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"  While auto engineers continue tweaking designs for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and squabbling over the battery technology to power them, researchers today confirmed that the cars can, indeed, significantly cut our contributions to global warming. By 2050, a new study says, broad acceptance of PHEVs could cut up to 6.12 billion tons of greenhouse gases each year\u2014approximately 2.5 times the amount currently emitted by power plants.  As detailed in our special report on the race for companies to develop a reliable battery for the electric car\u2014one that will last eight to 10 years, produce sufficient range and not go up in flames\u2013it may still be three years before concepts such as the Chevy Volt hit dealerships. But today&amp;#039;s report, co-authored by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), considers a future where 42 percent of the total U.S. auto fleet consists of PHEVs by 2030\u2014and nearly doubles that by 2050. &amp;quot;Next-generation PHEVs can reduce global warming and air pollution much more than regular hybrids\u2014if we&amp;#039;re taking simultaneous action to clean the electric grid,&amp;quot; says Dan Lashof, science director of the Climate Center for NRDC. &amp;quot;They will certainly reduce dependence on foreign oil.&amp;quot;  Right now, electric power plants could power a huge number of PHEVs with little effect on the air quality from extra particulate\u2014thanks largely to coal plants. Although the study shows PHEVs modestly improving air quality by 2030 in regions with heavy vehicle use, ozone levels and particulate matter could actually increase in areas near power plants. Mercury levels, too, may rise in some places, the report says, but PHEVs would not increase overall U.S. contributions to global mercury levels.  Of course, the NRDC-EPRI report assumes a drastic increase in plug-in sales in the next two decades (42 percent is admittedly high, EPRI&amp;#039;s Mark Duvall says) and, therefore, a heavier burden on the electrical grid. But America&amp;#039;s supply of electricity remains underutilized at night, and the combination of nighttime car charging and a more conservative growth estimate for PHEVs would probably mean a less negative impact on air quality. When assuming a &amp;quot;moderate&amp;quot; saturation of hybrid electric cars\u2014about 62 percent penetration by 2080\u2014the report claims that national energy usage would increase by up to 8 percent from plug-in charges. But with 3 to 4 billion barrels of oil and 450 million metric tons of emissions wiped out at the same time, such an acceptance of PHEVs would be the atmospheric equivalent of removing &amp;quot;just a tick more than one-third of all cars on the road today,&amp;quot; says John Bryson, CEO of energy investment firm Edison International. General Motors spoke up for the study today, insisting the Detroit giant was excited to study the findings. &amp;quot;We have made strong statements that we believe [PHEVs] are the future,&amp;quot; GM vehicle line director Tony Posawatz says. &amp;quot;As a company that has relied on 98 to 99 percent of the same energy, there is a business rationale for us.&amp;quot; And, it appears, a scientific one. \u2014Tyghe Trimble and Julianne Pepitone DRIVE GREEN: The Future of Plug-in Hybrid Cars, Plus Test Drives, Video and More  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a1931/4219512/>