Excellent article on plugin hybrids in Scientific American. A small solar power unit on the carport would power the car, and take gas expense to tiny. The energy math is compelling. The cars would charge overnight, when there is enough excess capacity to power 50% of the fleet with no extra power plants built. The biggest barrier isn’t technology, it’s financing.
So, what if a carport charger could be rolled into the cost of a car loan? Electric company and government rebates would cover the down payment premium. And an extra $100/month on the car loan would be paid for by $50 montly reduction in gas pump payments, and $50 reduction in the electric bill.
The same benefits could be had by rolling solar financing into a home mortgage. The lender gets a new product, the power company avoids the capital costs of new plants and gets better use of existing ones. The buyer puts up only a fraction of the cost, and nets out on their monthly expenses.
Now seems like an excellent time to be putting together these deals. The cost of solar has been kept high for the last few years because of a silicon shortage. In 2008, the silicon shortage is expected to lift, at the same time as increasingly efficient thin film solar products come on the market.
So, the trends between 2008-2010 are cheaper solar power on the market at the same time that PHEVs get commercialized. Financing is the missing lego piece to make the system snap together. There’s an entrepreneurial opportunity to put the deals, marketing programs, and distribution channel together now.