SOLAR SUSTAINED VEHICLES (SSV): A CONSUMER'S SOLUTION TO PROTECTION IN AN AGE OF OIL DEPENDENCE, ECONMOIC UNCERATINTY, AND GLOBAL WARMING

摘要

This paper evaluates the fuel saving benefits of Solar Sustained Vehicles (SSV) from a consumer's perspective. An SSV is a vehicle, partially or fully powered by electricity (as with plug-in hybrid electric or electric vehicles), that is bundled at sale with a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system to offset its electricity consumption. The paper suggests that SSVs provide the following types of protection: (1) initial capital cost protection; (2) near-term financial protection; (3) long-term fuel-price fluctuation protection; (4) environmental protection; (5) national security protection; and (6) electric utility outage protection. Results based on a case study for a customer in the state of New York indicate that SSV consumers would benefit from dramatic fuel cost reductions for the next 30 years. The conclusion is that consumers could purchase SSVs to protect their own economic interests, while simultaneously reducing U.S. dependence on oil and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.