The Electric Auto Association is your Electric Car & Vehicle authority
for Reno, Sparks, Washoe County, & Northern Nevada!
We also encourage and support interest in all forms
of alternative transportation options as well as
renewable energy technologies and policies.
~ Menu ~
Become a fan of the Electric Auto Association of Northern Nevada (EAANN)
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 This Week in Energy (TWiEpodcast) is co-hosted by Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield (UK) and Bob Tregilus (USA) (also the co-chair of the EAANN) and streams live each Wednesday at 15:00 UTC (8:00am PDT & 11:00am EDT). Click the banner above to visit the TWiEpodcast website and/or to watch our live video broadcast with interactive chat every Wednesday! Or click the banner below to subscribe to the TWiEpodcast feed with your favorite online subscription service or podcatcher application!
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~ Our Mission ~
The Electric Auto Association (EAA) of Northern Nevada is for electric vehicle enthusiasts in Reno, Sparks, Washoe County and surrounding areas. We are the regional chapter of the Electric Auto Association whose mission, in part, is to act as a public source of information about electric vehicle (EV) technology, to encourage experimentation in the building of EVs, and to organize exhibits and events to educate the public and civic leaders on the progress and benefits of EV technology.
The EAA of Northern Nevada (EAANN) is also involved with urban planning that promotes equitable smart-growth policies which include efficient walkable / bikeable communities augmented with clean public transportation options and greenspaces. To that end we are actively developing initiatives to accelerate deployment of distributed renewable energy generation capacity with a focus on "smart-garage" implementation where buildings, transportation, and the electric grid meet forming a synergistic relationship that enhances efficiency, reduces costs, and mitigates climate changing greenhouse gas emissions.
(Note: The "Electric Auto Association of Northern Nevada" (EAANN) was formerly known as the "Alternative Transportation Club & Electric Auto Association of Northern Nevada" - we simply dropped the ATC part.)
And, of course, your donations help us achieve our goals!
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~ Advertisements ~
(This space is offered free of charge by the members of the EAANN.)
Please support businesses that promote sustainable practices in Northern Nevada!
 |
 RTC RIDESHARE is a web-based service that makes carpool matching easy, fast, convenient, and accurate. Enter your traveling preferences and receive the best potential carpool matches back in a matter of seconds. You can also look for bicycle riding companions. |
 For a variety of electric bicycles please consider our friends at Bicycle Bananas, 2005 Sierra Highlands Dr. #115 in Reno. For more information call Dan or Mike at 775.747.1413. |
|
 Owning an Electric Car by frequent This Week in Energy guest, Mike Boxwell, is the essential book for anyone who is interested in owning an electric car and who wants to know more about them. |
Please
support our meeting location hosts! All Points Towing: We don't charge an arm and a leg, we just want your tows. 775-323-4002  |
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~ Next Meeting ~
(Everyone is welcome to attend EAANN meetings. You don't have to own an EV. The only requirement is an interest in sustainable transportation options such as gas-hybrids, xEVs, scooters, and bicycles as well as renewable energy technologies. No membership is required and these are no pressure meetings: we don't pass the hat for donations.)
NEXT MEETING: Our next meeting is Thursday, September 9th, 2010 at 6:00pm at All Points Towing, 2801-B Vassar St, Reno.
MEETING TOPICS: We'll be showing the EV conversion instructional video, Convert It!
This is the video companion to the highly-acclaimed Convert It book. The book has guided thousands of do-it-yourselfers through the electric conversion process, and was chosen by the Department of Energy to be issued to high schools in the Mid Atlantic Electric Vehicle Challenge. Now this valuable guide is available on DVD. Conversion authority Mike Brown of Electro Automotive leads you through the conversion process, from choosing a chassis and stripping it, to maintenance and driving. This is the DVD that tells you how to do it.
DIRECTIONS: Click >>> HERE <<< for a map to our meeting location.
~ ~ ~
Here's a fun little music video about EVs. This is "Electric Cars" from the album Here Comes Science by They Might Be Giants.
The must see pilot of Robert Llewellyn's new series Fully Charged! As my friends in the UK and Down Under say, "Brilliant!"
