While electric vehicles have the potential to be cleaner and greener than gasoline powered vehicles, as long as they rely on coal and oil fired electrical power plants, some may argue that all their really doing is moving the source of the pollution a little further down the road. While the reduction in automobile emissions may mean cleaner air for city-dwellers, roughly the same amount of emissions will be generated at the ultimate source of the electricity being used to charge these cars.
Of course, that only applies as long as the electricity isn't generated by green sources such as solar panels. Because many of the early adopters of electric vehicles are choosing these cars in hopes of walking more lightly upon the Earth, providing a solution to these back-door emissions could eb a strong marketing play. The Ford Motor Company seems to agree. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that customers purchasing the electric version of the Ford Focus, due out in late 2011 will have the option of also purchasing or leasing a electricity-generating solar panels that can be added to the roof of your home.
These panels, says the report, will generate 2.5 kilowatts of electricity- enough to provide about 1000 miles of power to an electric vehicle each month. The panels will be produced by SunPower and can be purchased right along with the car at the Ford dealership. While details were not provided, the logical approach for this system would be to have it tied into the home's electrical system so that it feed power through the outlets already in the home. This way, it would also provide an emergency backup system for periods of electrical outage and for those who drive fewer than 1000 miles per month, there would be a net reduction in electricity bought and paid for through their local electrical utility.
The solar panels don't come cheaply, though. The price is estimated at $10,000 per unit. On the other hand, though, the panel with ordinary maintenance, should last for decades, providing electricity to the home month after month for all that time which offsets the initial cost of the unit. Whether it completely pays for itself depends upon the cost of electricity, maintenance costs, and the effective lifespan of the solar panel.
It is, however, certainly a greener alternative, and an option that makes electric vehicles truly green all the way from the non-existent tail-pipe to the source of the electricity used to fuel them. Ford and SunPower are banking on the fact that many of the customers for electric vehicles, especially the early adopters who are already considering one, are choosing them out of environmentalist concerns. For these customers, paying a premium to drive a truly emission-free vehicle may not be a concern.