Here's an accumulation of important resources on PHEVs from recent weeks:
* Earth The Sequel" book on low-carbon energy technologies
* Popular Mechanics story on development of PHEVs
* Tesla raises money for second generation car--a PHEV
* EnergyTechStocks.com's 3-part interview on PHEVs
* CNET Greentech Blog on Silicon Valley's future with plug-in cars
* Fortune Magazine articles on batteries and plug-in cars
* Detroit Free Press profile of GM's Frank Weber
* Salon.com's primer on PHEVs
* Google.org's videos of roundtable with Brilliant/Brin/Page/Friedman
* Former CIA Director James Woolsey finally gets a PHEV
* First Mayor to get a PHEV: Minneapolis's R.T. Ryback
* Raser and partners to build PHEVs
* Harvard Magazine's story on PHEVs and wind
* Tacoma News-Tribune op-ed on Washington State policies


NEW BOOK ON GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS:
"Earth: The Sequel -- The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global
Warming" goes on sale today. It's by Fred Krupp, President of
Environmental Defense Fund and EDF staffer Miriam Horn. The book
surveys the most promising solar photovoltaic, solar thermal,
biofuels, geothermal, ocean and other technologies: you're likely to
encounter something unfamiliar! On pages 216-228, included in the
race to develop and use low-carbon energy are trailblazing plug-in
solutions including including Tesla, Think, Chevy Volt, Zap-X and
Aptera, along with brief discussions of battery technologies and the
potential of vehicle to grid. For more, see www.earththesequel.com
and you can order the book at http://www.calcars.org/books.html


POPULAR MECHANICS:
Inside Plug-in Car Tech's Race to Production (and Top 10 Rides)
By Chuck Tannert Published on: February 6, 2008
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4248082.html
Overview of battery technologies and car in developments.


TESLA MOTORS closes $40M bridge financing
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/02/18/daily18.html?jst=b_ln_hl
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal
Funds raised largely to continue development of its second generation
"White Start" four-door, five passenger sport sedan for 2010, which
is likely to be a PHEV.


ENERGYSTOCKS.COM three-part interview by Bill Paul, former Wall
Street Journal reporter and author of "Future Energy: How the New Oil
Industry Will Change People, Politics and Portfolios" with what he
grandly calls "Foremost Plug-in Car Expert Felix Kramer"
Explosion of Hybrid & Electric Cars Coming in 2010-2012
http://energytechstocks.com/wp/?p=898
New Technology May Cut Gas Use Up to 50% in EXISTING Cars
http://energytechstocks.com/wp/?p=907
How Next U.S. President Will End America's Oil Addiction
http://energytechstocks.com/wp/?p=909


CNET Green Tech Blog
Is Silicon Valley the new Detroit for electric cars?
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9877157-54.html?tag=nefd.top
February 22, 2008 2:24 PM PST
Posted by Stefanie Olsen
Report on Joint Venture Silicon Valley's "The State of the Valley"
panel on plug-in cars, featuring speakers from CalCars, GM and AC Propulsion


FORTUNE MAGAZINE: "Three Continents, Two Teams, One Goal," Fortune
March 3, 2008: three-page spread (not online) pages 32-34 showing 16
members of the LGChem/Compact Power and A123 Systems/Continental
teams developing batteries for the Chevy Volt, along with Bob
Boninface, Design Director for the Volt.

Also at FORTUNE:
The great battery race: Dramatic developments in stored-power
technology make electric cars more viable than ever.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/04/magazines/fortune/taylor_batteries.fortune/index\
.htm
March 5 2008 By Alex Taylor III, senior editor
Includes coverage of Chrysler's intention to build a hybrid version
of every Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, and news of General Electric's
investment in Think and in A123Systems.


