Hi, what are you looking for?
Gold Fields’ South Deep Gold Mine’s 50MW Solar PV Plant In South Africa Exemplifies The Beauty Of Solar
Changing The Business Model Of The Utility: Winning Allies (Interview With Henk Rogers Of Blue Planet Energy)
Duke Energy Targets Carbon-Free Power Generation
GM Gets Into the Energy Business
Cars.co.za Buys Into The Sun Exchange’s Karoo Fresh Off-Grid Solar Project To Boost Sustainability
Siemens Gamesa Offshore Wind Turbine Prototype Breaks 24-Hour Output Record
Planning a Green Hydrogen Microgrid to Ditch Diesel
Wheatridge Hybrid Wind, Solar, & Storage Facility Opens In Oregon
Sexy/Unsexy, Practical/Impractical: Let’s Talk Atmospheric Carbon Drawdown’s Hype Vs Reality
Your Rechargeable Batteries Need Lithium. Geothermal Energy Could Soon Help. (Surprise Video)
On the Road to 100% Clean Electricity: 6 Potential Strategies To Break Through Last Few Percent
President William Ruto Sworn In, Reaffirms Kenya’s Commitment To Transition To 100% Clean Energy By 2030
New Lithium StoryMap & the Future of Electrification
Enhanced Geothermal Technology Cracks The 24/7 Energy Code
Smaller, Faster Charging Batteries From Penn State Will Turbocharge EV Revolution
LiPOWER MARS-1000 Power Station Review
The 10 Biggest EV Battery Manufacturers In The World (2022)
NASA Solid-State Battery Is Lighter & More Powerful
Wheatridge Hybrid Wind, Solar, & Storage Facility Opens In Oregon
Volvo EX90 Will Feature App-Based AC & DC Bi-Directional Charging
Want Energy Resilience? Invest Locally In Community Solar, Rooftop Solar, Heat Pumps, EVs
East Bay Customers Support California’s Grid During Extreme Heat Wave Through Innovative Program
NY Governor Hochul Announces Winner of 2022 New York–Israel Smart Energy Innovation Challenge
Biden–Harris Admin Launches $10.5 Billion Investment to Strengthen America’s Electric Grid
DIYers Have Been Quietly Building The Green Campers Of Tomorrow
Sexy/Unsexy, Practical/Impractical: Residential, Commercial, & Industrial Heat Is Serious Business
It Ain’t Easy: Affordable Electric RVing When The Family Wants American Luxury
Want Energy Resilience? Invest Locally In Community Solar, Rooftop Solar, Heat Pumps, EVs
How Will Future Climate Impact The Design & Performance Of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs)?
Fully Electric Vehicles Reached ~6% Of Auto Sales In USA In 3rd Quarter
Polestar 3 Electric SUV Targets Porsche Cayenne Drivers
XPeng’s Flying Car Looks Super Cool, But What Kind Of Future Does It Have?
London, Transportation Fees, & EV Adoption — An Equation To Lower Air Pollution
Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust Announces Pilot Project With Rivian Driving Protection of East African Ecosystems & Communities
Fully Electric Vehicles Reached ~6% Of Auto Sales In USA In 3rd Quarter
Electric Vehicle Journey In Hyundai Kona Electric Continues — Part 3
LiPOWER MARS-1000 Power Station Review
Westward Ho! 1500 Miles in My Tesla Model 3 Long Range with 2 Mountain Ebikes: Cost, Supercharging, Tips
US Auto Sales Down 21% vs. Q3 2019 — Tesla Up 169%
23% Of New Car Sales Now Electric In The Netherlands!
Tesla Model Y Germany’s Best Selling Vehicle in September, Beating Iconic VW Golf
France’s BEVs Grow By A Third YoY, Renault Megane Unassailable
UK EV Share Grows, Tesla Model Y Overall Runner Up
Fully Electric Vehicles Reached ~6% Of Auto Sales In USA In 3rd Quarter
Electric Vehicle Journey In Hyundai Kona Electric Continues — Part 3
LiPOWER MARS-1000 Power Station Review
Westward Ho! 1500 Miles in My Tesla Model 3 Long Range with 2 Mountain Ebikes: Cost, Supercharging, Tips
The Aptera Gamma — CleanTechnica Video Walkthrough
Mazda MX-30 EV vs. Tesla Model 3 — Ultimate EV Battle Bracket
Exploring XPeng’s Self-Driving Tech Live — 1 Hour+, No Interventions!
2022 Nissan Leaf S Plus — CleanTechnica Review (VIDEO)
Have you kept up on the news about Ford’s all-electric pickup truck?
Ford F-150 Lightning owners are doubling down on the Ford pride. They’re comfortable with the familiar F-150 body and cabin yet intrigued by the swap from gasoline-powered V-6 and V-8 engine options for a pair of electric motors and one of two different battery packs. The pickup is winning hearts and minds not with messages of reduced emissions and pushing back climate change but with a whole suite of capabilities that internal-combustion vehicles simply don’t offer.
The owners preen when they show off their all-electric vehicles, delighted that the model beat Tesla’s Cybertruck to production.
And the thread that’s in every interested media message lately is how Ford Lightning comes with an adapter that enables them to charge Teslas. “F-150 Lightning can charge other EVs using its bi-directional charging capability, and we’re shipping our first Lightnings with adaptors so F-150 Lightning customers can lend a hand if needed,” a company spokesperson said.
The Ford-Tesla rivalry is fun, and many continue to question Tesla’s slow Cybertruck pace off the production line. Then again, Tesla owns the second-largest US public charging network with 19% of all connectors. It also dominates the fast- and ultra-fast segments, with more than half of those connectors in the country, according to BloombergNEF estimates. Drew Baglino, Tesla’s senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, said in October that the company planned to triple the size of its supercharger network over the next 2 years.
