Panel Tackling PHEV Issues Say Aging Power Equipment Could Pose Problems Panelists (from left) Andrew Shapiro of GreenOrder; Mark Duvall of the Electric Power Research Institute; California State Sen. Leland Yee; Michael Peevey of the California Public Utilities Commission and Chevrolet executive Brent Dewar discuss plug-in hybrid and EV infrastructure issues at Los Angeles panel sponsored by Chevrolet. By Danny King, Contributo r Herbert Hoover's backers in the 1928 presidential campaign may have wanted to see a car in every garage, but if that happens with the Chevrolet Volt, there could be problems. In California, where GM will make a big play with the 2011 Chevrolet Volt when sales begin at the end of next year, some neighborhoods simply don't have sufficient electrical capacity to support a Volt – or any other plug-in electric car – in every garage, according to speakers at a Los Angeles roundtable discussion Monday of GM's upcoming extended-range plug-in hybrid. A fairly even distribution of millions of Chevy Volts across California would barely make a dent in the state's electricity demand, but the concentration of the cars within a small area might challenge regional electrical capacity. That will be especially true if customers retrofit their homes to allow for quicker charges than from the standard electric plug, according to Michael Peavey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, and Mark Duvall, director of electric transportation at the…
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Lots of Volts Could Bring Jolts to Some Neighborhood Power Grids
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