First Name | Skip |
---|---|
Last Name | Acquaro |
Email Address | nelson@kep.com |
Affiliation | |
Subject | Viability of BEV's |
Comment | To Mary Nichols and fellow members of CARB: Am resending this comment to the ARB in the ZEV proposals of 2008, but much of it still applies. Regarding the disclosure of ZEV Credit data and automakers construing it as a "trade secret", there is one thing that has not been mentioned. As the government provided millions of dollars to automakers to develop BEV's in the 1990's, it is not unfathomable that the general public should be able to see how this money was (and is being) spent. Was it used purely for BEV development? As some automakers currently claim, they used their BEV development experience of the last decade, to create today's Hybrid Electric vehicles, or AT PZEV's. Therefore, that money has, if somewhat indirectly, allowed automakers to capitalize on the sale of the current (and future) crop of Hybrid Electric vehicles. Also, the comparison by ARB of releasing the ZEV Credit data, to that of releasing our own tax records is not quite the same. If the government allocated large sums of monies to automakers to spur BEV development, we as the general public should be able to see how it was (and is being) spent. Is a certain automaker building just a handful of Fuel Cell vehicles, that ordinary citizens will not be able to afford to buy or operate for 10 to 20 years from now, in order to get the most ZEV credits in the Alternative Path? Or is that same automaker truly committed to helping the environment by making real BEV's now, that we can buy now? It was done 10 years ago, and technology moves on. I hear quotes in the media from the same schlep who always says, "Battery technology isn't there yet." Well, battery technology was there with the Toyota RAV4EV, with its 125 mile range with NiMH bateries. These same vehicles are still going strong, in both the hands private citizens, and in that of large fleets (Southern CA Edison), with many over 100,000 miles and still with around a 100 mile range between charges. Imagine what we can do today, with those same old Panasonic EV-95 NiMH batteries used in the Toyota RAV4EV, or -gasp- the advanced high power Li-Ion Nanophosphate batteries being made by A123 and used by plug-in Prius conversion shops. These same A123 Li-Ion batteries are also under consideration for use in the proposed Chevy Volt, as well as the Saturn Green Line Vue plug-in hybrid SUV. Or the Li-Ti batteries from Altairnano being used in Phoenix Motorcars BEV's, which normally charge in 5 to 6 hours, but may be possible to recharge safely in 10 minutes, if you park in an electrical utility sub-station. Make the right choices! Regards, + Skip Acquaro |
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Original File Name | |
Date and Time Comment Was Submitted | 2008-02-20 14:39:45 |
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