Hydrogen powered BMW's

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Jun 6 2006, 04:20 PM) [snapback]266935[/snapback]</div>

Good point. Setting up the infrastructure to support hydrogen is very difficult to imagine. The first companies to make the infrastructure investment will be losing money big time until a critical mass of customers forms. Even if the US had money to spend, Government investment would be lobbied to death by the very well healed companies who would 'lose' in a hydrogen economy. Eventually it may happen, but I am not counting on seeing a conversion to hydrogen powered vechicles in my lifetime.

Does anyone see a way where it could realistically happen in the next 25 or so years?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Jun 6 2006, 04:20 PM) [snapback]266935[/snapback]</div>

In Southern California:
Burbank
Diamond Bar
LAX
Ontario
Riverside
Santa Ana
Santa Monica
Sunline Transit Agency in Thousand Palms
Torrance
UC Irvine

source.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Jun 6 2006, 04:20 PM) [snapback]266935[/snapback]</div>

I count 73.
List updated 2/06.
(that would still make for horrendously long lines . . . if you could drive from one station to the next. :huh: )
http://www.fuelcells.org/info/charts/h2fuelingstations.pdf

 

Can we get a count of the electrical outlets in the US? World?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Jun 10 2006, 12:46 PM) [snapback]269259[/snapback]</div>

DANG! I didn't take the picture!!!
Just this week, I was in downtown Sacramento and had my digital camera with me. I walked past three sets of electric car plug-in recharging parking spaces which were occupied by gas powered cars.
Darelldd, do you rely on these places to recharge? Are you finding them occupied with gas cars? Are those rechargers still in operating condition?
(P.S. I know darelldd is referring to ALL electrical outlets, not just the type I mentioned)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Jun 10 2006, 03:39 PM) [snapback]269305[/snapback]</div>

Please take a picture next time so I can submit it to our database. If you're ever curious where the public chargers are, the world's most complete list is here - maintained by EV volunteers. In which lot did you see these?

Yes, we do often rely on those public chargers - certainly out of town visitors do! For the most part, we the drivers also PAY those installations, signage, etc. We also pay for a parking permit sticker which allows enforcement to easily distinguish us from gas cars. So after all this, having a gas car blocking a charger is a REAL pisser. When we find them regularly "ICED" we try to get the owner of the property to enforce the parking better. I don't know of any installed chargers in Sacramento that are NOT functioning. When they are broken (usually vandalized) we try to repair them quickly, or have them and the signage removed.

I print these on "citation yellow" stock, and slip it under the wiper of the offending cars with just the Parking Violation part showing. http://www.darelldd.com/ev/docs/flyers/ev_parking_only.doc

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Jun 10 2006, 04:26 PM) [snapback]269316[/snapback]</div>

It was site 95814_11.
There are no pictures on the web site, and the map has it on the wrong side of 13th street.
If I get the chance, I'll take pictures.
The parking spaces were definitely ICEd, and I don't think they were valet parked . . . but maybe I missed that nuance.

Just out of curiosity, I walked over to UC Davis Medical Center.
95817_8 & _9 are there and look in good condition.
I'm surprised there are THAT many EV recharging locations in the Sacramento area . . . but I guess with CAL-EPA, SMUD and others, it makes sense.
Makes me wish I had an EV or plug in Prius.

P.S. Are you within the area of Yolo County in which the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is expected to take over electric service from PG&E? Will that make much difference for you and your setup?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Jun 12 2006, 08:44 PM) [snapback]270349[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for the details! Would be great to have pictures to add to the site. In fact, I'm headed up there on Wednesday with the Rav so I'll try to take a look myself.

Yup, there are plenty of chargers up there. And the other secret is that EVs don't only get free charging at any of those public chargers - they also enjoy free parking in any city lot. It is incentives like these that would really work to clean local air - if there were cars to comply! I would NEVER consider driving a gas car into Sacramento when I can park and charge my EV for free!

Yes, I'm in Yolo, and yes SMUD is trying to "annex" us. As far as I can tell, we'll all be much better off moving away from PG&E. PG&E wants to keep us WAY to badly for them to not be over-charging for their services, if you know what I mean. Likely my PV array won't "pay" me as well in energy credits, but that's only because the overall cost of power will be so much lower, so I'm not going to complain about that!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Jun 8 2006, 02:26 PM) [snapback]268258[/snapback]</div>

Because a few people are making a lot of money off of oil, and with that money they can buy political power, and with that political power they can manipulate the market to block the introduction of competing technologies.

For you and me it's about sustainability. For the people who make the decisions in politics and the economy, it's about short-term profits. I.e. greed.