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~Fun EVents! ~
~ FALL PICNIC at RANCHO SAN RAFAEL PARK, Sat, 9/25 ~
Fall picnic time on September 25th from 11:00am to 4:00pm at Rancho San Rafael Park!
Bring your EV (if you have one), your family and friends, chairs, drinks, and something to share with others! It's a POT LUCK! The EAANN will provide a pop-up, tables, BBQ, hot dogs, buns, condiments, plates, utensils, & paper towels - you bring whatever else you might need. Bring your kids too - there's a big playground for them to enjoy as well.
Click here for a map!
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~ Photos of Member's Electric Cars ~
| EAANN Patriarch & Burner Bill Brinsmead's fleet: 1973 Custom Trike Little Boy 1992 GMC G-Van 1992 Toyota MR-2 1994 Chevrolet S-10 1996 APS Bus 1973 Cadillac Hearse |
EAANN Co-Chair, Chuck Swackhammer: 1969 Subaru 360 Star 2006 Pantara Freedom 2006 Zap Xebra PK |
EAANN Treasurer, Peter Fletcher: 1993 Solectria Force Peter's EV YouTube videos includes Jerry Asher's Plug-in Prius |
EAANN Co-chair, Bob Tregilus: 1976 Kawasaki KZ400 Pictures from PIA's CARB ZEV Rally that Bob attended March ('08) |
| Fallon
resident, Mike Krumpe: Schwinn Frontier MTN |
EAANN member, Tod Colegrove: 1959 MGA Roadster |
Reno Burner, Dale Huntsman: Big Giant Head |
EAANN member, Glee Willis: 2003 eGO Cycle 2LX |
| Pictures
of a restored EV-1 that was in Reno winter of '07. |
EAANN member, Mick Delaney: 2004 Catrike Road |
Jerry Asher
and his Spirit of DC - PHEV3A plug-in electric Prius taking a break in Reno from his 48 state tour. |
EAANN member, Neal Peters: 1980 VW Rabbit 1990 Honda CT90 |
| Pictures
of an OEM Toyota RAV4 EV & Tesla Roadsters at Tahoe greenFEST, July 11 & 12 2009 |
EAANN member, Kirk White: 1990 Chevy S-10 |
EAANN Member, John Sagebiel: 2007 Optibike 600t & 2008 Optibike 800Li |
Stinkers will be stinkers. Here's a big one blocking not one but two EV charging stations. |
| Your EV's picture here! | Pictures
of a Tesla Roadster that visited Reno in early July, 09. |
EAANN member, Tom Wicker: 2001 Suzuki Swift |
Your EV's picture here! |
~ Get Your EV Listed Here ~
Do you live in Northern Nevada and own an EV? Post it at the Electric Vehicle Photo Album, send us the link, and we'll post it here!
~ EV Charging Locations (Juice Bars) ~
Looking for an EV "juice bar" in Northern Nevada? The first public EV charging stations were installed at Truckee Meadows Community College in the winter of 2008. Follow this link for a map and these links: 1 2 3 for pictures! Do you know of other juice bars in Northern Nevada tell us about them! We'll offer free advertising for local businesses who install EV charging stations, so what are you waiting for?
~ EV Builder's Resources ~
Are you building an electric car? Need local resources for parts? For new & recycled electric and electronic parts try Western Nevada Electric Sales at 2250 Dickerson Road, Reno, 775.337.1966. For welding wire (battery cables) try Sierra Welding Supply Company at 1300 Glendale Avenue, Reno, 775.359.4445. For large value fuses and relays try Nevada Forklift Sales Inc., at 13951 Mount Bismark Street, Reno, 775.329.6783.
~ The Electric Vehicle Calculator ~
EAANN member "tomofreno" discussed the physics and engineering considerations for electric transportation at our March 2009 meeting. He has developed a wonderful spreadsheet - an EV calculator - that will calculate the speed and range for various vehicles based on a number of variables such as battery chemistry, weight, aerodynamics, and many more. You can download the EV Calculator HERE (compressed MSExcel 2007 .xlsx version) or HERE (MSExcel 1997 compatible version), both versions work fine in the opensource OpenOffice which is your webmaster's preferred office suite. Please send feedback, suggestions for improvement, or questions to tomofreno at: tomofreno2000[AT]yahoo[DOT]com.
