Rolls-Royce will leapfrog rival Bentley into the all-electric era.
Rolls-Royce launched its first EV, dubbed the Spectre, in 2023 a year after the luxury coupe arrived to signal electric excess.
Automotive News reported the automaker is now planning two new EVs including a crossover and a sedan.
The second Rolls-Royce EV to join the lineup after the Spectre coupe will be an SUV. The automaker’s electric SUV is going to be full-size, but smaller than today’s V-12-powered Cullinan, according to Automotive News. Expect the electric SUV to arrive in early 2027.
Following the electric SUV in late 2028 will be Rolls-Royce’s third EV, a sedan. Automotive News reported the electric sedan will be the replacement for the full-size Phantom flagship. The Phantom is a historic Rolls-Royce nameplate and it’s unclear if the electric sedan will bear the name.
The Spectre will serve as the Phantom coupe’s replacement for the foreseeable future. Rolls-Royce already had to recall the Spectre EV due to an insufficient electrical ground that could increase the chance of a fire.
Like other automakers, Rolls-Royce committed to go all-electric by 2030, but unlike competitors, it remains steadfast with that commitment. Despite over 60% of Rolls-Royce vehicles having a V-12 under the hood during the first quarter of 2024, the automaker will wind down models with a combustion engine by the end of 2031.
Rolls-Royce’s main competitor, Bentley, said in 2020 it would have an entire lineup of plug-in hybrids by 2026 and move to an electric lineup by 2030. But in March Bentley noted its first EV won’t debut until 2026 with deliveries starting in 2027. That puts the luxury automaker’s first EV two years later than Bentley planned in 2020. Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark said the automaker will delay its plan to sell only EVs by 2030 blaming the changing market landscape.
On today’s exciting episode of Quick Charge, Elon thinks his Robotaxi will be cheaper to ride than the bus, but he’s got bigger fish to fry as Volvo overtakes Tesla in Europe and the Republicans try to squash EVs in congress.
As far as popularity contests go, Ford and Kia have the most searched-for EVs on Cars.com, Hyundai is gearing up for battle in Europe, Scooter takes the Polestar 3 for a spin, and we remind you to listen to T-Swift and vote this November.
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Multiple motor carriers have lined up to participate in a test of a single Peterbilt tractor powered by a Cummins engine fueled by renewable natural gas.
The program is being operated by alternative fuel supplier Clean Energy Fuels, which will provide the RNG from its portfolio of service stations.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services is first in line to test the 2025 Peterbilt 579 tractor equipped with the Cummins X15N engine. Ruan, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings and Kenan Advantage Group will follow.
J.B. Hunt ranks No. 3 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 2 on the TT Top 100 truckload/dedicated haulers sector list. Knight-Swift ranks No. 7 on the TT Top 100 for-hire carriers list and No. 1 among truckload carriers. Kenan ranks No. 21 on the TT Top 100 for-hire carriers list and is the top-ranked tank truck/bulk carrier. Ruan ranks No. 23 on the TT Top 100 for-hire carriers list and No. 12 on the truckload list.
We are excited to announce our participation in @ce_renewables’s pilot program using the natural gas-powered Cummins X15N tractor. Learn more about this step in our sustainability journey! https://t.co/BHypnztTVE
— J.B. Hunt 360 (@jbhunt360) September 16, 2024
Each carrier will test the day cab tractor in succession. Further fleet testing is expected toward the end of 2024 and into 2025, said Clean Energy.
Full production of Cummins’ X15N natural gas engine got underway in September. Peterbilt launched production of trucks with the engine in the third quarter. In addition to the Model 579, Peterbilt offers the truck as an option on the Model 567 and 520 refuse truck models.
Lowell, Ark.-based J.B. Hunt already operates more than 180 RNG-powered vehicles. The company’s experience with RNG stretches back more than 15 years.
“We are constantly exploring and testing opportunities that have the potential to deliver value for customers who are looking to reduce carbon emissions in their supply chain,” said Greer Woodruff, executive vice president of safety, sustainability and maintenance at J.B. Hunt. “We are excited to be the first carrier in Clean Energy’s pilot program and to get hands-on experience with the Cummins X15N tractor. Vehicles powered by renewable natural gas produce significantly less carbon emissions throughout their life cycle and are more compatible with today’s available infrastructure than most competing emissions reduction technologies.”
