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StumbleSUN EDITORIAL:
Battery power for trucks …
Port of Los Angeles proves that this green technology has wide applications
Saturday, March 7, 2009 | 2:09 a.m.
An investment in the emerging technology of heavy-duty battery power is paying off for the Port of Los Angeles — and for the area’s residents who contend daily with the noise and emissions from thousands of diesel-powered trucks in use at the port.
The trucks are used to haul 60-ton cargo containers from ships to railroad lots and warehouses a few miles away. More than 2 million of these short-haul truck trips are made every year, with their emissions adding heavily to Los Angeles’ air pollution.
As part of the self-funded port’s Clean Air Action Plan, the port and the area’s Air Quality Management District contracted with Balquon Corp., a California-based business specializing in electric motors.
It was not known whether an electric motor could last hauling cargo containers day in and day out. With $527,000 from the port and the air-quality district, the company spent 2007 giving it a try. By May 2008 its electric truck had passed all the tests. It was quieter, less expensive to operate and, most important, produced zero emissions.
The port placed an initial $5.6 million order for 25 of the trucks, the first of which rolled out of the assembly plant last week — with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the wheel.
“Los Angeles is laying the foundation of a sustainable economy by investing in clean technology and green jobs,” the mayor said.
We hope the country takes note of what the port accomplished by investing in battery technology. Here is a truck, first of its kind and developed in less than two years, that can haul 60 tons at 40 mph for about 50 miles before needing a recharge.
Imagine the wider uses for such technology, especially as it progresses and becomes less expensive. Electric school and city buses, gravel haulers and mail trucks come immediately to mind.
The payoff would be cleaner air, fewer health issues and job creation — a return well worth the investment.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f1AlrG8g...
Over $220,000 a pop for those little trucks!!!!!!
Its top speed is 40 mph.
Its range is 30 (max load hauls) to 60 miles.
It takes 4 hours to get fully charged.
Not sure on how productive those trucks will be.
They might be buying 2 trucks for each one they need.
They will charge one while using the other one.
jfnance32,
I know reading comprehension is not within your ability. Re-read these two lines for starters:
"The trucks are used to haul 60-ton cargo containers from ships to railroad lots and warehouses a few miles away. More than 2 million of these short-haul truck trips are made every year, with their emissions adding heavily to Los Angeles' air pollution."
As far as cost goes you must have flunked basic economics as the price of a product drops as production ramps up. In addition, the up front marginal cost is paid back by this line in the article:
"It was quieter, less expensive to operate and, most important, produced zero emissions."
What is the estimated externality cost in health effects on the local population of all the class A carcinogen diesel combustion byproducts?
If Electric vehicles are mass produced, a typical car would be less than $10,000.00. As usual the govenment throws several million dollars to donors corporations to fix a ten dollar problem. The Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Assn. meets every third saturday at the East Flamingo library at ten AM. Everyone is welcome, Including the Press! I have never seen a rep from the media at any of these meetings. Come check it out and find out what is really happening behind the scenes.
"The trucks are used to haul 60-ton cargo containers "
I believe this is an error. If you read all stories on this topic they all say 30-ton. The Sun is the only one that says 60-ton. It is not a big deal. Just shows they do a poor job fact checking or editing their work.
"It was quieter, less expensive to operate and, most important, produced zero emissions."
Perhaps someone is streching the truth. I know people like yourself believe everything that a lib kool-aid site will throw at you.
How about using your brain and use some simple math? It just does not add up.
With a low range of 30 miles if it actually hauling cargo and a high range of 60 miles if it is hauling no cargo and 4 hours to fully recharge the battery, it is laughable to believe that one truck can perform that much work without having to recharged.
Let's be generous and say the range is 44 miles doing normal workhours.
Let's be generous and say it is only 1 mile between pickup and dropoff points. So that means they can only do 22 round trips before stopping and recharging for 4 hours.
Those yards are generally 24/6 operations. Because the ships are constantly being loaded and unloaded.
So shifts will share trucks like they do now.
I am willing to bet that they will need to buy 2 trucks for each one gas truck that they replace.
At $220,000 a pop, they could be spending $440,000 to replace one gas truck.