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~ Stay in Touch! ~
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~ Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariffs Initiative ~
Update (5/24): As a result of a presentation given to the Interim Committee on the Production and Use of Energy by Bob Tregilus last November an investigatory docket (#09-11004) was opened at the Public Utility Commission of Nevada (PUCN). The results of that investigation will be delivered to the Legislative Interim Committee on the Production and Use of Energy on 6/01/2010 in both Carson City and Las Vegas. If you support FITs please come to the 6/1 meeting and tell the legislative committee you support renewable energy in Nevada and that through a feed-in tariff program everyone who wishes to feed renewable energy into the grid should be paid a fair tariff (price) for doing so! It's very important, without public support we'll never have a feed-in tariff program in Nevada.
Renewable. It's Doable! (If we pay people a fair tariff (price) to feed renewable energy into the grid.)
Thank you for your interest in feed-in tariffs or FITs (where 'tariff" equals a "rate" paid, not a tax)! FITs are time-tested as the world's most cost effective and equitable policy tool for accelerating deployment of distributed renewable energy (RE) generation capacity and clean-tech jobs at no cost to government or utilities and negligible cost to the consumer. Electric vehicle enthusiasts are interested in RE because we not only like running our cars on electricity, but we'd prefer that electricity was generated from clean renewable resources such as the sun, wind, geothermal, hydro, and biogas.
With FITs, homeowners, schools, businesses, local governments, coops, Native American communities - as well as the utility - are all equally welcome to generate RE and feed it into the grid. For each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy produced, the generator is paid a price that's based on the cost of production plus a reasonable rate of return on investment. Because FITs guarantee grid access, establish a fixed contract and a price that's differentiated by technology (i.e., solar, wind, geothermal, landfill gas, or biogas), resource quality, location, and project size - equipment manufacturers, installation companies and their customers are all confident that building or purchasing RE equipment is a safe long-term investment. Simply put: the policy stability created by FITs inspires investor confidence which will benefit our state in capital investment in manufacturing capacity, deployment of RE generation capacity - and lot and lots of jobs!
For a quick primer on FITs please follow this link. Two, more comprehensive reports, on FITs are: Feed-in Tariffs in America: Driving the Economy with Renewable Energy Policy that Works and FiT for America. Also be sure to read Electricity Feed Laws: Fast Track to Renewable Energy Growth by Paul Gipe from the May '09 edition of Solar Today.
Here are some suggested websites to learn more about FITs: Paul Gipe's Wind-Works; the World Future Council's Policy Action on Climate Toolkit; and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Energy Analysts Dig into Feed-In Tariffs.
To accomplish the goal of adopting a FITs program in Nevada - which will stimulate investment and job creation in renewable energy - the Electric Auto Association of Northern Nevada (EAANN) has drafted a resolution for use as a tool to build a broad-spectrum coalition to support adoption of a feed-in law that will create a FITs program in Nevada. (Here's a link to the legislative summary for the draft feed-in law.)
But first, we need a core group of interested organizations and individuals to help finalize both the draft FITs resolution as well as the draft FITs law. Once that task is complete we will be ready to move forward and build support for the adoption of a FITs program in Nevada by 2011, or perhaps earlier.
Thank you for your interest and please don't hesitate to contact me for further information.
Sincerely,
Bob Tregilus, co-chair, EAANN
Voice: (775) 826-4514 | Email: elaterite[AT]yahoo[DOT]com
Please watch this five minute segment about feed-in tariffs from the video Payback Time a production of the World Future Council.
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~ Learn More! ~
Visit the Electric Auto Association for more information about EVs and how to buy or convert to an electric - Zero Emissions Gas Free - vehicle! Join the Electric Auto Association (please be sure to indicate you support the EAANN so your regional chapter benefits from your membership) and receive the fantastic, action packed, Current EVents magazine.
Also, be sure to visit Plug-in America at http://pluginamerica.com. And don't miss PIA's Plug-in Vehicle Tracker: What's Coming and When.
Are you looking for a place to charge your EV? Then checkout the EV Charger Maps at http://www.evchargermaps.com. Do you know of a place to charge an EV that isn't on the map then email Tom at tom[AT]tomdowling[DOT]net and tell him about it.
