV vehicles, wind and solar energy, provided the impetus for bringing the stations to the southwest corner of Iowa. The company’s “World EVAL” program will be testing and certifying electric vehicles and EV components.

The new ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations will be open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles. The networked repowering stations provide authentication, management and real-time control using web-based portals that drivers and fleet managers can use. For more info on how the Chargepoint system works see the Coulomb website  Drivers can also find a listing of stations at the website.

The ribbon cutting ceremony, at the town’s iconic (and fittingly green) Danish Windmill, will be a celebration of possibilities with officials speaking about the need to put EV infrastructure in place for future transportation and EV manufacturers offering rides in EV vehicles.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Before the recession put a stranglehold on most every investment, clean technology was hot. Nearly 80 percent of all the venture capital spent in 2008 went to clean, green investments. The industries slumped for much of 2009, but now investors are returning to clean industries.

Regular Americans are curious about these clean tech companies, too, and they’re asking their financial advisers about them, according to one survey.

What is clean tech? It refers to technologies made without generating significant pollution, which produce products that can replace non-renewable energy sources, like oil, and make us more energy-efficient. Think solar cells and wind-generated power, hybrid or electric cars, green buildings, desalinated water and a “smart grid” that will help businesses and home owners to connect with new sources of power, like wind farms and giant desert photovoltaic installations

To give it an extra push, the government’s stimulus package has set aside about  $100 billion for clean, green products and industries. With that boost, venture capital is starting to flow again.

Considering clean-tech investing? We asked some of the best minds in the business to offer tips, advice and bits of wisdom:

Dallas Kachan Cleantech Group

What parts of clean tech are rebounding?

“The earliest sectors to rebound are tied to energy-efficiency and smart grids. The technologies are well understood and simple, quick and easy to deploy. Energy efficiency technologies are the low-hanging fruit,” said Dallas Kachan, managing director of Cleantech Group.  “By becoming more efficient we negate the need for more (energy) generation. . . there is a broad realization that over the last year you get high returns to pursue energy efficiency.”

Kachan’s company is among the most widely read sources of trade news, daily business and developments in the clean technology arena.

So far, solar deals and biofuels have gotten the lion’s share of clean tech investments. Some predict now that energy-efficient technologies will be the next hot commodities.

Are these industries solid?

“These technologies are ready for prime time. They weren’t ready 30 years ago. The timing wasn’t right in the ‘70s. They are no longer considered “alternative” technologies,” said Ron Pernick, co-founder of Clean Edge, a major market research and publishing firm focused on clean technologies since 2000. Clean Edge guides companies, investors and even governments with information about “trends, opportunities and challenges.”

“Globally, biofuels, wind and solar were a $116 billion industry last year,” Pernick said. The predictions for those three sectors? “They will be more than $300 billion in a decade.”

Now, big businesses are stepping into the clean-tech arena, Pernick said. Reports say that General Electric has sunk billions of dollars into wind power, and Applied Materials has put money into solar power.  Xerox, Kimberly-Clark and Walmart  are all putting substantial money into clean tech.

How quickly will these clean tech businesses grow?

Michael Kanellos Greentech Media

“Don’t expect a quick payoff,” said Michael Kanellos, editor-in-chief of Greentech Media, a leading online-media company. He suggested lowering your sky-high expectations. “Software companies can take off like a rocket because consumers can download applications for free and good ones travel by word of mouth. Twitter went from a few users to millions.

“But most green-tech applications – like energy-efficient appliances or solar panels – have to be manufactured. That costs money, which slows adoption,” he said.

In other words, “If Google had to go on your roof, install a bunch of glass plates and charge you $20,000 before you even started searching, you’d switch to Yahoo,” Kanellos said.

What about green mutual funds?

There may be safety in numbers, and clean/green mutual funds could provide extra comfort for mom-and-pop investors. Morningstar provides its members with research and analysis of the market, including tracking of 23 actively managed (and 15 exchange-traded) funds that are considered “green.”

“Somebody who wants to invest in green mutual funds should be aware of the various types of funds out there that are marketed as ‘green,’ said David Kathman, a Chicago-based analyst of mutual funds for Morningstar. A fund that consists of many start-ups is a riskier bet than one with a broader mix.

“Another group is ‘best of breed’ green funds, he said. “These look much more like regular core mutual funds in that they typically own well-known stocks, but within each sector they look for stocks with the best green profiles and environmental records,” Kathman said.

If you’re thinking about a mutual fund, study the prospectus for their “green” criteria or sustainability goals and the areas of green industry where they focus.

