Actually, I was going to write about the Barilaro Principle, that you create your own job, then leave politics and suddenly fill the role which you created, with a 500,000 salary package and $100,000 expense account, and it's off to lunch as Trade Commissioner, but then I read this:
The utility companies have thus far had little to say about the alarming cost projections to operate electric vehicles (EV) or the increased rates that they will be required to charge their customers. It is not just the total amount of electricity required, but the transmission lines and fast charging capacity that must be built at existing filling stations. Neither wind nor solar can support any of it. Electric vehicles will never become the mainstream of transportation!
In order to match the 2,000 cars that a typical filling station can service in a busy 12 hours, an EV charging station would require 600, 50-watt chargers at an estimated cost of $24 million and a supply of 30 megawatts of power from the grid. That is enough to power 20,000 homes. No one thinks about the fact that it can take 30 minutes to 8 hours to recharge a vehicle between empty or just topping off. What are the drivers doing during that time?
New Zealand-based consulting engineer Bryan Leyland describes why installing electric car charging stations in a city is impractical: "If you’ve got cars coming into a petrol station, they would stay for an average of five minutes. If you’ve got cars coming into an electric charging station, they would be at least 30 minutes, possibly an hour, but let’s say it's 30 minutes. So that's six times the surface area to park the cars while they're being charged. So, multiply every petrol station in a city by six. Where are you going to find the place to put them?"
A home-charging system for a Tesla requires a 75-amp service. The average house is equipped with 100-amp service. On most suburban streets the electrical infrastructure would be unable to carry more than three houses with a single Tesla. For half the homes on your block to have electric vehicles, the system would be wildly overloaded.
The government of the United Kingdom is already starting to plan for power shortages caused by the charging of thousands of electric vehicles. Starting in June 2022, the government will restrict the time of day you can charge your EV battery. To do this, they will employ smart meters that are programmed to automatically switch off EV-charging in peak times to avoid potential blackouts.
In particular, the latest UK chargers will be pre-set to not function during 9-hours of peak loads, from 8 am to 11 am (3-hours), and 4 pm to 10 pm (6-hours). Unbelievably, the UK technology decides when and if an EV can be charged, and even allows EV batteries to be drained into the UK grid if required. Imagine charging your car all night only to discover in the morning that your battery is flat since the state took the power back. Better keep your gas-powered car as a reliable and immediately available backup!
The average used electric car will need a new battery before an owner can sell it, pricing them well above used internal combustion cars. The average age of a car on the road is 12 years. A 12-year-old EV will be on its third battery. A Tesla battery typically costs $10,000, so there will not be many 12-year-old EVs on the road. Good luck trying to sell your used green fairy tale electric car!
Although the modern lithium-ion battery is four times better than the old lead-acid battery, gasoline holds 80 times the energy density. The great lithium battery in your cell phone weighs less than an ounce while the Tesla battery weighs 1,000 pounds. And what do we get for this huge cost and weight? We get a car that is far less convenient and less useful than cars powered by internal combustion engines. Bryan Leyland explained why: "When the Model T came out, it was a dramatic improvement on the horse and cart. The electric car is a step backward into the equivalence of an ordinary car with a tiny petrol tank that takes half an hour to fill. It offers nothing in the way of convenience or extra facilities."
You do not need to have an advanced degree in mathematics to understand the term "Overload"! The average person, no matter where you live, can quickly identify the political feel-good sensation that is being attempted by those short-sighted individuals who are promoting the EV revolution. Vehicle manufacturers, charging station builders, transmission line contractors, battery producers, etc. It’s magic! And you are saving the planet by creating less pollution as you get rid of your gas-burning vehicle and take out a five year loan to pay for the shiny new $60,000 electric car. No more fill-ups at the service station and the global warming is solved. You can now sit back and imagine the new polar ice formations that are providing a safe environment for the polar bears, seals, penguins that we all adore. We have done our part saving humanity, and you can see the smile on little Greta Thunberg’s face! BUT WAIT ... why are we losing power at our house?
Well, the short answer is: we failed to understand that our electrical grid reached maximum capacity and was overloaded when all of the EV’s were plugged in tonight at the same time. The next short answer is: where do you think the energy came from to supply the grid in the first place? It sure was not from wind or solar, nor from any other alternate energy source we use which, when all combined, only provides 7% of today's use demand. It was from the traditional combustible resource called Hydrocarbons! Until we discover a non-hydrocarbon energy source that is efficient and safe, GET OVER IT - we are committed to oil & gas!
Wipe that smile off your face, Greta!
STOP PRESS: Barilaro must've seen my blog because I just read that he's withdrawn his candidacy from the $500,000 New York job - click here.
