It is time for L A Sheriffs to go green and although it is not the first time for a county to make such a decision, what pleases us is the choice of the car.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department has bagged a once-in-a-lifetime lease to test run 17 MINI E cars. The BMW AC Propulsion cars will only cost $10 a month whereas us regular folk have to pay $850 a month for the same program.

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The US government laboratory in Los Altos is saying they will have nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed that will be able to power 20,000 homes within five years. The mini reactors will

1. be factory-sealed
2. contain no weapons-grade material
3. have no moving parts
4. be nearly impossible to steal
5. be encased in concrete and buried underground.

The technology is licensed to Hyperion, a New Mexico-based company which will start working on the first firm orders within five years. Hyperion says, “Our goal is to generate electricity for 10 cents a watt anywhere in the world for a community with 10,000 households, that is a very affordable $2,500 per home.”

The first 100 firm orders have come from the oil and electricity industries for which they will set up three factories to produce 4,000 plants between 2013 and 2023. The first confirmed order is from TES, a Czech infrastructure company specializing in water plants and power plants. ‘

The reactors, only a few meters in diameter, will be delivered by truck and buried underground. They need refueling every 7 to 10 years. The 50-year-old design has proved safe even for students to use. No countries are expected to object to plants on their territory.

“You could never have a Chernobyl-type event – there are no moving parts.” Never! Wrong word.

Meanwhile, Toshiba has been testing 200KW reactors measuring roughly six metres by two meters to fuel smaller numbers of homes for longer or that could power a single building for up to 40 years.

Source: Guardian (Image courtesy of philippe leroyer)

Starting next year, Los Angeles and New York City and surrounding areas will be able to lease from a fleet of 500 all-electric Mini-Coopers says BMW. The car is called the Mini E, rhymes with Mini Me.

Mini E - Electric Mini Cooper

The car will be able to travel 150 miles on a single charge and has a top speed of 95mph. That second characteristic is quite useful in a country where 75mph is the top speed and cities where 60mph is pushing the limit.

Mini E - Electric Mini Cooper

Why do they make cars that can go faster than the speed limit in the U.S.? How much money could be saved and how much of our environment could be protected if the U.S. just didn’t allow cars to be made that could go over the speed limit any more?

Back to being happy about Mini E, the lease for it will run $850. Charging is free (to be reimbursed) and all technical service and maintenance will be covered by BMW. We’re happy and want to test drive one. – via CNN

Ever since I’ve heard an electric MINI might be built, I kept my eyes open here and there to be sure I get the latest about it. Today I was reading that the guys at CarMagazine managed to spot it in Munich, Germany, with no exhaust pipes and the words “Hybrid Erprobungsfahrzeug” (Hybrid Test Vehicle) written on the sides and the back.

The big MINI fan in me is really excited to see that BMW is taking their plan to create a new vehicle for city drivers – dubbed Project i – to the next level. Though there isn’t anything official from the Germans, the new electric Mini will most likely be part of that project and will make public debut at the 2008 Los Angeles motor show in November. Can’t wait, can’t wait …

We already reported a couple of months ago that BMW will build the electric MINI but the rumor was that only 500 units will be built. Let’s hope, that BMW’s boss Norbert Reithofer will bring good news in November: mass-production!

Anyone for a battery powered MINI?