Plug-In Has Power to Spare

A souped-up plug-in hybrid unveiled yesterday has excited talk of a future in which  cleaner-running cars are also profitable. With a new lithium-ion battery that can store up to nine kilowatt/hours of electricity, a hybrid owner could buy electricity at night, store it in the battery, and then sell it back to the grid at higher prices during the day.

With the $10,000 battery used in the  Vehicle-to-Grid demonstration by Pacific Gas & Electric, a hybrid car would be capable of getting 100 miles to the gallon—and also of powering a house during an electricity outage. (More alternative energy stories.)