V-2-G

Power grid chief touts electric-car payback
Steve Gelsi, September 28, 2009 (MarketWatch/McClatchy via Philadelphia Inquirer)

"U.S. power grid chief Jon Wellinghoff is touting the long-term cost savings of electric cars, saying the vehicles could earn $1,500 a year in paybacks for their owners when their batteries are connected to the power grid [using vehicle-to-grid, V-2-G, technology].

"While electric cars planned for U.S. market in the next few years will likely carry heftier price tags than many gas-powered cars, Wellinghoff [said]…owners of plug-in vehicles will benefit from much lower costs for filling up, cutting down the long term cost of operation."

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"On top of saving $3 or $4 a gallon on gasoline in future years, Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said grid operators and power companies could reimburse car owners for the battery storage offered by the roughly 22 hours a day that electric cars would be connected to the nation's power system…

"Wellinghoff, a lawyer who specialized in energy issues before [being appointed by President Obama as] FERC chairman earlier this year, cited positive moves into green energy under [this] President…[The administration] awarded a $529 million government loan to Fisker Automotive to build electric cars…Tesla Automotive and others have also received hundreds of millions of dollars under government stimulus programs…"

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"…[Also,] lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc. drew strong interest in its initial public offering…While the electric car industry remains in its infancy, proponents of plug-in vehicles expect millions of models on the road in the next 10 years that could collectively add to the nation's power storage capabilities.

"Sharing the main points of his chapter in…Plug-In Electric Vehicles,…edited by David Sandalow, Wellinghoff said growth of solar and wind energy in the U.S. will create a greater need for storage capacity on the grid to smooth out surges in power…Electric car batteries could help take up the storage slack, along with flywheel systems…"