The announcement came on the one-year anniversary of President Obama's Executive Order 13514 on Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, which called on the federal government to lead by example toward a clean energy economy, as well as to reduce, measure, and report direct and indirect greenhouse gas pollution.
To gain momentum from the White House installation, DOE also released "Procuring Solar Energy: A Guide for Federal Facility Decision Makers" to support the use of solar energy throughout the federal government. See the DOE press release and the guide for procuring solar energy.
Electric Vehicles Initiative Launched
The International Energy Agency (IEA) joined China, France, Germany, Japan, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the US in launching the Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) on October 1 at the Paris Motor Show in France. The initiative will provide a platform for global cooperation on development and deployment of electric vehicles (EVs).
The EVI began at the Clean Energy Ministerial which was held in Washington, D.C., in July 2010; it was cemented during IEA's Advanced Vehicle Leadership Forum, a two-day roundtable on EVs and plug-ins that was held at the Paris Motor Show.
Countries participating in the EVI have agreed to promote EV demonstrations in urban areas and share the results; to share information on EV research and development programs; and to collect and share information on EV deployment targets, best practices, and policies. The participating countries will present more detailed plans at Electric Vehicle Symposium-25 in Shenzhen, China, in November, and initial EVI results are planned for presentations at the Shanghai Motor Show in April 2011. See the IEA press release.
The venue for launching the EVI was appropriate, as the Paris Motor Show featured a wide variety of EVs. Jaguar wowed crowds with the C-X75 concept vehicle, an electric supercar with a 560 mile range using two natural gas-fueled microturbines. The supercar draws on a lithium-ion battery pack to power 145 kW motors mounted on all four wheels, achieving 780 horsepower and 1,180 foot-pounds of torque.
Fisker Automotive unveiled the production version of its Karma, a premium plug-in hybrid that generates 300 kW of power and more than 981 foot-pounds of torque. The Karma has a 50 mile electric-only range that's extended to 300 miles with a turbocharged, four-cylinder engine. The engine drives a generator to power two 175 kW motors that are mounted to the rear differential.
Other electrified vehicles of interest include Hyundai's ix35 diesel-electric hybrid concept vehicle; Saab's first EV, the 9-3 ePower, which will undergo field trials next year; and a tiny three-seat EV concept vehicle from Kia Motors, called the POP. The Paris Motor Show is open to the public through October 17. See the
Paris Motor Show Web site and the press releases from
Jaguar,
Fisker Automotive,
Hyundai,
Saab, and
Kia.
