Excess Nightime Energy Could Fuel Over 158 Million Plug-in Hybrids
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio 
on 09. 4.07
One common critique of an electric car revolution is that the increased energy demand might just lead to the generation of new power plants, negating some of the cars' positive environmental benefits. Well, according to a new study by the U.S. Department of Energy, those critiques are misguided. The study shows 84% of the 198 million cars, light trucks and SUVs on America's roads could be fueled by the existing energy infrastructure if switched to plug-in hybrid vehicles. When you add vans and other vehicles in the "light duty fleet," 73% of the 217 million vehicles could be powered with the power plants we have in place today. In switching from 6.5 million barrels of oil every day to electric cars fueled by off-peak power production, the study estimates a reduction of greenhouse gases by 27%.
Even with America's current power mix, with a heavy dose of coal power generation, electric vehicles are show to reduce total greenhouse emissions, however the picture isn't all rosy. The Department of Energy study also points to an increase in total particulate emissions with the grid pumping power all night. This, however, is much easier to tackle than petroleum-based pollution. As alternative energy gains a greater share of the American power pie chart, we can look for less particulate emissions as well. In the meantime, check to see if your power company offers green power or try to generate your own. Then, when you get your electric speedster, you can rev it up without worry.
:: Via GroovyGreen
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The logic behind plug in cars is that they will leech power during the night hours when power generators aren't being used currently.
The logic behind solar power is that it runs during the day when peak electricity is used.
The two would at first glance seem to conflict.
Electric Cars at night will make use of existing infrastructure that can not quickly change the level of power output. There will continue to be a surplus of energy production at night, and it is better to put this power to use in charging electric vehicles, then to pollute with no benefit by letting the power go to waste.
Solar power does supply energy during the day, and would reduce the need for new fossil fuel burning plants in the short term, and eventually allow or the closure of worst polluting plants sooner once the capacity comes online.
There is no conflict as moving to electric vehicles and charging them at night will reduce pollution immediately in the short term. In the medium term, we will continue to see surplus power at night with some wind, hydro, nuclear, and remaining fossil fuel power plants. In the long term, hopefully we will have enough clean capacity, along with storage technologies (batteries, fly wheels, ultra capacitors) that the cars can be charged day and/or night, and the grid, along with smart power meters and usage controls, will be able to level out power demand with the excess storage mediums and cars keeping track of usage so that they will charge at the most mutually beneficial rates and times for the entire grid.
(deap breath, end rant)
Nice to hear they've put numbers to this.
The title is sort of messed up though. Electricity isn't a fuel and the point of study was how to reduce the use of fuel. And the vehicles don't need to be "Hybrid". Hybrid specifically means they are both combustion and electric. This study applies only to the electric storage capability of cars which plug in. Hybridness has nothing to do with it.
And as a matter of preference, I'd like to see the caption photo be of a real car. The credit deserves to go to the companies that have an electric actually headed to market, not merely as a science project. So show an actual plugin conversion or an electric like the Tesla instead of this publicity vaporware.
viva electric cars
That is, unless you don't have a regular parking space every day. In that case it's just a hybrid.
^^Actually the report was specific to plug-in hybrids. The title of the report was "IMPACTS ASSESSMENT OF PLUG-IN HYBRID VEHICLES ON ELECTRIC UTILITIES AND REGIONAL U.S. POWER GRIDS"
Andy with the kind of money GM is spending I don't think this is total vaporwear. Yes that's a concept car but they do plan to put an e-flex based vehicle into production. Even if it takes a couple more years past 2010 the battery research that this is driving in the mean time will make it worth it.
If want to talk vapor, ZAP is it. I keep hearing about a car from them but still nothing. The 3 wheelers don't count as cars.
No car company is totally green but I'm tired of reading attacks. I see dismissing the Volt project as nothing but a science project as a needless attack. If you read Autobloggreen you would know battery contracts have been signed by GM with A123 and another company to develope and produce batteries for the e-flex drive-train. That to me puts it somewhere passed a science project.
My .02 cents.
I wouldn't believe what any US Government office has to say. Bush has made them all his PR tools in promotign his agenda!
I'm curious why people keep attacking the GM VOLT yet jump up and down in praise of all the other plug-in electric-transmission hybrids? Is the blind hatred for GM's larger products so bad that people will simply not accept anything from them? If any mistake of late was made by GM, I would say the sale of EMD (their locomotive division) would be one. 70+ years of electic transmission development, all they need to do is scale it down, and they sold it.
Meanwhile Ford, Toyota, Volvo, and others build similar products across the spectrum and get all the praise here...
-Lego
Is there anyone more paranoically hypersensitive than a GM fanatic (aka blind American jingoist)? I don't think there is.
Tim,
This report highlights how 84% of America's petrol-only cars could be DISPLACED, which is in 100% OPPOSITION to Oily George's agenda.