[asg70]

They aren't very practical in Alaska where I live.

No less practical than Norway which is the EV ownership capital of the world (per capita) but we all know you have no interest in lowering your carbon footprint.

I understand how Tesla can sell so many of the things. Doesn't hurt that after the wife got her drive in a Model S, she has decided that at least a Model 3 will be our next, and perhaps final, automobile.

I will await your entry into the EV bandwagon club thread.

After a while it will be amusing watching the remaining die-hard peakers continue to quake in their boots over a Mad Max future while we've long ended our need to pay at the pump. They bash BAU and fearmonger/cheerlead for doom while simultaneously using every possible excuse to do...absolutely nothing.

Oh, the sweet joy of being smug...

[Plantagenet]

They aren't very practical in Alaska where I live.

No less practical than Norway which is the EV ownership capital of the world (per capita)

Unlike Norway, Alaska doesn't have a network of EV charging stations, you environmental ignoramus.

Cheers!

[asg70]

Unlike Norway, Alaska doesn't have a network of EV charging stations, you environmental ignoramus.

Thanks to the right-winger ideology that dominates there, like your old air-headed favorite, Sarah, "Drill Baby Drill", Palin:



Oh, and BTW, nobody's forcing you to live in Alaska. Other than some blind faith in its continued local oil production I can't think of many worse places to make it through any sort of classic peak-oil doom scenario.

BTW, I have yet to have a need to use a remote charger with my EV, but the local supermarket isn't 100 miles away through blinding snow like Plantaga-nanook of the North over there.

[Plantagenet]

....Sarah Palin......

Ex-Governors don't control the availability of EV charging stations in their state a decade after they leave office, you environment ignoramus. Don't you know anything?

nobody's forcing you to live in Alaska.

And nobody's forcing you to live in your mother's basement.

I can't think of many worse places to make it through any sort of classic peak-oil doom scenario.

Thats one of the nice things about Alaska. Its one of the most beautiful places on earth and it tends to attract people who like things like wilderness and high mountains and remote uninhabited islands rather then delusional people whose main concern is how to make it through "a classic peak-oil doom scenario."


Alaska----Not a good place to make it through a classic peak-oil doom scenario.

Cheers!

[asg70]

Ex-Governors don't control the availability of EV charging stations

Point...missed...as usual.

Alaska's a petro-state and skews right (despite the natives not liking their coastal towns slipping into the ocean with global warming). It hasn't had the epiphany Norway has and that's why it's not up with the times. I get it. You don't give a shit, despite supposedly caring about the environment. That's your cognitive dissonance, not mine.

Its one of the most beautiful places on earth and...

Hey, if you think Alaska's invulnerable from peak oil doom I don't know why you ever joined this site in the first place.

There WAS a time in this forum where there was quite a bit of dick-wagging over which location was better poised to handle peak oil than others. I doubt many would pick Alaska as a bugout.

At any rate, you seem quite obsessed about EVs for someone who otherwise is defensive as hell about why he won't buy one. But that's the way your mind works.

[Plantagenet]

...shit....

Your potty mouth is overflowing again.

Please flush.

[AdamB]

... after the wife got her drive in a Model S, she has decided that at least a Model 3 will be our next, and perhaps final, automobile.

You are wise to let your wife make these important decisions for you.

Cheers!

Indeed. And do you have any more experience with this dynamic than you did how an EV drives, or are you just blowing smoke out your ass on yet another topic you have no personal knowledge or understanding of?

[AdamB]

They aren't very practical in Alaska where I live.

No less practical than Norway which is the EV ownership capital of the world (per capita) but we all know you have no interest in lowering your carbon footprint.

but but but...Alaska is a SPECIAL place...not like those grubby Norwegians! How dare they use EVs when Planty says they don't work in Alaska! Not that Planty knows how they work at all, but since when did ignorance ever stop the ignorant from forming an opinion and pretending it was of value!

After a while it will be amusing watching the remaining die-hard peakers continue to quake in their boots over a Mad Max future while we've long ended our need to pay at the pump. They bash BAU and fearmonger/cheerlead for doom while simultaneously using every possible excuse to do...absolutely nothing.

Oh, the sweet joy of being smug...

