All electric SUV by AMP

A great post in AutoBlogGreen covers some exciting news -- an all-electric SUV by Amp Electric Vehicles (based in Blue Ash, Ohio near Cincinatti) that can go from zero to 60 in 8 seconds, go 150 miles on a single charge and will cost about $50K. I'm convinced until you can bring an all-electric truck to market that has great performance, you won't really convince people that EVs have enough power to replace ICE vehicles. I wonder, however, whether the ease of switching batteries that Shai Agassi's Project Better Place provides will be required to give consumers the confidence that they would not be stuck without an option should their EV run out of power quicker than anticipated. Many of course say that's why hybrids are a better option, perhaps not a bad idea if the hybrid treats the liquid fuel as a battery-extender.

Smart Transformers?

Smart Transformers? There's been a lot written about smart meters, and future electric vehicle charging stations but there seems to be less said about another important aspect of the smart grid -- smart transformers. One company, Legend Power is using its Electrical Harmonizer-AVR product to provide savings for commercial users. Also providing smart transformer services is Current Group, LLC.

On the general progress of smart grid, whatever it's focus, it's fun to look back as Paul Mauldin does in the post about a "well-informed" (if not smart) substation project he worked on 30 years ago.