“The new technology and supporting fuel network in this pilot have the potential to be a viable, cost-effective solution for customers wanting to decrease their carbon footprint in the near term,” he added.
We’ve launched our demo truck program with @jbhunt360 kicking off the test drives. Powered by #renewablenaturalgas #RNG, the @PeterbiltGroup tractor is equipped with @Cummins #X15N & will be tested by fleets looking to challenge the engine’s capabilities: https://t.co/aJQRKnUsBW pic.twitter.com/XmL3RWbck3
— Clean Energy (@ce_renewables) September 16, 2024
J.B. Hunt has set a goal to reduce its carbon emissions by 32% by 2034 from a 2019 baseline. In 2023, the company surpassed the halfway mark for reaching its goal.
The carrier is testing multiple fuel options as well as expanding its intermodal operations. For example, it is testing the potential of hydrogen-fueled trucks and battery-electric options, including tractors manufactured by Nikola Motors. The carrier is keen not to put all its eggs in one basket.
“For one electric truck, you will need the same electricity that it takes to power 600 homes. To put that in perspective, the fast-charging infrastructure needed to support J.D. Hunt’s fleet — if we were to be entirely electric — would be the electricity of 1.4 million households. That’s 1% of the U.S.,” CEO Shelley Simpson told the Advanced Clean Transportation 2024 conference in May.
The company is pushing for an increase in charging infrastructure; it has joined the Powering America’s Commercial Transportation lobbying coalition launched by Paccar Inc., Daimler Truck North America, Navistar Inc. and Volvo Group North America launched in January..
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Barra said GM is on track to be EV-only by 2035 if customers are ready
GM’s Corvette boss didn’t commit to an electric Corvette, but one’s already been confirmed
GM’s top executive is surprised that EVs became a political lightning rod.
“It did surprise me; I never thought the propulsion system on a vehicle would be (a political issue),” GM CEO Mary Barra said during an interview with Kris Van Cleave for CBS Sunday Morning.
In 2021 GM said that it would not sell vehicles with tailpipes by 2035 and that it intended to be net-zero carbon status by 2040.
The all EV pledge still exists—kind of. Barra told Van Cleave that for GM’s light-duty vehicles (i.e. not its heavy-duty pickup trucks) it will be ready to be EV only by the originally stated 2035 mark. But Barra was quick to note that the automaker will be “guided by the consumer, but the plans we have in place will get us there.”
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ
In 2022 GM announced it would produce 1 million EVs in North America annually by 2025. That included 600,000 electric trucks. But that’s not going to happen. Barra backed away from that EV target in July noting slowing demand.
Addressing concerns about softening EV sales, Barra noted the automaker never thought this would be a linear transition. While EV market share is sagging in California, overall EV sales are up in the state leading EV sales for the U.S. market.
Van Cleave asked Barra if legacy automakers can move fast enough to compete on the world’s stage against Chinese automakers. “I believe yes, absolutely yes we can and I think yes we are. Our workforce is quite young,” Barra said.
Barra noted that most of GM’s technical talent has been with the company less than five years. She said “for about 40% the new, young, employees are joining GM because they want to be part of a company that is going to change and lead in the move to electric vehicles.”
Teaser video for C8 Chevrolet Corvette hybrid
Van Cleave also interviewed Tony Roma, the executive chief engineer of the Corvette sports car. When asked about an electric Corvette Roma told Van Cleave that GM wouldn’t apply electrification just for the sake of it. “It has to earn its way in and make the cars better in a way our customers will respond to,” Roma said.
GM president Mark Reuss announced in 2022 that an electric Corvette is in the works. First to come would be the electrified Corvette E-Ray hybrid, which arrived in 2023. No timeline has been given for the electric Corvette, but Reuss noted it would be Ultium-based, which means it would theoretically not ride on the current C8 Corvette’s chassis.
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#CEO #surprised #EVs #political
Renewables developer rPlus Energies has broken ground on one of the largest solar + battery storage projects in the US, in east-central Utah.
The Green River Energy Center in Emery County, Utah, is a 400-megawatt (MW) solar and 400 MW/1,600-megawatt-hour battery storage project that will supply power to western electric utility PacifiCorp under a power purchase agreement.
