Britain’s first solar powered electric car charger (the eTap) will open next month (July 2011) at the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME) at Rainham, Essex. Motorists will pay £1 to plug in at one of the six charging points under the solar panel roof, and then 63p for every hour the electric vehicle (EV)… Continue reading
Posts tagged electric car
Charge is on to bring solar power to the electric car
Is “range anxiety” being toppled from its perch as the top reason not to buy an electric car (apart from the cost)? Has it been replaced by “it’s just as polluting because the energy comes from coal-fired power stations”? I don’t know, but Italian design finesse has just met the solar battery charger, and the… Continue reading →
Wire up for an electric holiday
If you owned an electric car, would you take it on holiday with you? The answer, with range anxiety alarm bells ringing, is probably not. You would need somewhere to charge it, and the prospect of threading a wire through the landlady’s kitchen window at the B&B is a bit daunting. Hotels wouldn’t be any… Continue reading →
One small charging point for A1, one giant leap for electric cars?
One small charging point just off the A1, one giant leap for electric cars? We always risk overstating a case in our eagerness to press Neil Armstrong’s immortal line from the moon into service one more time. But wait. It will now be possible to drive an electric car from Newcastle to Edinburgh (121 miles) with … Continue reading →
Could "Boris Bikes" concept extend to electric cars in London?
Here is is a story from history – or August 9, 2007, to be precise. “Ken Livingstone has ordered a feasibility study into a scheme which would see travellers hiring and dropping off bikes from street corners. The Mayor of London has been inspired by a scheme that was introduced in Paris just weeks… Continue reading →
Will the Bug be a beacon for electric power?
How are electric vehicles (EVs) to catch on? Make them small, delicate and vulnerable like the G-Wiz and people only feel sorry for them. Build them mainstream and blandly family-focused like the excellent Nissan Leaf and you’re unlikely to even notice them on the street. The slick super performers like the Tesla Roadster are top… Continue reading →