(May 18, 2017) Generally speaking solar powered electric vehicles aren't feasible because the weight and aerodynamics of the solar array offset any gain the solar panels might give. It's a dream many have, solar powered vehicles, but in reality-land it doesn't work too well. Unless your vehicle already has the aerodynamics of a brick, such as the old-school VW Bus. This nice video shows an excellently thought-out VW Bus EV conversion that has an excellently thought-out solar array attached to the roof. The installation covered the struts holding the array in place, for example, to minimize aerodynamics problems. Going by what's said in the video, the system offers 40-50 miles of EV range (using a lead-acid battery pack, the next phase is a Lithium-ION pack giving a couple hundred miles rage) but a fairly lengthy recharge time because the system produces 12 amps peak. That last bit confirms the problem with solar powered EV's -- it's difficult to carry enough panels to recharge the vehicle in a reasonable amount of time. Also notice that the VW Bus is parked at an odd angle in the parking lot, because it has to be oriented optimally to the sun.
(May 18, 2017) The 2018 Nissan Leaf is supposed to be a big jump forward. That would mean a jump in battery capacity well beyond the 30 kWh Nissan currently sells, and perhaps other improvements. Today Nissan released this image which doesn't show us much other than a redesign in the headlight assembly. Big whoop. We wanna know real important stuff. Yes, this headlight assembly is important for aerodynamics. The strangeness of the current LEAF headlight assembly is due to aerodynamics. But that's kind of a secondary thing, what we need to know is the characteristics of the vehicle, the price range, the charging system, the capabilities, the cargo capacity, etc.
(May 11, 2017) Most of the Trump Administration appointees are people who seem tasked with killing the departments they're overseeing. The US Department of Energy is headed by Rick Perry, who in the 2012 race had promised to kill that department. We've been worried the DoE programs on solar energy and other clean energy technologies would vaporize, and we'll all fry in a few years because climate change will be running rampant. These are very real concerns, but it's useful to check whether the reality measures up to that fear. These video releases are perhaps a sign that the Dept of Energy will continue promoting solar power.
