Impact of future use of electric cars in the St. Louis and Philadelphia regions. Volume I. Executive summary and technical report. Final report. [1980 to 2000]

Technical Report · Mon Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1975

OSTI ID:7349666

Hamilton, W F

Impacts of the use of electric cars were projected for the St. Louis and Philadelphia regions in the years 1980, 1990, and 2000. As in a companion study for the Los Angeles region, the electric cars were four-passenger subcompacts using lead-acid and advanced batteries; urban driving ranges of about 55 and 140 miles, respectively, were possible. Los Angeles data indicate such cars could replace some 15 to 75 percent of future urban autos with little sacrifice of urban driving. Adequate raw materials and nighttime recharge power should be available for such use in any single urban region. The electric cars would not save energy overall relative to future internal-combustion subcompact cars, but they could bring about major reductions in petroleum consumption where recharge power is derived from other energy sources, as it is in St. Louis and, to a lesser extent, in Philadelphia. Air quality improvements due to electric car use would be modest in importance, because conventional cars replaced will be cleaner in the future, and non-automotive sources of air pollution will be relatively more important. The electric subcompacts will be 20 to 90 percent more expensive overall than conventional subcompacts until battery development significantly reduces battery depreciation costs.

• Research Organization: General Research Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif. (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7349666
• Report Number(s): TEC-75-006a
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
250904 -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Other Applications
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290700* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Transport & Storage
298000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Consumption & Utilization
AIR QUALITY
AUTOMOBILES
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC BATTERIES
ELECTRIC-POWERED VEHICLES
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
LEAD-ACID BATTERIES
PETROLEUM
USES
VEHICLES