phev researcher: Greg Keoleian
Stepping way back for the big picture
 Greg Keoleian |
Once people start plugging in their cars, things start getting complicated.
Keoleian’s work is the biggest of picture analysis of the impact of PHEV technology on the power grid, the environment, and the inherent interconnectivity of both ends of the plug. He focuses on helping build models that will help answer crucial questions about the entire life cycle of both products and technology.
On the car side of the plug, he devises ways to look at the true total cost of a vehicle – what it takes to produce a PHEV, bring it to market, what sort of demands it stands to place on the power grid, what costs and benefits different batteries bring to the equation.
On the outlet side, his work focuses on understanding the demands PHEVs may place on the electrical system, and the environmental implications that will come from increased demands. Reducing the use and impacts of fossil fuels on the car side is offset in part by increased electricity consumption, and electricity generation in the United States is predominantly fossil based with more than 50 percent coming from coal plants. His work also aims to understand the impact of integrating more renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, into the power grid.
Keoleian’s projects, funded by the National Science Foundation, the Michigan Public Service Commission and the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, are groundbreaking in their holistic approach, which includes factoring in sophisticated modeling of consumer behavior. Effective, responsive models will answer questions that will endure long after a vehicle purchase.
For a U-M news release on Dr. Keoleian's research in carbon-emissions targets for the U.S. auto industry visit http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6960
Greg Keoleian
Associate Professor and co-director
Center for Sustainable Systems, School of Natural Resources and Environment
Phone: (734) 764 3194
Email: gregak@umich.edu
Website: http://www.snre.umich.edu/profile/gregak
Energy Research: www.energy.umich.edu/res/fac_09/fac_KeoleianG09.html