Overhead Electric Lines for Trucks Are Coming to California [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--HWis8NZBI&feature=player_embedded"]2012 Siemens - eHighway Test track - YouTube[/ame]
Excellent idea for end use of energy. STill leaves the US to cleanly produce the energy in the first place.
What a neat idea. The video shows the truck stopped while the pantograph is raised - hopefully they can also be raised while moving. Does the truck have batteries to store energy while en route to its off-grid destination?
Our trucks had to be stationary to raise the pantographs, until one of the operators who was an ex tank driver, devised a periscope so the drivers could attach to the trolley on the fly. You can see periscopes above both cabs, in the front cab you can see the flag helping the driver aim. Since top speed on trolley was 13 MPH, the problems may be different.
It's a shame that GM is no longer the giant power house that it was ... way back in the 1930's 1940's and 1950's. If it were, they could simply buy up this electric technology - then crush it ... just like they did with the trolleys. That way their gas engine manufacturing would continue to do well : [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy]General Motors streetcar conspiracy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] Yep ... what's old, is made new, again. .
I've got to say, I hate the idea of running raised power lines for long stretches. In the short term its cheaper than in the road, but they are ugly and could cause safety problems. I like the idea of adding them under the trucks, and at the same time adding rails in the road for public transport. This would be a safer solution, although more costly. Plug in cars, trucks, and buses could latch onto the power, then disconnect when moving of the system.
So many companies are trying to push wireless charge tech - surprisingly, none have offered that tech to supplant the wired scheme. I'm guessing that's due to the losses in wireless power transmisison. Still ... the idea of picking up juice while on the "main line" ... and then a BEV would still be able to commute 80miles - 90miles once disconnected from the line, out to other destinations. That makes EV's more convenient. You could head to Vegas ... 300 miles away, and still be fully charged when you arrive. .
I think it was about 6-7 years ago, someone proposed electric cars running on a dedicated roads (like toll roads) with wireless recharging. The cars will linked up and drive like a tram, to minimize traffic and save power/fuel by minimizing drag (think Nascar). His proposal allowed electric cars to travel long distances through the dedicated roads, and do city runs on the EV's own battery. That would have fixed the EV's limitation. But guess that was too future thinking for our politicians.
rails? Hows that safe for other cars? And whats unsafe with raised powerlines? Plenty of European cities have trams which are powered with raised powerlines and i never heard of accident due to that.
There is a fairly new (2004) by tram standards APS or Ground Level power supply that doesn't supply power when it is not connected. The rails are safe to walk accross, even for pets in the rain. They are fine for cars. The first system was the Bordauex Tramway. I'm not sure how well a system would work for random trucks, but it should be fine for dedicated light rail or buses.
This is only one of the reasons I could and would never buy american ever. It is so sad, and corrupt that it demoralizes being an "American" Even gives thought to move of the country. Even gets you wondering about terrorism and the likes. Japanese and German cars always gave me better gas mileage, I have no reason to look at USA made cars. Only thing is that it took a lot of power to disfigure electric transport and 50 years or so. It would take 50-100 yrs to get it back in our city's Let just hope we move forward faster and "stay on track"!
Neat vid. Not sure what I think of it, because when you demand new infrastructure your cost has suddenly gone up hugely. I guess it solves EV range issues and cost of batteries.
When I was a kid in the 50's and into the 60's (19, not 18) Chicago's local mass transit (long haul was and is the "El"/Subway) was a combination of "Street Cars" (rails) and "Trolley Cars" (rubber wheels) both used overhead power. JeffD ps. One didn't try to race the trolley's as they had almost an infinite source of power.
my city has one of the biggest tram networks in the world and i can tell you right now, rails are not nice to drive over with regular car... cant imagine it working on the highway at high speeds at all. also, i am nor sure why would you overcomplicate it with ground power... on most highways there are powerlines already going close to the highways, above the ground. i mean it would be cool to have some kind of in the ground electricity but if it costs more, complete project might be unfeasible. plus again, i dont think having rail tracks over regular highways (of course at the level, is safe at those speeds.
