Please join us at the Bainbridge Island Electrification Expo to discover how you can be a part of the future of clean energy. Whether you are curious about electric vehicles, renewable energy solutions, or how to live more sustainably; this event offers something for everyone. There will be food booths available at this event as well as ample parking.
Andy Cochrane, the owner of Power Trip Energy, will be speaking at 2:15 p.m. in one of the Breakout Sessions after keynote Speaker; Brian Stewart.
by Andy Cochrane | Sep 3, 2024
Now that we have been on the path of increasing use of electricity for personal transportation, researchers are beginning to be able to statistically link the benefits of EVs to reduced pollution and illness by zip code, and correlate with higher EV adoption rates.
This study looked at EV adoption by zip code in California (the state with the fastest EV adoption rate, providing the largest amount of relevant data) and showed that the zip codes with higher EV registration rates had measurably lower NOx pollution and lower Asthma-related ER visits as EV registrations increased.
This may feel like an obvious correlation to some of us, but it is useful to begin building the scientific body of work to support these claims. The immediate human benefits of the transition to clean energy may sometimes be understated if there is a lack of hard data.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969723003765
Power Trip Energy 9 KW SunPower Array, Port Townsend, May 2024
by Andy Cochrane | Aug 26, 2024
Utilities should look for ways to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles, including working to increase public charging infrastructure, and recognize the opportunities for increased revenue through electricity sales to this new market.
Some people within utilities are spreading fear about lost revenues due to the uptake of distributed renewable energy generation and decreased consumption through energy efficiency improvements. They are wasting their time decrying the inevitable, and more importantly, they are missing the opportunity right in front of them.
In an article here by Elias Hinkley, the point was made that by encouraging conversion of our transportation fleet from of liquid fuel vehicles to electric vehicles, there is a huge untapped opportunity awaiting electrical utilities.
The benefits are many:
- the utilities can maintain revenue growth despite the adoption of distributed renewable energy and energy efficiency
- electricity can be made locally thereby benefitting the local economy rather than oil company tyrants
- cars would be cleaner, our cities and streets more pleasant for people who choose to breathe air
- globally we would be contributing less carbon into the atmosphere
Here at Power Trip Energy, in addition to our 10 kw of pv arrays, we have two Level II fast chargers available to the public for free. We see old friends and meet new folks every day who regularly use the solar-generated electricity we choose to give away. It is fun to consider the amount of miles driven without these folks needing to buy gasoline.
We have been a destination for many tourists from out of the area despite the fact that our shop is not in the most convenient or desirable location for tourists. The trnsit stop is only 1/4 mile walk from here, and we are right on the Larry Scott Trail into town. The Broken Spoke bike shop will drop off a rental bike for people who make pre-arrangements before their visit.
In Jefferson County, the citizenry has already demonstrated leadership through the high per capita adoption of electric vehicles and solar pv. The question now is whether we will help our leaders see the benefits of following our example, or will we allow our leaders to retain old-school thinking and impede our progress.
by Andy Cochrane | Jul 23, 2014
Our friends at Wild Birds Unlimited are featured in an article about solar, the PV / EV connection, and increasing attractiveness for solar among small businesses in Washington.
Solar for Home and Business – Leader Home and Garden 2014
by Andy Cochrane | Feb 28, 2014
This is an interesting study that performs a Life Cycle Analysis of hybrid and electric vehicles, taking into account the cleanliness of the grid in the 50 US states, and also the embodied energy and emissions in the manufacturing process of various vehicles. The authors rightly conclude that the benefits of electric vehicles are dependent on the source of electricity they use to charge.
A couple of things the study does not appear to address are the time of day when cars are charged (many grid locations have higher CO2 emissions during peak loads) , and the presence of any distributed energy generation at the charging location. I am an advocate of marrying electric vehicles with grid-tied pv at the charging location, I think this accomplishes the cleanest charging possible, and also trumps the economics of charging from standard grid-power (not to mention filling up at the gas pump.) It also seems that as more aggressive RPS targets continue to kick in across the nation, the sources of grid electricity will be generally emitting less carbon over the coming years.
Here at Power Trip Energy, we have just ordered a Toyota RAV4 EV, which will replace the bulk of the driving we are currently doing in a 23 year old Toyota pick-up truck and a 21 year old Chevy Astro van. Although this vehicle is smaller than those other two, with the back seat down and a folding ladder in the back we will be able to use this vehicle for site evaluations and other light duty work on single story buildings within 50 miles, which describes about 75% of our projects.
We have 4 kw of grid-tied pv, currently generating about 75% of our electricity here at the Power Trip Energy shop, and we will more than double that generating capacity by the end of the year. This will cover the additional electrical consumption we anticipate from our own electric vehicle and from the other EV drivers who are using our free public charging station to recharge. As we are now seeing more occasions when there are two EVs here simultaneously, we will be adding a second charging station when we add the additional pv.
While we are moving forward with what we perceive to be the cleanest smartest energy generation and usage realistically feasible, we look forward to reading the studies of more researchers. We also look forward to installing pv systems and EV service equipment for you.
by Andy Cochrane | Aug 14, 2013
