Congress Should Transition U.S. Postal Fleet to Plug-In Hybrids

Austin, TX- May 4, 2006­A nationwide grassroots
coalition promoting the mass production of a
flex-fuel plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle is
calling on Congress to provide incentives
sufficient to transition the U.S. Postal fleet to
plug-in hybrid vehicles. The Postal Service
utilizes approximately 210,000 vehicles
nationwide that travel 1.2 billion miles a year
consuming an estimated 106-million gallons of gasoline.

“Transitioning the Postal fleet to plug-ins would
serve as a springboard for the commercial
production of delivery vehicles that could be
extended to a wide variety of delivery services
across America,” says Austin Mayor Will Wynn,
whose city leads the nationwide plug-in campaign
now joined by over 20 major cities. “The
commercial market would also provide the economic
certainty needed by automakers to make the
production investments necessary for the mass production of plug-ins.”

Wynn called for the Congressional action during a
press conference held today at the World Congress
on Information Technology (WCIT) underway in Austin.
“The WCIT is staged each year to show off new
technology and to foster technology advancement,”
Wynn notes. “The plug-in technology is available
right now and represents a realistic near-term
solution to the serious problems of over-reliance
on foreign oil, out of control gasoline prices as
well as greenhouse emissions.”

The Plug-In Partners National Campaign kicked off
January 24, 2006 during a Washington D.C. press
conference. Since then some 20 cities including
Baltimore, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City,
Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle,
25 national organizations and over 130 electric
utilities have joined in the campaign to urge
automakers to accelerate development of plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) would
combine today’s new gas-electric hybrid
technology with larger batteries which provide an
all-electric operating range of 25 to 35 miles or
more. The result is an 80+ mile-per-gallon
vehicle ­ with even greater fuel economy possible utilizing bio-fuels.

Plug-ins could be recharged by plugging into a
standard wall socket, delivering “electric”
gallons of gas for under $1 a gallon at
prevailing electric rates. This vehicle could
reduce gasoline consumption for the average
American by 50 percent to 70 percent.

“Nothing has to be invented to produce a plug-in
hybrid vehicle,” says Dr. Andrew Frank, a
mechanical engineering professor at the
University of California at Davis and Director of
the UCD Hybrid Electric Research Center.
“Everything needed is available: the power
trains, the gasoline engines, the computer
systems, electric motors and batteries. All we
need is for one of the large auto manufacturers to step up to the plate.”

Last year, U.S. consumers purchased more than
200,000 hybrid vehicles, which have grown from
two models in 2000 to 11 models today. Hybrid
sales are projected to triple over the next six
years, as more Americans demonstrate their desire
for better fuel economy and lower emissions.
According to the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI), half the cars in the U.S. are
driven just 25 miles a day or less. “A plug-in
vehicle with even a 20-mile range could reduce
petroleum fuel consumption by about 60 percent,”
says Bob Graham, Manager of EPRI’s Electric Transmission program.

EPRI has teamed with DaimlerChrysler AG of
Stuttgart, Germany, to design and build a plug-in
prototype van that will be tested in some 40
American cities over the next year. The vans,
which have a 20-mile all-electric range, will be
outfitted with either nickel-metal hydride (NiMH)
batteries or lithium ion (Li-Ion) batteries. The
cost, reliability and weight of batteries are
often cited by automotive industry experts as one
of the stumbling blocks to the mass production of plug-ins.

A number of leading energy efficiency and
environmental organizations also support plug-in
vehicles as important to the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global
warming. Plug-in Partner Coalition members
include: Alliance to Save Energy, Environmental
and Energy Study Institute, Clean Air Coalition,
California Cars Initiative, and The Institute for
Environmental Research and Education.

“Even drawing from our existing power plants,
plug-in vehicles have the potential to cut a
vehicle’s petroleum consumption by three-fourths
or more, can operate at as little as one-fourth
the fuel cost, and reduce greenhouse gases by
two-thirds,” said Kateri Callahan, President of
the Alliance to Save Energy. “As we increasingly
turn to alternative technologies to improve the
fuel economy of our vehicles, we will see
increasing benefits to our economy, our
environment, and our national security.”

News and information regarding the nationwide
Plug-In Partners campaign will be chronicled at
http://www.pluginpartners.org which will include
summary reports on the results of petition
drives, “soft orders” and development of community incentives programs.
-end-

FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
CONTACT: Ed Clark, Austin Energy: 512-322-6514
May
4, 2006
Frank
Walter, Plug-in Partners: 202-271-7727
\
Plug-in Partners Coalition:
Roger Duncan, 512-322-6157, roger.duncan@...
Daryl Slusher, 512-322-6210, daryl.slusher@...
Lisa Braithwaite, 512-322-6511, lisa.braithwaite@...




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Felix Kramer fkramer@...
Founder California Cars Initiative
http://www.calcars.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/calcars-news
http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/power
http://www.bettah.org
http://www.eaa-phev.org
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