Assembly workers will build more pre-production Amperas in the coming months. These pre-production vehicles will not be sold at dealerships, but used instead for testing and validating the production intent design as well as developing the final vehicle software and controls.

Engineers in Europe and the United States also use them to tune the vehicle’s overall driving experience. Some of these Amperas will have very short lives as they will be used in safety and structural integrity testing.

“We’re right on target for producing the Ampera for European markets later next year,” said Andrew Farah, Vehicle Chief Engineer for the Ampera “There’s still work to be done, but being able to drive an Opel Ampera off our pre-production line is a great accomplishment for the teams here and in Europe.”

The Opel Ampera extended-range electric vehicle delivers up to 60 kilometers (40 miles) of pure electric driving before an engine-generator kicks in to sustain the battery charge and seamlessly extend the range to more than 500 kilometers (300 miles).

The Opel/Vauxhall Ampera shares its extended-range electric vehicle propulsion system with the Chevrolet Volt.

The battery can be charged by plugging the vehicle’s on-board charge system into a standard household outlet. It is scheduled to go on sale end 2011.

The loan will support the Karma, a full-size, four-door sports sedan, and a line of family oriented models being developed under the company’s Project NINA program.

The California-based will use $169.3 million to cover the engineering integration costs of the Fisker Karma, which will be built in Finland using components sourced from suppliers in the United States.The Fisker Karma is a four-door luxury sports sedan that is designed, like the Chevrolet Volt, as an extended-range electric vehicle. A two-door convertible version also is planned. The four-door Karma is priced at $87,900; no price has been set on the convertible, but the company expects it to be higher than that of the Karma four-door.

Most of the funds, however, will be used to buy and retool an old General Motors plant in Wilmington, Delaware, to build a mid-sized plug-in sedan codenamed Project Nina.

Fisker plans to manufacture cars at a Wilmington, Del., plant closed recently by General Motors Co. Fisker expects to employ as many as 2,000 assembly workers, with more jobs to be created among suppliers of parts and services.

The DOE gave conditional loan commitments to Ford ($5.9 billion), Nissan ($1.6 billion) and Tesla Motors ($465 million) as part of the DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program.

The move will give GM a head start on the Nissan’s Leaf, which is expected to go on sale in December. Both will be sold in limited quantities in select markets.

Detroit Hamtramck will build the Chevy Volt extended range electric vehicle. On March 31, the plant celebrated a major milestone, the building of the first pre-production Volt on the regular assembly line.

The announcement came at a ceremony at GM’s Fairfax, Kansas, where GM will invest $257 million to build the next generation Chevrolet Malibu.

General Motors also announced that the company has made its final payment of $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada, paying back its government loans in full, ahead of schedule.

[source Consumer Reports]

“Assessment of Plug-in Electric Vehicle Integration with ISO/RTO Systems,” by the ISO/RTO Council (IRC), is a new study that examines the technical hurdles and tools needed to foster the potential benefits of widespread use of PEVs.

Among the study’s conclusions:

• One million PEVs may be on U.S. roadways in a decade, with concentrations of the vehicles in the major metropolitan areas of the West Coast and the Northeast.
• Staggered charging of PEVs would reduce the potential negative impact on electric load.
• Power companies will need new tools to manage growth in PEV use.

Of the one million PEVs that may be deployed over the next 10 years, more than 684,000 are projected by the study to be located in regions of the United States served by ISOs and RTOs. The PEVs plugging into the grid in U.S. ISO/RTO regions could add electric load of 3,785 megawatts (MW) if every PEV charged simultaneously. In contrast, electric load would increase by about one-fifth that total (819 MW) if charging were staggered over an eight-hour period and less than 546 MW over a 12-hour period.
ISO RTO operating regions

The IRC study suggests that initial PEV sales are likely to cluster on the West Coast and Northeast and be heavily concentrated in large urban areas. For example, the Los Angeles metropolitan area is projected to experience the largest growth of PEVs, a total 119,069 by 2019. PEVs in the L.A. region could add electric load of 658 MW if every PEV charged simultaneously. If PEV charging were staggered over an eight-hour period, electric load would increase by 147 MW. Over a 12-hour period, PEV charging would add 98 MW.

The New York City metropolitan area, with a forecasted 54,000 PEVs by 2019, could see added electric load of 299 MW if every PEV charged simultaneously. Electric load would increase by 33 MW if charging were staggered over an eight-hour period and 22 MW over a 12-hour period. Projections of PEV growth and additional electric load for other ISO and RTO regions are available in the report.

