Your Questions About Solar Generators Reviews

admin answers:

There are two general types of hybrid cars. There is the parallel hybrid like the prius that intends to have an electric motor assist the gasoline engine. Then there is a series hybrid that is intended to have an engine operate a generator that will drive an electric motor directly or through a storage device like batteries. The Volt is to be a series hybrid. These types are sometimes further divided up based upon how much the electric motor is used into a “mild” hybrid or a “strong” hybrid. And then once again if the batteries can be charged by plugging in the vehicle or not.

The electric vehicle stands alone in requiring a plug (or to have batteries swapped.) Here is a chart of the relative efficiencies of the resulting drive trains (vehicles): http://serieshybrid.com/FreedomFormula/images/Drivetrain_Comparison.pdf

An extensive list of hybrid cars with some site references where you may find costs can be found in my answer here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100304052536AAMz5Az&r=w#OMxkB1PfWUqLu47tW6Qs where the “best answer” makes a point that hybrid vehicles would not exist except that the battery with the best cost/energy density/ weight ratio was excluded from electric cars by patent rights formerly held by the Chevron Oil Company.

It becomes clear that all hybrids may be an “answer” to the electric car and not to petrol cars. They are also not created equal. The diversity further marginalizes the electric vehicle. But your question is about a comparison with electric and petrol vehicles. Here is an analysis of petrol vehicles and HFC electric vehicle some of the issues remain the same for any electric vehicle: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Au.878ONFUxFyvFFXW1C39Lty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20100218140636AAir1Q7&show=7#profile-info-TolABusEaa Issues reviewed are Tank to wheel efficiency of around 15% vs above 90% for the electric vehicle, sources and the nature of pollution and the relative costs. There is a cautionary note that scope of the concerns will make a significant difference in some of the values.

From the efficiency chart and from the battery history most hybrid cars we see today are about twice as good as their gasoline counterparts while electric cars and plug in series hybrid vehicles are up to 5 times more fuel efficient. The hybrid as a “solution” to allowing the best batteries in purely electric suggests strongly that parallel hybrids are a political delay in adopting series hybrids and purely electric cars. That is arose as a policy from a lawsuit settlement by an oil company suggests strongly that hybrids exist to preserve oil company markets for its products.

Unlike electric trains or solar vehicles most vehicles today are dependent upon energy storage. The the potential in a tank of gasoline is greater than what currently or likely will exist in battery storage in the near future. The opposite relationship exists with the means to convert that energy to motion. The electrical motor is far more efficient than the gasoline engine ever can be. Fueling times for a petrol vehicle are relatively short but require attention. Fueling times for electric vehicles are long and can be done without attention. Fueling petrol is from containers in the ground or elsewhere. This creates portability while increasing the risk of pollution. Electricity is clean, but requires more coordinated infrastructure. Fuel is private sector while electrical energy supplies often started out in the public sector or use public rights of way. Fuel is a technology that has been expanded and exploited for 100 years while battery electric is only with opposition enjoying a resurgence.

Hybrid cars extend the range over the more efficient platform of a battery electric vehicle. They pay for this with:
pollution is higher than electric vehicles but lower than petrol vehicles
mileage reduction from an electric vehicle but somewhat higher than petrol vehicles
more complex than an electric vehicle or a petrol vehicle
higher maintenance cost than an electric or petrol vehicle.
Does not free us from foreign oil or give us a viable option to a petrochemical transportation monopoly.

admin answers:

A recent issue in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, shows that as the proportion of renewable energy penetrating the electricity grid grows, the reduction of CO2 emissions drops sharply.
By the time wind power (and, by analogy, solar) reaches about 20 percent of the grid, the savings in CO2 emissions are negligible, of the order of a few percent.

The result seems counter-intuitive – surely the more renewable energy, the greater the reduction of CO2 emissions, and less threat of global warming. But the reason for this finding can be found on the miles per gallon sticker on the windows of new cars. The mileage for highway driving is always greater than that for city – stop and go – driving.
When we touch the brake pedal, we change the engine speed. The lower mileage for city driving means less efficiency from the gasoline, and more pollution per mile driven.
In the same way, when back-up electricity (mostly natural gas power plants) – when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine- is ramped up and down, there are more CO2 emissions compared to when the back-up is running full blast. Result – much of the emissions savings from using wind power or solar is lost.
Dr. Inhaber found results from Colorado, Texas, Germany, Ireland, Estonia and other countries bolstering his argument. If we are to reduce CO2 emissions, we will have to find an alternative to the programs advocated by many governments.

Edited to add comment to Beowolf

This is a peer reviewed paper in a mainstream scientific journal, what the IPCC call the gold standard in science