In addition to the Wind Energy Tax Credit that was extended by Congress on September 23, 2004 until 206, also extended was a 10 percent tax credit for qualified electric vehicles.
Electric vehicle contacts:
Coming in 2003--Ford Escape (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) SUV size
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles
We believe a combination of hydrogen fuel cell and other types of electric vehicles should power America’s vehicles within the next 20 years. Fuel cells use stored hydrogen and oxygen from the air to create electricity, and the only emission from engines they power is water vapor. There should be a crash program to replace our current fleet (we get about 10 million vehicles replaced each year). Of course, many Automakers and Americans are going in the opposite direction and are producing and buying sports utility vehicles for their bulk and perceived safety. The Bush administration recently announced that it is promoting hydrogen-based fuel cells to power the cars of the future.
There is no infrastructure in place to provide hydrogen to a wide range of drivers. Infrastructure includes hydrogen gas pumps, vehicle development, design and manufacture, onboard hydrogen storage and delivery modules. Fuel cell vehicles are not expected to be on the road in significant numbers for at least 10 years. However, establishing a fleet of vehicles that would run on fuel produced in limitless quantities at an on-site station (U.S. Postal Service) or on vehicles that can be refueled or have low range requirements (taxi cabs) could be a competitive economic investment soon.
In principle, a fuel cell operates like a battery. Unlike a battery, a fuel cell does not run down or require recharging. It will produce energy in the form of electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied.
A fuel cell consists of two electrodes sandwiched around an electrolyte. Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen over the other, generating electricity, water and heat.
Hydrogen fuel is fed into the "anode" of the fuel cell. Oxygen (or air) enters the fuel cell through the cathode. Encouraged by a catalyst, the hydrogen atom splits into a proton and an electron, which take different paths to the cathode. The proton passes through the electrolyte. The electrons create a separate current that can be utilized before they return to the cathode, to be reunited with the hydrogen and oxygen in a molecule of water. A fuel cell system which includes a "fuel reformer" can utilize the hydrogen from any hydrocarbon fuel - from natural gas to methanol, and even gasoline. Since the fuel cell relies on chemistry and not combustion, emissions from this type of a system would still be much smaller than emissions from the cleanest fuel combustion processes.
The Bush administration is turning its back on automobile fuel economy standards and does not appear to have a practical plan for the next 10 years. The auto industry has steadily resisted government-mandated increases in fuel economy. Government standards require each automaker's cars to average 27.5 miles a gallon and light trucks — including pickups, minivans and sport utility vehicles — to average 20.7 miles a gallon. The average fuel economy of cars and trucks for sale in the United States now gets the worst gas mileage in 21 years.
The Bush administration decided to kill a $2 billion fuel economy program being developed by the Clinton/Gore administration. The carmakers all developed prototype vehicles that got at least 70 miles a gallon, and the project nurtured advances in aerodynamics and lighter composite materials now used in auto manufacturing. But none of the Big Three came close to commercial production of an 80-mile-a-gallon car. The Bush administration's FreedomCAR (Cooperative Automotive Research) program, replaces the Clinton administration's Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), which began in 1993
Fuel-cell powered vehicles, such as this prototype from Daimler Benz, may soon be providing cleaner, more energy efficient transportation.
Hydrogen is the ecologically and technologically logical fuel right now for fuel cell cars, but it could take a long time to get a consumer distribution system in place. Hydrogen will require an entire new fuel distribution infrastructure. Hydrogen gas stations would require no fuel deliveries if electricity is produced from photovoltaic cells and water is converted to hydrogen to recharge their storage tanks. Hydrogen can be made from electricity and water. Hydrogen fuel can be ecologically produced in limitless quantities. Distributing and stockpiling huge amounts of highly pressurized hydrogen should not be that much different from gasoline.
Hydrogen is explosive and is perceived as being dangerous. Hydrogen is stored under great pressure, 3600 and 5000 PSI in the big tanks, 7000 PSI in the smaller distribution tanks. When hydrogen burns, it leaves no trace in the air, except for a bit of water vapor. Most of the supposed problems with hydrogen are based on a public perception that it is much more dangerous that it really is. The only real problem is the pressure that's involved, and that's not a problem with proper tanking systems. Hydrogen would ignite easier than gasoline but the flame would go upwards and wouldn’t saturate and burn like gasoline. Notwithstanding the cost of building an entire fuel infrastructure for hydrogen, the biggest problem hydrogen fuel has may end up being a public perception that it is too dangerous to handle. People think of the Hindenberg and Hydrogen bombs.
| The eventual goal should be to solve the problems associated with our nation's reliance on petroleum to power our cars and trucks. The United States, with only 5 percent of the world's population, consumes 25 percent of its oil, mostly in the form of gasoline. |
Electric Vehicles ARE America's Future
America's 230 million residents need to be convinced that our 200 million petroleum powered vehicles need to be replaced with electric vehicles within the next 20 years. We cannot continue to use 18 million barrels of oil every single day. We cannot afford the risks associated with importing half of our daily requirement, especially from questionable and potentially dangerous sources. We do not need to go to war over oil.
If you have to have an SUV, get an electric RAV4.
Asthma is killing urban and suburban residents. Smog from cars is a very large contributor to this problem. Approximately 150 million Americans are breathing unhealthy air. We can maintain our rush hour rate and achieve clean air during our summers with electric vehicles. A new Clean Air Act should strive to achieve the guarantee that Americans will always breathe air that they cannot see.
Hopefully, the next Microsoft or AOL/TimeWarner will be an electric vehicle company. Hopefully, small business opportunities will flourish within this framework. Hopefully, America will pursue this goal with military zeal.
Toyota Kills RAV4 EV Program
January 11 - Toyota announced it will discontinue production of it's RAV4 Electric Vehicle in the spring of 2003. Although there was a waiting list for the RAV4 EV and production was limited to 360 units per year Toyota cited low sales as the reason for unplugging the program.
In a statement from their website the company said, "Sales levels were very low. As a result, no business case could be made for continuing sales of the RAV4 EV at these volumes."
