Plug-in

Is There a Future for NG Powered Vehicles?

I note that: "Paul Killinger is a new contributor to Seeking Alpha. We hope to have a bio for this author soon"

I find that I am getting very wary about advice being offered 'freely' these days. So much of it can be traced back to corporate interests.

So let me declare now that, for economic and environmental reasons, we promote migration of ICE vehicles to Plug-ins - see: plug-inAustralia.org

Personally, after being screwed by the arabs, the oil companies and govt oil taxes all these years, I am determined that the time has come, not just for countries to become energy independent, but our family as well.

The only way I can see to do that is via solar or wind de-centralised electricity generation connected to the grid for home and business use and that specifically includes our vehicles.

As soon as Concentrated Solar Systems become available at a price which, when amortised over the life of the system (20 years) is more or less equal to the cost of electricity from the grid.

Fortunately that objective is getting closer with Concentrated Solar (CPV) and Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PHEV's)

We recently traded in our much beloved Subaru on a Prius. This cut gas costs in half, but more importantly opened up the possibility of adding an off-the-shelf plug-in conversion kit should the price of oil justify that before Toyota introduce their own plug-in version in 2010.

We'll probably end up paying a bit more but I figure it's worth it to lose that feeling of being screwed....../Chris

$125 Oil Not Sustainable for the Time Being

You're right oil prices are going to fluctuate, but in the long term continue to rise as oil depletion reduces supply below demand.

The price complainers now need make an effort to understand this fact, move on and decide whether to migrate their ICE to a Tesla or wait for a Volt.

The State of the Thin-Film Photovoltaic Industry

Unwise to display ignorance about CPV technology - concentrated solar if you are providing investment advice ("This doesn't include the aerospace panels which can achieve 20% but are incredibly expensive.").

Spectrolab 3j cells are now up to 47% efficient. Distributed CPV systems are expected to amortise at around grid cost when they go into production, probably about the same time we can buy EV's & PHEV's in a few years time.

Together they will reduce our elctricity and transport costs substantially.

Exxon Mobil: The Root of all Evil?

We are seeing Peak Oil (demand exceeding supply) converge with the need to reduce emiisions from ICE vehicles for Climate Change reasons. So we must stop burning oil asap.

For this reason, the price of gasoline needs to stay high, even higher in fact, to provide a financial incentive for us to migrate to EV's, like GM's Volt when they start production in 2010/11.

If you want to migrate before then, worth looking at buying a used Prius and converting it to a plug-in hybrid.

How to Neutralize Your Peak Oil Risk

Best solution: 'Become independent for energy and transport'
How?
1. Buy a Concentrated Solar system (CPV), see: peswiki.com/index.php/...
and enjoy fixed rate electricity as the grid price doubles over the next decade. Expectation is that CPV will cost about the same as grid prices today, when their cost is spread over their 20 year life.
2. Trade your oil-burning vehicle in on an Electric Vehicle (EV) or Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), see: peswiki.com/energy/Dir....
Not only will you protect yourself from steeply rising energy prices, you also help the planet by becoming 100% carbon neutral for home energy and transport. If you are a business owner you can extend the idea to your business too.
These investment solutions are both expected to become avaialble within the next 3 years. CPV within 12 months - eg, Sol3G; GM Volt, for example by 2011. You can Google them both.