Wireless charging - the future for electric cars?

A US start-up WiTricity uses a different wireless charging method

The Citroen C1 springs to life and leaps forward with the enthusiasm only a French city runaround can muster.

This one is a little smoother and quieter than most. It's electric, and like all battery-operated automobiles needs regular charging.
But the top-up process is different from the usual hassle of plugging a bulky cable into a specially designed socket.
Here, the driver doesn't even need to get out.
"The charging is done wirelessly, you park up, turn off the key and voila... charging starts automatically," says Anthony Thomson, CEO of HaloIPT, a UK company that has installed the technology.
The process uses electromagnetic induction to transfer power from a pad built into the ground to another installed in the bottom of the car.

The charging is done wirelessly, you park up, turn off the key and voila... charging starts automatically”

Anthony Thomson HaloIPT

The system could be installed in a supermarket parking place, garage floor or the ground at a special charging station.

When a driver parks the vehicle, the two pads line up and with a flick of a switch, the charging starts.
Induction The phenomenon of electromagnetic induction was discovered by British physicist Michael Faraday in 1831.
He found that when two coils were placed close to each other and power applied to one of them, it produced a magnetic field, which then induced a voltage across the second coil.
In the case of charging a car, the coils are embedded inside the two pads.
The system was originally developed at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and commercialised by HaloIPT.

A total of 31 electric buses in Italy are charged wirelessly

And although some of the electricity inevitably gets wasted during the charging process, people who have tried it have praised its simplicity.

A total of 31 electric buses in Italy are charged wirelessly

Two of the induction-equipped C1s have been taking part in the Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators (CABLED) consortium - the world's biggest trial of electric vehicles.
"City planners don't like the prospect of a line of charge posts down streets, adding to the existing street clutter," said Neil Butcher, the CABLED project leader, who has been driving one of the two cars since May 2011.

"There are obvious health and safety issues associated with many live electric cables hanging between the post and the car, especially in bad weather”

Neil Butcher CABLED consortium

"The lack of any visible connection minimises any risk of vandalism - unplugging or theft of cables.

"There are also obvious health and safety issues associated with many live electric cables hanging between the post and the car, especially in bad weather, including electric shock and trip hazards," added Mr Butcher.
But with wireless power transfer, bad weather is not a problem, claims HaloIPT.
Pads remain perfectly operational and safe in any conditions, "sending" the energy up, even through a layer of snow.
As simple as the process might sound, there is a catch - there are currently no charging stations in the UK.
So Mr Butcher can only feed his hungry Citroen at his garage where the system has been installed as part of a pilot project. As a back-up he can switch to a conventional plug-in cable charging point.
But HaloIPT is certain that things will improve in the future, and induction stations will become commonplace.

The experimental Rolls Royce 102EX Phantom model is equipped with inductive charging plates

One of their first visitors may be a Rolls Royce.
The luxury carmaker has equipped its latest electric model, the 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric with a magnetic induction plate.
And the technology is being deployed in more down-to-earth modes of transport.

read full story here

Solar panels to top whisky depots; Hiram Walker plans huge project

Windsor Star
Wed Jul 13 2011
Page: A1 / Front
Section: News
Byline: Dylan Kristy
Source: The Windsor Star

