It would be better with distributed generation like solar. The idea of a central generation point and transmitting it long distances is just not the best way (single point of failure/attack, losses of long distance transmission, often dirty and/or dangerous). Having lots of little solar farms all over (or even private) is better. I’d imagine most of Californians could provide their own EV needs if you have a large enough roof.
Take this with a grain of salt …. I’m not a power engineer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
This is why infrastructure should be nationalized, this should've been started a long time ago but that would impact shareholders and we just can't have that, can we?
My state reps office told me we shouldn't join the national grid because... " If another area has an emergency we'd have to share our power."
He basically wigged out when I said that's fine, THAT'S THE POINT.
Edit for context this is in TX we basically have our own shitty grid for anyone not aware people froze to death in modern society when our grid failed...
Well and the "solution" touted by other offices was the setup a low interest loan getup for gas and oil to setup more power plants. You know, but not renewables.
Presumably your asshole rep is dead against this kind of thing?
"The gas and electric markets in Texas are lightly regulated and highly competitive, which has pushed companies to deliver energy at the lowest possible cost. But it also means that many companies were ill-prepared when the mercury dropped. To save money, they had skimped on winterizing their equipment. As a result, gas lines across the state—which has about 23 percent of the country’s reserves—quite literally froze. The spot price of natural gas soared to 70-times what it would normally be in Minnesota, and gas utilities paid a hefty premium when they used the daily market to match demand."
It's strange to see all this whining about electric cars from the US.
In the UK people have been charging cars at home, work, and at car parks for ages, and we've not heard the electric companies whining about infrastructure costs. They've been rubbing their hands at the thought of all that electricity they're going to sell, and got the fuck on with it.
I suspect articles like this are just more pro-oil propaganda.
It's just that in America they realized if they complain enough, they get to rub they're hands gleefully at the thought of all that electricity they're going to sell, AND all the public money they're going to get to upgrade the grid!
I read that there's a huge backlog in the UK for new connections to the grid for solar farms because the infrastructure isn't there due to a lack of investment. Sounds like the other side of the same coin.
The US has a split phase electrical system, meaning that for high current applications (like charging cars!!) 220v is readily available. The current regular outlets are rated for really has no bearing on this discussion. (No excuses for Americans!)
Cost? The benefit is no longer wasting resources on a mode of transportation that's inherently unsustainable, destructive, etc. Those resources would be much better allocated to public transit, light EVs, etc.
I meant for my question to be rhetorical. It should be unthinkable not to do it in the long run. $20bn is a lot of money, unless you consider the cost of completely fucking up your planet or whatever.
Upgrading because EV need the power is looked at suspiciously. If an entrepreneur says he needs power for his factory and they'll ask by what date he needs the lines.
And according to this article the upgrades will happen and consumer's electric bills will barely change:
At the same time, the costs will be spread out over decades and only total up to (at most) three times the grid's annual operation and maintenance costs. So in any one year, the costs shouldn't be crippling. All that might be expected to drive the cost of electricity up. But Li and Jenn suggest that the greater volume of electricity consumption will exert a downward pressure on prices (people will pay more overall but pay somewhat less per unit of electricity).
The one wild card is direct current fast charging. Eliminating fast chargers entirely would reduce the number of feeders that need upgrades by 12 percent. Converting all public stations to DC fast charging, in contrast, would boost that number by 15 percent. So the details of the upgrades that will be needed will be very sensitive to the impatience of EV drivers.
Impatience wouldn't make a difference if home charging was more widely available. New home construction to have charging requirements.
Homes with a garage should require at least 1 dedicated 50 amp circuit near a parking space. Apartment complexes should be required to install X number of chargers per unit. There are several options on the market to allow them to charge for the electricity on a per unit basis if utilities aren't included in rent, or if they want to charge that separately.
