Nissan LEAF, the best selling EV on Earth is now 5 Years Old !

Remember: Olivier Chalouhi received the very first LEAF back on December 11, 2010 close to San Francisco
 Source: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Redwood-city-man-gets-first-Nissan-Leaf-2453579.php

After 5 years of good services and 3 versions, 200,000 LEAFs have been sold worldwide, making it the best seeling EV ever


Its Battery Pack has held its promises with no incidents, no fire, and better than expected with almost no problems (I think Nissan replaced just a few packs over the 5 years, all covered under warranty); For a first EV, that is pretty good !



Now the latest version has a boosted Energy Density offering 30kWh instead of the original 24, in the same package and weight ...



I received mine among the first ones in France, 4 years ago, and it still is in great condition :) To me, it is a very reliable car, I used it mostly for commuting and going out with the family on week ends in Paris. I never regretted this purchase even if it was the most expensive vehicle I ever got

The future for the LEAf is what you see in this video below (Nissan IDS Concept)

SMA's Energy Storage System : Installation of the Sunny Boy Smart Energy

One year after revealing it to InterSolar Europe and winning a price for it, SMA just posted a video for the installation of their ESS - Energy Storage System - named Sunny Boy Smart Energy on their US Youtube Channel

As you probably remember it features a rather small battery pack of 2kWh only and has to be installed along with their Sunny Home Manager




" The current SMA Tech Tip shows how quickly and easily the new Sunny Boy Smart Energy can be installed as part of the SMA Integrated Storage System.

The Sunny Boy Smart Energy combines a modern photovoltaic inverter and a storage system and is, along with the Sunny Home Manager, one of the core components of the simplest storage solution currently available for residential applications.

Our colleague Jan explains how it works in the new video.

Happy watching. "

The End of Vectrix - Liquidation Sale after Bankruptcy :-(

This time it looks like it is really over for Vectrix :-(

After filing bankruptcy few weeks ago, the second time in this history of the brand, Vectrix is really going down and a liquidation sale is scheduled for June in New Bedford

Liquidation Link: http://www.pesco.com/servlet/SelectAuction.do?auctionId=9256



Liquidation Photos: http://www.pesco.com/servlet/PrepareDownloadContent.do?auctionId=9256&lotId=0&documentSerialNumber=1026.0

The American company released their famous NiMH powered battery maxi scooter back in 2006, a machine with 'No Compromise', built with top of the line quality components:
- Marzocchi fork
- Brembo brakes
- Sachs shocks
- German planetary gear set
- 20kW AC Motor
- 4.7kWh NiMH Battery Pack
- Specific Aluminum Chassis

In 2009, Gold Peak or GP, the  Hong Kong based famous Battery maker, injected 5 Million in Vectrix to wipe of 3 Millions of debts and carry on 
They continued production, and a plant was built in Poland for the European market
Then they started the Li and Li+ version, with a new Lithium ion battery pack ...

In 2012, after hearing about brand new Lithium factory made VX-1 having battery pack problems after few months, I wrote this post about LiFePO4 Battery Charging, hoping some Vectrix engineer would read it and change the way they handle Lithium cells

Somebody could have taken over Vectrix again, and I was thinking of Renault, or Nissan, with AESC / LEAF Battery Modules that fit perfectly and require almost no change to the existing scooter ! But I guess they do not even know about it, although I talk a bout it to somebody at Renault about this possibility

So, now it is the end, and it is a shame and a waste, because it was a great machine, and this failure has been caused by the lack of knowledge on LiFePO4 charging method and management, which is so simple in the end ... I wrote a lot on this already and proved that it works over several years now ...

V is for Voltage thread : http://visforvoltage.org/forum/13769-auction-remaining-vectrix-assets

DIY Solar Backup In Action During Storm / Tornado

This American guy I have been following on Youtube for years about his DIY Solar Battery Storage is using it these last days because of the general power outage caused by a tornado in Northern Alabama.

This is real and happening now like he says !

