1. PV/EV = Solar Power + Electric Vehicles
Sherry Boschert
San Francisco Electric Vehicle Association
How many have PV or EV?
How many plug in phone, camera, or PDA?
The grid is already there.
I’m not an engineer or technician. Will talk about how to fit an EV into your life, and why that’s a good idea.

2. The Future: Plug-in Hybrids
California Cars Initiative: Prius Plus
All-electric in city, and mpg overall.
Austin Energy – incentives, and recruiting advance order from 50 largest U.S. cities. Urge your SF supervisor to get us on board too.

3. History of EVs In the late 1890s, EVs out-sold gas cars 10 to 1.
In 1900, Evs, gas, and steam cars.
By 1915, innovation of mass-produced gas cars, plus electric starter for gas cars (eliminated hand crank), and lack of electrical grid outside cities led to gradual decline of Evs.

4. Conversions
1973 Arab Oil Embargo prompts EV conversions and a few electric car companies.
Right: 1980 VW Rabbit hatchback
Bought used, 2-seater, $4,000. Practical range 40 miles.
Range depends on what kind of batteries, and how many. Typical conversion uses simple lead-acid batteries (golf cart), cost about $1,100 to replace a 96-volt system like this one. Replace every 3-10 years, depending on how you drive. Plug into regular wall socket. Full charge, overnight, about 7-8 hours. Opportunity charging.
Added new batteries, sold to S.C. couple off-grid for $7,000 last fall.
In 1980s, oil prices eased, EVs and conversions stalled.

5. Fossil fuel costs
Extracting, transporting, refining and burning oil has bad consequences for human health and the environment.
In the 1990s, concerns about smog, global warming, and other environmental damage done by the fossil fuel industry re-ignited interest in EVs.
Explosion at a BP oil refinery in Texas killed at least 14 people and injured more than 100.

6. California takes the lead
Largest U.S. car market
Cost of lung cancer in CA: $5 billion/year (1990)
CARB sets mandate:
2% ZEVs by 1998
10% ZEVs by 2003
CA Mandate:
Automakers started producing EVs.
At the same time they teamed up in a lawsuit against the state to remove the ZEV mandate.

7. GM EV-1
First on the scene: EV-1. In 1993 GM estimated that it would take 3 months to collect the names of 5,000 people interested in the EV1, but it only took 1 week.
GM began production in A 2-seater, built for speed: 0-60 in under 6 seconds. Started with lead-acid batteries but quickly moved to newer NiMH, which would last 10 years and could go over 100 miles/charge. Regenerative braking.
$450/month lease.

8. Honda EV +
5-seater. 120-mile range. Regenerative braking.
NiMH batteries – 100K+ or 10 years life.
$350/month lease.

9. High cost, but big demand:
Pricey leases: $ /month, 3-years.
Low gas prices at the time.
Yet all models were snapped up.
State money went to automakers:
Millions in research & development funds
$9,000 per lease rebate
State funds went into each car – R&D, and a $9,000 rebate per lease. Only Toyota sold a few EVs; the rest were leased.

10. Ford Th!nkCity www.sfeva.org
My first electric car, and the reason I fell in love with them.
2-seater hatchback. Park anywhere mile range.
$200/month, 30-year lease.
Ford also leased an electric Ranger truck.

11. Nissan Altra EV www.sfeva.org
5 passengers plus cargo room. Regenerative braking.
First with Lithium-ion batteries. 140-mile range, 15-year life.
Fleet lease only.

12. Toyota RAV-4 EV www.sfeva.org
Toyota leased the RAV4-EV and became the first major car company to sell an EV.
Their estimated 2-year supply of these cars sold out in 8 months.
5 passengers plus cargo room.
NiMH batteries mile range. Lifespan well over 100K miles, says So. Calif. Edison.

13. PV + EV Annual true-up billing: summer offsets winter.
Time-of-use metering: charge at 5 cents/kWh, sell at 30 cents/kWh.
Never buy gas.
Off-peak charging using electrical grid’s existing excess capacity at night, without building any new power plants, might cover 40% of CA driving and would save 16 million gallons of gasoline (based on estimated 20 mpg fleet average efficiency).

