Green Tech

Hyundai's Blue Drive hybrid system will debut in the Sonata.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)

Hyundai has been reaching for the stars lately, comparing its cars to other automakers' luxury models and launching the Genesis luxury sedan. Now the company wants to be "the most fuel-efficient automaker on the planet," according to Hyundai Vice President for Product Development John Krafcik. To achieve its lofty goals, Hyundai showed off its Blue Drive hybrid powertrain at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show. This powertrain works similarly to full hybrids from Toyota and Ford, powering the car under electric or a combination of gas and electric, but Hyundai takes a leap forward by using third generation battery technology.

The lithium polymer battery pack is smaller than those used in other hybrids.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)

Current production hybrids use nickel metal hydride battery packs, while various automakers look to lithium ion battery packs as a second generation storage technology. Hyundai is working with supplier LG Chem to develop lithium polymer batteries for its hybrid powertrain. Lithium battery technology has greater power density, so Hyundai's battery pack can deliver the same power while taking up half the space of a nickel metal hydride battery pack. Hyundai also says lithium polymer batteries use simpler construction than a lithium ion battery, so can be 20 percent smaller. Hyundai is testing the batteries to make sure they can meet a 10 year/150,000 mile life.

Besides the battery, Hyundai's hybrid system uses a 30 kilowatt electric motor and a 2.4-liter four cylinder engine. Hyundai is developing this system for the next generation of the Sonata, and expects to be building Sonata Hybrids for the U.S. market in 2010. In this application, the gas engine will shut down when the car is stopped. When the driver presses the accelerator, the car starts moving under electric power only until the car needs enough oomph that its power management module decides to crank over the gas engine.

See all coverage of the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.

It's not for sale, but 500 lucky people will determine if it should be. Learn more as Brian Cooley takes a look at the Mini E Electric on the floor of the Los Angeles Auto Show.

See all coverage of the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.

The San Francisco Bay Area is a region already well known for its fabulous food, innovative technology, and breathtaking beauty. In the coming years, we could add one more thing to the list: electric vehicles.

On Thursday, the mayors of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose held a press conference at San Francisco's city hall to announce their ambitious goal of turning the Bay Area into the electric vehicle capital of the country. Here are details of the nine-point plan that will launch in December, as released by the San Francisco Mayor's office:

• Expedited permitting and installation of electric vehicle charging outlets at homes, businesses, parking lots, and other buildings throughout the Bay Area;

• Incentives for employers to install EV charging systems in their workplaces and provide similar incentives to parking facilities and other locations where EV charging stations can be installed;

• Harmonize local regulations and standards across the region that govern EV infrastructure to achieve regulatory consistency for EV companies as well as expanded range for EV consumers;

• Establish common government programs that promote the purchase of EVs;

• Link EV programs and infrastructure to regional transit and air quality programs;

• Establish programs for aggressive pooled-purchase orders for EVs in municipal, state government, and private sector fleets, and future commitment of purchasing preference for EV vehicles;

• Expedited permitting and approval for facilities that provide extended-range driving capability for EVs in the region through battery exchange locations or fast-charging;

• Identify and secure suitable standard (110V) electric outlets for charging low-voltage EVs in every government building in 2009;

• Identify roll-out plan for placement of 220V EV-charging equipment throughout each city including city parking lots and curbside parking.

Better Place aims to bring its electric-car charging network to the Bay Area, where plans are afoot to promote battery-powered vehicles.

(Credit: Better Place)

Better Place aims by 2012 to bring a $1 billion electric-car infrastructure system to the California Bay Area, whose leaders unveiled policies Thursday to fast-track the adoption of electric cars.

The Palo Alto, Calif., start-up will apply its unique business model, followed in Israel, Denmark, and Australia, of providing the public stations to charge vehicles and swap out leased batteries.

Shai Agassi, Better Place founder and CEO, said he hopes to wrap up permitting in the Bay Area within the next year, roll out the infrastructure in 2010, and fine-tune its technology over the next several years as more electric cars come to market.

"We need to stop the conversation of whether this is Detroit versus Silicon Valley, whether this is Michigan versus California, and we need to start talking about this as the next generation of the car," he said. "We hope that by the time we deploy, we'll see our friends from Renault and Nissan but also the three U.S. manufacturers developing cars that have a plug, and have the ability to drive around the city and charge as they go."

Mayors Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, Chuck Reed of San Jose, and Ron Dellums of Oakland joined Agassi at San Francisco City Hall, promising to launch policies in December to support companies and consumers adopting electric cars. (The event was broadcast online via Webcast.)

Among their plans are expedited permitting for car-charging outlets with incentives for businesses and garages installing them or providing battery-swapping. The mayors also pledged to standardize regulations across the region, working with clean-air and transit programs.