See a vast array of EV conversions, purpose built, OEM, and art cars at the world famous EV Photo Album! It's a great place to start your research before beginning your own EV conversion project.
Check out the EV FAQs & Myths page at Plug-in America! Debunks the longer tail-pipe EV (moving pollution to the power plant) and battery pollution myths. And take a look at the ATC eNewsletter volume 2, number 4 for additional information on EV scams, EV water consumption myth, drilling for oil, and running your car on water.
There's a great book out called, Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars That Will Recharge America by Sherry Boschert, vice-president of Plug In America.
And learn about how plugging in your car can actually earn you money! No kidding: the electric companies will pay you for plugging in your car! It's called Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology. And there's a new book out called V2G 101, highly recommended!
"The long-term case for V2G boils down to a choice. We can keep the electric system and vehicle fleet separate, in which case we substantially increase the cost of renewable energy because we have to build storage to match intermittent capacity. Or, we can connect the vehicle and electric power systems intelligently, using the vast untapped storage of an emerging electric-drive vehicle fleet to serve the electric grid."
-- Willett Kempton & Jasna Tomić, 2004
"The early adopters of plug-in hybrid vehicles would be able to enter our regulation market. We need something in the thousand megawatts to twelve hundred megawatts of regulation on the PJM system and we would pay those vehicles to be a part of that market. Our current clearing price is about $35 to $40 per megawatt per hour you're in the regulation market so it is a very lucrative market."
--Terry Boston, President & CEO of PJM Interconnection*, speaking on September 29, 2009 at the webinar, The Present and Future of Grid-Connected Energy Storage hosted by Transmission & Distribution World at the 0:50:25 timestamp.
Here's is how V2G works out based on what Terry Boston said: With your car plugged into grid and the regulation market paying $35.00 per megawatt per hour and if your car is able to provide 10kW of power for 20 hours per day your car will earn $2555.00 in a year! ($35.00/1MW x10kWs x 20 x 365 = $2555.00.) Actually, most experts suggest an EV can provide 15kW and that they are plugged into the grid on average for 23 hours each day. Using the higher rate of $40 per megawatt per hour the result would be: $40.00/1MW x 15kWs x 23 x 365 = $5037!
Finally, V2G and smart-grid technology come together where buildings, transportation, and the electric grid intersect to create the smart-garage!
The goal of EVs, renewable energy, and the smart-garage is to increase efficiency and displace fossil-fuel consumption while promoting national energy security as well as mitigating GHG emissions that contribute to climate change. (EV's are also nice and quite and won't stink-up our cities with exhaust fumes! Would you drive your car if the exhaust pipe came out of the steering wheel?)
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~ eNews Archives ~
You may access all of the EAANN eNewsletters by following this link. The file names indicate the eNewsletter volume and number. For example: enews13.pdf is volume 1 number 3 and enews21.pdf is volume2 number 1. The largest number is always the most recent edition. The eNewsletters require a PDF reader. (We suggest you use a non-Adobe PDF reader such as the opensource Sumatra PDF viewer.)
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~ Contact Us ~
Co-chair (elected 8/12):
Bob Tregilus, 775.826.4514, elaterite[AT]yahoo[DOT]com
Co-chair (elected 8/12):
Jeb Bateman
Treasurer (elected 8/12):
Debbie
~ Speakers available for your next meeting, event, radio or TV show! ~
Bob is happy to discuss alternative transportation and electric vehicles at your next meeting or event. He has presentations on energy policy, fossil fuels, peak oil, renewable energy feed-in tariffs and electric vehicles tailored for beginners as well as the technically minded. Bob is experienced doing TV, radio, and podcast interviews.
And don't forget that Bob is a co-host of the international weekly show, This Week in Energy (TWiEpodcast), which is free to watch, listen to, or download at http://ThisWeekinEnergy.tv!
~Consulting Services ~
Bob Tregilus is available to consult and/or lobby on a wide range of renewable energy policy issues, electric drive transportation implementation and infrastructure build out, spatial planning, public opinion, community organizing, and smart-growth principles that incorporate next generation transportation options and distributed renewable energy generation capacity. For more details please visit Bob's Linkedin profile or you may call Bob at 775.826.4514 for further information.
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