Posted on 12/01/2020 5:15:01 PM PST by george76
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday that electricity consumption will double if the world’s car fleets are electrified, increasing the need to expand nuclear, solar, geothermal and wind energy generating sources.
Increasing the availability of sustainable energy is a major challenge as cars move from combustion engines to battery-driven electric motors, a shift which will take two decades, Musk said in a talk hosted by Berlin-based publisher Axel Springer.
There’s no unicorn energy source or free lunch. Currently, electric cars are primarily powered by coal, natural gas, and nuclear. Those are the sources we use to generate electricity, after all, according to the Energy Information Agency. Renewables are growing but still account for less than 20% of U.S. electricity.
There’s no free lunch when it comes to renewable energy source, which may not even be all that renewable. Wind and sun are free, but the means of generating power from them are not.
They require batteries, which requires extensive mining and the use of toxic chemicals.
Mining is a dirty business.
...
Tens of thousands of aging blades are coming down from steel towers around the world and most have nowhere to go but landfills. In the U.S. alone, about 8,000 will be removed in each of the next four years.
...
the blades can’t easily be crushed, recycled or repurposed. That’s created an urgent search for alternatives in places that lack wide-open prairies. In the U.S., they go to the handful of landfills that accept them, in Lake Mills, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Casper, where they will be interred in stacks that reach 30 feet ..
Removing them and transporting them to landfills increases windmills’ energy footprint over time.
...
more electric cars will require more electric generation.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
Who said anything about windmills?
China is replacing oil consuming vehicles with electric vehicles charged by coal burning power plants - hundreds of new ones on the drawing board and under construction.
They are intelligently substituting coal (which they have lots of - known reserves are 34 times yearly consumption) for oil (which they don’t have lots of - known reserves are 5.4 times yearly consumption)
“What I mean is that China (a big chunk of the world demand) is going to use less oil by converting to coal fired electric ones.”
I get it now. Converting from gas to electric cars will reduce oil demand for transportation.
In a rare moment of honesty...
In a rare moment of honesty...
The article did, go back and read it before posting. A major point of the article.
Yes, brake fluid. However, the brakes on an EV last much longer than ICE cars, due to regenerative braking. Slowing down via pressing the brake pedal (or coasting downhill or towards a stop) uses the electric motors to recapture energy that is routed back to the batteries. The brakes engage mostly to keep the vehicle stationary, or in a quick stop.
You will find that annual maintenance of an EV is extremely cheap, consisting of checking wiper fluid and tire wear. Lubes and a check of brake fluid are still necessary but infrequent. Servicing probably 1 or 2 hundred a year over the life of the vehicle, and no fear of bad timing chains, fuel injectors, valves, water pumps, etc.
The torque and speed are a definite plus.
Any one seeing what is happening with the power in Texas and other places now that it got cold?
With EV’s then everyone will freeze to death in their own homes. EV’s kill.
Not just Texas :: Southwest Power pool says 17 states are limiting energy usage as 4 million Texans are without power..
The Polar Vortex Is Proving Exactly Why Green Energy Is a Disaster for America’s Power Grid
Yes, but fast charging decreases battery life, and, even if warrantied, charge capacity and internal battery resistance will degrade faster with repeated high amp recharges, than with slow charging.
Maybe someone here has details on what Tesla specifies in the way of degraded battery performance that would qualify (or not) for free battery pack replacement?
Put another way, if range for the std. model is 263 miles (posts above), is that guaranteed “as delivered”, after 1000 home charges, or after 1000 fast charges? Or after, say, 500 fast charges does one drop down to, say, 200 miles range and somewhat decreased performance otherwise, before the battery warranty kicks in?
Another bottom line is that I’d never accept 30 minute charge time while travelling. It’d have to be 10 minutes, and preferably less, to be acceptable to me. (The only time I go into a gas station is to go to the bathroom, or if the receipt at the pump doesn’t print out, and if travelling on Interstate Highways I usually stop at rest stops for the former. That makes for more quick stops, but better alertness on my part.) Otherwise, I don’t have time to dally at recharge stations for 30 minutes at a time. Or maybe I do, but I have a lot better uses for it (my time.)
10 minute charge times = a heck of a lot of power transfer for ordinary idiots to be handling. Even that Mode 4 you mention is a 240,000 KW “connection”. Once the connectors for a 10 minute charger get a little wear, some real fun can begin. (Yes, safeguards will be built in, but, I have a great deal of respect for and experience with Mr. Murphy in matters electrical.)
None of this is to degrade Tesla’s products: They are quite an achievement and definitely have a place in the market. But, even Elon knows there are some practical limitations, especially when it comes to electrical grid capacity.
But if you took out all the subsidies and incentives to all those involved...???
Shoot, my 1984 Honda CRX 1.3 got better highway mileage than that. Granted it was a 2 seater (but very comfortable to drive long distances, which I did a lot) and would not pass current safety standards.
We’d need to factor in the much higher cost of nuclear power, unless something changes drastically.
China has huge coal reserves. Coal to burn for their Electric Cars (EVs) which are what most cars sold in China are. Lots of hydro-power in China too for their EVs. Very little oil reserves, they must buy oil abroad and mostly buy from Iran
The US has huge oil reserves to make cheap gasoline for our automobiles which are overwhelmingly powered by internal combustion engines. Which make more sense here plus I vastly prefer them.
HYBRIDS make sense in Japan and large congested cities with lots of stop and go traffic. They do not plug in, take no electricity from the grid. The braking from the stop and go traffic creates electricity which is stored to use in the onboard electric motor
Chevy Volt and a few other HYBRIDS do have a plug in option. My cuz has a Prius and get great mileage on the highways. 40MPG but this 100% running on the Prius gasoline engine which is 121 horsepower
The shrimpy Honda Fit has a 130HP engine and get 40MPG on highways
Prius
180” length
3000 lbs weight
Honda Fit
160” length
2540 lbs weight
“Shoot, my 1984 Honda CRX 1.3 got better highway mileage than that. “
I had one back then! Really enjoyed it in my 130 mile RT commute but NO WAY did it get 60 mpg!
“Yes, but fast charging decreases battery life”
What is ‘too fast’?
Lucid is advertising 20 minute charge and 300 mile range.
Take a rest break there!
“I don’t have time to dally at recharge stations for 30 minutes at a time.”
Given that you can charge at home before you leave and after you return you may actually save time!
“Maybe someone here has details on what Tesla specifies in the way of degraded battery performance “
How many days a year do you travel over 300 miles?
Of those, what is the average?
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