Alternative Power

If you thought cars that plugged in for power were only part of a collection amongst young boys toy boxes, you may want to think again.

 

Plug-in electrical cars are entering the market with promising benefits for both the environment and our pockets.

 

In the most recent bid to reduce our dependency on foreign fuel while also helping the environment, a new hybrid vehicle has been debuted.

 

With these cars, fewer emissions, fuel savings and a cut in fuel consumption by 50 percent can  all be recognized since the cars run on both the gas engine and an electrical motor.

 

The PHEV Prius debuted this past Monday at the "Clean Energy Partnerships" event held at Colorado State University Engine and Energy Conversions Laboratory.

 

For the project, Colorado Governor's Office of Energy Management and Consumption (OMEC) and other partners including Hybrids-Plus Inc., A123Systems, U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Xcel Energy  all joined forces.

 

As a model for the concept, a 2006 Toyota Prius was converted by Hybrids-Plus into a PHEV, which included an advanced lithium ion battery from A123Systems. NERL and Xcel will conduct analysis of the project and its benefits and impact.

 

PHEV's, which is an acronym for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, are a step beyond Hybrid Electrical Vehicles as they offer improved amounts of energy consumption with the inclusion of a larger battery.

 

According to a news release, the Pirus is also set to include Vehicle to Grid (V2G) for the ability to provide and receive power from the electrical grid.

 

Commenting on the benefits and future adoption of this initiative, Carl Lawrence of Hybrid-Plus said in a statement to the press, "We retain the original storage space and spare tire location so that the conversion is next to invisible to the user, except of course in the extended mileage."

 

"Although today's conversion cost is high, that cost, as well as installation time, is expected to drop in the next few years by 30 to 50 percent, making this technology widely available to businesses and individual consumers alike."