I used to live off the grid, solar power only, in a snowy place. It was easy to remove the snow with a squeegee.
We have more nuclear power than we want to pay for; without subsidies we’d have none. Amory Lovins and the Rocky Mountain Institute have been calling for the elimination of all energy subsidies forever. A better grid and everyone with a roof installing their own solar panels is a more effective solution.
Don’t blame you for getting off solar…
;-]
It strikes me as ironic that anyone would oppose removal of these damns, especially since it was the same people (or like-minded individuals) who opposed the Tennessee Valley Authority putting them in to begin with.
Maybe the problem is that it’s the same people (or like-minded individuals) calling for their removal who supported their installation, proving both sides are rather inconsistent and seem to trade places every 50 years or so. Maybe both sides simply oppose anything the other side wants.
I’ve seen a similar type of business plan.
Just imagine what it would cost to buy enough property within a city and put in an airport. I seriously doubt that neighboring property owners would even allow such a venture.
A small airport where I worked when I was in High School began as a landing strip on a farm and grew into a private airport as an up-scale city grew up around it. Property values soared. The airport provided some wealthy guys with a place to buy and park planes, get fuel and service and welcomed business travelers.
When the airport real estate value was in the $millions the owners (family) sold out. One family member, the guy I worked for, took his money, moved out away from the urban sprawl a bit, bought some farms and started an airport! I helped install runway lighting, moved aircraft, helped set up the flying services, etcetera.
Recently, when that property was surrounded by development and became very valuable, he sold the airport to the county and it became a County Airport, serving a large populated area.
He enjoyed flying, was an instructor, sold aircraft, fuel, and service, was an FAA examiner, etcetera, all the while he was watching and waiting as his real estate investment matured.
CSA
That’s NOT what I was referring to. I was referring to there all of a sudden there will be MILLIONS of electric cars to put a load on the grid. It’s going to be gradual. I seriously doubt I’ll see the day when most cars are electric.
I think Tesla may very well last a long time. They will be the major builder of automotive power batteries in the near future. Even if they don’t use them in Tesla automobiles, they will sell the batteries to many automobile manufacturers.
They might even still build cars, since they service the high end of the business. It depends on whether Tesla automobiles makes the right strategic moves to remain competitive in their corner of the business. At this point Tesla doesn’t need volume to make money. Could they become a division of a large company? Sure, but who knows? No sense in writing them off just yet.
I read the full (very short) press release on this that GM posted on October 2nd. There is no real clarification on what GM means, so I reached out to the Advanced Drivetrains Communications Manager for more info. No word back after one business day. My biggest question is, will these 20 new models due in just four model years included NEVs (Neighborhood electric vehicles) and other smaller than subcompact cars for China. Then I looked over the GM U.S. model listings. The company has 40 total active models right now. If GM is actually planning to make half or a third of its total U.S. model mix “fully-electric” four model years from right now it is the best-kept secret since the Manhattan Project. I’m skeptical. Not of GM’s abilities, but of its marketing messages.
There are people today living off the grid on isolated islands off the coast of Maine. I use to work with one. His house is powered with Solar and Wind. He has propane delivered for heat and other appliances like stove, gas dryer and refrigerator. And this isn’t just a small cabin. It’s a 3500sq/ft log cabin.
How does a log cabin work out in the Maine winters? It’s my understanding that they are drafty and very difficult to heat and require constant maintenance.
Really? Where did you hear that? Yes the old log cabins our great grand parents built were drafty…but with new building techniques and custom fit logs they are EXCELLENT.
My last home was a contemporary log home. I primarily heated with wood stove(s). Almost had to open windows in winter to keep it in check and in the summer, it would stay cool until very late in the day. Very efficient. They do require more maintenance than a stick built home. One of the biggest drawbacks was the noise transmission. Not having layers of dissimilar materials, they transmit noise very well. And then there’s the difficulty in making changes- like adding electrical or plumbing…
When you build a log cabin you have to plan it out…and don’t make many changes down the road.
A customer built a log cabin home and found it necessary to flood the logs with linseed oil every year and constantly jack up and shim out joints that opened due to warping. He covered the rear wall with faux stone to eliminate the worst of his problems.
We decided against logs due to the difficulty in building, the need to accommodate shifting and settling etc. The R value of a log is about 1.41 per inch so if a 10" log that would be about 14. Compared to a normal new construction 6" stud dwelling with fiberglass insulation of about 21. So sure you can get it warm just like any other place and one advantage I suppose is that once the mass is warmed up, it will tend to radiate the heat. Still it’s not the same as new modern construction. Had an employee that did one and its a back breaker needing heavy equipment.
Where were we? Oh yeah back to electric cars.
Houses last a long time but tastes change. Good luck reformatting that kitchen or even moving a light fixture. Not to mention power hungry appliances that perhaps aren’t all that popular now but will be later on. Upgrading electric in the wall is essentially cost prohibitive. Plan all you want, in 10-20 years, all bets are off. Especially if you’re the second or more owner. The point being, a word to the wise- if you’re considering one, beware of the pitfalls. It’s easy to fall in love with the look, both inside and outside without considering some of these issues.
Yeah. Back to electric cars.
I have the same opposition to electrics that I have to ICs. No one wants to offer a basic transportation model. Everything these days is sold as the fastest, most luxurious, most modern, most technical and ultimately the most likely to have breakdowns. A Mini Cooper would be a great car it if were to offer basic transportation like the original rather than trendy BMW performance. In fact if a Mini body were electrically powered and offered in a bare bones model it might be appealing to the market segment that long ago bought Beatles.
I think you can still find basic transportation if you’re willing to use your imagination. If a motorcycle isn’t your thing, you can always get a street legal dune buggy, a Jeep Wrangler, or refurbish an older vehicle with a crate engine and new parts. I would say “restore” rather than “refurbish,” but restoring tends to be more expensive than merely refurbishing.
You can’t get much more basic than a Morgan 3-Wheeler, especially if you like wire wheels, although they are pricey for an open-air vehicle. The Polaris Slingshot is also kind of pricey for an open-air vehicle.
Not too long ago, I saw a completely refurbished 1960s VW Beetle with a relatively new engine from Mexico for sale for about $10,000. Since I was living in an apartment at the time, I didn’t think it was wise to buy it, but now that I’m finally in a house, I might make a classic Beetle my next car.
The latest on charging:
Yeah, I guess outside of the whole grid issue, the range is the biggest for me. If I’m on our regular 800 mile trip, I’m not going to stop every 200 miles or so for a charge or overnight. These cars are for a particular niche. That is urban use for short shopping trips or commutes. This is generally going to require these to be a 2nd or 3rd vehicle in the fleet since they can’t pull a boat, carry loads, take an over the road trip and so on. So their use at this point is limited. To suggest otherwise is simply not factual. At the very least they need to have an on-board charging system to allow continuous use. So just as in 1960 when the Ford Falcon came out, it was not marketed as a first or only car in the family, but a second short drive hopper car. They were expanding the market to get people into multiple cars. I suspect the same is happening with the electric cars. They think they’ll be able to sell an electric, plus a truck, plus maybe a sedan to the same family.
So from that article chargers in the 350 kWatt range are being planned. At 240 volts, that is an astounding 1458 amp load being pumped into the battery. 728 amps at 480 volts. Anyone wanna estimate how large a copper wire needs to be to carry that amperage?