In charge of Chevy Volt
Do-it-yourselfer Weber oversees plug-in project
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080224/BUSINESS01/802240692
By Katie Merx, Detroit Free Press Business Writer, February 24, 2008
Profile of Frank Weber, Global vehicle-line executive and chief
engineer for E-Flex systems


SALON.COM: In the online magazine's "How the World Works" series by
Andrew Leonard:
A primer in plug-in hybrid economics
http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2008/03/04/plug_in_hybrid_economics/index.html
Summarizes the results of a ten-page academic study, by Dereke
Lemoine, Daniel Kammen and Alex Farrell from the Berkeley Energy
Research Group. "An innovation and policy agenda for commercially
competitive plug-in hybrid electric vehicles" appearing in the March
issue of Environmental Research Letters
http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1748-9326/3/1/014003/erl8_1_014003.pdf
concluding that California's current power grid can support a million
PHEVs without new capacity if they charge at night. It also examines
the economics of PHEVs. See also the "Editors' Choices" letters in response.



GOOGLE.ORG: At its blog, if you have time to watch these videos,
they're most worthwhile. In the first half-hour or so, you'll find
great discussions of PHEVs and renewable energy:
http://blog.google.org/2008/01/googleorg-at-world-economic-forum-davos.html
Google.org at World Economic Forum, Davos
Wednesday 1/30/2008 04:40:00 PM
Posted by Jacquelline Fuller, Head of Advocacy and Communications, Google.org
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Larry Page, Sergey
Brin and Larry Brilliant held a spirited Conversation on Climate
Change and Google.org which was moderated by Tom Friedman. During the
question and answer session, audience members Al Gore and Van Jones
spoke on the need for a strategic persuasion campaign and green collar jobs.


JAMES WOOLSEY GETS HIS OWN PHEV (FINALLY)
Here's the report from Set America Free; see
http://www.setamericafree.org/wordpress for photos:
In a special ceremony at the Washington International Renewable
Energy Conference, Former CIA Director and Set America Free
co-founder Jim Woolsey got the keys to his newly converted Plug in
Hybrid Electric Vehicle. The Prius was upgraded by Watertown,
MA-based A123Systems using an advanced Lithium-Ion battery developed
at MIT. The conversion allows the Prius to achieve 100+ mpg and
travel up to 40 miles on predominantly electric drive from one
overnight charge. Each charge takes about 4 hours and costs about 65
cents in suburban Maryland." "And if my Prius had an ethanol, other
alcohol, or bio-based diesel engine using 85 percent biofuels," said
Woolsey, "I would get close to 500 mpg on the petroleum fuel in the
engine." President Bush dropped by to take a look at Jim's newly
converted plug in hybrid vehicle and admired its "bin Laden Hates
This Car" bumper sticker


MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR: Four months after Mayor Rybak became the first
Mayor in the world to drive a PHEV
http://www.calcars.org/calcars-news/888.html , the city's new online
newspaper, MinnPost, has a story, "R.T. Rybak's plug-in car: It keeps
going and going" and a 4-minute video update.
http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/03/07/1022/rt_rybaks_plug-in_car_it_keeps_g\
oing_and_going


RASER/PG&E/WHEEL TO WHEEL-TECSTAR/ELECTROVAYA
collaboration on building and selling a plug-in hybrid: Also see
articles at GreenCarCongress.org
http://www.rasertech.com/news/scripts/full-news.php?1204205280


HARVARD MAGAZINE: March-April 2008 issue has an article
http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/03/saving-money-oil-and-the.html by
by Environmental Prof. Michael B. McElroy, "Forum: Saving Money, Oil,
and the Climate: Using non-fossil energy sources to power our
vehicles" that's very much worth reading. The downloadable PDF
version has very attractive graphics. The sidebar
http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/03/running-on-wind.html explains the
benefits of connecting wind power and PHEVs.


TACOMA NEWS-TRIBUNE ran an op-ed on Feb. 24, "Washington should be
leader in push for all-electric cars"
www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/othervoices/story/291414.html by
Steve Marshall, a senior fellow with the Cascadia Center for Regional
Development and Bill Gaines, director of utilities at Tacoma Public
Utilities, arguing for state-level steps to promote plug-in cars.


-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Felix Kramer fkramer@...
Founder California Cars Initiative
http://www.calcars.org
http://www.calcars.org/news-archive.html
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