Author: Jim Trainor

The Wind & Solar Tower provides Level-4 pollution-free charging

NEW YORK, May 3, 2022 – More than 60 percent of our electric grid is powered by burning dirty fossil fuels. Using that dirty grid to charge electric vehicles (EV) only adds pollution and greenhouse gasses and pollution to the air we breathe.

Improving air quality and helping improve our climate will require pollution-free EV charging methods. While EVs represent an improvement over vehicles that burn gasoline and diesel, better and cleaner charging is needed to lessen greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change. 

Due to conversion losses in the electricity generating process, power plants burn almost 3 kilowatt (kw) hours of fuel to deliver 1 kilowatt of electricity to the grid, resulting in a tremendous waste of energy and an increase in pollution. In 2019, utility-scale power plants consumed 38 quadrillion BTUs of energy to provide 14 quadrillion kilowatts of electricity. That means that more than 60 percent of the fuel burned to make electricity is lost to thermal, mechanical and generator inefficiency before a single kilowatt enters the grid. Then, another 5 percent of that electricity is lost within the transmission and distribution grid.

Pollution-free Level-4 DC Charging: Goodbye Dirty Air and Grid Strain

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the Department of Energy reports that in 2020, the average American suffered through eight hours of electrical outages. Our grid comprises more than 9,200 generating units and depends on more than 600,000 miles of ~300,000-volt transmission lines that in many cases are 40 years old. There are also millions of miles of low-voltage power lines with distribution transformers, some of which are more than 50 years old. With these weaknesses, the grid is in continual peril of brownouts and blackouts. The only “clean” and sensible way to take pressure off the aging grid is to add distributed renewable generation.

Due to rolling blackouts, California experienced 25,281 electric power outages in 2019, a 23 percent increase from 20,598 in 2018. Those outages victimized 28.4 million electric vehicle customers, a 50 percent increase over the 19 million Californians affected in 2018.

To travel 100 miles, the average EV requires approximately 30 kilowatt hours of electricity. The average American home consumes roughly that amount in an entire day. If EV adoption and single-family home forecasts bear out, by 2030, EVs will consume as much electricity as 35 percent of single-family homes in the U.S. Based on the annual average of 13,474 miles driven by passenger cars and 12,435 by last-mile delivery trucks, EVs will consume more than 137 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year. 

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory calculates the grid load of a single grid- connected DC fast charge as equal to the electrical consumption of 50 homes during the charging period. Multiplying that load by 18.7 million EV passenger cars and 10.4 million last-mile delivery EV trucks creates a problem in supplying the vast amount of electricity required for charging those vehicles. The overarching challenge becomes how to satisfy this instantaneous power demand, or surge. 

Boston Consulting Group predicted in 2019 that to meet increased demand, utilities will need to invest $1,700 to $5,800 per electric vehicle in grid upgrades through 2030. That grid infrastructure upgrade would require an investment of up to $178.7 billion by 2030.

The Wind & Solar Tower: Level-4 DC Ultra-Fast charging, 328 miles of range in only 15 minutes, and 653,000 miles of pollution-free driving per year

One solution that provides the needed clean energy, convenience and fast-charging is Change Wind Corporation’s patented Wind & Solar Tower (WST). It generates 61.5 kW of pollution-free electricity per operating hour for EV charges or any other use. This is made possible by the world’s only charger powered by a combination of wind and sun. Because WSTs do not need a grid connection, they can be installed in rural and remote locations far from a grid. To maximize charge rates and number of charges at ultra-high kilowatt and voltage levels, each WST is equipped with integral battery storage ranging up to one megawatt.

MIT scientists determined that dust and other particulates inhibit solar panel output by up to 30 percent in only a month. Commercial solar installations are estimated to consume 10 billion gallons of water for panel washing. That figure is equivalent to the drinking water consumption of 2 million people. Countering that expensive and wasteful water usage, the WST uses no external water supply, needing only centrifugal force to clean its patented rotating solar panel with fresh morning dew.   

Each WST is capable of charging six vehicles simultaneously at Level-4 DC Ultra-Fast charge rates of 6.333 kW per minute that add about 22 miles of range. This metric is based on a conservative estimate of 3.46 miles per kW. Each WST produces more than 188,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually on site where it is used. This annual production total assumes only a 33-percent wind duty cycle and a 45-percent solar duty cycle. By not relying on the grid, that substantial output is immune to power line resistance losses, brownouts and blackouts.  

To put that output into perspective, those ~188,000 kilowatt hours can charge 9,441 EVs with 20-kilowatt DC Ultra-Fast charges. And thanks to that capacity, it takes under 190 seconds — just over 3 minutes — to add 20 kW and approximately 70 miles of pollution-free driving range. As the world’s highest-output Level-4 DC Ultra-Fast charger, with peak charge rates of 380 kW at 1,000 volts, a 15-minute charge delivers 328 miles of range. And, for drivers short on time, a five-minute charge delivers 109.5 miles of range.

