trash trucks go electric with help from tesla co-founder - home battery system
With the development of sports cars, delivery trucks and even buses, a car rumbles on fossil fuels: a good old garbage truck.
This will change.
This summer, 17 garbage trucks in northern California will be powered by electricity and equipped with an on-board diesel generator as a backup.
The new engines will enter the existing tea stands, but they will be quieter and cleaner.
These trucks will be one of the first to use the Tesla joint system.
Founder Ian Wright
He said his new company, Silicon Valley.
Based on Wrightspeed, is the first motor to extend the range of electric engines by using an efficient turbine generator, the smaller version found in jet engines and power plants.
Wright said the new generator he announced on Monday was 30% more efficient than the existing one.
Just as Tesla hyped its expansion in the home battery business, he launched a new system. (
Seeing the news is five reasons for a big deal. )
Wright, who left Tesla in 2004, said he was never a "true believer" in Tesla's mission, and I wanted to focus on producing a product for the business, save them fuel without the need for a big leap in battery technology or gas station shifts.
Transforming his company's trucks instead of buying new ones has attracted Lou Ratto, chief operating officer of Ratto Group, which owns California's garbage truck.
"As a recycler, it's kind of like a final recycling," he said . ".
He estimates that within three years, he will use the fuel and maintenance savings to recover the cost of the renovation of $12, 5 to $175,000 per truck.
Lato's truck was not the first electric.
In last September, Chicago first launched what it called the "first and only one --
Electric garbage trucks in North America, "he notes, can save 56 gallons of fuel a week.
Motiv Power Systems offers trucks that, if all goes well, will build 19 more trucks for the city.
There are only 2 Typical garbage trucks.
According to Wright, 8 miles per gallon: "There is too much parking and driving, and the efficiency is low.
He says trucks using his system can travel 30% kilometers.
Wrightspeed also sells its power system to FedEx
Delivery truck.
"We need more than we can cope with," he said . "
Since his generator can operate on a variety of fuels, including biodiesel, kerosene and natural gas, Wright says it can eventually be used independently of the truck to fix the backup power supply.
"There will be a lot of applications in the developing world," he said . ".
"It really changed the rules of the game.
First, however, his system must stand the ultimate test: the garbage collector.
"Garbage workers are very demanding on equipment," Ratto said . ".
"When we start to get this thing through its speed, the evidence is in the pudding.
"This story is part of a special series to explore energy issues.
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