BAKERSFIELD Calif. - The Kern County Department of Airports in conjunction with the Kern County Board of Supervisors and Regenesis Power, LLC will officially break ground on a $6 million solar array at Meadows Field (BFL) on July 31, 2008, at 9:00 a.m.

The public is invited to attend the ground breaking which will take place northwest of the William M. Thomas terminal at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 31, 2008. (more…)

Reducing Car Pollution By Scrapping the Dirtiest Autos. Trouble is, classic car fans are not happy.

original news source

Filed under: MPG, Porsche

From track to road and back to track again. That is the path for gasoline direct fuel injection. In the late 90s Audi added direct injection to its R8 Le Mans prototype in order to get more power while consuming less fuel. In racing reducing fuel consumption is important because it allows cars to run farther between pit stops spending more time on the track. Direct injection eventually migrated into most of Audi's production engines along with those from parent company Volkswagen. After adding direct injection to the Cayenne GTS and 2009 911, Porsche is now migrating that same technology back to its own race program. The Porsche RS Spyders debuted a new direct injected version of the 3.4L V8 two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio and won the LMP2 class. The output of the DI engine went from 476 hp to 503 hp while fuel consumption dropped. Porsche is not saying how much it went down, but they are evidently still developing the system and optimizing it. For example the engines now run extremely lean under light loads greatly reducing consumption in a manner that would not be possible with a port fuel injection system. In coming years we will be seeing virtually all gas engines migrating to direct injection.

[Source: Porsche]

Continue reading Porsche ALMS race engine to go direct injection

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The company known for supplying the “blue book” value of cars is turning green.

Kelley Blue Book on Thursday introduced a section to its Web site for sorting through the many options for buying fuel-efficient cars.

…

A new milestone was reached recently in the race to make algae a conventional oil alternative: high-octane gasoline that is compatible with any gas-guzzling vehicle. The feat was performed by Sapphire Energy, a company that manufactures “green crude”.

original news source

Filed under: MPG, Cadillac

With everyone else working on downsized engines to deal with rising (in spite of the current respite) fuel costs, one brand who hasn't said anything is Cadillac. One model in the lineup that would be ripe for the treatment is the CTS. For all the praise the model has earned since its debut last year, one problem it has is mass, as in too much of it. GM has already indicated that they are open to the possibility of using the 2.0L direct injected turbo four cylinder from the Solstice GXP in the Camaro, and the CTS would be another prime candidate. The four cylinder has as much power and more torque than the base 3.6L V6 in the CTS. The four cylinder would be more efficient and probably weigh less than the V6 to boot. Whether this combination ever appears will depend on whether American consumers start to show a desire for smaller engines in premium cars. At the dedication of GM's new powertrain engineering center last week EVP Tom Stephens told AutoObserver that the company is watching the market and will respond with appropriate engines from its lineup.

[Source: AutoObserver, Image (C)2008 John Neff]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Play it safe, to keep your family safe!

original news source

Filed under: Biodiesel, Etc., Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives, Legislation and Policy, On Two Wheels, Green Daily, European Union

Spain's Minister of Industry and Energy, Miguel Sebastián, has introduced a set of measures to save energy, most of which affect cars and the way they're driven. These are expected to save 43 to 47 million barrels from being imported into Spain by 2011, not only for economic reasons but also because the country is becoming one of Europe's most polluting. Regarding transport, the measures are as follows:

• Stimulating the introduction and production of electric vehicles (he's surely heard Mr. Brown).
• The administration will only be able to purchase energy-efficient vehicles.
• All public vehicles to use 20-percent biofuel by 2009.
• Instead of a global requirement for biofuel blending, the total amount of biofuel to be used in 2010 is set be 5.83 percent.
• A plan to renew cars older than 15 years.
• Reduce speeds around cities by 20 percent. This is has been tested in Barcelona (and Rotterdam) for a while, and it's been discussed for the U. S as well.
  
• A massive advertising campaign on fuel-efficient driving, including fuel-saving questions for drivers' license tests.
  
• Investment in "sustainable urban mobility."
• Stimulating the use of bicycles in urban and suburban environments.
• Conditioning the nation's subsides on mass transit according to environmental parameters. For instance, no private companies in charge of bus lines will get money if they use old vehicles.
• All commuter train, subway and light railway lines to have complete cell phone coverage.
  
• Having all mass transit working on weekends and weekend nights
  
• Creating exclusive HOV lanes for public transport on highways.
  
• Creating and modifying bus lines adapted to commuting needs, so workers do not rely on private cars to go to work.
  
• Allowing the use of defense air reserved areas for commercial airplanes to reduce route distance.

So far it seems like a long wish list. What I'm not sure about is how effective they will become. What do you think?

[Source: 20 minutos]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: MPG, Fiat, Asia, Tata

Click above image for a hi-res gallery of the Tata Nano

Tata is asking Fiat to assist in selling the Nano overseas, as an expansion of the two marques partnership in manufacturing and distributing cars, engines and commercial vehicles. Fiat's initial intentions are, however, largely directed towards bus and truck manufacturing. "We have held talks about the Nano being marketed in markets where Fiat has already a strong presence. I am open to consider a partnership," said Ratan Tata at a forum promoting cooperation between Italian and Indian companies.

Tata is also forecasting supply problems for its new microcar, which goes on sale next October. That said, high raw material and fuel prices have cut demand for vehicles in India. Between that development, the burden of the Jaguar/Land Rover acquisition, and a 31% decrease in profits, it'll be interesting to see if Tata is ultimately able to keep the Nano priced as low as planned.


[Source: Automotive News]

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The key to plentiful solar power is water, says Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Daniel Nocera.

Nocera and his MIT colleague, Matthew Kanan, on Thursday will publish a technical paper that describes what they claim is a breakthrough in solar energy storage.