[Dr. Sivana]

he trend is clear: the price of batteries is declining at an annual rate of around 20%, while the internal combustion engine is getting more expensive in order to comply with emission regulations.

It may be hard to imagine today, but we'll soon see the day that electric cars are cheaper to purchase than comparable gasoline cars. In markets with high taxes on polluting vehicles, electric cars will be competitive even sooner.

Yup, at 20% reduction per year, the batteries will cost $50 in a couple of decades. Clown. Moore's Law does not apply to electricity storage.

The efficiency of the power plant and line transmission varies, but it is NOT 100%, and the author does not factor that in.

The author admits that the only way electricity will be cheaper is because of government regulations on gasoline/diesel engines, not necessarily because the electric cars will be cheaper than existing cars.

[lacrew]

“Moore’s Law does not apply to electricity storage.”

I would replace ‘electricity’ with ‘energy’.

Gasoline is no different than a battery. They both store potential energy.

A car’s gas tank IS a battery.

Only its a better battery, since it can be ‘recharged’ in a few minutes. And, by weight, it has a much better energy density than a traditional battery - another advantage in a moving vehicle.

These electric car nuts think they are talking about something revolutionary. But really their electric batteries are just a lesser competitor (tried and abandoned 100 years ago) in a large class of energy storage devices that includes NG, gasoline, diesel, and even compressed air.

Some back of the envelope calcs on the LEAF, btw. The EPA says the leaf uses 0.29 kwh per mile. Coal produces around 2 lb CO2 per KWH....and gas produces 20 lb co2 per gallon. This means that, on a co2 basis, a car getting 35 mpg is equivalent to the LEAF. So, for those that worship carbon, any economy car (and some mid-size) should grant them the same carbon absolution as the LEAF.