The vast majority of C02 emissions in the US come from two sources, power plants that burn coal and automobiles that burn petroleum. I believe there is a way to radically reduce the C02 emissions from both sources and radically reduce our dependence on foreign oil with one relatively simple energy policy. The heart of the solution is a proven technology known as Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV).

PHEV vehicles are conventional hybrid vehicles that have additional batteries and charging circuitry to allow the vehicle to be charged with a standard 120 V outlet. By charging the vehicle overnight the batteries have enough power to run the vehicle for up to 40 miles without using any fuel. At current rates this overnight charging costs about $1. This 40 mile commute would result in no greenhouse gas emissions from the vehicle because no fuel is being used whatsoever. Of course the power company had to increase generation and thus greenhouse gas emissions to provide this additional power, but even if no further action is taken this is significantly less then burning gasoline to travel those 40 miles. By some estimates this is a reduction of up to 2/3 the C02 emissions. This amount will vary around the country depending on the mix of types of generation. A number of companies in California have already taken a stock Toyota Prius and converted them successfully to PHEVs.

According to PG&E 40% of power generation capacity sits idle during the night. This is a huge amount of capacity that could be used to charge millions of vehicles. So the capacity to convert to PHEV on a large scale already exists with the current electrical grid.

A conversion to wide scale PHEV use would be a dream come true for power companies because their idle generation capacity could be used 24 hours per day. This makes the return on capital investment on generation much more attractive since the power plants are used more effectively. This carrot of increased electricity demand during off hours should come at a price however and the price could be radical reductions in C02 emissions from those plants.

What I'm proposing is that the government require the car companies to begin marketing PHEVs on a wide scale. This could be accomplished though incentives, mandates or whatever plan works to get a large number of PHEV vehicles on the road. At the same time the power companies will be required to do their part by radically reducing C02 emissions in exchange for this new revenue source of off-peak electrical demand. They can reduce emissions by coal gasification, sequestration or scrubbing technologies, whichever proves most cost effective. The results of this plan would be staggering if adopted on a wide scale can could reduce C02 emissions by up to 75% because it addresses the two top sources, automobiles and power plants.
In addition the use of biofuels should be encouraged to replace the remaining fuel demand that PHEV vehicles will need when they exceed their plug-in range. That way the remaining fuel that is needed will be carbon neutral and not from foreign sources.

On September 1, 2006 PG&E issued a press release asking for people to sign a petition to the car companies to begin selling PHEVs. In the press release they say that if 2.5 million PHEVs were put on the road that would be the equivalent of removing 5 million conventional cars in terms of greenhouse gas reduction. I presume the reason for this difference in number is that the C02 emissions from generating the electricity is much less then burning fuel directly in the car. That is a valid point, however the benefits to PG&E are clear. Generating plants that sat idle overnight are now being used more effectively to charge all these new PHEVs. In my opinion this new benefit to their increase cost effectiveness should come at a cost, and that cost should be radical reductions in C02 emissions. They can use that additional revenue gained from charging PHEVs to fund the equipment necessary to reduce all of their greenhouse gas emissions.

The beauty of this plan is that the technology exists today. Power companies are given a carrot of increased revenue from overnight power demand to be used to fund their C02 emission reductions so there will be less opposition from the power companies for this capital investment. Car companies may be reluctant to change however once the general public sees the advantages of not having to pay $3 per gallon for gas they will come to PHEVs in droves and this will create new demand for car companies. By now the car companies should be realizing with all the SUVs and Trucks sitting unsold on car lots that that a low cost conversion of conventional vehicles to E85 isn't going to increase their business. They are going to need a new plan anyway. By adopting this plan the US can be the leader in greenhouse gas reduction and become the model for the rest of the world and at the same time eliminate our addiction to foreign oil.

Sources: PG&E Press Release - PG&E to Harness People Power to Help Bring Plug-In Hybrids to the Public and the CalCars PHEV Website.  Source of this letter on the web, here. 

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