EU LAYS PLANS FOR THE EV

"Smart" power key as EU sparks electric car debate
Pete Harrison (w/Keiron Henderson), February 7, 2010 (Reuters)

"Electric cars must be backed by 'smart' power networks if they are to help the world's climate problems, environmentalists warned…European ministers… [who must decide] how to realign power infrastructure, equipment standards and the marketplace so that European carmakers can race ahead of rivals in Japan, China and the United States.

"The European Union has succeeded in cutting the link between economic growth and rising carbon emissions, but has failed to control the transport sector where output of carbon dioxide has soared by 38 percent over the last 20 years…European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has pledged to reverse that situation by trying to decarbonizes transport, and new rules for cars, vans, lorries and motorcycles are being considered."

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"The sources of power for electric vehicles [top the EU] agenda]…amid warnings some can do more harm than good…For example, drivers' natural tendency to plug in their cars when they get home and charge them overnight will increase demand for steady "baseload" power generation, which in countries such as Poland comes mostly from coal…About 400 grams of carbon dioxide are emitted on average for every kilowatt-hour of electricity in the EU, but this can more than double if coal is used…

"The answer is to integrate electric cars with a "smart" electricity network, which would charge vehicles only when there was an abundance of green power from sources such as windfarms, said Franziska Achterberg of Greenpeace…In cities, electric cars are estimated to spend 95 percent of their time sitting in garages, giving ample opportunity for flexible battery-charging and absorbing any problematic spikes in renewable power production such as when the wind blows hard."

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"Cars' batteries might even put electricity back into the network when household demand is high, serving as a back-up power source. But smart power networks are a largely untested concept and need both research and funding to take off…

"Ministers [also want]…to boost research into better and greener batteries, how to build national networks of standardized charging stations and how to target any financial support…[but some green groups] opposed any fresh state subsidies for energy and automotive companies without strong environmental criteria…"