14. PV/EV – How much? Off-peak charging: Panels needed to charge RAV4-EV:
1 or 2 cents/mile to power EV, vs.
13 cents/mile for gasoline (at $2.50 gallon)
Panels needed to charge RAV4-EV:
2-3 panels (185 W ea.) to zero-out cost, or
12-16 panels to balance energy generation
Fewer panels needed to cover the cover the cost of charging the RAV4 EV because of the benefits from TOU and annual true-up billing. And remember, charging at night you’re using electricity that’s already there, that’s excess capacity.
All was well, and then…

15. 2003: Mandate eviscerated www.sfeva.org
Remember that the auto companies were suing CA to block the zero-emission requirements?
In early 2003, CARB weakened the ZEV mandate to allow ZEV credits for cars that DO have emissions, such as hybrid gas-electric vehicles.
The only ZEVs required: a mere 250 fuel-cell vehicles by 2009.
All the major automakers immediately canceled their EV programs and stopped making, leasing and selling Evs. As the leases ended, the car companies refused to sell the cars, and instead reclaimed them and crushed them. Here’s what’s left of all but a handful of the EV1s.
Yet EV technology kept improving. That same year AC Propulsion in L.A. introduced the T-Zero sportscar with lithium-ion batteries, a car that could 0-60mph in 4 seconds, had 100 mph top speed, and could go 300 miles between charges.
Not the end of the story. Those of us who drove EVs have fought back, to keep EVs an option.
Here’s why.

16. Limited fossil fuels Oil is not forever.
Demand is increasing everywhere.
We don’t have domestic reserves to meet our current, excessive demand.
Peak Oil concept. Post-Carbon Institute.
Increasing competition for foreign oil.

17. National security risks
U.S. oil dependency poses a continual threat to our national security.
“...this dependence on foreign oil is a matter of national security. To put it bluntly, sometimes we rely on energy sources from countries that don’t particularly like us.”
-- Pres. George W. Bush,
2002
Needing oil from other nations creates problems.

18. Wars for oil
Increasing political intrigue and military conflict over oil as supplies dwindle, demand keeps growing.

19. There are more important uses for oil than cars. 1. Aviation 2
There are more important uses for oil than cars. 1. Aviation 2. Petrochemicals 3. Maritime shipping 4. Defense Choose: A heart valve for your great-great-grandson, or a drive to the store in a Hummer today?

20. Emissions from cars & trucks cause 75% of smog in the Bay Area.
U.S. imports 55% of its oil.
Cars & trucks use more than 2/3 of all petroleum in U.S. and 1/3 of all energy.
Emissions from cars & trucks cause 75% of smog in the Bay Area.
(Bay Area Air Quality Management Board)
Ultimately, we will need to restructure society to live without fossil fuels, referred to as a post-carbon society.
EVs use no gas or oil and produce no emissions.
What’s happening now that the car companies have backed away from EVs?

21. California tries again
Greenhouse gas emissions limits .
Automakers sue again.
EV drivers become activists.
New law regulates greenhouse gases. Automakers agree to voluntarily limit them in Canada, but sue California.

22. www.dontcrush.com The Campaign to Save Electric Cars www.sfeva.org
SF and Greenpeace actions August 2004.
Ford agrees to sell remaining 350 Th!nks in Norway.

23. www.dontcrush.com The Campaign to Save Electric Cars www.sfeva.org
Sacramento vigil Jan
Ford agrees to sell remaining Ranger EVs to leaseholders or others.

24. Campaign to Save Electric Cars
dontcrush.com
Campaign to Save Electric Cars
A month-long vigil asking GM to sell 80 EV1s in a Burbank lot attracted national publicity, but GM brought in trucks and hauled them away for crushing.

26. Cleaner Transportation Options
Walk and bike more:
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition,
Walk San Francisco,
City CarShare:
Take public transit: lots of electric!

27. Electric bikes & scooters
2 shops in SF with both:
Noe Valley Cyclery
Avenue Cyclery (Haight)
See for lots of links.
Electric Bike Network sharing our booth at Green Cities Expo.

28. Put a deposit on a Tango www.sfeva.org
2-seater, front and back. Can park it anywhere. Built like a race car.
Costs per mile (non-TOU), including fuel and maintenance: Tango = 4 cents; Prius = 5 cents; Corolla = 6 cents.
No wasted gas and pollution while stuck in commute traffic – no idling.

29. Tango: www.commutercars.org
$500 deposit:
$18,700 car
Range: miles
$1,000 deposit:
$39,900 car
Range: 100+ miles
$10,000 deposit:
$85,000 car
Range: even longer
According to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 90% of all auto trips are single occupancy.
And average round-trip commute is 20 miles.
Deposits kept in a neutral escrow company unaffiliated with Commuter Cars, and can be withdrawn at any time.

