Monday, December 13, 2010

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

First Nissan Leaf Delivered to U.S. Costumer

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 02:54 PM PST

So begins the age of the mass market electric vehicle. Over the weekend, Nissan made its first delivery of the all-electric Leaf to a man in the San Francisco Bay area.

Olivier Chalouhi took delivery of his Leaf, the first regular ol' consumer to take delivery of a Nissan Leaf. He says he plans on driving the all-electric vehicle, which has a range of between 60 and 120 miles. Chalouhi, a 31-year old entrepreneur, just happened to be the first person to place his order for the Nissan Leaf back in August. He's just a regular tech industry guy, rather than some celebrity, who happened to take delivery of a car that could change the world.  He has the Level 2 charger installed in his home, though he plans to drive around just 20 miles a day with his Leaf.

It certainly is a nice story, and a nice start to the more than 20,000 Americans still waiting on their Leaf. Nissan has said it will have to delay the rollout of the Leaf in certain markets to give them a chance to fulfill demand in other markets. Reservations for the Leaf reopen in early 2011. It's the beginning of the mass market electrc car revolution, friends. Check out our Editor’s write-up of the Leaf’s delivery over at Plug-In Cars.

Source: Plug-In Cars | Nissan

Sail-Powered Ships Poised to Make Comback?

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 08:39 AM PST

A far cry from what the powerful and important vessels they once were, sail boats are little more than recreational toys for most people. But at least one company thinks they can be effective cargo ships once again.

Britain's B9 Energy, an energy company with an emphasis on wind, is designing and building what they say will be a carbon-neutral shipping sailboat. Due to hit European waters in 2012, the wind-powered freight will feature self-adjusting kite sails that could provide up to 60% of the power needed for the ship. The other 40% will come from a biofuel engine that can also run on propane. The ship will also be made from recycled metal and utilize the "Sky Sail," basically a giant kite that helps tow the boat along.

When it sets sail, the freighter will have a total cargo capacity of about 9,000 tons, less than 1/10th that of long-haul super freighters that carry cargo across the Atlantic. That is however ten times more than comparable sailing ships from over a century ago, and this freighter is being designed for shipping through European waters at first. In other words, they don't have far to go, and currently there are about 1,500 cargo ships of similar size operating in European waters. Shipping is responsible for as much as 4% of the world’s total shipping emissions, and in European waters especially that pollution drifts over major population bases. I’m sure many coastal residents would appreciate the cleaner air.

There is skepticism regarding the cost effectiveness of such a vessel, since it carries substantially less cargo than bigger shipping freighters. The wind is free though, and if the B9 boat can get more than half of its propulsion from a free energy source, they will save a lot of money on fuel. It won't happen overnight, but from a business perspective, I don't see why shipping companies wouldn't want wind-powered ships. It would just more money in their pockets.

Source: CNN

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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