Fool's Mountain: Blogging for China

Casually browsing through the internet I stumbled over this article about plug in hybrid cars. Here is the link

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=electric-cars-cost-per-charge

The article compares the relative costs and advantages of plug in hybrid vehicles respect to conventional gas powered vehicles.

The article makes some major claims about energy resource consumption and pollution, that when translated to CH would have a greater impact that in the US, mainly:

• Powering a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) would cost the equivalent of roughly 75 cents per gallon of gasoline—a price not seen at the pump for 30 years.
• 52% of US oil imports could be spared.
• three-quarters of the country’s current small vehicle fleet could be charged by our existing electrical grid without building new power plants.
• Reduction of greenhouse gases from 3.4 to 10.3 billion tons.

Some of the major promise of (PHEV) can, of course, only be achieved if certain conditions hold.

• Average daily displacement within range of vehicle batteries
• Hybrid vehicle able to be propelled by electric engine only
• Increase electric load would not mean an increased pollution of coal fired power plants or could be taken by renewable non polluting energy sources: Solar, wind power and hydro power(non polluting?).

Which type of vehicle would provide the greatest economic and envriomental advantages when substitured by its equivalent PEHV?

• Personal cars
• Taxis
• Trucks
• Public buses

Given the rapid growth on car ownership, trucks on the road, industrial and traffic generated pollution in CH main cities, population density, etc. Could be CH the PHEV paradise?

What do you think?