"I believe the big game changer is electric vehicles and plug-in technology," said Newsom, explaining that transportation accounts for 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in California and exceeds 54 percent in San Francisco.

Widespread usage of electric vehicles over two decades would save consumers $175 billion in fuel costs and bring a $120 billion boon for battery makers, according to early results of a study by the Venture Lab at the University of California at Berkeley.

"Look what happened when we built ARPANET in 1979," said Robert Kennedy Jr., describing the rise of the personal computer. "The reason for that is we created the infrastructure that made it easy for manufacturers and consumers to take advantage of the technology." Kennedy is partner and senior adviser of VantagePoint Venture Partners, the biggest investor in Better Place.

In statements, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi praised the electric vehicle announcements for the potential to boost the economy and reduce pollution.

Coulomb Technologies is developing networked equipment for charging electric vehicles at the curb.

(Credit: Kim Smith/General Motors)

Coulomb Technologies has inked deals with service stations throughout California to provide smart equipment for charging electric vehicles in the first quarter of 2009.

Solar panels will power some of Coulomb's networked equipment, which can provide electric cars about a 10-mile driving range after an hour of charging.

The dozens of planned locations include gas stations along Interstates 101, 5, and 99, which snake north to south through much of California's length. A few of the stations will be closer to cities, and some already offer a mix of cleaner fuels, such as hydrogen, biodiesel, and ethanol.

"It's very similar to a gas pump business, where we provide the equipment that allows station to run a business," said Coulomb CEO Richard Lowenthal.

Coulomb sells its technology to service stations, which set the consumer pricing. Although some may offer car charging as a free perk, Lowenthal said he thinks the price per charge should be about half of the equivalent in gasoline.

The Campbell, Calif., company aims to establish hundreds of charging stations by the end of 2009.

It has been readying its technology for a December launch of public stations in San Jose. In tests around Silicon Valley, the company has been working to prevent interference to its wireless communications from sources including UPS delivery trucks pulling up near the car-charging stations, Lowenthal said.

Although financing has dried up with the economic downturn, interest from potential customers is strong thanks to the anticipated releases of the GM Chevy Volt and a plug-in Toyota Prius in the next two years, he added.

Coulomb faces plenty of competition from Better Place and other start-ups building the infrastructure to charge electric cars. Nissan announced a joint effort Thursday to test charging systems with the state of Oregon. Lowenthal said he envisions multiple companies succeeding in the coming years.

"We assume it will be something like cell phones where there are multiple providers and roaming agreements," he said.

VW Jetta TDI gets on stage to accept its award.

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

LOS ANGELES--The Green Car Journal gave its 2009 Green Car of the Year award to the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show. This year's list of nominees included the BMW 335d, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid, and Smart ForTwo. The Jetta TDI uses a 2-liter, turbocharged, diesel, four-cylinder engine to achieve an EPA-rated 41mpg highway fuel economy and 30mpg city. Volkswagen's new clean diesel technology makes the car legal in all 50 states, meeting California's stringent Air Resources Board requirements, under which is qualifies as a SULEV, or Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle. The panel of judges included Jay Leno, Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope, Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke, and legendary auto tuner Carroll Shelby.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid gets left out in the cold.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)

Green Car Journal opened itself up for criticism last year by naming the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid as its 2008 Green Car of the Year. Diesel proponents will applaud the choice of the Jetta TDI for 2009, but the two hybrids on the list, with AT-PZEV (Advanced Technology-Partial Zero Emission Vehicle) emissions ratings, might seem more deserving. The Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid probably didn't make it due to fuel economy hovering around 30mpg, but the Ford Fusion Hybrid has an estimated economy of 38mpg city and 35mpg highway, plus a very cool instrument cluster that coaches people to drive more economically. The judges were most likely swayed by the price, with the Jetta TDI coming in at below $22,000, while the Fusion Hybrid will most likely come in above $27,000.

See all coverage of the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.

SunRun has secured financing from U.S. Bancorp to expand its solar power purchasing program to 2,000 more homes in the next year, the San Francisco start-up said Thursday.

U.S. Bancorp, the parent of U.S. Bank, has committed $105 million in tax equity, a fund that will allow the bank and SunRun to take advantage of the federal solar subsidy, which is a tax credit.

SunRun's business model--one being pursued by a handful of new solar installers--is to provide financing to homeowners and small businesses interested in installing solar panels.

Rather than pay the up-front cost of buying and installing panels, the consumer pays a smaller initial fee and then monthly electricity usage at a rate lower than the utility. SunRun and its financial backers own the panels and maintain them.

This sort of contract, called a power purchase agreement, has fueled rapid growth of solar electric installations at corporations in the past few years.

