|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Our Projects » Electric Motorcycle
|
|
Electric Motorcycle
This motorcycle was first converted to electric power so that we could
test and evaluate different batteries, motors, and controllers. It has
grown into a really fun vehicle that is effective for trips into town,
and it's a real attention-getter, too. More than just a "green"
transportation experiment, it is a custom bike with it's own unique
aerodynamics and style, and it happens to be electric powered. Those of
us who ride motorcycles are used to all the business of having an engine
running between our knees. When you're out running down the highway with
only the sound of the wind and the urgent whine of an electric motor in
your ears, it's really different and seems almost magical.
Performance with the AC motor and controller is comparable to a 500cc
gasoline-powered motorcycle. Enough acceleration is available to choose
your position in traffic or to get clear of it as needed. Or, to put it
another way, you'll need some willpower to avoid those speeding tickets.
Some specs on the motorcycle:
Top Speed: 100 MPH
Range: 40 miles, mixed highway and city riding
Motor/Controller: 3 Phase AC
Batteries: 4.6 kW-hr Thundersky Lithium Iron Phosphate, 77 volts nominal
Frame: Kawasaki Ninja 250
Weight: 475 lbs.
First modified to electric power: October 2007
Miles on electric power: 1,400 as of 5/20/2009
Sustainable Transportation
Transportation with renewable energy is a lot closer than we might
think. 100 years ago, most personal transportation was animal-driven,
and the animals derived their energy from locally grown grasses. It’s
possible today to utilize locally harvested solar and wind energy to
power electric vehicles for our local travel, and save the remaining
petroleum products for cross-country trips.
Let’s compare solar electric mobility with it’s most successful current
competitor for renewable fuels, the process of corn/ethanol production.
With today’s farming practices, we can produce 300 gallons of ethanol
from the corn grown on one acre. In a typical car (Overall fuel economy
for both cars and light trucks in the U.S. market in 2004 was 24.6 mpg),
this will provide 7,500 miles of mobility per year. If that same acre
were installed with 10,000 square feet of solar photovoltaic panels at
current efficiencies, we could (here in the Southwest) produce an
average 600 kilowatt-hours per day, or 220,000 kilowatt-hours per year.
Typical electric car conversions today get about 2½ miles per
kilowatt-hour, so this acre of solar power could provide over 500,000
miles of mobility per year.
Or, to analyze this from the user’s perspective:
The average daily distance driven in the United States is 30 miles,
which adds up to about 11,000 miles per year. Each of us would need 1.5
acres of corn production to support this, assuming we could run our cars
entirely on ethanol. In 2008, producers planted 90.5 million acres of
corn, so complete reliance on ethanol fuel for 250 million of us would
require a three to fourfold increase in land under cultivation for corn.
That same driving distance, 11,000 miles per year, in an electric car,
would require a 2400 watt solar photovoltaic array, smaller than many
residential grid-tied solar electric installations.
The 2400 watt photovoltaic array and grid-tie inverter system would cost
about $18,000. before rebates and tax credits. In most Southwestern
states, rebates and tax credits will bring that cost down to below
$10,000. If the solar power is used to offset gasoline consumption at
$2.50/gallon in a typical car (24.6 mpg) then, for that 11,000 miles per
year of transportation, a savings of $1,100. is obtained. The return on
this investment is 6% for the next 20 years, assuming the cost of
gasoline does not rise. Or, you could think in terms of the system
paying for itself (at current gasoline prices) in about nine years, and
then your fuel will be free for the remaining 15 years or so that the
solar panels are in service. What's very important, very valuable but
hard to price with current economic tools is the transition away from
sending our young people to the Middle East to try to enforce peace and
stability.
When homeowners install solar photovoltaic panels to offset relatively
inexpensive power from their electric utility, they may see a payback
period of ten to fifteen years. If the power from their solar array is
used to recharge an electric car for their local travel, the payback at
current gas prices is less than ten years.
So - this is a lot closer and more achievable than many of us thought.
Independence always requires hard work and investment!
|
|
|