Gentlemen, Start Your Plug-Ins: How does 500 miles a gallon sound to you?

WSJ ^ | 1/1/2007 | R. JAMES WOOLSEY

[Uncledave]

An oil and security task force of the Council on Foreign Relations recently opined that "the voices that espouse 'energy independence' are doing the nation a disservice by focusing on a goal that is unachievable over the foreseeable future." Others have also said, essentially, that other nations will control our transportation fuel--get used to it. Yet House Democrats have announced a push for "energy independence in 10 years," and in November General Motors joined Toyota and perhaps other auto makers in a race to produce plug-in hybrid vehicles, hugely reducing the demand for oil. Who's right--those who drive toward independence or those who shrug?

Bet on major progress toward independence, spurred by market forces and a portfolio of rapidly developing oil-replacing technologies.

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All this is likely to change decisively, because electricity is about to become a major partner with alternative liquid fuels in replacing oil.

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Utilities are rapidly becoming quite interested in plug-ins because of the substantial benefit to them of being able to sell off-peak power at night. Because off-peak nighttime charging uses unutilized capacity, DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory estimates that adopting plug-ins will not create a need for new base load electricity generation plants until plug-ins constitute over 84% of the country's 220 million passenger vehicles.

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Once plug-ins start appearing in showrooms it is not only consumers and utility shareholders who will be smiling. If cheap off-peak electricity supplies a portion of our transportation needs, this will help insulate alternative liquid fuels from OPEC market manipulation designed to cripple oil's competitors.

[Uncledave]

The cost of overnight electricity from wind energy isn't hype -- it's easy for a producer to calculate. We know what a wind turbine costs and how much power it can generate at a given hour.

As far as making a cost-competitive electric vehicle, well sure, that's another story. But I welcome the developments.

[onyx]

How's this going to work during rolling black outs?

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Uhm, what will be the source for the electric power?

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

But DAVE.....

Where does Electricity come from?

[UNGN]

Because wind energy isn't reliable, they use it for peaking during the day.

At night, there is no need for peaking, so there is excess wind electricity.

The wind isn't stronger at night in Texas.

[Centurion2000]

as there would be a larger market for overnight power

Sounds like the electricity company needs to figure out how to STORE electricity.

[NormsRevenge]

How's this going to work during rolling black outs?

--

Ya seen or heard about those hand cranked emergency radios? Maybe they can cook something up like that, ya can have granny or passengers crank while gramps drives:-)

[onyx]

LOL-LOL-LOL

Happy New Year Norm.

[KellyAdmirer]

So many of the counter-arguments on this thread - "Do I have to buy two electric cars when I run out of juice in the first" etc. - are answered by the simple formula: the car will still run on gasoline if the batteries are exhausted. You'll just have to fill up more often - much more often. Is that so tough to understand?

Ok, next question.

[shorty_harris]

My car stays parked on the street. How would I plug it in? First time someone trips over the extension cord I'd get sued. This will never be very practical for me.

[Uncledave]

Not sure what you're getting at.

[BIGLOOK]

[Uncledave]

Nationwide, on-average, the wind is steadier at night. But the point is, that this potential energy would have a market with plug-ins. And it would most certainly improve the economics for wind energy.

[stylin19a]

good call...most don't know that when a bettery dies in the winter, it's usually because it took a beating during the summer

[Alberta's Child]

True. But the bigger problem with a plug-in vehicle is that the cost of the electricity required to recharge the battery may exceed the cost of buying enough gasoline to propel the vehicle a comparable distance.

[Ben Ficklin]

If these new/alternative sources of energy come to fruition it may lower our dependence on oil, but it will not lower our dependence on foreign oil.

The oil producers hurt first will be the domestic producers whose costs are much higher than foreign producers.

[UNGN]

It takes baby steps to get where we'd like to be. I'm sitting here typing on a small Macbook with more computing power than acres of mainframes from 50 years ago.

Unlike the technology of computers, the physics of propelling a vehicle haven't changed in last 50 years.

The power needed to propel one MD-80 with 110 passengers on board is 60 Megawatts, enough to completely power a town of 50,000 people.

A electric car has similar eye popping electricity requirement, when compared to your Lights, TV and even your A/C in the summer.

[Alberta's Child]

That's is the kind of hype marketeers spew and not the engineers that actually have to make it work.

Right. Ten bucks says this Woolsey guy is a paid shill for a company that manufactures these batteries.

[Kozak]

One word; Horses.

Two words: Horse Sh#t

Do a little reading on turn of the century New York or London and the joys of Horse crap eveywhere....

[theBuckwheat]

Plug-ins = coal powered.