"Video showing how I power up the house during a severe storm that knocked out power in northern Alabama due to Tornado's etc"

Part 2: Now he can follow the news forecast on TV

Apple is ready for its closeup on clean energy

Apple is ready for its closeup on clean energy

Apple has started telling its clean power story big time this week, with new reports, photos, and a video narrated by Tim Cook. Here's why it's opening up now:

Apple is celebrating Earth Day this week by shining a spotlight on its clean energy and carbon footprint reduction initiatives. While Apple has been working on having 100 percent of its data centers run on renewable energy sources for a couple years, the company on Monday is showing off an environmentally-themed video narrated by CEO Tim Cook, accompanied by some awesome solar photos on Apple.com, and a long feature in Wired on its clean power projects.

Why now (beyond the somewhat contrived Earth Day event)? When I published this investigative piece last November on Apple's solar projects, it was difficult to get information from Apple on the projects. Now about six months later, Apple is ready to talk.

Apple's solar farm in North Carolina

One of the reasons for Apple's new willingness to talk is that many of Apple's clean power projects are now far beyond the experimental phase. Its flagship solar farms in North Carolina are up and running and providing energy to the grid, and, as Wired reported, Apple has already started installing a small solar array made by SunPower at its newest solar farm in Reno, Nevada. Apple has learned a lot over the years about how to procure clean energy, and work with utilities, and is ready to tell that story (it definitely wasn't an easy road).



The company's new environmental chief Lisa Jackson has also been on the job about a year now, which has given her some time to make decisions and figure out Apple's environmental initiatives. She's fixed some things along the way, like the fact that Apple was underreporting the impact of aluminum mining and processing on its carbon footprint, according to Wired.




The next step for Jackson after helping Apple's data centers run on clean energy is to focus on the clean power footprint of Apple's retail stores. Apple now has 120 stores powered only by renewable energy courses, and it has another 135 to go in the U.S., as well another few hundred overseas.

It's important that Apple is finally willing to highlight its clean power projects and tell this story of transforming energy infrastructure. Other internet companies that haven't invested in similar moves — like Twitter and Amazon, according to the latest report from Greenpeace — will be watching and taking notes on how to respond.

The next-generation of consumers will care more about the carbon footprint and sustainability of their brands than the last, and implementing these moves now will help internet brands gain customers and remain relevant.

Source: GigaOM

Listen Up: Let's Talk Solar Grid Storage

To many of us old timers, the battery storage industry looks a lot like the solar industry did ten years ago. Energy storage on the grid depends on future battery cost reductions, requires sophisticated management electronics, tricky packaging, favorable government policies, coordination with utility rates and appropriate financing. Not surprisingly, we're seeing successful solar entrepreneurs from the last decade applying their finely-honed skills and tactics to build new energy storage businesses.

Listen To Podcast

The synergies between solar and battery storage are obvious, but problems still exist in getting the economics to pencil out for customers. As in the solar industry, clever system designs and financing strategies can go a long way to improve customer economics and generate real sales. Although we'd like to see a solar array on every residential roof and two battery stacks in every garage, what is more likely to happen is that commercial customers will be the early adopters of combined solar and energy storage systems.


Tom Leyden, CEO of Solar Grid Storage, is building a business at the nexus of solar and battery storage. They have developed an elegantly packaged combination of battery storage, inverters and rooftop solar. Just as importantly, they offer flexible financing packages that effectively combine storage and solar as a service — with the economic benefits accruing both from grid support services as well as customer peak shaving and backup power. Please join me on this week's Energy Show on Renewable Energy World as Tom Leyden explains the current opportunities and customer demand for combined solar and grid storage systems.


Find more episodes of The Energy Show here.




About The Energy Show

As energy costs consume more and more of our hard-earned dollars, we as consumers really start to pay attention. But we don't have to resign ourselves to $5/gallon gas prices, $200/month electric bills and $500 heating bills. There are literally hundreds of products, tricks and techniques that we can use to dramatically reduce these costs — very affordably.

The Energy Show on Renewable Energy World is a weekly 20-minute podcast that provides tips and advice to reduce your home and business energy consumption. Every week we'll cover topics that will help cut your energy bill, explain new products and technologies in plain English, and cut through the hype so that you can make smart and cost-effective energy choices.

About Your Host

Barry Cinnamon is a long-time advocate of renewable energy and is a widely recognized solar power expert. In 2001 he founded Akeena Solar — which grew to become the largest national residential solar installer by the middle of the last decade with over 10,000 rooftop customers coast to coast. He partnered with Westinghouse to create Westinghouse Solar in 2010, and sold the company in 2012.

