New study from electric utilities touts PHEV benefits
The Electric Power Research Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council have done a new study on plug-in hybrids and as you might expect they have found them to be a good thing. The study looked at what happens to the environment when emissions are moved from individual vehicles to power plant smokestacks if there was widespread adoption of plug-in hybrids. They found that total annual emissions of greenhouse gases would be reduced by 450 million tonnes by 2050. What they mean by widespread adoption is left unclear in the press release. [Source: Edison International]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rob 5:52PM (7/20/2007)
Here is a poll: Should hybrid vehicles stay out of the commuter lane if there is only one person in the car? I don't know about other states, but this is happening in California. Personally I think if I was one of the engineers that came up with the HOV lane idea I would have a fit at this political manipulation to encourage the purchase of environmentally friendly cars. It is a disadvantage to commuters, and an insult to the taxpayers who spent billions renovations making these HOV lanes. Here is a link to the poll: http://www.apopularitycontest.com/display_poll.php?ID=1
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Tony Belding 7:49PM (7/20/2007)
Rob. . . From what I understand, California is already phasing out HOV stickers for hybrid cars, but they are still issuing stickers for BEVs. It seems sensible to me, since non-plug-in hybrids represent only a modest improvement in emissions and efficiency over gasoline-powered cars, but BEVs score a lot better. (And an even stronger argument could be made for letting "narrow" BEVs like the Tango use the HOV lanes.)
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Max Merak 2:04AM (7/21/2007)
US Energy Dept. Emissions per Year in Tons:
Toyota Prius 3.5
Honda Accord 6.9
Chevrolet Malibu 8.1
Toyota Camry 7.2
Mazda 6 7.0
Nissan Altima 7.5
(Courtesy of hybrid-car.org)
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TheTom 8:23AM (7/21/2007)
Absolutely agree that hybrids should not get special HOV treatment. PHEVs however should definitely be allowed in HOV lanes. This would encourage more people to drive a PHEV and this would, in turn, increase demand for the auto makers to make more fuel efficient cars. BEVs should be a no brainer to get an HOV sticker. As long as the vehicle can maintain freeway speeds, that is. NEVs need not apply (duh!).
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MedEngineer 12:55PM (7/22/2007)
Carpool lanes were established for one thing only.
To reduce air pollution.
They were not established to help commuters.
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