September 28, 2009
By: robert alan
Category: Uncategorized
TUCSON, Arizona — University of Arizona Parking & Transportation Services reports they love their new parking enforcement vehicle, a solar-electric truck from ZAP that went into service this week on the Tucson campus.
PTS says the main attraction for the new electric vehicle is that it gets part of its charge from the sun. According to statements in the campus newspaper, the Xebra was purchased to replace a 1998 gas engine pickup. The University says it has not purchased a gas vehicle since 2003 after implementing a purchasing policy for alternative fuels.
“We are promoting alternative transportation,” said PTS Marketing Manager Bill Davidson. “Maintenance costs are low and, of course, there are no emissions. The response from the community has been fantastic.”
The Xebra is a 100 percent battery electric vehicle, using neither gasoline nor a mixture of gasoline and electricity like many hybrids. While emissions are created in the generation of electricity, ZAP estimates that the Xebra can reduce emissions by 90 percent compared to gasoline vehicles. They say the solar panels can power the vehicle for several miles on a sunny day and help to reduce emissions even further.
Many fleets are turning to electric vehicles because their low fueling and maintenance costs can help save money. The Zap Truck costs 3 cents per mile to operate and was designed to be well-suited for University Campus settings. The truck also converts to a flatbed or a dump bed.
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September 28, 2009
By: robert alan
Category: Uncategorized
Lisa Lillelund asks, “Is popularity and dominance of electric cars in the United States just a vision of the future?”
“You may be surprised to learn that in 1899 and 1900 electric cars outsold gasoline and steam-powered cars. According to The History of Electric Vehicles found online at www.about.com, “Electric vehicles had many advantages over their competitors in the early 1900s. They did not have the vibration, smell and noise associated with gasoline cars. Changing gears on gasoline cars was the most difficult part of driving, while electric vehicles did not require gear changes.”
From 1900 through the 1920s, the electric car remained popular, however some discoveries and new inventions eventually led
ZAP! All Electric Vehicle with Solar Panel
to an increased popularity in gasoline-powered cars. The discovery of crude oil in Texas helped reduce the price of gasoline. The assembly line and mass production of the internal combustion engine implemented by Henry Ford made gasoline powered cars less expensive than electric cars. The invention of the electric starter took away the unpleasant task of needing to crank up a gasoline-powered car. All of these factors led to the decline of the electric car.
Today many electric vehicles are still successfully used in transportation with electric trains, buses, trams, forklifts, motorcycles and scooters.
What are the advantages of electric vehicles?
In my opinion, there are two very important reasons we should support and encourage the adoption of electric vehicles throughout the world.
One: Electric vehicles dramatically reduce the amount of pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions into the air. Obviously the best type of electric power supplied to the cars is electricity with zero emissions coming from renewables such as wind, solar, and hydro rather than coal-powered plants. Israel will build solar farms to supply the energy to the electric cars, while Denmark will use wind power as a source. The good news, however, is that even if we use power plants fired by coal, this will still reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by an average of around 50 percent compared to gasoline powered cars.
Two: The move to electric cars will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and our need to import oil from other nations. We are a very energy intensive nation with most households having a couple cars, a washer, dryer, air conditioning, heat, and lots of electronics at home such as TVs and computers. Do we want to be held hostage to the oil from foreign countries as a necessity to keep our economy going? Do we want to be dependent on countries that may threaten our national security?”
For entire article visit; at www.wickedlocal.com
Lisa Lillelund is a regular columnist on the environment with the Beverly Citizen and a consultant on Clean Energy.
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