(Source: Carnegie Mellon University Design Decisions Laboratory)

PITTSBURGH— Carnegie Mellon University professor Jeremy J. Michalek and researchers Dr. Constantine Samaras and C.-S. Norman Shiau report in a new study that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with small battery packs may be the best bet for saving drivers money while addressing U.S. dependency on foreign oil and global warming.

            In an article to appear in the journal Energy Policy, the authors find that urban drivers who can charge their vehicles frequently (every 20 miles or less) can simultaneously reduce petroleum consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and expenses with a plug-in hybrid vehicle whose battery pack is sized for about 7 miles of electric travel per charge. In contrast, plug-in hybrid vehicles with large battery packs – sized for 40 or more miles of electric travel – are too expensive for fuel savings to compensate, even in optimistic scenarios.

            Plug-in hybrid vehicles use charged batteries to propel the vehicle partly using electricity instead of gasoline, which gives them potential to reduce petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. “Larger battery packs allow drivers to go longer distances on electric power. But batteries are heavy and expensive,” says Michalek. “We accounted for the effects of additional batteries on vehicle cost, weight and efficiency in order to understand the net implications on petroleum consumption, cost, and greenhouse gas emissions. Over a range of scenarios — including fluctuating gas prices, new battery technologies or high taxes on carbon dioxide emissions — plug-ins with small battery packs are economically competitive with ordinary hybrid and conventional vehicles for drivers who charge frequently.”

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(Via istockanalyst.com)

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Energy Intelligence, a leading publisher of energy information services, today launched a new web portal, Obama Energy Vision, to track the evolution of US energy policy under President Barack Obama, at: http://www.energyintel.com/obama

Rating the energy sector second only to the economy in his priorities, the new president is pursuing a radical vision of a new energy economy, which includes reducing US dependence on foreign oil, restructuring the transport sector, developing alternative energies and addressing climate change. If successful, the policy will amount to a revolution for the energy industry, with repercussions around the world. Key aspects of Obama’s foreign policy also have important implications for the energy industry.

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