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| Vol. 17, No. 7 | Oct. 16, 1997 |
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| Vol. 17, No. 7 | Oct. 16, 1997 |
By 2003, 10 percent of all new vehicles sold in California, New York and Massachusetts must be zero-emission or non-polluting. If that trend continues, Willett Kempton, policy scientist with the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, said he believes that zero-emission vehicles (ZEV's) have the potential to replace large central utilities as the major source of power generation in the U.S.
A ZEV runs on an energy source that doesn't pollute like electricity, hydrogen or methanol. Batteries store the electricity that runs the car engine; fuel-cell vehicles powered by gas-either hydrogen or methanol- produce the electricity.
In a study published in the August edition of the journal, Transportation Research, Kempton calculates that the U.S. passenger vehicle fleet has 10 times more potential to generate electricity than all the nation's electricity generating plants combined. He writes, "If a substantial fraction of the vehicle fleet were electrified, it would dwarf the generation capacity of electric utilities, at lower capital cost, comparable availability, and with siting closer to loads."
Battery-powered vehicles could be plugged into a wall to charge and, with modifications to the plug and electric utility's software, discharge, sending energy back to the utility. The charge/discharge battery could be used during power emergencies and peak-load demand and recharge when demand is low.
He calculates savings to the utility of $2,370 per vehicle, which would allow the utility to offer battery replacement, lower electric rates or rebates.
Fuel-cell vehicles, which are still mostly experimental, have the potential for producing continuous power while attached to a gas tap at home and/or work.
Kempton writes that battery-powered electric vehicles would require only a 220-volt, alternating current, three-phase, 40 amp. connection and charge/discharge unit to transmit up to 8kw of peak power to the utility, well within the range of present house wiring.
Because electric vehicles are already being produced by GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda and a number of smaller companies for the California, New York and Massachusetts markets, Kempton is urging a shift in electric vehicle research to focus on designing a battery for charge/discharge cycles, developing fuel-cell vehicles, choosing acceptable payment options and identifying good candidates for large-scale pilot programs.
Since the study was released, Barbara Farhar with the National Renewable Energy Lab and energy industry newsletters and executives have requested copies of the study and John DeCicco, transportation program director for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy was quoted by Reuter's news service as saying that Kempton's proposal "changes the economics of electric vehicles profoundly. There is no fundamental technical barrier involved in what Kempton proposes."
-Barbara Garrison
