Hawaii to be 1st state with electric car stations

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JT Moderator	Message Posted: 12/3/2008 10:01:35 AM	Ignore JT Report Abuse
	Wednesday, December 03, 2008 The Associated Press -- HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii has unveiled plans to be first in the nation to roll out electric car stations statewide — a move the governor hailed as a major step toward weaning the islands off oil. Hawaii imports foreign oil for almost 90 percent of its energy needs. One-third of that oil is used to power cars and buses on island streets. Gov. Linda Lingle said Tuesday the program would help Hawaii meet its goal of slashing fossil fuel use 70 percent by 2030. "This is the preferred future," Lingle said at a press conference. "Today is a part of the execution of our energy independence, and our getting off the addiction to oil." Visit The Associated Press for full article

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frede2 Champion Author Texas Posts:3,693 Points:794,910 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: 12/5/2008 9:54:43 AM	Ignore frede2 Report Abuse
	Now that is real progress
pitchingcoach Veteran Author Michigan Posts:460 Points:58,250 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: 12/5/2008 8:41:44 AM	Ignore pitchingcoach Report Abuse
	Every little bit helps the big picture.
ligas Rookie Author Long Island Posts:23 Points:16,110 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 8:24:56 PM	Ignore ligas Report Abuse
	"2008 Tesla Roadster Sports car on Lotus Chassis! (Batteries are included) Can go on battery for 220 miles at 60 mls/hour. Full Charge from 0% in 3.5 hours 6800 elements of batteries are independent from each other! 100,000 hours for battery pack life. Batteries do not need a whole charge cycle to recharge.
ligas Rookie Author Long Island Posts:23 Points:16,110 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 8:24:05 PM	Ignore ligas Report Abuse
	Why everybody complain about "more than 30 miles" for electric cars when IN US - CA - there is a car with over 200 miles range. The only thing is: GM, FORD, CRYSLER beggers do not want to make it in big production!
Wizrd03 Sophomore Author Illinois Posts:231 Points:69,750 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 1:55:35 PM	Ignore Wizrd03 Report Abuse
	VO1ONE, Thanks for the feedback, I did read the article but missed the "battery pack" for the renault / nissan vehicles. That's why I mentioned there needs to be a car desiged for this service. Our current american vehicles won't work. Wave & geothermal are deveolping energy sources. Hawaii is an ideal development area for the reasons stated. Applying this program to large state side cities will have challenges in renewable resources and infrastructure development.
21597 All-Star Author Colorado Posts:909 Points:255,040 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 1:44:56 PM	Ignore 21597 Report Abuse
	Battery technology isone of the major hurdles we face in being energy independent. That and congess getting in the way
21597 All-Star Author Colorado Posts:909 Points:255,040 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 1:41:51 PM	Ignore 21597 Report Abuse
	Did ya see on the news where a 18 year old kid built an electric car. 18,000 dollars, forty mile range, fifty to seventy five cents to charge it. Can you imagine if the commuters that drove less than forty miles to work driving one of these and all the fuel savings. There is no excuse for high fuel prices
murushi Sophomore Author Ontario Posts:147 Points:107,175 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 11:52:10 AM	Ignore murushi Report Abuse
	Hmmm... It's a good temporary measure. Electric cars might wean us off oil. But we'll be dependent on electricity. Trading one addiction for another - not so good. We need to develop a technology to store solar energy in batteries, and then run our cars on those batteries. Sci-Fi dreams. :-)
VO1ONE Champion Author Akron Posts:1,036 Points:179,315 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 11:51:38 AM	Ignore VO1ONE Report Abuse
	Wizrd03, That's the problem; people are assuming and not reading the whole article. They click here for the points, read the first couple of paragraphs and post their 2 cents for some more points without reading the whole thing. If you read the full article they say that the stations will provide charged batteries for the vehicles. These are NOT batteries for existing Hybrid vehicles you see everywhere else. There are only two vehicles currently that are part of the project; a Renault and a Nissan Rogue, both electric only with removable battery packs, much larger than a laptop battery. They will be offered the flexibility of plugging in to charge, but not many will go to a station to do so. They'd do so at home, at night when most are home -- off peak. Most will use the battery exchange and the station controls when they are charged. Why are you limiting renewable energy to wind? This is Hawaii we're talking about. Think wave energy and geothermal in addition to solar and wind. You may be sceptical but Better Place is investing $1 billion dollars so I'd be surprised they'd be dumping all that money into it without doing a sizable feasibility study first with plenty of engineers.
