pluginaustin

Seatle Plugs Plug-ins

City plugs plug-in cars
Daily Journal of Commerce
November 15, 2005
By JOURNAL STAFF

Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis and Rich Feldman of the King County Labor Council helped demonstrate a prototype plug-in hybrid electric vehicle at City Hall yesterday.

The customized Toyota Prius includes extra batteries and a charger that enables the car to draw power from a standard electrical outlet. With the enhancement, the Prius can travel as much as 100 miles on a gallon of gas - about double its normal fuel efficiency.

The prototype was delivered to the city by the California Cars Initiative, a nonprofit group of entrepreneurs, engineers and environmentalists trying to drum up demand for such vehicles.

While the city has no immediate plans to purchase any plug-ins, Mayor Greg Nickels wants city departments to evaluate the technology and assess its cost-effectiveness.

The city's motor pool includes about 150 gas-electric hybrids. A conversion kit costs more than $3,000, but the operating costs of the plug-in cars are estimated to be about one-third the cost of an all-gasoline-powered vehicle.

Hybrids currently on the market, including the Toyota Prius and Mercury Mariner, are gasoline-fueled and use a small battery for power assistance and regenerative braking. Plug-ins replace the small battery with a more powerful battery, one big enough to provide the power to drive the first 20 to 60 miles each day.

The cost of electricity equivalent to a gallon of gas is about 80 cents, based on average national electricity rates.

The mayor will send a resolution to the City Council asking it to evaluate the technology.

"It's an intriguing concept," said City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco. "What if we had a big shift toward electrifying private vehicles? How would that affect our utility and the environment?

Those are some of the questions we'll be trying to answer."

posted by AE @ 3:03 PM