J. Bishop I dont think so. Range for my EV is 300 miles. Can be charged overnight on my solar
I dont think so. Range for my EV is 300 miles. Can be charged overnight on my solar
How does that work? lol
As for the rest of your post, China isn't the only issue. Read up on where lithium comes from and the conditions those people (including young kids), working for slave wages, have to endure in places like South America.
I'm not anti-EV and have my share of rechargeable devices in my household that rely on lithium batteries. But those environmental and human issues aren't something we should dismiss, either.
Leo_AmesBut those environmental and human issues aren't something we should dismiss, either.
Like, how your food comes from the grocery store. Many folks are blissfully ignorant of how the world works. Anything that goes against their sensibilities simply doesn't exist.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
A battery range of 300 miles is about the same as a tank of gasoline in my vehicle. If I drive from Chicago to Kansas City (about 500 miles) in about 9-10 hours, I can refuel in about 20 minutes near Des Moines. An overnight recharge is not exactly a practical option.
I am still musing about how the overnight recharge from solar panels works. Power Wall?
I thought part of the 'solution' was rapid cooled charging from 20% to 80% with the same sort of Megacharger architecture proposed for class 8 trucks. There are two issues with this -- one is cost-effectively building them to the density corresponding to gas pumps, together with their large peak current requirement; the other is the fundamental reduction in useful range involved in avoiding that 20% at each end of nominal capacity. The latter is not at all helped if the battery prediction algorithm is 'off' (as in the New York Times complaint article).
I was spoiled by hybrids that gave me ~700 mile uninterrupted range (comparable to my diesel Lincoln, on about half the fuel, and what is now a cheaper fuel to boot), and I find stops every 3 hours or so even on as short a leg as Memphis to New York troublesome both in the hit to average speed and in the loss of time... and that's before having to factor in planned advance reservation of 'gate slots' at the chargers as the take rate gets anywhere near competitive with fueled cars.
J. BishopWith an EV, I don't care what gas costs because there are no fuel costs.
Wait until your "powers that be" decide to hit you with a monthly EV service tax to cover all the gas taxes you're not paying. Think it won't happen? Think again.
Psychotour fossil fuel dollars fund some of the worst autocratic governments in the world, and those autocracies turn around and use our petrodollars to disrupt the liberal international order, harm U.S. national interests, and generally create havoc.
Gee, prior to January 21st 2021 we had energy independence here in the US for the first time in decades. We were even exporting energy.
I wonder what happened?
Flintlock76 J. Bishop With an EV, I don't care what gas costs because there are no fuel costs. Wait until your "powers that be" decide to hit you with a monthly EV service tax to cover all the gas taxes you're not paying. Think it won't happen? Think again.
J. Bishop With an EV, I don't care what gas costs because there are no fuel costs.
For a reasonably good discussion see:
https://pluginamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/PIA-EV-Fees_-white-paper_August2020-1.pdf
OvermodI am still musing about how the overnight recharge from solar panels works.
Well, the solar expert who gave a safety talk to firefighters here back in February pointed out that scene lighting at a structure fire would be enough to generate voltages high enough to worry about...
I would opine that for many people, an EV would be sufficient as a "daily driver." The occasional trip to the store, etc would not tax the capability of most EV's on the market right now.
My normal longer trips locally are in the 80-100 mile range, one way. That's OK if it's +70°F, but at -40°F, that becomes very questionable.
It's that 300 mile range that is the issue for anyone who does any travelling. Most longer trips I take are in the 500 mile range, one way. My last truck would make almost that whole distance running at highway speeds on one tank of gas. This one, not so much, but as has been noted, 15 minutes at a filling station and you're on your way again.
That leads us to alternatives. Obviously, we have to mention taking the train, except you can't usually get from here to there by rail any more. Planes and buses are options, but have shortcomings as well. So it's time to rent a hybrid, or maybe, if fuel is still available, a fully fuel powered vehicle to make that lengthy trip.
Even getting to a travel center could be an issue - will your EV still hold enough charge when you get back to it in the long term parking after two or three weeks?
