SEVA Meeting Minutes – October 2022
Seattle Electric Vehicle Association
Oct 11, 2022 meeting minutes
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The meeting was called to order at 7:16 p.m. by President Jay Donnaway. Meeting time was delayed to give extra time for observing vehicles outdoors.
MOMENT OF SILENCE – The membership recognized health challenges of long-time member Don Baer and Board Secretary Billy Kreuter.
NEW ATTENDEES – Ken moved back to Seattle from California and wants to convert a classic BMW. Bill Popp is a transportation planning engineer who used to work for the Puget Sound Regional Council. John is a naturopathic doctor and drives a Nissan Leaf.
FEATURED GUESTS – SEVA welcomed Lucien Freemesser of Raisbeck Aviation High School and three of his fellow students, who all are members of the RAHS Green Energy Team. They gave a presentation about the team’s work building and racing solar-powered electric cars in the national Solar Car Challenge, and they have won three consecutive national championships. The team meets daily before and after school at the Highline School District campus across the street from the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field. Team members in the program learn computer-aided design (CAD), aerodynamic testing, fabrication techniques, team work and leadership skills. Several sub-teams concentrate on structural and mechanical systems, electrical systems, telemetry and strategy, and outreach and fund-raising. The strategy team collects 55 data points from the car uploaded to computer tracking and uses the data as well as weather and terrain conditions to plan racing strategies and improve efficiency. They have attracted a number of sponsors to help pay for the materials and competition. The team built its first car in 2019, and in 2020 they built a new car using a catamaran design with a flat top covered with solar panels. The car was improved this year with new solar panels that the students soldered and laminated themselves to improve the contacts and get better efficiency. The solar panels now produce a maximum of 1,500 watts, and energy is stored in a 5kW on-board battery. At the 2022 race in July at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, team members took turns driving on the race track, and over the four-day race, they accumulated 1,300 miles using only solar power. They did run into a problem when two tires exploded because of the summer 100-plus-degree temperatures at the track. This fall, the team is working on new car with a bullet-style body and four square meters of solar panels. They are looking for volunteer expertise in composites, aerodynamics, electric systems and grant-writing. Next summer’s Solar Car Challenge will be a cross-country race from Fort Worth to California. Learn more about the team at RAHSgreenenergy.com.
FEATURED VEHICLE – Drew Gottlieb of Seattle shared his three-week-old Rivian R1T truck. He waited 18 months after ordering and spent the time doing a lot of research about the new electric truck before it arrived. It is one of about 475 Rivians now registered in the State of Washington. Drew started with a few more statistics: the vehicle is powered by four motors, one on each wheel for a total of 800hp. It uses a 135kW battery and gets a range of about 314 miles on one charge. The truck weighs about 7,000 pounds and accelerates zero to 60 mph in 3 seconds. The body is a combination of steel and aluminum panels. Drew, who works for Google, said he got the truck for his scuba diving hobby – he wanted something more all-weather for his wet gear than the Tesla Model Y he has been driving. The Rivian truck is rated for driving through water one meter deep. He mentioned the recent recall to tighten a fastener on the front control arms, and he got his truck checked and fixed in about 30 seconds. One of his favorite things about the truck is the small but heavy-duty flashlight built into the driver’s door. The main battery contains 7,776 individual cells, and the additional battery cell in the flashlight makes the total number 7,777. Drew’s white performance Model Y is available for sale – contact gvreamer@aol.com for more information.
NEWS:
The Toyota BZ4X and the Subaru Solterra are getting the wheels and hubs replaced next month.
Lordstown has now delivered its first two trucks.
Aeon Charging may be interested in a proposal to collaborate on a universal charging payment platform.
The Bidirectional Act has been introduced in Congress to promote electric school bus use for VTG back-up power.
The National Electric Vehicle Association has board positions open for nominations – MyEVA.org.
Drive Electric Washington is looking for new board members – DriveElectricWA.org.
Several other EVAs have contacted SEVA to inquire about doing joint meetings.
EVENTS:
The Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce hosted an event and Jay spoke on a panel. The town is getting its first DC fast charger soon.
Billy Kreuter and Dave Barden took their vehicles to the annual Sustainable Ballard event during Drive Electric Week and talked to many interested people.
An environmental fair in northeast Seattle hosted by two churches will take place on Oct. 30. SEVA’s Steve Lough is organizing an EV parade and exhibit.
Minutes submitted by SEVA Vice President Grace Reamer
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Zoom Meeting Recording(s):
: Did Not Stream Meeting