Will UPS let me plug in my Electric Car?

[moreluck]

I won't bother with a 2010 research. That's 2 car years ago ! Things have changed !

Do you renounce Satan?
I do renounce him!

 

[soberups]

The one thing to keep in mind when considering the cost to recharge is the electrical grid we have now could not sustain everyone owning an electric car. Atleast at today's electricity prices. If EVs do take off like I believe the price to keep them on the road will go up as more people need more electricity to charge them. Here in the U.S. we are already having difficulties keeping up with the rising pace of electricity consumption when almost nobody has an electric car. When many more own one it will make electricity prices rise to keep up with demand. Considering most of our electrical grid is powered by domestically produced sources of energy I am ok with that future rate increase, but it is something to keep in mind as more car companies offer more electric vehicles.

The majority of people will charge their cars at night, when demand on the grid is actually lowest. Here in the Pacific NW we actually have a surplus of electricity right now; the spring snowmelt has the hydroelectric dams pushing out 100% and actually spilling water over the top, and when all of the windmills in the Columbia River Gorge are spinning at the same time they actually have to take the windmills offline because they are generating more power than the grid can handle.

You are correct that our grid will need major improvements in order to recharge an all-electric transportation system, but the cost of such improvements must be weighed against the enviornmental and financial costs of our current addiction to imported fossil fuels.

I see a future where windmills and solar panels are everywhere, and they are connected to huge fuel cells which can store their power for times when the wind isnt blowing. There are proposals here in the Pacific NW to build gigantic electric pumps on the Columbia, powered by the windmills, that would pump water from the bottom of the dams back up to the top again, effectively "storing" the surplus output of the windmills in the potential energy of the water that can once again flow thru the hydroelectric generators when needed.

Bottom line; fossil fuels are a dead end. Embrace that fact, learn it, live it, believe it.

 

[bottomups]

I attended Catholic school (grade & high) and paid tuition!! The post wasn't about school taxes.....that was just an example. The post was referring to taxes that might be paid to fund green stuff, which I said I don't mind.

Moreluck, this post was not directed at you personally. I attend many townhall meetings every year and there always senior citizens arguing that they should not have to pay the school portion of there property tax bill because they don't use the schools. I always point out that someone had to pay when they went to school and they were just paying their share 50+ years after they got their free ride. Many also still use the school system for swimming and other club gatherings.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Any discussion of alternative energy sources should include hydrogen which releases water as exhaust.

 

[over9five]

Boston Unveils EV Charging Stations

These are free (taxpayer pays) as long as you're paying the regular meter rate.

 

[rod]

Moreluck, this post was not directed at you personally. I attend many townhall meetings every year and there always senior citizens arguing that they should not have to pay the school portion of there property tax bill because they don't use the schools. I always point out that someone had to pay when they went to school and they were just paying their share 50+ years after they got their free ride. Many also still use the school system for swimming and other club gatherings.

The difference between paying for schools back then and paying for them now is that nowdays they just don't build a practical school. They have to build them like they are gifts to the gods with 25 foot high ceilings, marble and stone work everywhere, piped in music and every whistle and bell the designers can think of. If they would build a practical building and my tax money went truly "for the kids" and to provide excellent teachers I would have no problem with it but that isn't the case. The last 85 million dollar school referendum that got shoved down my towns throat turned out to be about 75% wasteful. Then 2 years later they had the gall to ask for another 6 million just so they could afford to heat it. Apparently they had forgot that heating expenses are rather high in a cold climate. Now here we sit with a monster building that even has a planetarium auditorium in it that cost an extra 2 million (which by the way hasn't been used since the 1st year because of staffing issues). Every other year they come back and want more-more-more. Sorry- they ain't getting a yes vote from me because it is no longer "for the kids".

 

[brett636]

Any discussion of alternative energy sources should include hydrogen which releases water as exhaust.

Hyrdogen is a promising technology, but has some major hurdles to overcome before it can be looked at as a viable source of energy. Hydrogen does not exist by itself on our planet. We have to derive it from water, but to separate the hydrogen from the oxygen takes more energy than you can get from the hydrogen. Not to mention the average hydrogen powered car costs somewhere around 7 figures and are all in the testing phases where they have been for the last decade plus. The only car maker to make a hyrdogen car available to the public is Honda with the FCX Clarity, but they are only leasing about 200 vehicles to a very select group of people in Southern California where hydrogen fueling stations are most common. I would be surprised if a hydrogen powered car goes mass market anytime inside the next 2 decades.