almostrice Champion Author Houston Posts:7,626 Points:1,548,510 Joined:Sep 2003	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:54:42 AM	Ignore almostrice Report Abuse
	Good idea. A mix of mass transportation, local electric cars and bikes should wean us off of our auto-centric transportation model. I hope Hawaii can show us what is possible.
MajorSteve All-Star Author Oklahoma City Posts:727 Points:283,140 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:37:42 AM	Ignore MajorSteve Report Abuse
	Good idea!
txholeyrocks Champion Author Austin Posts:1,032 Points:182,760 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:32:37 AM	Ignore txholeyrocks Report Abuse
	This is great news because they are planning ahead!
jetsfan6 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:3,431 Points:659,205 Joined:Apr 2004	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:25:06 AM	Ignore jetsfan6 Report Abuse
	spheremaker1 - did you not read the whole article? they plan on generating the electricity through wind power which Hawaii has plenty of. If you are going to make deragatory statements about an article at least read that article first so that you don't look like a FOOL.
EXTREMESNOW Champion Author Oregon Posts:1,424 Points:356,135 Joined:Jul 2006	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:12:55 AM	Ignore EXTREMESNOW Report Abuse
	With thier record high gas prices compared to the rest of the states I don't think it is a big suprise! Solar should be abundant there as well.
Bigamus Sophomore Author Kansas Posts:207 Points:466,760 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:11:31 AM	Ignore Bigamus Report Abuse
	The car will cost you twice as much purchase.
VTROCK Sophomore Author Detroit Posts:181 Points:56,330 Joined:Sep 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:05:19 AM	Ignore VTROCK Report Abuse
	Hey this is great. Now if they only had electric cars to charge at these stations.
roadrunnerMO All-Star Author Kansas Posts:546 Points:140,670 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:04:46 AM	Ignore roadrunnerMO Report Abuse
	Thanks for all the info. Nonetheless, it is using alternative energy to gasoline to power 'em.
spheremaker1 All-Star Author Arizona Posts:516 Points:398,465 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:04:45 AM	Ignore spheremaker1 Report Abuse
	again I ask... how do they generate electricity?? derived from crude???
TrixieMugsy Champion Author Colorado Springs Posts:5,598 Points:1,074,545 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:04:40 AM	Ignore TrixieMugsy Report Abuse
	Hooray for Hawaii!
Wizrd03 Sophomore Author Illinois Posts:231 Points:69,750 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:02:19 AM	Ignore Wizrd03 Report Abuse
	VO1ONE, As an engineer working in the utility sector you're kidding yourself if you think all charging will be done off peak. The Hawaii article calls for recharging stations, which most will assume are metered plug-in stations to recharge. You're also kidding if you think a 330V, 500# battery pack is something that can be changed out by someone other than a trained technician over a couple hour period on today's hybrid design. I can't imagine the automakers setting up a battery pack like your laptop for an attendant to swap out. Forget about a warranty also. Renewable energy sources are nice but not dependable. A 100 megawat wind farm's annual average output is a measly 31 megawatts unless built in Washington DC where the hot air may get it up to 35 megawatts. Here in the midwest where a large wind investment is being made the hotter it gets the less the wind blows, just when you need the power the most. Again the taxpayers are paying for wind farm generation credits just to make it somewhat competitive.
SUPPER Sophomore Author San Bernardino Posts:233 Points:506,715 Joined:Dec 2004	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:01:45 AM	Ignore SUPPER Report Abuse
	no need
jdbgn Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:3,654 Points:595,100 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 10:01:21 AM	Ignore jdbgn Report Abuse
	Another waste of tax payer money. Where is the demand?
