Green Blog
A better web. Better for the environment.
Plug-ins converge on Washington
6/16/08
Posted by Michael Terrell, Program Manager, Google.org
Last week Google.org and the Brookings Institution hosted a two-day
conference
in Washington to showcase plug-in electric vehicles and examine how the government can support their widespread adoption. An impressive lineup of Members of Congress, auto and utility executives, and technology experts spoke to a packed house about the potential of plug-ins to reduce oil dependence, lower the cost of driving, and fight global warming. Between panels, participants were treated to a
display
of the latest plug-in cars, including one of Google.org's
RechargeIT cars
, an
electric sportscar
, and
Detroit's answer
to high gas prices.
There appeared to be overwhelming agreement that government
leadership
is necessary to make this industry transformation a reality. (A recent
poll
commissioned by Google.org shows that voters agree.) A second theme was the need to modernize and green the power grid as the country moves toward electrifying transportation. But with gas prices at record highs and enthusiasm for the promise of electric cars growing, the feeling in Washington last week was that plug-ins' time has come.
Plug-in conference highlights, day 2
6/13/08
Posted by David Bercovich, Project Manager, Google.org
Day two of the Google.org-Brookings Institution
conference
was punctuated by a
panel
moderated by
Tom Friedman
. The lively discussion covered topics including policy leadership, innovative business models, the potential for plug-ins to become ‘greener’ over time, and the security and stability of the grid. Two important themes emerged – the importance of plug-ins and clean energy for U. S. economic competitiveness and the policy and leadership needed to make this industry transformation a reality.
Jon Wellinghoff
, Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), surprised many in the audience by describing the 40 million electric vehicles on the road today in China (many of which are scooters) and emphatically argued that the grid is ready for plug-ins today.
John Podesta
, President of the
Center for American Progress
, credited Germany’s
feed-in tariff
with creating a vibrant solar industry in Germany and causing the U. S. market share of the global solar industry to decline from 45% to 10%. Assistant Secretary of Energy
Andy Karsner
announced
a $30 million Department of Energy investment in plug-in vehicle technology.
Sue Tierney
talked about the fact that leadership on plug-ins is currently happening outside of Washington at the state level and within the business community. Finally,
Congressman Jay Inslee
inspired the crowd by suggesting that we need visionary leadership on plug-in vehicles and renewable energy, likening the climate crisis to the challenge put forth by
John F. Kennedy
when he launched the
Apollo program
to put a man on the moon in 10 years.
Participants plug in
6/11/08
Posted by
Jenny Kwan, Climate and Energy Intern, Google.org
Hundreds of participants gathered today in Washington, DC as the
Google.org - Brookings Institution
conference
kicked off. It was exciting to be able to see, in person, the latest electric car technology.
Outside the hotel we talked to Patrick from GM about their new
Chevy Volt
. If you look for it you can also spot the
A123
car in the background.
Inside the conference room, I got to check out the latest Tesla. Unfortunately it's a little out of my price range...
I also met a bunch of people from around the US and the world and asked what brought them to the conference. Felix Kramer with CalCars who was one of the first to bring electric vehicles to Washington DC many years ago:
And Seth from New York and Lars from Sweden were here to check out the crowd and learn about the latest news and technology:
Broad coalition charged up to electrify vehicles
6/11/08
Posted by David Bercovich, Program Manager, Google.org
On another day of record-high gas
prices
, the Google.org/Brookings Institution
conference
on plug-in vehicles kicked off in Washington, DC today. Electrifying transportation impacts our economy, national security, and environment, and conference sessions overflowed with interested attendees. The lively afternoon session highlighted the broad coalition supporting plug-ins and demonstrated that the technology we need to electrify transportation is here today.
Jim Woolsey
passionately argued that our dependence on oil is a national security emergency and that countries like Japan and Brazil have demonstrated the potential to overhaul an automotive fleet in a short period of time.
Shai Agassi
described
Project Better Place
and their plans to rapidly deploy electric vehicles in Israel.
Several speakers, including
Mark Duvall
from
EPRI
, referenced the landmark
EPRI / NRDC study
on the impact of significant deployment of plug-in hybrids, including the finding that our current electric grid could power 73% of our vehicles if we charged them at night.
Peter Darbee
from PG&E talked about how plug-in vehicles could work with smart electricity meters to increase the efficiency of the grid.
Panelsists also highlighted consumer demand for plug-ins. For example,
Chelsea Sexton
pointed out the need to anticipate (and invest in) rapid product improvement, reminding participants that we didn’t know we wanted portable video MP3 players to replace our Walkmans until devices like the iPod emerged.
You can check out the
webcast
of tonight’s session with
Senator Alexander
,
Congressman Dingell
, and
Fred Smith
from FedEx starting around 7pm EDT.
Survey says, "Plug in, Washington"
6/10/08
Posted by
Michael Terrell, Program Manager, Google.org
A new survey commissioned by Google.org shows that three out of four voters support an active government role in promoting plug-in electric cars and trucks. The poll of more than 700 likely voters covered topics ranging from knowledge about plug-ins to opinions on how the government should promote them.
Plug-in electric vehicles run like regular hybrid cars, except they have larger batteries, recharge from a standard wall outlet, and can go more miles with less gas. Some plug-ins are purely electric and don’t need gasoline at all. Given today's
record-high gas prices
and concerns about energy security, plug-ins represent a promising solution for reducing oil dependence, reducing the cost of driving, and fighting global warming.
Poll data showed a majority of voters said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports federal efforts to bring plug-ins to the market, and more than 60 percent of voters are willing to spend more money to own a plug-in vehicle.
Over the next two days, Google.org and the
Brookings Institution
are hosting a conference in Washington, DC, "
Plug-in Electric Vehicles 2008: What Role for Washington?
" The conference will bring together Members of Congress, auto and utility executives, technologists, and plug-in advocates to spotlight plug-ins, examine their potential, and explore different federal policies to promote them.
For more on the survey, check out our
summary of findings
or the
complete survey results
. For more on using public policy to advance plug-ins, see
Getting Policymakers to Plug-In
. You can view the conference webcast
here
beginning tomorrow.
Archive
2016
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
Apr
Feb
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Feb
2014
Dec
Nov
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Jan
2013
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Jan
2011
Dec
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Aug
Jul
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Jan
2007
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jun
2006
Nov
Oct
Feed
Google
on
Follow @google
Follow
More Google Green
Google Green site
Google Data Centers site
Follow