March 1, 2010
Journal Article

The Impact of Electric Passenger Transport Technology under an Economy-Wide Climate Policy in the United States: Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Coal Use, and Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have the potential to be an economic means of reducing direct (or tailpipe) carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the transportation sector. However, without a climate policy that places a limit on CO2 emissions from the electric generation sector, the net impact of widespread deployment of PHEVs on overall U.S. CO2 emissions is not as clear. A comprehensive analysis must consider jointly the transportation and electricity sectors, along with feedbacks to the rest of the energy system. In this paper, we use the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s MiniCAM model to perform an integrated economic analysis of the penetration of PHEVs and the resulting impact on total U.S. CO2 emissions.

Revised: February 19, 2010 | Published: March 1, 2010

Wise M.A., G.P. Kyle, J.J. Dooley, and S.H. Kim. 2010. "The Impact of Electric Passenger Transport Technology under an Economy-Wide Climate Policy in the United States: Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Coal Use, and Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage." International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 4, no. 2:301-308. PNNL-SA-65888. doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2009.09.003