Plug-in Hybrid

As long as electricity stations are still using carbon-producing fuel, the use of electricity in transport is matter of economy¹, not environmental.

However, the electric hybrid car does provide a path for moving away from fossil-based transportation. With more cars running on electricity and when electricity is generated from solar², we can see a smooth path into tranpsort with lower impact on the environment.

¹ from Still Miles to Go for the Plug-In Vehicle basing on USA prices

At $2.50 a gallon, a vehicle that gets 20 miles to the gallon costs 12.5 cents a mile to run. But a car that goes four miles on a kilowatt-hour would cost just over 2 cents a mile to run, at the national average retail electricity price. But the price might be lower than average because electric companies could tap into cheap nighttime generation, getting new use from equipment that is usually idle for half the day.

² from Australian government announces funding for world's largest solar power plant

The government [snip] will contribute 75 million Australian dollars (US$57 million; €45 million) to the A$420 million (US$319 million; €254 million) project to build a 154 megawatts solar power plant in Victoria state which will use mirrored panels to concentrate the sun's rays.