Posted on 12/11/2006 10:52:04 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
WASHINGTON -- The nation's existing electric power grid could fuel as many as 180 million electric cars, a Department of Energy study estimates.
The study, being released today by the department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is the federal government's first look at the grid's capacity to handle the demands of so-called plug-in hybrids, which can be operated as an all-electric car for most daily commutes. Until now, there have been few detailed studies of the effect of plug-ins, which are championed by environmental groups and the utility industry.
Currently there are only a few hundred plug-ins on the road, most hand-made prototypes or unsanctioned modifications of existing hybrids, which use small gasoline engines that charge their electric motors, but can't plug in to recharge.
General Motors Corp. recently announced it will build a plug-in Saturn, and other makers are thought to be planning similar ventures. The report estimates that the current cost of electricity needed to power a car is roughly one-third the equivalent amount of gasoline.
"It is intriguing to think of the trade and national-security benefits if our vehicles switched from oil to electrons," said Robert Pratt, one of the authors of the study and an energy researcher at the laboratory. "Plus, since the utilities would be selling more electricity without having to build more plants or power lines, electricity prices could go down for everyone."
The report estimates that plug-ins, made in volume, would cost between $6,000 and $10,000 more than existing vehicles -- largely due to the cost of carrying larger battery packs. The study estimates that because electricity is cheaper than gasoline, car buyers would recover the additional cost over five to eight years, depending on the price of gasoline.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Monthly sales of the Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid car are down 28% since August. Ford Motor Co. is cutting the price of its Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrid SUVs by more $1,200. Sales of the Lexus RX400h hybrid fell nearly 23% in November from a year earlier. California has put a cap on new permits allowing owners of the Prius or Honda Civic hybrids to use high occupancy vehicle lanes during rush hour. The federal tax credit of as much as $3,150 that helped boost Prius sales this year will be cut to less than $800 next year, to the consternation of Toyota executives. Is the hybrid car moment over in America?
Not if Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Corp. can help it. The warring giants of the auto industry are determined to keep gas-electric hybrid vehicle technology in the forefront of their product programs, as well as their corporate advertising and image-building efforts.
Data from the Power Information network may indicate that hybrid demand has cooled since gasoline dropped below $3 a gallon. But compared to many vehicles on the market, most hybrids are still hot items. The average Prius sits on a lot just 12 days before selling. Even the Ford Escape hybrid sells in an average of 29 days, compared to 57 for the conventional Escape. There appears to be something here. Toyota and GM want to lead the way toward defining what that something is.
Toyota and GM come to their commitments to gas-electric hybrid technology from different directions. But their competitive goals are roughly the same. On a technological level, Toyota and GM want to be sure that if alternatives to century-old gasoline internal combustion engines start to gain traction, they are driving the change, not being driven by it.
PING!
IB4Ping! Good show!
GM already had a succesfull and loved car, the EV-1. But GM didn't advertise for it and the California clean air board dropped the ball. But most of the blame has to laid on the consumers. When you tell them you can only drive 125 miles before a charge, they immediately lose interest. They "think" they need to drive for more miles when in reality if they really looked at their driving habits, they probably drive half that per day.
Until this mentality goes away, the electric car will never be popular, even though I want one!
I will personally settle for a flex-fuel hybrid at this point in time. I would be able to fuel up when necessary, whether it was with ethanol, gasoline, or some combination thereof. I don't know of any plug-in stations, however, if you're on a long roadtrip.
The charging locations have to be convenient.
Ah! But is there enough 'tricity to charge the cars, run your computers and light and heat/cool your house? We may all have to live in our electric cars.
Plug in hybrids could utilize excess grid capacity by re-charging during non-peak hours. It would be a simple matter to replace a conventional electric meter with one that applied variable rates for peak and non-peak use, which would encourage people to charge their cars during the wee hours of the morning.
Pretty cool stuff. If I had one of these babies, the motor would kick on about once or twice a year. Almost all of my driving is 20 miles or less. Folks out in the country would have a very different experience, of course.
I don't believe the electric car is meant for an OTR type of drive. The majority of its uses are more for big city type of driving.
What people out in the country?
Anyone know....will electricity remain cheaper than gasoline once more coal/oil/nuke power is demanded and gasoline-fraction petroleum is in less demand? What will the greenies say about increased coal usage to cut petroleum usage?
They kind of glossed over that problem.
How many people can currently (no pun intended!) pull up to a secure electrical outlet to plug in, without fear of bootlegging, sabotage, etc.? It seems mainly a commuter car as far as utility goes, but for marketing, I am not sure there's a large target group in that demographic.
As I implied to BigTex5, I'm probably going to make my next car a flex-fuel hybrid. I will thus be insulated from electric price spikes related to massive plug-in usage.
As for the greenies, they'll probably go nuts and sue, sue, sue...
I live in a close-in suburb the NYC, so pretty much everything is close to my house. But there are people who live out in farm country who have to drive twenty miles to pick up a half gallon of milk. A plug-in electric would probably not work out real well for these folks.
Yeah, right. I want a docking station at home and one at the office. Just drive up to it and be plugged in - don't even have to pick up the chord.
Most folks seem to have electrical plugs on their houses. I have one, right near the driveway. I think I would notice if somebody was charging up their car in my driveway, though.
Apartment dwellers might have a tougher time, though. They might need to get a locking box for the outlet, or something.
let the market decide
if it's cheaper and fits your usage cycle, somebody will produce a car that meets the need
electric golf carts have pretty much eliminated gas powered ones
some folks usage cycle isn't much different than a golf cart
Yep. This type vehicle will be the very thing for some people, and a white elephant for others, depending on their usage pattern. That's the beauty of our system. There is somebody out there to cater to every need.
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