When 8700 cars plug in at 8AM, what happens in Arlington?
I think that some of these points have been known all along, but my goal in writing this one was to paint a picture that I don't think we usually think of at all.
We think about where EV batteries come from, we think about the insufficiency of the grid, we think of the cost and the subsidies... and the general inconvenience beyond the daily commute.
But there's another issue that I don't think we talk about enough, and I believe we need to. So please give it a read. Thank you.
No thanks. Anyone who would say the following cannot be trusted: “The EV’s current average, we are told, is eight hours to a “full charge,” whatever that means.”
It’s sort of true: It does take eight hours to reach full charge on a household charger. It’s desperately misleading, though: You can get an 80% charge in fifteen minutes.
Bookmark
We live in N. California which probably has more EV cars than most areas.
A couple of years ago we gave my Honda Ridgeline to a younger family member which left us with a 20 year old Lexus, still in good shape and running order.
We can exist very well with one car, and we thought about EV’s and decided to give the extra costs of owning an EV to our charities and family members.
My wife doesn’t want to mess with the math needed to make sure your EV can get you where you want to go and back. She has me to keep her Lexus supplied with gasoline.
When we have a typical California power failure, that seals the “not yet” re any EV.
When 8700 cars plug in at 8AM, what happens in Arlington?
“Thermal runaway is nearly a chemical impossibility with LiFePO4”
“LiFePO4 is the safest, most chemically stable battery on the consumer market. It would require extreme negligence or willful abuse to cause a fire in one of these batteries.”
https://offgridham.com/2016/03/about-lifepo4-batteries/
“LiFePO4 also performs poorly under 32º F, so plan accordingly if you intend to operate in cold conditions.”
How many street chargers are needed for Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx? And with alternate-side-of-the-street parking, who pays?
Then there's Disney...
My most recent trip to DC, imperial city, I didn’t see ONE EV.
That’s a hard no.
Even if I have to brew my own petrol in my backyard - heck, even if I have to yank the motor and install a coal-fired boiler I will never submit.
via Google”
“In Norway, the Electric Vehicle Future Has Already Arrived
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com › ... › Energy & Environment
Norway Electric cars from www.nytimes.com
May 10, 2023 — Last year, 80 percent of new-car sales in Norway were electric, putting the country at the vanguard of the shift to battery-powered mobility.”
“The country produces over 90% of its electricity from hydroelectric power. Nearly all of the rest comes from wind power.”
https://electrek.co/2023/01/03/norway-electric-car-utopia-sustainable-transportation/
OK John F. Di Leo, I’m impressed.
OR.....we can say “screw you” and continue to have and drive internal combustion engine cars.
I think I know which route I’ll take. That’s the kind of issue it is worth moving to another state for.