EliTe Solar is supplying solar panels, and Tesla is providing battery storage. Sundt Construction is the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for the project.
Securing over $1 billion in construction debt financing in July, the Green River project is expected to create around 500 jobs. Salt Lake City-based rPlus Energies gives the target completion date as 2026.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), as of Q2 2024, Utah has nearly 3.5 GW of solar installed. It forecasts another 6.1 GW will be installed in the state over the next five years, moving it from 13th to 11th for national ranking.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, in 2023, 46% of Utah’s electricity net generation came from coal-fired power plants, down from 75% in 2015.
Read more: The US government opens up more federal lands for solar – to 31 million acres
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Brooklyn-based electric mobility and infrastructure platform Revel has formed a partnership with California-based startup Juice to integrate its automatic charging technology across Revel’s public fast charging stations in New York City. Juice uses computer vision to identify a user’s unique vehicle, and can then initiate charging sessions and complete payments with no need for physical payment devices or apps.
Unlike Plug & Charge or Autocharge, Juice’s technology does not require any OEM integration, and is designed to work with any make and model of EV. The new technology is currently available at all three of Revel’s public fast charging sites in Brooklyn and Queens.
“Revel is the perfect fit for our platform, with high usage at all of their charging locations,” said James Murfin, CEO and co-founder of Juice. “This partnership demonstrates how EV charging can be as seamless as unlocking your phone with your face.”
“Charging is still a young industry, so there’s a lot of opportunity to innovate and improve as more and more people get their first EV,” said Paul Suhey, COO and co-founder of Revel. “The less time drivers spend at a charging stall, the better it is for them, and the better it is for us. Especially true for rideshare drivers, where every minute at the plug is time they could be on the road earning.”
Peter Laier, a member of the ZF Group board of management, spoke during a press conference at the ZF booth. (Mindy Long/Special to Transport Topics)
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HANOVER, Germany — Manufacturers exhibiting at IAA Transportation 2024 showcased new innovations to help reduce carbon emissions in the trucking industry.
“Decarbonization is the dominating topic at IAA and in transportation around the world,” said Peter Laier, a member of the ZF Group board of management.
About 1,700 exhibitors from more than 40 countries took part in IAA. Cummins CEO Jennifer Rumsey said the event shows the industry is changing and that customers demand optionality and functional solutions to lower emissions.
“Our customers are running real businesses, and our products are helping them do the difficult work needed to power economies, move goods around the world and provide good jobs for people in our communities,” she said during a press conference. “As we move closer to these new, stricter vehicle-level standards, power technology decisions are becoming tougher and more complex.”
Cummins CEO Jennifer Rumsey said CO2 regulations will not be met with a single solution. (Mindy Long/Special to Transport Topics)
Cummins Moves Toward Destination Zero
Cummins has embraced a “Destination Zero” strategy, which Rumsey said is a multilevel approach that leverages its integrated suite of power offerings across its core and Accelera by Cummins systems.
“Last year, we allocated a record $1.4 billion in research and development,” Rumsey explained. “These investments are enabling greenhouse gas reduction through improvements in fuel-economy performance of diesel and natural gas-powered vehicles and related components, as well as development activities for hydrogen engine solutions, battery-electric, fuel cell and hydrogen production technologies.”
Cummins showcased some of its latest advancements in powertrain technologies, including after treatments, rear drive axles, e-axles and brakes. (Mindy Long/Special to Transport Topics)
Cummins displayed several new technologies, including its integrated driveline concept that can provide flexible power solutions for advanced diesel, diesel-hybrid and zero-carbon hydrogen.
“There is not one solution that will service every customer. It depends on the application and the need,” Rumsey said.
The driveline can integrate Cummins’ HELM engine platforms.
“HELM stands for high efficiency, lower emissions, multiple fuels, and is the product brand for our industry’s first fuel-agnostic engine platforms,” Rumsey said. “Think of these engine platforms as the building blocks our customers can take and design what works for them best today and in the future.”
