Tag: plugs

Is the Grid Ready for Electric Cars?

  • Utilities will work with customers to hook up to new "smart grid" technology that can program when each car starts recharging. (Photo by Steve Carmody)

Some people are worried that
lots of plug-in electric cars
will cause brownouts or blackouts.
At least two automakers will have
plug-in electrics on the market
next year. But utility companies
say, don’t worry. They’re ready.
Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

Some people are worried that
lots of plug-in electric cars
will cause brownouts or blackouts.
At least two automakers will have
plug-in electrics on the market
next year. But utility companies
say, don’t worry. They’re ready.
Tracy Samilton reports:

A lot of electric power plants in the U.S. sit idle between 9 p.m. and noon
each day.

Ed Kjear is head of Electric Transportation for Southern
California Edison. He says, as long as people plug in their electric cars
during those off-peak hours.

“160, 170 million cars could connect
to the grid tomorrow
and we wouldn’t have to build new power plants to meet that load.”

At first, just a few thousand people will own plug-in electric cars at
first. Utilities will work with these customers to hook up to new “smart
grid” technology that can program when each car starts recharging.

“The customer will say, ‘look I need
the car fueled by
6 or 7 tomorrow morning. You know, have at it.'”

Kjear says the technology will be easy to install and use by the time most
of us shift from gasoline to electricity to fuel our cars.

For The
Environment Report, I’m Tracy Samilton.

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Keeping Phone Chargers Out of Landfills

  • A one-size-fits-all phone charger could cut down on the electronic waste generated by cell phones (Photo by Shawn Allee)

That search for the right cell
phone charger should soon become
a thing of the past. Cell phone
makers have agreed to come up with
a universal adaptor. Julie Grant
reports that that could save tons
of landfill space:

Transcript

That search for the right cell phone charger should soon become a thing of the past. Cell phone makers have agreed to come up with a universal adaptor. Julie Grant reports that that could save tons of landfill space:

Top cell phone makers – including Nokia, Samsung and Apple – have struck a deal to standardize handset chargers for European consumers by next year.

And the U.S. wireless industry association says Americans will likely see a universal charger before 2012.

That means when you buy a new phone, you won’t need to buy a new charger. You’ll be able keep using the one-size-fits-all charger.

Ted Scardamalia is with the technology analysis firm Portelligent. He says this is good for consumers – and the environment.

“If I have a charger that lasts for two or three or four phones, that’s two or three or four chargers I don’t have to recycle or put into a landfill.”

Last year, an estimated 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide, according to University of Southern Queensland data reported by industry umbrella group GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association), generating up to 82,000 tonnes of chargers.

With concerns over the level of waste generated by redundant or outmoded chargers, European legislators had, prior to Monday’s agreement, considered forcing manufacturers to adopt universal technology.

For The Environment Report, I’m Julie Grant.

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Is There Hope for Hydrogen?

  • Plug Power does sell these dishwasher-sized fuel cells for your home, but in places like India (Photo courtesy of Plug Power)

Researchers and start-up companies are looking for new ways to power the country. There’s been a lot of hope for hydrogen. But as Mark Brush reports there have been some bumps for companies on the road to the new hydrogen economy:

Transcript

Researchers and start-up companies are looking for new ways to power the country. There’s been a lot of hope for hydrogen. But as Mark Brush reports there have been some bumps for companies on the road to the new hydrogen economy:

There has been a lot of excitement about hydrogen fuel cells for awhile now.

Ten years ago we talked to a rep at a company called Plug Power. He was excited about selling a dishwasher-sized fuel cells that could power and heat your home.

“The only barrier to fuel cells is that people don’t know about them.”

Turns out, that wasn’t the only barrier.

It’s expensive to make these things, and the units weren’t as efficient at heating as they hoped they would be.

But the company is still around, and they are still hopeful about fuel cells for your home.

Andy Marsh is the president of Plug Power.

“So the industry hasn’t moved ahead as rapidly as we would like. It sometimes takes many more years to makes some progress than you had originally hoped.”

Marsh says his company is selling fuel cells in places like India, but he says fuel cells for our homes in the US are probably still three to five years away.

For The Environment Report, I’m Mark Brush.

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