Like any other investment, looking for solid cash flows, stimulus money and diversified portfolios are important. A solid track record is as important with “clean” mutual funds as it is with any other fund.

Don’t just think American. Think globally

“Clean tech is not just an American phenomenon. There are very important deals and commercialization in . . . China and the Middle East,” said Clean Tech’s Kachan.

The clean-tech field also is making strong headway in South Korea, Japan, the European Union and India. “Governments around the world . . . are looking to create jobs, be energy-independent, meet stringent requirements for carbon and other emissions, said Clean Edge’s Pernick. “Governments are taking this seriously.”

In the third quarter of this year, Europe received much more clean-tech financing than America.

China is the world’s third largest economy, and they are aggressively looking for cleaner, more efficient energy. One report points out that China has doubled its ability to use wind-generated power over the past four years.

By Deborah Wrigley
KTRK – Houston

There have been several attempts to build electric cars that can run at higher speeds and for several hours. Some have been more successful than others.

Last year’s record high oil prices boosted demand for the vehicles. And now, there are electric cars available, with limitations.

> Watch Now

Just like you hunt for that Energy Star tag when examining a fridge or washer, people in California can now duck under the hood of any new 2009 model car to get an at-a-glance emissions rating.

The Environmental Performance sticker, mandated to begin on Jan. 1 for all new model cars, will include two scores, one rating the car’s smog emissions and the other its greenhouse gas output. The air pollutants for the latter include carbon dioxide emissions, which make up the greatest volume of greenhouse gases. Gas engine cars emit nitrous oxides, methane gases, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and other emissions.

High mileage cars are almost always considered more environmentally friendly, because they consume less gas overall. But the new labeling system takes a closer look by deconstructing what actually comes out of the car’s tailpipe. Not surprisingly, the winners in this competition are all-electric vehicles that emit no carbon pollution, though one could argue that charging the electric battery required some use of “dirty energy” if the electricity was powered by, say, coal plants.

The all-electric cars are followed in the rankings by hybrids, many of which score a 9 on the ten-point scale (with ten being the top score).

To see the list of top cleanest cars on the new bifurcated ranking system (which replaces previous emissions notifications), visit the California Air Resources Board’s website Drive Clean.

Copyright © 2008 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

When last we mentioned electric-car entrepreneur Shai Agassi, the former software wunderkind’s grand plans had attracted commitments from the government of Israel but had no traction in the States.

Things have changed. First he aligned with some like-minded entities in California. Last week, though, his Better Place venture won the support of an entire state: Hawaii.

Agassi’s company has signed a deal with the Hawaiian Electric company to work together on the kind of energy network (for recharging cars) and battery swapping spots (for “refills” of energy that won’t require time-consuming plug-ins) that will be required for the Better Place business model. In that model, customers will pay by the mile much like cell-phone customers pay per minute of airtime.

Agassi has told reporters that he continues to have faith in his model despite falling oil prices, but that he believes it has particular appeal for isolated economies like Hawaii’s, where transport costs keep prices higher.

If all goes well with permitting and infrastructure construction, Agassi intends to start introducing vehicles within the next 18 months and have them widely available by 2012.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

While this past weekend’s Los Angeles Auto Show had autophiles lusting after tomorrow’s hot wheels, a very different California event just celebrated a company working to make yesterday’s cars a lot greener.

The winner in the Transportation division of this month’s California Clean Tech Open was a San Francisco company called ElectraDrive whose products are aimed at drivers for whom electric vehicles can’t arrive quickly enough. The company’s “ElectraMount” is made to “rapidly and inexpensively adapt almost any passenger vehicle to electric drive.” Designed to fit in a variety of vehicles without custom welding or metalwork, the electric engine is simply installed in the place of a gas drivetrain and is said to “cut operating costs by a factor of ten,” translating to a cost of 3 to 4 cents per mile in city driving.

Initially, the company is targeting government and businesses that operate fleets of cars. Expected to be available next year, the conversion will cost $20,000 — a price that institutional customers may find desirable if they believe the company’s projection. Using their math, the cost of an electric drivetrain financed for five years at 7% interest would be cost-efficient; outweighed by monthly fuel savings. (For this example, the company used operating costs associated with an SUV. Further cost-projection details can be seen here.)

Eventually, the company intends to reach economies of scale allowing them to sell conversions to regular consumers for $10,000. Their progress toward that goal should be aided by the Clean Tech prize, a $100,000 “Start-up in a Box” package combining a cash award with business benefits from an array of local organizations.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

In the quest to ween cars and trucks off oil, alternative-fuel schemes may be heading for a roadblock they haven’t fully considered: water.