Also there will have to be some productivity loss when they have to switch out trucks so often.
If you think that this $220,000 truck is great deal then go buy one for your personal use.
From the Balqon website:
"It was only a few months ago that we informed you of a really heavy duty electric truck undergoing testing at the Port of Los Angeles. The Nautilus E30 from Balqon must have aced its audition because the company has just officially shown it off to the public at last week's CAPCOA Green Conference and Expo and announced its upcoming commercialization. There are orders for more of the behemoths from the Port of Los Angeles as well as from the AQMD. Union Pacific will incorporate the vehicle into its electric truck pilot program at the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility that it operates outside of the ports at Los Angeles and Long Beach. Balqon is so bullish on the future that they are moving their production facilities to Harbor City, California where they can produce up to 1,000 units a year.
The E30 retails for $208,500 and should, over 10 years, save about $400,000 in fuel while not emitting diesel smoke or a lot of noise and could help its California customers cope with stricter air pollution control programs. The truck can pull 60,0000 pounds and has a range between 30 and 60 miles. Though its customers can charge the lead acid batteries to 60 percent in one hour and completely full in 4 to 6 hours with an available fast-charging system, the batteries can also be swapped out in minutes. Bonus video of the E30 prototype going through its paces earlier this year as well as a press release after the jump."
jfnance32, as usual, is stupid and wrong and a liar.
mscahaffer is really displaying his complete lack of reading skills.
In the story, it says, "$5.6 million order for 25 of the trucks." That equals over $220,000 per truck.
Even if its just $200,000 that is about 3 times of a small yard commerical truck ($80,000) that it replaces.
It is still true that range of the truck is only 30 miles if hauling full loads and 60 miles if hauling nothing.
It is still true that it takes at least 4 hours to fully charge.
The quick 60% charge takes at least 1 hour to charge to get an "quick" additional range of 18 to 36 miles.
The commerical size batteries 336 volt battery packs themselves cost a ton of money as high as $25,000 per pack.
So if they want to swap out batteries then the need to buy extra batteries.
The total life span of those batteries are around 6 to 8 years which also adds to the cost of those trucks.
This E30 trucks esstentially use very little power then they are idle like stopped. That is why can not have AC or heat systems.
The "fuel savings" was based on $4.00 a gallon gas.
To make the trucks not use batteries during idle time they do not install AC or heating systems.
mcschaffer, as usual, is stupid and wrong and a liar and can not even read facts that are listed in the story that he is commenting on.
Gee jfnance32,
How much of what you wrote is based on fact and how much on speculation? Being curious I went to the Port of Los Angeles website where this link:
http://www.portoflosangeles.org/newsroom...
shows in many ways how wrong you are. The simple point for readers is that people with much more expertise in port operations made a decision that jfnance32, who has no background or expertise in this area, contests as wrong. His figures are wrong, his knowledge is vestigial, and he is incapable of admitting such.
Goodbye.
Absolutely nothing in that press release disputes any of the items that I posted.
When they talk about cost, all they want to talk about is the cost of electrical power vs. the cost of a gas which they say still cost $4 a gallon. They do not talk about capital cost or the cost of having extra expensive batteries or replacing the expensive batteries.
The truck has a range of only 30 miles when it is doing full loads.
It needs 4 hours to fully recharge.
The truck does not have an AC or heating system.
The truck cost more than 3 times over regular yard truck.
The truck has expensive batteries that need to be replaced before the end of the truck's life.
Of course, the Port, the Mayor and the seller want to hype it. The Port and Mayor spent a lot of money on it.
If you want to be a kool-aid drinker then I can't stop you there.
If others want to use their brain and do some simple math then they will see this truck is not some green miracle that will save us all.
For readers who are wondering what is wrong with jfnance32's math please note he cherry picks the worst case scenario for recharging, overstates the cost difference of the trucks, provides no source for his estimate of normal yard truck cost, cast slurs at professionals in the industry, forgets to mention what normal maintenance adds up to for a diesel, assumes the entire cost of the contract is for nothing but vehicle cost (think ancillary items), and in general is clueless. As for the cost of gasoline ask about the "Enron Loophole".