Solving the Energy Crisis, with No Energy Investment
Those who read SNS, or who attended our Second Annual SNS New York Dinner, are aware of this rather stunning news/report. Since most readers of this blog may fall outside of those groups, I thought I had better bring this to your attention, if you have not yet seen it:
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, managed since its inception as part of the Department of Energy by private contractor Battelle, released a report a week or two ago, which is so simple in its conclusions, and so amazing in its repercussions, that everyone interested in energy should be talking about it.
The report, in summary, says this:
There are about 220MM vehicles in service in the US today. IF all of those were converted to Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles (a technology already available), the existing US electrical grid system has enough unused off-hours generating capacity to power 84% of US transport of cars and light trucks.
Today.
That is, no other investment in energy would be required (although I have no doubt that much would occur).
Given that this technology adds about $6k per car, it is realistic to ask whether a tax subsidy by the government (which, until a year ago, was similarly subsidizing 12 mpg light trucks) would not be enough to hasten the transition.
Is there anyone in this country who would not like to get off the Oil / War treadmill as soon as possible? Brazil proved it could be done, in a different way, in a decade.
This is pretty simple. And it isn’t about driving golf carts around: companies like Tesla Motors have sold out production for two years, promising production this spring of a 250-mile overnight-charging zero to 60 in four seconds roadster.
Here is the report:
https://www.pnl.gov/news/release.asp?id=204
We will have Elon Musk, chair of Tesla Motors, with the CEO and a demo vehicle, at FiRe 2007:
This is so simple that it ought to become a national priority. I’d like your comments.