BartBuzz Veteran Author Atlanta Posts:421 Points:213,160 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:59:32 AM	Ignore BartBuzz Report Abuse
	I hope this works. As more and more plug-ins hit the road, every state will need to do the same. But I expect here on he mainland it will be 10 years before the demand is there.
dagas1 Veteran Author Orange County Posts:369 Points:114,270 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:59:22 AM	Ignore dagas1 Report Abuse
	The electric car stations at the train parking lot when I commuted last year went unused.
SeerLV All-Star Author Las Vegas Posts:762 Points:174,640 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:59:16 AM	Ignore SeerLV Report Abuse
	Electric is better than oil
throttle Champion Author Maryland Posts:4,825 Points:1,068,330 Joined:Jul 2004	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:58:27 AM	Ignore throttle Report Abuse
	Good questions, armstrmb.
armstrmb Champion Author Houston Posts:2,377 Points:523,620 Joined:Jun 2007	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:57:22 AM	Ignore armstrmb Report Abuse
	How many electric cars are there in Hawaii? If there are a bunch, do they also have a "low-powered vehicle" lane where it is safe to drive these things in?
jaysun420 Sophomore Author Kansas City Posts:188 Points:47,735 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:56:38 AM	Ignore jaysun420 Report Abuse
	exactly! yesterdays...
hank1326 All-Star Author Los Angeles Posts:759 Points:173,255 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:55:47 AM	Ignore hank1326 Report Abuse
	Good to see that we are exploring alternate energy options. Meanwhile, keep on conserving.
timwil Champion Author Arkansas Posts:2,585 Points:539,630 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:53:32 AM	Ignore timwil Report Abuse
	old news
seville04 Veteran Author Albuquerque Posts:476 Points:588,700 Joined:Sep 2004	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:53:18 AM	Ignore seville04 Report Abuse
	love this.
jjulson All-Star Author North Dakota Posts:950 Points:337,350 Joined:Mar 2007	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:53:17 AM	Ignore jjulson Report Abuse
	Interesting to watch and see what happens.
Chazzer Champion Author Nevada Posts:8,315 Points:1,773,285 Joined:May 2002	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:53:00 AM	Ignore Chazzer Report Abuse
	Wasn't this yesterdays news?
Wizrd03 Sophomore Author Illinois Posts:231 Points:69,750 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:51:00 AM	Ignore Wizrd03 Report Abuse
	Bluebird1 - you can't drive a hybrid in Ontario? or just a pure electric? Your political leaders certainly have their head up their a***s!
VO1ONE Champion Author Akron Posts:1,036 Points:179,315 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:50:51 AM	Ignore VO1ONE Report Abuse
	Wow. A lot of people commenting without reading the article. NO, they will not have a flat screen TV for you to watch at the stations because you will "fill up" quicker than it takes for you to pump your car full of gasoline. How? Because the electric cars that will use these stations have removable battery packs and when you stop at the station, they exchange your exhausted battery for a charged one then off you go! NO, you will not have to pay for a $8k battery in 2-4 years. The price you pay at the station not only covers the electricity used to charge the batteries and station maintenance but also the costs of the batteries themselves. The stations will be responsible for phasing out the dead ones and replacing them with new ones. NO, this will not tax the power grid. The project calls for 100% renewable power sources and charges at off peak hours. It's an interesting project. It's bound for California, too. You all should read more about it before making premature judgements. http://www.betterplace.com and to Plumb37, YES I'm sure Quebec will be more than happy to sell you as much of LABRADOR's electricity as you want, keeping all the profits to themselves.
10pennypincher All-Star Author St. Louis Posts:532 Points:240,725 Joined:Jan 2007	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:50:31 AM	Ignore 10pennypincher Report Abuse
	good news!!
eaglev Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:1,217 Points:377,775 Joined:Jul 2005	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:49:35 AM	Ignore eaglev Report Abuse
	solor panels are heavy and not cost effective to use on a car right now. Needs more delelopement time.
