Newsom, Arnold, and Robert Kennedy announce electric vehicle grid for CA

[60TrenchesGone]

Saw this today and thought it was pretty crazy. Apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gavin Newsom announced that they plan to build a massive electric vehicle grid to cover most of CA. They're using Shai Agassi's Palo Alto tech company Better Place for the grid technology which is a good sign since that company is already working on this stuff in Denmark, Israel, and Australia.
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San Francisco, Calif. (Nov 20, 2008) -- At a press conference held in San Francisco City Hall, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with the Mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, joined together with the Bay Area Council, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and Better Place of Palo Alto to announce a sweeping plan to reinvigorate the state and region’s competitive advantage in innovative technology through public-private investments in electric vehicles and other elements of “green” infrastructure. This new approach challenges conventional assumptions that economic and environmental recovery are at odds with each other, and aligns them, instead.

The group defined a vision for encouraging investment in green infrastructure as a means for boosting the state’s competitive advantage while reducing its dependence on oil for transportation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The group believes that the move to a sustainable mobility model of electric vehicles fueled by renewable energy, beginning in the Bay area, will serve as an economic and environmental stimulus blueprint for the entire country, particularly the nation’s lagging automotive sector.

“California is already a world leader in fighting global warming and promoting renewable energy,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This type of public-private partnership is exactly what I envisioned when we created the first ever low carbon fuel standard and when the state enacted the zero emissions vehicle program. This partnership is proof that by working together, we can achieve our goals of creating a healthier planet while boosting our economy at the same time.”

“Creating an energy-independent economy is our generation's moon-shot,” said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Venture Partner and Senior Advisor, VantagePoint Venture Partners. “For too long we've believed that economy and environment stood at odds with each other. By coming together in this time of turmoil to build a clean transportation infrastructure, this generation will fuel the economic and environmental prosperity of generations to come.”

You can see the grid map here:
http://www.betterplace.com/california

For those of you living in California realize the importance of this announcement. In 4 years you will be able to drive everyday and NEVER EVER HAVE TO STOP FOR GASOLINE AGAIN. :D

[no limit]

1. That would be awesome. I just have to wonder where they will find the money

[daninthemoon]

3. with all the defecit that has been spent propping up oil, any defecit

that gets us off of it is doubly worth it. the oil is drying up, and these things have to be tried. these are also the way we can create more secure jobs.

[no limit]

10. but we are talking about a state that can't afford to pay it's state employees

[daninthemoon]

16. that's only going to get worse as oil runs out, and prices spiral up.

it is not a luxury, it is an investment, and an unavoidable task.

[no limit]

17. ok, so what's your plan? Where are you going to get that money?

Did Arnold explain this when he talked about this plan?

[Taverner]

2. RAWK ON!!!!

[Johonny]

4. sounds better than the hydrogen highway idea

which never happened

[tabatha]

5. Great news - there are thousands of cars in those areas.

San Francisco and neighbors are just awash with cars.

[melody]

6. If they can fund this, it would be fantastic

I wonder if they'd get the funds from industry or a bond initiative or ...

[shanti]

7. my dream is going to become a reality?

:wow:

[lunatica]

8. What I want to know is can we get our cars converted or do we have to buy new ones?

I won't be able to buy a new car unless it's dirt cheap, but I have a 2006 Honda Accord which I own outright and I'm willing to spend a couple of thousand to get it converted to whatever we use as alternate energy

[IDemo]

13. Converting a gas-powered vehicle to electric can be done, but it's not easy (or cheap)

It would probably be better, unless you're a capable mechanic with a lot of time on your hands, or you have a lot of spare cash around, to purchase an EV from a manufacturer.

There is one other option for existing internal combustion cars, though - the Poulsen Hybrid system attaches motors over the rear wheels of your car and adds torque only as the motor controller determines it is needed. Pretty painless installation, and much less than either converting a car completely to electric power or buying a new EV.

http://www.poulsenhybrid.com/

[lunatica]

14. Thanks! That's just what I needed to know n/t

[me b zola]

9. Mr zola had this idea for Portland

There are four major routes into Portland for commuters. He had the idea to have interchangeable batteries and stations that you could pull into and quickly get a fully charged battery.

I suppose it is time to remind him of what a genius he is. :D

[lunatica]

15. That's an excellent idea. Why don't you send it to Obama's site

They want people to send them their visions...

http://www.change.gov/page/s/yourvision

[me b zola]

18. My DH's idea is the same as the plan at this website

...so I'm guessing that PE Obama will be, if not already, aware of it. It's one of those synchronicity things where other forward minded planners come up with the same/similar plan of an lone innovator.

From the same website, here's the link that explains how it works:
http://www.betterplace.com/our-bold-plan/how-it-works/

When I show this to Mr Z he will never let me live this down.

[SoCalDem]

11. In MY perfect world

every single family home would come with solar panels on the garage or a storage building, that would generate power for the car to plug into at night:)

[BeFree]

12. That is an Onion Article, right?

C'mon, nobody is that bold. Even tho we made it to the moon, the moon is still there, and that's a fact.

[me b zola]

19. kick

[ColbertWatcher]

20. Am I supposed to forget the Enron-manufactured electricity crisis Arnold was involved in? n/t