Plug-in Hybrids: Renewable Energy Solution of the Month

Support Climate Denial Crock of the Week – go to www.greenmanstudio.com This video inaugurates a new series, that will augment, but not replace, “Climate Denial Crock of the Week”. Many people seem to think dealing with climate change will bring poverty and limit human development. The truth may be exactly the opposite. Moving to a world of where we aren’t fighting each other over the last few drops of oil, where energy is free, will mean a better life, with greater opportunities even for an expanding population. If we make the right decisions, we could be on the verge of the most prosperous period in human history. Climate Denial Crocks will be back soon to tweak trolls and ding deniers. http www.environmentamerica.org www.udel.edu www.udel.edu newenergynews.blogspot.com climateprogress.org

25 Responses to “Plug-in Hybrids: Renewable Energy Solution of the Month”

  • greenman3610 says:

    @rusty1491
    this is incorrect. The efficiency of electric cars is so much greater than gasoline powered, that even when charging them with coal power, they are a better choice emissions wise.

  • mwtbell32 says:

    I love the idea of a feedback system between the car battery and the national grid.
    If instead of a petroleum-electric hybrid, a hydrogen-electric hybrid was developed then that would be perfect. Giving emissionless unlimited range and freedom while keeping the home plug-in system so the car can act as a generator. I think this is possible because the Honda hydrogen car uses a fuel cell to charge a battery which then powers the motor of the car. So just plug that battery into the mains.

  • mwtbell32 says:

    I love the idea of a feedback system between the car and the national grid. If instead of a petroleum-electric hybrid, a hydrogen-electric hybrid was developed then that would be perfect. This would give unlimited range and freedom while keeping the plug in system so the car to be used as a home generator and battery. This should be possible because the Honda hydrogen car uses a hydrogen fuel cell to charge a battery which powers the motor. How about connecting this battery to the mains?

  • greenman3610 says:

    @mwtbell32
    Honda’s car is cool, but still pretty expensive.
    The gas-electric hybrids will be first to market. anybody’s guess as to what the
    final winning technology will be, but breakthroughs in battery tech give an edge to all electric vehicles.

  • ShawnD1 says:

    Very interesting video. Keep up the good work :)

  • TBman256 says:

    in the future 50% of cars will be electric, the rest will be powered by the tears of oil executives

  • alessandramarcarian says:

    Hi Greenman, I have one doubt. Is there a recycling process available for electric cars baterries?

  • greenman3610 says:

    @alessandramarcarian
    Yes, there is already an aftermarket developing for Li-on batteries, as they still work for storage even after their “useful” life as car batteries is over.
    As we move forward, more advanced designs using cheaper, more widely available materials are already coming out of labs, that will make it even easier in the future.

  • wunksta says:

    SUUUUUUUPAAAAAA CAAAAAAR

  • christo930 says:

    The Chinese would be better off burning gasoline as far as co2 is concerned. Despite their electric power plants being all new, they use old technology 40% less efficient than current technology! All these cars do is move the co2 from the tailpipe to the coal fired power plant.

  • NorthernDancer1111 says:

    thanks for yr wise words Greenman! :) Better is better!!!

  • silatube says:

    @alessandramarcarian
    You can indeed recycle Li-ion batteries. Right now it’s generally not done because the supplies of fresh material are too cheap to bother. Also, most of the components (the lithum, iron, and phosphate if it’s LiFePO4 for instance) are basically non-toxic.

  • silatube says:

    @rusty1491
    There’s about 32 MJ of energy in a (US) gallon of gasoline. That’s about 8.9 kWh. But there is a big problem: burning it in a typical Otto-cycle (gasoline) engine, using that to power wheels, you lose over 80% of it. So you get 1.75 kWh of propulsion.
    .
    By contrast, the “heat rate” of a modern combined-cycle gas turbine plant is under 7000, making it about 50% efficient. Add in losses in electric cars and you get approximately 40% efficiency: twice as good.

  • silatube says:

    @silatube — oops, that’s 32 MJ/liter, not /gallon. The efficiency numbers are correct though.

  • robhoneycutt says:

    Don’t forget to vote for Greenman in the Brigher Planet contest.
    .
    brighterplanet. com/project_fund_projects/138

  • tantpwei says:

    @christo930 Electric cars are more than 80% efficient in converting its energy while gasoline cars’ efficiency less than 15%. So even if the electric power plant is 40% less efficient it still makes plenty of sense to switch to electric car.

  • christo930 says:

    @tantpwei Their power plants are up to 40% less efficient than our latest plants. Batteries are terribly inefficient (takes 1.6 watts to charge 1 watt). They are also far dirtier. Coal fired power plants produce all kinds of nasty stuff besides co2. Believe me, right now the Chinese are better off with diesel fuel cars.

  • wakeangel2001 says:

    this is all fascinating, but I have one question. I live in an apartment in the projects, I and hundreds of neighbors don’t have a garage, we all simply park on the street. I’m certain that this situation is true for millions of city dwellers throughout the world. If we were to get plug in hybrids, where exactly would we plug them in? I think we’re going to need to commit to at least one more change in infrastructure so we can all have outlets available.

  • greenman3610 says:

    @wakeangel2001
    When apartment buildings and housing projects figure out that charging stations plus electric vehicles produce revenue, you will see them become available. There are a number of initiatives in several states to set up charging stations.

  • wakeangel2001 says:

    I see, compared to the potential revenue the grid could gain the investment of setting up charging stations around the block (which could be as simple as a weather protected outlet sticking out of the ground) is a minor cost.

  • FreshZerglings says:

    amazing video! this explains a lot of my questions about electric cars! Thanks

  • 82abhilash says:

    Why feed the energy from the car battery to your grid? Why not just directly power your house with it? Only surplus goes into the grid.

  • tjwarren68 says:

    Thanks for some possitive news!! even if it may not all happen it is good to hear.

  • arneperschel says:

    (CNN) — A highway-worthy airplane moves one step closer to production with a recent weight exemption approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

    The Transition Roadable Aircraft, developed by Massachusetts-based engineering firm (…)

    Transition is designed for trips of up to about 450 miles and can travel about 100 miles per hour in the air and “highway speeds” on the ground (…)

    the Transition will cost $194,000. The first delivery will occur in about 18 months (…)

    Supercar!

  • indulis1 says:

    @wakeangel2001 They would not only be charging stations, but would be grid feed stations (in the case where electric cars had solar cells on the roof), so that there is a benefit to the grid which gets more power to meet peak demands, as well as a benefit to the car owner/user who gets to recharge their car. Assuming sunlight, and assuming tough solar cells on car roofs (we recently had a hail storm here that has left a lot of cars on the road looking like golf balls).

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