5000 Series Installation Utility. Ford EVs to come with household solar-panel option | Green Tech. Ford and solar-panel maker SunPower have created a solar-powered electric-car package. Buyers of Ford's electric vehicles will have an option to have SunPower's rooftop solar panels installed for about $10,000 after a federal tax rebate. The companies estimate that the 2.5-kilowatt array will generate enough juice, about 3,000 kilowatt-hours a year, to fuel a car for about 1,000 miles a month of driving. The "Drive Green for Life" program means drivers can cut the cord on fossil fuels by generating power during the day and charging at night, according to the companies.
Ford plans to release an all-electric Ford Focus and its C-Max Energy plug-in hybrid in 19 states next year and in Europe in 2013. SunPower makes high-end solar panels, which means a 2.5-kilowatt array will require 11 of its residential panels, which will take less space than less-efficient panels. The panels will be installed by SunPower's installer network and financing to offset the upfront cost is available. Putting Sunshine in a Battery. US Renewables Need A Fallback Plan. When I described some of the energy implications of the debt limit crisis last month, the most serious ones were associated with a default by the US government in the event the debt ceiling wasn't extended.
That risk has been resolved, for now. But that doesn't mean that everything looks rosy, especially for renewables. Renewable energy technologies and projects are far more dependent on government assistance and policies than conventional energy. The fate of a wide range of federal energy incentives looks highly uncertain, and the impact of that uncertainty is matched by doubts about the health of the US economy and its growth prospects. With the pace of growth already slowing in some renewable energy sectors, any manufacturers or project developers that aren't thinking seriously about how they would manage without federal incentives could be setting themselves up to become roadkill.
But even that $4 trillion figure looks optimistic. What would that entail? Connect: Authored by: Energy Transition and America's Future: Interview with Gregor MacDonald. For those of you who follow Gregor MacDonald (@gregormacdonald) on Twitter or read his excellent blog, Gregor.us, or were fortunate enough to catch his subscription-only newsletter and weekly web-TV program while it lasted on StockTwits, you know Gregor represents a thoughtful, studied voice on energy transition and possesses a macroview of the global economy. Currently, he's turning his attention to long-form journalism and is working on a piece addressing the global transition back to coal, which should be an important work. I interviewed Gregor to get his insights on energy (especially renewables, coal, and nuclear) and our future.
GS: You recently expressed the opinion that renewables are going to replace nuclear. How far down the path are we towards a real energy transition? One has to hold two competing ideas at the same time, here in the midst of our difficult journey through energy transition. One has to be cognizant and sober about scale, here. GS: And what about nuclear? Echo solar combines PV and thermal capture!