Battery locomotives will likely be found in captive service, at least at first. They'll sit next to the yard office between shifts, plugged in and charging. Even then, if there is work round the clock, two or three locomotives may be needed to provide the service now provided by one D-E.
Flintlock76I wonder what happened?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/10/01/us-energy-independence-has-grown/?sh=6d36d5c1657e
10 word answers.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
zugmann Flintlock76 I wonder what happened? https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/10/01/us-energy-independence-has-grown/?sh=6d36d5c1657e 10 word answers.
Flintlock76 I wonder what happened?
OK. So then why did Uncle Joe have to go cap-in-hand to the Saudis to beg them to pump more oil? Why did he have to open up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (intended for the armed forces) to get more oil out there?
Not being snarky, just asking.
Overmod Flintlock76 J. Bishop With an EV, I don't care what gas costs because there are no fuel costs. Wait until your "powers that be" decide to hit you with a monthly EV service tax to cover all the gas taxes you're not paying. Think it won't happen? Think again. It hath a name: MBUF. And it's assuredly coming (although some have proposed holding off until ~15% of operable vehicles are BEV). For a reasonably good discussion see: https://pluginamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/PIA-EV-Fees_-white-paper_August2020-1.pdf
It hath a name: MBUF. And it's assuredly coming (although some have proposed holding off until ~15% of operable vehicles are BEV).
In Wisconsin we're already paying a surcharge on annual license renewal if we have a hybrid. About 10,000 miles worth of fuel tax. We like our Venza though. 40 mpg in town stretches needing to refuel a long way. Don't see ever getting an EV. Will no longer drive first.
This will be the end of the short line and industrial RRs in the state who have 23+ old switchers and no milllions in the bank to buy new. The mandated by law approach to the 'green new deal' is the end of RRs in the state. Can see the time when the Class 1s build out-of-state transfer yards so the electric trucks can haul the containers over the contential devide. And what will that do to the the cost of goods for Joe average?
And to add many state are exploring pay as you go at registration time. Drive 20K a year. Well at 0.11 cents your yearly registration is $2,200 plus state fees, will that be cash or charge? I know I'm off topic a little.
By California's own admission, they import 30% of their electricity. I guess that you can "go green" if the power plants are in other states.
2021 Total System Electric Generation (ca.gov)
Flintlock76zugmann Flintlock76 I wonder what happened? https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/10/01/us-energy-independence-has-grown/?sh=6d36d5c1657e 10 word answers. Not being snarky, just asking.
Flintlock76
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/10/01/us-energy-independence-has-grown/?sh=6d36d5c1657e 10 word answers.
The article talked about energy as a whole, not just crude oil. US is a net importer of crude oil and as the article stated, has been since the 1950s. Thanks to fracking and other technologies, the US is a net exporter of natural gas. I'm sure coal exports add into that net "energy" calculation.
I'm no expert, but have read several articles on this topic (and stayed at a Holiday Inn last night). As I understand it, crude oil refineries are setup to refine a specific type of crude oil (i.e. light/ sweet) and cannot easily change to another type (i.e heavy/ sour). The type of oil produced in the US and Canada is different than the type of oil produces from the middle east. So if your refinery is setup for mid-east oil, you are going to continue to need to import that oil. Given that the refineries are not spending the capital to convert them to different types, there is evidently not enough cost penalty associated with imported crude to justify the investment to convert.
The "hat in hand" and release of the strategic reserve was mostly an act of trying to bump up supply to put downward pressure on prices that spiked due to the start of the Ukraine war. There was never any lack of oil per se. It is pretty much the same action any administration, R or D, would take and have taken in the past in reaction to such world events.
My wife and I must be "sinners". We had two power outages this past spring so we got a Generac NG backup generator.
CMStPnP OldEngineman It is unclear how the new regulations on trains would affect interstate commerce, which is regulated by Congress under the U.S. Constitution, since many trains in California also travel through other states. In my view the state passing unfunded mandates applying to railroads that cross state lines is enough to challenge the mandate.
OldEngineman It is unclear how the new regulations on trains would affect interstate commerce, which is regulated by Congress under the U.S. Constitution, since many trains in California also travel through other states.
