"Smart Grid" and Plug-In Hybrids For Sale in the Year 2012
Ford displayed a plug-in electric hybrid Escape at a convention for EVs in San Jose.
Let's dream for a moment.
In two short years, California houses will have smart thermostats which can manage electricity from the grid -- or feed it back to the grid. There might be a photovoltaic cell on the roof and a plug-in electric hybrid in the garage. Transportation costs will be cut to a fifth of what we're paying today.
Skies will be clear. Less greenhouse gases will be released.
Those are some of the predictions being voiced by experts from the utility companies, automakers and startups at the 2008 Plug-in Conference in San Jose.
Yesterday, GM made a major annoucement with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) that it had formed a collaboration with 34 utility companies across 37 states to pave the way for electric cars.
Today, Andy Grove made some rather dire predictions but also proposed a rather challenging goal.
I feel that I'm watching the maturing of a technology. Two years ago I was writing about whether or not these PHEVs could work. Today we're talking about how to put them into people's garages and make them talk to the solar collectors on our roofs. Encouraging.
Anyone else think that electric energy will bail us out of this energy mess we're in? And whatever happened to hydrogen and fuel cell cars?
- Posted by
- Philip Reed July 22, 2008, 4:08 PM
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"Anyone else think that electric energy will bail us out of this energy mess we're in?"
It depends. There is no doubt that electric energy is the most promising of current alternative energy sources for cars. I see two issues:
1. While it's true that more efficient management of the grid (eg, "smart thermostats) wll help a lot, that's like using your money wisely. There is the need to make a lot of money before one thinks of using it wisely. If we continue to generate electricity primarily via coal, we might as well stick to oil. But if solar, wind, nuclear and other clean ways of generating electric power can be improved and increased, we have a winner in PHEVs
2. The second is batteries or other means of storing electricity on the cars. While batteries produce virtually zero pollution, it takes a lot of resources to produce them and safe disposal of them is a big challenge. If this issue can be addressed, PHEVs are the next big thing!
At a seminar I went to today they were talking about installing battery units in homes. Then, at lunch, I spoke with a guy said they have developed technology to used compressed air to store energy rather than batteries. I knew about the compressed air car so I guess this is a similar concept.