As a recent University of Delaware graduate, I am proud to acknowledge that UD will be making a significant contribution towards reducing automobile emissions. The UD "has signed the first license for its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology with Autoport, Inc., a major vehicle processing and modification facility in New Castle, Delaware." The UD license grants AutoPort non-exclusive rights in the area of commercial fleet vehicles. The agreement "launches the first large-scale demonstration of the UD-developed V2G technology."

 

The technology seeks to draw upon the considerable electricity-production capability of electric cars, and will allow electric car owners to plug their vehicles in and send electricity back to electrical utilities. Electric vehicles, "whether powered by batteries, fuel cells, or gasoline hybrids, have within them the energy source and power electronics capable of producing the 60 Hz AC electricity that powers our homes and offices." Apparently, one typical electric-drive vehicle can produce an amount of electricity equivalent to the average draw of 10 houses.

 

According to UD, the system is "designed to generate cash for the driver, while strengthening the nation's power supply and reducing dependence on fossil fuels." I still have some questions concerning the technology. One of these questions would be "does sending electricity back to the grid drain your car of all the charged electricity?" I looked around and have not yet been able to find an answer for this question.

 

If this technology does everything these scientists say it does, it could represent a significant step forward in actually making electric vehicles good for the environment. There is a notion that electric cars are good for the environment, but that really depends on who you ask. Just because a person isn't using gasoline to fuel his vehicle does not mean it is good for the environment. If you are using an electric car, you need to plug it in, in order for the vehicle to charge. This means that a greater amount of electricity must now be generated from energy companies. Much of the electricity in this country is still generated through fossil fuels. Thus, Americans plugging their cars into their home outlets may be just as bad for the environment as running their cars through gasoline. However, the one area electric vehicles will help in is reducing dependence on foreign oil.

 

Increased electric vehicle use is really a false success in terms of the environment. The electricity these cars will use will still be generated by dirty, environmentally-unfriendly fossil fuels. If we can make our electricity generation a cleaner endeavor, electric car use will help both the environment and reducing our import dependence.