Three years from now, commuters could make their daily trips to and from work in electric hybrid autos that produce zero emissions and use only a half a kilowatt of power per mile, some experts say.
Electric vehicles were introduced about 15 years ago but were soon discontinued because of a lack of demand.
“I think the difference this time is the fact that we have an imperative,” said Lynda Ziegler , a vice president with Southern California Edison, an electric utility.
“Everything is converging together: the greenhouse gases, the oil prices, the crisis in the Middle East, energy security for the country. You have a lot more factors than we’ve ever had in the past,” she said.
Ziegler on Monday moderated a panel discussion on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, hosted by the Edison Electric Institute, a power-industry group. About 90 industry leaders attended the meeting.
Nearly every automobile manufacturer is developing PHEVs.
Unlike today’s hybrids, which use both gas and electric motors, the PHEVs produce fewer emissions because they run solely on battery power for up to 40 miles, after which a gas-fueled generator kicks in to provide power for the electric motor.
General Motors has developed the Chevrolet Volt, which gets 180 miles per gallon if driven 60 miles in a day and averages about 60 miles per gallon if driven the maximum 760 miles on one tank.
While analysts think the Volt could be ready by 2010, GM is holding back on announcing a release date until it finalizes its lithium-ion battery.
Nissan expects to roll out a model by 2010 but has not yet designed a car to hold its hybrid technology.
Ford has invested more than $1 million in a research concept car called the Edge, an electric hybrid that is powered by hydrogen fuel cells after the batteries expire. While hydrogen fuel essentially emits only water, the impracticability of the fuel may cause Ford to use a gas-powered generator similar to GM’s Volt.
Toyota declined to comment on its PHEV.
The PHEV batteries could be recharged by plugging in a charger to any 110-volt outlet. Most batteries are 20-kilowatt and take 2 1/2 hours to charge. Each kilowatt hour costs about 8.3 cents.
People may be eager to cut their emissions, but the hefty price tag of PHEVs could discourage some.
PHEVs are expected to cost 10 percent to 20 percent more than current hybrids – about $2,000 more than hybrid sedans and about $5,000 more than hybrid sport utility vehicles. A baseline Toyota Prius hybrid costs about $22,000. A Ford Escape hybrid costs about $25,000.
“Personally, I’d be willing to buy one, but only in about five years when my personal income is able to match that,” said Linnea Anderson, 25.
The Senate introduced a bill last week that would give buyers of plug-in hybrids a tax credit of up to $7,500 to defray the added cost.
Beyond spurring PHEVs, the move to reduce one’s carbon footprint – the amount of greenhouse gases each individual produces – has also created a boom in electric vehicles.
Zap, a U.S. company that sells and distributes Chinese-made electric cars, has seen its sales go up with gas prices, said S.T. Tripathi, who sells Zap cars in Parker. The cars sell for less than $10,000 but can go only 20 to 40 miles before running out of juice and reach a top speed of about 40 mph.
But Tesla, a California-based company, has developed an all-electric sports car that can go 200 miles on a charge. It costs $98,000. The company has maxed out its production for the year at 800, powered by lithium-ion batteries, a company spokesman said.
Tesla looks to produce a higher-volume all-electric sedan in 2009 with a price tag of about $50,000.
GM is pushing its plug-in hybrid as a more practical and more reliable vehicle than electric cars, while producing significantly fewer emissions than current hybrids. It is developing a single lithium-ion battery, compared with Tesla’s string of 6,831 individual units within its lithium-ion batteries.
Tesla considers its product more reliable since electric cars, by design, have far fewer moving parts than hybrids.
There is some concern that if PHEVs catch on, they could overload the nation’s power grid. But after conducting a study on PHEVs, Xcel Energy – Colorado’s gas and electric provider – expects no problems.
Since plug-in vehicles are the newest evolution in environmentally friendly transportation, they have created a small industry of converting current hybrids into PHEVs.
One such company, Hybrids Plus, has been operating in Boulder for almost a year. But at $32,000 a conversion, the process is a fairly luxurious splurge.
Staff writer Zach Fox can be reached at 303-954-1755 or zfox@denverpost.com.
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to reporting errors, it incorrectly stated the number of cars Tesla can produce each year and the price Xcel Energy charges per kilowatt hour of electricity. Tesla makes 800 cars a year that are powered by lithium-ion batteries. Xcel charges 8.3 cents per kilowatt hour.
