Thursday, March 27, 2008
Will Too Many Hybrids Charging Crash the Grid?
A concern has recently been raised that too many hybrid vehicles plugged in and charging at the same time will crash the grid. Duke Energy and the smart grid company, GridPoint both reported in statements issued today that they have found a way for people to both charge their hybrid vehicles without diminishing the power output from the grid.
Both Duke Energy and Gridpoint said they have been testing GridPoint's SmartGrid Platform device to charge up cars after 10 p.m. with positive results. And yes, timing is everything when you're talking about charging up your hybrid.
If the demand for hybrids is at the peak (which is a worst case scenario energy consumption-wise) the United States would need to construct roughly 160 new power plants to handle the usage of hybrid vehicles. And that's if people charged their hybrids up at 5 p.m., which is the time of peak daily power demand on the electricity grid.
Waiting until five hours later at 10 p.m. or later, the hybrids would be charged using smart grid technologies and would mean the United States would only need to add between one and eight additional power plants to handle the demand for power.
"Smart charging is an essential capability for Duke and all electric utilities as PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) enter the market. Through this capability, we're able to reduce stress on the grid during peak periods and keep rates low," said David Mohler, chief technology officer of Duke Energy, in a statement. Mohler joined the board of GridPoint last October.
Previously, in an interview with CNET News.com, GridPoint's Chief Operating Officer Karl Lewis stated that U.S. utilities are not prepared for the stress that the anticipated growth of plug-in hybrids will put on the grid. Lewis said, "If suddenly you have 20,000 or 30,000 rechargeable cars--with maybe 50,000 in a few years--plugging into the grid at night, utilities have to react to that or you'll have serious problems," Lewis said in an October interview. "You see plug-in hybrids becoming a big issue; it's a tidal wave coming at utilities."
Hybrids are a great step forward for clean energy, however our utilities need to catch up and catch up fast or we're all going to be left in the dark.
Both Duke Energy and Gridpoint said they have been testing GridPoint's SmartGrid Platform device to charge up cars after 10 p.m. with positive results. And yes, timing is everything when you're talking about charging up your hybrid.
If the demand for hybrids is at the peak (which is a worst case scenario energy consumption-wise) the United States would need to construct roughly 160 new power plants to handle the usage of hybrid vehicles. And that's if people charged their hybrids up at 5 p.m., which is the time of peak daily power demand on the electricity grid.
Waiting until five hours later at 10 p.m. or later, the hybrids would be charged using smart grid technologies and would mean the United States would only need to add between one and eight additional power plants to handle the demand for power.
"Smart charging is an essential capability for Duke and all electric utilities as PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) enter the market. Through this capability, we're able to reduce stress on the grid during peak periods and keep rates low," said David Mohler, chief technology officer of Duke Energy, in a statement. Mohler joined the board of GridPoint last October.
Previously, in an interview with CNET News.com, GridPoint's Chief Operating Officer Karl Lewis stated that U.S. utilities are not prepared for the stress that the anticipated growth of plug-in hybrids will put on the grid. Lewis said, "If suddenly you have 20,000 or 30,000 rechargeable cars--with maybe 50,000 in a few years--plugging into the grid at night, utilities have to react to that or you'll have serious problems," Lewis said in an October interview. "You see plug-in hybrids becoming a big issue; it's a tidal wave coming at utilities."
Hybrids are a great step forward for clean energy, however our utilities need to catch up and catch up fast or we're all going to be left in the dark.
Labels: buy a hybrid, hybrid, hybrid vehicles, hybrids, hydrogen, hydrogen hybrid
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Let's Talk Hydrogen Hybrids....Safe or Not?
I don't know about you, but when someone says "Hydrogen Hybrid" I immediately get this image of the Hindenburg and someone screaming, "Oh the humanity!". A little dramatic, maybe - but seriously how safe is hydrogen technology? I decided to find out what people far more scientific than me thought.
The Mazda Corporation has announced plans to increase domestic production of hydrogen-electric hybrids by a full 15%. Mazda hasn't released full plans but intends to increase production and focus on green vehicles as a major product beginning in March 2008.