The IRC study promotes adoption of smart grid technologies and new pricing mechanisms in an effort to accommodate PEV demands for electricity, avoid potential service disruptions and minimize wholesale electricity price impacts.

The IRC study also examines the feasibility of deploying various smart grid tools and services that would allow grid operators to use PEV technology as an innovative energy storage and distribution resource to balance local energy needs.

For example, during peak demand periods, a power system operator could use smart-grid tools to remotely connect to PEVs that are plugged in and have electricity stored in their batteries. The operator could utilize this power for the grid and then replace it when system conditions improve.

The University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Transport Research has been awarded funding by the UK Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) to explore who will buy and electric cars.

The outcomes of the study will feed into ETI’s plans for the world’s most extensive evaluation of consumer’s attitudes to plug-in vehicles enabling effective investment.

How much people would be willing to pay, how it would fit into their current travel patterns and potential consumer anxiety towards the new technology will be investigated.

Identifying the types of people who are most likely to become early adopters of electric vehicles – such as the plug-in car – will also be a key focus of the research.

Dr Jillian Anable who is leading the Aberdeen study says: “Identifying the key factors which will influence consumers to purchase electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be crucial to successfully rolling out the concept to the wider market.

“Our research will focus on building a profile of the types of people who would buy this kind of vehicle — from their attitudes, through to their age groups and whether they live rurally or in the city.  We also need to understand whether people might use these vehicles differently to the ones they own now.

“The practicalities of using an electric vehicle will be explored looking at, for example, how long people are willing to wait for the vehicle to charge and whether they are most likely to charge them at home, at the supermarket or at work. We hope our research — which will take place throughout the UK – will identify the type of person who may become an early or future adopter of the technology.”

The University of Aberdeen is one of 6 partners undertaking research as part of ETI’s £11 million low carbon vehicle plan to support the roll-out of plug-in electric vehicles to the UK market.

The project will also assess the infrastructure required to achieve a mass market for electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the UK.

IBM will lead the co-ordination of a consortium of companies, EDF Energy, E.ON and Imperial Consultants, in conducting the study which is being undertaken at an important time.

The UK government has already committed 300 million pounds to create the infrastructure for plug-in vehicles and has provided consumer incentives. Supporting infrastructure has already begun rolling out in London, the North East and Milton Keynes. In addition, the Office for Low Emission Vehicle’s (OLEV) has said it will provide grants of up to 5,000 pounds for consumers who buy ultra-low carbon cars.

The IBM led research is one of three projects totaling 4.5 million pounds that have been launched as part of the ETI’s 11 million pound Electrification of Light Vehicles program. The other projects will assess the economic and carbon benefits as well as the consumer behavior patterns linked to the mass roll-out of plug-in vehicles. Together the projects are intended to propose overall system architecture for integrating plug-in vehicles considering: electricity networks, charging points, and payment systems and helping to ensure compatibility across the UK.

The three projects will culminate in the largest electric car analysis to date in the world with more than 3,000 vehicles owned and driven by consumers. Over 11,000 charge points will be installed across areas in London and the South East, the Midlands and the North East.

The project will focus on a number of areas:

- Analysis of how growth in electric car recharging could impact electricity distribution networks, and what steps energy companies could take to overcome any barriers to supplying demand.

- Identification of the smart infrastructure needed for mass market uptake of electric cars in the UK.

- Design concepts for the ‘intelligent architecture’ of interconnected data and systems needed to enable local networks of electric car charging points linked to the distribution networks.

- Planning for design changes which maintain distribution networks’ effective operation and management.

- Assessment of current issues and likely future developments involving regulatory, legislative and commercial matters related to the recharging infrastructure.

The move comes from KB Home’s market surveys that showed buyers want greener homes that are not only “earth-friendly” but save them money as well.

This new earth-friendly option is designed to ease the future installation of a station to charge an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle conveniently at home.

Both cars must be charged, and a higher-voltage charging station at home could make the process go more quickly than charging from a standard home outlet.

“This is just one of many innovative and earth-friendly options that homeowners can choose from as part of KB Home’s Built to Order experience. It’s a great feature for homebuyers who currently drive electric cars, or for those who want to build their new home to accommodate these cars in the future,” said Jeffrey Mezger, president and chief executive officer of KB Home.

GQbyCITROEN combines classically sophisticated features and contemporary styling with a sculpted front end, rounded rear, strong body contours and sleek concave rear windscreen – a signature Citroen design.

