If you're a fan of alternative energy and specifically electric vehicles you no doubt have a love-hate relationship with all of the features on the latest and greatest breakthroughs in EV technology. Every month, it seems, there is an article or press release with promises of an EV future just out of reach. A new car is forthcoming, in prototype...a revolutionary, improved battery technology has been discovered in the lab that will allow x number of many miles more than now at much cheaper prices.

We've certainly seen the hype and, here at Prognog, we may even be a little guilty of spreading the news.  And why not? There's certainly nothing wrong with seeing what companies are working on or researchers are discovering.

The key, of course, is recognizing vaporware for the real thing. From being able to distinguish a realistic product from something that will never see the light of day. We covered the futuristic-looking Aptera for quite awhile, hoping it would finally hit production...only to be disappointed once again when it failed to materialize.

Certain technologies are just not ready for prime time. They are simply too good to be true at this point, even if they do offer us a nice glimpse into a future possiblity.

On the other hand, there are companies, notably large auto manufacturers, that are producing electric vehicles with no real intent to produce in any kind of large numbers.  Call them "compliance cars," if you'd like.

In fact, Green Car Reports has done just that in a nice feature article enumerating the different car companies that have actually produce a viable model (ie Nissan, Mitsubishi, Coda, etc.) and those that are just making cars that are "only built to meet California regulations for zero-emission vehicles--which is why they're called "compliance cars."

This is an important difference to note--that is pointing out those cars that are not really produced with any proper intent.  When consumers, especially those leery of electric vehicles to begin with, see low-quality cars quickly thrown together with nearly non-existent sales, their skepticism is only reaffirmed and amplified. Ultimately, these compliance cars do a great disservice to the future of electric vehicle production.

Energy wastage is no laughing matter. And yet we all do it accidentally. Even those of us who attempt to live a green life slip up. Many of you are unaware of the measures you could be putting in place to help out the cause, and keep energy wastage to a minimum. Here are a few things you might not consider:

Cars - There are measures you can pick up to make your driving as energy efficient as possible. This will not only help the environment, but also save you some money too. By driving economically you will less likely need to call upon your RAC Car Insurance, because you won't be over driving your car. measured breaking and pacing your journey causes less emissions and means less trips to the mechanic.

Electrics - switching off lights and electrical appliances when you leave a room, makes all the difference. You hardly need it on if you aren't in the room. Turn them off or power down your laptop when finished with it etc. Your wallet will be heavier too for your trouble.

Air conditioning - On a hot night the temptation to use the air conditioning is strong. Why not just switch off electrical appliances. They generate unnecessary heat that can make your room stuffier. It won't make a massive difference, but you have a cold shower for the rest.

Standby - Leaving your TV on standby, wastes 50% of the energy used when it is on. That energy could be better used elsewhere.

Insulation - Save money by installing proper insulation for your walls and roof. This will also help your carbon footprint. Most of your heat is lost through walls. Perhaps cavity insulation would benefit your mission to save energy. It will keep the heat on the inside.

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been a lightning rod of controversy from its beginning, to say the least, and discussion concerning its stock, TSLA, is no different. Those folks interested in the company, or more specifically the Tesla Roadster (or perhaps more generally electric cars) find themselves asking whether they should buy Tesla stock.

Is the stock a good value at this point and a great time to get in on the ground floor?  Or, is Tesla grossly overrated and the stock destined to plunge into a free fall any moment?

Tesla's rather unlikely ascent and early success is rather well covered.  Their iconic sports car, the Tesla Roadster, has been the poster child for all EV car enthusiasts and their history does not need repeating here.  The company has only been around a short while, but it feels like it has weathered the initial storms that battered it since about 2006, though it is by no means in the clear yet.

Electric vehicles (EV) are in the news on a daily basis, globally as well as locally--featured in articles in local, nightly news reports as well as national glossy magazines. Everyday you can find that another company is set to release an electric car this year or a young startup has discovered some groundbreaking technology that will suddenly change the industry.

It's becoming more and more difficult to understand if this is simply electric vehicle hype or if we are witnessing an EV Revolution that is a clear and distinct paradigm shift, marking move away from gasoline powered vehicles to those powered by electricity.

It's helpful at this point to perform an electric car survey of the various car companies--both new and old--to see what is perhaps going to be released in the next year or so.  The mix essentially contains established, larger auto manufacturers like Toyota, Nissan and GM with a large development budget and plenty of resources and those smaller upstarts like Tesla, Fisker and Aptera who are struggling to find a legitimate place at the table.  All parties are ultimately fighting for what is currently a rather limited, but seemingly growing, electric vehicle market.

Electric Vehicles from Large Automakers

Google once again puts its support behind renewable energy projects, this time installing the nation's first wireless, hands-free charging system.

The inductive energy charging system called Plugless Power manufactured by Evatran, LLC will be used at Google's Mountain View headquarters to charge one of its low-speed, short-range electric vehicle it uses to motor around the grounds.

The CEO of Plugless Power, Tom Hough, says that "the interest shown by Google and the cooperation we’ve received to retrofit their EV provides evidence that a simple, convenient charging process is needed for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.”

To use the inductive charging system, a vehicle simply pulls up to the machine, positioning the vehicle adapter over the parking block and the charging begins.  There is a small energy loss of about 10% from traditional wired charging but charging times are not increased.  According to the company,"the battery will continue to accept the same amount of power at one time, but the charger will draw additional watts from the electrical outlet to compensate for the small efficiency loss."

Renewable Energy firm Harvest Power has recently raised $51.7 million in a Series B clean tech funding round from a host of venture capital firms led by Generation Investment Management, a company co-founded by Al Gore. Harvest Power, based out of Waltham, Mass., processes organic matter such as yard waste and discarded food to produce methane, which can then be used as a fuel for generating electricity.

The company has plans to build two new facilities in Canada, one of which Harvest has already broken ground on. This renewable energy facility, outside of Vancouver, will become North America’s first commercial-scale high solids anaerobic digestion facility.

In addition to producing methane, Harvest Power can generate fertilizer in the process as well as compressing the natural gas for transportation purposes.  In fact, the company hopes to use the new green tech funding to also add new renewable energy technologies.  One of which would utilize a high temperature process to make synthesis gas, or Syngas. The by-product can then be used to generate electricity, automotive fuels and additional chemical products.

Press Release

Photo from Harvest Power