The Army is even going green. MSNBC reported that the U.S. Army's vehicle research center is partnering with a private company to fuse technologies, converting a Ford Escape Hybrid to run on hydrogen instead of gasoline. The idea is to start using hydrogen with internal combustion engines because the alternative, the hydrogen fuel cells - is still cost prohibitive.
So how safe is this technology? I decided to dig around and see what testing has been done and what I could find out.
The U.S. Department of Energy actually had my initial Hindenburg question on their website. And here is their answer. "In general, hydrogen is neither more nor less inherently hazardous than gasoline, propane, or methane. As for the Hindenburg, a recent study found the paint used on the blimp's skin was to blame since it contained the same component as rocket fuel. An electrical discharge ignited the skin. While the hydrogen gas used to float the blimp did ignite, it burned upward and away from the people on board and actually provided a slow, safe descent for those who stayed on board."
And I found some interesting data that Honda had conducted crash tests on hybrids with hydrogen fuel cells at varying speeds and impact angles. The hydrogen fuel cells are hydrogen packed under pressure - however the there was no fire or explosion in a single incident in these test impacts. Nissan has done similar testing with the same results.
Okay another scenario, someone is at the pump filling up their vehicle and they forget to put the hose back up and drive off with it still attached to their vehicle. According to the development team at Honda, human capacity for making mistakes has been factored into the design of the commercial pumps already. The filling hose is designed to detach and seal in the event that the driver speeds away while still attached to the station. and extra electrical grounding will prevent static discharges and there will also be hydrogen leak detectors installed with an automatic venting system to prevent potentially explosive build ups of the gas.
I'm definitely feeling better about hydrogen hybrids by a long shot - but I think the technology is still clearly in its infancy. Getting away from our dependence on oil is a big push forward. Do you think hydrogen is the right direction to go for automobiles? Leave a comment!
The Mazda Corporation has announced plans to increase domestic production of hydrogen-electric hybrids by a full 15%. Mazda hasn't released full plans but intends to increase production and focus on green vehicles as a major product beginning in March 2008.
The Army is even going green. MSNBC reported that the U.S. Army's vehicle research center is partnering with a private company to fuse technologies, converting a Ford Escape Hybrid to run on hydrogen instead of gasoline. The idea is to start using hydrogen with internal combustion engines because the alternative, the hydrogen fuel cells - is still cost prohibitive.
So how safe is this technology? I decided to dig around and see what testing has been done and what I could find out.
The U.S. Department of Energy actually had my initial Hindenburg question on their website. And here is their answer. "In general, hydrogen is neither more nor less inherently hazardous than gasoline, propane, or methane. As for the Hindenburg, a recent study found the paint used on the blimp's skin was to blame since it contained the same component as rocket fuel. An electrical discharge ignited the skin. While the hydrogen gas used to float the blimp did ignite, it burned upward and away from the people on board and actually provided a slow, safe descent for those who stayed on board." And I found some interesting data that Honda had conducted crash tests on hybrids with hydrogen fuel cells at varying speeds and impact angles. The hydrogen fuel cells are hydrogen packed under pressure - however the there was no fire or explosion in a single incident in these test impacts. Nissan has done similar testing with the same results.
Okay another scenario, someone is at the pump filling up their vehicle and they forget to put the hose back up and drive off with it still attached to their vehicle. According to the development team at Honda, human capacity for making mistakes has been factored into the design of the commercial pumps already. The filling hose is designed to detach and seal in the event that the driver speeds away while still attached to the station. and extra electrical grounding will prevent static discharges and there will also be hydrogen leak detectors installed with an automatic venting system to prevent potentially explosive build ups of the gas.
I'm definitely feeling better about hydrogen hybrids by a long shot - but I think the technology is still clearly in its infancy. Getting away from our dependence on oil is a big push forward. Do you think hydrogen is the right direction to go for automobiles? Leave a comment!
Labels: buy a hybrid, hybrid, hybrid vehicles, hybrids, hydrogen, hydrogen hybrid
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