Electric vehicle drivers, the wise and uber-eco-conscious members of society, can claim to not have any tailpipe emissions. However, their emissions still exist in the form of a smoke stack from the local power plant. To have a pure green vehicle, the source of power must be sustainable and renewable. Nissan, creator of the all-electric Leaf, has developed a solar charging system that stores its power in the Leaf's lithium-ion battery. The automaker has installed 488 solar panels at its Japan headquarters, enough to power 1,800 Leafs a year.
Electric vehicle drivers, the wise and uber-eco-conscious members of society, can claim to not have any tailpipe emissions. However, their emissions still exist in the form of a smoke stack from the local power plant. To have a pure green vehicle, the source of power must be sustainable and renewable. Nissan, creator of the all-electric Leaf, has developed a solar charging system that stores its power in the Leaf's lithium-ion battery. The automaker has installed 488 solar panels at its Japan headquarters, enough to power 1,800 Leafs a year.
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Since the devastating earthquake hit Japan back in March and knocked out one nuclear power plant and affected many other plants, the island nation has focused on securing its energy supply. To avoid the widespread blackouts common during that time, off-the-grid electricity sources are being considered. With electric vehicles, each household can have its own mobile power source.
The Japanese are also deep into "Setsuden", or power-saving. Big power consumers on the eastern side of the island are now required to cut their power use by 15 percent, and households have been asked to follow suit.
In a joint venture with Sumitomo Corp, Nissan plans to refabricate its electric cars batteries when the cars are traded in, starting in 2016. The batteries will then be resold as power storage units. "These batteries can be useful as back-up power for homes when there's an outage," said Takashi Sakagami, head of the joint venture, 4R Energy Corp.
This venture not only will help households with energy security, they also create a beneficial second life for old car batteries. The high capacity batteries would otherwise be problematic for disposal as they are composed of various heavy, precious, and rare metals.
Other automakers in Japan are joining this trend. Mitsubishi Motors is developing a portable converter which will allow electric vehicles to power household electronics. Toyota is developing batteries directly for home use. In fact, Toyota is developing model homes which manage its power usage, taps into solar power, and then stores excess power in the batteries for night-time use. "Electricity has become a major issue and people are in 'setsuden' mode, but we want to develop a system that doesn't ask people to endure too much discomfort," Toyota's project manager Hiroshi Okajima said. The "Toyota Home" will be available by the end of 2013.
For more information: http://en.akihabaranews.com/100758/environment/toyota-housing-bring-ev%E2%80%99s-power-to-home