I have been part of the personal transport peak oil solution long before peak oilers even realized that their lack of geologic, oil field practice, engineering and economic experience was making them look foolish. I started with the Gen I hybrids, but have been EVing around now for about 6 years. Pluggable hybrids, which as I have recently learned, aren't quite the same animal as a full on EV.

[AdamB]

They aren't very practical in Alaska where I live.

No less practical than Norway which is the EV ownership capital of the world (per capita)

Unlike Norway, Alaska doesn't have a network of EV charging stations, you environmental ignoramus.

Cheers!

You mean, those things we who live in the Lower 48 refer to as....garages?

Amazing! Alaskans don't have garages! How can this be! Oh wait! It happens because you are ignorant of how or where to charge EVs (like at your house) because you don't know anything about them and revel in that ignorance! Sorry....perhaps you just don't have a garage and that is the problem? If that is the case, you have my sympathy, garages are great to have attached to one's housing, you can store motorcycles and cars in them, jet skis and dirt bikes, workbenches to do..you know...work on....and then they become charging stations for your EV as well! I realize all this YUGE complexity with the care and feeding of an EV might be beyond the average Alaskans intellect...but you can always move to a place where it is both warmer, and you can gain intelligence through osmosis from your new neighbors or already know all of this basic kind of stuff?

[AdamB]

Thats one of the nice things about Alaska. Its one of the most beautiful places on earth and it tends to attract people who like things like wilderness and high mountains and remote uninhabited islands rather then delusional people whose main concern is how to make it through "a classic peak-oil doom scenario."

Alaska is gorgeous. So is the Yukon, British Columbia, western and central Colorado, western Montana, northern Arizona and southern Utah, northern California, the Canadian Rockies in general, northern New England, the swamps of Louisiana, the hill country of Texas, eastern Tennessee, and I'm betting their residents are all smart enough to figure out how to plug in an extension cord from the wall to their EV!!

[asg70]

Pluggable hybrids, which as I have recently learned, aren't quite the same animal as a full on EV.

It's been an eye-opener seeing how few actual miles I travel on a daily basis. I definitely could have gotten by with a Volt or a Clarity and came close to getting one. I'm also seeing lots and lots of Level 2 destination chargers crop up in my area. I have yet to use a single public charger with the Kona but if I had a Volt or Clarity I would be able to lean on public chargers in a big way to extend the limited EV range (although the Volt's 3.3kW limit sucks, only the last year offered a faster option). Plugins sort of come at the problem from the perspective that a) batteries are expensive and b) there are limited charging infrastructure. a) is slowly being addressed and b) is happening quicker (outside of backwards Palin-country).

BTW, here's a video talking about the rapid buildout of Electrify America. I definitely think the infrastructure advantage of Tesla has a quick expiration date. Between EA in the US and Ionity in Europe, non-Tesla EVs are going to reach parity for road-tripping in short order. This is good for consumers AND, a good bellweather for the Tony Seba EV adoption curve, and bad news for those still clinging to Mad Max peak oil narratives.

[eclipse]

Pluggable hybrids, which as I have recently learned, aren't quite the same animal as a full on EV.

It's been an eye-opener seeing how few actual miles I travel on a daily basis. I definitely could have gotten by with a Volt or a Clarity and came close to getting one. I'm also seeing lots and lots of Level 2 destination chargers crop up in my area. I have yet to use a single public charger with the Kona but if I had a Volt or Clarity I would be able to lean on public chargers in a big way to extend the limited EV range (although the Volt's 3.3kW limit sucks, only the last year offered a faster option). Plugins sort of come at the problem from the perspective that a) batteries are expensive and b) there are limited charging infrastructure. a) is slowly being addressed and b) is happening quicker (outside of backwards Palin-country).

BTW, here's a video talking about the rapid buildout of Electrify America. I definitely think the infrastructure advantage of Tesla has a quick expiration date. Between EA in the US and Ionity in Europe, non-Tesla EVs are going to reach parity for road-tripping in short order. This is good for consumers AND, a good bellweather for the Tony Seba EV adoption curve, and bad news for those still clinging to Mad Max peak oil narratives.

