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UVM Studies Hybrid Electric Car

Burlington, Vermont -- August 14, 2009

Shortly after his inauguration, president Obama called for setting an environmental goal -- a million plug-in hybrid electric cars on the road by the year 2015. A group of researchers at the University of Vermont looked into just how realistic the goal will be.

The UVM Transportation Research Center tested an experimental plug-in hybrid electric vehicle -- a PHEV for short -- in all kinds of driving conditions and seasons. The car, donated by Central Vermont Public Service Corp., was converted from a conventional Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid to a plug-in, which can be charged from any 110 volt outlet.

Jonathan Dowds, a graduate assistant in charge of the study, told a gathering of students, "Plug-in hybrids offer a number of potential benefits, including reducing the amount of oil that's used in the transportation sector, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But there are also potential drawbacks associated with their use, including increasing demand on the electrical grid and higher lifetime vehicle ownership costs."

Dowds said the cost-benefit is not there yet for consumers. But new PHEVS are coming -- the Chevy Volt is scheduled to hit dealer showrooms in significant numbers within the next two years, to be followed by other brands. While mass-production will bring down the cost per car from the Volt's estimated pricetag of $40,000, no one is predicting a run on these cars.

The UVM researcher says it's highly doubtful that president Obama's goal of having a million of these on the road by 2015 will be met. Still, it looks like electric cars are the way to go in the future.

Richard Watts, who heads the UVM Transportation Research Center, told Channel 3, "One reason why in rural area and places like Vermont, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles make more sense -- maybe -- than in urban areas, is because electricity is so common and also because our electric generating mix potentially is so clean."

Vermont gets virtually all of its electric power from non-fossil fuel sources. And the UVM researchers say that means Vermont and many other places may find electric cars will go a long way to solving the foreign oil problem - and the environmental problem.

Andy Potter -- WCAX News