Some Californians live the clean-car dream by driving on sunshine

SEE ALSO: Plug-in Vehicle Guide

CALIFORNIA - While clean-car advocates have their eyes on a March 27 vote by California regulators that could revive electric cars, some drivers already are living the dream of a car that runs on sunshine.

They're the lucky ones who still have some of the electric cars that were produced by automakers between 1996 and 2003, as required under California's Zero Emission Vehicles Program. When the California Air Resources Board eased the regulations in 2003, the automakers stopped producing electric cars. The board is set to revise the program again on March 27, which could put gasoline-free vehicles back into dealers' showrooms.

Many of the electric vehicle (EV) owners have installed solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on their homes or property to get what they call the EV-PV synergy -- driving on electricity, and producing electricity from sunshine. And never buying gasoline.

Norma and Alan Williamson of Cerritos estimate that their EV-PV arrangement avoids approximately 40,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year. They recently sent a letter to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a campaign organized by Plug In America asking him to speed up the drive toward zero-emission vehicles. "We are … helping to meet your goals in the fight against global warming by driving an electric car," Ms. Williamson wrote.

Marc Geller, a resident of San Francisco's Haight Ashbury district, wanted off of oil for political and environmental reasons. "After I got an electric car, I realized that I could make my own fuel. Solar PV could power not only my house, but my car. Solar was always attractive, but having an electric car pushed me over the hump" and motivated him to install solar PV, he says.

Tim and Vibeke Hastrup of Granite Bay in Northern California say that living the EV-PV lifes does not involve sacrifice. "We're not unique," says Tim. "Most folks we've talked to would love to join us plugging in," if only the automakers would offer electric cars again.

Multiple studies show that driving on electricity is cleaner even if owners don’t have solar panels. As solar power grows, many more Americans could be living the EV-PV dream -- if only automakers offer them the choice to buy plug-in cars.

Read more profiles of EV-PV Americans at http://www.pluginamerica.org/real-ev.shtm.