Green Energy News | June 28, 1998

June 28, 1998 – Vol.3 No.13

ENERGIES... week of June 28,1998

THE BIRTH OF A MARKET. Sometimes a market for a new product line starts in a niche, to expand only when consumers take notice. Entire industries can be traced back to a niche market. One of those might be forming right now for electric vehicles. According to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), non-road and recreational electric vehicles such as golf carts, fork lifts, airport support vehicles, lawn mowers, bikes, sweepers and scrubbers, are the beginnings of a market that will eventually expand into road-worthy EV’s.

In the recreational sector, electric bicycle manufacturers think they, not the car industry, will be the first to sell a million EV’s. To date one company, ZAP Power Systems, has sold over 10,000 electric bikes, scooters and conversion kits. A recent order for ZAP with Z-Mark will eventually put $425,000 worth ZAP products on the streets of Taiwan. Earlier this year global electric utility company Central and South West Corporation (CSW Corp.) agreed to purchase $1 million in products from ZAP. (Note: In the U.S. bicycles are still considered recreational vehicles.)

In the industrial sector batteries now power 55% of lift trucks in the U.S., 70% in Western Europe. Technology proven and popular in the warehouse might soon be parked in front of your house.

BUILDING EFFICIENT BUILDINGS. No surprises here. Well insulated buildings save energy, and many types of foam are excellent insulators. Now in a niche market, structural foam - foam that supports itself without framing - might someday compete with wood, steel and masonry as a basic building material.

A new product from Leading-Edge Earth Products, LEEP STRUCTURAL CORE, can be used to build an entire building without a wood or metal frame. LEEP 4 inch thick, R-28 insulating panels can span long distances in a roof structure without interior support. Buildings from 1,000 to 20,000 square feet can be built entirely with LEEP, including walls, floor and roof structure. The first LEEP building is expected to built in as little as 3 days - keeping construction costs low.

Aside from saving energy, a typical house built with LEEP will save approximately 10 trees. According to the company LEEP is fire, water, insect and rot resistant. Pre-engineered buildings can be designed to resist high winds and earthquakes. Visit Leading-Edge at http://www.leepinc.com