Electric Cars Will Reach Destination With Alternative Energy Source

Not too many people would argue against the fact that the successful mass adoption of electric vehicles, EV hinges on the feasibility of producing clean and renewable energy. With most of the spotlight on solar panels and solar energy in general, wind power has made a dramatic comeback. In fact over 14% of the US energy in 2011 came from some sort of alternative energy source.

EVs Need Alternative Energy Sources. Although the case was made plenty of times that moving tailpipe emissions from gasoline cars to power stations is still more efficient and pollute less. We could argue that an onslaught of electric cars charging at night could strain the electric grid, but according to the latest findings, the answer would be to beef up sub-stations and not electricity production. In other words, we produce enough electricity to power electric car and plug-in hybrids, PHEV at night, we just need better load buffering systems, such as sub-stations.

Wind Rises, Sun Sets. The interesting play between wind energy and solar power is that they both peak at different times of the day. Sun shines, solar power is on, but when the sun goes down, wind usually picks up. A new study from Carnegie found that both low and high altitude winds would produce more than enough to power our daily global electricity consumption. In fact, low altitude winds could give us up to 500% more electricity than we consume daily. Add to this high altitude winds and you have an oversupply of electricity. The report did warn that the turbines needed to be spread out.

Making Electric Cars Green. While many Americans already patriotically drive using home made energy, not spending a cent on foreign petroleum producing countries, our energy still comes from various fuels. If coal is falling to a record low of less than a third of our electricity, CNG picks up the majority with nuclear and other alternative sources becoming more prevalent.

The problem with driving on sunshine is who pays for the infrastructure? Our dilapidated highways are in desperate need of upgrades and maintenance that are funded by gasoline taxes. This is an issue that needs to be addressed, especially in an election year when both sides argue against raising taxes.

The true promise of electric cars is to drive with pure, renewable, plentiful alternative home energy. It saves petroleum, keeps energy at home and wrestles away our dependence from foreign countries. Driving green is possible these days thanks to companies, such as solar panel maker Solar City that introduced leasing panels to power your electric cars, the problem is that we need to keep up our roadways if we want to travel with our clean, green electric cars.