ZF’s booth featured interactive displays for attendees to explore new solutions. (ZF)
ZF Highlights E-Mobility Services
While speaking at IAA, Laier said ZF is developing customized solutions for its customers and “has a unique portfolio” to meet their needs, noting ZF’s acquisitions of TRW and Wabco. “ZF is increasingly strengthening its position as a pacesetter in the commercial vehicle industry. Our past investments in our product development with a firm focus on innovations are now paying off.”
ZF displayed its new modular e-mobility platform. It consists of different e-motors, corresponding inverters, a 3-speed transmission and its associated electrical components. This comprehensive modular package gives manufacturers the flexibility to configure the e-drive system to their specific requirements.
Laier expects e-drive production in commercial vehicles to double in the next 12 months and said ZF has confirmed orders worth 5 billion euros (about $5.6 billion). “By 2026, we will be the No. 1 manufacturer of e-mobility solutions in Europe,” he said, adding that ZF anticipates growth of e-drive systems in the Asia-Pacific and North America markets.
The ZF TrailTrax electrified trailer concept that integrates the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle from ZF and a modular battery system with the trailer EBS. (ZF)
During IAA, ZF and Foton, a commercial vehicle company in China, signed a letter of intent to introduce ZF’s new hybrid transmission for commercial vehicles to the Chinese market. They already have a joint venture set up to deliver the TraXon automatic transmission and electric drives in China.
ZF also displayed its TrailTrax electrified trailer concept that integrates the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle from ZF and a modular battery system with the trailer EBS.
“A conventional diesel and electric trailer is a kind of hybrid you could create,” Laier said while speaking with North American journalists.
TrailTrax reduces CO2 emissions by up to 16% when the trailer is used with a diesel truck. That figure can increase to 40% when the trailer is used with an electric truck, he said.
ZF also unveiled its new Hydrogen Recirculation Blower, which is designed to optimize hydrogen levels for fuel cell-powered vehicles by recirculating unused hydrogen to improve hydrogen consumption and performance while using minimum power from the fuel cell system.
Arnd Franz, CEO of Mahle, said the company’s newest solutions will dramatically increase performance of BEVs and FCEVs. (Mahle)
Mahle Moves Forward with BEV and FCEV Technology
Mahle, a Stuttgart, Germany-based manufacturer of components and systems for battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles, used IAA to showcase its complete system for a fuel cell truck, with fuel cell peripherals, thermal management and a fully functional heavy-duty electric axle.
“BEV isn’t the only solution,” CEO Arnd Franz said during a roundtable discussion. “Obviously, BEV will play a major role, but we believe hydrogen will be an important part of trucking.”
Battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cells place high technical demands on vehicles, and Mahle has developed a fuel-saving evaporative cooling system for BEVs and FCEVs. The system uses the cooling effect of evaporating water that is sprayed onto the coolant cooler via a grating, creating the optimum temperature control for the fuel cell.
Mahle’s new evaporative cooling system provides up to 50 kW more cooling capacity. (Mindy Long/Special to Transport Topics)
The company also has released a high-performance bionic fan that makes electric trucks quieter at full load or during rapid charging. The fan reduces a truck’s fan noises by up to 4 dB(A), more than halving the sound pressure level.
Mahle has integrated two SCT (superior continuous torque) electric motors with liquid management systems in the heavy-duty electric axle. The e-axles provide a continuous output of 480 kilowatts and efficiency of 92%, which Franz said makes it ideal for battery-electric trucks and fuel cell applications.
“The internal cooling system provides the motor with enough cooling to avoid de-rating,” Franz said, adding that manufacturers have to find the right solutions for fleets to drive adoption. “This is only possible when we find solutions that are competitive.”
The growing electrification of the transportation sector has created considerable potential for Mahle, and Franz said the volume of Mahle components per vehicle is twice as high in the case of battery-electric trucks as with conventional internal combustion engine trucks and will be doubled once again in fuel cell trucks.
Currently, Mahle is doing business with 120 international commercial vehicle brands in the on-highway and off-highway segments.
“We are committed to shaping a sustainable transportation sector with a view to strengthening the foundations for economic growth,” Franz said.
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A sodium battery plant in North Carolina, a solar panel manufacturing facility in New Mexico, and a factory building electric sports cars in Virginia are among the $2.4 billion worth of new U.S. clean energy manufacturing projects announced in August. These investments are just the latest in the ongoing, multibillion-dollar wave of clean energy manufacturing activity spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act.
