All sustainable transportation subsidies shouldn't be created equal, expert

When it comes to pumping up the appeal of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), some regions are more ripe for the cars than others, and some consumers’ buttons need more pushing than others – an important policy distinction when shaping subsidies, two energy policy experts say.

In a recent article in Energy Policy, a leading academic journal in the energy field, Steven Skerlos in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan and James Winebrake, chair of the Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy at Rochester Institute of Technology, and make the case for a better way to target government subsidies aimed at promoting sustainable transportation technologies.

It turns out that giving consumers who live and drive in regions where the social benefits of electric-boosted cars are strongest, and recognizing the circumstances of consumers – such as their income, life stage and family size – gives PHEVs a better shot at both sales and environmental and energy security effectiveness.

“The idea of a one-size-fits-all technology has failed us many times before in automotive policy,” said Skerlos, director of the U-M Environmental and Sustainable Technologies Laboratory. “PHEVs that make sense in urban areas where the grid is fairly clean may make much less sense compared to other technology approaches for areas of long distance rural driving. We want to get beyond the notion of a universal ’silver bullet’ and understand where PHEVs are most likely to going to work.”

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