Green Vehicles Depend on Clean Power

An electric vehicle is only as green as the power you put into the batteries, according to experts at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC). While wind power and green vehicles may be on separate development tracks, combining the two makes each technology more desirable.

The selection of vehicles with electric motors will greatly increase during the next few years to include multiple plug-in hybrids, extended range vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt, and all-electrics. While overall electric vehicles will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, under some conditions – namely in congested urban areas that predominately rely on coal power – air quality could worsen because of soot and mercury, according to a study from the National Resources Defense Council cited by the USA Today.

These hypothetical cases of increasing pollution would be rare, according to NRDC Vehicle Campaign Director Darren Lovaas. Depending on how widely they are adopted, plug-in and electric vehicles could eliminate between 163 and 612 billion metric tons of CO2 by 2050, according to NRDC.

If we to continue to drive on petroleum-powered internal combustion engines we won't be able to meet goals for emissions reductions, according to Bob Babick, GM's director of vehicle emissions issues. "The electrification of the vehicle will play critical role" in reducing greenhouse gases, he said.

GM is introducing new hybrid versions of its Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Silverado, and GMC Sierra that will consume less fuel and reduce emissions. The 2009 Saturn Green Vue Line will be a 2-mode hybrid that will increase fuel economy by up to 50 percent, according to Babick.

In 2010 GM will introduce a plug-in version of the Saturn Vue, its first vehicle that can operate "emissions free" on electric power for up to 40 miles, Babick said. Shortly thereafter the extended range Chevrolet Volt, which includes a gasoline-powered generator to recharge the batteries, will arrive.

Babick said automakers will need to work closely with utilities to green the grid by adding more renewable energy to enhance the public perception of electrified vehicles as clean. Instead of requiring consumers to pay specifically for renewable energy as is done today, adding more wind and solar to the grid will make plug-ins and extended range vehicles easier to market, he said.

Consumers won't fully realize the impact of driving a 'green' vehicle until they recharge the batteries from a renewable energy resource such as wind or solar, according to auto expert Tom Cooley, who spoke at the "Cool Cars, Green Grid" WIREC panel. He said that plugging in a vehicle to a green grid resource will create an "aha moment" similar to when Toyota Prius owners drive by people refueling their vehicles and realize that they don't have to stop.

Dr. Willett Kempton, an associate professor at the University of Delaware said that cars with large battery packs can enhance the attractiveness of wind energy by storing the power from the intermittent resource. The "vehicle to grid" (V2G) idea enables excess wind energy to be stored in vehicles and then taken back by the utilities during times of peak power demand when wind energy alone isn't sufficient, he said.

Kempton said that communications hardware and software that would enable power companies to send and receive electricity to vehicles as needed would cost about $200 per vehicle, and consumers would quickly be paid back by their utilities by selling peak power at premium prices. Kempton said the offshore wind resources along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. is more than sufficient to handle the additional electricity demands from plug-in hybrid and all electric vehicles.

Jacqueline Piero, the V2G coordinator for the University of Delaware said that the university's all electric Toyota Scion retrofit can store 35 kilowatt hours of electricity. "Most vehicles are driven for about an hour a day, so for 23 hours they can be available to store or deliver power," she said.

Vehicle storage of electricity benefits utilities because instead of waiting for coal or natural gas power plants to "spin up" for 20 minutes before generating more power, batteries can instantaneously deliver electricity to the grid, Piero said. A fleet of approximately 80-100 vehicles could provide a 1 megawatt on demand resource for utilities, she said. Government and corporate fleet owners would be likely V2G partners for utilities.

Utilities and vehicle companies are working together to green the grid and transportation, according to Brian Wynne, the president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association. For example, Southern California Edison is working with Ford, Pacific Gas and Electric with Tesla, and North Carolina State with Duke Energy to test how electric vehicles can aid in greening the grid.

Toyota Prius owners who would like to recharge their batteries using renewable power will be able to upgrade their vehicles to plug-ins with lithium ion batteries this summer, according to Elizabeth Ames, the marketing communications manager of A123 systems. She said the company's Hymotion subsidiary is currently doing retrofits with the more advanced battery technology for fleet owners for about $10,000, and will begin selling to consumers later this year.

Marguerite Jones of Austin Energy, which runs the Plug-In Partners program encouraging cities to purchase plug-in vehicles, said her utility doesn't have enough renewable energy capacity to be able to sell to plug-in owners when the cars arrive. More than 1,400 people have signed up in Austin to purchase plug-in hybrids, but the company is "always sold out of wind and solar power," she said.

NRDC's Lovaas said the current trend of rising petroleum prices is a double-edged sword when it comes to reducing emissions. He said that higher gas prices would encourage consumers to buy more electric vehicles, but they also create demand for exploration of more carbon-intensive resources, such as the tar sands of Canada and from coal-to-liquids conversions. "We see this as a big, big problem," Lovaas said.