Exactly! It's like only ICE cars are allowed to have some market values and various trial efforts along the way. Because 'oil is magic...' or something. Here we are in the early days, and we know that EV's can already do 90% of our daily drive. Doomers want to say not going on a long road trip is the end of the world, but America dropped 25% of its oil consumption in the GFC and while that was bad for the holiday crowd and tourist market, it wasn't Mad Max. Who knows where we'll be in 20 years? Fast charge infrastructure, super-batteries, or will battery swap make a come back? (Like getting a set of fresh horses for the king.) Battery swap would be a totally different economic model for the car manufacturer, but the technology works. There's always the option of hiring a synfuel car for that road trip.

NREL studies show we can convert about a third of our cars into EV's without requiring a single extra power plant if we turn all our baseload plants up to full and charge at night. This would mainly be light vehicles like family cars and light trucks. “For the United States as a whole, 84% of US cars, pickup trucks and SUVs could be supported by the existing infrastructure”
http://tinyurl.com/y6b6s7nx

This means that we can charge about a third of today's vehicles for "free" on today's electricity grid without building a single new power plant. Another study confirms that "the grid has enough excess capacity to support over 150 million battery-powered cars, or about 75 percent of the cars, pickups, and SUVs on the road in the United States." Technology Review August 2013 http://tinyurl.com/y3qvtv5k

Then for the heavy vehicles Tesla are building a heavy long-haul truck, but we can also build more nuclear power plants to crack seawater into e-diesel and jet fuel.
https://eclipsenow.wordpress.com/synthetic-diesel/

[AdamB]

Pluggable hybrids, which as I have recently learned, aren't quite the same animal as a full on EV.

It's been an eye-opener seeing how few actual miles I travel on a daily basis. I definitely could have gotten by with a Volt or a Clarity and came close to getting one.

With pluggable hybrid you don't worry about range as much, but if you want to stay on electric all the time, you develop this kind of faux range anxiety. In part it is an economic issue, when your $100 month gasoline bill disappears, you want to keep it that way. Stopping at the gas station is this nasty choir, sort of like volunteering downtown to pick up used drug needles in the streets.

I'm also seeing lots and lots of Level 2 destination chargers crop up in my area. I have yet to use a single public charger with the Kona but if I had a Volt or Clarity I would be able to lean on public chargers in a big way to extend the limited EV range (although the Volt's 3.3kW limit sucks, only the last year offered a faster option). Plugins sort of come at the problem from the perspective that a) batteries are expensive and b) there are limited charging infrastructure. a) is slowly being addressed and b) is happening quicker (outside of backwards Palin-country).

BTW, here's a video talking about the rapid buildout of Electrify America. I definitely think the infrastructure advantage of Tesla has a quick expiration date. Between EA in the US and Ionity in Europe, non-Tesla EVs are going to reach parity for road-tripping in short order. This is good for consumers AND, a good bellweather for the Tony Seba EV adoption curve, and bad news for those still clinging to Mad Max peak oil narratives.

If memory serves, somewhere in this very forum were folks lauding the Volt and Leaf as an individual's peak oil personal transport solution, back during the now decade past peak oil hysteria days, were both roundly criticized or outright banned for daring to think for themselves, let alone espouse a real world available solution. That was just the way it was back then. I've been EVing with pluggables for better than 6 years and here recently the price of gasoline has gone up about $1.00/gal and my monthly fuel bill hasn't noticed in the least. Free fuel the wife gets at work means I don't even see the cost in my electricity bill.

[Plantagenet]

D legislator proposes a $1000 per year registration fee for EVs in Illinois

illinois-$1000-electric-vehicle-legislation

EV owners don't pay any gas taxes, so the idea of the $1000 registration fee is to collect money from EV owners for the construction and maintainance of highways, bridges, and other infrastructure.

Cheers!

[AdamB]

D legislator proposes a $1000 per year registration fee for EVs in Illinois

illinois-$1000-electric-vehicle-legislation

EV owners don't pay any gas taxes, so the idea of the $1000 registration fee is to collect money from EV owners for the construction and maintainance of highways, bridges, and other infrastructure.

Cheers!

The good news being, with Illinois gun laws, I sure won't be moving there. Ever.

[eclipse]

The good news being, with Illinois gun laws, I sure won't be moving there. Ever.

