Every day, Sally Ahnger plugs a cord from her electric Toyota RAV4 into a special outlet in her garage. Her house is powered in part by several photovoltaic solar panels on her roof.
Sally purchased the RAV4 a few years ago when California offered rebates on low-emission cars as a solution to air pollution. She plugs in the car at night when she pays lower utility rates (4 cents per kwh versus 30 cents per kwh during the day). The battery pack, tucked underneath the chassis, holds about 100 miles of charge. Know anyone planning to buy a Nissan Leaf electric car?
This reminds me of the article I wrote about the solar-electric Geo Metros by Solectria waaaay back in 1990. I’ll post it soon.
