The Energy Economy continues to generate some of the most innovative new ideas we've seen in a long time. University of Delaware researchers have proposed V2G technology (Vehicle to Grid). A home and automobile designed to support V2G would be able to send electric power stored in the battery of an electric vehicle back up the grid--making your electric meter spin backwards and reducing your electric bill.
Why would you do this? You can recharge your electric vehicle at night, when the cost of electricity is lower, and sell some of that cheap power back to the electric company during peak demand periods when electric rates are higher. This approach turns electric cars into electric generation facilities.
The V2G system requires some changes to the onboard electronics of electric cars, and the home would have to have AMR/AMI (Advanced Meter Reading/Advanced Metering Infrastructure) installed so that the electric company could tell the car to send electricity back up the line.
Cities like Danville, Virginia are already designing AMR/AMI (Smart Grid) services to be part of its multi-service open broadband network. Danville's combination of a high performance, open "digital road"system combined with resilient and reliable electric power make it attractive for high tech businesses (Disclaimer: Danville is a Design Nine client).
Here is a question for local and regional planners: Do your building codes requires a separate 240 volt electric circuit to the garage to charge electric vehicles? Do you require a separate 240 volt plug in the garage for each bay (one plug per vehicle)? If not, why not?
Communities that work with developers to add the broadband and electric infrastructure to new homes to make them "Internet ready" and "electric vehicle" ready will have some real marketing advantages when promoting their communities to relocating businesses.