Power Utilities & Environmentalists: Perfect Together
Last week I attended a talk by former CIA Director James Woolsey, who believes energy independence is our next great national challenge, as it is closely integrated with our national security. A major portion of his talk focused on the potential synergies between electrical utility companies and environmentalists. The subject: the plug-in hybrid.
Most drivers go under 25 miles/day. Using a plug-in would therefore eliminate the need to use ANY gas for the average driver. When you need to go further than the battery can handle (about 40 miles or so), the gas engine kicks in. On average, cars would get around 100 MPG!! So why should the ‘evil’ utilities care? Drivers would charge their cars overnight, during low cost off-peak hours when utilities are producing at only about 40% (according to Woolsey) capacity and getting the least return on capital. So the bad, bad utilities increase their profit, drivers save around $2/gallon at today’s prices, we vastly reduce emissions, and we lower our reliance on OPEC. Utilities are generally associated with evil Republicans – but this is another perfect example of the new paradigm, where profiteering capitalists, i.e. Republicans, and environmentalists can come together. The GOP would be wise to foster the commercialization of plug-ins for all these reasons.
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