94Vol Rookie Author Nashville Posts:54 Points:17,405 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:49:07 AM	Ignore 94Vol Report Abuse
	Sounds good! What we need to create is a car that is solar as well as wind powered. Solar could be used for the start but once you get rolling it could convert the wind into energy! Might be something that works just remember that I said it first!
andyrew Veteran Author Baltimore Posts:324 Points:110,430 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:48:23 AM	Ignore andyrew Report Abuse
	i agree that hawaii is a great place to test something like this. you're on an island, how far can you go? you'll never be too far away from someplace to recharge. but what's more, with all the sun they get... build solar panels into the car. when you stop at the beach, or park at your hotel or in your driveway... you won't even have to plug in. let the panels help recharge your car. as youre driving, let them help recharge. why has no one thot of this yet?
Yonkers111 Champion Author Scranton Posts:3,378 Points:256,635 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:48:15 AM	Ignore Yonkers111 Report Abuse
	Not when they compare the cost per mile with gasoline.
JPGKC Champion Author Tampa Posts:3,396 Points:614,675 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:47:45 AM	Ignore JPGKC Report Abuse
	They don't travel that far so it works for them.
TeachR06 Champion Author Raleigh Posts:1,219 Points:521,685 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:47:09 AM	Ignore TeachR06 Report Abuse
	sounds like they're moving forward ahead of the rest of the mainland.
Zinnoil Champion Author Illinois Posts:13,540 Points:1,562,295 Joined:May 2004	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:47:05 AM	Ignore Zinnoil Report Abuse
	You can drive the island in 30 minutes.
Lukus Veteran Author Halifax Posts:483 Points:111,485 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:47:02 AM	Ignore Lukus Report Abuse
	Maybe some cities in the US will make electric cars a requirement.
stadlgi All-Star Author Akron Posts:971 Points:881,810 Joined:Jun 2004	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:46:59 AM	Ignore stadlgi Report Abuse
	Can't you just plug the thing in at your home at night? I would think that electric cars or roadable golf carts would make the service station a thing of the past. Meanwhile, make road worthy and road legal the Japanese Kei mini-trucks.
Dennis783 Champion Author Wisconsin Posts:5,828 Points:1,167,520 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:42:33 AM	Ignore Dennis783 Report Abuse
	It could work well there
kdhloretto Veteran Author Twin Cities Posts:287 Points:275,800 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:41:36 AM	Ignore kdhloretto Report Abuse
	Electric cars are definitely the way of the future, and it makes sense to experiment in Hawaii. But for the rest of us, we better be willing to accept a much larger electric infrastructure throughout our country. There is nowhere near enough generating capacity, or distribution lines to support an electric driven transportation economy. There has hardly been any new power plants, or major distribution line built in the last generation, because "some" people don't want them in their backyard. Well that mentality has to change. (This is one case where "Eminent Domain" laws should be used) Also, we better accept many new nuclear plants if we want enough low cost power to really drive the country. Solar & wind might someday be enough, but I don't see that in my lifetime. Fossil fuels (oil & coal) will still be the dominant energy source for at least the next 25 (or more) years. (Keep exploring & drilling) I keep repeating this but, encourage your kids & grandkids to become scientists and engineers. We need more in the USA.
FordF2502001 Veteran Author Mississippi Posts:257 Points:81,250 Joined:Sep 2008	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:41:13 AM	Ignore FordF2502001 Report Abuse
	I would like to see the 'big' 3 propose to make Hawaii the testing ground for electric fleets. with all the rental use there it would be perfect to prove they will do what it takes to survive in the future.
MarkJM Veteran Author Little Rock Posts:268 Points:541,160 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:41:07 AM	Ignore MarkJM Report Abuse
	Can't wait to see how it works out.
bluebird1 Champion Author Toronto Posts:7,594 Points:1,544,970 Joined:May 2004	Message Posted: 12/4/2008 9:40:53 AM	Ignore bluebird1 Report Abuse
	Hawaii's to be commended...here in Ontario, they aren't even allowed on the roads yet, even with 3 Cdn car co's & one right in Ontario itself. Can't figure out why politicians will allow electric scooters on the road but not cars.

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