His pioneering work on reducing costs of rooftop solar power systems include Andalay, the first solar panel with integrated racking, grounding and wiring; the first UL listed AC solar panel; and the first fully “plug and play” AC solar panel. His current efforts are focused on reducing the soft costs for solar power systems, which cause system prices in the U.S. to be double those of Germany.

Although Barry may be known for his outspoken work in the solar industry, he has hands-on experience with a wide range of energy saving technologies. He's been doing residential energy audits since the punch card days, developed one of the first ground-source heat pumps in the early ‘80s, and always abides by the Laws of Thermodynamics.


Source: Renewable Energy World

SolarCity Freezes Energy Storage Program as Utilities Resist Grid Connections

SAN FRANCISCO -- SolarCity Corp., the biggest developer of U.S. rooftop solar panels, halted efforts to install and connect systems that include batteries for power storage because California's utilities are reluctant to link them to the electric grid.

About 500 SolarCity customers in the region have agreed to use the systems, and the state's three biggest utilities have connected 12 of them since 2011, said Will Craven, a spokesman for San Mateo, California-based SolarCity.



SolarCity is testing the units with photovoltaic panels to generate power and batteries that retain that energy for use when the sun isn't shining. The combination makes customers less dependent on local utilities. It may be a threat to the business model that's underpinned the power industry for a century.
"We've stopped submitting applications because we've lost faith that these things are actually going to be carried out in any reasonable time," Craven said in a phone interview.
The utilities require a series of applications and fees that Craven said makes the process too onerous. SolarCity has installed a total of 65 of the systems in areas overseen by PG&E Corp., Edison International's Southern California Edison and Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas & Electric.
"The ones we have submitted haven't gone anywhere," he said.
Homeowners with rooftop panels buy less electricity from the grid, and those who use batteries to store power may need to purchase even less.


Utilities Reply
The utilities say they support the use of solar power and new technologies such as batteries that promote energy efficiency. They also note that storage is a relatively new capability and that it will take some time to properly assess how to add it to the grid at fair pricing.
David Eisenhauer, a PG&E spokesman, said it takes about eight to 10 weeks to handle applications and the utility has processed eight of the 20 it has received.
"Because battery installation is such a new technology," he said today in a phone interview. "We're still working to find more efficiencies in processing the applications."
San Diego Gas & Electric said there is "an ambiguity in the existing tariff language" regarding storage and it's working with regulators to determine the appropriate fees, Hanan Eisenman, a spokesman, said in an e-mail today.

Source: Renewable Energy World

LEAF Battery Modules arrived from the US !

Ordered 10 days ago, 2 of the 4 LEAF Battery Modules arrived from the US, and I am very exited and happy to share this :-)

If you recall, Jack Rickard, on his EVtv January10th, 2014 show, unveiled a purchase of these same modules from a US based company, selling individual modules, used or new

The key figures of these modules compared to CALB LiFePO4 cells: 

 - Half price 

- 1/3 more Energy Density (= more energy in less weight and space)

So I immediately thought that they could be an interesting evolution for my Energy Storage System, the DIY ESS 

At the time I ordered, there were no more used ones, so I go the new ones  

I went to the post office to get these two packets, with my daughter

USPS Flat rate box holds two modules


Well packed with dense foam, here the are


Unfortunately, some corners got damaged and I was a bit concerned at first seeing this


Oops ..


Very first voltage check: 7.6V = 3.8V + 3.8V (4 pouch cells: 2 in Series, 2 in Parallel)


Others damages, to the back of the module also, but not much













There I started looking at how the pouch cells are arranged inside the modules, and if the impacts could have damaged the pouches ...














So, are these going to be a good fit inside the DIY ESS ?



Well, this looks good to me





And I should be able, if it all works out, to arrange two stacks of modules, side by side, in the battery section of the ESS, to the right



Finally I found this cutaway picture of the module, provided by Nissan, showing that at least the rear impacts into the module metal corners should not touch the pouches



The front one, should be fine too, because there is a hard black plastic protective shell




another back view








Front terminals: 7.6V between the two main ones, 3.8V between each main terminal and the center one; I also found out that only the copper part is conductive, not the the internal thread

Here they are now, downstairs, away from the kids ...

Stay tuned ... there are two more coming monday or tuesday, and I hope they will be fine ...