In my view the state passing unfunded mandates applying to railroads that cross state lines is enough to challenge the mandate.
If, per chance, it does withstand a court challenge, the one silver lining is that it might be more feasable to convert large locomotives to carbon-free energy than to convert big trucks. That could give rail a slight competitive advantage.
As far as commuter rail systems go, what they could do if it gets shot down in court, would be simply to pull any state funding for commuter rail that continues to use Diesel locomotives. That they COULD do.
Flintlock76OK. So then why did Uncle Joe have to go cap-in-hand to the Saudis to beg them to pump more oil? Why did he have to open up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (intended for the armed forces) to get more oil out there? Not being snarky, just asking.
The Stratigic Petroleum Reserve is not "intended for the armed forces". Its intended as a foriegn policy and economic tool.
https://www.energy.gov/ceser/history-spr-releases
MidlandMikeThe Stratigic Petroleum Reserve is not "intended for the armed forces". Its intended as a foriegn policy and economic tool.
OK, I stand corrected!
J. Bishop, Glad to hear you are satisfied with your EV. Sounds like you are in an advantageous situation to make use of it. What do you anticipate will happen to the vehicle once you decide to dispose of it?
York1 Psychot our fossil fuel dollars fund some of the worst autocratic governments in the world, and those autocracies turn around and use our petrodollars to disrupt the liberal international order, harm U.S. national interests, and generally create havoc. Our dollars spent on batteries and solar panels fund the worst autocratic government in the world, which uses slaves to build the panels, and that government turns around to disrupt U.S. national interests, and generally creates havoc by supporting and supplying another country's war and invasion of another country. Just three years ago, North America produced more oil than it used.
Psychot our fossil fuel dollars fund some of the worst autocratic governments in the world, and those autocracies turn around and use our petrodollars to disrupt the liberal international order, harm U.S. national interests, and generally create havoc.
Our dollars spent on batteries and solar panels fund the worst autocratic government in the world, which uses slaves to build the panels, and that government turns around to disrupt U.S. national interests, and generally creates havoc by supporting and supplying another country's war and invasion of another country.
Just three years ago, North America produced more oil than it used.
China has cornered the market on solar panels and batteries because we've allowed them to do so. Saudi Arabia and Russia hold other countries hostage with their oil because it happens to be under the ground where their countries are located. The former situation can be remedied; the latter cannot.
adkrr64 Flintlock76 zugmann Flintlock76 I wonder what happened? https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/10/01/us-energy-independence-has-grown/?sh=6d36d5c1657e 10 word answers. Not being snarky, just asking. The article talked about energy as a whole, not just crude oil. US is a net importer of crude oil and as the article stated, has been since the 1950s. Thanks to fracking and other technologies, the US is a net exporter of natural gas. I'm sure coal exports add into that net "energy" calculation. I'm no expert, but have read several articles on this topic (and stayed at a Holiday Inn last night). As I understand it, crude oil refineries are setup to refine a specific type of crude oil (i.e. light/ sweet) and cannot easily change to another type (i.e heavy/ sour). The type of oil produced in the US and Canada is different than the type of oil produces from the middle east. So if your refinery is setup for mid-east oil, you are going to continue to need to import that oil. Given that the refineries are not spending the capital to convert them to different types, there is evidently not enough cost penalty associated with imported crude to justify the investment to convert. The "hat in hand" and release of the strategic reserve was mostly an act of trying to bump up supply to put downward pressure on prices that spiked due to the start of the Ukraine war. There was never any lack of oil per se. It is pretty much the same action any administration, R or D, would take and have taken in the past in reaction to such world events.
Flintlock76 zugmann Flintlock76 I wonder what happened? https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/10/01/us-energy-independence-has-grown/?sh=6d36d5c1657e 10 word answers. Not being snarky, just asking.
Energy independence is a chimera in any case. Oil is a fungible commodity with a global market; therefore, crises elsewhere in the world are going to jack up the price of oil no matter how much oil we produce in the U.S.
The day before yesterday I watched a DC congressional hearing where the military/intelligence official being questioned by the senator stated that what both Putin and the Chinese fear of the US is the US producing more energy. That that would put undue pressure on both in different ways.
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