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0 <br />.. <br />~'~~ <br />~~ American Public Power Association <br />FEBRUARY 2007 <br />Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles <br />Our nation's dependence on imported oil makes us extremely vulnerable to foreign oil <br />!!~~ <br />producers - a ~~lnerability that was further exposed during hurricanes Katrina and Rita. <br />Since the hurricanes, the price of oil has been on a cycle of sudden price spikes that <br />eventually come down, but with the average price nonetheless steadily increasing. This cycle, <br />and in particular the price spikes, have had an adverse effect on our economy. <br />Environmentally, pressures are mounting to reduce pollution from the combustion of fossil <br />.fuels in all sectors of our economy. <br /> Fortunately, there are tremendous opportunities to reduce pollution in our transportation <br /> sector while ac the same time creating additional efficiencies in the electric utility sector. <br /> These factors, among others, have created an excellent opportunity for the advancement of <br /> flexible fuel plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The deployment of PHEVs can help us <br /> address several of the most important issues facing America today, including national security, <br /> economic security, air pollution, the use of renewable energy and climate change. <br /> .. <br /> Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) on the market today, such as Toyota's Prius, combine an <br /> internal combustion engine with an electric motor. yti~hile these are more efficient than <br /> regular internal combustion engine vehicles, their batteries are charged primarily by the <br /> gasoline engine. By design, the battery cannot be charged from the electric grid and in any <br /> case is too small to enable the vehicle to travel several miles in the electric-only mode. In <br /> contrast, PHEVs would have a larger battery pack that could travel 30 or more miles (the <br /> average roundtrip commute for Americans) before the internal combustion engine takes <br />~i <br />Ill; over. This battery pack could be charged from any regular household outlet so owners would <br /> have the convenience of a refueling station at home. <br /> <br />In addition, internal combustion engines are a major source of air pollution. The widespread <br />use of PHEVs would dramatically reduce automotive tail pipe emissions. Obviously, if the <br />electricity used to charge the PHEV batteries is generated from fossil fuels, some emissions <br />wRll occur, but these are likely to be considerably lower, and easier to address, than the total <br />emissions from millions of mobile sources. Further, there are no emissions from electricity <br />produced by hydropower, solar, wind and nuclear facilities. <br /> <br />Finally, recharging PHEV batteries from cleaner sources of power, including in particular <br />non-carbon dioxide emitting sources of electricity, and substituting clean "electric" miles for <br />gasoline miles, would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and help address the issue of global <br />climate change. <br />~ ~ ~ <br />~ ~ <br />The comprehensive energy legislation passed in 2005 (EPAct05) included tax credits for the <br />purchase of hybrid automobiles and light trucks, generally, but did not specifically address <br />PHEVs. In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, however, interest. in PHEVs <br />increased and several bills were introduced that included additional incentives for alternative <br />www.APPAnet.org continued <br />25 <br />