WIND-POWERED CARS

As oil prices climb, now you can wind-power your car; Overseas instability puts spotlight on homegrown energy, new electric cars and plug-in hybrids
February 28, 2011 (American Wind Energy Association)

"…[With] gasoline now topping $4–a–gallon in some areas…[and] electric cars and plug–in hybrids now being rolled out by major automakers, wind energy stands ready to become an important player in the nation's transportation fuel mix, industry leaders say.

"Vehicles now entering the market can be charged simply by plugging them into an outlet at home or at work. That will create more demand for electricity…In 2008 and 2009, wind created more new U.S. electric generating capacity than any other source…Wind power also allows America to tap its…[abundant] natural gas. Today natural gas already powers many vehicles such as public buses and taxicabs. With more wind power coming online, natural gas that might otherwise be used for power plants becomes available to affordably fuel more [such] vehicles…That is the Pickens Plan…"

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"…[W]ind power lets America drive on its own energy sources in at least two ways…[which] could have a major impact on America's dependence on imported oil over time…[I]f plug-in hybrids were to grow to half the U.S. vehicle fleet, for example, and those vehicles were charged with clean wind energy…America would avoid the use of over 60 billion gallons of gasoline a year…3 billion fewer barrels of oil a year…It would take 143 gigawatts of wind energy–less than 2% of the total [U.S.] wind resource potential…

"…[A] 100-megawatt wind farm generates enough electricity in a year to power one billion miles of plug-in hybrid driving…enough for 87,500 plug–in hybrid vehicles to drive 12,000 miles a year…[T]he cost savings quickly mount up…[O]ne can drive an electric car or plug-in hybrid on wind–generated electricity for at most 3 cents per mile. That compares to 14.4 cents for gasoline, at today's prices."

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"Oil price volatility has repeatedly hurt America's wallet and impacted its economy, starting with the energy crisis of the early 1970s, and again in the price spikes of 2000, 2008, and now 2011. Wind energy experts point not only to wind's affordability but its price stability…[Wind] will always be free and inexhaustible. And, utilities typically sign fixed-price contracts with wind farms lasting 20 to 30 years…

"…[A] national Renewable Electricity Standard, and an extension for 5–10 years of the Production Tax Credit for renewable energy that currently expires in 2012 [would drive wind development and the [domestic] economic benefits it brings]…Over 400 U.S.–based manufacturing plants now serve the American wind power industry, and approximately 50 percent of what goes into a U.S.–deployed wind turbine is now made in the U.S. Both of those numbers will continue to grow as the industry grows and manufacturers locate factories near the demand for wind energy…"