These types of investments--which are difficult to secure amid the slumping economy--are structured to offset tax bills for businesses and generate steady cash for investors.

So far, SunRun has more than 300 customers, all of which are in California, said President and Chief Operating Officer Nat Kreamer. He added that the company hopes to expand in the East Coast.

In addition, SunRun said Thursday that it has added David Buzby to its board. Buzby is the chairman of SunEdison, a company that handles purchase power agreements for corporations and utilities.

Update at 9:30 a.m. PT with correction to clarify SunRun's business model.

SolarWord's first race car was developed for an Australian solar-powered car race by student engineers from the German university Hochschule Bochum.

(Credit: SolarWorld)

SolarWorld's offer to General Motors is no joke. The German-based solar-power company is serious about wanting to purchase GM's Opel division, SolarWorld CEO Frank H. Asbeck said Thursday morning on German radio.

SolarWorld announced on Wednesday that it's in the process of making an offer to General Motors for its Adam Opel (aka Opel) division for about 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion).

The initial announcement sparked a flurry of market, analyst, and media skepticism on Wednesday. Asbeck took to the airwaves to clarify his company's position on Thursday. (A transcript of the interview in German is posted on the radio station's Web site.)

Opel, which is part of GM Europe, includes four German factories and a development center in Russelsheim, Germany. SolarWorld is prepared to offer 250 million euros in cash for them, according to Asbeck, and has bank credit lines worth 750 million euros, if the German government provides a guarantee. But the company would also request additional state funds to compensate Opel's 25,000 German workers at about 40,00 euros per job, an estimated 1 billion euros.

GM, which is currently seeking a multibillion-dollar bailout from the U.S. government, publicly dismissed SolarWorld's offer on Wednesday.

"This is pure speculation. We are not going to comment on that. Opel is not for sale," Karin Kirchner, a GM Europe representative told Reuters.

But Asbeck told Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday that he's getting contradicting signals from others inside GM.

When questioned about SolarWorld's lack of experience in automechanics, Asbeck responded that that auto know-how will come from the existing Opel employees. SolarWorld would supply solar modules.

Asbeck went on to say that the auto industry needs fertilization from another industry, and that vehicles of the future, like those with electric drives and hybrid drives, should not only be reserved for Japanese manufacturers.

SolarWorld is not entirely without automotive experience. The company sponsored and co-developed a high-performance solar sports car with a group of engineers from Hochschule Bochum, a German university that participated in the World Solar Challenge solar-powered car race in Australia in October 2007.

SolarWorld wants to develop Opel into "the first 'green' European automotive group" and "produce a new generation of vehicles with energy-efficient, low-emission drives," according to a company statement. It would specifically use the existing Opel model line, modifying it to include electric drive and hybrid electric vehicles.

Homeowners who dream of their electric meter spinning backward may seek solar panels to slash bills and carbon emissions. But where to start?

Before you call a contractor, these sites can assist with the early steps, like summing up what you could spend or save in your neighborhood.

The pioneering San Francisco Solar Map offers personalized evaluations.

San Francisco Solar Map

The San Francisco Solar Map helps locals lay their solar plans. A Google map pegs projects already up and running. Type in your address for estimates of installation fees and long-term utility bill savings and to find installers listed by the California Energy Commission.

Fog City's municipal rebates, added to state and federal incentives, probably make it the least expensive place for homeowners and businesses to add photovoltaics. Residents taking advantage of all discounts might drop the hardware and construction costs from, say, $25,000 to $7,000. The Web site supports Mayor Gavin Newsom's goal of 10,000 solar rooftops by 2012. It's the work of the San Francisco Department of the Environment and CH2M Hill, a consulting firm.

Solar Boston's map displays the solar potential for an address or even a city block.

Solar Boston

Mayor Thomas Menino's Solar Boston project aims to ramp up installations from half a megawatt to 25 megawatts by 2015. Its Flash-based map tracks solar, wind, biomass, and hydropower sources around town. You can enter an address, select a building, or even highlight an area on the map, to view the potential in dollars and kilowatts for topping roofs with photovoltaics.

Both San Francisco and Boston belong to the Department of Energy's Solar America Cities initiative to fast-track the spread of solar power. The two cities' maps are early, model tools. I'd also like to see peer comments and Yelp-like ratings of services and products. And I'd expect such services to help consumers share tips and report about the longest-lasting equipment as the solar sector matures. For instance, I found more than three dozen installers within 30 miles of my San Francisco apartment, but I'd have to do research elsewhere to decide whom to trust.

How do solar panels affect a home's resale value? Somebody should integrate solar maps with real estate listings, in the style of Trulia or Zillow.

