January 23, 2012
By Matthew L. Wald of The New York Times: Coda Automotive is supposed to start selling its electric sedan next month. On Friday, its parent company announced that it was also moving into a related line: stationary batteries for electricity storage.
Coda Holdings will make minor modifications to battery packs for its cars, which use Chinese-manufactured lithium iron phosphate cells, and sell them individually or grouped together — both for storing solar power when homeowners’ rooftop panels generate more than they use, and to help businesses reduce their peak loads. Business customers usually pay for electricity on the basis of their highest level of use.
Because the packs are designed for cars, they are already modular and thus easy to scale up or scale down. Coda plans to sell its sedan with a battery pack of 31 kilowatt-hours or 36 kilowatt-hours; both numbers are roughly what a suburban house uses per day. The stationary module will be 40 kilowatt-hours.
The batteries could also pay for themselves in places where peak-hour power costs more than off-peak power, the company says, although very few places have such “time of use” rates today.
Utilities could also use them as backup in areas where demand for electricity has grown and improvements in distribution lines would otherwise be needed. One reason for such growth is the need for juice for electric cars, which raises the idea that the batteries could be charged up in periods of low demand so that they could later be tapped into by car owners to charge similar batteries in the cars. Read more
December 7, 2009
Alaska has the opportunity to be a “first mover” in the commercialization of technologies like biomass gasification, tidal, and energy storage technologies, given our abundant resources and unique needs. However, to make progress in these areas Alaska must begin a concerted effort to support research and development like many other states, provinces and countries around the world are doing. An ‘Emerging Energy Technology Development Fund’ could give Alaska an advantage when competing with other states for federal funding programs for green industry and job development that are being launched by President Obama’s administration.
Senate Bill 150 would establish an emerging energy technology fund that would be administered by the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, a research branch of the University of Alaska. The fund, which would be financed by appropriations from the state legislature, federal appropriations, and contributions from other sources, would be available to utilities, independent power producers, local and tribal governments, Alaskan businesses, and non-profits. In order to receive grants or loans from the fund, the benefiting project would need to be for the research, development, or demonstration of a new energy or conservation technology or for the improvement of an existing technology, with the reasonable expectation that the technology would be commercially viable within 5 years.
Alaska can be a world leader in renewable energy. Call or email your legislator today to voice your opinion on this important issue.
July 20, 2009
July 13, 2009
In its continuing efforts to support the development and implementation of alternative and renewable energy projects in Alaska, the Denali Commission (Commission) is releasing up to $4 million towards alternative and renewable emerging energy technology and demonstration projects.
This is a competitive solicitation. Application deadline in August 7, 2009. Contact Jason Meyer This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at 271-1767 or Denali Daniels This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at 271-1189 for further information.
