Blog “Replacing Oil With Electricity And Biofuels In Transportation”
My colleague Steve Marshall, a senior fellow at Discovery Institute’s Cascadia Center For Regional Development, has authored a new white paper, for the Third Annual Conference On Renewable Energy In The Northwest. It’s titled, “Replacing Oil with Electricity and Biofuels in Transportation: The Convergence of Technology and Public Policy.” The pdf file is here.
Marshall cites data showing transportation plays a major role in greenhouse gas emissions, especially in Washington state, and argues that clean electricity and biofuels used to power vehicles can yield substantial environmental, economic and political benefits. Marshall provides a detailed factual narrative of commitments to test and develop plug-in hybrid vehicle technology by vehicle manufacturers, electric power utilities and technology companies. He also highlights the potential for a Northwest Pilot Project to help policy-makers and electric utilities better understand how plug-in hybrids can be integrated with our region’s electric power system.
He writes:
Washington State enacted legislation that provides initial funding for a plug-in hybrid pilot project…There is an effort underway for our region to work with the federal government to design a pilot program to determine how best to integrate plug-in hybrids into our power grid and the existing transportation system…Should we provide recharging at bus park and ride lots and transit centers? Provide “green lane” incentives? What replaces gas tax revenues if and when flex-fuel hybrids cut gas consumption and thus gas tax revenues? Is it time to test congestion pricing as a substitute?
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member Jon Wellinghoff has proposed a “cash-back hybrid,” that would link the vehicle to grid with two way power flows. Imagine an owner of a PHEV being able to drive to a park and ride lot, park and plug in his or her car and get free recharging and a small check at the end of the month simply for being connected to the grid and able to supply ancillary services or standby peak power…..A Northwest pilot project could test and refine, for example, the use of a utility-controlled chip for allowing recharging at optimum times and for Vehicle to Grid (V2G) services.
Much as Thomas Edison’s Pearl Street project…demonstrated…the electric light bulb was part of a larger and necessary system of electric power production and delivery, we need a similar demonstration for flex-fuel, plug-in hybrids as part of an overall transportation and power system.
We’ll keep you posted on progress toward the goal of fully funding a Northwest Pilot Project to help integrate PHEVs with the regional transportation and power system.
Additional resources:
“<a href=Environmental Assessment of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles,” Electric Power Research Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, 7/07;
“Go Green, Go Fast: Jump Start To A Clean, Secure Energy Future With Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles,” Steve Marshall, Bruce Agnew, Seattle Times, July 2, 2007;
“Green Wheels Are Spinning For Venture Backers,” Steve Marshall, Bruce Agnew, Puget Sound Business Journal, May 25, 2007
“City Plugs In To Hybrid Car Trend: Toronto To Launch Pilot Project With Cars That Can Be Charged From Any Wall Socket,” Tyler Hamilton, Toronto Star, May 24, 2007;
“How To Improve The Efficiency Of The World’s Biggest Machine – While Solving A Few Other Problems Along The Way,” Jon Wellinghoff, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, May 7, 2007;
“Plug-In Hybrid Electric Cars – How They’ll Solve The Fuel Crunch,” Ben Hewitt, Popular Mechanics, 5/07;
“Gentlemen, Start Your Plug-Ins,” R. James Woolsey, Opinion Journal (Wall Street Journal), Jan. 1, 2007;
Impacts Assessment Of Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles On Electric Utilities And Regional U.S. Power Grids – Part 1: Technical Analysis,” Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 12/06.
TECHNORATI TAGS: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, FUEL EFFICIENCY, ELECTRIC POWER GRID, CASCADIA CENTER, NORTHWEST PILOT PROJECT, STEVE MARSHALLrel="tag"PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, FUEL EFFICIENCY, ELECTRIC POWER GRID, CASCADIA CENTER, NORTHWEST PILOT PROJECT, STEVE MARSHALL