Electric cars are being touted as a 'green' option, but where does your electricity come from now?
Chances are, it comes from coal or nuclear, at least in part.
So what makes you think that if electric cars become the norm, things will change at all? All that will happen is more nuclear power stations and more coal will be burned. Which means the planet burns and gets poisoned faster.
People really aren't thinking this issue through properly.
Juergen Leohold, chief research officer at Volkswagen, doesn't see an explosion in the numbers of electro-mobiles on the road any time soon. He thinks that by 2028, only 10 percent of vehicles will be electric powered. This is mostly due to expensive battery technology.
Generally speaking, I think the world has a choice: the world can be against nuclear power, or against global warming, but not both.
It's possible we can develop new, green alternative power generation technologiesto replace, and scale up to, demand, but like electric cars, are we really there yet?
Written in July 2008
Electric cars don't pollute while they run. Urban areas become less polluted.
Electric cars can be charged overnight when power usage is low. This means energy from hydro or wind which is generated, but not stored become far more utlised. If the wind blows at 3am, the energy doesn't get used. if cars are charging through the night, the energy does get used.
An internal combustion engine is inefficient converting joules in fuel into movement. An electric car is much more efficient.
As micro generation becomes more common, a solar panel on the roof, or a windmill in the backyard can help fuel your means of transport. You can't do this with petrol.
"people aren't thinking issues through properly" - Which people? I can think of one off the top of my head.
Written in July 2008
>>If the wind blows at 3am, the energy doesn't get used. if cars are charging through the night, the energy does get used.
Good point.
I was reading about a proposed system that could use the electric car as a power supply. Leave the car plugged into the grid when you aren't using it, and the electricity supplier could draw stored power from it in order to help manage peak grid load.
The car would draw down the electricity again, when the peak has passed and the price falls again.
Written in July 2008
Peter D:
Using EVs as mobile batteries is a very bad idea because:
1) Peak usage tends to be in the day (depending on region). The EV will be flat when you want to use it for that drive home. That makes an unreliable technology that is even less palatable than it is currently. ie: less people will take it up.
2) One of the biggest problems with EV is battery life: the number of charge cycles before having to replace the battery. At the moment many EVs need their batteries replaced after 400 or so cycles. That's both a huge dollar cost and a huge environmental cost in the reprocessing. Using an EV as a battery just increases the number of cycles/year.
All design is the art of compromise. Batteries that use the same basic technology are designed differently for different applications. With stationary batteries, weight, size and impact resistance are not major design criteria. EV batteries have to be relatively light weight and very sturdy for any crash protection. Thus, using EV batteries for storage is a poor idea.
Do you really have to choose between GW and nukes? I don't think so. There is another option: reduce your consumption. Regardless of your generation methodology, that's going to give a saving.
Written in July 2008
The battery tech isn't there yet, huh.
Here's some more research on V2G: http://www.udel.edu/V2G/
>>reduce your consumption.
I think people will look for - and vote for - energy replacement as opposed to significantly changing their consumption habits.
Coal plants currently account for 52% of electricity generation in the US.
Written in July 2008
Charles M. wrote
"The EV will be flat when you want to use it for that drive home."
I'm familiar with the car in question. It's from a Norwegian company. The on board computer would not allow the charge to be reduced below a certain reserve level.
"One of the biggest problems with EV is battery life"
The company in question are talking about a lease option for the batteries. You lease the battery rather than buying it which would significantly reduce the overall cost of the vehicle. When the battery is no longer adequate for the car it's retired to a battery farm where it stores electricity from renewable sources, to be used later by urban users.
"reduce your consumption"
I agree totally. We should all be reducing our consumption.
Written in July 2008
I agree, the resources used in making these cars is really high
Written in August 2008
Tesla making a car for the rest of us: Tesla plans $30k car; envisions 45 minute charging, 305 mile range.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/55405
"But Tesla's ambitions go beyond becoming a battery supplier and creating a sports car for the Hollywood set. The company's aim is nothing less than becoming the plugged-in Henry Ford, electrifying the highways for the multitudes."
Written in August 2008
Widespread adoption of V2G will add critically needed storage to the grid to enable renewables to actually make a difference and allow shut down of baseload plants. Coupled with drastic reductions in personal driving and a commitment to massive reductions in consumerism I think it has a role to play.
If we are unwilling to "...look for - and vote for - energy replacement as opposed to significantly changing... consumption habits." we are sunk from the outset.
We made the sacrifices necessary to win WWII in a very short time, with an acceptance of the need for it and committed leadership it is possible again.
Written in August 2008
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