A dream car - or just a dream?

A few years ago electric cars were looking hot on-screen (think Minority Report) but downright discouraging off-screen. The few manufacturers that had given it a shot were getting despondent and giving up. After pouring significant funds into development, and despite big pushes from environmental groups, consumers just weren't going for it. The business side of production wasn't making cents, let alone dollars. The closing statement of this BBC article, circa 2002, was "So while Tom Cruise's lightning-fast Lexus could be the car of the future, it's definitely not the car of tomorrow."

I'm not sure of his exact definitions of 'tomorrow' and 'the future', but perhaps Mr. Duffy shouldn't have been quite so sure of himself?

The biggest problems back then were lack of demand, and issues of battery performance. Fast-forward five years to today, and some would say both of these issues have been well and truly dealt with.

I don't need to tell you demand for fossil-fuel alternatives has skyrocketed through 2005 and 2006, and consumer demand for longer lasting batteries in devices like cell-phones and digital cameras has financed significant advances in battery performance with the development of fast-charging and long-lasting lithium ion batteries - proving yet again that where there's a will, there's a way. If consumer dollars are available, the vacuum will be filled.

What about other design aspects? Are people going to be happy giving up their prized polluter in favour of slipping into the cockpit of an electric car? Does it mean squeezing into a non-descript sardine-can that, despite it's small dimensions, still can't pull itself up a five degree incline?

Ian Wright in his Wrightspeed X-1 electric car Faster acceleration than a supercar 1/3 the energy consumption of a hybrid

Okay, reality check - have a look at Ian Wright's 250bhp Wrightspeed X-1, and then convince me you wouldn't want to take it for a spin.

Wrightspeed is building the X1, demonstratable today in a street-legal prototype, using lithium-ion batteries and a 3-phase electric motor. It has already raced against and beaten some of the world’s fastest production cars, while at the same time being 10 times more energy efficient than the cars it outperformed.

The X-1 was among a few cars recently demonstrated at California EPA's Zero Emission Vehicle Technology conference in Sacramento, where plug-in cars were... er... plugged:

Tom Gage spoke on the advantages of electric vehicles as a means of reducing pollution, CO2 emissions and our dependence on oil. He noted that if everyone woke up the next morning and drove a Prius, Americans still would consume twice as much oil as the rest of the world on a per capital basis. What is needed, he argues, is not just improved efficiency and conservation, but fuel substitution and one of the best is electricity.

He explained that there are already 8 million "plug-in" vehicles in America known as recreational vehicles (RVs) where as many as 30 million people have had safe, positive experiences plugging in their vehicles at home or at RV parks. In his mind, this demonstrates the practicality of our simple, cheap, effective infrastructure known as the power grid.

As Alan from IWantCleanAir.com shares, electricity companies are doing the same kind of plugging. Pacific Gas and Electric, California's largest utility company, is asking consumers to visit Plug-in Partners - a grass-roots organisation that are promoting electric/fuel hybrid technology - to sign their petition, and show the kind of interest that will get politicians noticing.

The X-1, as Ian Wright's website is quick to state, is not intended for 'public consumption' in its present state. It is a proof-of-concept car only, intended to knock the socks off investors, industry execs, and consumers - proving that electric cars are a new force to be reckoned with. The website continues to say the " X1 production car will be better… much better". The prototype already has an urban operating range of above 100 miles, making it an entirely feasible commuter even in it's present state - especially considering the following quote from IWantCleanAir.com:

According to EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute), half the cars on U.S. roads are driven 25 miles a day or less. Consequently, a plug-in hybrid with a 25-mile all electric range could eliminate gasoline use in the daily commute of tens of millions of Americans.

Add to this the prospect of instant charge batteries, and sci-fi-like visualisations of zipping into a 'gas' station to plug in for a rapid power-dump start to become entirely imaginable.

But wait - where is all this electricity going to come from? The bulk of our 'clean' electrical power is generated from fossil-fuels, coal in particular, so how does going electric help? Well, according to the promoters, it's all about energy conversion ratios - in effect, how many miles per coal chunk. The Wrightspeed X-1, for example, is stated as giving an equivalent consumption of 170mpg of fuel, roughly three times more efficient than a Prius - and, on top of that, doing it with zero exhaust.

Also, it is less difficult to control emissions from a relatively few number of smokestacks rather than millions of vehicle tail pipes. And, efforts to clean up coal plants and other emissions will continue.

In fact, over the last 25 years emissions from U.S. power plants have decreased by 25%. This has been done through retiring old power plants and incorporating cleaner generation technologies. This trend is expected to continue so emissions will continue to get cleaner over time, meaning emissions generated from electric transportation will get cleaner over time. - Plug-in Partners

The thought of millions of cars commuting to work without making a puff of smoke does seem attractive, in more ways than one, as does zero-consumption when you're stuck in traffic, or sitting at the lights - as opposed to today's idling engines.

What will happen, though, if all these cars are getting plugged into the grid - won't this overload an already strained system?

Over 40% of the generating capacity in the U.S. sits idle or operates at a reduced load overnight, when most PHEVs would be charged. That means tens of millions of plug-ins could be charged every night without the need to build additional electric generation capacity. For example, Southern California Edison, an investor-owned utility, estimates that 4 million plug-in hybrids could be charged without exceeding its existing peak load. Millions more could be fueled within existing capacity. - Plug-in Partners

If all the cars and light trucks in the nation switched from oil to electrons, idle capacity in the existing electric power system could generate most of the electricity consumed by plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. A new study for the Department of Energy finds that "off-peak" electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel 84 percent of the country's 220 million vehicles if they were plug-in hybrid electrics....

"With cars charging overnight, the utilities would get a new market for their product. PHEVs would increase residential consumption of electricity by about 30 - 40 percent. The increased generation could lead to replacing aging coal-fired plants sooner with newer, more environmentally friendly versions," said Kintner-Meyer....

Adding "smart grid" communications technology to ensure the vehicles only charge during off-peak periods and to provide immediate, remote disconnect of chargers in event of problems in the power grid would make them attractive to utilities. - Science Daily

Electricity storage has always been a major industry issue. Having vehicles charged at off-peak times (i.e. at night) would in some cases actually utilise power that is now literally being thrown to the wind. For example:

A significant portion of Austin Energy’s wind power comes from the West Texas wind at night during off peak times. This electricity cannot currently be stored. Since PHEVs will be charged mostly at night, plug-in hybrid batteries could serve as storage until the car is used. - Plug-in Partners

Some people have taken these thoughts even further, and propose electric cars as being an ideal energy efficiency solution to problems that have always plagued energy suppliers, in that they can act as a buffer against brown-outs at peak over-demand periods, and absorbing excess energy during over-production periods that would otherwise get wasted.

Plug n' Go?

Not being an electricity geek, I'd be interested in feedback and more info from readers in regards to electricity idle time, and associated power losses, as well as other pros and cons that should be considered here. Is it just me, or can you also picture plugging your car in at night, and perhaps not even taking power from the grid - but simply swapping out the extra battery that's been charged through the day via the solar panel that sits atop your garage?

I know for sure that the oil industry won't be quick to promote such developments....