Much of the talk about reducing human production of green house gases revolves around alternative energy for powering our transportation industry as well as our powering our electrical grid. The EV-2010 conference happening this September 13- 16 in Vancouver brings together experts and developers from both to discuss the latest developments affecting electric mobility.
While the majority of companies represented are involved in aspects of electric mobility, the implications for alternative energy can not be ignored. The more electricity consumed by the transportation sector the more important the source of that power becomes if we are to make any serious headway at reducing our carbon footprint.
Some of the companies attending the conference are involved with energy storage, a important factor in the cost and viability of electric vehicles. This will be the key area in deciding how quickly manufacturers can shift production away from internal combustion to electricity. Cost, energy density, reliability and durability have all been issues affecting the adoption of this technology. Experts will be addressing all the latest developments in these areas.
Another key energy storage issue will be how to store alternative energy from sources like wind power and run of the river hydro which can not be turned on and off like hydro or thermal power plants and produce power in the evening when power loads are lower.
One of the key concerns holding back development of alternative energy has been this issue of storing this power for use later or transporting it to where it is needed at that time. Several companies are developing storage systems, but cost is still a factor.
The other solution would be the adoption of the smart grid. This would mean not only expanding and increasing the capacity of the current power grid but adding sensors and computing power so that advanced forecasting of demand and generating output from renewable sources like wind is possible.
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