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Congressional
Subcommittee Reviews Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle
Legislation
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Opening Remarks
Opening remarks of U.S. Representative
Judy
Biggert (R-IL-13th)
Chairman, Science Subcommittee on Energy
The Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Act of 2006 (Discussion
Draft)
Committee on Science
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Good morning. I want to welcome everyone to this Energy
Subcommittee hearing on the many potential contributions that
plug-in hybrid electric vehicles could make to our energy
security.
Last year, if somebody had asked me if I had any plans to chair
a hearing on plug-in hybrids in 2006, my response would have
been: what’s a plug-in hybrid? Yet here we are today, examining
a discussion draft of legislation that will be introduced by a
senior member of this committee, Congressman Lamar Smith, to
promote the development and use of plug-in hybrids. I want to
thank Mr. Smith for introducing me to the plug-in hybrid.
What’s so special about a plug-in hybrid? In a nutshell, average
Americans, who drive their cars or trucks between 25 and 30
miles in a day, could complete their commute and run some
errands without burning a drop of gasoline. That’s good for
energy security, not to mention the pocketbook.
Furthermore, the technology to make this happen is an
improvement upon existing technology in the market today.
Unlike hydrogen fuel cells – which are still very much in the
research and development stage and by some estimates still 20
years from reaching the market – conventional or traditional
hybrids can be found in dealership lots across the country and
are growing in popularity. With research, I hope this transition
from conventional hybrids to plug-in hybrids can proceed
quickly.
And there is nothing like a $3 gallon of gasoline to get us
thinking about new and creative ways to diversify the fuel
supply and use anything besides gasoline to power our vehicles.
As I have said many times before, I do not believe that there is
a single solution to our energy problems. Plug-in hybrids would
allow us to power our cars with clean energy, including from
renewable sources such as solar and wind.
They also can be fueled by other clean and abundant sources like
nuclear and even coal – preferably from power plants employing
advanced clean coal technologies that I hope will soon be the
norm. The fact of the matter is that all Americans, including
those in my suburban Chicago district, want to hop into their
cars and go. Very few care what makes their car go.
They simply want it to be inexpensive and easy to get. Again,
the consumer is pointing us in the right direction. We should be
working towards cars that can run on whatever energy source is
available at the lowest cost: be it electricity, gasoline,
biofuel, or some combination of these.
That brings me to my final point on the potential benefits of
the plug-in hybrid – they do not require a whole new “refueling”
infrastructure. To think that you could pull into your garage at
the end of the day and “fill ‘er up” just by plugging your car
into a regular, 110-volt socket in the garage is very appealing.
Imagine the convenience of recharging your car just as you
recharge your cell phone, blackberry, or laptop every evening –
by simply plugging it in. The next morning, unplug it and you
are ready to go.
That’s not to say there aren’t challenges to realizing the
potential benefits of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Our
purpose here today is to identify the most significant obstacles
facing the widespread commercial availability of these vehicles.
Are there technical or cost-competitiveness issues with
important components, such as batteries or power electronics? Do
consumer preferences or auto industry inertia present high
hurdles? Our witnesses today can help us understand what
additional steps the federal government can take to address
these barriers and accelerate the development and deployment of
plug-in hybrids.
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