EMCs Showcase Fuel Technology on Capitol Hill

TUCKER, Ga., Oct. 1, 2007 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Representatives with electric membership corporations (EMCs) in Georgia will travel to Washington, D.C. on October 2 and 3 and inform Georgia lawmakers that, in the future, motorists could get 100 miles per gallon, due to the latest in fuel technology.

EMC representatives invited Georgia lawmakers to preview a Toyota Prius hybrid that has been converted into a plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid.

The hybrid will be on display on the House side on New Jersey Avenue between C & D Streets SE, between Longworth and Cannon Buildings tomorrow between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

The state-of-the-art technology was made possible through a research project spearheaded by Jackson EMC, headquartered in Jefferson, Ga., and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's Cooperative Research Network (CRN), based in Arlington, Va.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) use a combination of electricity and gasoline to achieve more than 100 mpg around town. (A video featuring the vehicle can be viewed on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy2Ciagwrgk.)

Alan Shedd, Jackson EMC's commercial/industrial marketing engineer, and a key member of the joint research group, says the two-year study will provide valuable data on how PHEVs perform in the real world, along with unbiased answers to questions about the impact of the technology if used on a larger scale. He says the study is unique because it is one of the largest, most comprehensive reviews conducted by a third party.

CRN is responsible for underwriting conversion costs associated with the vehicle, so no additional expenses are incurred by cooperatives.

Researchers predict that consumers could see PHEVs in showrooms within three to five years and can expect tangible benefits such as:

  -- saving energy by utilizing a combination of electricity and gasoline
  -- protecting the environment by burning less gas resulting in less
     pollution
  -- saving money because motorists fill their tanks less often and because
     running a car on electricity is cheaper than gasoline-(think buying
     gasoline for .75-.80 cents per gallon).
  -- saving trips to the gas pump and allowing motorists to recharge the
     battery at night

The PHEV research project compliments a larger effort by EMCs in Georgia to research and develop renewable technologies to reduce consumer dependence on traditional sources of energy. That work began in 2001 when the EMCs formed Green Power EMC, the state's first voluntary, and renewable energy program. Since 2003, the program has generated more than 112 million kWh of electricity from landfill gas, low-impact hydro and solar projects.

New Renewable Technologies

Moreover, the EMCs, through Green Power EMC, http://www.greenpoweremc.com/, have sought additional renewable resources to add to their generating capacity, announcing plans to purchase 20 megawatts of electricity from the first poultry litter-to-energy operation in Georgia. The electricity will be provided by Earth Resources Inc., which is constructing a chicken litter-to-electricity plant near Carnesville, Ga., about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta.

Green Power EMC is also evaluating the potential of wind generation in northwest Georgia and recently announced it would move to the next phase of study which could take from one to two years to complete.

EMCs in Georgia

Collectively, the 42 customer-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to four million people, nearly half of Georgia's population, across 73 percent of the state's land area. Georgia's 42 electric membership cooperatives now serve more customers than any other state network of EMCs in the nation.