A major goal of the legislation, enacted in August 2022, is to build a U.S. clean-tech manufacturing base so that the energy transition not only achieves climate goals but benefits American workers as well. By bringing the clean energy supply chain onto U.S. soil, the Biden administration also seeks to lessen dependence on technology imported from foreign countries such as China.
Early signs indicate that the law’s clean energy tax incentives are working to build back American manufacturing, though experts say there is still a long road ahead before the U.S. can meet its climate goals without relying on imports.
“We have years and years of additional work and additional jobs that are going to be created,” said Michael Timberlake, communications director for E2, a lobbying group working to pair the interests of the economy and the environment. Each month since the IRA passed, at least $2 billion to $3 billion of new investments has been typical, in what Timberlake called “the new normal.”
Since the law went into effect, private companies have announced a total of more than $115 billion in investments for hundreds of domestic manufacturing facilities creating solar and wind energy components, batteries, and electric vehicles, according to new figures from E2 and the research firm Energy Innovation.
Those billions in investments have translated to job creation. In 2023, more than 42,000 jobs were created in the manufacturing sector for clean energy and electric vehicles, according to an E2 report.
Many more clean energy manufacturing facilities — and jobs — should be active within a few years.
Twenty of the largest manufacturing projects announced since August 2022 are on track to be completed by 2028, with more than half set to be completed before the end of 2026, according to an analysis by Jack Conness, a policy analyst with Energy Innovation who has built a dashboard tracking IRA-related investments.
“You can’t turn a billion-dollar factory on overnight. The scale of these projects is massive,” Conness told Canary Media, but he added that progress has moved fairly quickly, with several facilities already churning out new solar panels in Texas and Georgia.
I was a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for 30 years. I retired in 2005. While I was at NASA, I had ample time to see the evidence of global warming. With satellite imagery, we observed a nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean in the summer for the first time in recorded history. Our satellite images also observed the continuation of ~90+% of mountain glaciers in the world retreating over the last 50 years. I have also seen the data from the atmospheric carbon dioxide monitor on Mona Loa in Hawaii that shows steady increases in CO2 to levels not known for millions of years. I believe the calculations by atmospheric physicists that this anthropogenic increase in C02 is resulting in global warming. I also believe the conclusions of Mark Jacobson of Stanford University (and occasionally CleanTechnica) that it is feasible and economically advantageous for the world to convert 80% of all energy production to PV solar and wind and maintain another ~15% from hydroelectric. He also explains how it is feasible and most efficient to convert virtually all manufacturing, transportation, heating and cooling to electricity.
What can our family do to make our small contribution to reducing global CO2 emissions at the personal level? I will recount the efforts that we have made over the last 10+ years, as well as some of the implications and some of the areas where I’ve not been able to take action.
Figure 1: Cross-country travel — May 31, 2014 (top); September 28, 2022 (bottom).
Our Clean Energy Actions Over the Last 10+ Years:
~2010: Over a period of time converted all my home lighting to compact florescent.
2014: Leased an 81-mile range 2014 Nissan Leaf ($200/month)
2015: Installed 20 solar panels on my house in Utah (See Figure 2)
2016: Leased a 107-mile range 2016 Nissan Leaf (See Figure 2)
2017: My brother purchased a Tesla Model S
2017: Purchased a 150-mile range 2017 Nissan Leaf
2018: My daughter purchased a Tesla Model X
2019: Purchased a 310-mile range Tesla Model 3 (See Figure 1)
2020: Converted 100% the lighting of both my homes to 90% more efficient LED bulbs
2020: My daughter bought an electric golf cart (See Figure 4)
2024: My brother traded in his Tesla Model S for a Model Y
2024: Purchased an electric golf cart
2024: Purchased a battery electric leaf blower
2024: Purchased an electric lawnmower for $650 (See Figure 3)
I have also purchased 5 battery-electric bicycles over 10 years, which help me keep in shape at age 84 but make little difference from a clean energy standpoint. I have abandoned two of them at the moment because it is too expensive to fix them. In one case, the batteries are no longer available and I would have to have the battery rebuilt.
