Plugs and Cars

JULY 19, 2007

The basic question addressed, which appears on the study homepage (epri-reports.org) is this: How would air quality and greenhouse gas emissions be affected if significant numbers of Americans drove cars that were fueled by the power grid? And the grid is getting cleaner and more renewable every year. billion metric tons.

Plug-in 100

Plug-in EPRI Plug Sierra 100

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 21, 2009

Its like having a second fuel tank that you always use first -- only you fill up at home, from a regular outlet, at an equivalent cost of under $1/gallon. But when you do, your car essentially becomes an electric vehicle with a gas-tank backup. Lifetime service costs are lower for a vehicle that is mainly electric.

Plug-in 61

Plug-in Plugin Plug Hybrid 61

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 21, 2009

The costs and benefits of cars extend far beyond an individual driver to society as a whole. A January 2007 Pacific National Laboratory study shows that if we woke up tomorrow and all our vehicles could plug in, todays grid could support more than three-quarters of them charging at night without building a single power plant.

PHEV 37

PHEV Nickel Metal Hydride Prius EPRI 37

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 21, 2009

GM has announced plans for public sales in 2010, and almost every carmaker now says it will sell PHEVs or highway-speed battery electric vehicles (BEVs) sometime after 2010. Shifted earlier focus to all-electric Focus in 2011 with Magna. Company says its focusing on gasoline and hydrogen. todays answer is "Yes -- but not yet."

Plug-in 45

Plug-in Plug Hybrid PHEV 45