A good friend Virginia forwarded me an article on Hawaii's plans to become one of the first states to have electric car stations statewide. According to the articles that came out this week, HECO (Hawaiian Electric Company) will work in partnership with Better Places, an electric car company based in Silicon-Valley, to roll out the network within the next few years.
As detailed in the articles, Hawaii is a great place to have this happen for several reasons:
1. Hawaii gas prices are among the highest in the nation.
2. The Hawaii driver's commuting distance is under the 100 miles allowable on a single charge of an electric car.
3. Hawaii has abundant alternative energy sources which could be used to fuel these new electric cars.
4. Despite the abundance of alternative energy sources, Hawaii remains one of the most states most dependent on fossil fuels, with about 90% of its energy coming from imported fuels.
5. Because Hawaii a small state with clearly defined boundaries, setting up a network will be easier than it will be in many other states.
I think it's fair to say that Brian and I plan to be early adopters. Virginia, it sounds like, will be spearheading the program on the Big Island.
Can everyone please go see "Who killed the electric car?" Thank you!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/technology/start-ups/03hawaii.html
Associated Press
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2008/12/06/carhawaii.html
StarBulletin
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/hawaiinews/20081203_Electric_car_proposal_has_state_charged_up.html#fullstory
Honolulu Advertiser
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881205051
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4 comments:
My dad's on board too. I think the other key point is the electricity has to be generated by cleaner sources too.
Friedman has a very positive opinion about Better Place. He doesn't mention Hawaii, but sheds some light on the business model, which is different. I guess the argument is you need a different business model because battery maintenance is high and would be an impediment for the average joe?
Thanks for the article, Mike. I'm not a fan of Friedman but this article was a timely one. I particularly liked the redundancy of the following passage:
"Our bailout of Detroit will be remembered as the equivalent of pouring billions of dollars of taxpayer money into the mail-order-catalogue business on the eve of the birth of eBay. It will be remembered as pouring billions of dollars into the CD music business on the eve of the birth of the iPod and iTunes. It will be remembered as pouring billions of dollars into a book-store chain on the eve of the birth of Amazon.com and the Kindle. It will be remembered as pouring billions of dollars into improving typewriters on the eve of the birth of the PC and the Internet."
The cost of battery replacement seems to be a major issue with Better Place's cars.
Related subject from NYTimes: Plug-In Hybrid on Sale in China. The hybrid model might have some advantages, especially for larger vehicles like public trans or cars that need longer distances like taxis.
For the record, I am not a Friedman fan either. :-)
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