Google And Its Fleet Of Hybrid Vehicles

Google has a project called RechargeIT that is assisting small start up companies in their development of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Google has also put into service a small group of demonstration vehicles for its corporate fleet of cars. These vehicles are charged using solar power which is being generated on the Google campus, located in Mountain View, California. Furture plans include a fleet of 100 of the plug ins to replace gas powered fleet vehicles.

On their site Google states:

Google has created a small demonstration fleet of plug-in hybrids and eventually plans to include over 100 plug-in hybrids in its corporate fleet as demand grows and cars become commercially available. Google.org has contracted with Hymotion to retrofit 4 Toyota Priuses and 2 Ford Escapes. Google.org is demonstrating the capabilities of this technology, collecting actual data on the performance of these vehicles, and making this information available to the public. All of these cars are outfitted with data recording devices that track technical and environmental performance, use patterns and charging history.

RechargeIT is also exploring ways to develop and deploy V2G technology. With the help of PG&E, Google will be demonstrating how electricity might be transmitted back and forth between plug-in hybrids and the grid. V2G offers the potential to use plug-in hybrids as a battery storage to make better use of our energy and stabilize the grid. Similar to the plug-in hybrid vehicle demonstration, the objective is to collect real world data to understand the benefits of V2G and enable future adoption.

Well you have to give Google credit for not only supporting being Green, but also doing something about it. Their innovative ideas could lead this country to vehicles that will be friendly to the environment and increase mileage dramatically.

What do you think?

Comments welcome.

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