What impact will charging of electric vehicles have on the grid? A question on a few minds. In the US, for the last few weeks, only one electric car has displaced the Tesla Model S from the top of news stories—it’s the 2014 BMW i3. In Singapore – where electric vehicles are being tested -  the same BMW arrived on the scene and the Minster for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan gave it the once over. So did Ken Hickson and Kannan Chandran. Read more

abc carbon express was invited to have its first look at the new BMW i3 electric car. It was an event organised by Storm Magazine and BMW Asia.

Kannan Chandran let everyone know on Facebook that:

Electric cars from BMW will be on the roads in Singapore next year. The reaction to the BMW i3 and i8 ranged from curiosity at the production model i3 to jaw-dropping appreciation of the i8 concept car. As a sub-brand, the aim is to roll out small numbers here, to keep pace with infrastructure development.

The experts from BMW were on hand to answer queries from guests, and later fielded queries from surprise guest at the specially constructed structure at ION2, Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

While this new brand is going to define the future of mobility, the electric cars are expected to comprise about 8% of the BMW global business. In Singapore, there are likely to be around 10 units of the i8 by the time it hits the road in the second half of 2014, but all cars have already been promised homes.

It prompted us to look at progress here and aboard in readiness for the electric car revolution.

By Antony Ingram in Green Car (9 August 2013):

For the last few weeks, only one electric car has displaced the Tesla Model S from the top of news stories–the 2014 BMW i3.

That’s an impressive feat considering Tesla’s news-making abilities, but not without good reason: BMW has a reputation for pleasing driving enthusiasts and the badge-obsessed alike, so its first full production electric car is a significant event.

Some–not us, sadly–have been lucky enough to drive the pre-production i3 already, and early signs are good.

Even under interior and exterior camouflage, as all drives have been so far, initial impressions are positive. Car and Driver calls it “roomy” and “airy”, while Autocar described the cabin as “thoroughly modern”.

“Modern” appears more than once, actually. While not unusual for an electric car, the i3′s minimalist dashboard design and quirky fingertip-reach drive, parking brake and power switch pod are particularly deserving of the term.

There’s a flat floor and good visibility, though some have reservations over the rear door frames, which Road & Track called “awkward to climb into”–even if the suicide-style rear doors do help access for children or loading luggage.

Quality is generally good too–BMW itself is promising 5-Series levels of fit and finish–though one reviewer did note a slight echoey, tinny feel to the doors on the prototype.

Driving

With a rear-mounted motor providing rear-wheel drive, the i3 at least sends its power to the axle most familiar to BMW fans. At 184 lbs-ft of torque, there’s also plenty of power available as soon as you hit the accelerator pedal.

Autocar describes initial step-off as “instantaneous…entertaining pace”. Autoblog agrees, suggesting the i3 is “every bit capable” of reaching its near-on 7-second 0-60 mph time. Road & Track notes that its 0-37 mph figure of 3.8 seconds is the important one as that’s where it feels quickest–and says that “it actually has more torque than the Mini Cooper S, and it weighs less”.

Opinions are divided on the way the i3 handles.

Autoblog suggests, “If you try to make the i3 live up to the well-honed definition of “Ultimate Driving Machine,” you are categorically missing the entire point of the i3″, something backed up by reports from others that the little i3 lacks steering feel. It is however accurate, on the coned-off course of BMW’s early media drives, and weighting is well-suited to city driving.

The largest dissenting voice emanates from Motor Trend. Its early review uses the dreaded “golf cart” term shaken off by previous electric cars–not because the i3 drives like one, but because it isn’t entertaining enough for a BMW. “I would have fretted about the car’s vanilla EV-feel if it were a Toyota,” the reviewer says, “…coming from a BMW, it’s baffling.”

Ride quality isn’t oft discussed in the early reviews–there’s only so much one can assess on a smooth runway surface.

Likewise range, at the 80-100 miles (plus 80 miles for the range-extended car) promised by BMW, can only really be tested once longer drives take place.

It looks then like the BMW i3 should do well in its target environment, that of crowded city streets. But for the true BMW driving experience, well-heeled buyers might be better waiting for the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car.

Source: www.greencarreports.com

Could Electric Cars Threaten the Grid?

Some neighborhood grids just aren’t built for huge spikes in power demand. The rise of the electric car has utilities scrambling to adjust.

By Kevin Bullis in Technology Review (16 August 2013):

Why It Matters

Electric cars can draw large amounts of power from the grid.

Plugging in an electric vehicle is, in some cases, the equivalent of adding three houses to the grid. That has utilities in California—where the largest number of electric vehicles are sold—scrambling to upgrade the grid to avoid power outages.