Figure 2: Solar panels and electric Nissan Leaf. Lindon, Utah. Spring 2016. Photos by Fritz Hasler.Figure 3: EGO electric lawnmower in action. Photo from EGO Corporation.
What are the implications of these efforts and how has my life changed as a result?
We don’t claim to be 100% clean energy users. Our houses still use fossil gas. We also have boats and beater cars that use gas. However, we have made extraordinary efforts to convert 90% of our automobile use to electric and have converted other use to electric when possible.
I will never forget wearing all my ski clothes — including warm boots, ski pants, parka, balaclava, and gloves — in the winter to stop energy use for heating in that first Nissan Leaf, and still having to charge in Salt Lake City on the 90-mile round trip from our house near Provo to the Salt Lake International Airport. Our Model 3 now drives us to the airport and back almost perfectly autonomously, and we don’t even think about range.
Upgrading to 107-mile and 150-mile range Leafs made local travel easier, but cross-country travel was still impossible. The purchase of a long-range Tesla Model 3 and the existence of Tesla’s amazing Supercharger network made EV cross-country travel almost as easy as it had been with our gas cars.
We have remodeled a 125-year-old cabin on a lake in Northern Wisconsin. We spend 5+ months there in the summer, so we commute to Wisconsin in the spring and back to Utah in the fall. We had a Toyota Highlander gas car with a rocket box on top and sometimes we even pulled a trailer (see Figure 1). We did what I call kitchen sink travel. If you could think of it, you took it. Now, with our small Tesla Model 3 sedan, if it doesn’t fit, we don’t take it. The exceptions are my two electric bikes. When I can afford it, I will buy two more so we don’t need to transport them back and forth. Note: It took us three days to make the 1,523-mile trip from Lindon, Utah, to Three Lakes, Wisconsin, in the gas car, and it takes us three days in our EV.
Electric lawnmower implications: My son mows our lawn and he didn’t want to buy an electric lawnmower to replace our gas mower that died. He wanted to be able to do the whole lawn at one time. With our new EGO electric lawnmower, we need to break the job up into two parts. I thought I would eventually buy a second battery. However, a second battery would cost $350, so that won’t happen soon. The positive part: My 12-year-old grandson is nuts about the performance of the electric lawnmower and he is happy to do the job.
Solar panel implications: Auric Solar, which sold us the panels, has been out of business for years. The panels no longer report production and I only know from my low electricity bills that they are still working. My electricity bill can be as low as $9/month in the spring when production is high and demand is low. Even in the winter when the days are short, the sun angle is low, and snow sometimes covers my panels, my bill is never over $100/month. However, our roof is now almost 30 years old and we will have to remove and reinstall the panels when we redo the roof soon. We live in the middle of a forest in Wisconsin, so we can’t install solar panels there because the trees block out the sun. Our bill there is usually over $300, but that includes the hot tub, charging the EV, and doing numerous loads of dishes and laundry when our summer guests are there. We have a very high electric bill in spite of not having air conditioning because of the cool climate.
LED lighting implications: 5 years ago, IKEA was selling 5-watt LED bulbs for 50¢/piece. I found that the 5-watt LED bulbs were quite adequate for replacing 60-watt incandescent bulbs. I purchased over 100 bubs and converted 100% of my lighting in Utah and Wisconsin to LED. LED bulbs are supposed to have a life of about 20 years. While most of my LED bulbs are still working, a number have failed in less than 5 years.
Electric golf car implications: My daughter, my wife, and I are such clean energy advocates that when buying golf carts, we only consider electric. They are used for neighborhood travel on our local very low-traffic roads.
Figure 4: Wife, daughter, and granddaughters on electric golf cart. Camp Hasler, Three Lakes, Wisconsin. June 14, 2020. Photo by Fritz Hasler.
Clean Energy Actions We Have Not Taken: We have a small Alumacraft boat in Wisconsin which was powered by an old 15 hp, two-stroke, manual-start outboard motor. With a two-stroke motor, you add the lubricating oil to the fuel and burn it. Two-stroke motors emit so much pollution that they are no longer legal. Ours would no longer start, so we needed a new motor. Electric outboard motors are just coming into vogue and I wanted to buy one. However, a 3.5-horsepower Mercury electric outboard motor costs $3,510 and has only a one-hour run time. A 15-horsepower electric outboard costs much more. As a result, we purchased a new 15 hp, electric-start, 4-stroke, low-emission Mercury outboard for $2,400. (See Figure 5.)
