From a discussion on "The Energy blog":

http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2006/05/bill_ford_ceo_o.html#comment-17233702

 

Here is the economics of a home based solar/wind system charging a plugin.

The typical electric power consumption is 10,000 kwh per year per home.

Cut that in half for a super insulated, smaller home that features solar/wind heating/cooling and the latest flat screen tv/computer technology, mini-flourescent lighting, and energy efficient appliances.

Typical gasoline consumption for a very efficient car is around 8 gallons per week. Figure 500 gallons per year to be safe. A conservative estimate of 7.5 kwh, in a plugin vehicle, equal to one gallon of gas in a gas powered car means that around 4000 kwh would more than do it.

That original 10,000 kwh per year would power this system. A rooftop and parking area solar system that produces electric power and heat, combined with a home sized wind system could produce enough power to do this in many locations. And actually produce enough extra to sell into the grid to offset remote charging of the plugin car too.

Wind, water, and solar power on a larger scale could power the homes, buildings, and vehicles not covered by their own systems. These larger installations could also power industrial and commercial applications.

Only a fraction of a percent of land and sea area would be needed to do the job. It's a shame that the capital needed to acomplish this is squandered on oil wars, wasting energy, and the greenhouse gas destruction of life as we know it here on spaceship earth.

Were even the subsidies to the oil industry alone given to homeowners instead, to install these systems and purchase plugins, the capital needed would naturally flow to meet the demand created.

The resulting mass production would bring costs down impelling a frenzy of investment.

Like the former booms created by techological advances, but powered by renewable energy, providing a sustainable growth curve rather than the boom and bust of former economic cycles based on less substantial footing.