Minutes from Sunday's Gathering #8 with huge thanks to
linkim
SF BayLEAFs Gathering #8 was held at Luscious Garage in San Francisco on Oct. 2, 2011. Four LEAFs and one PHEV Prius were happily charging in the garage, and a LEAF and RAV 4 were charging at COSTCO nearby. In addition, several LEAFs were parked on the streets near the garage. There were 38 attendees at the meeting, with 13 newcomers.
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, an EV journalist from the UK, kicked off the meeting with a brief report on the Oct. 1 Tesla event in Fremont. The target delivery date is expected to be July 2012 for the Tesla Model S. The Model S has a charger plug that does not have the same shape and size as the J1772 plug on the LEAF. Tesla is interested in installing 90 kW quick charge stations at suitable locations alongside major freeways such as I-5 on the west coast. Based on the brief ride experience at the event, she mentioned that the Model S provided a quieter ride than the LEAF. Other information and photos on the event is found on the MNL forum at (TESLA Model S event) http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6021" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Nikki also mentioned that Enterprise Rent-a-Car in San Francisco has LEAFs for rent, but be prepared to pay $100+ per day. It was suggested that LEAF owners and Nissan dealers should try to get discount rates for LEAF rentals.
The major topics discussed at the meeting are summarized below:
Upcoming Events
Oct. 15 – SVEVA, Silicon Valley
Oct. 16 – National Plug in Day. San Francisco event will be held at Crissy Field Visitors Center (http://www.parksconservancy.org/our-work/crissy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
in the marina. The official start time has not been announced so check website http://www.pluginamerica.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for details.
Nov. 4 – Premier of movie “Revenge of the Electric Car,” Berkeley: Landmark Shattuck Cinemas; Palo Alto: Landmark Aquarius Theatre; San Francisco: Landmark Lumiere Theatre
Nov. 11 – Premier of movie “Revenge of the Electric Car,” Santa Rosa: Summerfield Theatre; for movie details see http://www.revengeoftheelectriccar.com/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Nov. 12 –#8 BayLEAF meeting
PG&E proposal to modify E-9 rates
Waitingforleaf presented an analysis of the effects of the new rate structure that PG&E proposed in their Advice Letter 3910-E. The proposed new rates could have a dramatic effect on the electricity costs of those on E-9A/9B. In addition, customers will not have an option for a tiered TOU rate. The implementation date is Nov. 1, 2011, if passed by the CPUC. The presentation used the analysis of Martin Eberhard (former Tesla CEO). More details on the presentation will be posted later so only a few highlights are given here. With the new E-9A rates here are some estimates: (i) the top 25% consumers will see a rate reduction, (ii) mid 50% consumers will see a 19% rate increase, and (iii) lowest 25% consumers will see a 80% increase. Nearly all E-9B customers will also see a rate increase. One conclusion is that the new rate structure provides no discernible incentives for the adoption of EVs.
The Future of Automotive Service
Carolyn Coquillette, the owner of Luscious Garage (LG), discussed her experience with servicing hybrid vehicles in the SF bay area. LG is an eco-friendly garage with a thriving business maintaining the large fleet of Prius and other hybrid taxis in San Francisco. Because of the proliferation of Prius taxis, LG has night shifts and is open on Saturday for repair services. This extensive experience has positioned Luscious Garage to consider service on EVs such as the LEAF. Presently, no service for the LEAF is available because warranty service must be performed at Nissan dealers. However, the garage is capable of doing upgrades to the LEAF that are not covered by warranty. The garage is exploring servicing LEAFs in the future when they can procure the necessary Nissan tools.
Committee on Interactions with Nissan: Public Relations Support
OrientExpress introduced Jonathan Carmona, Community Manager, TBWA\CHIAT\DAY (Nissan’s PR firm) who made the trip up from LA just for our meeting. Jonathan is very interested in the owners’ experience with the LEAF, and he tracks information for Nissan. He is looking for new ways to support the LEAF community through social media and promoting events such as the movie “Revenge of the Electric Car” and National Plug in Day. He is also interested in recommendations to enhance LEAF owners’ driving experience.
Gascant and linkim are compiling a list of BayLEAFers who have contacts with Nissan. This information is helpful to Nissan and BayLEAFers to coordinate interactions that are mutually beneficial. Currently, there are at least 6 BayLEAFers who are in contact with Nissan North America, Nissan Japan or its affiliates.
Update on the visit of LEAF Chief Vehicle Engineer Kadota-san
Linkim has received further feedback from Nissan Japan regarding the Dec. 3 visit by the LEAF Chief Vehicle Engineer (CVE). Besides the CVE, several staff engineers will also visit with BayLEAFs. The proposed agenda will be firmed up closer to the meeting date, but one topic of interest is the upgrades/modifications that have been successfully implemented to the LEAF. In addition, Nissan is also interested in suggestions for improving future LEAF products. Linkim will be compiling information relevant to these topics that he will forward to Nissan for their input. Comments should be submitted to either gascant or linkim, or in MNL Forum (a special thread will be started)
Discussion on SOC
The State of Charge (SOC) of the battery pack has been discussed extensively in the MNL forum, and a SOC meter is available from garygid (see the long discussion in the subforum: Leaf CANBus in Accessories / Mods) that has helped reduce range anxiety and improve estimating the remaining driving range. Proposed suggestions and recommendations for a SOC meter in the vehicle was reviewed by Tyz. A digital display of the energy remaining in the battery is one example of an enhancement that is useful to the driver to help more accurately estimate the remaining driving range. Other recommendations were discussed that will be complied as part of the information to be discussed at the special visit by Nissan Japan on Dec. 3.
Committee on Bay Area Level 3 Charging Infrastructure
Phoenix and her committee summarized the status of L3 charging stations in Northern California. Progress is still slow in the installation of L2 charging stations.
1. The Nissan facility (Nissan Technical Center N.A.—California Fuel Cell Partnership
3300 Industrial Blvd., West Sacramento, California 95691) has a L3 charging station that will be used by the Sacramento LEAFers at their next meeting on Oct. 22, 10 AM. Details are available on the MNL forum (Sacramento area meeting at Nissan facility, http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5826" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
.
2. Vacaville site is still not available for use by the public. Issues still remain with UL certification and liability.
3. One of the founders of 350Green (http://350green.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
described the objectives of the organization to install charging stations at various locations. Their goal is to install 150 charging stations, which include 25-L3 stations, in Northern California by the end of this year. The company is seeking suggestions for suitable locations. Walgreens is a partner that will install L2 chargers near their stores. Shopping centers are high on the list as suitable locations, and the company has access to Nissan data on LEAF owners to help with the selection process. The company expects to make money from sale of electricity to EV owners.
4. The EV Project plans to install 23 quick chargers in the 9 Bay Area counties.
5. Waidy visited the parking location at Page Mill Road and I-280 for a possible charging station. Because of the configuration of the parking and driveways, this site is not suitable for a charging station. However, Foothill College is a suitable site that is being considered.
Special Thanks.
The SF BayLEAFs would like to thank Carolyn for being such a gracious host for the Gathering #8 and providing electricity for charging the 4 LEAFs in the garage. She also came early on Sunday to open the garage for the meeting, and spent the day with the BayLEAFs and the GGEVA meeting that followed. Thank you Carolyn!
(will add pics soon and encourage others to post)