Environmental Outlook: Electric Cars
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-07-06/environmental-outlook-electric-cars
The smart fortwo electric drive made its debut in the United States in June 2010.
smart USA
The Chevy Volt and other plug-in cars could revolutionize the auto industry. As part of our ongoing Environmental Outlook Series, how electric cars could reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.
Guests
David Shepardson
Washington bureau chief, The Detroit News.
Dave Goldstein
President of The Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington, D.C.
Robert Bryce
managing editor, Energy Tribune and author of "Power Hungry:The Myths of 'Green' Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future"
David Sandalow
Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs at the Department of Energy, author "Freedom from Oil;" served as an assistant secretary of state and senior director on the National Security Council staff in the Clinton administration
Comments
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An Electric vehicle like the Leaf or Volt will travel about 12,000 miles per year on the power delivered from eleven 200 Watt solar panels. You can ground mount these panels in your backyard for about $4,000. Then have a licensed electrician install an inverter and hook you up to your utility's tie in meter for a couple thousand dollars more. Over the next 20 years this will cost you $300 per year versus a typical annual $1,200 gasoline bill. And this is without subsidies or rebates. Most batteries are now recyclable, and lithium has been discovered to be a bi-product of geothermal drilling. You can drive the Volt cross country using its backup engine.
http://www.eddiebyrne.com/superior-colorado/solar-power/extra-pv-panels-...
Here is a link to a website that lists currently avialable electric and hybrid vehicles that pass US safety standards. Note that Warren Buffet has invested nearly a quarter billion dollars into the Chinese electric car and battery maker BYD. http://www.pluginamerica.org/vehicles/
BYD makes a vehicle competitive to the Chevy Volt that costs $22,000. In 2001, the Bush administration signed legislation that allowed China into the WTO as a most favored developing nation. This grants unfair trading advatages to communist China. The tariff on vehicles imported into Chiana is currently 22%. America's tariff on Chinese vehicles is 2%. China outlaws strikes by labor unions and has a repressive political system. We've lost our manufacturing base to China. As such repealing China's developing nation status should be a priority. A 22% tariff on Chinese cars might be in order with the proceeds going to American electric car manufacturers as a subsidy.
I hear great worry about the limited range of electric vehicles. I think we forget that we can rent longer-range vehicles for special trips, while utilizing our electric vehicles for our daily commutes. Using the right tool for each kind of job is most efficient.
An Electric vehicle like the Leaf or Volt will travel about 12,000 miles per year on the power delivered from eleven 200 Watt solar panels. You can ground mount these panels in your backyard for about $4,000.
Yea but peak charge hours would be exactly the opposite of the solar generation peak times. Electricity doesn't store. Does that figure come from 24/7 power generation? Suns only really up for part of the day after all.
We live in a petorchemical social economic system. We are born with oil/coal, practicly everything we do or have is made with oil/coal, and when we die a diesel powered backhoe will dig the grave. If we are going to part from this system we have to start somewhere. Electric vehicles at present are still novelties for the most part, but they offer a good platform on which to learn. True, most charging sources are still from fossil fuel powered plants, and batteries have a limited range, but if you increase the demand for both of these things you create the justification and attract the capitol needed to develop both non carbon energy sources and better batteries. I say that electric vehicles are a good place to start.
How about a bio-diesel/electric hybrid?
wetnap wrote:
..."but peak charge hours would be exactly the opposite of the solar generation peak times. Electricity doesn't store. Does that figure come from 24/7 power generation? Suns only really up for part of the day after all".
Actually, the most logical time to recharge an electric or plugin hybrid is at night when there is excess power in the grid. Home solar panels that are tied into the grid are contributing power in midday when demand is at its greatest. Electric vehicles coupled with grid tied PV systems are almost perfectly in sync with demand and storage needs.
And if your local utility offers time of use billing, you can sell your PV power at peak prices in the day and recharge your cars batteries at night when time of use billing rates are low. Thereby shortening payback times for your system even more.
We are not in trouble of our own making. 'Big oil' has a big enough pocketbook to buy our politicial whores. Their greed and avarice keeps them fighting any change that would hurt their bottom line. to Hell with the invironment or the health of the population.
As to costs- Health, Global warming, war for our acess to oil, ( The life of even one of our fighting men is not worth it.) must be factored-in. That money should be spent on the infrastruchtour to supply renewal energy.
I personally lived with solar elecricity for over 30 years. It easily handled all of my elecrical needs including a complete woodworking shop at a cost of $65.00/ month.
and wind does blow at night. solar does work when ovecast. Nucelar has not happened because the total cost is too high.
We are not in trouble of our own making. 'Big oil' has a big enough pocketbook to buy our politicial whores. Their greed and avarice keeps them fighting any change that would hurt their bottom line. to Hell with the invironment or the health of the population.
As to costs- Health, Global warming, war for our acess to oil, ( The life of even one of our fighting men is not worth it.) must be factored-in. That money should be spent on the infrastruchtour to supply renewal energy.
I personally lived with solar elecricity for over 30 years. It easily handled all of my elecrical needs including a complete woodworking shop at a cost of $65.00/ month.
and wind does blow at night. solar does work when ovecast. Nucelar has not happened because the total cost is too high.
This radio show was incomplete. These academics while enthusiastic were half right could have been more informed.
Shai Agassi at the http://www.betterplace.com/
It was Shai Agassi who persuaded Nissan to come out with Leaf.
Here is the main concept:
Electric cars run on islands. DC is an island. Philadelphia is an island. You build your infrastructure for the island.
betterworld.com is a company that builds battery stations that work similar to filling stations. You exchange your depleted battery for a charged battery. I am pretty sure the leaf is designed around the better world battery exchange ideal.
Israel probably has the most advanced electric car infrastructure. I think they want to be oil free by 2020. This goal is instigated primarily by Shimon Perez and Shai Agassi.
The primary infrastructure problem with electric cars, however, is the insecurity of the electric grid. During a power blackout it is bad enought that the buildings are frozen. But with electric car a power blackout also means transporation is also frozen.
The power grid should probably be nationalized, fixed and then sold back to private investors.