It could be the largest venture of its kind in the country, if the authorities that oversee power production in Ontario allow it.
Windsor's Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. is hoping to become home to the largest rooftop solar plant in Canada, with more than 35,000 solar panels blanketing the surface of its Pike Creek warehouses in Lakeshore.
And while Jim Stanski is confident the project will be approved by the Ontario Power Authority, the vice-president of operations at Hiram Walker said he has some trepidation about the upcoming provincial election.
"We're basically ready to go, so we're just waiting on the OPA approval and we hope that an election won't torpedo the whole project," Stanski said Tuesday. He said OPA usually takes about six to eight months to approve a project and theirs was submitted five months ago.
Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak has said that, if elected in October, he plans to scrap aspects of the Ontario Green Energy Act - including a multibillion-dollar deal with Samsung, which has been estimated to create up to 16,000 direct and indirect jobs across the province.
"Our government is proud of the success our clean energy investments and projects have had in replacing coal, cleaning our air, attracting investment and creating jobs," Brad Duguid, Ontario's energy minister, said in a statement.
"The only thing driving uncertainty right now is a political uncertainty brought about by Tim Hudak's reckless promise to kill our clean energy economy and take down thousands of jobs with it."
Built under the feed-in tariff program for renewable energy, the 7.9-megawatt project will cover nine of the 16 warehouses Hiram Walker uses to mature its bottles of whisky, near East Pike Creek Road and County Road 22 in Lakeshore.
The project is slated to be completed in partnership with Mississaugabased solar panel installer Solar and Alternative Technology Corp. and German-based manufacturer Soventix Canada Inc., pending approval by the OPA.
Mariana Marquez, spokeswoman for Soventix, said the advantage this project will have over others that have failed to receive approval is the combined experience of both companies.
She said Solar and Alternative Technology Corp. has been an industry leader for over 15 years, originally stemming from Germany, and Soventix is one of the largest fully integrated solar module manufacturers in the world.
"We are confident that everything will go through because it is a solid project and it comes from good companies," Marquez said.
"We have submitted all the information necessary and we're confident that everything is going to go well."
The companies have entered into a 20-year lease agreement with Hiram Walker and will produce enough electricity to power 3,000 homes and offset 9,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
Instead of collecting revenue over the 20-year lease, Hiram Walker will received a lump sum payment that will be reinvested to purchase higher efficiency boilers for the distillery, Stanski said.
"We are actually looking at further reducing our greenhouse gas by another 20 per cent here on site if we get approved," he said, adding that the amount of the lump sum payment is confidential.
"Not only should this project be quite beneficial to the Province of Ontario's sustainability efforts but it also allows us to improve our processes while demonstrating our commitment to responsible production."

PLAYING THE BLAME GAME with the Green Energy Act

Windsor Star
Wed Jul 13 2011
Page: A6
Section: Editorial/Opinion
Source: The Windsor Star

The Liberals and Tories are taking shots at each other after a story last week revealed Siliken Canada will lay off two shifts at its Windsor plant.
Each has accused the other of making inflammatory statements, but in reality, there's enough blame to go around. Both parties have contributed to the problems the company now faces.
There's no question Conservative Leader Tim Hudak jeopardized the long-term viability of the fledgling solar panel operation when he vowed to kill the Green Energy Act if elected premier on Oct. 6.
That threat created a chill throughout the entire industry, and the layoff of 70 workers - most of whom were unemployed before Siliken hired them - reflects that sense of trepidation.
Richard Monk, the company's production manager, called Hudak "Public enemy No. 1," and said "the impression he creates scares away business." It certainly looks that way.
But Monk was just as blunt when talking about the Liberals' inability to cut through red tape. "The real issue is the lack of action by Hydro One. You're at the bottom of the list if you're solar or wind power," he said.
Neither Hydro One nor the Ontario Power Authority have a stake in renewable energy, said Monk, and because of that they're slow to deal with capacity issues.
We believe that's the real crux of the problem, and it must be dealt with quickly. The provincial Liberals have ownership of these delays, which began long before Hudak shook the marketplace with his comments about feed-intariffs and other aspects of the Green Energy Act.
The Liberals are trying to deflect responsibility and justify the long delays because of what MPP Sandra Pupatello calls the "skyrocketing growth that has come too fast for the province's Hydro One and the Ontario Power Authority to keep pace and get solar, wind and other renewable sources on to the grid."
This comes as a big surprise to Essex County, because there was no evidence of these problems when she and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan attended the opening ceremonies at Siliken in May. Indeed, having actively recruited makers of wind and solar energy to locate in Ontario, one could assume a plan had been put in place.
If there are problems getting the grid to function more quickly, it's the government's job to fix it. If - and this is more likely the case - Hydro One and the power authority aren't convinced these are top priorities, the government has to make it clear that they are.
And if Premier Dalton McGuinty believes it is unreasonable for Hydro One to limit renewable energy to just seven per cent of peak-time generation, that should be changed.
"We've got the product, we've got the technology and we've got the customers," Monk told The Star. "But until things change with the government and the politics we have no other recourse but to lay people off."
Mayor Eddie Francis, dismissing the claim that the problems were caused by Hudak rather than restricted grid access, sent this message to those in charge of Ontario's power production: "Get your act in gear."
We agree. As the battle continues, it's worth noting the Conservatives backpedalled last week and said they wouldn't kill existing green energy agreements if elected. That should make companies like Siliken breathe easier - if they don't fall prey to bureaucratic red tape first.

