The Rotterdam, Nissan e-NV200 = € 5,000

The Nissan e-NV200 built in the city of Barcelona costs about 25% of the MSRP for an electric van and that is about $6500. The Nissan Leaf was awarded the best-selling vehicle in the region at the time of its release. The grant for vehicles to access bus and HOV lanes duly helps the company achieve a world of good.
When the Leaf released, Nissan sold about 2,300 units in Norway alone.  The cost of the vehicle was around $47,000. Unlike many European countries, where electric cars carry a huge price premium, there is no import tax or 25% VAT tax on EVs in Norway. Less population in the region, abundant and free charging and fast-charging stations with access to bus lanes were major perks for EV owners in Norway.

Nissan as a company have come far from the time they released the Leaf. The major advantage of the Nissan e-NV200 is the cost factor. It still possesses the advantages the Leaf enjoyed. Rotterdam is the city walking into a new and improved mode of transport. The city officials are scraping about 5,000 older and more pollution vehicles of the city roads. This program includes some of the most generous EV incentives in the world which includes an immediate €3,000 rebate with €7,000 local incentives off of the list price. 

The Netherlands is becoming a hotbed for electric cars with efforts from companies making a difference to the quality of life. US politicians have to take a right step in introducing and supporting similar programs to the general good and well being of the citizens.

Overwhelming Public Support For Australian Renewable Energy Target

After the Australian government, the entire the country is rallying behind the country’s renewable energy target (RET). New surveys conducted by Crosby Textor (Research firm) confirms this overwhelming support.

The survey conducted through August concluded that out of 1000 residents, 82% of respondents believe that Renewable Energy Target should be kept intact. There was a certain percentage that was undecided regarding this issue. There has been an increase in awareness concerning the environment. This is evident in the Australian politics poll of 2013 and the latest being of August of 2014. The environment concern has gone up from 3% in 2013 to 13% in 2014. 

Renewable energy industry leaders have come in support of the recent polls, which is against the liberal government’s attempt to abolish the Renewable energy target. Clean energy council acting executive was quick to point out the results, which indicated maximum number of residents who wanted the RET to remain intact. Leaders such as Andrew Richards, executive manager external affairs for pacific hydro, made clear what he though of Tony Abbot’s current policy. 

He believes that the people of Australia want more renewable energy. He insists that the people want the current government to aim higher and ensure the Australia is a world leader on renewable energy. 

Verizon is pumping $40 million into local solar

Verizon's corporate facilities in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, or New York, are setting up new equipment for local solar. This investment is expected to increase statistics of the state and also help in advancement of the state. The new solar will power company office buildings, call centers, data centers, and other facilities in eight different localities. The company said that it is expected to deploy upward of 25 megawatts of green energy upon completion of the new solar projects. This project can generate equal amount of green energy that would power more than 8500 homes each year.
The green energy effort reduces carbon damage efficiently and is a perfect example for all residential and commercial customers. SunPower Corporation, design, manufactures and delivers highly efficient solar panels to Verizon. Solar Energy Industries Association say that "Verizon may well become the #1 solar- power producer among all U.S. communications companies through its efforts." Verizon is aiming at cutting its carbon intensity in half by 2020 and an advance of this kind is not only important to the climate, but enhances the service continuity, even during general outages. This advancement is seen in many giant companies like Apple and Google, thus creating awareness and inducing the thought that using solar power can benefit all of us.

GEM’s NEV Gets Driven

GEM’s NEV Gets Driven

The author of the article reviews a car that he got to drive, called the GEM (Global Electric Motorcars). It is basically a glorified golf cart, which reaches a top speed of 25MPH. The basic design looks unappealing and the car itself is overpriced. The vehicle doesn’t have side protection and this makes it an unsafe option, if it were to be hit by a speeding truck. The positives of the GEM is that one never needs to buy gas ever again and it has a decent enough range to make it wholly usable in a small town or a medium sized city. It also has ample room for carrying grocery bags and seat 3 people. The downside is that the vehicle looks like a golf cart, and it doesn’t have the style factor. Priced at $11,000, the vehicle is expensive for the features that it offers.

Yet Another Claim For World’s Largest Floating Solar Plant

Yet Another Claim For World’s Largest Floating Solar Plant

The “Floating Solar” is the new concept floating around these days, where a giant floating solar panel or a frame of panels are placed in reservoirs of water. Both India and Japan stake claim at building the world’s largest floating solar power plants. In July of 2014, India’s National Hydro Power Corporation announced plans to set up a 50 MW solar photovoltaic project over the water bodies in the southern state of Kerala. Later in September, Kyocera proclaimed that they would be constructing the largest floating solar plant in Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. This would be a 2.9 MW installation. In Japan, this seems to be a viable option due to the lack of space for a power plant of that magnitude on land. At the moment the largest floating power plant is in Okegawa, Saitama prefecture, Japan.

U.S. Solar Manufacturer Wants Tariffs On The Chinese As Punishment For Cyber-Attacks

U.S. Solar Manufacturer Wants Tariffs On The Chinese As Punishment For Cyber-Attacks

The largest solar panel manufacturer in the U.S, SolarWorld Americas, argued that the Chinese government was providing subsidies to the local solar manufacturers and allowing them to sell solar panels at lower costs across the world. Due to this solar market, U.S manufacturers are facing financial threat. Reacting to this issue, the Commerce Department imposed taxes on solar panels coming from China. In response to this, Chinese manufacturers moved their supply to countries like Taiwan. Also, according to the Justice Department, Chinese military sources hacked into the SolarWorld’s computers and stole some business files. The Chinese hackers targeted six American companies and four of them reported this issue.

On the other hand, Chinese foreign and defense ministry denied this cyber-crime and claimed that the U.S is doing so to promote this norm against industrial espionage. Chinese government got even with the U.S by imposing its own high import duties on American shipments of polysilicon, a key component in solar panel construction. The subsidized Chinese manufacturers remain competition to the U.S manufactures, whereas for other U.S companies who install and maintain solar systems on homes and businesses, are able to buy cheap solar panels and thus provide good service.

The debate over this issue continues, as some that the U.S should enjoy the cheap solar panels coming from China, while others have advised negotiating a policy compromise through diplomatic channels.

World’s Largest Private Bank Says Solar Power Could Dominate

World’s Largest Private Bank Says Solar Power Could Dominate

Zurich based bank, UBS, sent a briefing paper to its clients, stating the importance of clean energy. Clean energy could replace the energy from conventional fossil fuel plants and hence drives the home and business owners to generate their own power. They also predicted that by 2025, everybody will be able to generate and store power. This method is cheaper than buying power from utilities. When solar energy is not continuously available due to some factor,Electric vehicles and storage batteries could help store solar produced electricity. The UBS report says that such consumer investment will have a good return as well.