Because it uses only wind and sun power, each WST offsets the CO2 emissions from over 594,788 kilowatt hours of power plant electric production at .85 pounds of CO2 per kWh that translates to 252.784 tons of CO2 that each Tower prevents from entering our skies. The WST’s CO2-offset figure above is based on EIA data stating that more than 60 percent of the energy used for electricity generation is lost in conversion. 

Burning a gallon of gasoline emits 19.37 pounds of CO2. An EV gets 3.46 miles per kW, so it follows that each WST provides 653,323 miles of 100 percent pollution-free electric-powered driving per year.

Although pollution-free and environmentally friendly, in no way does the WST compromise on power delivery. In fact, it can deliver peak charging rates of 1,314 miles of range per hour.                

EVs are not dirty, but the electricity that charges them is filthy

The WST’s Level-4 DC Ultra-Fast 380 kW 1,000-volt charging delivers clean electricity at the fastest charging rates available today. The WST’s battery-based DC modular architecture accommodates plug-and-play upgrades that assure the WST’s longevity as a leading-edge EV charging system. Moreover, unlike drivers who use grid-dependent EV charging, EV drivers who utilize WST pollution-free charging can rejoice in the fact that they are not dirtying the air nor harming the environment.  

Also available on-line at https://newspressusa.com/publicReleaseView/73009/8242

NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2022 — Change Wind Corporation has developed and validated the Wind & Solar Tower (WST), the world’s only generator that combines both wind and sun to produce pollution-free electricity for the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market.

The WST is a timely entrant as the auto industry transitions to an electric fleet with a growing realization that our electric grid was never designed to handle the power surge loads required to charge EVs.

The WST is a timely entrant as the auto industry transitions to an electric fleet with a growing realization that our electric grid was never designed to handle the power surge loads required to charge EVs.

• More than 60% of the grid’s energy is generated from coal, oil, and natural gas.
• Power plants are inefficient. According to the U.S. Department of Energy more than 60% of energy used for electricity generation is lost in conversion. In practical terms, 3 kWh worth of fuel must be burned to deliver 1 kWh to the end user.
• EV charging requires vast amounts of power over a short period of time. The power needed for a single Level-3 180-360 kW 480-volt charge is equivalent to the grid load of 50 houses during that charging time.

In the U.S., the burgeoning EV fleet is coming without a green and expanding infrastructure to support out-of-home charging integrating anxiety-free support for electric travel.

The federal government is funding a drive to add 500,000 additional charging outlets across the country without addressing where that electricity would come from or, more importantly, if that electricity can be generated pollution free. The California Energy Commission says the state will need 1.2 million chargers (up from the 73,000) by 2030 to meet the fueling demands of the 7.5 million passenger EVs anticipated to be on California roads. This can be accomplished only if today’s electric grid can be expanded quickly and in a clean fashion.

Currently, power for the U.S. grid that is supporting EV charging stations is generated from fossil fuels (60%), nuclear (20%), and renewables (20%) that includes hydro, wind and solar. The 60 percent comprised of coal, natural gas and petroleum will need to grow as the demand to power EVs surges, thereby increasing pollution.

Yet after the U.S. successfully reduced CO2 emissions by migrating from coal to natural gas fueled electricity generation, there is now a movement to limit building more natural gas-generating plants as they release greenhouse gasses. In California, where brownouts and blackouts are common due to excessive electricity demands, the last nuclear power plants will be closed by 2025, further reducing green fuel options.

Elon Musk has said the biggest obstacle to growing the EV market is the electric grid’s inability to charge all these vehicles. According to National Renewable Energy Laboratory, electrification of transportation and other sectors will require doubling U.S. generation capacity by 2050. To make the transition to EVs a truly clean step forward, the country needs fresh solutions that are pollution-free and efficient, and offset future grid load.

Wind and solar generation today account for about 10% of the total of the U.S. electric grid. Combining those two sources in a patented device for performance and safety provides a clean solution while reducing burden on the grid.

Change Wind Corporation’s Wind & Solar Tower (WST) directly addresses this need. The power it generates is pollution free and efficiently produced on site by both wind and sun.

The WST combines a six-helical-blade wind generator with a self-cleaning solar panel and a 1,000-kWh storage battery (optional for commercial applications) that cuts electric-grid greenhouse gas emissions and additional grid load.

One Tower charges up to 8,455 EVs per year with 20-kWh fast charges of renewable power providing 600,000 miles of driving range per tower per year. 

The WST will be connected to the grid to supply surplus power or to use power from the grid to charge additional EVs.

At a time when the demand for more EV charging stations is vital, more charging stations powered by pollution-free, additive electricity are required. Wind & Solar Towers represent a smart way forward in making EV travel practical and convenient.

Also on-line at https://newspressusa.com/publicReleaseView/72268