JeffStein

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  • Vehicle-to-grid will turn suburbs into power plants, won't help undertones of repression

    by 
    Joseph L. Flatley
    Joseph L. Flatley
    10.04.2008

    We've been hearing about vehicle-to-grid (V2G) for quite a while, and now a team at the University of Michigan is conducting an extensive study on the technology as part of a national sustainable energy solution. While current electric plants are good at generating power, they often fall short when it comes to storage -- which can be a problem when there's a power surge or when demand increases. V2G will let hybrid-electric owners sell the power their car generates to the electrical power grid whenever the car is not in use. The research team envisions a time when millions of hybrid vehicle owners will come together to create one large battery, allowing us all to play a small part in building our nation's energy independence. And sure, this all sounds good in theory. But wouldn't that mean relying on the neighbors to provide a key piece of the nation's infrastructure? Have you met the neighbors? Doesn't that seem a little... iffy?