Figure 5: Family fishermen. Alumacraft with new 15-hp outboard motor. Camp Hasler, Three Lakes, Wisconsin. June 17, 2024. Photo by Fritz Hasler.
We needed transportation for our son to get to work. EVs were not in our price range, so we purchased a 10-year-old beater Acura sedan for $5,000.
My primary lifelong hobby has been competitive trick water skiing. I even have an age-group national championship to show for my efforts. My practice boat is a 2019 Correct Craft Ski Nautique with a 343-hp V8 engine. We only run the motor for ~40 hours/season, so we are not burning a lot of gas. At age 84, I can now barely get up on water skis and can no longer trick ski. However, I have 12 grandchildren and now 2 great-grandchildren who ski. Five of my grandchildren skied last year with our little local water ski show team. Four of my grandchildren skied in the shows this year. We also got our two 3-year-old great-grandchildren up on skis this year for the first time (See Figure 6). You can see why we are not anxious to stop water skiing in our family.
Figure 6: Our 3-year-old great-grandson skiing. Three Lakes, Wisconsin. August 1, 2024. Photo by Fritz Hasler.
However, what could I purchase to convert our water skiing to clean energy? This year, for the first time, Correct Craft is offering two ski boat models powered by battery electricity. However, these electric boats cost over $200,000 and have a run time of only 2 hours. Needless to say, this is out of reach for me.
In Utah, I heat my home and water with fossil gas. In Wisconsin summers, we do very limited heating with fossil gas and our water and hot tub are heated by resistance electric. I would love to convert all my home and water heating to heat pumps, but they are out of reach for me on my retirement income.
Tesla Referral Program
If you are buying a new Tesla, Tesla has reactivated its referral program. If you find any of my articles helpful to you, please use my referral link: (be sure to use it when you make your order). If you are buying a new Tesla and use my link, I believe you’ll receive $1,000 off the purchase price of a Model S or X, or $500 off the price of a Model 3 or Y. You will also get 3 months of Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Just be prepared to intervene immediately if it screws up.
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The Canadian home improvement chain picked up a pair of Volvo VNR Electric semi trucks, and it’s putting them to work on last-mile delivery routes in the Greater Toronto Area.
This month, the Canadian home improvement retailer Home Hardware began operating two Volvo electric semi trucks out of its St. Jacobs, Ontario truck depot. The pair of trucks will fulfill last-mile deliveries throughout the area, and mark the company’s first step towards transitioning its entire fleet to zero-emission vehicles.
The Volvo VNR trucks have an operating range of 442 km (about 275 miles). Their delivery routes will take them from Home-brand stores within a 100-150 km (about 90 miles) radius of the St. Jacobs distribution centre.
“We are proud to introduce our new battery-electric trucks to our privately-owned fleet,” said Kevin Macnab, president and chief executive officer, Home Hardware Stores Ltd. “Recognized by the Private Motor Truck Council as Safest Large Fleet, as well as Trucking HR Canada as a Top Fleet Employer and a Fleet of Distinction, Home Hardware Stores, Ltd. is committed to forward-thinking logistics that evolve our supply chain to best support our dealers so they can serve their communities.”
Home Hardware debuted their new Volvo VNR Electric trucks at the company’s 60th anniversary celebration and annual franchise event, the Home Hardware Homecoming, held last week in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Electrek’s Take
Volvo VNR Electric at 2024 Home Hardware Homecoming; via Volvo.
Home Hardware is the latest in a growing list of companies – and they’re already adding to the tally of tens of millions of all-electric, zero emission miles driven by Volvo customers. By the time Volvo rolls out its next-generation VNL and FH electric semis next year, it will be the company’s third generation of Class 8 EVs, and it will be backed by more than 100,000,000 miles of real-world data collected by thousands of trucks across dozens of companies.
Is that an insurmountable head start for companies like Tesla to make up? It’s hard to know (and my brain is broken, anyway), but I invite you to check out this episode of Quick Charge recorded a few weeks ago (below) talking about Volvo Truck’s lead, and then share your take on the state of the electric semi truck market in the comments.
