U.S. firm to build EV chargers in Jerusalem
About 100 charging stations will be placed on Jerusalem streets by 2011, when Israel plans to have electric cars available for mass consumption, Shai Agassi, CEO of Better Place, said. Twenty of the stations have already been placed.
At a ceremony where he signed the agreement with Israeli officials, Agassi said a transition to greener means of transportation could make for cleaner air, and called Israel "a leader in the road to sustainable mobility."
Electric car batteries used in Israel will have a range of 160-200 km (100-125 miles), sufficient to cover the distances among most of the small country's main urban centers. They would take 3-4 hours to charge, Better Place said in a statement.
Israel regards Jerusalem as its indivisible capital, including the eastern sector it captured in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians want the city as capital of a future state.
Better Place, a $200-million venture-backed company, is in an early stage, testing charge spots in Israel with plans to follow in Denmark, and is working with Renault and Nissan to develop electric car infrastructure.
The firm has also announced partnerships with Australia, California and Hawaii, worth about $2 billion in total, to expand its network in the coming years as markets search for alternatives to cut carbon emissions and pricey fuel imports.
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UK electricity and gas networks making ‘unjustified’ profits
LONDON - Companies that run Britain’s electricity and gas networks, including National Grid, are making “eye-watering” profits at the expense of households, according to a well-known consumer group.
Citizens Advice believes £7.5bn in “unjustified” profits should be returned to consumers who pay for network costs via their electricity and gas bills, although its figures have been contested by the energy industry and regulator.
Ownership of electricity and gas networks came under the spotlight in the run-up to June’s general election, after the Labour party said in its manifesto it would bring both national and regional grid infrastructure to back into public ownership over time.
Electricity sector privatisation began in 1990…
