Electric cars may supply the National Grid
A team at the University of Delaware has developed an electric car that is able to store power on behalf of the National Grid.
Based on a Toyota Scion, the prototype car works much like any other plug-in electric car except that once charged it is able to return any unused power to the grid as and when it is needed.
The man behind the car is Willett Kempton, a renewable-energy professor who believes that cars of the future will become a network of storage devices for electricity.
Electric cars can store electricity
Water companies have the benefit of reservoirs, but the National Grid has no such storage system and must second guess our habits in order to match supply with demand. If electricity could be stored in a cost effective way then power stations could operate in a more efficient way.
If most of us were driving electric cars that were re-charged via the National Grid, their batteries could provide the answer. Car batteries would take power from the grid overnight and send electricity back into the grid at peak times.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Plugging in the car before bedtime may become as much a part of our everyday routine as boiling the kettle first thing in the morning.”
The advantages and disadvantages of electric cars
| Electric cars: What’s good | what’s not so good |
|---|---|
 In environmental terms, probably the best car option around especially if the electricity it uses comes from renewable sources |
 Generally low top speed (although electric cars can have surprisingly quick acceleration, so they can keep up with city traffic without any difficulty) |
| Zero emissions from the car itself makes it a saint in the city |
Limited range (until now) and lengthy recharging times means they are not suitable for long journeys |
| Extremely quiet |
The batteries cause pollution problems when the time comes to dispose of them |
|
Exempt from the London Congestion Charge, no road tax and only pennies per mile to run |
Expensive to buy |
Related electric car articles:
Brown wants all cars electric by 2020
Dyson to build electric car
New electric car does 115 miles on single charge
Electric car with five seats launched
Electric cars – tell me more
The world’s fastest electric sports car
Leonardo DiCaprio trades his Prius for a Tesla electric car
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