30. Buy or make a conversion
This 1993 Ford Escort EV bought used, $10,000. Practical range 40 miles. Sealed gel-acid batteries, (No maintenance.) Replace every 28,000 miles or so. ($1,800?)
Plug into a regular 110 wall socket or one of the Avcon public chargers found all over the Bay Area.
Drove 1 year, did some upgrades. Sold for $13,000 to Redwood City resident.
Links to sites selling used EVs on our web site.
80% of commuters travel <40 miles/day, and 50% travel <20 miles/day.

31. Cloud Electric conversions: www.cloudelectric.com
Geo Metro (1994+)
Range: miles
Speed: 75+ mph
$13,000 plus shell
Located in Washington state

32. EV Bones: http://www.evbones.com/
Chevrolet S-10 EV trucks (refurbished)
Lead-acid or NiMH batteries, recharge in 2-4 hours on average

33. Sparrow Myers Motors: www.myersmoters.com 1-866-693-7778
Used from Cloud Electric, others
3-wheeler, classified as motorcycle, single occupant

34. EV community resources
See for listservs
Mike Gaylord in SF:
Lawrence Rhodes:
$3,500 VW conversions, range miles
Your best resource is the EV community – the Bay Area chapters of EAA, including SFEVA, and national listservs that connect you with generous and knowledgeable experts.
Lawrence Rhodes: Has a few scooters to sell. Also offers to build inexpensive conversions of VW bugs that had engines in the rear. You supply the body, you get it “re-springed” (install heavier springs to handle the weight of batteries so car rides at normal level). Pay him $3,500 to convert.
Practical range: miles.

35. Buy a used RAV4 EV $30,000-$42,000 Listserv at:
A comparison of total costs of the ICE RAV4 and RAV4-EV suggests that the cost to consumer per mile is lower with ICE up to 100,000 miles until gas prices pass $5/gallon. But if driven to 150,000 miles, the RAV4-EV is cheaper per mile even if gas prices are as low as $2/gallon.

36. Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs)
Top speed: mph
Example:
GEM: $7,000-$9,000
Global Electric Motorcars (Daimler-Chrysler)
See for others & links

37. Non-EV options The Hydrogen Hypeway: Biodiesel or SVO Alcohol fuel
Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment:
EVs go twice as far on same amount of energy.
Fossil fuels or nukes to make the hydrogen; or
4x as many solar panels, 60% more windmills
I’m open to other options. Biodiesel definitely has a role to play.
Biodiesel: more NOx, but greenhouse gases nearly disappear
Hydrogen or HFC: I SOOO wanted this to be the answer. 2 words – wildly premature.
Range 100 miles or less; batteries can do better today.
A study by University of Warwick estimated that replacing ICEs with hydrogen cars would require 100,000 new wind turbines or 100 new nuclear power plants in England.

38. Upstream EV issues Power plant pollution: a common misconception
Battery components
(mining, transport)
Battery recycling:
>90% recycled
Even from coal-fired plants, Evs would vastly reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution compared with gas cars.
And really, if we want to reduce power plant emissions, consider the fact that 8% of total U.S. energy expenditure goes simply to refine petroleum, according to WorldWatch.org.
Lead, copper, other battery components must be mined, recycled.
More than 90% of lead acid batteries recycled. Same can be expected of other batteries.

39. Well-To-Wheel Emissions
Smokestacks:
Pollution produced for 100,000 miles of driving:
EVs: <100 pounds
ICEs: 3,000 pounds
(L.A. Dept. of Water & Power)
Greenhouse gases:
Even if the electricity comes from fossil fuels, EVs cut greenhouse gases by 70%
(Union of Concerned Scientists)
In CA, very little of our energy mix comes from coal, the dirtiest energy source. And over time the grid will get cleaner and cleaner.
Based on mid-size ICE.

40. The Future: Plug-in Hybrids
California Cars Initiative: Prius Plus
All-electric in city, and mpg overall.
Austin Energy – incentives, and recruiting advance order from 50 largest U.S. cities. Urge your SF supervisor to get us on board too.

41. What you can do:
Join SFEVA or your local EAA chapter
Tell the car companies what you want (clean cars) and don’t want (their suit against Calif.)
Let politicians know too!
Support
Support

42. What you can do:
In San Francisco, support Community Choice Aggregation (see letter in handout).
Urge the mayor and city supervisors to implement Proposition H (Solar Bonds), passed by voters in 2001!

43. A few of my favorite links…
California Energy Commission’s Clean Power Estimator:
Darrell Dickey’s pages on EV and PV:
EV charging sites:

44. HOLD THE DATE: October 1, 2006 San Francisco Solar Homes and Electric Vehicles Tour