PLUG-IN HYBRIDS BEAT COAL-TO-LIQUID: EXPERTS

There is BIG money behind coal and they aren't going to like this news. Remember: The US gets more than half its electricity from coal. They don't like reports that say its not good for the earth, its too expensive, its toxic and other inconvenient truths. (Like: Put in a good transmission grid and wind could threaten coal's dominance in half a century. Like: Produce PHEVs and the US could be off imported oil in the same time frame.)

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles Far Better Choice Than Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Projets, Say Carnegie Mellon Experts
June 7, 2007 (Auto Channel)

WHO
Lester Lave, professor of economics, Tepper School of Business/co-director, Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center; Jay Apt, executive director, Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center.
Now Carnegie Mellon gets the idea, too. Somebody tell Detroit.
WHAT
Assessing congressional proposals to subsidize coal-to-liquid (CTL) technology as a vehicle fuel source, the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center paper concluded plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) would be preferable.

WHEN
Comments made June 7.

WHERE
Carnegie Mellon is in Pittsburgh. PA.

WHY
- In response to a proposed House Committee on Energy and Commerce subsidy to CTL vehicle fuel production, the Carnegie Mellon experts pointed out it would be far more energy efficienct and result in significantly fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to use the coal in a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) generation plant to produce electricity with which to fuel PHEVs.
- Other findings: 1. The alternative to CTL would reduce vehicle gasoline use by 85% and cut GHGs from vehicles by 70%. 2. The worst PHEV models beat the best CTL models. 3. Using off-peak charging, 75% of all vehicles could be replaced by PHEVs without the need for more power plants.
The idea that lost WWII for Germany and Japan. You could look it up. (click to enlarge)
QUOTES
Carnegie Mellon paper: "A major program to subsidize coal-to-liquids makes no sense, since the goals of energy independence and reducing greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved at lower cost through plug-in hybrid vehicles charged with electricity from reduced carbon sources…"