Dodging Blackouts, California Faces New Questions on Its Power Supply

[Valletta]

The transition away from fossil fuels has complicated energy operations, as an increasing share of electricity is coming from solar and wind farms that produce power only when the sun shines or the wind blows, making the available supply more variable over a 24-hour period.
Dodging Blackouts, California Faces New Questions on Its Power Supply

Just like you are supposed to pull out civilians before the military, you want to update the power grid before switching to electric cars. This is not rocket science.

 

[dqhall]

The transition away from fossil fuels has complicated energy operations, as an increasing share of electricity is coming from solar and wind farms that produce power only when the sun shines or the wind blows, making the available supply more variable over a 24-hour period.
Dodging Blackouts, California Faces New Questions on Its Power Supply

Just like you are supposed to pull out civilians before the military, you want to update the power grid before switching to electric cars. This is not rocket science.

Electricity is cheaper than gasoline in California. They may want to switch to battery operated vehicles even if they have to burn coal produce electricity. I agree that is not reducing global warming. The entire grid crashes if they do not have enough power generating facilities to supply the increased demand.

A Yale article estimates it costs the equivalent of $1.41 a gallon to fuel an EV: Driving with electricity is much cheaper than with gasoline » Yale Climate Connections

 

[Valletta]

Electricity is cheaper than gasoline in California. They may want to switch to battery operated vehicles even if they have to burn coal produce electricity. I agree that is not reducing global warming. The entire grid crashes if they do not have enough power generating facilities to supply the increased demand.

A Yale article estimates it costs the equivalent of $1.41 a gallon to fuel an EV: Driving with electricity is much cheaper than with gasoline » Yale Climate Connections

That's a comparison after Joe's attack on U.S. fossil fuels. And it costs more for an EV.

 

[dqhall]

That's a comparison after Joe's attack on U.S. fossil fuels. And it costs more for an EV.

I just bought a small SUV this year. I will need gasoline. California does not seem like a place I want or need. The real estate is more expensive there. Wages are higher. If they use EV’s linked to clean energy, it might cut smog and noise in LA. It might reduce cancer and respiratory illness. I will keep my gasoline burner. Maybe the technology will improve some day. Too many EV’s caught fire due to the unstable nature of lithium batteries.

 

[Aussie Pete]

The transition away from fossil fuels has complicated energy operations, as an increasing share of electricity is coming from solar and wind farms that produce power only when the sun shines or the wind blows, making the available supply more variable over a 24-hour period.
Dodging Blackouts, California Faces New Questions on Its Power Supply

Just like you are supposed to pull out civilians before the military, you want to update the power grid before switching to electric cars. This is not rocket science.

EV's are great and I believe the era of internal combustion is over. But you are correct, the power grid must be updated to cope with the change. Governments are notorious for failing to cope with change. Where I live, residential developments rarely include public transport, schools or roads that have the capacity for increased traffic. So we end up with major inconvenience to resolve these issues years after they become a problem. There is nothing new under the sun.

 

[Aussie Pete]

I just bought a small SUV this year. I will need gasoline. California does not seem like a place I want or need. The real estate is more expensive there. Wages are higher. If they use EV’s linked to clean energy, it might cut smog and noise in LA. It might reduce cancer and respiratory illness. I will keep my gasoline burner. Maybe the technology will improve some day. Too many EV’s caught fire due to the unstable nature of lithium batteries.

EV and battery technology has improved dramatically. It does pay to investigate the most reliable battery systems. Some EV's have caught fire. However, Tesla battery packs are designed to separate from the vehicle if they catch fire. Interesting statistic:

“From 2012 to 2020, there has been approximately one Tesla vehicle fire for every 205 million miles traveled. By comparison, data shows that in the US there is one ICE [internal combustion engine] vehicle fire for every 19 million miles traveled,” Tesla's 2020 Impact Report claimed.24 Aug 2021

OK, so this is Tesla reporting on its own vehicles. I've seen nothing that contradicts their claim.

 

[dqhall]

EV and battery technology has improved dramatically. It does pay to investigate the most reliable battery systems. Some EV's have caught fire. However, Tesla battery packs are designed to separate from the vehicle if they catch fire. Interesting statistic:

“From 2012 to 2020, there has been approximately one Tesla vehicle fire for every 205 million miles traveled. By comparison, data shows that in the US there is one ICE [internal combustion engine] vehicle fire for every 19 million miles traveled,” Tesla's 2020 Impact Report claimed.24 Aug 2021

OK, so this is Tesla reporting on its own vehicles. I've seen nothing that contradicts their claim.

I bought an ICE SUV this year for $32k.

Teslas are $47k - $121k. More importantly they need some form of wind, solar, hydro or nuclear power to reduce green house gas emissions. That is not cheap.