Of all the sectors demanding oil the transportation sector is by far the fastest growing energy consumer. In the next twenty years energy demand for transportation is projected to grow 55%, double the projected growth of the residential and industrial sectors. Yet, the oil industry is still an unchallenged player in this sector. Today, 96% of the energy used in the transportation fuel market is derived from oil.

As the global oil market approaches its peak, and at a time when increases in global demand require that an additional Saudi Arabia worth of oil be brought into the market every five years, utility companies which have traditionally viewed themselves as providers of "power" for lighting homes or powering computers, can now break the dominance of Big Oil in the transportation energy sector and introduce much needed competition in the fuel market.

The first technology which enables utilities to move us around is plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. A plug in hybrid electric vehicle is in essence a souped up version of the hybrid vehicles (e.g. Toyota Prius) currently entering the auto market. In addition to a battery with a 20-50 miles range that can be charged using a standard electric outlet, plug-ins also have a fuel tank. Thus, unlike the electric-only cars that entered the auto market in the 1980s, plug-ins offer the same driving range as gasoline powered cars. Plug ins will soon make their debut. DaimlerChrysler is currently introducing a plug in version of its Sprinter van.

Unlike conventional hybrids which use gasoline from mile zero, plug-ins use electricity to power most of the range of the battery. When the car exceeds its battery range, its shifts seamlessly to gasoline power. Since 50% of cars on the road in the U.S. drive 20 miles a day or less, most of the driving in a plug-in is fueled by electricity. Overall, plug-ins can reduce gasoline use by 85%. This is so dramatic a reduction that a plug-in SUV actually would consume less gasoline than a standard compact car.

Most of America's electric power is generated from domestic resources such as coal, nuclear power, and natural gas (barely 2% of U.S. electricity is generated from oil.) While the money spent on gasoline ends up increasing the trade deficit and padding the coffers of corrupt and dictatorial oil producing countries who funnel large sums of it to the terrorists with whom we are at war, money spent on electricity for the most part stays in America. Since most of the power for a plug-in vehicle comes from domestically generated electricity, wide use of plug-ins can shift the transportation sector from imported to homemade energy.

Unlike the "hydrogen economy" which requires massive investment in infrastructure change, plug-ins offer better utilization of existing infrastructure and for a significant percentage of market penetration require very little investment in new capacity.

Charged at night (or in the middle of the day in a parking garage) -- times when electric utilities have a great deal of excess capacity -- plug-ins will enable utilities to sell electricity at off peak hours thus increasing the use of existing capacity and generating more revenues.

Consumer surveys indicate that drivers like the plug-ins idea because they would offer the best of both worlds: the gas savings and emissions reduction benefits of battery powered electric vehicles, and the range of a "normal" car. Though a plug-in would be initially more expensive up front than an ordinary car, the total cost over the life of the vehicle would be less due to lower operating costs and gasoline saving. As battery technologies improve the cost of plug-ins will drop further.

No less promising way utilities can enter the transportation fuel market is by co generating power and liquid fuel. Adding an auxiliary unit to integrated gasification combined cycle power plants, which convert coal into synthesis gas, allows utilities to convert part of the gas into alcohol fuels. One of the Department of Energy's clean coal program's most successful efforts is a commercial scale facility in Kingsport, Tennessee that generates the alcohol fuel methanol (as distinct from the grain alcohol ethanol) from coal cleanly at under 50 cents a gallon.

Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, can be used to power flexible fuel vehicles (these are cars designed to operate on alcohol, on gasoline, or on any mixture of the two) and also is the most cost-effective hydrogen carrier fuel for use in fuel cell vehicles.

For fuel cell applications, methanol offers unparalleled versatility. The ability to reform methanol (i.e. extract hydrogen from methanol) on-board a vehicle or within the walls of a stationary or portable fuel cell power system has been demonstrated extensively. Methanol also can be reformed "off-board" using commercially available small packaged reformers that can be located at corner service stations. The University of Florida recently completed a study for Georgetown University, about the feasibility of coal-based methanol for application in transportation fuel cells. The report concluded that methanol is the most economically sensible hydrogen carrier fuel for use in fuel cells and can be effectively utilized in internal combustion engines using existing technologies. It also concluded that methanol produced from coal is likely to be the least expensive of the fuels considered as an alternative to gasoline.

Ford had already put flexible fuel vehicles which can be fueled by M-85 (85 percent methanol, 15 percent gasoline) on the road. Under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 these cars, which also happen to produce about one-half the smog-forming emissions of a comparable vehicle running on gasoline, also qualify for various subsidies and tax credits.

Both plug-in hybrids and methanol flexible fuel cars are solutions which enable power companies to gain a foothold in a lucrative market from which they have thus far been left out. These solutions are not pie-in-the sky. Auto manufacturers know how to make them and have already done so.

The U.S. is positioned in a critical juncture from where it must consider bold and innovative approaches to alleviate its taxing dependence on foreign oil. The entrance of the power industry into the transportation fuel market could bring fuel choice to drivers and help set America free from its dependence on oil coming from unstable countries.

To subscribe or visit this site go to:  http://www.energypulse.net

Copyright 2004 CyberTech, Inc.