Cooler Planet's maps include regional incentives around the country to estimate solar costs and savings.

Cooler Planet

Cooler Planet's solar maps cover territory from coast to coast. Google Maps mashups from the Seattle environmental marketing firm chart solar rebates, existing installations, costs and savings, and installers around the country. We learned that photovoltaic panels atop a three-flat in Chicago, where only federal incentives are available, could halve the $300 monthly electric bill and pay for themselves after 28 years.

Cooler Planet also rates solar incentives by state, painting Louisiana and Oregon as surprisingly bright. Another map tracks the growth of solar in California since 1999.

Choose your building, and Sungevity will send an estimate of its solar potential.

Sungevity

Sungevity asks you to pick your San Francisco Bay-area building on a map and describe the roofing material in exchange for an e-mail quote of solar costs. Technology from Microsoft Virtual Earth enables the company to take into account the angle of a roof, which affects the light available to solar panels throughout the day. That could lead to fewer measurements in person, saving time and money.

RoofRay relies on your rooftop drawing to figure a slanted roof into its cost estimates.

RoofRay

RoofRay also looks at the slant of a roof, although with less precision than Sungevity. Locate your building on a Google Map, draw an outline of the roof, and estimate the pitch. RoofRay asks for your average monthly electric bill, then spells out a detailed financial analysis. The site requires registration and asks for snail mail and e-mail addresses with a phone number. To put an interactive RoofRay widget on a blog, code is available for a quick cut-and-paste.

This rapidly-growing grassroots effort aims to get more than One Block off the Grid.

1BOG

San Franciscans Sylvia Ventura and Dan Barahona launched One Block Off the Grid in June to help bring cheaper solar power to the people. The effort organizes homeowners to bargain together with businesses to drive down the costs of installation. Several dozen people who joined the first campaign enjoyed savings of up to 40 percent, according to 1BOG.

Last week, the couple sold their nonprofit to Virgance, a social media and activism start-up. The 1,153-member solar effort has spread to 20 cities. It's even taking a stab at solar agreements between tenants and landlords. Neighborhood Solar is a similar grassroots purchasing program in Denver, where 1BOG is establishing a toehold.

Wattbot's recommendations of cleaner energy technologies are set to launch in January.

Wattbot

Wattbot, which remains in preview testing, promises custom evaluations in January to help households save money and carbon emissions. Share your address, and it will detail potential energy-efficiency and renewable technologies for your address. More than a solar-referral tool, it will also evaluate the financial impact of modest tweaks, like swapping old lightbulbs with compact fluorescents. You'll be able to contact service providers, take notes on projects, and connect with fellow users.

For now, there's just a simple U.S. heat map of renewable energy adoption. Wattbot is also building a service for clean-tech companies to track sales leads and get market research. The planned features, if realized, could make this site a unique hub in the clean-energy, green-building marketplace.

Mesh Wi-Fi provider Meraki is going green with a new solar-powered repeater.

(Credit: Meraki)

The company, which builds low-cost and easy-to-manage Wi-Fi gear, said the Meraki Solar Wi-Fi repeater will ship starting December 4. The price of the solar repeater costs between $749 and $1,499.

Sanjit Biswas, co-founder and CEO of Meraki, said he expects customers in developing markets, where power infrastructure is not reliable or nonexistent, to be especially interested in the product. But he said that there has also been interest among customers here in the U.S. and other developed markets.

"Some people might want to set up a Wi-Fi on their roof or somewhere else they don't have power," he said. "And then they realize how much it will cost them to get an electrician to wire that area."

For this reason, Biswas said that the Meraki Solar repeater is ideal for installations in places like city parks. Even the higher initial cost of the solar equipment will still be cheaper than running power to bay stations and radios throughout a large area like Central Park in New York, he said.

Meraki had announced its solar-powered product last year. But the product was delayed when the company decided to change battery types after receiving feedback that the batteries ran out of power too quickly. The company now uses lithium iron-phosphate, which gives it greater capacity. Biswas says the new battery can store enough energy to power the Wi-Fi radios 24 hours a day seven days a week even during times of limited sunlight.

In addition to its solar-powered repeater, Meraki introduced a new Wi-Fi radio wall plug, which features a hole to screw the unit to an outlet. The design is part of Meraki's push to sell its gear to apartment buildings and complexes. The company has been experimenting with product designs and ideas for better coverage in multiple dwelling units as part of the free network it offers to San Francisco.

Earlier this year, Meraki announced it would help the city provide free Internet access to low-income housing projects as part of its plan to unwire every neighborhood in San Francisco. Meraki, which is based in the Bay Area, sees the San Francisco Wi-Fi network as an important test bed for its products and services.