Public discussions of alternative fuels have rarely if ever touched on how much water might be needed to

produce such fuel on a large scale. But researchers in Texas warn that it may be much more than you’d expect.

Their study, published in the latest issue of Environmental Science & Technology analyzed two kinds of water usage: water that is withdrawn (”water that is taken from a surface water or groundwater source, used in a process, and given back from whence it came”) and that which is consumed (”taken from surface water or groundwater source and not directly returned”).

They compared fossil-fuel use to hydrogen, electricity, and two biofuels to find how much water was used per gallon traveled, and came to a discouraging conclusion: “Fuels more directly derived from fossil fuels are less water intensive than those derived either indirectly from fossil fuels (e.g., through electricity generation) or directly from biomass.” In fact, hydrogen and electric cars in their study that relied on the U.S. grid “withdraw five to 20 times and consume nearly two to five times more water” than cars running on gasoline.

Some alternative fuels did perform comparably to conventional ones, though: biofuels that were produced without irrigation, hydrogen derived from methane, and electricity produced by certain renewable means that don’t involve steam.

The study’s authors Carey W. King and Michael E. Webber are with the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin.

Copyright © 2008 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

The New York State Fair began yesterday in Syracuse, and while many of us associate such events mainly with deep-fried food and concerts by (ahem) bands whose stars have faded, this fair may also debut a future star: An early version of an electric car whose makers think it could win a $10 million prize  — and get 100 mpg.

The Progressive-sponsored Automotive X PRIZE (part of the larger X PRIZE umbrella of big-goal contests with lavish cash prizes) has offered that amount to anybody who can build a real-life car (plans for mass production are required), affordable for the masses, that gets at least 100 miles per gallon or its energy equivalent. A team of engineers from Cornell will visit the land of corn dogs to convince fairgoers that goal is reachable in the very near future.

An article in the Cornell Chronicle details the work of a team made up of over 70 students from various backgrounds. While the crew has all the polish of a serious start-up — in addition to their slick web site, they have sub-teams of business students working on financial plans while engineers tweak energy usage — what’s on view in Syracuse won’t look anything like a showroom model.

“Our goal is to bring awareness of the technology to the public,” as team leader Trey Riddle told the paper, so it shouldn’t matter that they’ll be driving a 1993 Geo Metro with most of its creature comforts ripped out to make way for a whole lot of batteries. Awareness that hugely efficient cars are a realistic goal may motivate Cornell’s team as much as the cash (”Be Inspired” is the tag line atop their web site). But that doesn’t mean they don’t intend to deliver: By early next year, they expect to be building a model that can fully recharge in six hours using an ordinary electrical outlet, will run 40-50 miles on that charge, and will seat four people with at least 10 cubic feet of cargo space left over.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Nissan Motor Company took the occasion of its financial-results stock exchange reporting (nearly $7 billion in profits from $90+ billion revenues in fiscal 2007) Tuesday in Tokyo to make an announcement of interest to those of us who don’t own stock. In 2010, the company plans to release an all-electric car in the United States and Japan, which should make it the first major auto company to do so.

That car will be part of a five-year plan dubbed “Nissan GT 2012″ — the letters standing for “growth” and “trust,” 2012 being the final fiscal year in which plans are to culminate — in which the company intends to lead the industry in zero-emission vehicles.

“Nissan GT 2012 reflects the determination of our company to play a major role in the development of a sustainable mobile society…We are convinced that the mass availability of affordable zero-emission vehicles is the most significant breakthrough our industry could deliver,” said President and CEO Carlos Ghosn in a company statement.

As a New York Times story on the move notes, Ghosn appears to have caught the green bug only recently: The paper points out that as recently as 2005 “he called gas-electric hybrids ‘niche products’ useful only to meet strict fuel-economy and emission standards in states like California.”

Rising oil prices and an undeniable wave of consumer sentiment have evidently changed the executive’s mind. “What we are seeing is that the shifts coming from the markets are more powerful than what regulators are doing,” he told the Times this week. Though he admits the number of all-electric cars moving through showrooms in 2010 will be measured in the hundreds, not thousands, the new model is still a step beyond that planned by GM, whose Chevy Volt (intended for 2010 introduction as well) will be a gas/electric hybrid, although one whose plug-in charging capability is an improvement over today’s hybrid cars.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media