Need For More Power Plants If Cars Are All Electric

[MrTShirt]

Did a back of envelope calculation (actually the back of two envelopes and the front of one envelope) as to how many power plants would have to be built in the US if everyone instantly switched cars from gas to electricity.

The answer is 13,000 new electric power generating plants.

(Side note, Calif already suffers from rolling brownouts without a significant electric car load.)

[Florida Couple]

A large part of the infrastructure bill that was passed was to beef up the grid and EV outlets nationwide. It's a work in progress. Expecting most cars being sold will be electric by 2030.

[billwh]

Plus there are certain rare metals used in those batteries that come from China.

[rachelvarga]

This is America and Americans have always had a special connection to cars. Especially fast ones. I would not trade my Mustang for an electric one. There is something about the sound and feel of the engine.

As far as the grid goes. Govt's are inherently corrupt and inefficient. It will take decades to get a grid that can handle that. In fact most power companies do not have hardened transformers that can withstand a large solar flare if it hits directly. The one's that do can only withstand a few hours. The last large flare in the 1800s lasted days and took out telegraphs all over. It will happen again and some will take months, maybe more than a year to fix. Plus how do we power the grid? Oh I forgot. Petroleum. So nothing changes in the long run.

[MrTShirt]

This is America and Americans have always had a special connection to cars. Especially fast ones. I would not trade my Mustang for an electric one. There is something about the sound and feel of the engine.

As far as the grid goes. Govt's are inherently corrupt and inefficient. It will take decades to get a grid that can handle that. In fact most power companies do not have hardened transformers that can withstand a large solar flare if it hits directly. The one's that do can only withstand a few hours. The last large flare in the 1800s lasted days and took out telegraphs all over. It will happen again and some will take months, maybe more than a year to fix. Plus how do we power the grid? Oh I forgot. Petroleum. So nothing changes in the long run.

I know what you mean about the Mustang. However, I had to sell my '06 Mustang GT (red and black convertible top) because of my arthritic hands and it could not carry a wheel chair. But it was a great road car.

Regarding the power grid, I concentrated on the need to more than double the number of power plants. However, the issues you brought up are spot on. Most of the politicians and activists pushing for electric cars are ignorant of reality.

Now, if someone can live with transportation that goes 3.5 mph for up to 10 miles, check out my electric wheel chair.

[raving loon]

This is America and Americans have always had a special connection to cars. Especially fast ones. I would not trade my Mustang for an electric one. There is something about the sound and feel of the engine.

As far as the grid goes. Govt's are inherently corrupt and inefficient. It will take decades to get a grid that can handle that. In fact most power companies do not have hardened transformers that can withstand a large solar flare if it hits directly. The one's that do can only withstand a few hours. The last large flare in the 1800s lasted days and took out telegraphs all over. It will happen again and some will take months, maybe more than a year to fix. Plus how do we power the grid? Oh I forgot. Petroleum. So nothing changes in the long run.

I was at the NYC Auto Show earlier this year and it was stupid how everything was going towards EV's. Then when you find out some of the sacrifices in the designs they had to make in order to accommodate the new systems. The fact they stuck batteries in the spare tire compartment and got rid of the spare is enough for me to say no it.. Not to mention loss of cargo capacity in the smaller vehicles as to make them nearly useless. I will say though I intrigued by some of the E-Bike designs they had out there that could be used for the really short local trips around town.

[MrTShirt]

BTW...I should have mentioned that the US has a nominal 10,000 power plants. Therefore, top accommodate all the cars if they instantly go electric, one needs to more than double the power plants (130% increase, 13,000 power plants). Of course the rest of the infrastructure needs to be beefed up as well, as Rachel pointed out.

[OldNick999]

If I were to buy an electric car, that sucker better make it to Nevada from where I live in Utah.

[NavySteve]

I have owned a Honda Insight since 2020. When stopped or going down hill, the engine shuts off and battery kicks in. During warm weather, over 40 degrees, I get around 47 MPG, below that drops to 40. The sweet spot is 70 MPH on flat road and about 50.5 MPG. The battery is warranted for 7 years. When I bought the car in Sept 2020 I had them call parts dept for cost of replacement. At that time it was $4,000. Looks like a trade in Sept 2027. To repeat earlier comment, there is no spare in the trunk, just a tire sealant spray can. This came in real handy when I turned into a curb and blew out a front tire with a hole the size of a football. Tow truck to a tire store. I really like my car and will always consider a hybrid.

[whiskeychuck]

The combustion engine creates more energy using gas than an electric car. It creates carbon monoxide but batteries fill landfills and pollute the environment too. You need electricity which is mostly generated with coal.

There is no upside using electric. You are still damaging the environment. You just moved it from one place to another.

China and India are huge polluters and they are not signing any pacts because oil is cheap and you need it to build economies. Countries all over the world will use oil to build their economies. They can’t afford wind and solar.

I think humans are so arrogant to believe we understand something as complex as the weather on this planet. People are so stupid they say “the science is settled”. That goes against scientific thinking.

I don’t know if climate change is real. Omg it’s so hot. It’s fucking hot every summer for the last 65 years of my life. Oh it’s raining. Must be climate change. 500 inches of snow in the Rockies. Oh climate change. No hurricanes must be climate change. Next year ten hurricanes must be climate change.

It’s like a religion. It’s ridiculous.

[MrTShirt]

...It’s like a religion. It’s ridiculous.

For the foot solder it is a religion. For the leadership that recruit the solders, it is about control, world control. Look at COVID. The gov't reaction was billed as a health measure, but it resulted in population control.