Reliance on gasoline powered vehicles exasperates our dependence on imported oil, while the emissions produced by the vehicle severely affect our climate. Each year four tons of CO2 produced by the average automobile is released into the atmosphere where it remains for 45 years. Making cars more fuel efficient is imperative if the effects of global warming are to be reversed.

By installing a battery, electricity can be used to propel the vehicle. When not driven, the car will be plugged into the grid to charge the battery. The battery can drive an electric motor which moves the car. This approach, called plug-in electric vehicle (PEV), will completely eliminate the combustion engine. This approach will rely on significantly improved battery technology. In the short to medium term, a smaller combustion engine may still be needed resulting in the concept of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. In PHEV, fuel efficiency can be as high as 150 mpg.

Various studies conducted elsewhere indicate that not only will the PEV have no emissions; its total ownership cost is also cheaper than a gasoline vehicle over the life of the vehicle (12 years). During the vehicle’s life, the car owners will spend three times as much on fuel as they originally paid for the vehicles themselves. On the other hand, charging the typical electric car throughout its entire life will cost only one-third of the original battery price. By 2020, fuelling a combustion car for a single year will cost more than charging an electric car for its entire life.

To be truly emission free, the electricity used to charge the PEV must be generated by green and renewable energies, such as solar and wind. Significant efforts in that area are also underway and many states now mandate 20% renewable penetrations by mid 2010s.