ABSTRACT
The introduction and wide-scale utilization of specifically designed plug-in hybrid vehicles has the potential to reduce the use of petroleum for the production of gasoline fuel by 50%–75%. Further, this can be accomplished without significantly degrading vehicle performance and operability compared to similar conventional automobiles and light truck vehicles (sport utility vehicles (SUVs), pickup trucks, minivans, panel trucks, etc.). The large-scale substitution of electricity produced by pollution-free power plants (nuclear, wind, solar, or renewable biofuels) for gasoline fuel could drastically reduce oil imports, balance-of-payment deficits, and tailpipe emissions. Whether the life-cycle cost of introducing plug-in hybrids on such a massive scale is balanced by the benefits is dependent upon factors beyond the scope of this analysis. However, intuitively, any large-scale reduction in the use of petroleum-based fuels would be expected to improve the energy security as well as the economic and political well-being of the United States. The plug-in hybrid vehicle approach discussed here is one of very few paths forward that appears feasible to begin implementation in the relatively near term with cumulative benefits as the technology penetrates the light vehicle market. The benefits and challenges of using hybrid automobiles to drastically reduce hydrocarbon fuel consumption are discussed below in both qualitative and quantitative terms with the view to show that the proposed approach is feasible, practical, compellingly rational, and thus worth immediate and serious consideration for implementation on a significant scale within a decade.