Poisoning Canada's water

Dear friends,
An American hedge fund is about to break ground on a massive mining project that could poison a million people's drinking water, would create an open pit deeper than Niagara Falls and decimate thousands of acres of lush farmland -- and we have 4 days to stop them. Sign the petition to stop the mega-quarry:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_quarry/?cl=1145842351&v=9524

An American hedge fund is about to break ground on a massive mining project that could poison a million people's drinking water and the headwaters for five major rivers, would create an open pit deeper than Niagara Falls and decimate thousands of acres of lush farmland -- and we have 4 days to stop them.
For years, Highland Companies deceived residents, posing as a potato farming company and quietly buying up thousands of acres of land from local farmers. Then, it was suddenly revealed that the massive plot of farmland would be converted into a limestone quarry -- a 2300 acre pit so deep it would seriously interfere with the ground water system in the region. But, in order to start digging, Highland must win approval from Minister of Natural Resources Linda Jeffrey.

Jeffrey is taking 4 more days to consider public opinion on this quarry before making her decision. We can deliver an overwhelming wave of opposition to Highland's destructive plan. Sign the petition, forward it to everyone and it will be submitted to Jeffrey before the consultation period ends.

Highland's mega-quarry is smack dab in the middle of farmland the whole country depends on for food production. If built, it could poison clean ground water that feeds the lakes and rivers many Canadians use for drinking water. The quarry would require over seven thousand trucks to transport limestone each and every day, upping carbon emissions and requiring new roads to handle the exploding traffic -- further destroying the natural habitat of hundreds of species of animals. The city-sized pit would scar the land long after the mining was finished.

But, residents and environmental activists are working hard to oppose the quarry's license -- even the Environment Minister has called for further assessments. Ontario's Liberal government faces a tough re-election fight in October and Liberal Minister Linda Jeffrey is concerned about public opinion in these key months before votes are cast. A national call will put pressure on Jeffrey and her party to stand up for Canada's environment, its farmers and the fresh water many Canadians depend on for survival.

Let's bring the voice of all Canadians to Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources and force her to kill Highland's plan for environmental destruction. Sign the petition and then forward widely.
Ontario's government should not be allowed to destroy the rivers, forests and farm land we all depend on for survival. For too long, provincial governments have kept key environmental decisions out of the national conversation -- we have a chance to change that. As one country, with a commitment to the environment and the health and safety of all Canadians, we can speak up.
MORE INFORMATION

Council of Canadians report on the mega-quarry
http://www.canadians.org/index2.html

Limestone quarry threatens prime farm land (Toronto Star)
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/734969--limestone-quarry-threatens-prime-farm-land

Environment ministry blasts mega-quarry proposal (Toronto Star)
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1017849--environment-ministry-blasts-mega-quarry-proposal

The call for open submissions to the Ministry of Natural Resources
http://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=MTEyNTY2&statusId=MTY4ODI5&language=en

Chong calls for federal review of quarry proposal (Guelph Mercury)
http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/549053--chong-calls-for-federal-review-of-quarry-proposal