The car’s cabin is accessed by rear coach doors and reveals a spacious, comfortable and futuristic cabin. Completing the car’s bespoke styling, the interior detailing and upholstery selections were provided by Patrick Grant, the Creative Director of prestigious Savile Row tailors.

Dynamic performance and environmental responsibility were also key requirements for the project. The GQbyCITROEN concept car is a plug-in hybrid with a 1,598cc, 4-cylinder direct injection petrol engine offering a sporty 0-60mph time of just 4.5seconds, an electronically limited top speed of 155mph and CO2 emissions of just 80g/km.

Mark Lloyd, Chief Designer of Citroën’s International Projects added: “Where this car works so well with GQ is that it fits with the current attitudes of conspicuous consumption. It is understated rather than in-your-face and sleek rather than too macho. With the skills of a Savile Row tailor on the car’s interior we have also achieved that bespoke, fitted feel, both inside and out.”

Electric vehicles will begin shipping in volume across the United States in 2010. Charging stations will be needed to meet the growing consumer demand. Chargers will communicate with power grid to determine best times to charge, helping plug-in electric vehicles enter the mainstream.

The chargers integrate GE’s smart meters with Juice Technology’s Plug Smart™ engine to help consumers charge their cars during low-demand, lower cost time periods.

Smart chargers will hasten acceptance of plug-in cars by making them more attractive to both consumers and utilities. Consumers will benefit by receiving the lowest-possible charging rates for their cars. Utilities will be able to better control the demand for electricity and take on the added load of electric vehicles without over taxing their grids. Utilities will also realize greater value from their capital equipment during overnight and other low-demand times, when it is substantially less utilized.

GE will offer a comprehensive line of charging products that combine GE’s smart meter technology and communication capabilities with Juice Technologies’ patent-pending intelligent charging technology.

Initial chargers will be available in the United States in the second quarter of 2010, with full-scale production ramping up throughout the year. Global availability will follow.

A “plug-in” car is one that can be recharged from the electric grid. Some plug-in cars run on electricity alone, while others are paired with small gasoline engines to create plug-in hybrids (which are different than the Toyota Prius and other conventional hybrids common today).

Many plug-in hybrids can get over 100 miles per gallon, while plug-in electric vehicles consume no gasoline at all.  Plug-in vehicles produce no direct tailpipe pollution when operating on electricity, and as renewable energy sources like wind and solar meet a larger share of our electricity needs, electric cars could create little or no air pollution.  The technology needed to build workable plug-in vehicles exists today, and plug-ins have several advantages over gasoline-powered cars including far less required regular maintenance and no oil changes.

“Electric cars could be a game-changer in the effort to wean our country off of oil and tackle global warming,” said Nathan Willcox, PennEnvironment’s Energy & Clean Air Advocate.  “Now, with the auto industry in transition, we must seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to move plug-in cars into the fast lane.”

PennEnvironment was joined by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, and Axion Power International, Inc. in releasing today’s white paper.

The new PennEnvironment white paper, entitled Plug-in Cars: Powering America Toward a Cleaner Future, answers many questions about plug-in vehicles and lays out a strategy for how to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road. Key points of the paper include:

• If half of the light vehicles in the United States were electric vehicles powered by completely clean electricity in 2030, total fleet emissions of global warming pollution would be reduced by 62 percent.
• Powering a car on electricity would result in 93 percent less smog-forming volatile organic compounds and 31 percent less nitrogen oxide emissions than powering a car on gasoline.
• If three-fourths of American cars, pick-up trucks, SUVs and vans were electric, oil use would be reduced by about one-third.
• Operating costs of plug-in cars are likely to be significantly lower than those of gasoline-powered cars. Electricity costs three to five cents per mile with average electric rates, or the equivalent of $0.75 to $1.25 per gallon of gasoline.
• Utilities can structure electricity prices so that it is cheaper to charge cars at times of the day when there is lower electric demand, ensuring that a large number of plug-in cars do not put a strain on the utility.
• Unlocking the full environmental and economic potential of plug-in vehicles will require efforts to clean up and modernize America’s electric grid. Pennsylvania and the country as a whole should adopt renewable energy standards requiring that at least 25 percent of our electricity come from renewable energy by 2025.

PennEnvironment urged state and local officials to fully harness the power of plug-ins by setting clean car standards, offering financial incentives for buyers of plug-in vehicles, creating a low-carbon fuel standard that allows plug-ins to contribute to lowering global warming emissions, promoting renewable energy and adopting ‘smart grid’ technologies that would allow plug-ins to help stabilize the electric grid.  The group also called for a comprehensive federal energy and climate bill to help drive support for plug-in cars.