Hybrid/Plug-In Electric Alternatives Outline Thus Far--
Here is a brief outline of what I plan to look at regarding the current climate surrounding Hybrid and Plug-In Electric Vehicles. Currently I am still narrowing down specific resources and references to begin synthesizing some kind of report, it seems there is a wealth of writing out there that deals with environmental impacts but not so much with the economic. I will definitely end up using the EIA website (here) and (here) as a resource as I gather references.
Important Points--
-PHEV’s utilize a combination of internal combustion engine and battery power
-Projected lifetime savings on gas, personal as well as global scales
-Short-term environmental outlooks –vs- long-term goals, reduction in oil dependency
-Sales trends in hybrid vehicles compared to traditional and electric vehicles, EIA projected trends in residential and commercial sectors. Public transportation options and growth concerns.
-Unconventional fuel vehicles account for 50% of the market, projected growth rates.
Looking atFour types of vehicles expected to be available for sale by 2035
-Gasoline Electric, Diesel Electric Hybrid
-Plug in Hybrid with electric range of 10 miles
-Plug in Hybrid with electric range of 40 miles
-Micro Hybrid, which in which the gasoline engine is switched off only when idling
Increased electricity demand in the transportation sector will also have noticeable effects on electricity availability and the over all market. The EIA predicts a 30% increase in demand by the year 2035. From 3,873 billion kilowatt-hours in 2008 to 5,021 billion kilowatt-hours in 2035. I will look at what kind of effects this will have on residential electricity demand, its relation to disposable income and population shifts and growth. Essentially, shifting to an electric dominated transportation industry will have its own unique set of economic and environmental repercussions.
The EIA also has several good resources for predicting trends in electricity growth in relation to penetration of the market by hybrid electric vehicles as well as strictly plug-in electric vehicles. In the High Economic Growth case electricity prices rise to 10.9 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2035, while in the Low Growth model they rise to only 9.3. This also leads to interesting questions about electricity generation, nuclear power and natural gas. While hybrid electric vehicles have captured the market currently, will they be able to keep it as electricity becomes a more controversial issue?
Right now there is a lot of information floating around that I need to organize. I hope this brief outline is a step in the right direction for now.
Hey man i just read the outline and although i appreciate the effort and resent telling people what to do, there really needs to be more specifics posted so i can write a more detailed outline for our paper. I am going to write and post a tentative one that hopefully you will simply add to as you go, however it has been my focus to address economic benefits and limitations with each mode as well as some environmental pros and cons.
ReplyDeleteWe will talk about presenting on Wednesday and if you could send me bullet points by sunday night as to what you wanna talk about that would be great so that I can put them in one document that we can jointly present to the class.
See you Wednesday
Best, JP
I wrote this summary just as a precaution in the event we were expected to have something typed and posted by class this past Monday. I will write and post a more complete and detailed outline either later tonight or before class time tomorrow.
ReplyDelete