The Ford charging network pales in comparison.
What other topics are a must-know lately for Lightning fans?
The feature that has everyone a Twitter and that sets the F-150 apart from other all-electric vehicles is its bi-directional charging capability, which Bloomberg calls “a key selling point of the pickup.” It allows customers to use their truck as a backup generator anywhere from worksites to their home after a power outage or even when camping. It enables owners to use the electric truck’s massive battery to charge other EVs.
For the bidirectional function to work, the other electric vehicle must be fitted with the SAE J1772 charge port. Teslas, which have a proprietary charging system, can get a charge from a Ford F-150 Lightning with an adapter manufactured by Lenz Charging Solution.
“Lightning to the rescue,” proclaimed a post on the Lightning Owners forum. “We can help all those poor dead Teslas.”
The Charge Station Pro comes with a 25-foot charge cord and coupler, a wall-mounting bracket, template, and hardware. Ford recommends Sunrun as its preferred installer for the unit, while that same company can also install Ford’s Home Integration System, which costs an additional $3,895, minus installation.
However, the 80-amp charger is currently listed as being out of stock at Ford’s official site. Currently, Ford expects its Charge Station Pro to be available no later than June 30th, which means that some customers will inevitably take delivery of their F-150 Lightning without this feature. The Ford Charge Station Pro comes as standard equipment on all F-150 Lightning models equipped with the Extended Range battery and is also available separately for an MSRP of $1,310 minus installation.
The Pro Power Onboard generator feature is included in all variants of the truck and can put out up to 2.4 kilowatts from a variety of outlets in the frunk, cabin, and bed. As an added option for certain trims, the capability increases to 9.6 kilowatts. The higher-output version includes a 240-volt, 30-amp outlet in the bed that can be used for a variety of higher-draw needs, including charging another EV at 7.2 kilowatts.
While it may not be a driving persuasive point for consumers who are considering the Ford F-150 Lightning, Bloomberg add that “enabling EVs to both take and provide a charge has the potential to help utilities manage peaks in demand and even allow their owners to sell electricity back to the grid.”
Spy photographers recently sighted a Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck in Michigan with a work-grade toolbox installed in its 5.5-ft bed. Educated guesses are that it could be an extremely convenient place in which to install an EV range extender. A red emergency stop button is located on the toolbox’s right quadrant, a relatively certain indicator of a precious lagniappe inside.
A range extender is a secondary onboard power generator that charges an electric car’s battery as you drive. They boost an all-electric vehicle’s battery while in motion, replenishing some of its electrons as they are depleted and permitting the EV to travel further between visits to an electrical plug.
Could this feature be the realization of a patent application Ford filed a while back for very type of system? Then, the idea comprised a removable range extender, alleviating the need to carry the range extended when not needed but having the option for weekends on the lake or potlucks at the soccer field.
Provisions in the Clean Air Act permit California to set personalized standards, even if those standards are more rigorous than those of the federal government. The administration of former President Donald Trump invited questions about California’s autonomy, and the automotive industry sometimes joined in. Trump revoked California’s ability to set its own emissions standards.
But that dissension is old news. Ford, BMW, Honda, Volvo, and Volkswagen recently filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit to defend the state’s right to set its own emissions standards.
Ford issued a statement that said it intervened on the side of the EPA against a challenge to California’s ability to protect public health and combat climate change by setting vehicle emissions standards. Ford says it has consistently supported stricter greenhouse gas standards even when EPA did not, and this suit continues Ford’s leadership as the only US automaker to stand with California in support of stricter vehicle emissions standards in 2019.
Ford executive Steven Croley, Chief Policy Officer and General Counsel, released the following statement regarding the significance of Ford’s environmental action. “Ford is combating climate change. We support the EPA’s recent Waiver Decision to allow California and other states to protect people’s health and combat climate change by establishing and enforcing air pollution standards and zero emission vehicle requirements.”
Since California is the largest market for new vehicles in America, automakers have had to meet the state’s regulations or risk losing a large number of sales. And now Ford has unprecedented demand for its F-150 Lightning — with 200,000 reservations. The company is expanding the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to ramp up production to a planned annual run rate of 150,000 in 2023.
With an investment of a total of $950 million and created 750 jobs at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, Ford’s investment in Michigan for F-150 Lightning alone now totals more than $1 billion. 1,700 recently created jobs are spread among 5 Ford plants, including Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center, where Lightning electric motors and electric transaxles are assembled, and Rawsonville Components Plant, where Lightning batteries are assembled.
Carolyn Fortuna (they, them), Ph.D., is a writer, researcher, and educator with a lifelong dedication to ecojustice. Carolyn has won awards from the Anti-Defamation League, The International Literacy Association, and The Leavy Foundation. Carolyn is a small-time investor in Tesla. Please follow Carolyn on Twitter and Facebook.
#1 most loved electric vehicle, solar energy, and battery news & analysis site in the world. Support our work today!
Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.
6% of US auto sales is up from EVs' 2.2% of US auto sales in Q3 2020.
The mayor, Sadiq Khan, says that London can be a global leader in smart road pricing.
A couple of years ago, cleantech research scientist and Tesla enthusiast Danny Parker wrote a series of articles for CleanTechnica requesting that Tesla “tell...
US auto sales were up 1% in the 3rd quarter of 2022 compared to the 3rd quarter of 2021, but they were down 13%...
Copyright © 2021 CleanTechnica. The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by and do not necessarily represent the views of CleanTechnica, its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.