Hi AdamB,
I'm watching the video you have linked in your signature, and I'm about a third of the way in. It's great so far, but I'm a little sceptical that the lithium costs can drop low enough, fast enough for where I think the talk is going. Basically, batteries for EV's, great, but batteries to enable intermittent renewables to phase out nukes? I'm sceptical. Have you read this?
https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/ener ... -disrupted

PS: I'm at half way and he's just covered how long EV's will last. Mind blown!

PPS: Aside from his question of when batteries + solar become 'disruptive' to utilities, when do batteries + solar let us run society without baseload, especially countries like Germany where renewables might be cut 90% for weeks at a time in winter? How on earth do you charge up those batteries for long enough?

[AdamB]

The good news being, with Illinois gun laws, I sure won't be moving there. Ever.

Hi AdamB,
I'm watching the video you have linked in your signature, and I'm about a third of the way in. It's great so far, but I'm a little sceptical that the lithium costs can drop low enough, fast enough for where I think the talk is going.

I seem to recall folks saying something similar about oil, back when it was claimed to be running out during the 1970's energy crisis in the US.

You are correct of course, any non-renewable is going to be an issue in terms of cost and availability at some point. Usually not as soon as expected, but it is the very word, the "non renewable" part. It should be noted that just because Tony is bullish on and mentions a particular type of battery, there is no more requirement that they remain primarily lithium based. Solid states seem to be the next big thing. And ultimately I think fuel cells are the better answer.

In any case, the future of personal transport isn't going to be burning precious chemical feedstocks like crude oil, that is just plain stupid.

Basically, batteries for EV's, great, but batteries to enable intermittent renewables to phase out nukes? I'm sceptical. Have you read this?
https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/ener ... -disrupted

PS: I'm at half way and he's just covered how long EV's will last. Mind blown!

Something about those lack of moving parts that really gives them an advantage, doesn't it? Running 100K plus on mine, just did the ICE maintenance for the next 100K. Battery still at or very close to same SOC as it was 5 years ago.

PPS: Aside from his question of when batteries + solar become 'disruptive' to utilities, when do batteries + solar let us run society without baseload, especially countries like Germany where renewables might be cut 90% for weeks at a time in winter? How on earth do you charge up those batteries for long enough?

Nukes? Natural gas power generation seems to have quite a decent (call it half century pretty easily) future in front of it.

[eclipse]

Sorry, not a fan of any fossil fuel given what we're doing to our kids and grandkids. It's time to mass build out AP1000's or equivalent Gen3 reactor until they've perfected the Gen4's, both for the sake of our climate, and our immediate health. Did you know fossil fuels are actually really expensive? Together coal oil and gas particulates kill nearly 3 million people a year, which is about 650 Chernobyl disasters.
https://tinyurl.com/pqgdd5q
This is why George Monbiot says: “….when coal goes right it kills more people than nuclear power does when it goes wrong. It kills more people every week than nuclear power has in its entire history. And that’s before we take climate change into account.”
https://tinyurl.com/93nm9sn
The health costs nearly double the cost of coal! You pay once in your electricity bill, and again in your public health bill.
https://tinyurl.com/6m2o7c5
Dr James Hansen has calculated that by displacing coal, nuclear power has already saved 1.8 million lives.
https://tinyurl.com/ydx6mxrb

[asg70]

OK, back on topic.

Mercedes EQC is on the way. A whole bunch of reviews just emerged on Youtube. Heres one below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYUEDCT4oQM

[asg70]

Two news items of note.

VW is scrambling to try to secure enough batteries for their ID line.

This reinforces the notion VW is serious, and yet it was a strategic mistake on their part to rely so heavily on an outside supplier. Then again, even Tesla is heavily dependent on Panasonic, despite the gigafactory.

Second news item is GM is working on a whole new fast-charge network for the US.

Sounds good at first but they don't want to really pay for it. They are essentially forming a startup company and expecting to bring in outside investors. Sort of a cowardly move.

Neither company plans to put money into this project, though. The two companies will create a separate corporation to build the charging network and other companies are being invited to invest in it. Neither GM nor Bechtel would name potential investors while discussions are still ongoing.

Hopefully those outside investors will step up as the more the merrier.