Inside Renewable Energy Will Your Electric Car Help or Hurt the Grid?

Electric cars are here. We've seen the hype around electric cars rise and fall before – but this time it's different. With almost every major car company developing a plug-in hybrid or all-electric car, regulators are now preparing for a new wave of pressure on the grid. Will we be able to handle it? In this podcast, we'll look at the potential impact that electric cars will have on the distribution system. Bill Reinert, national manager of the Advanced Technology Group at Toyota, describes how the new relationship between customers, car companies and utilities will change the way we think about cars. Matt Nielsen, a senior researcher at GE, talks about the new demands that electric vehicles will put on the distribution system. He'll also talk about the need to couple electric vehicles with on-site renewables. Chris Hartshorn, a senior analyst at Lux Research, talks about how the convergence of Information Technologies and Information Technologies will enable the coming wave of electric vehicles. Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.