Last year in the United States, only about 50,000 electric cars were sold. And researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have calculated that the grid has enough excess capacity to support over 150 million battery-powered cars, or about 75 percent of the cars, pickups, and SUVs on the road in the United States. But there’s a catch. While power plants and transmission lines have excess capacity, things can get tight when it comes to distributing power to individual neighborhoods. And this is especially the case since electric vehicle sales aren’t evenly distributed. In California, for example, they’re taking off in Silicon Valley and places such as Long Beach and Santa Monica.

Electric cars being sold today can draw two to five times more power when they’re charging than electric cars that came on the market just a couple of years ago. But the impact of charging one depends on where it is on the grid and how it is charged. They don’t pose a problem if they’re charged slowly at conventional 110 volt outlets. And public fast-charging stations don’t impact the grid much because they are part of commercial grids that have transformers and other equipment sized to accommodate large loads.

The trouble arises when electric car owners install dedicated electric vehicle charging circuits. In most parts of California, charging an electric car at one of those is the equivalent of adding one house to the grid, which can be a significant additional burden, since a typical neighborhood circuit has only five to 10 houses. In San Francisco, where the weather is cool and air conditioning is rarely used, the peak demand of a house is much lower than in the hotter parts of California. As a result, the local grid is sized for a much smaller load. A house in San Francisco might only draw two kilowatts of power at times of peak demand, according to Pacific Gas & Electric. In comparison, a new electric vehicle on a dedicated circuit could draw 6.6 kilowatts—and up to 20 kilowatts in the case of an optional home fast charger for a Tesla Model S.

Utilities are keeping a close eye on power demand—via smart meters—to identify neighborhoods that need an upgrade. They’re also working with automakers to get customers to tell them when they buy an electric vehicle—an approach that’s identifying about 40 percent of new electric cars for Southern California Edison.

Utilities say that the upgrades they’ve performed so far would have been made anyway as part of routine grid modernization. But telling the utility that you are buying an electric vehicle essentially brings your neighborhood to the top of the list. The upgrades are paid for by all rate payers, not the electric car owners.

Both PG&E and Southern California Edison are also working to avoid grid problems by offering special rate plans for EV owners. These give customers discounts for charging at night, during off-peak hours.

Electric cars can typically be programmed to charge at certain times, rather than just charging as soon as they’re plugged in. If car owners set their cars to be completely charged by a certain time, say 6 a.m., this has the effect of staggering when cars start charging. The start time depends on how depleted the battery is—to finish at 6 a.m. might require starting at 2 a.m. or 4 a.m., depending on how much charging is needed. So instead of a surge of power demand when people get home from work, the charging is spread out through the night.

It’s technically possible for utilities to communicate with cars to have them start charging when there’s excess power being produced, and stop when there’s a peak in demand. That way, utilities could use electric cars to help stabilize the grid, and avoid the need to use inefficient “peaker” power plants. Utilities could pay electric car owners to let them do this.

But such an approach depends on the choices that electric car owners make. If everyone decides to charge at home right away, and to charge at the fastest rate possible, that could strain the grid.

So far, it looks like most electric vehicle owners are often choosing to charge their vehicles slowly and at night, according to a study of electric vehicle owners by Southern California Edison. But as fast-charging, all-electric cars like the Model S sell in larger numbers, and as automakers seek to differentiate their electric cars by how fast they charge, that story could change.

Source: www.technologyreview.com

First fast charger for electric vehicles at mall in Singapore

Bosch Software Innovations announced last oth that the first fast charger for electric vehicles (EVs) located in a shopping mall has been set up at Changi City Point Mall. This will allow the EV test-bed participants to charge their EVs at the mall within 30 minutes instead of six hours at a standard charging station.

The fast charger was set-up by Bosch as part of the Singapore EV test-bed and is fully integrated into the network of more than 50 charging stations so far.

All EV test-bed participants are given access to a mobile app provided by Bosch Software Innovations. Amongst others, the app comprises a map to locate a charging station and displays its availability in real time.

“In a fast-paced city like Singapore it is important to keep up with the latest developments. We decided to set-up a fast charger in Changi City Point to make the shopping experience with us as pleasant as possible. While customers stock up on necessities, check out a good buy or dine in one of our restaurants, they can charge their EV and comfortably continue their journey afterwards”, says Emily Fong, Senior Centre Manager, Changi City Point Mall.

”In addition to the charging station infrastructure itself, software plays a crucial role to intelligently network charging stations. On the one hand this allows seamless usage by all drivers with a single subscription. On the other hand, it also allows for other value-added services to be provided. This includes for instance roaming across multiple charging networks operated by different service providers. Bosch Software Innovations has been involved in the area of electric mobility for several years now and offers easy-to-use and comprehensive solutions for service providers, EV operators and manufacturers as well as fleet operators“, explains Thomas Jakob, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Bosch Software Innovations.

The EV test-bed which is participated by 47 organizations is co-lead by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) to assess different EV prototypes and charging technologies based on Singapore’s urbanised environment and road conditions to determine the feasibility of using EVs in Singapore. This test bed was launched in June 2011 and will end on December 2013.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com