Filed under: EV/Plug-in, GM, USA
GM teams up with utilities to prepare plug-ins.
The Wall Street Journal has published a very interesting article that states that GM is teaming with a dozen electric utilities operating in 40 states to prepare the arrival of its plug-in model (the Volt, if you didn't remember the name). From the business point of view, the article states that both the utilities and the auto industry have a lot to win. The plug-in hybrid car is seen as a "hot product" that can revive car sales, as well as reduce our dependence on oil. GM needs utilities which can keep the grid reliable for recharges, the same way it needed a reliable battery manufacturer for the cars to work correctly.
Why a safe grid? Think of what happens in a hot summer afternoon with all A/C working and energy at its peak tier prices and plants at maximum production. Intelligent chips and software tuning would identify the car as plugged to the electric grid and then use spare electricity to recharge. According to some studies, spare power plant capacity at night could feed millions of cars.
Gallery: Chevy Volt Concept
[Source: WSJ]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
a.brien 5:13PM (7/23/2008)
If car compagnies and utilities compagnies were honest and car
chatters were smart we will know how much a kilogram of hydrogen ( roughly one gallon) is sold at the new shell station were hydrogen from electrolysis is sold and how much electricity it take to make one kilogram of gazeous hydrogen and how mile per kilogram the new fcx do. Then we can compare that with the volt when it only use his battery.
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paulwesterberg 8:28PM (7/23/2008)
Most hydrogen comes from refactored natural gas.
Electrolysis is a more expensive way to make it and may actually produce more carbon emissions if the electricity comes from coal.
Brent 6:30PM (7/23/2008)
Better than teaming up with oil companies!
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GoodCheer 7:15PM (7/23/2008)
Ah, a.brien, you're starting to ask the important questions.
Why don't you do a little leg-work for yourself and see if you can find some of those answers... see just how well the on-board electrolyzer feeding a fuel cell (that you've been proselytizing about for a year) would work.
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tankd0g 9:24AM (7/24/2008)
So GM is telling CAFE not to count on the volt to make a big impact on the fleet average and out it's other face it's telling utility companies to gear up?
I wonder which side Bob is responsible for?
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Mike 1:40PM (7/24/2008)
Exactly. I think GM is using this "working with the utility companies" as a stall tactic. Now that gas prices are coming down they're gonna pay the wait and see game. Then when the time is right, scrap the electrons for a 350 v-8.
paulstamser 11:25AM (7/24/2008)
How about GM's VOLT teaming up with a solar electric array on every owner's garage? Carbon-free, grid-free, and oil-free power for at least some FREE miles.
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ed 7:17PM (7/24/2008)
Hmmm.
"How about GM's VOLT teaming up with a solar electric array on every owner's garage? Carbon-free, grid-free, and oil-free power for at least some FREE miles."
For me the only time my car is at home is usually at night. Tough time for solar panels to recharge a car.
wildgoosechse73 4:29PM (7/24/2008)
For all of us who lived in California during the blackouts, I'm glad the Volt has the range extender. We had blackouts at night as well. I'd hate to allow SMUD to decide when or if my car gets charged up.
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