Submission + - MIT: Plug-in Hybrid Cars Will Save the Grid
shorebird writes: "Tech. Review has a fascinating and suprising discussion of the implications of widespread adoption of the widely promised, and well-hyped, plug-in hybrid vehicle technology. http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/17930/page1 /
From the article's opening paragraph: "Major automakers and the Department of Energy are pouring money into research on plug-in hybrid vehicles... Although critics have warned that the vehicles could put too much pressure on an already strained electrical grid, experts are now arguing that rather than being a strain on the grid, plug-in hybrids may actually help prevent brownouts, cut the cost of electricity, and increase the use of renewable energy."
Also from the article, according to the DOE's Pacific Northwestern National Laboratory, "there is enough excess generating capacity during the night and morning to allow more than 80 percent of today's vehicles to make the average daily commute solely using this electricity. If plug-in-hybrid or all-electric-car owners charge their vehicles at these times, the power needed for about 180 million cars could be provided simply by running these plants at full capacity.""
From the article's opening paragraph: "Major automakers and the Department of Energy are pouring money into research on plug-in hybrid vehicles... Although critics have warned that the vehicles could put too much pressure on an already strained electrical grid, experts are now arguing that rather than being a strain on the grid, plug-in hybrids may actually help prevent brownouts, cut the cost of electricity, and increase the use of renewable energy."
Also from the article, according to the DOE's Pacific Northwestern National Laboratory, "there is enough excess generating capacity during the night and morning to allow more than 80 percent of today's vehicles to make the average daily commute solely using this electricity. If plug-in-hybrid or all-electric-car owners charge their vehicles at these times, the power needed for about 180 million cars could be provided simply by running these plants at full capacity.""