Studies have been performed that indicate that there is enough excess electricity already being produced to charge a nation of electric cars. One hitch to that plan, though, is that it requires people to charge their vehicles while they sleep, during "off-peak" hours. For this reason, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory ran some numbers and found that the worst-case daytime charging scenario could require up to 160 new power plants to be erected nationwide. Their projected best-case scenario includes people only charging their cars after 10:00 pm and may not require any new power plants at all. That's a huge spread, of course, and we'd expect to see reality set in somewhere in between those two extremes. Of course, it would be great to see a large number of people choose to purchase renewable power, either from their utility or using solar cells or wind generators of their own. It is impossible at this point to know how consumers will react to electric cars being available on the market, but now is the time to start planning, so we're happy to see reports like this one being conducted.

[Source: ORNL via Science Daily]

There are many green, automotive concepts - like variable transmission, cylinder deactivation and plugging into the power grid - that you might have heard about but have never seen. Want to see those concepts in action and not in a computer animation? Above is a video showing how a variable transmission system works. Think of the simple mechanics you can find on a ten-speed bike. Below the fold are two more videos including one of how power grid lines, so important they cannot be taken down, must be repaired by helicopter. Also below the fold is video of what actually happens in a cylinder, that tube with the piston and spark plug. Enjoy!

[Source: YouTube, Google Video]

Pacific Gas & Electric's Hal LaFlash recently sat down with Todd Woody of Green Wombat and Business 2.0 a preview of some of the new-tech and green-tech changes we can expect to see in California and the rest of the country. Here's the list:

• Solar stations - Large-scale plants using new thermal and photovoltaic technologies will operate in Southern California and the desert Southwest.
• Solar buildings - As solar cells are integrated into rooftops, walls, and windows, homes and office towers will become miniature power stations, generating their own electricity and feeding excess power back into the grid.
• Wind power - Anywhere the wind blows is a potential site for a turbine, but the Great Plains is the place utilities are eying for giant wind farms.
• Wave power - PG&E is looking at the Northern California coast for potential sites for wave energy generators. The Northeast coast is another prime source of as-yet-untapped wave power.
• Cow power - California has 1.7 million cows and more than 2,000 dairies. A dozen dairies have already installed methane digesters to turn cow manure - a source of one of the most destructive greenhouse gases - into electricity. The digester extracts methane gas from cow poop and uses it to power an electricity-generating turbine. Other dairies have plans to produce a bovine biogas that will be piped to power plants.
• Car power - PG&E is developing technology that will allow future "plug-in" hybrid vehicles not only to recharge their batteries but also to feed electricity back into the power grid during peak demand.
• Clean-coal plants - Located mainly in the East and Midwest, these plants will gasify coal, stripping it of pollutants. Carbon dioxide will be captured before it can be released into the atmosphere.
• Smart grids - Interactive power grids will communicate with smart agents embedded in household appliances, allowing power to be distributed where it is needed most.

I was intrigued by a few of these technologies, notably vehicle-to-grid. Wouldn't it be nice to hear news stories talking about the automotive impact on the environment in a positive way?

[Source Business 2.0 via Tree Hugger]